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When consumers run out of their favourite shampoo, razors or deodorant, they want to replace it, fast. This provides an opportunity for wholesalers and retailers to take advantage of distress purchase items, as well as the growing trend for top-up shopping that consumers are displaying.
Jane Boret, marketing manager for Dove Men+Care and Sure For Men at Unilever UK, comments: “The male grooming category is currently worth pound;607.8m, and is growing steadily at +1.6% year-on-year. While a number of segments are performing well, male grooming still has a long way to go before maturity, and presents a significant opportunity to brands, wholesalers and retailers, to close the usage gap between men and women when it comes to grooming. The real challenge is to continue to educate and engage men on how and why these products are relevant to them.”
According to Unilever, Dove Men+Care offers high performance products combined with unbeatable skin-caring action, which is targeted at the relatively untapped older male market and the success is reflected in its sales with the brand growing 47.3% year-on-year.
Unilever has introduced a new range to its Lynx brand with Lynx Hair. The portfolio includes five variants, Anti Dandruff, 2 in 1, Intense Clean, Just Clean and Attract Shampoo. There is also a range of styling products.
Richard Whitty, brand manager for Lynx Hair, says: “As the UK’s biggest ‘men only’ brand, with considerable brand equity and a large existing consumer base, Lynx is uniquely placed to untap the male potential on haircare. UK males are increasingly buying ‘men only’ products for which they are willing to pay a premium.”
Also in the Lynx range, Unilever has introduced a limited edition female fragrance. Lynx Attract features a fragrance for both men and women and will be supported with a TV advert.
Kieran Danaher, Lynx brand manager at Unilever UK, says: “This is a historic moment for Lynx as a brand. For the first time in our 27-year history we are launching a male and female variant at the same time. Lynx Attract will unleash the full power of the ‘Lynx Effect’ for both sexes and make the mating game doubly exciting.”
Also in the Lynx range is Lynx 2012: The Final Edition which has been inspired by the Mayan calendar, which is set to end its final cycle on December 21 2012. The adverts feature a Noah’s ark theme to imply the end of the world.
Danaher, says: “Following the phenomenal success of Lynx Excite in 2011, we believe that Lynx 2012: The Final Edition can really take things to the next level. As a brand we continually strive to innovate and push boundaries with creative marketing campaigns.”
In October last year Unilever re-launched its core lotions range with a new look and new formulation. Adding to this, last month it re-launched its hand care range and introduced an anti bacterial variant.
Lauren Brooking, Vaseline brand manager for Unilever UK amp; Ireland, says: “As the nation’s most trusted skincare brand, Vaseline is always working to improve and develop its products to meet consumers’ needs. We want to make our customers feel good while saving them money and time, and the 2-in-1 Hand Cream + Anti Bac is a real innovation to the market.”
P amp;G is adding to its shampoo offering with larger bottle sizes for Aussie. Paul Lettice, head of trade communications at P amp;G, says: “We’re pleased to launch the new bigger Aussie bottles and formula upgrade for 2012. The new larger format will offer loyal Aussie consumers even more of their favourite shampoo and conditoner ranges, and also encourage trial from new shoppers looking for value for money.”
Miracle Moist, Aussome Volume, Mega and Colour Mate Shampoo larger packs will be 500ml and the conditioners 400ml. As well as the new size, Aloe Vera has been added to the entire Aussie shampoo and conditioner range and this is highlighted on pack.
Also in haircare, P amp;G has upgraded its Pantene range with the entire portfolio being restructered in three collections, Fine Hair, Normal/Thick Hair and Coloured Hair.
Lettice says: “Research has shown that 95% of women are not satisfied with the end result of their haircare products and 55% of woman also feel overwhelmed and confused by the number of haircare products available. The new Pantene range aims to tackle these issues head on with its product upgrade and restructure.
“We expect to continue pleasing our loyal fan base with our best ever conditioning formulas and entice new users to the brand with the promise of bringing out the healthy looking hair they want a solution that goes beyond a temporary fix to deliver lasting results with regular use.”
Last year P amp;G gave its Always brand a makeover as well as launching three new products, Ultra Long Jumbo, Simply Fits Long Plus and Simply Fits Maxi Normal. The new pack design aims to increase stand-out on shelf and features a larger Always logo for increased brand recall.
This year it has re-launched its Always Dailies Panty Liners, now called Always Dailies. Lettice says: “The innovative launch of Always Dailies will excite the category and create a whole new occasion for panty liners. As category leaders we continue to invest in our product offering, providing the highest quality product to consumers.”
P amp;G also launched the Irritation Defense range in the Gillette Series. It has been formulated with an active soothing complex designed to work alongside the Gillette ProGlide razor.
The Irritation Defense shaving gel and foam work in three ways to help protect skin against shaving irritation: hydrating to soften hair, lubricating to help protect the skin, and cooling to soothe the skin. After the shave the moisturiser and balm are designed to hydrate and relieve dryness and cool to soothe just shaved skin.
Lettice says: “The new Irritation Defense range from Gillette will provide a complete shaving solution to consumers who experience shaving irritation. This new and improved range will ensure that consumers have the best possible products to provide them with the Gillette shave experience that they have come to expect.”
Also in razors, P amp;G teamed up with Jennifer Lopez to promote Venus as its first brand ambassador.
Wilkinson Sword has launched a razor that boasts green credentials. Intuition Naturals more earth-friendly packaging is 100% recyclable, helping to reduce the impact on nature and care for the planet.
According to Wilkinson Sword, consumer trials have shown the purchase intent for Intuition Natural is 15% higher than the current Intuition Sensation variant and when just considering packing, purchase intent of the new environmentally-friendly packaging is 43% higher than the current blister format, with strong sales expected from the February launch.
Diana Graovac, product manager female systems at Wilkinson Sword, says: “Intuition Naturals is another great example of Wilkinson Sword’s commitment to introducing innovative solutions, in response to real consumer needs and demands. The current Intuition range is highly popular with consumers and we’re excited to see the impact it has on the brand.”
GlaxoSmithKline is continuing its sponsorship of Dancing on Ice for the third year with its oral healthcare brand Macleans.
GSK reports that the sponsorship in 2011 saw MacLeans’ sales increase by 56.3% compared to the prior period.
Carla Speering, brand director, family oral health, for GSK consumer healthcare, says: “Our sponsorship of Dancing on Ice has proved highly successful and we are really proud to be associated for the third year. On average nine million viewers watched each episode last year and the huge popularity of the show is expected to drive awareness and sales of Macleans’ range once again in 2012.”
Richard Jorden, commercial director, DCS
The major launch by Unilever of Lynx Attract is the first truly cross category launch of the L ynx brand. If the Attract launch is as successful as the introduction of Excite last year there are lots of opportunities to realise here.
Lynx Attract is just one of a number of launch initiatives from Unilever. Others include a wave of price-marked pack activity on the brand. Other health and beauty manufacturers Procter Gamble, PZ Cussons, and Colgate Palmolive all offer a host of price-marked packs that offer a decent shared margin at a competitive retail price compared to the usual channel pricing.
Hair care is very buoyant at the moment and 2012 sees a host of brand activity.
The major brands provide the channel with the best support notably Procter Gamble, Unilever, Colgate Palmolive, and PZ Cussons.


