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Best Tile Stays True to Its Founder’s Passion
Harry Marcus started installing tile way back in 1955, so Karen Belezarian-Tesini considers herself lucky to have known him.
“Harry would say, ‘why are you here? Why do you like the business?’” said Belezarian-Tesini, manager of Best Tile in Springfield — one of some 30 locations that have sprung from Marcus’ original business 60 years ago. “I said, ‘I have a passion for it.’ Harry said, ‘that’s why you’re going to last. You have to have a passion for what you do.’”
Marcus Tile was born in the City of Homes, but there were no tile distributors in Springfield, meaning he had to travel to Hartford almost every day to pick up tile for his four-man team of installers. So he and his wife, Mollie, decided to start their own tile-distribution business. They sold their installation business and partnered with the Wenczel Tile Co. to open up Standard Tile Distributors in August 1956.
“It was a true rags-to-riches story,” Belezarian-Tesini said. “He was selling so much and so well, Wenczel asked him, ‘if we got you a bricks-and-mortar shop, would you open a store?’ He said yes and opened up his store.”
That’s where the story began — a story that has since expanded well past the Springfield-Hartford corridor, across the Northeast and down the Atlantic Coast. The Marcuses’ oldest son, Steve, eventually entered the family business and, after managing the Hartford branch, opened a new location in Albany, N.Y., naming it Best Tile — the word ‘Best’ representing the first two letters of his first name and that of his wife, Beverly.
By the early 1970s Best Tile was importing tile from around the world, and Steve Marcus and his business partner, Bob Rose, had expanded well into Central and Western New York. Meanwhile, Steve’s brother, Brad, expanded the company into the Boston area, and Steve Marcus and Rose later expanded into Pennsylvania with another partner, Chet Whittam. Following that, the company set up shop in Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia, and more recently Vermont and North Carolina.
“They’ve done very well managing and growing the business. It’s a great company to work for,” Belezarian-Tesini said. “They’re smart investors, and they direct-import everything, buying direct from factories. They’ve kept a great relationship with these factories over the years, which gives them great buying power.”
Those factories are based in countries as far-flung as Spain, Italy, Brazil, England, Turkey, Mexico, and the U.S., she added. “We pride ourselves on quality. In all the years I’ve worked here, no one’s ever come back and complained about quality of the tile, which is huge.”
Hitting the Wall
From her position managing the bustling shop on Belmont Avenue — where customers come looking to inject new life into their kitchen and bathroom floors and walls, among other areas — Belezarian-Tesini has seen a number of changes in the tile business.
“Twenty years ago, it was a contractor-driven industry, big time. It’s now more of a remodeling industry, with maybe 50% of the business retail — years ago, there was not as much retail,” she explained. “The building boom isn’t there like it used to be; you don’t see big tracts of homes going up. There’s a lot more remodeling going on.
“It’s still the City of Homes; I do believe that,” she went on. “You can tell by the remodeling going on in our neighborhoods. People are retiring to over-55 communities, and the younger generation is moving in and remodeling the home. That’s where a lot of our business is coming from nowadays.”
She noted that the contractors working in this field are an aging lot. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I wish trade schools would introduce more tile-related careers, because it’s an industry that should continue to grow.”
It’s growing in part through social media, websites, and especially home-improvement networks like HGTV and DIY, which showcase transitions that inspire viewers to tackle tile jobs themselves or hire someone to bring their vision to life.
“That’s what’s driving people, opening their eyes to what’s current, what’s hot,” she said. And that means Best Tile needs to stay on the cutting edge of what shoppers are looking for.
“Flooring has gone from a marble look to a wooded look,” she noted as one example. And large-format floor tiles are extremely popular, like 8-by-48-inch floor sections and 12-by-24-inch wall tiles; 12-by-12 pieces have become a bit passé. Meanwhile, “mosaic is hot, hot, hot — glass mosaic, glass and stone mixed, all stone, stone and ceramic. It can be for a floor, wall, backsplash, bathroom, kitchen, you name it. It’s everywhere, and it’s beautiful.
“The industry has come a long way,” she added. “The digital imaging, the handcrafted tile, so superior to what we had years ago. It’s beautiful.”
Happy Wife, Happy Life
Since the 2000s, the third generation of Roses and Marcuses have led the company through continued growth, showroom upgrades, and product expansion, under the umbrella of the East Coast Tile Group of companies.
But that’s the big picture; Belezarian-Tesini is more invested in the individuals — and, more often than not, couples — that show up at Best Tile looking to realize their vision of a beautiful bathroom or kitchen.
“You do this with your spouse; it’s not usually something you do alone. Husbands and wives make decisions together. And when they shop, they’re generally shopping together,” she said, adding, however, that some husbands embody man-shopping clichés. “Most of the time, we offer the husbands coffee or water, or ask if they want to sit down somewhere. Some spouses are very involved, and some are just here for the ride.”
It’s a ride that began with Harry Marcus’ vision, and passion, for building a business from the ground — well, the tile floor, anyway — up.
Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]


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Stop Everything, Lidl Launching 5kg Fruit And Veg Boxes For £1.50
European supermarket giants Lidl is working to cut food waste and provide affordable fruit and veg boxes to shoppers.
Lidl has announced they are launching a new program offering 5kg (11 lbs) boxes of damaged fruit and vegetables to shoppers in the UK for just £1.50 ($1.95) in a bid to try and cut down on food wastage. The fruit and veg boxes will contain food that would usually be thrown away for being damaged, and Lidl has said the initiative could help to save 10,000 tons of surplus produce a year.
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The scheme, called ‘Too Good To Waste’, is going to be trialed across 122 stores. If it is deemed successful, it will be rolled out nationwide across the UK to all 710 stores. Contents of the fruit and veg boxes are produce that is “no longer considered at their perfect best”, but are still perfectly ok to be eaten.
CEO of Lidl UK, Christian Härtnagel, said “Food waste is one of the most important topics that our industry is facing, and one that we are fully committed to tackling. We’re proud that in just one year, our stores have managed to cut food waste (by 13 percent), however, we recognize that there’s still a long way to go to get where we need to be.”
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“We know from our data that fresh produce is one of the biggest contributors to food waste in stores, so we’re excited by the difference our ‘Too Good to Waste’ initiative will make. Not only will it help customers consider items that they might have previously dismissed, it will also provide an opportunity for them to make further savings.”
If the fruit and veg boxes are going to be at a store near you, would you try them?
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At a time when energy companies - particularly former state-owned ones - are at the centre of a political football game, few in the industry will envy Hodges' new role.
He'll replace interim managing director Ian Peters, who will take on the role of director of customer facing strategy.
In a statement, Centrica chief executive Iain Conn said Hodges brings "substantial experience of running a major UK customer-facing business".
Hodges himself added:
It will be a great privilege to lead British Gas, which has a proud heritage, and I am excited by the great potential the company has to benefit customers through improved service and in developing new products.


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Qualcomm thinks its new Snapdragon 7c ARM chip could hit $400 laptops with LTE. That'd be a big win for a few reasons and it could also mean we'll see it in a Surface Go 2, but will we?
Microsoft today announced that a version of Microsoft Edge compiled to run natively on ARM PCs is now available for testing in the Canary development channel.
If the Surface Pro X is to succeed, it has to start with Microsoft – and so far, it's setting a bad example.
Around six months into its life cycle, the Snapdragon 855 is getting a sequel in the form of the Snapdragon 855 Plus — offering big improvements for gaming.
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ICANN has opened their ticket sales for the lottery for new TLD applicants earlier today. Ticket sales end on December 17th at 11am PST.
Due to the lottery laws in California, the tickets have to purchased for $100 in person. Results of the Draw will be announced on the day of the Draw and the results will be posted on ICANN’s website at http://gtldresult.icann.org/application-result/applicationstatus within 24 hours of the end of the Draw.Originally ICANN had proposed a digital archery system, where applicants would provide a target time and whoever clicked a link closest to their target time would be processed first, but decided to proceed with a lottery instead due to protest from the community. You can review the full ICANN rules for the lottery draw here.


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Bentley mean machines woo Kolkata's super-richTNN | Dec 18, 2012, 04.20 AM IST
KOLKATA: Indian representatives of Bentley, the handcrafted super-luxury automotive marquee, believe it is the "conservative" gene of Kolkatans and not dearth of money that has stopped them from making big-ticket purchases at home.
"There are a lot of rich folks in Kolkata. In fact, families of most industrialists are still based in the city. People here have taste for exclusive things but are extremely cautious while spending. They don't want to attract undue attention unlike Delhi where people are flamboyant and want to be seen in a super-luxury car to announce to the world that they have arrived. In Mumbai, people want to reward themselves when they achieved something in life," Bentley New Delhi brand manager Amy Arora told TOI.
She was in the city during the weekend to showcase the range of Bentley cars and woo the city's rich to live it up. On display was its flagship model Mulsanne that carries a base sticker price of Rs 4.10 crore, Continental Grant Tourer V8 at Rs 2.40 crore, Continental Flying Spur at Rs 2.14 crore and Continental Flying Spur Speed at Rs 2.38 crore. Only the Continental GT Convertible that retails at Rs 1.87 crore was not on display.
"There is a lot of money in the city, a lot of hidden potential. Porsche is opening a showroom shortly, Jaguar is already here and Mercedes, BMW, Audi cars are all over the place. This wasn't so till three-four years ago. That's the reason we are here to let customers touch and feel the cars," she remarked.
Three persons in the city already own Bentleys while two others own Rolls-Royce cars. It isn't known if there is a Bugati owner too but there are several high-end Porsche and Ferrari in Kolkata with Maserati and Lamborghini revving up.
Satya Prakash Bagla, managing director of Exclusive Motors Pvt Ltd that is the sole importer and dealer of Bentley cars in India, said owners of Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini or Ferrari in India are several times richer than the average buyer of these cars in the West.
"Had people here with pockets as deep as buyers of super-luxury cars elsewhere walked into showrooms, I think the number of Bentleys on the road would have been 20 times of what we have now," said Bagla. Till now, 300 Bentley cars have been sold in the country since the first car was imported in 2003.
The financial meltdown in 2008 and the current economic slowdown have stymied the growth of super-luxury car sales in India. Though Bentley's representative in India claimed a 20% increase in sales in 2012 over the previous year, he acknowledged that growth had been suppressed by the general economic outlook that advised caution and discouraged high spends.
While high network individuals that are holding back purchase don't need to tread cautiously, many do so to avoid getting socially secluded. They don't want to make a big-ticket purchase at a difficult time and stick out like a sore thumb.


