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Ex-Tesco chief Terry Leahy sitting pretty as furnishing website Occa-Home expands
Big designs: Sir Terry Leahy is on the board
A furnishings website backed by former Tesco chief Sir Terry Leahy is drawing up a plan for international growth that will take its British designs to major new markets.
Occa-Home, where Leahy is a board member and shareholder, already makes about a fifth of its £3 million sales abroad.
But founder and chief executive Kate Mooney said new versions of the site to target other countries would mean overseas growth will begin to speed up this year.
‘We have already planned for Australian and US sites with all the different spelling, emphasis and nuances and we’re planning to launch those by the end of the calendar year,’ she said.
Occa began as an interior design firm working with clients such as hotel chains. But in recent years it has started serving homeowners.
‘Our international customers love British design and there is a genuine heritage here. We are professional designers and that comes across on the site and it’s something people trust,’ Mooney said.
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ARLINGTON, VA.: ESPN is teaming up with the Consumer Electronics Association for “National 3D Demo Days.” The idea is to stir up enthusiasm for 3DTV at electronics retail outlets. The demonstrations are scheduled for Sept. 10-12. The retailers will provide “knowledgeable sales staff,” and ESPN, the 3D programming, from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern.
CEA said it recently found that 64 percent of retail sales associates said shoppers were expressing “a desire to experience sports in 3D.” ESPN to the rescue. On Sept. 11 at 3:40 p.m. Eastern, ESPN 3D will run a live telecast of the Big Ten Conference’s Ohio State football team battling it out with the ACC’s University of Miami Hurricanes. The event marks the second time the Buckeyes will be carried in 3D by ESPN. The team was featured in one of the network’s 3D trials last September.
During the Demo Days weekend, ESPN will run 12 more events including 3D coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, X Games 16, the Boise State versus Virginia Tech game from Sept. 6, 2010, as well as footage from the Harlem Globetrotters in an appearance at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Fla.
CEA said 80 percent of retail sales associates report the level of interest in 3D technologies has increased in recent months. A complete list of participating retailers is at DigitalTips.com.
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PAPUA New Guinea (PNG) is seeking to enforce a local-processing rule for all tuna caught in its waters, which is affecting the Philippine tuna fishing fleet, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
The DA said it is offering Papua New Guinea agricultural cooperation, particularly in rice cultivation, in exchange for relaxing its enforcement efforts vis-a-vis the Philippine fishing industry.
“PNG wants all tuna caught there to be processed in PNG ports. If that happens, it will affect the Philippine tuna industry,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol told reporters in Taguig City.
He said tuna is one of PNG’s major sources of foreign exchange.
Mr. Piñol said the Philippines can offer help on improving PNG rice yields amid growing consumption of the staple there.
“PNG has long been asking us to support them in their effort to produce more rice for their country. They also have to import rice even though they have vast territories,” Mr. Piñol said.
“In consideration for leniency on the part of PNG for our tuna stakeholders, the Philippines will help PNG to develop its rice farms,” he added.
Mr. Piñol flew to Vietnam on Wednesday for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
The DA is also hoping PNG will eventually generate a rice surplus which can be shipped to the Philippines.
“The moment we satisfy their domestic demand we could bring to the Philippines the rice produced by any Philippine investors in the PNG rice industry, as a sort of outsourcing arrangement.
He said PNG has a land area of more than 40 million hectares. The United Nations Food And Agriculture estimated that in 2014, land suitable for agriculture in PNG was only about 2.6% or 1.19 million hectares.
“We are looking forward to convert Papua New Guinea as an exporter of rice to the Philippines soon,” Philippine Ambassador to PNG Bienvenido V. Tejano told reporters. — Janina C. Lim


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It's been a month since we saw the beta version of iOS 4.3 for developers. Although there have been other more unintersting beta versions following, rumours now suggest that Apple could be releasing iOS 4.3 – the real thing, for their Apple devices.
MacStories seems to have a reliable source which has told them that Apple will be releasing iOS 4.3 on February 14th at 10 AM PST. Previously we saw stuff like AirPlay and Multi-Touch gestures on the beta version, so we know that the iOS update will be having all of this. Maybe the iPad owners will be contended with a lock switch, but there should be more for them as well. It is also being said that app subscriptions launched with "The Daily" will require APIs that are included with iOS 4.3.
For now this is all we have from Apple’s stable for the iOS. At the end of it all, it’s just another rumour, so even if you don’t get to update your Apple device, it’s absolutely cool. Spend time with your better half rather!
Published Date: Feb 05, 2011 11:23 am | Updated Date: Feb 05, 2011 11:23 am


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Samsung Pay users in South Korea will soon be able to both deposit and withdraw money from the ATMs of Woori Bank, Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea and NH Nonghyup Bank. “Samsung Pay will support depositing money into ATMs in South Korea when sales for the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge begin March 11,” ZDNet reports. “The South Korean tech giant declined to comment on the global availability of the new features.” Woori Bank added Samsung Pay to its ATMs in September 2015.
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When a company or a public figure has something news worthy to report, they usually issue a press release. Press releases can be written or recorded and are communicated to the news media. The members of the media will then get the information out to the public as they see fit.
Press releases are used often by companies that are launching new products. For example, apple news releases and microsoft press releases usually capture the attention of computer and software enthusiasts. Because they manufacture some of the most popular electronic products, and also because the companies are often key players in business and finance news, apple and microsoft press releases are fairly frequent.
When a politician decides to run for a higher office, there is a press release. If a major retailer is opening a new store in a new location, a press release is issued. The media is alerted for major sports news, such as trades of big name athletes and the hiring and firing of coaches. Companies and individuals who have information that they would like to convey to the general public are welcome to create a press release.


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Here are a few ways to help make sure you keep your holiday spending under control this season.
Increased online grocery shopping presents a problem for producers of the candy, magazines and drinks.
New orders for long-lasting manufactured goods in October were down, but jobless claims offered new hope for labor markets.
Officials believe a derailment at a northern Ohio rail yard damaged a railcar and leaked flammable liquid that led to evacuations.
The global tech company will focus on the commercial PC and tablet market in 2014, CEO Meg Whitman tells CNBC.
While adding capacity during high-demand periods makes sense in theory, the reality is far more complicated.
There's been a huge upheaval in the media landscape. BuzzFeed's Jon Steinberg weighs in on what the future will look like.
Obama kept pressure on Congress to pass a new multiyear farm bill without resorting to the steep cuts in food stamp funding.
A sharp rise in U.S. Treasury yields should act as a reminder to the Federal Reserve not to ignore developments in the bond market, one market analyst says.
The fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis continues to plague U.S. banks, according to Standard and Poor's.
Imagine some little company being chased around a maze by a relentless predator—say, a ghost—then gobbling up a power pellet and inhaling its enemy.
Burt Malkiel, author of 'A random walk down Wall Street', talks to CNBC about the right, and wrong ways, to diversify assets.
Gusts are just below the 23 mph limit that would ground Snoopy and SpongeBob SquarePants balloons in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The Obama administration proposed new rules that would curtail political activity by tax-exempt nonprofit groups.
Christmas may be the season for giving, but it also the season for scamming, according to internet security firm McAfee.
Applications for U.S. home loans dipped in the latest week, dropping for a fourth straight week.
Private equity groups are holding more cash for acquisitions than they had at the height of the leveraged buyout boom. The FT reports.
Falling gas prices are shaping up as an unexpected gift for drivers—and for people on their holiday shopping lists.
The U.S. Federal Reserve was pressing JPMorgan Chase & Co to distance itself from its metals warehousing business more than a year ago.
Germany’s two most popular parties formed a “grand coalition”, in a move that could determine how quickly the euro zone’s problems will be solved.


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Bloomberg has hired a senior advertising executive, Jacki Kelley, as chief operating officer of its media business, the company announced on Tuesday, its latest hire from outside journalism as it seeks to transform its business under new leadership.
Ms. Kelley , who was chief executive for IPG Mediabrands North America, had previously worked in sales and business roles at USA Today and Yahoo, and for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, before switching to buying rather than selling advertising.
Bloomberg Media’s chief executive, Justin B. Smith, said he hired Ms. Kelley because she had “a very deep understanding of the global advertising piece of media. Advertising is a significant revenue stream and a big growth opportunity.” Ms. Kelley will also focus on marketing Bloomberg’s media business and its conferences, as well as “unglamorous and necessary operational work.”
Bloomberg has also recently hired marketing and advertising executives from General Electric, the Atlantic and Time Inc., as well as a publishing executive from The Guardian.
“The partnership between business and editorial, the partnership between business and creative, has never been more important,” Mr. Smith said, though he added that editorial decisions remain with journalists.
Ms. Kelley said her job would be to “operationalize the vision.” She cited her experience in media sales and said that Bloomberg in general aimed to “rethink and disrupt.”
Before joining Bloomberg, Mr. Smith led the Atlantic magazine as it transitioned into a more digital business. At Bloomberg, his moves include starting a politics website and television offering built around Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, the political journalists and authors of the presidential campaign books “Game Change” and “Double Down.” Mr. Smith and some of his non-journalist hires have been criticized by some Bloomberg reporters for relying on the language of management consultancy.
“Our strategy calls for building out a portfolio of new digital assets that better align our content offerings to global business audience segments,” he wrote in a public memo earlier this year. “I fall on my sword on that one,” Mr. Smith said on Tuesday.