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According to CBS News, "A pilot project in downtown Toronto is testing e-cargo bikes for FedEx deliveries. The idea is to reduce carbon emissions from all those trucks on the road making deliveries for Canadians' online purchases during this pandemic, while also reducing companies' delivery costs."
While Fedex deliveries through eBikes may seem a cool novel idea, China has been doing this for a very long time. China today has over half a billion bicycles and 200 million eBikes. Apparently there are 1,200 eBike manufacturers in China. FedEx and DHL already do eBike deliveries in Paris. The Netherlands, where eBikes are very popular, also has eBike cargo deliveries.
While this is a small start in the American content, it's still very encouraging, especially now, when there are more talks of a possible Tesla eBike, designed by Kendall Tuernerr. Tesla isn't dominating the eBike market, but some other companies, like the BH Bikes, are making some great advances with longer range electric bicycles.
eBikes Solve Delivery Van Shortage
There is another problem that the parcel delivery industry is experiencing these days. Due to the phenomenal growth in online sales, delivery vans are starting to run out. At least, this is the reality that some retail giants are experiencing, including FedEx, Daniel Rufiange reports at Auto123.
The current shortage of FedEx delivery vans is created due to the closure of car assembly plants this year due to the virus. In fact, we at Torque News have experienced the same problem as we have had fewer review vehicles this year due to the car manufacturing closures earlier this year.
This has driven up costs for UPS and FedEx, among others. The latter urged the car rental companies it does business with to buy as many vans as they can, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. “If there’s a cargo van out there, we’re trying to buy it," says Brendan Keegan, CEO of vehicle supplier Merchants Fleet to Bloomberg.
While FedEx says the shortage will not reduce its ability to deliver packages, it is weighing on its profit margins, Bloomberg reports.
And here come the electric bicycles, which we have already reported that are great companions to electric vehicles. Now it appears that eBikes can be great companions to parcel delivery vans too as FedEx is piloting this new program to make cargo deliveries with eBikes, which have good performance and extended range.
New cargo eBikes are very inviting, writes Stefan Weissenborn in Spiegel. Cargo bikes are becoming more and more sophisticated - and more powerful.
And the range is growing - new brands of cargo bikes are being added, the bodies are becoming more inventive. Customers no longer only have the choice between a loading platform and a loading box: there are watertight or crash-optimized boxes, footrests and children's doors, shock-absorbing seats, and leak-proof feeding bowls - if the dog is traveling with them. Compact cargo bikes are emerging that combine a high payload with the maneuverability of a normal bike, plus two-lane models with tilting technology - so that the load does not tip over.
Armen Hareyan is the founder and the Editor in Chief of Torque News. He founded TorqueNews.com in 2010, which since then has been publishing expert news and analysis about the automotive industry. He can be reached at Torque News Twitter, Facebok, Linkedin and Youtube.
Photos: Screenshots from CBS CA Youtube.

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Remote work has given people the opportunity to do their job from anywhere. That is why Airbnb is focused on helping people take advantage of this newfound flexibility and Senior Communications lead for North America, Liz Debold Fusco, joined Inside South Florida to tell us more.
“It's no surprise we can't wait to travel again this summer. According to an Airbnb survey, more than nine out of 10 guests are considering hitting the road in the next few months,” says Fusco. “The majority of us are expected to travel with our family this summer. Family travel is at an all-time high.”
Airbnb has made some new upgrades to their platform that make finding your rental house even easier.
“We introduced 150 upgrades to improve every aspect of the Airbnb service. We're launching the biggest change to Airbnb in a decade and it includes three big things,” says Fusco. “The first is Airbnb categories. We have millions of people now more flexible about where they live and work. We created a new way to search designed around Airbnb categories so you can actually discover millions of unique homes you never knew even existed.”
For more information, visit airbnb.com
This Inside South Florida segment is paid for by Airbnb


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AB Foods Forecasts Stagnant EPS as Sugar Weighs on OutlookGabi Thesing and Matthew Boyle
Associated British Foods Plc said earnings per share in the current fiscal year will fail to grow as declining profit from the sugar business offsets growth at the Primark clothing chain.
Adjusted earnings per share rose 13 percent in the 12 months ended Sept. 14 to 98.9 pence, and AB Foods expects a “similar” result this year, the London-based company said today. Primark’s adjusted operating profit rose 44 percent to 514 million pounds ($825 million), topping the 435 million pounds of earnings from its sugar division. The stock fell as much as 3.6 percent, the steepest intraday drop in two months.
“Management’s tone around 2014 seems cautious,” said Andrew Wood, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, who had forecast 3 percent earnings per share growth. “We would expect to reduce our estimates.”
The sugar industry has been weighed down by price pressure caused by accelerating imports from outside the European Union. Primark’s discount fashions have seen the chain become a favorite with U.K. shoppers wanting the latest designs at cheap prices. The retailer is also expanding across Europe, helping sales gain 22 percent to 4.27 billion pounds.
Shares in AB Foods traded 2.6 percent lower at 2,196 pence as of 10:49 a.m. in London trading. The stock is up 40 percent this year.
“Sugar was in line with our expectations and it was a remarkable year for Primark,” Chief Executive Officer George Weston said in the statement. The company won’t spin off Primark, the CEO said in an interview today.
Primark’s like-for-like sales increased 5 percent for the year, meeting analysts’ estimates. The chain plans to open its first French store in Marseille just before Christmas, followed by stores in Dijon and three just outside Paris next year. The company will expand in existing European markets, Weston said, and it has no plans to offer shopping online.
“There is lots and lots of scope in our existing markets,” the executive said. “We’ve just entered France as our ninth market. There are only 10 stores in Germany, against 161 stores in the U.K.”
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What’s up gamers, this is Tyuno The Great. There are a ton of new games coming this month. Here are some top new game releasing for the month of June.
N4G is a community of gamers posting and discussing the latest game news. It’s part of NewsBoiler, a network of social news sites covering today’s pop culture.