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Telstra Europe has announced the launch of an enhanced range of Business Broadband services across the UK with speeds of up to 8Mbps.
The carrier is offering Business Broadband Max and Business Broadband Max Pro with free installation, 24/7 customer and technical support as wells as a service level agreement which includes a guaranteed time to repair.
David Thorn, CEO, Telstra Europe, said, “As the business world strives for ever quicker communications, Telstra is delighted to be one of the first providers to launch an enhanced business broadband service across the UK with download speeds of up to 8Mbps. In addition to speed, IT managers should also be considering the overall service provision available from a broadband provider, which includes breadth of network coverage, level of customer support and pricing stability.”
Thorn added, “Telstra has extensive experience of the UK business communications market and its Business Broadband Max and Business Broadband Max Pro3 services combine high speed connectivity with realistic pricing, nationwide coverage and a strong service offering which can accommodate the varying requirements of UK business customers.”


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Tesla was designated the fastest-growing brand in Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2021 list. This year’s top risers had great performance on three brand strength characteristics:-
It stated that tech behemoths Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft remain at the top of the list, and that quick climbers like Salesforce and Adobe meant more tech businesses in the top 10. In terms of advancement, though, Tesla comes out on top.
Tesla is the true champion, with a near-tripling of its brand value and a stunning 26-point climb to 14th position. This spectacular growth was fueled by a strong social media presence that boosted brand awareness and solidified the company’s position as the world’s top electric vehicle maker.
Its main objective, ‘to speed the world’s transition to sustainable energy,’ clearly connects with a growing, devoted customer base and exemplifies how strong companies entice customers with a clear, consistent vision.
Tesla’s pillars of growth are :-
- In-house services such as insurance
- Autopilot and FSD (Full Self Driving)
- Building factories
- Giga Shanghai (online and ramping)
- Giga Berlin (just opened)
- Giga Texas (almost launching)
- Fremont Factory
- Megafactory for Megapacks (just had groundbreaking)
- Elon Musk’s Twitter interactions with customers
- Artificial Intelligence
With all of these pillars in mind, it’s simple to see why Tesla was voted the fastest growing brand of 2021 by Interbrand.
Reference- Inside EVs, PR Newswire, Clean Technica, Economic Times


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The small business of this young American is particularly lucrative.
Scalpers have quickly become the pet peeve of video game fans. Remember that since the releases of the new PS5 or Xbox Series X, it is very difficult to get hold of them because of the shortage of electronic chips.
Scalpers are in the sights of British MPs
Clever kids took advantage of this lack with a technique that is now well established. As soon as new stocks of consoles go on sale, they pick up the set in just a few minutes, or even seconds using bots. They then resell the devices at often exorbitant prices.
The Wall Street Journa was able to meet one of them and questioned him about this practice and the income it generates. Max Hayden is only 16 years old and still in high school. Still, he earned $ 1.7 million in revenue last year from his scalping business. The newspaper specifies that it not only offered consoles but also dumbbells, outdoor heaters, or even Pokémon collectible cards.
Regarding the PS5 and Xbox Series X, he reveals to have resold them for $ 1,100, while the latter normally only cost 500. This business works particularly well since these devices made him make $ 110,000. in profits last year. Enough to rent a space to store the merchandise and hire two friends that he pays 15 dollars an hour to package the products. This activity takes him 40 hours a week in total and Max Hayden believes he will make even more money in 2021.
It should be noted that scalpers are in the sights of the authorities, and in particular in the United Kingdom where a recent bill has attempted to prohibit the resales of consoles “at amounts much higher than the base price recommended by the manufacturer“. This text proposed by an opposition MP was not adopted but it was intended to advance the debate and force the Conservative government of Boris Johnson to act.


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Beirut, Lebanon – 2016: For the 5th time, Gefinor Rotana Beirut is awarded at the World Travel Awards (WTA) as Lebanon’s Leading Business Hotel. Known as the “Oscars of the travel industry”, the World Travel Awards is the most prestigious awards program for the global travel industry, rewarding leaders in the tourism, airline, hotel and hospitality sectors around the world.
Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Frank Royer, General Manager of Gefinor Rotana Beirut, said: “We are very proud of this award and we owe this achievement to our outstanding team and their dedicated work, and we pledge our commitment to permanently securing the highest standards in the hospitality industry and provide our guests with the best services.”
Affirming its position as one of the leading hotel management companies in the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Eastern Europe, Rotana scooped a total of 15 awards at the Middle East Gala Ceremony of the World Travel Awards 2016, including being named the “Middle East’s Leading Hotel Brand” for a record-extending 10th straight year. Nasser Al Nowais, Chairman of Rotana, expressed his pride for the wins and highlighted the importance of consistently delivering world-class experiences to Rotana guests, across the breadth of the hotel’s portfolio.
Gefinor Rotana Hotel is the ideal choice for business leisure in Lebanon offering vast meeting halls in various shapes and sizes equipped with the latest technologies to meet all practical convenience needs of guests. It also wins for its strategic location in the heart of the vibrant Hamra area near the main amenities of the city.


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AccuWeather is relaunching its weather site next week with a streamlined site and the opportunity for advertisers to create custom content. It is making the new site available for preview as well updating its 65,000 fans on the AccuWeather's Facebook page before the launch.
The relaunched site is less cluttered, in response to both users' and advertisers' requests. There are also new sizes and placements for ad insertions, writes MediaPost.
Advertisers also will be able to play a far more proactive role in the site's look, according to Barry Lee Myers, CEO of AccuWeather. The ability to create custom content integrations means they can "connect the dots between the advertising messages and users' needs for weather information."
Forecast videos that can be seen on the site as well as on mobile devices and the AccuWeather Television Network would be one possibilities (via ClickZ).
"Prominent sponsorship opportunities" will also be available on the Forecast and Lifestyle sections, according to ClickZ. There will be four special interest sections on the new site: Weather and Health, Weather and Travel, Weather and Home and Garden, and Weather and Outdoor Activity.
Others scheduled to launch throughout the year include Weather and Sports, Weather and Fantasy Sports, and Weather and the Earth.
AccuWeather is not reticent about the role it expects advertisers to play in its content - and has played in its redesign. "We openly asked the advertisers how we should go from here," Bill Stephen, AccuWeather's VP of global ad sales told ClickZ. "Is video going to be more important? Is ad integration or sponsorships? There was a lot of day-to-day input from the entire sales team that I funneled up the food chain for this exercise. Advertisers had a lot to do with shaping the platform."
The AOL Model?
Increasingly portals and websites are giving advertisers greater influence on the content - an approach adopted by AOL last year when it relaunched after its spin-off from Time Warner. Its go-to-market strategy, it said at the time, was to become the top creator of digital content on the web. According to AOL CEO Tim Armstrong's view, content is the one area on the web that hasn’t seen its full potential.
Besides significantly increasing the amount of content AOL produces, the company is allowing marketers to work with its content creation team to create custom content.