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Crain News Service report
DETROIT (Feb. 24, 2015) — Japan's Sanden Corp. has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $3.2 million fine for conspiring to price fix air conditioning systems sold to Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., joining a list of 32 other companies that have been charged in the U.S. Department of Justice's ongoing price fixing investigation into the auto supply chain.
In documents filed recently by federal prosecutors in U.S. District Court in Detroit, Sanden was charged with one count of conspiracy to restrain trade for scheming to price fix compressors sold to Nissan North America, according to court documents.
The Sanden case is the latest action in the largest antitrust prosecution in U.S. history. Similar investigations also have been under way in Canada, Europe and Asia.
Brent Snyder, deputy assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division's criminal enforcement program, said in a statement that the charge “is the latest in the Antitrust Division's ongoing investigation of automobile parts suppliers.
“The division continues to vigorously prosecute companies and individuals that seek to maximize their profits through illegal, anticompetitive means.”


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Jackpocket has launched its mobile app on the Google Play Store in the state of New Jersey, dedicating itself to increasing accessibility for its users.
The Jackpocket app initially launched in New Jersey back in December 2019, and since then users have won $29m in lottery prizes. Furthermore, in New Jersey, lottery ticket orders on Jackpocket increased 96.1% in the year between Q4 2020 and Q4 2021.
Jackpocket is aiming for another year of unprecedented growth, similar to its experience in 2021. This launch comes one month after Jackpocket gained online market access in New Jersey for its online casino product through Caesars Interactive Entertainment New Jersey, LLC.
The launch is another mobilisation of the $120m Series D funding round announced in late 2021, featuring celebrity names such as Kevin Hart and Mark Cuban, and brands as significant as the NY Jets and the NY Islanders.
“With this launch, we’re making mobile lottery play even more accessible for all New Jerseyans. Now, Android users can download the Jackpocket app through the Play Store for a simpler, more seamless experience,” said Jackpocket CEO and founder, Peter Sullivan.
“We are committed to continuously innovating the digital gaming space in a safe and meaningful way and with the huge impact that this state has on lottery play, we’re looking forward to everything we have planned for New Jersey and beyond. Jackpocket is poised for an incredible 2022 and Google Play access is only the beginning.”


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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — In today’s economy, a Purdue University specialist says now is the time to cut back on credit card use and to start paying off some of those outstanding debts.
“When purchases are made on credit, the consumer commits future resources to paying off that debt,” says Elizabeth Kiss, Purdue Extension specialist in consumer and family sciences. “If something bad happens financially, such as a job loss or family emergency, and income is already committed to paying for past purchases, that’s when the trouble really begins.”
The first step to reducing that debt is to take a look at spending.
“Stop charging,” Kiss says. “Then figure out the largest amount you can allocate from each paycheck to start paying down outstanding debts.”
Kiss also recommended making more than minimum payments, if at all possible.
“It’s tempting to pay the minimum each month, but the more money put toward those debts now, the sooner they will be paid off and the less expensive they will be,” she says. “If payments are made consistently, progress in reducing debts may be seen in only a couple of months.”
For example, if a cardholder has an outstanding balance of $1,000 and a minimum payment of 2 percent at 18 percent APR, it would take seven years and 10 months to pay off the balance. If the cardholder increases the minimum payment to 3 percent, it would cut in half the time it takes to pay off the balance.
Consistent payments also are important because just one late payment can cause credit card interest rates to skyrocket.
“Not only can late credit card payments make that rate increase, but some cards have universal default terms that increase rates if the cardholder makes late payments on any of their bills—including electric, water, etc.,” Kiss says.
For those with multiple outstanding credit card balances, Kiss says there are a couple of options for deciding which card to pay down first.
“Some people will start with the card that has the lowest balance so it can be paid off quickly,” she says. “Others will start by focusing on the one with the highest interest rate. It’s really just a matter of what works best for each individual cardholder.”
Another thing Kiss recommends is that consumers consider using part of their tax refund to pay down credit card debt.
“As we look forward to tax refunds, it’s never a bad idea to put some of that money toward reducing credit card debt,” Kiss says. “But, it’s also a good idea to put some of that money in savings for an emergency and of course it is OK to use a little bit of it to have some fun.”
Finally, Kiss says it’s important to keep an eye on credit card terms. Many banks are changing these terms and, without paying close attention, consumers may not realize it.
“A term change we’re seeing right now is that card limits are being lowered,” she says. “This means that some consumers who were close to their limits are now automatically over the limit, which often results in hefty fees.
“Just be sure to review the terms often, and if those terms aren’t working for your particular situation anymore, it may be time to consider whether or not another card would be better.”
For more information on credit card debt reduction, Purdue Extension offers the free fact sheet, “Getting Rid of Credit Card Debt.” It can be found at http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/CFS/CFS-714-W.pdf .


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Malls ended up drastically overbuilt even just before Covid-19 surfaced, but the pandemic compelled a long-overdue shakeout into influence
Epic Online games, finest recognized as the developer of megahit game Fortnite, not long ago unveiled that its new international headquarters will be… a mall. Especially, the enterprise is obtaining a 980,000-square-foot mall in its hometown of Cary, North Carolina, with programs to change it into “offices and recreation room,” the Wall Street Journal claimed this 7 days.
That appears like a fable invented to illustrate the financial change from the actual physical to the digital. Or maybe it just seems like a joke at the price of shopping mall cops and Orange Julius employees across the United States. But really, it is welcome news — and ideally, it is a indicator of factors to come.
Malls have been drastically overbuilt even ahead of Covid-19 surfaced, but the pandemic dealt a physique blow to the sector. The wave of retail closures compelled some shopping mall landlords to declare bankruptcy and underscored the declining potential customers of weaker, growing old procuring centers with significantly less-easy places, second-tier tenants, and handful of amenities. By some estimates, a whopping 25% of all malls running nowadays could fall short. So the time has appear for a increase in former malls.
When the Epic Online games news represents an exceptionally innovative shopping mall repurposing, that really should be processed as inspiration, not limitation. The pandemic really accelerated ongoing retail-reuse approaches, these as “darkish shops” — basically changing brick-and-mortar area into e-commerce achievement centers. Chains like Whole Food items and Mattress Bath & Further than have experimented with the strategy, and Amazon was rumored to be weighing a offer to transform flailing JCPenney places into distribution facilities.
Other experiments in mall conversion have cropped up in new yrs, such as the conversion of section of Alderwood Shopping mall in Lynnwood, Washington, into apartments, and component of Landmark Mall in Washington, D.C., into a homeless shelter. Far more not too long ago, wellbeing care businesses across the state have reportedly started converting defunct mall-stalwart Sears stores into vaccination facilities.
To be certain, loads of better-conclude malls will survive and even thrive as the pandemic lifts and cooped-up consumers rediscover in-human being searching — specially when it is paired with meals and leisure that supply a true encounter. That’s one purpose the Shopping mall of The usa, an ur-vacation spot for procuring-as-knowledge, was a short while ago able to rework its house loan offer with loan companies. This eyesight of an all-in-just one megamall is what drives the likes of the phantasmagoric American Desire in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which features both a Nickelodeon Universe concept park and a DreamWorks H2o Park.
But for weaker malls, it is time to encounter reality: The searching behavior that designed this singular sector have modified for fantastic. A lengthy-overdue shakeout is occurring, and it just can’t be survived with tweaks to the exact previous formulation. A person way or an additional, plenty of malls need to stop staying malls.


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Ireland's Three to Launch LTE Services Next Week
Published on: 22nd Jan 2014
Note -- this news article is more than a year old.
Hutchison 3G Ireland has announced that its LTE network will launch next Monday, on the 27th January, and access to the 4G network will be free to existing customers until the end of July.
From August 1st, contract customers can continue to get 4G access by purchasing an add-on for €4.99 per month and our Prepay offer will be revealed in the coming months.
At launch Three will offer significant coverage with over 60% coverage in the cities of Galway, Limerick and Waterford and 40% in Dublin and Cork. Total population coverage will grow quickly over the coming months and through 2014.
Customers with 4G handsets will also need a software update for their phone that will be available for download in the coming weeks.
"We are thrilled to announce details of what will be the best 4G offer on the market for all users, and in particular the first and only 4G service in the Irish market for Prepay customers", said Elaine Carey, Chief Commercial Officer of Three. "Three already leads the market for data usage on smartphones and having 4G will mean that our customers can do even more on their smartphones."