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Green Mountain Energy Company and Sundance Square teamed up to make Sundance Square even greener during the Superbowl. The efforts were part of Sundance Square’s ongoing commitment to promote sustainability and make Fort Worth’s popular downtown entertainment and shopping district as environmentally friendly as possible.
Sundance Square purchased additional wind power from Green Mountain for the week leading up to the big game through the Superbowl weekend. Green Mountain also introduced its first Green Mountain Green Zone – a special area that will feature activities and games tailored to the football theme of the week.
Sundance Square generated additional electricity as a result of activities related to big game festivities and ESPN choosing Sundance Square as its production headquarters for the week. Sundance Square purchased nearly 1.7 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of Texas wind energy from Green Mountain for the week of the big game to ensure that all power used this week is clean.
Since January 2008, Sundance Square has purchased over 19 million kWh of renewable energy from Green Mountain for its commercial, residential, entertainment, and retail development that encompasses 35 city blocks. The cumulative environmental impact of the purchase to date is equivalent to avoiding over 2.6 million pounds of CO2, which is like:
- 7.4 million houses turning off all their lights for a day
- Taking 824,000 cars off the road for a day
- Planting over 38,000 trees
The Green Mountain Green Zone included the following:
- Eco-activities — Green football toss and a bicycle-powered CFL light display
- Free photo ops – Renewable energy-themed photo stockade with face cutouts
- Super Earth – Green Mountain’s mascot will make appearances throughout the week
- Prizes and giveaways – Join the fun, win a prize!
“We were excited to give football fans the opportunity to ‘green up’ their visit to the Big Game this week,” said Paul Markovich, president of Residential Services, Green Mountain Energy Company. “Visitors to the Green Zone learned more about the benefits of choosing renewable energy and had some fun in the process.”
In 2010, Sundance Square was recognized nationally for its commitment to advancing renewable energy, when it received a National Green Power Leadership Award from the Center for Resource Solutions. Sundance Square received the Best Promotional Campaign by a Green Power Purchaser award, which honors an organization that has purchased or generated green power and promoted its use in a compelling way.
Sundance Square’s green power campaign includes marketing efforts with Green Mountain, including co-branded advertising, event sponsorship, on-site signage, electric cars, event green power sales, and the use of renewable energy certificates to offset holiday tree lighting.


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Microsoft’s new found friendship with Barnes & Noble reveals that the Redmond brain trust may finally be wrapping its mind around the dynamics of the mobile market.
As market leaders Amazon and Apple already know, ecosystems are the key to success. By investing big in Barnes & Noble, Microsoft is saying that it knows that, too.
Ironically, Barnes & Noble was among the first to recognize ecosystem dynamics in the e-book field. Its Nook ecosystem spanned all platforms–phones, tablets and personal computers–and all operating systems–Windows, iOS, Android, and OS X. The addition of its own e-reader was an ecosystem imperative, not a hardware one.
While B&N had the savvy, though, it didn’t have the cash its competitors had. Now it has it, via Microsoft’s pledge of $300 million for a new technology company with the Nook at its core, as well as $180 million to develop a Nook app for Windows 8, and $125 million over five years to acquire content and develop technology.
Meanwhile, Microsoft gets a ready-made ecosystem for itself. “Microsoft has a strong pedigree with software developer ecosystems and perhaps now recognizes the value of ‘other’ content,” Rob Bamforth, a principal analyst at the UK-based consulting firm Quocirca, told PCWorld.
Although Nooks sales have been limited largely to the United States, they have been strong, Bamforth noted. “Microsoft’s investment demonstrates [the Nook’s] perceived value and is a further indication of the way media publishing is going,” he said.
“Digital content brings not only a change in technology, but also introduces new business models and undermines existing ones,” Bamforth added.
Amazon to Remain Dominant?
However, even with Microsoft’s backing, it’s doubtful that B&N will be able to challenge Amazon’s dominance in the marketplace.
“Microsoft joining Barnes & Noble will help it strengthen its position,” said Angéle Boyd, the group vice president of imaging, printing and document solutions for IDC in Framingham, Mass. “Will it remain a third player? My gut instinct is yes, because Amazon has the clout.”
Nevertheless, three players are still better than two, argued Gurpreet Kaur, a tablet and e-reader analyst with Gap Intelligence San Diego. “Now publishers will have another avenue to go to,” Kaur observed. “It’s not just Amazon and Apple anymore.”
“Competition is good,” she said. “It gives people more options.”
What’s more, the B&N ecosystem has the potential to surpass Apple in the ebook arena. That’s because Apple’s ecosystem isn’t as open as B&N’s, which encompasses not only Apple’s devices, but others as well. For that to happen, though, Microsoft must let B&N execute on its cross-platform ecosystem vision and not limit new developments only to Microsoft products.


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As an Exelon company, Constellation Energy is part of one of the biggest — and historically most polluting — corporations in North America. Given Exelon’s vast production energy, ranking on the PERI Toxic 100 list is perhaps not that surprising. The good news is that Exelon is upfront about its room for eco-friendly improvement and make it easy for Constellation customers to go green, too.
Still, we like that if you choose to re-up with FirstEnergy again at the end of your initial term, you won’t have to worry whether you’re enrolling at an expensive time of year. First, since it offers just two options, constant for years, its prices are set with the long haul in mind. Second, since the electricity grid in Pennsylvania is more taxed during winter than any other season (space heating accounts for 50 percent of household electricity consumption in PA; air conditioning just three percent), signing up in summer means prices won’t be temporarily inflated.
The Texas Senate Bill 7, passed in 2002, gave 5.6 million Texans the power to choose a retail electric provider (REP) to supply electricity to their home or business. This bill facilitated a competitive energy marketplace that 85 percent of Texans can capitalize on today. Energy choice is available to residents in Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth as well as other cities in Texas.
Although electricity prices in the UK aren't cheap some countries have it much worse. In this article I'm going compare internationally to look at who is paying more $/kWh for their energy. I’ve gathered some numbers and crunched a little data to see who is really paying a lot for their power. For my neighbour here in the UK I’ll add a bit more data at the end.
If you’re looking for a new electricity deal, you’re not alone: 319,000 electricity customers switched energy supplier during January 2018, according to OFGEM*. Shopping around for the best electricity deal is simpler than you might think – but there are bound to be a few questions. Here’s everything you ever wanted to know about comparing electricity deals.