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EBay beats earnings estimates on strong US holiday spending
eBay beats market expectations for revenue and profit driven by healthy consumer spending during the holiday season. eBay's board authorizes a $2 billion share repurchase program. eBay's marketplace benefits from consumer spending amid an easing economy. UK and Germany face weakness and job cuts.
Security and risk management spending in India to increase 12.4% in 2024, says Gartner report
The expected increase comes at a time when organisations are ramping up security spending due to legacy IT modernisation using cloud technology, demand for digital platforms, updated regulatory environment and continuing remote/hybrid work.
India to conduct another household survey before changing CPI: Officials
India will conduct a survey of household consumption and retailers to revise the consumer price index (CPI), with initial findings showing a decrease in the weighting of food. The final report of the 2022/23 household survey will be released in two to three months, said Geeta Singh Rathore, director general of the National Sample Survey.
Govt spent 80% of revised FY24 capex outlay
The official said the collections under various small savings scheme remain healthy this fiscal and will be in sync with the revised estimate. The net mop-up for senior citizens breached ₹90,000 crore as of end-January this fiscal, way above that of ₹37,362 crore in the whole of FY23. The surge is mainly driven by the 2023 Budget move to double the deposit limit under the scheme to₹30 lakh.
Private capex in India poised for take off: Mahindra Group CEO
Private capex in India is set to take off as government-led growth attracts investments. To achieve the Viksit Bharat goal, India's manufacturing sector needs significant investment. India's challenge is achieving inclusive growth and bridging the rural-urban divide.
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How to allocate your annual bonus effectivelyHrishan must assess whether he has factored in this extra income while drafting his budget and savings plan. If he has, he should adhere to the plan and not view the bonus as a supplement.
Poorest Indians see spending grow at a faster clipThe Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2022-23 reveals that per-capita spending for India's poorest households has grown faster, narrowing the spending inequality gap. Discretionary items now account for a larger share of household spending, indicating a reduction in poverty.
Household consumption won't hit inflation muchThe latest Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) is not expected to have a significant impact on consumer price index and inflation calculations. Rural spending on food was down 6.5 percentage points in 2022-23 to 46.4% from 2011-12.
Inequality between top and bottom spenders has reduced: SurveyAfter a hiatus of nearly a decade, the government has released the results of the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey, which indicate that inequality between top and bottom spenders has reduced across both rural and urban areas since 2011-12.
Rural-urban household spending gap narrowsThe Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2022-23 in India reveals that the gap between urban and rural household consumption has significantly narrowed. The survey will impact the calculation of inflation, poverty, and consumer price index series.
Ukraine outnumbered, outgunned, ground down by relentless RussiaAs the Ukraine war enters its third year, the 59th Brigade faces a grim reality: dwindling soldiers and ammunition to fight the Russians. Casualties and harsh conditions have depleted their ranks, with just 60-70% of their initial strength remaining. Russian forces, using advanced drone warfare, are making gains, and Ukraine's plea for more support from the West has been slow. With critical shortages in artillery shells and equipment, Ukraine's defence is challenged, and the conflict shows no signs of abating.
Upbeat IT CEOs expecting tech spends to rise in 2024India's technology outsourcing industry is optimistic about revenue expansion in 2024. Tata Consultancy Services and Tech Mahindra CEOs expect growth from deal renewals, vendor consolidation, and transformation projects. The IT industry is projected to reach $253.9 billion in fiscal 2024.
Amazon’s Bazaar to challenge Meesho; AI & edtechAmazon has started onboarding sellers from across the country and is asking them to list unbranded products, priced at Rs 600 or less. The platform will offer products like apparel, watches, shoes, jewellery and luggage.
Australia says to build biggest navy since World War IIAustralia unveiled a 10-year strategy to double its major warship fleet and boost defense spending by $7 billion, responding to a rising arms race in the Asia-Pacific region. The plan aims to increase the navy's major surface combatant ships to 26 from the current 11, the largest fleet since World War II. It includes building six Hunter class frigates, 11 general-purpose frigates, and six crewless advanced warships, some armed with Tomahawk missiles. The move follows China and Russia's military expansions, with Australia planning to exceed NATO's defense spending target at 2.4% of GDP.
State oil cos power up capex machineIndian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, GAIL, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation exceeded their capex targets, investing in projects such as the Barmer refinery, biofuel production, and gas marketing network.
AdEx to grow at 12% to reach Rs 1.11 lakh crore in 2024: MadisonAccording to PMAR 2024, AdEx is expected to rebound in 2024, growing at 12% to reach Rs 1.11 lakh crore driven by digital advertising. Madison World Chairman Sam Balsara expressed concern about India Inc's focus on quarterly profits. The Indian Premier League (IPL) significantly boosted advertising on Connected TV.
China holiday travel surge hints at consumer spending pickupA resurgence in travel over China's Lunar New Year holiday is offering some signs of a consumer spending pickup in the world's second-largest economy. Rail trips exceeded expectations, surpassing 2023, despite low confidence and deflationary pressures. The economy is struggling with a property crisis and consumer prices are dropping.
No lunch in Tokyo's upscale shopping arena: Japan's scaled-back spending & weak yen push economy to recessionJapan fell into recession due to declining consumer spending caused by pay cuts in the services sector. Weak yen currency increased the cost of living. Higher fuel and stock prices added to the economic pain.
NATO a 'sacred commitment'; Donald Trump looks at it as a burden: US President Joe BidenPresident Joe Biden has criticized former President Donald Trump for encouraging Russia to attack certain NATO nations, calling the comments "dangerous" and "un-American." Biden emphasized the importance of NATO as a "sacred commitment," contrasting with Trump's view of it as a burden. Trump's remarks have underscored the urgency of passing a USD 95 billion foreign aid package, including USD 60 billion for Ukraine. Biden pledged to defend every inch of NATO territory if Putin attacks a NATO ally, highlighting that NATO's mutual defense clause is crucial for global stability.
Ministry of Defence achieves milestone with Rs 1 lakh crore orders on Government e-MarketplaceThe Ministry of Defence (MoD) has achieved a significant milestone by transacting over Rs 1 lakh crore through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal. This milestone highlights MoD's commitment to efficient public spending in the Defence sector. GeM has played a crucial role in facilitating a wide range of procurement needs for MoD, from general items to critical defence acquisitions. Notably, over 50% of the orders, amounting to Rs 60,593 Crore, have been awarded to Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs), contributing to India's self-reliance goals. MoD's early adoption of GeM and engagement of Defence PSUs have further enhanced procurement processes and sales, marking a significant shift in the procurement landscape.
Europe's rocky road to becoming Ukraine's arsenalEuropean nations have invested billions in defence spending and military aid since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, analysts believe the continent's defence industry is still far from able to supply Kyiv alone. The US has provided $44.5 billion in arms to Ukraine since Russian tanks arrived in February 2022. The EU has spent on aid totaling 28 billion euros ($30 billion) over two years, with a further 20 billion planned this year.
Subdued consumer spends weigh on food-delivery growth: ZomatoZomato’s food-delivery CEO Rakesh Ranjan said in a letter to the shareholders that the demand environment in the October-December period was muted for the broader restaurant industry.
House approval sought for extra spending of Rs 78,673 cr in FY24The Indian government has requested parliamentary approval for an additional net expenditure of ₹78,673 crore in the second batch of supplementary demands for grants for 2023-24. Despite this, the government expects to reduce its fiscal deficit to 5.8% of gross domestic product, bettering the 5.9% budgeted goal. The latest set of demands includes gross additional spending of over ₹2 lakh crore, with nearly ₹1.22 lakh crore covered through savings or enhanced receipts.
Budget 2024: Govt may go for big hike in PM-Kisan payout and a housing & jobs pushUnion Budget 2024: The government will likely increase the amount of money transferred under its flagship direct benefit transfer scheme - Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi or PM-Kisan - by about 50% to ₹9,000 per year from the current ₹6,000, said some of the economists polled.
How to align your career and financesThe path our financial security and wealth take will map the trajectory of our professional success. Our income will offer a good indication of how well we have aligned ourselves to the marketplace for human assets, and how we play the game. What’s interesting is that income is the outcome, not the causative variable.
Financial planning advice for a young earnerA rigid financial commitment at this point may not be a good idea.
Five bad investing, saving, spending habits you should give up nowFinancial planning: Here we discuss five financial habits that individuals should discontinue to maintain sound financial health.Load More
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text: Grey Matter Art under license from Marvel, is proud to present 2 new officially licensed, limited edition screen printed posters for two of everyone’s favorite comic characters. One featuring Spider-Man Vs. The Green Goblin and the other, the world’s greatest anti-hero, Deadpool. GMA have decided to team up with two of their favorite artists, Dave Perillo and Chris Thornley (Raid71) to continue both of their character series. Below are details regarding both posters and release date.


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New spy shots of a mid-size SUV from Dongfeng Voyah with the codename H37.
Category: Spy shots
New spy shots of the Fang Cheng Bao Bao 3 Leopard 3 from BYD undergoing winter testing in China.
The post BYD’s Snow Leopard spied – Fang Cheng Bao Bao 3 spy shots from China appeared first on CarNewsChina.com.
Will start at 600,000 yuan ($86,100)
The post Spyshots of 1070 hp Dongfeng Mengshi M-Terrain EV SUV exposed, to be launched next year appeared first on CarNewsChina.com.
General Motors' Baojun to take on Suzuki Jimny in China
The post Wuling’s Baojun electric SUV spied for the first time in China appeared first on CarNewsChina.com.


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By Saabira Chaudhuri
Kraft Foods Group Inc. (KRFT) has named its beverages business president, Deanie Elsner, to the newly created role of chief marketing officer.
"Establishing the CMO position will enable us to harness the power of these tremendous assets," Chief Executive Tony Vernon said Thursday. "Deanie is uniquely qualified to pioneer this role given her success in building some of the world's most iconic brands throughout her 20-year career at Kraft."
In her role as president, Ms. Elsner was responsible for the manufacturing, marketing and sales of Maxwell House coffee, one of the company's billion-dollar brands, as well as Kool-Aid, Capri Sun, Country Time, Crystal Light, Gevalia and Tassimo.
The newly independent packaged-food maker noted that Ms. Elsner headed the beverages business at a time when it launched MiO, a liquid water enhancer that the company said is on pace to exceed $200 million in revenue. Kraft characterized MiO's launch as "one of the most successful new product introductions in Kraft's history."
Earlier this month, Kraft revealed MiO had landed an advertising spot during this year's Super Bowl.
Ms. Elsner had previously managed Kraft Foods Inc.'s European coffee business. She has been with Kraft since 1992. Prior to joining Kraft, Ms. Elsner worked in sales for Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ).
Kraft encompases the North American grocery business of the former Kraft Foods Inc., which spun off its global snacks business last year to create Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ).
Part of the rationale for Kraft Foods Group's split from Mondelez was that each company could adopt a structure that would allow it to better tackle its objectives. For Kraft, that would be operating in a slow-growing business environment, while offering consistent profits and meaty dividends to shareholders.
In November, Kraft reported that its third-quarter earnings rose 13% as progress toward a leaner cost structure allowed the packaged-food maker to pour more money into advertising and increase sales.
Shares edged down by 22 cents to $46.50 in recent trading. The stock has risen 2.3% in the past three months.
Write to Saabira Chaudhuri at email@example.com


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UK new-car registrations fell to their lowest October level since 1991 after a 25 percent drop as a lack of semiconductor chips continued to hit the sector, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) on Thursday.
A total of 106,265 vehicles were registered last month.
Full-year sales are expected to reach 1.66 million vehicles, only 1.9 percent higher than 2020, when COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions were in place, the SMMT said.
The worldwide chip shortage has forced many brands to cut production and increased the waiting times for some buyers as automakers grapple with the fallout from the pandemic.
"The current performance reflects the challenging supply constraints, with the industry battling against semiconductor shortages and increasingly strong economic headwinds as inflation rises, taxes increase and consumer confidence has weakened," SMMT CEO Mike Hawes said.