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It’s time to reflect on the year gone by and project 2017 event trends. We enlisted expert Brian King, who always has an ear to the ground on what’s ahead for meetings as global brand officer at Marriott International. Here, he shares several trends he believes will shape the events industry in 2017. Take note.
Planners are really planning ahead.
Companies are booking multiyear deals at an unusually high pace. King says planners are coming to hotel companies like Marriott with a map of the regions in which they’d like to meet for the next three to five years and locking in properties across the country before room rates increase more as the economy improves. Another key factor: Corporations are booking out much further than they used to, putting pressure on all sectors to select sites quickly. “For planners who hold on and wait, it’s getting hard,” says King.
Attendance is up.
Organizations are exceeding room blocks regularly, reports King. The reason is that the economy’s “steady Eddie progress” may not be wowing experts, but it’s not scaring anyone either. “People are feeling pretty good and confident,” says King, which translates into a greater willingness to travel.
Big boxes are not dead.
Boutiques are chic, but their popularity is not coming at the expense of vast hotels that hold bigger groups. Larger properties in the works include Marriott Marquis Houston that opens in December, and Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, with a company-high 470,000 square feet of meeting space, won’t be far behind.


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Editor's note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that Natus had announced preliminary guidance for Q4 2015. The Motley Fool and the author regret the error.
Natus Medical (NTUS) is scheduled to report earnings on Wednesday before the bell. It'll likely be a bit anticlimactic, given that the medical-device maker pre-announced many of its fourth-quarter numbers so management could discuss them at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference earlier this month. But the earnings conference call could still give investors a better look at what's ahead for Natus Medical.
What we know
Fourth-quarter revenue should come in around $100 million, according to management's preliminary tally of its sales. While that's a reasonable 6.4% higher than the year-ago quarter, it's slightly lower than management's previous guidance of $102 million to $105 million.
Management blamed the miss on their expectations for $4 million in sales under Natus' new contract with the Venezuelan Ministry of Health that didn't materialize. Apparently, the government never made the prepayment for the contract, so Natus Medical didn't ship any product. Fortunately, the issue seems to be worked out, so Natus has $5 million of revenue baked into its guidance for the current quarter and $60 million for the full year.
Natus Medical didn't release preliminary fourth-quarter earnings. We'll have to wait for the report to see how close the company got to its adjusted earnings guidance of $0.47 to $0.49 per share.
Management even handed out first-quarter guidance already. The company is looking for revenue of $96.5 million to $97.5 million and believes it can produce adjusted earnings of $0.34 to $0.35 per share, an increase of 10% to 13% over the first quarter of 2015. Not too shabby.
One thing to watch
Natus Medical's move into services -- particularly Peloton, its newborn hearing-screening outsourcing service, and NicView, which allows friends and families to see newborns in neonatal intensive-care units over the Internet -- seems to be working well. Natus announced that it signed up an additional 17 hospitals to use Peloton during the fourth quarter.
The big question is: What's next? The company has been a serial acquirer, after all.
Peloton was developed internally, but both NicView and another service, Global Neuro-Diagnostics, which offers brain tests, were both acquired last year. The service businesses have helped Natus increase its margins, and they should continue to grow as the services sign up more customers.
That isn't to say Natus has to buy a service company. But a company that makes medical devices that complement its own medical devices could help boost margins by giving the sales reps more products to hock.
Don't expect president and CEO James Hawkins to give too much away on its specific targets -- no sense in letting the competition know and bid up the price -- but a little more color on the types of additions the company is looking for will go a long way toward helping investors figure out Natus Medical's future path.


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Competitive pressure continued to pile on the mobile sector market leaders through the second calendar quarter of 2010, according to new figures from analysts at IDC.
Overall, 317.5 million handset units shipped during the second quarter, up 14.5% on the same period last year, said IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.
However, this growth was driven primarily by vendors outside the top five, said IDC's senior research analyst Ramon Llamas.
"Companies with a strict focus on the smartphone market, like RIM, Apple and HTC, have clearly benefited from steadily increasing user interest," he said.
"But it's not just smartphone vendors that have driven the market forward - it's also the companies with a presence among entry-level handsets and mid-range devices, which have long been the domain of the worldwide leaders," he continued.
The market leader remained, by far and away Nokia, which shipped 111 million units and took 35% of the market, down 2.2% on Q2'09, in spite of its well-publicised troubles.
Second place was held by Samsung, with 18.9% of the market, while fellow Korean manufacturer LG accounted for 10.8% of sales.
The top five was rounded out by RIM and Sony Ericsson, which both accounted for 3.5% of the market, RIM up from 2.9% this time last year, and Sony Ericsson down from 5%.
Llamas cautioned that the market leaders should not be written off and said he expected them to put in a stronger showing through the back half of 2010: "Each is in the midst of refreshing its respective product portfolio, with greater emphasis on smartphones during the second half."
However, IDC said upward pressure from vendors outside the top five, notably Apple and Motorola, would continue, adding that companies with strategies pegged to Android should do particularly well.


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The Women’s National Book Association has announced the 2017 Pannell Award winners, given annually to two bookstores that enhance their communities by fostering a love of reading. The award is co-sponsored by Penguin Young Readers Group.
The winner in the General Bookstore category is the Bookworm of Edwards in Edwards, Colo., in recognition of its adopt-a-reader program, which provides books for children in need, and other community-building initiatives. In the Children’s Specialty Bookstore category, the winner is Children’s Book World in Los Angeles. The Pannell jury cited the store’s commitment to diverse books and their “Readers & Writers Rock!” program, which brings authors to underserved schools.
This year’s winners were chosen by a committee of publishing professionals, including Susan Katz Radin, publisher emeritus at HarperCollins Children’s Books; Josalyn Moran, children’s publishing consultant; Emily Romero, senior v-p of marketing at Penguin Young Readers; Roger Sutton, editor-in-chief of the Horn Book; and Lisa Von Drasek, curator of Children’s Literature Research Collections at the University of Minnesota.
The winning stores will each receive a check for $1,000 and a work of original art from a children’s book illustrator. The awards will be presented at BookExpo’s Children’s Book and Author Breakfast.


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The President APBF Ibrahim Qureshi asked the government to consider automatic refund mechanism which will reduce complaints, ensure transparency and boost exports.
Government should consider automating the refund system which will allay concerns of the business community and reduce load on the FBR, said Ibrahim Qureshi.
He said that automatic refunds would end delay in payments and trigger exports which are going down since some years due to international recession.
Government can install software which can process the refund claims and transfer money in the account of exporter within seven days of export.
Mr.Qurashi said that if transactions in through bank cheques, credit and debit card can be updated within seconds, the same can be applied to export refunds.
He said that sometimes Refund Payment Orders are issued but exporters are not paid in time which hit their businesses.
Liquidity problem has taken toll on many exporters and some have no option but to get costly credit from market to fulfil commitments, he noted.
He lauded the zero-rating facility for important export sectors saying that the bold step would provide the much need relief to the exporters who were really burdened due to sales tax and severe liquidity crunch.
Many exporters were fighting a losing battle in the global markets due to stiff competition but now situation has changed, he observed.
Issues relating to providing a level playing field to the exporters in terms of cost of energy, labour and local levies should also be resolved at the earliest to enable the exporters to compete in the global market with competing nations, he demanded.