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Tag Archives: Firmware-Update
DJI rolls out a new firmware update for it’s Sparc drones, that shall improve flight reliability. Users who are not updating, will find it’s drone be grounded after September 1, 2017. Further details may be read here or here.
[German]Microsoft has released a new Firmware Update for Surface Pro 3 on August 24, 2017. It shall fixes issues with devices using Type Cover.
[German]Vendor QNAP has fixed a critical bug in its firmware for NAS drives, that may causes data loss in several RAID configurations.
Microsoft has released another Firmware Update for Surface Pro 4 (July 21, 2017) to improve drivers and battery usage.
Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 received another December 2016 firmware update- The last update was released in August 2016. The new firmware updates the ‘Realtek Semiconductor Corp. driver for Realtek High Definition Audio (SST)’ to v18.104.22.16895. According to this US-Update-History site, … Continue reading
Microsoft has released updates for UEFI firmware and drivers for Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book on August 30, 2016.
This night, Microsoft has released new firmware updates for Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book to fix some issues related to this devices.


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Double denim revives. (You won’t look a stud)
In the long line of fashion trends that should never see the light of day again, double denim is probably top of most people’s lists.
From Justin and Britney in their matching blues to Dolly Parton and Tom Selleck, double denim — also known as the Texan tuxedo — has not been fashionable since the 1990s. But it is making a return, thanks to designers and celebrities who cannot get enough of matching their indigo, whether that be shirts or jackets, jeans or skirts.
Richard Hurren, vice-president of Levi Strauss northern Europe, said: “We’re seeing a real return to authenticity, nostalgia and Eighties and Nineties style. Double denim is synonymous with all of these trends.”
Men, however, take note — while the trend is strong


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Employee engagement helps P&G hit energy reduction goal four years early
Consumer goods firm Procter & Gamble (P&G) has revealed that a new energy engagement initiative at manufacturing sites has improved energy efficiency by 5% in the last 12 months, which has seen the company hit a 2020 goal for energy reduction four years early.
Outlined in the company’s first-ever Citizenship Report, P&G highlighted how its Power of 5 Energy campaign had acted as a catalyst for hitting a energy reduction goal of 20% against a 2010 baseline. The campaign, which sets the conservation team a target of saving $100m in energy costs over year years, has seen employees utilise workshops and “value stream mapping” to analyse and create frameworks for the reductions.
“We are, and want to be known as, a company that is governed responsibly and behaves ethically, that is open and transparent in its business dealings, that supports good causes and protects the environment, and that provides an appealing place to work where our employees are treated well and are given the opportunity to be all they can be,” P&G’s president David Taylor said.
The 2020 energy target is not the only goal that P&G has met early. The report highlights that a 20% reduction in truck transportation kilometres has been surpassed by an extra 5%. Goals to map supply chain engagement and traceability, third-part certification of all virgin wood fibre and a 20% reduction in water use have all been reached or exceeded.
In 2015, P&G adopted a new science-based goal for emissions, with the target now sitting at a 30% reduction compared to 2010. So far, P&G has achieved a 10% reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions and will hope that joining the RE100, which calls on the company to commit to using 100% renewable energy, will accelerate this reduction. Subsequently a goal to ensure that plants are powered by 30% renewable energy by 2020 currently sits a 9.6%.
While the company has achieved a 24% reduction in water use across manufacturing sites, it is less than half-way to a goal of providing one billion people with access to “water-efficient” products. As of 2016, these products have reached 450 million people, although P&G has delivered its 10 billionth litre of clean drinking water to communities recovering from natural disasters across the globe.
Packaging and waste
With a zero-deforestation commitment targeted for 2020, all Charmin products are now FSC and Rain Forest Alliance certified. The company has also made steps to improve the recyclability of its packaging.
In 2016, 100% of P&G’s paper packaging contained either recycled or third-party certified materials, while 86% of all product packaging – including plastic which has seen 30% extra recycled resin introduced – is either recyclable or placed into programmes to create the ability to recycle it.
An example of this is P&G’s Oral-B waste stream, which is finding a second life in construction bricks, while Head and Shoulders packaging is converted to compost in China; the Always brand packaging can also be found in low-cost soles for Indian shoes.
The diversion of waste into new innovations has saved the company around $1.6bn over nine years and currently, 55% of P&G’s manufacturing sites have reached zero manufacturing waste to landfill. The company may need to increase efforts to reduce packaging outright, with a 2020 target to reduce packaging per person by 20% currently sitting at 12.5%.
Earlier this year, P&G announced a new innovation which will end phosphate use from all retail and professional Fairy dishwasher tablets by 2017, significantly reducing the environmental footprint of its products in addition to improving cleaning performance.
According to the company, more than 4,500 tonnes of phosphates will be saved in the UK alone, while Fairy users choosing not to pre-rinse dishes could make total water savings of 820m litres.
Speaking exclusively to edie earlier this year, P&G’s global sustainability director Virginie Helias – who has also spoken on edie’s Sustainable Business Covered podcast – claimed that integrating sustainability as a business strategy required “courageous leadership” in a world with limited resources and environmental challenges.


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After introducing a slew of products, under its Make In India private label label – Billion, Flipkart has now added to the basket Billion’s Air Conditioners.
Billion was first launched in 2017 and, per Flipkart, is designed to suit the needs of Indian citizens. Inc42 earlier reported that the company had collected data and customer feedback to build products that target Indian needs and sensibilities. Launched with this motive, its Billion private label currently includes various consumer products such as mixers, backpacks, clothes iron, cookware, other electrical appliances and mixer grinders, among others.
On the most recent launch, Hrishikesh Thite, Category Head of Flipkart’s Brand Billion said, “Our range of inverter air conditioners has been built with insights about Indians at the core of its design. We will continue to inform about our upcoming launches in large appliances such as televisions, washing machines, refrigerators and more.”
Flipkart’s Billion AC could be another booster to Government of India’s Make In India scheme. The ecommerce unicorn has teamed up with various Indian suppliers along with domestic manufacturers to build its brand Billion products. Meanwhile, the country already has native AC manufacturers like Godrej, Videocon, Fedders Lloyd and Onida. International AC makers include Japan-based Daikin, Hitachi, Fujitsu; America-based Whirlpool; Korea-based LG and Samsung.
Per IBEF report, the Indian AC market size by volume accounted for 10 Mn units of sales to $47 Bn in 2015, and is expected to witness 6.7% growth by 2020. High income growth and rising demand for split ACs are the key growth drivers, the report said.
Since its inception in October 2007, Flipkart has customer base of over 100 Mn with over 80 Mn products across 80+ categories. Under its brand Billion, the online retailer recently launched Smartphone Billion Capture+ and Billion series – Power Bank, among others.
To challenge Flipkart, Amazon India launched its own private smartphone brand Tenor in January 2018. Prior to that, Amazon has introduced an array of its global products and services in India: Amazon Kindle, Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Now, Amazon Pantry, Amazon Pay, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Amazon’s Alexa Skills Kit (ASK), Alexa Voice Service (AVS), etc.
In recent past, the ecommerce market of India has raised several eyebrows, especially in the aftermath of international players Amazon and Walmart tussle over to own shares in homegrown online retailer Flipkart.
As Indian ecommerce market is poised to register a growth of $200 Bn by 2026, another international player to watch-out for is Alibaba, Chinese multinational retail firm, which has already positioned itself well in India after investing $200 Mn in Paytm Mall. It has also invested on TicketNew, an online ticketing platform. The Company is further eyeing to invest on food app Zomato and online grocer Bigbasket.