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U.S. retail sales of video games and gaming systems fell 22 percent in December, capping a year of declining sales for the industry.
Research firm NPD Group said Thursday that overall sales fell to $3.21 billion from $4.1 billion in December 2011.
NPD estimates that sales of new game hardware, software and accessories account for about half of what consumers spend on gaming.
Sales of video games themselves, excluding PC titles, tumbled 26 percent to $1.54 billion. Sales of hardware – gaming systems such as the Xbox 360 and the Wii U – fell 20 percent to $1.07 billion.
“Call of Duty: Black Ops II” from Activision Blizzard was December's top game.
For all of 2012, total game sales dropped 22 percent to $13.26 billion.
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Half of Chinese car buyers say they wouldn’t buy a Japanese car.
Automobile demand in China is cooling in the People’s Republic, but it still ranks as the world’s largest auto industry. Auto makers throughout the world are fighting for new customers and as such, China is a gold mine. Many of the world’s most expensive vehicles are sold there and while more affordable forms of personal transportation aren’t as sexy to look at, they’re big business for major manufacturers.
A study led by Bernstein Research that surveyed approximately 40,000 Chinese consumers suggests that 51 percent would not by a Japanese vehicles and nearly half cited anti-Japanese sentiment as the reason for not wanting to buy.
Cars from Germany are by far the favored choice in China. According to the study, acceptance of Japanese luxury cars is even worse than mainstream models there with only 41 percent of people surveyed saying they would consider a Japanese luxury vehicle.
[Source: Wall Street Journal]


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How Tech News Can Help Your Business
Many fans of new technology developments are always searching for better sites than what they have read already. A list of criteria that you can use as a checklist of information, is a good way to know the latest news in the gaming and gadgets news. Let us briefly discuss a few of these source of information. Some are new to you, others you may have known already. You will find a good source of information as well as you are introduced to many new technologies, and this is the more important thing.
Big companies that are featured in websites are providing the best information about new technologies. Information on what are new are always found in the bigger companies, not in the new or small ones, that high tech fans are following. Thus if the websites you are looking are following these big companies, you would are assured of a reliable information.
Along with the big firms, there are new entrepreneurs that have to be advertised too in the field of new technology. Websites are to create a balance of these two ventures. You can learn to make new things of your own by looking at what are new out there. This is a way to promote innovative discussions between developers and the rest of the tech community.
A large number of bloggers and surfers follow websites that feature reliable news about what’s new in technology, and these tech fans can also offer ideas and suggestions about the subject. Open discussions are created in this situation that would serve as a start of creativity for new developments. You would want a website that encourages communications both ways. Through a message board or blog, the two way communication can be practiced by all experts and users. With the presence of social media, more ways are developed through websites that can get users visit.
The dream of every high tech fan would be to be among the first ones to get hold of the latest software demo of any release. And so, if a website focusing on new technologies can allow these high tech fans to view, then these websites will definitely get a lot of viewers. It is advisable for these websites to have a tie up with the concerned company so as not to abuse some copyright rules.
Sometimes, with so many information online, you can experience an overload of information. Visiting blogs regularly will give you an update on what are new in the technology world. You can trust the information published in the blogs, and these are credible sources of information. The information that bloggers published are reliable and this made the number of these high tech people grow in the past years.
Cited reference: navigate to this web-site


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The story of Crysis, made by the indigenous brothers who made their mark with their graphics at the time of its release, ended seven years ago. After seven years, an interesting sharing about the game, which still catches the eye with its graphics, came.
A statement was made on the official Twitter account of Crysis "Receiving Data", that is "Getting information". This resulted in claims that a new Crysis game or one of the games released so far has been made again. No official release has been made at the moment, but if a new game comes up it is said to be PlayStation 4 and computer oriented. So the new Crysis game may be a remake of new consoles.


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UFO Moviez India announces strategic tie-up with United Media Works
Mumbai, April 20, 2017
UFO Moviez India Limited (UFO) has announced a strategic tie-up with United Media Works Pvt. Limited (UMW), a digital cinema technology and service provider having more than 300 digitized cinema screens on its network in India.
Under this tie up, UFO has acquired long term exclusive rights from UMW to monetize the advertising inventory on these screens, a press release from the company said.
In addition, UFO will share movie content to these screens in UFO M-4 format. However, existing commercial and service arrangement between UMW and its channel partners, exhibitors and distributors shall remain unchanged, it said.
Mr. Rajesh Mishra, CEO Indian Operations, UFO Moviez said, “This strategic move leverages the strengths of both the companies and will be mutually beneficial.”
Mr. Ashish Bhandari and Mr. Sachin Bhandari, Joint Managing Directors, UMW said, “We are very happy to be associated with UFO, the market leader in the digital cinema space, and are confident that this co-operation will be fruitful to both the organizations."
UFO Moviez India Limited is India’s largest digital cinema distribution network and in-cinema advertising platform in terms of number of screens. It operates India’s largest satellite-based, digital cinema distribution network using its UFO-M4 platform, as well as India’s largest D-Cinema network.
As on December 31, 2016, its global network, along with its subsidiaries and associates, spans 6,674 screens worldwide, including 5,052 screens across India and Nepal and 1,622 screens across the Middle East (UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Lebanon and Jordan), Israel, Mexico and the USA serviced by its subsidiary Scrabble Entertainment Ltd.
The company has also created a pan India, high impact in-cinema advertising platform with generally long-term advertising rights to 3,737 screens, with an aggregate seating capacity of approximately 1.74 million viewers and a reach of 1,911 locations across India, as on December 31, 2016.