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From a graphics perspective, the desktop chips are virtually identical: They all use the new Intel HD Graphics 530 core. Just be aware that some of the slower chips—the i5-6400, specifically—have their graphics cores clocked lower under load. Still to come are Intel’s Skylake chips using embedded DRAM, which should greatly increase graphics performance.
The desktop Pentium chips
Intel resuscitated the Pentium brand awhile back, a seemingly odd throwback to the days not too long past when gamers had to tweak HIMEM.SYS and other system files to allow their PCs to work. Today, an Intel Pentium is synonymous with low cost. Intel will also launch Celeron versions of Skylake in the future, at an even cheaper price.
You can see that buying a Pentium isn’t that bad of a deal for basic computing. Here’s the interesting thing, though: Because there’s no Turbo Boost self-overclocking mode, the Pentiums are actually clocked faster than some of their Core cousins. Couple that with a pared-down cache to save cost, and the result is a cheap chip that’s going to run at full speed fairly aggressively. The only caveat is the lack of Hyper-Threading, which is Intel’s virtual CPU technology that makes two CPU cores act like four. Depending on what you do though, you may not feel it.
And no, cheap gamers, we asked: Intel said none of the new Skylake Pentiums support overclocking, like it did with the “Anniversary Edition” Pentium G3258.
Intel’s mobile Skylakes include Xeon, overclocking
Intel can’t shave as much power in the mobile space, where the maximum thermal power of a Broadwell chip, 47 watts, is nearly identical to the 45 watts that a mobile Skylake processor consumes. Here, though, Intel is focusing on the time in which the chip needs to be powered up. Intel’s Skylake-specific Speed Shift feature reduces the time in which a chip needs to shift from a high-power to a low-power sleep state to as little as 1ms, versus 30ms or so before. This sounds like a tiny detail, but when the chip is constantly shifting from a full-power “busy” state to a sleep state, it’s a big deal.
One of the oddities of the new mobile Skylake line is the new mobile Xeon "server" processor, designed for true mobile workstations. Intel has already begun shipping the chip—at the SigGRAPH show in August, Lenovo announced the P50 and P70 workstations, including the chip as well as peripheral enhancements like Thunderbolt 3.0, based on the new Intel Alpine Ridge controller.
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Rc Bhargava news
Maruti Suzuki chairman RC Bhargava spoke to Sharmistha Mukherjee and Ketan Thakkar in an interview. Edited excerpts:
Since fiscal 2012, Maruti Suzuki's market share has risen to nearly 51% from 38%, driven by new launches. It launched eight products in the past three years.
According to the company's Annual Report 2016-17, Ayukawa's total remuneration during the year was at Rs 4,20,67,808, which also included a performance-linked bonus of Rs 1,50,39,000.
Company will not hold back on launch of electric vehicles, if the customers are ready to buy.
Maruti Suzuki is likely to hit its production target of 2 million vehicles on an annualised basis at least two quarters into fiscal 2019, powered by demand for new models.
In an interview with ET Now, Bhargava also said that he is confident of his company maintaining the largest market share despite the growing competition.
Companies which are going to be at the forefront of this investment includes India's largest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki, South Korea based Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors, Chinese manufactures SAIC, Changan and Beiqi Foton, and Italy’s Fiat.
"As far as Maruti Suzuki is concerned, demonetisation did not affect us, we were proceeding as per plan. As for FY18, I think the year will be the best year we have seen in the past 3-4 years."
"Capex for this year (2017-18) is Rs 4,500 crore," MSI Chairman RC Bhargava told reporters here.
Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Toyota and Nissan say demand from cab aggregators — mainly Uber and local rival Ola — accounts for 8-10% of retail sales and is expected to double in the current fiscal.
“There is a need to set up a national regulatory body which would clearly layout a roadmap for all policy and regulatory changes. The policy should then be framed in a manner that no one can later overrule it, as has become the practice lately.”
Today, any car roughly has a model life of about six years and in that six years somewhere in the middle you have to do some minor changes and some refurbishment of interiors and exteriors so that there is a innovated car available in the middle of this six-year period.
"I think, GST will change in business and the way we do our work and our suppliers and transport or anything over the next two-three years to a very large extent which will be to the benefit of industry and the country."
For ‘Make in India’ to succeed, the supply base needs to become capable of consistent quality and increasing volumes of production. When Maruti started in 1983, one of the first decisions the company took was that there would be no cash transactions at all.
Even their own India offices had little clue the two were in town, but they'd wanted to brief the Prime Minister on the intricacies of the partnership the companies had signed in Japan and the implications of that for India, which is emerging as the world's third-biggest auto market.
The company has told component vendors to be ready with supplies for production of 17.25 lakh to 17.30 lakh vehicles in fiscal 2018 starting April, people in the know said.


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The grocery list is changing. In fact, for millennials, it may not even exist at all.
The millennial generation is changing the food shopping game and reflections of their influence are scattered throughout the food retail market. The detailed shopping list isn’t a thing for this group, instead, purchasing decisions and even recipe searches are determined as they shop throughout the store. Meals are not planned, not made from scratch and not structured.
According to CMI Online, majorities (53%) of dinners are planned within an hour of eating and most dinners prepared at home are made with variety of products including fresh/raw ingredients and prepackaged items. Meat or poultry is eaten an average of 3.7 nights per week, though many consumers no longer put meat at their center-of-plate.
“A college student in the 1980s may have been content living on instant noodles for dinner. Nowadays, a twentysomething is as likely to pick up a piece of wild salmon with quinoa and a fresh rocket salad from the grocery store on any given night.” – The Guardian
The millennial dinner plate is constantly evolving due to their need for flexibility. Many food retail stores vying for millennial’s attention and money have made some serious changes to cater to their lifestyle.
At least 70% of US consumers are shopping at five or more different stores a month and 50% visit two stores per shopping trip. In an effort to attract millennials with convenient, one-stop shops, hybrid stores have emerged to eliminate extra trips.
Grocery sections are being added to other retail categories (i.e. C-store, Drug) and grocery stores are expanding offerings to be perceived as more convenient, one-stop shops.
- Walmart ranks as the preferred place to shop for millennials 24 and younger over Target, Kroger, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and Costco because of its low prices and breadth of household product offerings.
- Kwik Trip Inc. is rebranding its Tobacco Outlet Plus stores to Kwik Star Express markets that will feature fresh fruits and vegetables, baked goods, fresh meat, sandwiches and entrees.
In keeping with the millennial demand for easy access to information, utilizing mobile devices in the aisles and implementing other smart technology will become the “new normal” way to shop. This evolving technology is transforming how shoppers decide what products they want, how fast they get them and where they buy them.
- In Korea the grocery chain Tesco launched a virtual grocery store that wallpapered subway corridors with shoppable billboards. Busy commuters wandered the “aisles” and ordered their groceries by scanning QR codes via a phone app while waiting for the train.
- In stores like Stop & Shop ‘smart carts’ are embedded with technology that enables them to show sale items on screen when the shoppers are in certain aisles or calculate a recommended route through the store based on the shopper’s grocery list.
- The SmartLabel initiative connects consumers to food information such as ingredients, nutritional information, and allergen facts via QR codes on packaging. In the next five years, 80% of packaged groceries will feature SmartLabel.
A fourth generation farmer family, Hope & Harmony Farms grows and produces their peanuts directly from their farm in Southhampton County, Virginia.
Tell Me More
For millennials, purchase decisions involve factors well beyond price including things like sourcing, product inspiration, responsibility and authenticity. As a result, food brands are being increasingly upfront about the stories behind their products, satisfying not only the millennial need for access to information but also their desire to be more conscious, aware consumers.
- Millennial-minded grocery stores like Trader Joe’s regularly includes storytelling information on their signage spanning from sourcing and nutritional information to recipe inspiration.
- Whole Foods acted on millennials strong environmental advocacy by partnering with US-based non-profit The Xerces Society to create a salad bar that depicted the types of produce that would no longer be available if bees became extinct (the list included avocadoes, berries and tomatoes).
What It All Means
Millennials don’t have to go to the grocery store to go grocery shopping. The physical shopping element is becoming more and more optional. The term grocery has transformed from what was considered a retail segment to more of a product category. As a result, grocery stores have to adapt in order to remain relevant.
Sources: The Guardian, ACOSTA, Delish, Business Insider, Popsugar, Fortune, Food Institute, Ypulse, Mintel, Stylus, Boston Consulting Group, IRI Worldwide, Millennial Marketing