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(Pocket-lint) - Google has release an update to its Nexus phone app to include automatic protection against spam callers. The new phone app is available to Nexus and Android One device owners, and will help owners identify and block bothersome phone calls.
Once the update has landed on your device, if you get a call from a suspected spam caller the phone will ring with a big red banner, with "suspected spam caller" showing underneath the telephone number. By default, the app has the feature switched on, but you can switch it off if you don't want it.
To switch off caller ID and spam protection in the updated app, open the phone app then hit the "more" three-dot menu. Tap "caller ID and spam protection", then tap "off". To reactivate the feature, follow the same procedure.
As part of the service you can both block and flag spam numbers it hasn't picked up yet and whitelist numbers marked as spam incorrectly.
To mark a call as spam, open the phone app and head to the recent call list. Tap the specific call you want to mark as spam, tap "block/report as spam" and you'll be asked if you want to report the number. Tap "report call as spam" then tap "block".
Once you've done that, Google will be notified about a possible spam number and can help other users by identifying it as a suspected spam call. By blocking manually, you'll never receive a call on your phone from that number again.
If a number you've received from is wrongly labelled as spam, head to your recent calls list then tap on the call you want to whitelist. Then all you need to do is tap "not spam" to make sure your phone doesn't identify it as a spam call.
Of course, Google isn't the only company to add this feature to its phones. Both Samsung and BlackBerry have the feature built in to their latest Android devices as standard, while apps like Hiya can be installed on to any other Android phone from the Play Store to add the feature.


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Underlying inflation pressures rose in November even as renewed weakness in gasoline prices kept overall U.S. consumer prices in check, which could give the Federal Reserve more ammunition to raise interest rates on Wednesday.
The Labor Department said on Tuesday its so-called core Consumer Price Index, which excludes food and energy, increased 0.2 percent last month. It was the third straight month that the core CPI increased by 0.2 percent.
In the 12 months through November, the core CPI rose 2.0 percent, the largest gain since May 2014, after rising 1.9 percent in October.
The increase in core CPI reflected steady gains in the cost of rents, airline fares, new motor vehicles and medical care. They were, however, offset by falling gasoline prices, leaving the overall CPI unchanged last month after a 0.2 percent increase in October.


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True supply chain visibility remains "the impossible dream" for shippers. That's because the complexity and global nature of today's supply chains make it difficult to obtain complete, accurate, and timely shipment data. An initiative launched by INTTRA, an e-commerce platform for managing ocean shipping transactions, could help resolve the problem by improving the quality of the information ocean carriers provide to their customers.
The company's information quality initiative includes several elements: data quality measurements; a shipment-data tracking and analysis system for shippers; consulting services to help ocean carriers improve their data quality; and a collaboration with the international data standards organization GS1 US.
INTTRA says it is well-positioned to improve supply chain data quality. The company, which counts more than 50 ocean carriers and consolidators as members, has visibility into bookings, documentation, and shipping transactions for about 35 percent of the world's container traffic. That translates into approximately 1.5 million messages a day, according to Chief Marketing Officer Sandra Moran.
DATA FOR SHIPPERS, CARRIERS
The first element of the information quality initiative establishes measurements for the completeness, accuracy, and timeliness of shipment information—something that previously did not exist, Moran said in an interview. That required defining a standard set of messages marking key milestones for every container shipment. Initially, there are six: gate in, container load, vessel depart, vessel arrive, container unload, and gate out. If a carrier provides all six data points through INTTRA, the container shipment information is then considered "complete." (More events, such as transshipments and intermodal moves, may eventually be added.)
INTTRA measures accuracy by comparing the six container lifecycle events against the transportation booking. Timeliness is measured by assessing whether data about the six container events are submitted in the correct chronological order. In the future, the program may also measure how quickly carriers provide information following a milestone, said Kristin Celecki, director of product marketing, visibility solutions.
Participating carriers receive a monthly scorecard that shows how well they've performed on all three counts and measures them against their own previous performance and that of all carriers in the program. Since the program was launched in September 2013, the number of "complete" shipments for all participating carriers has improved by 12 percent, according to INTTRA.
Another element of the initiative, the cloud-based Insights Platform for Visibility, lets INTTRA customers access, analyze, and respond to container event data. This makes shipment information available to shippers of all sizes, not just big companies with sophisticated tracking systems, Moran said.
A third element identifies which event data are missing, and from where. INTTRA drills down not just by carrier but also by country, port, and even individual container terminals to help identify the source of a data problem, Moran said. The company can use that information to help participating carriers improve their data quality.
"For example, when we look at vessel departures ... if we see one carrier with significantly higher data quality that is operating from the same terminal as a carrier with bad quality, we can help assess where the problem lies," Moran said. "It could be that the carrier's system isn't able to match information to the shipment properly."
If INTTRA's database is representative of overall information quality throughout the container shipping industry, then an estimated 17 million shipments per year lack complete tracking information, Moran said.
Equally disturbing is INTTRA's finding that two of the world's most important trading partners—the United States and China—are among the worst in providing complete shipment data.
In March, INTTRA released a list of the countries scoring the best and worst in information quality, measured by completeness of container milestone data. The five best (in descending order) were: Hong Kong, Chile, Thailand, Canada, and Australia. The worst were China, Turkey, the United States, South Korea, and India. Overall, INTTRA said, the five best-scoring countries for information quality represent 5 percent of total incomplete shipments measured under its information quality program, while the five worst countries represent 47 percent of the volume of total incomplete shipments the technology firm reviewed.
WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?
Why is it so hard for shippers to get seemingly basic information—complete, accurate, and in chronological order—from ocean carriers? One reason is that the information is created and shared in a wide range of formats and methods, including manually. Another reason, Moran said, is that the carriers aren't generating most of the event data; rather, they receive information—often out of sequence—from ports, terminal operators, and other sources around the world and pass it on to customers, often via a third party. "Many carriers don't have a single system for gathering and delivering that data, which itself comes from many systems," she said.
Providing better-quality ocean shipment information could help companies more accurately assess supply chain performance, understand total landed costs, drive logistical improvements, and take excess inventory out of their supply chains, Moran said. But, she added, "You can't do all that until the data is there ... it has to be available faster and more predictably."
Achieving that lofty goal requires consistency in when and how information is shared. On that count, INTTRA is collaborating with the international data standards organization GS1 US to develop and implement guidelines for the automated formatting and exchanging of containerized shipping data. The GS1 US Logistics Workgroup, which INTTRA recently joined, will develop automated processes, a standard set of container delivery events, and targets for data transmission timeliness. The group will also work on further definition of the shipment data to be exchanged and on best practices documentation.
Electronic data interchange (EDI) messages that describe a shipment's status do exist, but they don't meet shippers' information needs, Moran said. "EDI is a data standard, but it doesn't have business process guidelines. ... Our collaboration with GS1 is about the circumstances around getting that data—when that data should be exchanged and when after an actual event companies should receive related data."