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Have a listen here.
Yesterday the Justice Department sued Apple and five major publishers over their e-book pricing model, alleging price fixing. Associate Director of Technology Studies Ryan Radia thinks the lawsuit is a mistake, and should be dropped.
Bryan Caplan argues that antitrust enforcement literally kills people. It’s a startling claim to make, but hear him out. One thing that people do when they have a lot of money is give to charity. Bill Gates, one of the richest men in the world, has given away billions of dollars and saved countless lives. If not for the Microsoft antitrust case back in the 1990s, he would be able to save even more people:
If Gates’ philanthropy is as efficacious as most people think, there’s a shocking implication: The antitrust case against Microsoft had a massive body count. Gates saves about one life for every $5000 he spends. If the case cost him $5B, and he would have given away 48%, antitrust killed 480,000 people. If the case cost him $5B, and he would have given away every penny, antitrust killed a million people. Imagine how many people would be dead today if the government managed to bring Microsoft to its knees, and Gates to bankrutpcy. It staggers the imagination.
Have a listen here.
The Department of Justice sued this week to stop the proposed AT&T-T-Mobile merger. Associate Director of Technology Studies Ryan Radia thinks this is a mistake. The evidence that the merger would make the wireless market less competitive is unconvincing. Nobody knows if the merger will succeed or not. Either way, consumer harm is unlikely.
Posted in Antitrust, CEI Podcast, Economics, Technology
Tagged Antitrust, at&t, at&t merger, at&t t-mobile merger, department of justice, doj, justice department, ryan radia, t-mobile, t-mobile merger, wireless
Today, the Department of Justice sued to stop the proposed AT&T-T-Mobile merger. They claim to know in advance how the merger will affect the mobile market for years to come. It’s an example of F.A. Hayek’s fatal conceit. Of course, most people haven’t read Hayek. So over in the Daily Caller, I use a better known thinker to make the same point:
The philosopher Yogi Berra once said that “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” Let’s apply his lesson to the proposed $39 billion AT&T-T-Mobile merger…
Competitors are also surprisingly confident in their ability to predict the future. A Sprint spokeswoman said that “Sprint applauds the DOJ for conducting a careful and thorough review and for reaching a just decision … Today’s action will preserve American jobs, strengthen the American economy, and encourage innovation.”
This translates roughly to “We think the merger would make the market more competitive. We were scared that we’d have to work harder to innovate and cut costs to keep our customers happy. Whew.”
Most mergers fail. Nobody knows if a merged AT&T and T-Mobile would offer a better, cheaper product line. The only way to find out is trial and, often, error. The Justice Department’s astounding claim that it knows the merger’s effects in advance is either proof of its superior enlightenment, or else the height of hubris. I’m guessing the latter.
Read the whole thing here.
Posted in Antitrust, Economics
Tagged Antitrust, at&t, at&t merger, at&t-t-mobilr merger, competition, daily caller, doj, fatal conceit, hayek, justice department, t-mobile, yogi berra
A few months ago, the FCC said it would hand down a decision on whether to allow AT&T and T-Mobile to merge within 180 days. August 26 was day 83. The FCC decided to reset the clock to zero. So now it will be as long as another 6 months before the FCC announces its verdict.
There’s a comment to made here about regulatory uncertainty. There’s another one to make about the value of the FCC keeping its word. But instead I’ll concentrate on Sen. Al Franken’s recent remarks. “I am very suspicious of consolidation of power,” he told MinnPost.com.
“Big is bad” is an old argument. Age has not given it wisdom, however. Suppose a super-size phone company like a merged AT&T-T-Mobile is so big, clunky, and inefficient that it has to charge higher prices. What a golden opportunity for smaller, leaner competitors like Verizon and Sprint to swoop in and gain market share.
Now suppose instead that the merger gives AT&T and T-Mobile better economies of scale and a faster, more reliable network. Consumers flee their previous networks to join a better, cheaper one. This is hardly consumer harm – which after all, is the usual rationale for antitrust regulations.
Nobody knows if the proposed merger will work or not. But a company’s size doesn’t have much to do with whether a merger should be allowed. If a merger gives diseconomies of scale, consumers will punish it. If it improves service and prices, consumers will reward it.
Unlike the FCC, markets are impartial. Consumers are the proper arbiters of this proposed merger. Let them hand down the verdict.
Posted in Antitrust, Economics, Technology
Tagged anitrust regulations, Antitrust, at&t, at&t t-mobile merger, at&t-t-mobile, att-tmobile merger, corporate mergers, fcc, mergers, t-mobile
The Constitution’s Commerce Clause gives Congress the power to regulate commerce. What does that mean, exactly? Over at the Daily Caller, my colleague Jacque Otto and I explain that regulation is about making commerce regular: no barriers to entry or trade, clear, understandable, and consistent rules, and so on.
Most of what people call regulation doesn’t have anything to with regular commerce. These kinds of rules are more accurately called interventions.
These interventions didn’t appear out of thin air, either:
One important reason regulators intervene is that many businesses want them to — businesses spend considerable effort and resources lobbying Washington to that end. For the most part, American companies compete on quality, price, or other consumer preferences. But on too many occasions, some companies try to use regulatory interventions to dispatch the competition. Sprint’s efforts to squander AT&T’s proposed purchase of T-Mobile are emblematic of this troubling trend.
Lessons abound for antitrust regulators — sorry, interveners.
Posted in Antitrust, Economics, regulation
Tagged Antitrust, at&t merger, at&t t-mobile merger, commerce clause, constitution, interveners, intervention, irregular commerce, regular commerce, regulation, regulators, sprint
Posted in regulation
Tagged amazon tax, Antitrust, at&t t-mobile merger, bb gun regulations, charlotte, copyright law, donut arrest, economic freedom in states, lip-synching ban, los angeles, mercatus, pruning regulations, pruning trees, wayne crews, women arrested for eating donuts
HHS is about to issue over 1,000 pages of new regulations stemming from last year’s health care bill. That’s not a huge surprise, considering the bill is about 2,000 pages long.
But these regulations all come from a 6-page section covering accountable care organizations, or ACOs.
According to Politico, John Gorman, who runs a health care consulting firm, “expects a 1,000-page rule to come out on Thursday, March 31—because he doesn’t think HHS will want to deal with releasing the regulations on April Fool’s Day.”
Posted in Health Care, regulation
Tagged accountable care organizations, aco, Antitrust, gorman health group, hcr, Health Care, health care bill, health care reform, john gorman, regulation
Have a listen here.
CEI Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews talks about why antitrust actually hurts competition, and offers some ideas for regulatory reform based on his recent articles for BigGovernment.com and The Washington Times, and on his annual Ten Thousand Commandments report.
Posted in Antitrust, CEI Podcast, Economics, regulation
Tagged 10000 commandments, 10kc, Antitrust, biggovernment.com, cei, ceipodcast, podcast, regulation, regulatory reform, ten thousand commandments, washington times, wayne crews


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Micromax In 1 will be launching in India on March 19. Now ahead of the launch, Micromax has started teasing its upcoming smartphone. The phone will be exclusively sold on Flipkart.
Micromax In 1 design is now revealed on the company’s official website. As per the official listing, Micromax In 1 will come with a punch-hole display on the front. It sports an X-shaped pattern on the back. The rear part will house a fingerprint scanner and a rectangle-shaped camera module. It will be available in blue and silver colours.
Separately, Micromax In 1 specs have been leaked by XDA Developers Senior Writer Tushar Mehta. As per the leaked information, Micromax In 1 will come with a 6.67-inch Full HD+ display with a resolution of 1080 x 2460 pixels and 450nits maximum brightness. It will have a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner.
For the camera, Micromax In 1 will come with a triple-camera setup with a combination of 48-megapixel primary camera and two 2-megapixel lenses. Mehta claims that the phone won’t have an ultrawide camera. The phone will come with an 8-megapixel front camera sensor.
Under the hood, the phone will be powered by a MediaTek Helio G80 SoC which will be coupled with up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage.
The Micromax In 1 is slated to feature a 5,000mAh battery. It may also feature 18W fast charging. It is expected to run on the stock version of Android 11 OS.


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Gemalto’s Trusted Services Management (TSM) data centre in Singapore has achieved MasterCard and Visa certification (view press release). Gemalto customers will now be able to distribute MasterCard and Visa mobile payment services to their end users. The company claims this certification confirms its readiness for supporting banks, mobile operators and other service providers in their NFC deployments across Asia and globally. Gemalto already has TSM centres in the US and France, and the addition of a third centre in a different continent will help the company provide business continuity to its customers with up to 99.9% uptime disaster recovery capabilities with the Platinum-level offer. KDDI in Japan and the IDA-supported consortium in Singapore are some of the new centre’s first customers.
“The TSM data centre in Singapore will provide the highest level of security, while ensuring high availability with 24/7 service,” said Jean-Claude Deturche, Gemalto’s SVP of Mobile Financial Services. “With markets in Asia ready for massive adoption of NFC services, our certified centre in Singapore is ready to serve our customers.”


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Many are predicting an economic downturn due to inflation rates, recent market performance, and continued global uncertainty caused by events like the Russia war in Ukraine. Forward-thinking companies are starting to prepare now.
A huge lesson from the COVID pandemic was just how fragile supply chains are, and how dependent businesses are on them. When storms are ahead, we tend to see two types of company reactions: those who stay with the “status quo” and those that accelerate IT investment and digitization.
The digitization of supply chain risk management (SCRM) is still growing. Surprisingly, even post-COVID pandemic, recent Gartner research cited that only 21% of supply chain organizations believe they have a highly resilient network today. The best way to weather any upcoming downturn is to improve supply chain resiliency, particularly focusing on digitizing supply chain risk and compliance.
The following are five reasons companies should double-down on their SCRM IT investment before heading into an economic downturn.
1. “Status quo” SCRM operations require significant resources
Avetta did a study on how many full-time employees (FTEs) it takes to proactively operate a successful SCRM program without technology. Our findings show that it takes 18.3 FTEs to proactively manage every 1,000 suppliers. That’s an average of $2.2 million per 1,000 suppliers.
What do we mean by “proactively operate a successful SCRM program”?
- Collecting your organization’s global safety, environmental, ESG & sustainability, legal, business, insurance, and compliance requirements
- Onboarding suppliers and sharing these compliance criteria with them
- Collecting documentation and evidence to assess whether they meet these criteria
- Sending documentation back and providing feedback on gaps if a supplier does not meet your company’s requirements
- Ongoing safety, ESG, financial stability, sanctions list, and worker compliance monitoring
- Supplier support, messaging, and communications
- Site induction, terms and conditions, and corporate and sustainability training
- Contract worker compliance, including site access and badging
2. Manual operations cause more incidents
The simple fact is that no company dedicates 18.3 full-time employees per 1,000 suppliers to manage their supply chain operations. This means that good compliance operations are either not done or are conducted by people who are doing other jobs. As a result, suppliers are likely not trained, educated, or monitored well, which translates to more incidents, accidents, and out-of-compliance events.
3. Incidents are expensive
The National Safety Council (NSC) cites a safety accident as costing $47,000 per accident, and a fatality costing $1.2 million per fatality. Countless other types of incidents (environmental, cyber, financial, etc.) can impact your supply chain and are each quite costly, including the following examples.
- Environmental incidents can cost between $3,000 and $1 million per violation in regulatory fees
- The global average cost of a data breach is $3.86 million
- The U.S. issued $20.9 million in sanctions violations fines in 2021
4. Supply chain disruptions are costly
A Gartner article on SCRM cited that 89% of companies experienced a supplier risk event in the past five years. In this McKinsey report, they stated a long-term disruption could cost companies 30-50% of a year’s EBIDTA and even a disruption that lasts only 30 days could equal losses of 3-5% of EBITDA. Disruptions are caused by accidents, natural disasters, key suppliers going bankrupt or caught in fraud, a cyber-attack, sanctions violations, and many other hidden risks.
5. Brand damage is the most expensive
Many brands don’t recover when they are caught doing business with a contractor involved in a dangerous activity or illegal operations like bribery, child labor, or slave labor. Also, if a supplier leads to an accident or data breach of confidential information, it’s the organization that hired them whose brand is damaged, regardless of whether the liability for the event sits with the supplier.
Harvard Business Review found that 70-80% of an organization’s market value comes from intangible assets like brand reputation. In a study by The Economist, business leaders say the biggest consequence of supply chain disruption is “tarnished brand reputation.” 30% of those leaders have seen more customer complaints due to supply chain issues, and 23% saw less business from regular customers.
The Solution for a Strong Supply Chain
Deploying a multi-risk, global SCRM platform like Avetta One can not only surface hidden risk in your supply chain but can also streamline operations and profitability.
Here are three critical reasons for digitalizing your SCRM program on a platform like Avetta One:
1. Resiliency: Organizations that use the Avetta One SaaS platform can see whether their suppliers have credit problems, liens against their business, a history of safety or environmental incidents, past or current legal proceedings, sanctions violations, or do not have complaint polices or programs in place. These are leading indicators of the health and risk of any supplier that a company may depend upon. If a supplier is at high risk, companies can use the Avetta pre-qualified network to source alternative or backup suppliers that provide similar services in similar regions.
2. Agility: During the COVID pandemic, Avetta companies were able to communicate and deploy new COVID-19 protocols to their entire supply chains in a matter of weeks. By utilizing the Avetta messaging center and compliance tasks lists, new policies were communicated, deployed, and assessed in real-time. As new risk and compliance programs are rapidly evolving, having a digital and collaborative network to manage your supply chain will provide new levels of agility.
3. Cost Savings: Avetta has conducted many ROI and case studies with its clients. Companies that use Avetta on average see:
- Supplier compliance rates above 80%
- Reduced safety incidents between 10% and 30%
- Annual savings of $8 million to $12 million
Economic storms may lie ahead, but your supply chain risks do not have to stay hidden as you weather uncertain economic conditions. The good news is an investment in a SCRM platform today will drive streamlined operations, business continuity, and cost savings that will solidify your supply chain against whatever the future has in store.