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In this article, we will look at e-waste, its hidden worth, and companies that effectively manage this type of garbage.
What is E-Waste?
Any old or abandoned electronic equipment is referred to as e-waste, sometimes known as electronic or electric garbage. Electronic waste also includes used equipment that is ready to be sold, reused, recycled, or disposed of.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency categorizes e-waste as large household appliances, small household appliances, IT equipment, consumer electronics, lamps and luminaires, toys, tools, automatic dispensers, monitoring and control devices, and medical devices.
Electronic garbage is one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the modern digital era. According to the United Nations Global E-Waste Monitor 2020, global e-waste would reach 74.7 million metric tonnes by 2030. Because these figures are so large, the capacity to recycle or simply dispose of this trash becomes constrained. As a result, the majority of it ends up in landfills, harming the environment.
E-Waste Is ‘Valuable’
According to a Research And Markets research, the global market for electronics recycling was valued at $39.8 billion in 2022 and is predicted to expand to $110.6 billion by 2030, at a compound yearly growth rate of 13.6% during the forecast period.
Although e-waste is developing faster than plastic or textile waste, it contains a lot of value. The raw materials used in electrical equipment can be worth billions of dollars. Platinum, tin, iron, gold, silver, copper, and aluminum are among these basic elements. There has been a demand for e-waste due to the high cost of metal manufacturing for the first time and the chance to re-explore rich metals inside discarded gadgets.
According to the Boston Consulting Group, the United States loses about $10 billion in unaccounted for e-waste each year. Companies can earn a ‘green premium’ by recycling their customers’ discarded merchandise. This green premium represents the additional cost and customer willingness to invest in an environmentally sustainable product. According to BCG, about 80% of Gen Z buyers view sustainability as a critical factor before making any purchase. Thus, marketing a waste reduction campaign can assist in acquiring and retaining a large number of customers.
By being more ecologically responsible, the value stored in e-waste can also be recovered. The emissions produced by recycling used equipment are still lower than those produced during original metal extraction. As a result, recycled e-waste has a lower carbon footprint.
Companies Realizing the Potential of E-Waste
Companies like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL), and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) continue to unleash the potential of e-waste by effectively managing trash in the electronics sector.
One prudent approach to dealing with e-waste is to standardize electronic products so that there are fewer diverse types of electronic waste. In the EU, about 11,000 tonnes of unused chargers are discarded each year.
According to Reuters, the European Union has agreed to switch to a single type of charger for cellphones, the USB C-type, in an effort to reduce e-waste. According to the EU, this measure will reduce carbon emissions by over 200 kg. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been in a bind because this regulation must be implemented by 2024. Bloomberg claimed on July 30 that a major improvement in the next iPhone 15 will be the replacement of the lightning connector with the USB C type, thereby complying with the EU rule.
Another approach to gain from mountains of e-waste is to recycle it and reintroduce it into the tech supply chain. Corporations have taken an active role in recycling activities. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has also started selling devices manufactured from recycled plastic and aluminum, such as the Amazon Echo, Fire TV, and tablets. According to the company’s customer support page, customers can either trade in their used goods for its gift card value, which includes a discount on a new Amazon item, or simply transport it to the designated recycling location for free. Waste360, a trash and recycling news service located in the United States, said on August 22 that the firm will construct a new e-waste recycling facility in Pennsylvania in 2024. This facility will refurbish and recycle electronic equipment utilized in the company’s data centers, decreasing e-waste.
Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL) revealed in its 2023 Environmental, Social, and Governance report that company has vowed to manufacture products that are more than half recyclable. The corporation has also committed to introducing recyclable and renewable packaging.
E-waste is also prevalent in the vehicle industry. The black mass produced by recycling spent electric car batteries is gaining appeal since it aids in the extraction of metals such as nickel, cobalt, and lithium. On August 28, Bloomberg reported that Glencore plc (LSE:GLEN) of Switzerland has collaborated with Li-Cycle Holding Corp. (NYSE:LICY) of Canada to establish a European battery recycling plant. As a result, businesses are converting discarded electric car batteries into a profitable market.
Imports of US E-Waste into China
According to a World Economic Forum report, just 20% of electronic waste gets recycled in rich countries, while 80% is deconstructed in underdeveloped countries. The United States is a major generator of e-waste. Due to the United Nations’ embargo on the trade of e-waste from industrialized to developing countries, the majority of this electronic debris passes through clandestine channels to China.
The United States exports significant quantities of discarded electronics to China. To minimize empty shipments, US shippers frequently allow e-waste recyclers to export the debris to China at affordable rates. The recycling of these imported electronics in China is a big informal enterprise. Although the Chinese government is enacting legislation prohibiting the importation of electronic waste, there are numerous loopholes. Hong Kong, which is not subject to many laws, imports enormous amounts of used electronics and resells them to China’s informal recyclers.
Although the Chinese recycling market for electronics employs many rural and low-income workers, it also exposes them to several risks. Because the disassembly is done by hand, workers are exposed to harmful compounds such as mercury, lead, and arsenic. If they are exposed to these hazardous compounds for an extended period of time, they may acquire respiratory problems. In short, China continues to establish a balance between the profits made from the informal recycling sector and the environmental damage caused by it.
Now that we’ve examined e-waste and its dynamics, let’s look at the 15 countries that generate the most e-waste in the world.
E-waste Production Per Capita: 26.0
Norway is the world’s greatest producer of e-waste, according to the Global E-Waste Monitor 2020. It produces the most rubbish per household in Europe on an annual basis. In 2019, the country generated 26 kilos of electronic waste per capita.
2. United Kingdom
E-waste Production Per Capita: 23.9
The United Kingdom is another large generator of e-waste. Only a small amount of electronic waste is recycled or reused, with the remainder ending up in landfills. In 2019, the country generated 23.9 kilos of electronic waste per capita.
E-waste Production Per Capita: 23.4
Despite its significant e-waste output, Switzerland is one of the few countries with a well-established infrastructure for collecting and recycling obsolete electronics. In 2019, the country produced 23.4 kg of electronic garbage per capita, placing it among the top 15 countries in terms of e-waste production.
E-waste Production Per Capita: 22.4
Denmark is also one of the world’s leading producers of e-waste. When compared to other European countries, it generates a substantial amount of e-waste. In 2019, Denmark generated 22.4 kilos of electronic waste per inhabitant.
E-waste Production Per Capita: 21.7
Australia is another country that contributes significantly to global e-waste. In Australia, e-waste is developing at a rate that is multiples that of normal waste. In 2019, the country created 21.7 kg of electronic garbage per capita, making it one of the world’s top 15 producers of e-waste.
E-waste Production Per Capita: 21.6
The Netherlands is another European country that is a major generator of e-waste in the world. Despite having a decent recycling rate, the Netherlands nonetheless generates a large amount of e-waste each year. The country generated 21.6 kilos of electronic waste in 2019.
E-waste Production Per Capita: 18.7
Iceland is another country that generates a lot of e-waste. Electronic garbage continues to rise, despite efforts by Iceland’s waste management system to manage it. In 2019, Iceland produced 18.7 kilos of electronic waste per inhabitant.
8. The United States
E-waste Production Per Capita: 21.0
The United States is another major producer of e-waste in the world. This rapidly developing used electronics industry is being exported to neighboring countries. In 2019, the country generated 21 kilos of electronic waste per capita.
E-waste Production Per Capita: 21.0
France is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of electronic garbage. Laptops, cellphones, tablets, and other electronic devices add to the country’s e-waste stream. In 2019, the country generated 21 kilos of e-waste per capita.
E-waste Production Per Capita: 20.4
Among other countries, Japan is a major producer of e-waste. Japan produces the most e-waste in Asia and is a major exporter of e-waste. In 2019, the country generated 20.4 kilos of electronic waste per inhabitant.
E-waste Production Per Capita: 20.4
Belgium is another country with a strong presence in e-waste generation. To keep e-waste production levels low, many e-waste recycling firms operate in Belgium. In 2019, the country generated 20.4 kilos of electronic waste per inhabitant.
E-waste Production Per Capita: 20.2
Canada is one of the top 15 countries in terms of e-waste generation. With frequent upgrades in electronics among Canadians, e-waste has increased dramatically over the years. In 2019, the country generated 20.2 kg of electronic waste per inhabitant.
13. Hong Kong
E-waste Production Per Capita: 20.2
Hong Kong also generates a significant amount of electronic garbage. The country’s people have a high thirst for mobile phones, which end up in landfills. In 2019, the country created 20.2 kg of e-waste per capita, making it one of the 15 countries with the highest e-waste production rates.
E-waste Production Per Capita: 20.1
Sweden is one of the leading producers of e-waste. Despite the fact that the government has a recycling mechanism in place, the rising use of electronics, particularly those with shorter life spans, contributes to the e-waste stream. In 2019, it generated 20.1 kilos of electronic waste per capita.
E-waste Production Per Capita: 19.9
Singapore generates a large amount of electronic garbage. Because of rising spending power and the advent of new technology, the country disposes of a substantial number of electronics each year. In 2019, the country produced 19.9 kg of e-waste per capita, placing it among the top 15 countries in terms of e-waste production.


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Puerto Rican farmer Luis Vega has used his passion for cannabis to found a Connecticut-based farm-to-store hemp business, ¡WEPA! Farms, that partners with growers across three states.
The newest set of regulations allows more flexibility to states in creating their hemp programs.
National banks have been reluctant to service hemp businesses, but some growers have found success with community banks.
Learn how hemp companies have utilized the industry’s most innovative products and technologies to increase yields and boost their bottom lines.
Under high-pressure sodium lights, Green Remedies Group works to grow the best hemp possible in its greenhouses.
Jim McKay Farms commands a premium price for its smokable hemp flower with the help of Arcadia Biosciences genetics.
As it continues to shift from tree production to hemp, Rifle Creek Nursery uses a variety of micronutrient products to improve its output quality.