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ROTTERDAM, the Netherlands, December 3, 2019 – LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) today announced that Ceyhan Polipropilen Uretim A.Ş, a joint venture between Rönesans Holding and Sonatrach S.p.A., has selected LyondellBasell’s Spheripol technology for a 450 KTA polypropylene unit to be constructed in Ceyhan, Turkey.
“We are delighted to be the technology provider of choice for this polyolefin plant in Turkey,” said Neil Nadalin, Director of Licensing at LyondellBasell. Nadalin added: “With the selection of our Spheripol technology Ceyhan Polipropilen Uretim is in the position to deliver benchmark polypropylene resins with an easy to operate, reliable and safe technology with outstanding monomer efficiency.”
Mr. Evren Ayral, Board Member at Ceyhan Polipropilen Uretim stated: “We have selected LyondellBasell’s technology for our PP project as the Spheripol products are well known in the region already which strongly supports the development of our market giving us the freedom to focus on our goal to strive for operational excellence with our newly developed facility.”
Spheripol is the leading PP process technology with more than 27 million tons of licensed capacity. The latest fifth generation Spheripol technology includes process improvements that further maximize operational efficiency. The plant will commence operations using Avant ZN catalyst.
New licensees can take advantage of LyondellBasell’s in-house expertise of continuous production improvement, sustainable product development and catalyst know-how, by optionally joining our technical service program.
LyondellBasell is a leading licensor of polypropylene and polyethylene technologies with more than 280 polyolefin process licenses. In addition to the Spheripol process technology, LyondellBasell’s portfolio of licensed polyolefin processes and catalysts includes:
Spherizone – The breakthrough multi-zone circulating reactor provides a unique and innovative platform to manufacture polypropylene products with novel architecture and enhanced properties
Hostalen – Leading low-pressure slurry process for the production of high-performance multimodal HDPE
Lupotech – The market leader on high pressure technology offers, with its high conversion rates and effective heat recovery system, the lowest operating and investment costs for the production of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymers
Spherilene – Flexible gas phase process technology for the production of LLDPE, MDPE and HDPE
Metocene PP – Innovative add-on technology for the production of specialty polypropylene products using single-site catalyst systems
Avant – Advanced Ziegler-Natta, including non-phthalate, chromium and metallocene catalysts for entire range of polyolefin production.
LyondellBasell (NYSE: LYB) is one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. Driven by its employees around the globe, LyondellBasell produces materials and products that are key to advancing solutions to modern challenges like enhancing food safety through lightweight and flexible packaging, protecting the purity of water supplies through stronger and more versatile pipes, improving the safety, comfort and fuel efficiency of many of the cars and trucks on the road, and ensuring the safe and effective functionality in electronics and appliances. LyondellBasell sells products into more than 100 countries and is the world's largest producer of polymer compounds and the largest licensor of polyolefin technologies. In 2019, LyondellBasell was named to Fortune magazine’s list of the “World’s Most Admired Companies.” More information about LyondellBasell can be found at www.LyondellBasell.com.
For information, contact: Neil Nadalin (+49 69 30585454)


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Wine and Spirits
A woman is recovering after being shot outside of a Wine and Spirits store on the North Side.
It was around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, less than a half-hour after the Northern Pike Wine and Spirits Store opened, when a man with a bandana covering his face came into the Monroeville location and showed a gun.
More wine and spirits stores are getting expanded hours, the Pennsylvania State Liquor Control Board announced Monday morning, and that includes some in this region.
It used to be that you could order alcohol online from Liquor Control Board and have it shipped to a state store where you would pick it up, but the LCB has now started a pilot program where they’ll ship it right your home.


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One of the biggest stories of 2021 is the disappearing worker. As the economy has been returning to normal in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, millions of workers are not heading back to their jobs. There’s much confusion about exactly where people are going, and how they’re making a living. It’s believed many are finding some alternative way to survive.
This is a story about one couple who ditched their regular jobs, long before the pandemic became a front-page story. They’ve turned to a life and occupation of flea market flipping. It’s possible at least some of those disappearing workers are doing something similar.
You’ve probably heard that saying, “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure”. But sometimes there’s a lot of treasure in another man’s junk – like six figures worth. And for some, that junk can even turn into a career.
Meet Rob and Melissa Stephenson, professional flea market flippers and hosts of the website The Flea Market Flipper. They’ve not only turned flea market flipping into an occupation, but it’s also given them freedom to build an exciting lifestyle – one that’s free from the constraints of a 9-to-5 job.
They also think anyone can do what they’re doing. In fact, the purpose of their website is to teach others how to do just that.
What is Flea Market Flipping?
If you’ve ever seen the TV program, Flea Market Flip on HGTV, you already understand how flea market flipping works. It’s the buy low/sell high strategy applied to stuff, rather than stocks or real estate.
The basic idea is to buy merchandise on the cheap, then sell it at a higher price to someone else. And while buying merchandise at flea markets is the classic method, it’s certainly not the only way. Sellable items can be found at garage sales, thrift stores, and even through online sources, like Facebook Market and Craigslist.
Once purchased, the merchandise can be sold in the same place where you bought it, or through a different venue.
Sometimes it’s just a matter of finding bargains someone is trying to get rid of, then selling it at a higher price to someone else who is anxious to buy that exact item. Other times, you might buy an item that needs some elbow grease. By cleaning it up and making minor repairs, it can sometimes be sold for several times the price you paid for it.
Why Flea Market Flipping?
I’ve made it a part …….