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Jimmy John's says thanks with $1 subs
Jimmy John's is offering select $1 subs in honor of Customer Appreciation Day,
The deal is offered from 4 to 8 p.m. May 2 at locations nationwide. The "Subs So Fast You'll Freak" franchise has six restaurants in Tallahassee. One sub per customer. No delivery for the $1 subs.
- 699 W Gaines St.
- 1080 W Tennessee St.
- 1925 Apalachee Pkwy
- 2047 W Pensacola St.
- 1890 Thomasville Road
- 1450 Timberlane Road
“$1 Sub Day is a fun event for Jimmy John’s owners across the country to say thanks to our loyal customers and fans! If you haven’t tried JJ’s yet, come in and check out what Jimmy Fresh™ is all about,” said founder Jimmy John Liautaud, in a statement.
Contact TaMaryn Waters at firstname.lastname@example.org or follow @TaMarynWaters on Twitter.


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Registration is now open for the Cold Pressure Council annual event, that will feature High Pressure Processing (HPP) best practices, market trends and tips for packaging HPP products. Practical and valuable insights will be shared by leading food & beverage processors and HPP industry suppliers. The event will take place on June 18th – 20th of 2018 at the Westin Chicago Northwest. Continue reading
High Pressure Processing (HPP) has come a long way since its beginnings as a shelf-life solution for refrigerated dips, spreads, deli meats and cold beverages. Now, there is a projected $10 billion market on the horizon with a growing capability that will bring new products and trends for the technology in the next upcoming years.


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Aspire technology solutions has announced a contract to drive forward one of the UK’s best known motor retailers.
The Gateshead-based company has signed a deal with Benfield, the North East’s largest independent motor group, after a competitive tender process that involved nine national firms.
The total contract value is estimated at around £500,000 over three years and discussions have already taken place regarding additional services in 2015.
The deal will help Benfield achieve its aims to provide exceptional customer service across its dealership network, recognising the increasing need for greater internet bandwidth due to the growing use of hand-held devices such as iPads and tablets to enhance the customer experience in car sales and maintenance.
Gerard Murray, group finance director at Benfield Motor Group said: “This new contact with Aspire will enhance our sales and service experience for all our customers.
“In the digital age we are being faced with ever increasing demands to integrate hand-held devices to assist with our own internal processes and to aid our customers’ access to relevant applications to support their purchasing decision.
“It is important for our business that we increase our bandwidth provision with the implementation of a new highly resilient Wide Area Network (WAN) to ensure that we stay at the forefront of advances in the motor retail market and continually improve efficiency.”
Lewis Clemmet of Aspire added; “The Wide Area Network will mean that all of the Benfield sites are highly resilient and networked together for maximum efficiency.”


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YOU know what it’s like – wading through the virtual sewage of Facebook statuses dedicated to ‘the most amazing boyfriend in the world ever’ and being ‘the luckiest boy in the world to have found my soul mate’.
It’s enough to make you feel queasy, right? Well, you’re not alone. According to research by eBay, the vaguely venereal-sounding Social Display of Affection (SDA) has overtaken the Public Display of Affection (PDA) as the most biggest annoyance of singletons and couples alike.
The research showed that just over a quarter (26 per cent) of Brits admit seeing their friends gush about how much they love their partners on social media is top of the Valentine’s Day sick list.
At the same time, posting a boastful picture of a gift online turns one in three females into the green-eyed monster.
Apparently 38 per cent of us feel under pressure to show off our gifts online and 24 per cent of women admit they hint at wanting thoughtful presents simply so they can brag.
When it comes to Valentine’s Day gifting, eBay.co.uk reveals that a present from an unwanted admirer is the most embarrassing, and receiving flowers at work a close second.
More than half of women (55%) state that ‘something thoughtful’ is what they want the most.
eBay’s research also revealed the top 5 gifts. It seems girls are fairly easy to please
Top 5 Valentine’s Day Gifts:
1. Perfume (50%)
2. Jewellery (46%)
3. Music (19%)
4. Handbag (17%)
5. Lingerie (15%)
The average Brit will spend £30 on their partner with men spending an average of 48% more than women, according to the research.
eBay has seen a steep increase in sales of lingerie (59%) from brands and retailers available on the site including the likes of Figleaves, Debenhams and House of Fraser.
Presents such as Links of London charm bracelets have also shot up 49% over the last couple of weeks in the lead up to the romantic day.
Laura Wilkinson-Rea of eBay said: “Give your loved one something to boast about this Valentine’s. Whether you’re looking for a loved ones favourite scent; accessories to go with a date night outfit or something that simply says I love you, eBay.co.uk has a fantastic selection of gifts to chose from.”
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SINGAPORE - E-payments service provider Nets will roll out new features to help hawkers fight fraud as more than half of all stallholders here accept cashless payments.
The enhancements on the NETSBiz App used by hawkers and small retailers will include larger fonts, distinct payment alerts and colours to highlight new transactions.
They are set to be rolled out progressively from next month and are meant to help hawkers track their transactions easily, said Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran on Friday (Feb 19).
"All of this is really designed based on feedback from the stall holders to make it easier for them to recognise that a transaction has in fact been recorded and executed," said Mr Iswaran, noting that fraud is present on all kinds of transaction platforms.
"I think as we go forward we need to raise the education and awareness (of the risks involved), even as we promote the usage of (e-payments)," he said.
In media reports late last year, hawkers said they have been cheated by opportunistic customers who show them screenshots of fake or old transactions as "proof" of payment.
This comes as more hawkers joined the Hawkers Go Digital scheme, with 10,000 stallholders now accepting e-payments.
More than 1.2 million e-payment transactions worth over $14 million were made last month, a fourfold increase from when the programme was first launched in June, said Mr Iswaran.
The minister gave the update during a visit to the Whampoa Drive Hawker Centre on Friday.
The scheme aims to help all 18,000 stallholders here adopt the national e-payment system, the Singapore Quick Response Code (SGQR). Under the scheme, hawkers are offered incentives of up to $1,500 for adopting e-payments, and over 7,400 have already been granted the bonus.
The eligibility period for the bonus has also been extended from 31 December last year to May 31 this year to encourage more to go digital, said Mr Iswaran.
Speaking on the progress of the scheme, Mr Iswaran said: "When you look at it in totality, it's been a good programme. I think it is getting good reception and traction amongst our hawkers, but we need to continue to work and respond to their needs."
Stallholders said their customers have also taken some time to get used to the new payments system.
Madam Lim Meng Kee, 68, who operates a fruits stall in the hawker centre, said there has been a slow but steady increase in the number of customers opting for cashless payments.
"Some people may take some time to make the payment and our other customers may be impatient.
"But for a start it's okay, we have to progress," said Madam Lim, who sees about one cashless transaction a day now, up from just 10 in the first month.
Others go one step further and encourage their other customers to go digital too.
Madam Tan Soo Kheng, 67, who sells apparel in the hawker centre, said many of her older customers do not know how to make cashless transactions.
"I tell them to go to the community centres to learn how to use these tools," said Madam Tan.
"We cannot be afraid to learn."


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Chef John “The Butcher” Curry has been creating a lot of frozen meals in the past few years, but one of his newest ventures is a cookbook, Frozen Chef John.
Chef Curry has created a cook book titled Frozen Chef, which is available on Amazon and other online retailers.
The book is set in a world where everything is frozen and is not the same everywhere.
He has also created a video series, which he’s putting together, in which he talks about how he created this frozen meal in the kitchen.
Check out a video of Curry talking about his new cookbook below:Frozen Chef is being released on August 15.
The book is currently available for preorder on Amazon.com, as well as other online booksellers.