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I’m originally from Dublin but now live in Edinburgh viagra 100 mg too strong Francis has set a new tone in the Vatican, rejecting the lush papal residence his predecessors used in the Apostolic Palace and living instead in a small suite in a Vatican guest house, and often eating in the common dining room.
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Sony Centres in Sydney close amid tough retail climate
- 21 March, 2013 15:22
Walking past the World Square shopping centre in Sydney’s CBD, the once recognisable storefront of the Sony Centre can no longer be found.
The flagship concept store was shut down this month after formally suspending trading on March 3, with the same fate suffered by the Sony Centre in Drummoyne.
The storefront was plastered with sales signs in late February, and to an observer it could have seemed like a typical sale, though in reality it was a liquidation sale.
The closure of the two stores comes less than 18 months since the technology vendor shut down its Sony Centre in Chatswood. While the Sony Centres were dedicated storefronts for Sony products, they were in fact run by electronics retailer Bing Lee.
Sony did not share the reasons for why the Sony Centres were shut down, but the tough retail climate resulting from reduced consumer spending and increased competition were likely the leading reasons.
This move comes at a time when vendors such as Apple are expanding their retail presence in cities such as Sydney, while companies such as Samsung are setting up a dedicated retail presence, suggesting reduced demand for Sony products was another contributing factor.
The closure of the Sony Centres may take the company out of the spotlight amongst shoppers, a Sony Australia spokesperson confirmed plans by the company to roll out Sony themed kiosks in selected shopping centres
“This retail model, offers shoppers the opportunity to get hands-on with Sony products in a flexible, high-traffic location,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the move was a response to the “changes in consumer behaviour” while at the same time pursuing “direct retail avenues and locations” to better reach Sony customers.
The Sony kiosk solution has already been established in Westfield shopping centre in Chatswood following the closure of the Sony Centre there, and this will likely form the blueprint for additional kiosks that show up at other retail outlets.
At the moment, Sony Australia has not said what kiosks will offer in terms of product range, though the vendor has traditionally sold some of its products only through retail.
At the time of writing, a tenant for the site of the Sony Centre at World Square had not yet been found and the shop space remained unoccupied.
Patrick Budmar covers consumer and enterprise technology breaking news for IDG Communications. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @patrick_budmar.
- Provide clients with more powerful, cost-effective cloud hosted services
- Switching to Google Apps brings many cost savings and productivity benefits, says commissioned study by Forrester Consulting
- View from the Cloud: An outlook on Australian businesses in 2013
- How do you measure up against top IT service provider benchmarks?
- Research firm Radicati names Google Apps for Business the leader in cloud business email
Optus hits 2.3Gbps throughput in real-world test
Australia lags in e-signature adoption: Adobe
Users refuse to chuck XP as Windows 8 uptake flattens
Android takes 62 per cent share of tablet market in 2013
Acer partners with Intel on education software


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2019 was a wild ride for retail. The year began following a rocky 2018 continued with sad news of store closings from recognised brands. But before you write it off as more proof of the played-out retail apocalypse argument, the year also saw its share of big wins thanks to strategic partnerships, re-imagined customer experiences and so much more.
In retail, things are complicated, swiftly changing and sometimes contradictory…
So what’s in the future of retail? While there’s no magic crystal ball that can predict what will really happen in the coming year but there is research and trends that can help innovative retailers gain an edge on the competition. Read on to discover our take on what's to come.
It’s all about experience: In today’s retail climate where everything can be purchased with just a click of a button you have to offer both convenience and value – a unique experience. Online and brick and mortar stores that offer shoppers something more than just a product will win attention and loyalty while creating a buzz around their brand. Things like fast deliveries, click and collect and easy returns will become more and more important.
Payment flexibility is paramount: Customers are looking for more convenient and flexible ways to purchase. While retailers can’t be everything to everyone, offering flexible payments creates more value and personalised checkout experiences.
Subscription e-commerce is a thing: Subscriptions are an increasingly common way to buy products and services online. Although streaming media subscriptions like Netflix have been popular for some time, research shows that 15% of online shoppers sign up for subscriptions for products. Subscription e-commerce services offer these consumers – often younger, affluent urbanites a convenient, personalised and often lower-cost way to buy what they want and need.
The rise of Instashopping: Retailers should leverage social media’s 2.65 billion users for their marketing strategy. This is why social media giants are now testing ways to load payment information into the platform itself. Instagram is one of the first to do this, though it’s still experimental. In fact, 60% of Instagram’s users (or 600 million of their total 1 billion users every month) already use the platform to find and purchase products.
Time is money: Most retailers know that time is the biggest currency they have, so they use tools to automate their back-end and other administrative processes. What they’re just starting to realise is that consumers are also time-sensitive. Differentiating your business from the crowd means going the extra mile to make your delivery fast, efficient and free.
Retail is a volatile industry and the rapid and widespread adoption of technology just makes it more so. Also, as the market becomes populated by a younger demographic, companies are finding it hard to abandon traditional modes of thinking. The ‘retail apocalypse’ that has seen store closures is proof that businesses quickly need to adapt to a change in consumer behavior to survive.


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Higher temperatures that last for longer may push fish farming further north in Canada.
Tvo.org reports on how warming waters could spell disaster for Canadian trout farmers but also opportunities for some who make the move.
Ontario trout farms such as Cole-Munro Foods are looking further North to Lake Superior, some 300 miles away.
“We’ve had high temperatures in the summer in the past; that’s nothing new,” Cole-Munro Foods manager Tanya Hughson told Tvo. “What’s new is that the high temperatures are sustaining for longer periods of time.”
Ontario’s largest rainbow trout producer owns net-pen farms and a fish-processing plant. Its fish is sold in Sobeys and Costco stores across Ontario.
“They’re much farther north, obviously, and they have cooler air temperatures in the summer. So what we’re looking for is a more optimal growing period,” Hughson said. “Lake Superior warms up slower and cools off a lot slower. So we would have that sweet spot a lot longer.”
The publication reported in-depth how the town of Marathon, near Lake Superior, has seen a sharp decline in such traditional industries as forestry which may now be filled by aquaculture.
“We were really looking at sustainable natural-resource industries as part of our economic development strategy,” said Marathon chief administrative officer Daryl Skworchinski. “I think more communities are looking at these opportunities — agriculture and aquaculture, in our case.”


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LOS ANGELES — Netflix has unveiled a new star for some of its upcoming programming: electric vehicles
The streaming service announced an agreement on Thursday to feature vehicles including the Chevrolet
The companies will highlight the partnership in a commercial featuring Will Ferrell that will air during the Feb. 12 Super Bowl
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Netflix said it will help creators “better understand how EVs can complement and enhance their stories.”
Shows that will feature GM’s electric vehicles include “Love is Blind
Netflix productions also will include electric vehicles made by other automakers, the company said.


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ITC LAUNCHES ‘SHREE ANNA’ STAMP TO CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF MILLETS
Millets are a diverse group of small-seeded grains, including sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, foxtail millet, and others, which have been cultivated for thousands of years and play a vital role in the diets of many communities worldwide.
studio18 Last Updated:July 27, 2023 14:13:35 IST
Earlier in 2023, ITC Ltd. launched the ‘Mission Millets’ initiative in collaboration with News18, aligned with the United Nations’ declaration of the International Year of Millets. The unveiling of this special stamp reinforces ITC’s commitment to promoting the sustainable cultivation and consumption of millets in everyday foods, as the initiative not only supports the environment but also provides nutritious food options for the people of India.
Millets are a diverse group of small-seeded grains, including sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, foxtail millet, and others, which have been cultivated for thousands of years and play a vital role in the diets of many communities worldwide. The International Year of Millets 2023, declared by the United Nations, marks a crucial milestone in recognizing the value of millets as a key solution to several pressing global challenges.
This initiative aims to raise awareness about the unique attributes of millets and their immense potential to contribute to food security, nutrition, and sustainable agriculture.
By promoting millets as part of a balanced diet, the International Year of Millets seeks to address malnutrition and enhance food and nutrition security worldwide. During this special year, countries are encouraged to implement policies and initiatives that support millets’ production, processing, marketing, and consumption.
ITC have been empowering farmers with knowledge of soil, crop, and farming techniques, and assisting them in achieving better production, thus enhancing their livelihoods. The Mission encourages trying out various millet-based products to develop a taste for these nutritious grains.
Importance of Millet in the food system
Nutritional Powerhouses: Millets are rich in essential nutrients like dietary fiber, proteins, vitamins (B-complex), and minerals (iron, calcium, magnesium). Their nutritional profile makes them valuable in combating malnutrition and supporting overall health.Climate Resilience: Millets are highly adaptive to various climatic conditions, including drought and high temperatures. Their ability to thrive in challenging environments makes them a dependable crop for regions facing climate change and water scarcity.Sustainable Farming: Millets are low-input crops, meaning they require fewer resources like water, fertilizers, and pesticides compared to other staple grains. Promoting millet cultivation can reduce the environmental impact of agriculture and conserve natural resources.Reducing Food Waste: Millets have a longer shelf life than some other grains, reducing the likelihood of food waste. Their resilience allows them to remain fresh for longer, supporting food security and sustainability.
Mission Millets’ Stamp:
Stamps have always been treasured collector’s items that commemorate significant people, moments, or initiatives. The ‘Shree Anna’ stamp brings to life the importance of millets in both agriculture and food.
The stamp features captivating sketch illustrations that showcase ITC Ltd.’s dedication to promote the cultivation & consumption of millets. It beautifully captures the journey of millets from Indian farms to ITC’s food production factories, where they are transformed into nutritious dishes prepared by expert chefs from ITC Hotels.
The earthy colours used in the illustrations are inspired by Mission Millets logo, symbolizing millets as the golden crop of India. The stamp also highlights the Government of India’s focus on nutrition and its seven guiding principles for the Indian Millets Mission 2023, celebrating the International Year of Millets. To emphasize this connection, the stamp design thoughtfully incorporates the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav logo.
Connecting Agriculture, Food and Heritage
The ‘Shree Anna’ stamp stands out as a truly distinctive initiative that celebrates the significance of millets in both agriculture and food, while also incorporating the heritage of the country.
Heritage Meets Nutrition:The stamp merges the heritage of India, with the vital theme of nutrition and sustainable agriculture.Symbolizing the Golden Crop:The earthy colors used in the illustrations represent the golden crop of India – millets.Elevating Awareness through Engagement:The incorporation of a small, fun quiz on millets further elevates awareness about these nutritious grains.
You can also show your support for millet revolution in India by owning a piece of history, the limited-edition digital collective stamps. To participate, visit www.betterwithmillets.com, take the pledge to become a millet advocate and share it on social media using the hashtags #ITCMissionMillets and #PledgeforMissionMillet. Moreover, you can also take a small, fun quiz to check and enhance your knowledge about millets. Lucky winners will be selected through a draw and awarded digital collective stamps along with a hamper of ITC Ltd.’s millet products.
About ITC Ltd.’s Mission Millets:
Developing Healthy Products: ITC Foods is creating a portfolio of good-for-you products that include millets. They have introduced Sunfeast Farmlite Millet biscuits and Aashirvaad Ragi & Multi-Millet Flour, with plans to introduce more millet-based products like noodles, pasta, vermicelli, and choco sticks. These offerings provide tasty and healthy choices for consumers and promote increased consumption of millets.Implementing Sustainable Farming Systems: ITC Ltd. is working closely with farmers, educating them about the benefits of growing millets. Farmers now see millets as climate-resilient crops with the potential to yield higher incomes. This sustainable farming approach supports both the environment and farmers’ livelihoods.Enhancing Consumer Awareness: ITC’s Food and agri-businesses are creating awareness and understanding about millets among farmers, growers, and end consumers. This education aims to highlight the nutritional benefits of millets and encourage people to include them in their daily diet.
Through the Mission Millets campaign, ITC and News18 are making efforts to create a positive impact on Indian agriculture, health, and the environment. Their commitment to empowering farmers, developing healthy products, and raising consumer awareness is revolutionizing the way India eats, contributing to a healthier and more sustainable future for all.
Join the millet revolution to bring the much needed change. Visit www.news18.com/missionmillets to know more.