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Merkel wants German 'start-up culture'
- From: AAP
- March 05, 2013
GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk have launched the world's biggest information technology trade fair, CeBIT, in Hanover.
Addressing some 2500 guests on Monday, Merkel said Germany should not solely rely on its car and machinery industries to ensure growth.
"We have to ensure that we develop a start-up culture," she said.
The four-day event opens to the public on Tuesday, with the so-called share economy and computer and online security as its top themes.
More than 4000 companies from 70 countries are represented this year.
Poland is the fair's partner country.
The move by CeBIT to make share economy a focus this year comes amid the rapid development of online businesses such as car-sharing and accommodation services.
The fair, which runs until Saturday, will also concentrate on data exchange and platforms for managing so-called big data, or data of a scale beyond the processing capacity of everyday computer systems.
The focus on computer and online security follows a series of attacks on the systems of Facebook, Twitter and the online archiving service Evernote.
AUSTRALIA'S most advanced commercial satellite developer has put South Australia at the heart of its ambitions, outlining plans to control a satellite fleet from Mawson Lakes.
NEW parking restrictions in North Adelaide are being considered by the council in a bid to control game-day traffic around the revamped Adelaide Oval.
SHE'S lost more than her closest competitor has earned, so it's no surprise Gina Rinehart tops the list as Australia's wealthiest person. Ever.
UPDATE: NATHAN Lovett-Murray thanks his supporters and says he will return to training next week after being stabbed outside his girlfriend's home.


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Dayton trading post to hold grand opening
Ken Ferguson opened Second Time Around Trading Post in Dayton on May 11 and has been busy ever since.
It is much like the original trading posts of the old west as the owner definitely buys, sells and trades — from men and women's clothing to every kind of tool and hardware imaginable.
He has spent the last 30 years in Oregon, working in the logging business, as well as having his own nursery business for 28 of those years.
"(I've) been selling firewood since I was 11 years old in both California and Oregon," said Ferguson, owner. "I started clearing property for a guy, got paid for it, then took a chain saw, cut down the trees and my mother helped me by driving the truck."
But, he always liked to buy and sell merchandise throughout those years. Living in Oregon for the past six years, Ken Ferguson traveled back and forth to Dayton, Gardnerville and Reno areas.
Eventually, he realized the latter was a whole lot easier than cutting and selling wood.
"While in Dayton, I met some very nice people, got to know them very well and took a liking to the area at the same time," Ferguson said. "I soon got tired of the rain back home in Oregon."
Ferguson has been very serious about gathering merchandise for the past three years. He has a 5,000-square-foot building stuffed with items, as well as seven rental storage sheds in Dayton and Carson City area.
Soon, Second Time Around Trading Post will have both a tree and plant nursery, and Ferguson will be selling firewood in the winter, has his own tractor and can dig trenches, grade roads, clean horse corrals, grade for fencing lines, remove tumble weeds, even set up raised beds for clients putting in new gardens.
Look for the grand opening toward the end of June.
SECOND TIME AROUND TRADING POST
720 U.S. 50 East next to Dayton Valley Pawn, across from Gold Canyon Casino, Dayton
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week.


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We’re expecting the first wave of ARM-powered Windows 8 RT tablets to drop on October 26 – just over three months from now.
However, Microsoft is restricting the number of OEMs on the scene initially, with each chipset vendor tagging up with a maximum of two manufacturers.
That’s the story according to sources of China’s Economic Times, which explains: “the three major chip maker NVIDIA, Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, can be selection of two brand factory cooperation”.
NVIDIA will pair with Asus and Lenovo, Texas Instruments has allied with Toshiba, and Qualcomm is lumped with Samsung and HP (though Dell might sub in for the latter, as HP focuses on Intel stuff).
Oh, and not forgetting Microsoft’s Windows 8 RT version of the Surface. It’s tipped to be a launch device.
For the rest, the Windows 8 RT OEM restriction will be lifted in January 2013, and you know what January means, right? CES, bay-bee.
This all ties in with the recent suggestion that HTC was shunned with regards to Windows 8 RT, due to its shaky record with tablets. Poor HTC.
As for the Intel side of things, it recently announced it was tracking more than 20 Windows 8 tablets.


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Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk has lost his spot as the world’s richest man again after the electric carmaker’s shares fell by 8.6 percent on Monday, wiping a whole $15.2 billion from the billionaire’s net worth.
Yesterday’s decline was the company’s biggest loss since September, bringing Musk’s net worth all the way down to $183.4 billion after peaking at $210 billion in January. Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos reclaimed his spot as the world’s richest man despite a $3.7 billion decline in his fortune to $186.3 billion on Monday.
This came after Elon Musk tweeted on Monday that Tesla’s Model Y Standard Range SUV would be available “off the menu,” which substantiated an earlier report from Electrek, an electric vehicle news site, that the model had been removed from its online configurator.
Tesla Inc. has had a dramatic year in the stock markets, starting the year with an astounding 25 percent surge in its shares but has now given away most of those gains.
Many of the super-rich were hit by Monday’s market selloff, including Zhong Shanshan, Asia’s wealthiest man, whose net worth dropped by a staggering $5.1 billion after Nongfu Spring Co., his bottled-water company dropped by 4.5 percent.


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I’m thrilled to share the news that Alloy is now officially a global fintech company.
I say officially because we’ve actually been hard at work behind the scenes for some time now, building our team and supporting international clients like Art Money.
“Alloy was a clear choice to bring together our multiple APIs and processes as we scale globally. Operating in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand with more to come, we wanted a global tech partner who could grow with us as we unify our onboarding, underwriting and compliance processes into one flexible, comprehensive, no-code platform.”
Paul Becker, Founder and CEO, Art Money
As a part of our global expansion, we’ve sought out best-in-class data partners to power our platform across a variety of markets. Of the 150+ data sources we partner with in the U.S., many support global coverage, but we’re also working with exciting new global partners like Codat, FullCirl, Global Data Consortium, Nova Credit, Sift, and Truiloo.
Although today marks a milestone for Alloy, the new client and partner relationships we’re developing across the globe are the result of years of hard work. When I joined Alloy, we were six people trying to take a vision from zero to one. And “zero” really felt like zero—it felt like there was all the room in the world to grow. Today, “all the room in the world” is taking on a different meaning for Alloy.
So—why go back to zero? Why take Alloy global now?
There are three reasons why I believe now is the right time. The first is that our existing clients are themselves increasingly interested in doing cross-border, global business. Fintechs tend to be ambitious, and as a fintech infrastructure provider, it’s Alloy’s job to enable ambitious endeavors —even if that means taking on ambitious goals ourselves. And for our clients who don’t yet have plans to go global, we want to make that option feasible when the time comes.
The second reason is that we’re seeing a promising new paradigm emerge in the form of embedded finance. Brands can now embed financial products so that they’re available precisely when customers need them, but it only works if the customer experience is outstanding. Our intention is to help make this possible at a global level. If Alloy can make fraud, risk and compliance easier to solve for across multiple markets, it will set the stage for all kinds of better financial products to reach the users who need them.
The final reason is both personal and practical.
Alloy has been part of the NYC fintech scene since our days with Techstars. But an international expansion requires an international presence. That’s why, to support our efforts in EMEA and beyond, Alloy will have a presence in London! We couldn’t be happier for the chance to join the incredible U.K. fintech community, live and in-person. And not only that—I’m delighted to share that I’ve relocated to the U.K. full-time to lead this effort. As a Londoner this is quite a special opportunity to bring our business home.