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In a new report for the UK newspaper The Guardian, Apple Senior VP of Environmental Initiatives Lisa Jackson has acknowledged that the company needs to do more to facilitate more use of renewable energy by its suppliers and partners as well as itself. The iPhone maker has had tremendous success in converting its data centers to renewable energy, and has implemented similar measures in 120 of its stores. The next target, the paper says, is its Arizona sapphire glass plant.
Top Stories | AAPL Stock: 98.15 ( -0.23 )
8 hours ago | Posted in: digital imaging, networking, Apple
Parliant has announced the release of its new voice messaging product for Mac users, Echoes. Functioning on a local network, users can contact other Macs running Echoes and send a voice message instantly, without the need for "dialing" like Skype or FaceTime. To send a voice announcement, one selects "Announce" from the Echoes icon found in the menu bar. Users can announce to both individuals or groups, and quickly reply to the sender of the last received announcement. Keyboard shortcuts for sending and replying can be set, and the last announcement made can be re-sent without re-recording. Priced at $10, Echoes is available through the App Store.
Customer service analytics company StellaService has released a new report that ranks Apple as number one for online delivery speed, up from an eighth-place ranking in April. The iPhone maker captured the top spot for the first time in June with an average processing-and-delivery time of just 2.3 days, beating mostly online clothing outlets such as Abercrombie, Zappos, Nike and others. In a separate study that ranked all aspects of customer service, Apple was topped by J. Crew and Mr Porter.
10 hours ago | Posted in: security, developer, iPhone apps, iPad apps
AgileBits, makers of the security and password vault 1Password, are among the first to implement and preview an iOS 8 extension and third-party Touch ID support, allowing other app makers to utilize the program's stored passwords outside of the 1Password app itself. Apple announced the concept of iOS extensions at June's Worldwide Developer Conference, which enables one app to use tools or services found in a different app in a secure manner.
11 hours ago | Posted in: industry, mobile phones
Last week, one of the largest mobile carriers in the United States announced it would begin throttling some unlimited accounts that access 4G LTE. Verizon stated that it would begin the effort in October, but it would be limited to only the top five percent of data users on unlimited plans. While the slowdown won't have an effect on all LTE customers, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler believes that the new policy is running afoul of several regulations.
Six weeks after it rebutted a New York Times editorial that cast doubt on Apple's CEO, investment firm UBS has again praised Tim Cook's vision and leadership of Apple in a note to clients. In particular, analyst Steven Milunovich was taken with Cook's plans to expand iOS to automotive, gym, medical and home markets through its CarPlay, HealthKit and HomeKit initiatives, as well as the continuing growth of the entire OS X and iOS eco-systems, which the company refers to as "the Applesphere."
13 hours ago | Posted in: Apple
Apple released a new update for MacBook Air EFI firmware today, updating to version 2.9.1 for "Mid-2011" models of the notebook. The company states that the update fixes a few issues for owners facing problems with waking from sleep and fans running at full speed in a specific instance. The update replaces a previous version that caused a number of additional problems for owners.
14 hours ago | Posted in: troubleshooting, software, developer, Apple
Apple has started seeding the first beta of OS X 10.9.5 to developers. The code is listed as built 13F7, and available through the Developer Center. Users are asked to focus testing on just a handful of areas, including Safari, graphics, and USB, including smart cards.
15 hours ago | Posted in: industry, peripherals, Apple
Apple is indeed working on a new set-top that will let people will watch both live and on-demand TV, but won't have it ready until sometime in 2015, a source indicates. Engineers at the company are allegedly being told not to expect to ship the device this year, and working along that timeline. The issue is claimed to be cable companies "dragging their heels," and the possible Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger, which together are interfering not only with the device but a matching TV service.
Although the takeover has yet to be fully approved legally, some workers and technology resources are already being shifted from Beats to Apple, sources say. Apple executives have allegedly visited Beats' California headquarters this week and the last, offering some workers new positions at Apple while telling others that their jobs will be cut. Many Beats employees in creative or development roles are being offered work at Apple; many of these are allegedly headed to Apple's Cupertino's headquarters, but the company is keeping both the Santa Monica offices and some engineers associated with Beats Music.
16 hours ago | Posted in: gaming, peripherals
Peripheral producer Logitech has created what it claims is the world's fastest gaming mouse ever manufactured. The G402 Hyperion Fury uses Logitech's Fusion Engine system on a built-in 32-bit ARM processor for tracking, allowing it to keep up with tracking speeds faster than 500 inches per second, more than the preceding G502 Proteus Core's 300 inches per second tracking.
16 hours ago | Posted in: software, Graphics/Web Design
Quark has released a v10.2 update for QuarkXPress, its flagship publishing software. The code makes significant feature additions, for instance letting people adjust rendering quality for different balances between performance and fidelity. Users can also add notes to projects that are separate from content and exportable as PDFs; redlines meanwhile show where changes have been made, and allow groups to approve or reject them.
In an interview, electronics retailer Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly believes that the day of the tablet may already be over. Citing observations at his stores, the CEO claims that the company has "actually had a revival of the PC business at Best Buy," giving credit to Microsoft for discontinuation of Windows XP, and to Apple for continuing to innovate for consumers.
The Russian government has proposed that two Western companies, Apple and SAP, grant access to their source code so it can determine whether or not products are tools for spying on state organizations and/or the public, Reuters reports. Russia's communications minister, Nikolai Nikiforov, is said to have made the request when he met last week with Apple's local general manager, Peter Nielsen, and SAP's local managing director, Vyacheslav Orekhov. In an official Communications Ministry statement, Nikiforov comments that "Edward Snowden's revelations in 2013 and US intelligence services' public statements about the strengthening of surveillance of Russia in 2014 have raised a serious question of trust in foreign software and hardware."
Last week, we launched the Crowdfunding Critic here on MacNN and Electronista, and promised that every Tuesday and Thursday we'd highlight a new campaign. While we were working on yesterday's selection, we got wind of this -- the Modbook Pro X, by Modbook, Inc., a modification of Apple's 15.4-inch MacBook Pro into a massive pen-enabled tablet. Based on it, we decided to do our second article in the series a day late, but we think this one is worth the wait.
19 hours ago | Posted in: Apple
Apple has updated a promotional page to let shoppers know about tax holidays coming up in nine US states between August 1st and the 3rd. The states include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Tennessee. During the holidays, Apple has said it will drop sales tax charges for qualifying purchases made online or at retail. Although taxes will still appear during online checkouts, proper totals should appear in email confirmations.
20 hours ago | Posted in: networking, iPad
Free voice, texting, and data service provider FreedomPop is extending its plans to tablets, starting with the Apple iPad mini and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3, according to an announcement. In the case of Minis, subscribers will be given mic-equipped Apple headphones and a special app, allowing them to make calls through FreedomPop's VoIP platform. Each person will have a unique phone number, and associated features such as voicemail and the ability to port that number to a different device or carrier.
Freeway Pro features a traditional page layout approach that can help users create dynamic sites without the need to write code. Within the software users can visually layout a page with embedded images and content, then instantly publish it to a server, .Mac account, or local folder. A host of new features are included in the v7.0 release, including support for media types and widths, support for Universal Analytics in the Google Analytics Action, and new View menu options with keyboard shortcuts which allow selection of the next/previous sibling box, and the ancestor/first descendant element.
NetShade is a tool for routing an Internet connection through either a public anonymous proxy server, or through NetShades own dedicated proxy. This allows users to mask their IP address and improve security while browsing the web. Version 6.0 introduces the new KeyShade password manager, as well as an updated interface. A new Tiles view is also included, along with a customizable Events system and AppleScript support.
Drive Genius is a storage management utility that features a number of tools for optimizing and repairing hard drives. The v3.2.4 update resolves an incompatibility problem with DriveSlim that could occur with certain applications running on OS X 10.8 or later.
Porthole allows users to stream audio from their favorite music source to an AirPort Express, AirPlay speakers, or Apple TV. In v1.7.1, the software will now default to using a monochrome stays bar icon to make sure the software still looks good with Yosemite’s dark theme. A number of other icons in the status bar menu have also been updated and a Polish localization has been added.
Toast Titanium is a tool for burning CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs on the Mac. The software includes a number of tools for burning projects, including SonicFire Pro 5, HD video authoring, video format presets, and more. The latest update allows users to record directly from their screen with Live Screen Capture. The ability to burn HD videos on standard DVDs for playback on Blu-ray players has also been added.
21 hours ago | Posted in: computers
The same Apple support document that references a 2014 Mac mini also lists a "mid 2014" 27-inch iMac, checks show. It's mentioned alongside a 2014 21.5-inch iMac, but that presumably refers to the low-end model Apple introduced in June. To meet a mid-2014 launch date, Apple would have to ship an updated 27-inch system within the next month.
The question of how much productivity you can get done on the Apple iPad is one that has persisted since its introduction. Even if the question is not an easy one to answer, it seems almost irrelevant to even ask when one looks at how massively successful the iPad has been since its introduction. The question also depends on what one defines as being 'productivity,' when it has been clear for some time that plenty of people can and do use iPads for getting work done, particularly in creative endeavors. The recently announced partnership between Apple and IBM in enterprise, coupled with the arrival of Microsoft Office for iPad suggests that the iPad's capability in the workplace will be properly tested given that IBM also becomes an official Apple reseller and will help to shift many more units into the workplace.
Wed July 30, 2014 | Posted in: software, accessories, Apple
WaterField has announced the release of new sizes for two of its bags, designed to fit the previous and refreshed MacBook Pro Retina laptops. The new 15-inch Outback Solo will fit the 15-inch MacBook Pro Retina, and the new 13-inch Indy leather satchelfits the smaller Retina.
Wed July 30, 2014 | Posted in: accessories, audio
Finding a speaker purpose-built for a specific need is challenging. Even when a Bluetooth speaker can be paired with a mobile device, it doesn't mean that it's the right speaker for the job. When it comes to tablets, a speaker that can be kept to the side may not be the best purchase for something that's meant to be as portable as possible. So why not look for a device that can attach to an iPad or Android tablet, like the Adesso Xtream S3B speaker? Does the Adesso speaker provide enough of a boost to sound while retaining the original portability? Find out in our review.
Tue July 29, 2014 | Posted in: software, iPhone apps, iPad apps
Microsoft on Tuesday issued a significant update of its free note-taking application, OneNote. The new version, 2.3, adds a number of user-requested features, including the ability to insert files into notes, add PDF printouts to any notebook page alongside a users' own notes, copy and paste formatted text and more -- as well as lock or unlock password-protected sections created in OneNote for Windows. The update affects all versions of the app, including iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Tue July 29, 2014 | Posted in: industry, mobile phones, Apple
On the release of its first set of statistics following last month's report of a two percent drop in Mac sales (that turned out to be a 16 percent gain), IDC has made the term "shipments" more prominent in its latest report on smartphone share worldwide. Although its reports have always been based on shipment data rather than on sales to end-users, the company emphasized the term in its latest set of numbers, and noted that both Apple and Samsung lost share to smaller Chinese smartphone makers.
Twitter released its quarterly results today, showing a strong surge in business during the second quarter of its 2014 fiscal year. The company posted revenues of $312 million, compared to only $139 million during the year-ago quarter. The increase represents a 129 percent increase year-over-year. The social media company also saw an increase in users compared to the results from the previous year.
Painting itself in an altruistic, pro-consumer light, Amazon in a post posing as an "update" on the Hachette standoff -- that has prevented customers from buying print or e-book editions from the publisher because Amazon refuses to fill orders -- explains that it is putting pressure on Hachette (and other publishers soon to follow) to lower the wholesale price of e-books to where Amazon can make a profit on them selling them at $10 or less. Amazon argues that e-books "must stay competitive" against all other forms of media.
Tue July 29, 2014 | Posted in: industry
In the quest to give its users a better streaming experience, Netflix has reached an agreement with AT&T to gain a direct network connection. The two companies revealed that they entered into a peering deal after news broke from anonymous sources that the movie service reached another streaming arrangement. Previously, Netflix had worked out similar deals with Verizon and Comcast.
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Tiffany & Co. marks the 175th anniversary of its founding with a celebration last month at Tsunamachi Mitsui club (Minato Ward, Tokyo.)
One of the biggest highlights that captured the world’s attention is the unveiling of the Tiffany Diamond’s new setting — it is now the centerpiece of a spectacular necklace, and Japan was the first place outside of the Unites States to display it.
DID YOU KNOW...
The famous Tiffany Diamond is one of the largest fancy yellow diamonds in the world.
Unofficial Photo ... I grab from internet
hope you will like it
I bring you the latest scoops from product launches, chic looks to behind the scenes in all things stylish & beautiful!