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Editor’s note: Sunil Rajaraman is the co-founder and CEO of Scripted.com, a marketplace for businesses to create content at scale; Scripted has a pool of 80,000 freelance writers and 1,000 customers. Follow Sunil on Twitter @subes01. Like many others, I read the news about Zaarly, reported by TechCrunch’s Rip Empson last weekend, with some degree of shock. Zaarly is a well-funded… → Read More
Despite a couple big-name companies like Groupon and Zynga lining up for IPOs, the demand for private company stock on alternative exchanges keeps rising. Private stock transactions on SecondMarket in the first three quarters of 2011 totaled $435 million, a 73 percent increase over the same period last year. In the third quarter alone, there were $167 million worth of transactions on… → Read More
Who says working for TechCrunch isn’t just about the best job ever, ever? Case in point: Bummed after losing to Causes’ Josh Persky in Zaarly’s ”Startup Haircut Contest” this week, our newly minted executive assistant Greg Barto was just going about his Friday business today, planning meetings and filing files, etc when he was surprised by Zaarly’s Shirley Hornstein with the haircut prize he… → Read More
In less than a month after its nationwide launch on May 14th, peer to peer marketplace Zaarly has crossed $1 million in posted transactions, and commemorated them with a colorful infographic depicting the break down of the early days of Zaarly.
While the idea of ‘online to offline’ for purchasing is proving to be powerful in the local commerce world, the trend of linking the physical world to the web is producing a number of startups that are innovating beyond just purchasing from local merchants or finding a product nearby. Many of the most interesting startups that have emerged over the past year or so are making our lives in the real… → Read More
As we’ve written in the past, Zaarly is a mobile-centric reverse Craigslist service. Here’s how Zarrly works. On the site or via the startup’s mobile apps, you post what you’re looking for (i.e. cupcakes), how much you’re… → Read More
If you’re like most people at SXSW the time change today and the drinking last night has hit you like a iron hammer. Well luckily Zaarly, the much buzzed about HTML 5 mobile app that connects buyers and sellers in a localized market place, is now live today in Austin. So if you’re stuck in bed needing Gatorade and Advil (or a change of clothes, or an iPhone charger, or …) you can now hit up … → Read More
Zaarly was little more than an idea when it won a LA Startup Weekend competition three weeks ago. But there’s been so much buzz about the startup that they’ve now gathered thousands of beta requests. And they’ve closed a $1 million funding round from top tier investors.


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Amazon is introducing Continental Europe to its organic food label Whole Foods, at first to visitors to Amazon's sites in France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Dry organic food from Whole Foods
The Whole Foods range that is being introduced to Continental Europe includes dry foods such as nuts, couscous, rice and dried fruit, packaged in the United Kingdom (where Whole Foods has seven supermarkets). The products are only delivered in bulk (between 0.5 and 2 kilograms).
Whole Foods is an American organic supermarket chain that belongs to Amazon. This is the first time the brand sets foot on the European continent. Previously, Whole Foods was only available in the United States and the United Kingdom, but now Amazon is expanding the brand to markets where it does not have any physical stores. A limited range is currently available under the labels Whole Foods, Whole Foods Market, WFM and 365.
Beginning of European expansion?
Amazon did announce the arrival of Whole Foods in Europe in a sneaky way, according to Supermarktblog. In response to the coming holidays, the organic label's logo was already visible among other Amazon labels in an advertising banner. The logo was soon removed: apparently Amazon was not yet ready for the launch at that time.
It remains unclear for now what Amazon is planning to do with the Whole Foods brand in Europe. We do know that the e-commerce giant is making a new step in the distribution of online food: it is also possible that Amazon plans to open physical Whole Foods supermarkets in Europe once the brand has settled on the continent.


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NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Shares of UnitedHealth (UNH) - Get Report are up almost 22% so far in 2015 and with all that's going on in the insurance industry, they have the potential to go up much more, said Eric Schoenstein, portfolio manager for the Jensen Quality Value fund.
"Obamacare and, more importantly, the whole exchange playing field is going to be something that they can benefit from simply because of their size and scale and because of the kind of cash flow that they can produce and reinvest into making sure those are the best opportunities for health care consumers," said Schoenstein.
The Jensen Quality Value Fund is down almost 2% year-to-date and sports a trailing twelve-month yield of 1%, according to fund-tracker Morningstar. Shares of Pepsi (PEP) - Get Report are up almost 5% thus far in 2015 compared to its nemesis Coca Cola (KO) - Get Report which has seen its stock fall nearly 1%.
"There has been a lot of talk about quality being something that people are looking at, but it's been a defensive characteristic," said Schoenstein.
"The reality is that Pepsi is still a pretty good growth company and the combination of that growth and the quality or value idea makes it a pretty attractive opportunity for the foreseeable future."
Another mega-cap name Schoenstein likes for the Jensen Quality Value fund is advertising giant Omnicom (OMC) - Get Report, which has seen its stock drop 5.4% so far in 2015. Two weeks ago, Omnicom said its worldwide revenue fell 1.7% in the second quarter to $3.81 billion.
Excluding the impact of the dollar and acquisitions, revenue rose 5.3%.
Meanwhile, net income fell to $310 million from $318.9 million the prior year, although earnings a share rose to $1.26 from $1.23 - ahead of Wall Street estimates - due to fewer shares outstanding in the latest quarter.
"The release of Windows 10 is certainly beneficial and I do think that the new CEO Nadella is doing a really nice job of being transparent about how the company is moving forward," said Schoenstein.


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Staff at Rapierstar have donated a trolley full of presents to help make sure disadvantaged children and adults in its local area do not go without this Christmas. The team at Rapierstarl took part in the ‘Deliver Joy this Christmas’ campaign organised by the retailer Dunelm at its store in Stoke-on-Trent.
The initiative gives members of the public the opportunity to donate a gift anonymously by picking up a tag in the Dunelm store with details of the present requested from somebody in need in the surrounding area, including age, gender and Christmas gift wish. These requests could be individuals from underprivileged schools, refugee centres or elderly care homes.
A member of the Rapierstar team visited the store to collect a number of these gift tags from the ‘Delivering Joy’ tree so the team could set to work organising gifts and wrapping them up. Donated gifts included a tea party set for a female in the 3-7 age group, a cookbook for a male aged between 20-30 and a knitted blanket for someone over 60.
Each gift was around £10 in value and, overall, a trolley of more than 15 presents was prepared before being dropped off at the Stoke Dunelm store for delivery before Christmas.
Coordinator of the Christmas present donations, Helena Furness, project manager at Rapierstar, said: “Our business is very lucky to be in a position to help those less fortunate, which is especially important at this time of year, so getting involved in the Delivering Joy this Christmas campaign was great. We are passionate about supporting those in our local community and hope to do more charitable activities throughout 2023.”
In addition to getting involved in the Dunelm campaign, the Rapierstar team has also raised money for East Cheshire Hospice. Donations were raised by staff taking part in a number of festive activities including swapping their blue Rapierstar workwear for Christmas jumpers and Santa hats.
As the UK and Ireland’s leading specialist fastener supplier to the door and window industry, Rapierstar provides the widest range of products to distributors and fabricators of all the major profile systems with more than one billion items held in stock at any time. Rapierstar’s technical consultants work closely with customers to help them manufacture the highest quality finished products most efficiently and safely.