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A Claude Monet painting was sold at a record price, $110.7 million, at an auction held in New York on Tuesday. It is the highest price that a Monet masterpiece fetches.
The painting, which is part of the Impressionist painter's “Meules” (Haystacks) series, was initially bought by an anonymous collector in 1986 at a Christie's auction for just $2.5 million.
"We feel -- and I think people when they stand in front of this would largely agree -- that this is an even nicer example" than the one sold in 2016, Sotheby's Julian Dawes told AFP.
"It's enchanting. You just can't look away,” he said.
The anonymous collector who brought the painting to be auctioned had purchased it in 1986 at Christie's for just $2.5 million.
"This could be a defining moment for Monet's market," Dawes said.
"Something that I really like about impressionism in general is that the market tends to be really consistent. People love impressionism," he added.
"It doesn't change from generation to generation. These paintings are 150 years old and they've always been beloved."


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ScreamingMedia to buy Inlumen
ScreamingMedia to by Inlumen
October 29, 2002
by David B. Wilkerson
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- ScreamingMedia, a provider of web-based analytical services to financial services companies, said Tuesday it has agreed to buy privately held rival Inlumen for cash and stock.
Separately, ScreamingMedia said its board of directors approved the company's decision to change its name to Pinnacor Inc. to reflect the evolution of its asset mix. The name change will be effective Nov. 1.
ScreamingMedia would pick up 58 new customers in the Inlumen deal, and its Stockpoint analytical tool would be capable of offering real-time streaming technology and advanced news alerting capability, the company said.
Inlumen generated revenue of $1.2 million in the September quarter, the company said.
ScreamingMedia said it expects Inlumen to boost the value of contracts derived from financial services products to about 69 percent.
"The combination of ScreamingMedia and Inlumen will help us generate new revenue streams and deliver increased shareholder value," said Kirk Loevner, president and chief executive of ScreamingMedia, in a statement.
The acquisition, expected to close in November, will begin contributing to ScreamingMedia's cash flow and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization immediately, the company said.
Shares of ScreamingMedia (SCRM) closed unchanged Monday at $1.29.
David B. Wilkerson is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in San Francisco.


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Oculus Rift Was Always Going to Launch Without Touch Controllers
The Touch controllers are coming in the second half of 2016.
It was never Oculus VR's plan to launch Oculus Rift with the device's Touch controllers, according to creator Palmer Luckey. He said during a roundtable discussion attended by Ars Technica that Oculus instead wanted to focus on more traditional, gamepad-based titles for Rift's launch later this month.
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"We never planned on launching Touch with Rift," the 23-year-old inventor said. "We're going to have a really great Touch lineup later in the year, but we really wanted to focus on the games people have been working on for years with gamepads right now."
Luckey went on to say that he did not want to "force people to buy [hand-tracking] controllers they might not even be interested in. that are only useful for certain genres especially when there's a very limited content library so far."
By comparison, the $800 HTC Vive will come with a pair of motion controllers when it launches in April, while Move controllers are already available ahead of PlayStation VR's launch in October.
Rift's Touch controllers are scheduled to launch in the second half of 2016, though a specific release date and price have not yet been announced. For more on the unique controllers, you can check out GameSpot's hands-on video above.
In explaining the Touch delay back in December, Oculus said is needed to push the release out to allow time to implement changes related to "significant advances in ergonomics, and we're implementing many changes that make Touch even more comfortable, reliable, and natural."
The strange-looking, circular Touch--announced during an Oculus event in June--is comprised of two controllers, one for each of your hands. Each has a traditional analog stick, two buttons, and an analog trigger, as well as haptic feedback and what Oculus calls the "hand trigger." Touch is also capable of tracking "a set of finger poses" that work to "recognize natural hand poses like pointing, waving, or giving a thumbs-up."
Luckey describes Touch as "a pair of track controllers" that offer "hand presence, the sense of feeling as though your virtual hands are actually your real hands. This is critical to nailing the sense of overall presence. Once you have your hands involved, you really need tracking to be absolutely perfect, accurate, and low latency, or you're going to feel like your hands are dead."
Touch won't be the only way to control Rift games. Through a partnership with Microsoft, every Rift will come with an Xbox One controller.
Also in the interview, Luckey said that, even though Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR are coming out this year, you shouldn't expect the virtual reality market overall to take off too quickly.
"People talk a lot about 2016 being the year of virtual reality," he said. "To a degree that is going to be true. But it's not going to be all of a sudden everyone in the world is using virtual reality, or even that all gamers are using VR. There is going to be an adoption curve over time, starting with more early adopters and PC gamers that own or are willing to buy a high-end PC."
Luckey also explained that Oculus plans to update the Rift in the future at a rate of "somewhere between a phone and console." As advancements are made, "we're going to get our hardware better and cheaper and lighter, and the computing power required to drive the headsets are going to get much cheaper and lighter to reach a much larger audience," he said.
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.


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Free monthly breakfast to highlight school's program
Beginning today all St. Marys Area School District students have the opportunity to enjoy a free breakfast once a month as part of an effort to promote the district's breakfast program as well as raise awareness about the importance of starting each day with a health meal.SMASD Food Service Director Jennifer Asti said the monthly free breakfasts will continue throughout the remainder of the school year and will be held the last Thursday of each month, unless that date falls on a school holiday when it will be bumped up a week.To kick off the free breakfast program, today's meal consisted of blueberry waffles. "This will give us an opportunity to educate people about our breakfast program, what we have - it isn't just cereal and milk - we have a lot of hot breakfast and also stress the importance of children eating before school because studies show there's more attention, they're better at math, behaviors are decreased, things like that," Asti said.Among the current breakfast offerings are hot foods including breakfast pizza made with sausage, eggs and cheese and is a popular choice among students, waffles/waffle sticks, pancakes, sausage, ham/egg/cheese on English muffin and hot mini cinnamon rolls."A lot of the kids prefer a hot breakfast over cereal, milk and fruit, which we also have. They can choose some of the cold items as well," Asti noted. The schools also offer milk and fruit juice and grab and go items such as fruit, whole grain cinnamon rolls, cereal bars, yogurt with granola in a cup. The breakfast kits, which include a cereal, mini graham crackers, fruit cup and bottle of milk all packed in a bag, are popular with older students due to their easy accessibility.Asti explained the purpose behind starting to offer free monthly breakfasts came from an endeavor held last spring throughout the district. In March elementary students were permitted to bring a special guest with them to share breakfast together before the start of the school day, while in May middle and high school students were treated to a free breakfast buffet."It was so popular, especially the special guest days at the elementary schools, that we took that opportunity to put out educational materials out about breakfast and everything," Asti said. "It was a really wonderful thing, the kids were so excited. They'd come in even earlier than usual because they wanted to show their guests where they get in line, where they punch their lunch ID number in. It was a lot of fun."A grant from the Pennsylvania Dairy Association in combination with Project PA in which Asti received $500 per school helped in offsetting the cost of the meals. As requirement of the grant were that schools had to provide a healthy breakfast, create ways to promote it and submit a report on their event in June. Asti said since then she had been trying to think how the district could repeat the project, as the grant is no longer available. Expenses for the free monthly breakfasts will be absorbed into the cafeteria budget.