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Volvo announced a bold move on October 16. The auto manufacturer not only introduced the XC40 Recharge, its first production electric car, but also pledged that by 2025 half its cars will be electric, while the rest will be “part electric” (plug-in hybrids) — and that factory-to-showroom carbon emissions will be down 40 percent per vehicle by that time. Volvo itself will be carbon neutral by 2040, said Henrik Green, the company’s chief technology officer.
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“Master Builders supports Infrastructure Victoria’s push for the state government take the lead in organising higher-density development in Melbourne’s suburbs,” Radley de Silva, CEO of Master Builders Association of Victoria, said.
Security of Payment over the holidays
Any payment claim must be met with a payment schedule within 10 business days.
Master Builders’ response to the ABCB Accessible..
In September 2018 the ABCB published the Accessible Housing Project’s Options Paper


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Retail giant Walmart made an announcement that pushed the Bitcoin price to the $48,000 level and is looking to hire a cryptocurrency expert. With this news, Bitcoin price and the market were moving.
Walmart listed a job posting and Bitcoin price jumped!
Walmart, the largest private employer in the US, has listed a job posting for a cryptocurrency and Blockchain product leader position. This news gave a significant impetus to the price of Bitcoin, which managed to revisit the $48,000 level on the Bitstamp exchange after a sharp rejection on Sunday. According to the job description, Walmart wants to hire someone “passionate” about cryptocurrencies to develop its crypto strategy.
Specifically, the new hire will need to form partnerships related to cryptocurrency and invest in the digital currency space. Walmart has been experimenting with Blockchain, the technology that underpins Bitcoin and other digital currencies for years. Following in the footsteps of AB InBev and other retailers turning to Blockchain to improve their supply chains, the company started using IBM’s food traceability solution to track leafy greens in 2018.
Walmart to issue its own cryptocurrency?
In late July, Walmart rival Amazon also posted a similar job posting, leading to a lot of speculation about the company’s future plans for the industry. Cryptocoin. com, Amazon denied these rumors. In 2019, Walmart filed a patent to launch a US-based stablecoin that would benefit low-income households without proper access to banking services.
This patent filing shows that the Bentonville-based retailer is more likely to expand with its own cryptocurrency than opening its doors to existing cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum. At the time of writing, Bitcoin price is trading at $47,500 after $48,000.


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Shares of Luckin Coffee (LKNC.Y -3.54%) were heating up last month after the Chinese coffee chain posted a strong third-quarter earnings report in its second update as a publicly traded company, and its lockup period expired without significant selling. According to data from S&P Global Intelligence, the stock finished November up 54%.
As you can see from the chart, the stock's surge came in the middle of the month following its earnings report.
Luckin, which has blanketed China with pickup locations since it began operating at the end of 2017, showed off incredible revenue growth in its third quarter. Sales jumped 542% to $215.7 million, well ahead of analyst estimates at $205.8 million. During the last year, the company's store count jumped from 1,189 to 3,680.
Total revenue from products per store rose 79.5%, and the company also took steps toward profitability as store-level operating profit increased 47.9% to $26.1 million. The results show that Luckin poses a credible threat to Starbucks in China, as the American company has proved that the Chinese are willing to embrace the cafe concept. The company reiterated its goal of becoming the largest coffee company in China by store count by the end of the year.
CEO Jenny Zhiya Qian was optimistic, saying: "With our distinguished value proposition of high quality, high affordability, and high convenience, we believe that Luckin Coffee has become part of more and more Chinese consumers' daily lives. China's coffee market remains highly underpenetrated, so we are very excited about the growth potential ahead of us."
Luckin's post-IPO lockup period also expired on Nov. 13, allowing insiders to sell their shares for the first time. But the stock's gains showed that they were content to hold the stock.
The company expects its rocket-like growth to continue in the fourth quarter, calling for revenue of $298 million to $313 million, up 519% from the year before.
Investors have been jittery about Chinese stocks over the last year or two amid the trade war with the U.S., but Luckin's strong growth is a bullish sign for the Chinese economy and Chinese stocks more broadly.


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Kazuo Hirai, the Chairman of Sony, has announced his retirement after 35 years with Sony.
Hirai will leave his role on 18 June, but he will continue to provide counsel as requested by Sony’s management team, acting as Senior Advisor for the Company. Hirai stepped down as CEO a year ago, with Kenichiro Yoshida taking the helm. Yoshida is the CFO with whom Hirai orchestrated Sonyâ€™s turnaround from a money-losing gadget maker to a profitable company focused on components and the PlayStation business.
A statement by Hirai outlined what he experienced and hopes for the company. “Since passing the baton of CEO to Yoshida-san last April, as Chairman of Sony, I have had the opportunity to both ensure a smooth transition and provide support to Sony’s management.”
The rest of Hirai’s statement is below:
“I am confident that everyone at Sony is fully aligned under Yoshida-san’s strong leadership, and are ready to build an even brighter future for Sony. As such, I have decided to depart from Sony, which has been a part of my life for the past 35 years. I would like to extend my warmest gratitude to all our employees and stakeholders who have supported me throughout this journey.”
Hirai started his 35-year journey with Sony starting with the music division. He eventually made it to the gaming business. He replaced Howard Stringer as CEO in 2012, during a period when Sony financial news was largely dire.
Although Sony’s gaming division is going way strong under his belt as compared to the red days of Sony, the mobile division continues to lose money. I think it’s because of Sony’s quite expensive phone prices and lack of latest market features such as a notch and double-lens camera.
Top image credit: Akio Kon/Bloomberg via Getty Images, Variety


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Ansell Limited, an Australia-based global manufacturer of protection solutions, announced that its European, Middle East, and African operations went live with SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP) software two weeks ago. The company pointed out that although it’s too early to claim a full success, the first results are definitely pretty optimistic. For anyone who follows ERP selection news, this announcement is nothing unusual. However, the context is surprising.
key diffrence between cognose bo


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Sunline recently launched Asegai braid featuring patented Xplasma technology that dramatically improves slickness, abrasion resistance, and water repellency. Slickness and smoothness are improved 370% and 260% respectively over conventional braided lines. The Xplasma process also improves braided lines allowing for longer casts and less freeze up in guides and reels in cold weater. Asegai is a premium eight strand Japanese made PE with tight woven surface.
- 165 yds


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STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – With coronavirus (COVID-19) cases trending downward in Michigan, salons, barbershops and spas have reopened across the state But the experience will look much different.
Haircuts, manicures and pedicures are something many Michiganders have been waiting months for during the pandemic.
Here’s what’s being done to make sure salons are ready and safe for customers and workers.
The customer experience is going to be very different at barbershops and salons for the foreseeable future.
As soon as you get to your salon or spa, more than likely you will check in with someone at the door.
Then, you will wait in your car, outside or in a waiting area until your appointment.
When customers make their way to the door at many salons, they can take a seat outside or in their vehicles to wait for a barber to become available.
Employees are required to wear masks, and customers are likely to be asked to do the same at many salons.
Local 4 was at Hayes Barbershop in Sterling Heights on Monday, and all employees and customers were wearing masks or face shields.
This is being done to protect both customers and employees.
Social distancing measures are also being enforced.
People not from the same household are required to stay at least six feet apart in public places.
“We’re spaced pretty good apart,” Hayes Barbershop employee John Agrusa said. “We’re good. Everyone’s wearing their face protection, hand protection.”
Agrusa said Hayes Barbershop has alcohol and hand sanitizer at every station.
“We’re just being extra diligent as far as wiping down the front door and things that clients touch, more than we were before,” Agrusa said.
Experts say keeping common surfaces clean is critical to stopping the spread of the coronavirus. It’s also important to avoid touching your face, just in case you touch a surface that might have been infected.
Due to some of the changes, you might want to carve out some extra time for your appointment.
Businesses are taking some time to make sure all the precautions above are followed to keep everyone safe. It’s possible they could be running behind as a result.
There’s also expected to be high demand for appointments over the next couple of weeks as residents who have waited months to get haircuts, manicures and pedicures rush to their favorite salons and barbershops.
It’s important to be patient and try to work with businesses as they adjust to the new normal and work as quickly as they can while still following important safety protocols.