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Home > Article
VOL. 41 | NO. 28 | Friday, July 14, 2017
Encouraging news from Target
NEW YORK (AP) — Target boosted its guidance for the second quarter after its campaign to revitalize the brand pushed sales higher and boosted customer traffic.
The rosier outlook pushed the entire beleaguered retail sector higher, with the indexes that track department stores and specialty retail stores leading the S&P 500 on Thursday.
Target expects a modest increase in sales at existing stores, reversing four consecutive quarters of declines for that measure.
The Minneapolis company had said in May that it expected a decline in the low single digits for the quarter.
It also said it expects second-quarter profits to be at the high end of its previous per-share guidance of between 95 cents and $1.15 per share.
It's an encouraging sign that efforts to increase the range of exclusive brands under its roof, push an everyday, low-price message and improve customers' experience online and in stores, are working. The company still faces stiff competition from Walmart and Amazon.com.
"Our team is energized and focused on enhancing and modernizing the Target shopping experience, and our guests are responding," said CEO Brian Cornell in a company release.
Cornell said that the May launch of a brand called Cloud Island, which offers nursery décor has been a success. The company is also set to launch four more exclusive brands in home and clothing in the next few months, part of bigger plan to offer 12 new exclusive store brands by the end of 2018.
Target releases its second-quarter financial results next month.
Shares rose 3 percent midday trading, and the stock in almost every retailer tagged along.
The sector has been hammered this year. The multiline retail index of which Target is a part has tumbled 19 percent so far in 2017, with most of the news on the retail front being awful. It led all gainers Thursday.


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P&O Princess enters calmer waters
CRUISE operator P&O Princess has said its business is back in calmer waters after a recovery in bookings in recent weeks.
P&O Princess, which is pursuing a merger with Royal Caribbean, added full-year profits would now be at the upper end of forecasts. The update came as the London-based company posted a circular to shareholders detailing the proposed tie-up with Royal Caribbean.
It is sticking by the 'merger of equals' despite receiving a £3.1bn takeover bid from the world's largest operator, Carnival.
Chief executive Peter Ratcliffe said earnings per share for the year to December 31 would be not less than the 40 cents per share, compared with the 38 to 40 cents expected at the end of October.
He added: 'Trading conditions have continued to improve from the difficult period in the immediate aftermath of the events of 11 September.'
P&O Princess said booking volumes now exceeded those recorded at the same time a year ago, although prices are still below the level seen 12 months ago.
Since the beginning of November, its key north American market has shown signs of a recovery, with weekly booking levels better than a year earlier.
In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks, cancellations exceeded new bookings while anthrax scares and the military action in Afghanistan initially hampered hopes of a recovery.
P&O Princess said bookings for its European and Australian businesses were also affected but that volumes were now back on track.
Despite the improved forecast, P&O Princess warned shareholders the key January to March booking period would have a major bearing on 2002 results.
Shareholders have until P&O Princess's EGM on February 14 to decide on whether to accept the Royal Caribbean merger.
The timetable for the deal has already been stretched to allow investors to consider any improved offer from Carnival - should it happen.
Earlier today US-based Carnival signalled its intent to land P&O Princess by saying it had already filed for US regulatory approval.
A spokesman for Carnival said the regulatory application confirmed the company was serious about taking P&O Princess on board. He added: 'This kicks off the US regulatory process and confirms our determination to see this deal through. It also proves this is not just a spoiling tactic (against the Royal Caribbean deal).'
Cunard owner Carnival's bid for regulatory approval means both sets of proposals are now being considered by US antitrust authorities.
It is likely to be at least six months before the results are known, although both deals are facing major regulatory hurdles in the US and Europe as the three companies in question currently dominate the cruise market.
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Ethiopia has collected $407 million in the past seven months from coffee export, the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority declared.
Adugna Debela (PH.D.), Director-General of the authority, said the amount has been collected from the export of 150,000 tons of coffee in the period.
Although the export volume has seen rise, the revenue generated is less than what has been a decade ago, Dr. Adugna said, which he attributed to lowering of the price.
Ethiopian coffee production is expected to rise to 7.35 million tons in 2020, with a 1.4 percent increase from the 2018/19 season.
Source: FBC, APA


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It’s been another incredibly dynamic month for Sharp Relations. With only a day or two to spare we realised there’s still time to squeeze in a February update before the end of month!
Two very exciting things happened this month:
The first was that we got our seaside gastro-pub client, The Pearsons Arms, on the front page of a national newspaper, The Times no less! But not only did the image dominate the front cover of the weekend section but it was on the front of the main newspaper as well.
The second is that our little team has grown to four in the last month and the atmosphere in the office is really buzzing. We welcomed Martin Stanning to the team as the new Operations Director. He joins us with an incredible wealth of experience including 11 years as an officer in the British Army. Martin will be juggling our commercial requirements including finances and HR. Phew! At last, a grown up around here!
As for clients we are launching the UK’s first Vegan Celebration Cake from the ever dynamic OGGs brand. Macknade Elwick Place has opened its doors and we are working on the launch of this exciting new venue. Oast to Host conducted the most incredible photoshoot earlier this month and we have planned out content for the next 6 months. Thackeray’s has nearly sold out all their tables for the Honesty Menu entirely, the success of the project has been astounding. Nim’s launched their Infusions range this month, air dried citrus slices perfect for summer drinks. Lost Sheep Coffee is growing at a dynamic rate and looking for investment to push them into the next phase of growth. And it has been a pleasure to work on the launch for Nectvs from True British Spirit. As ever there are nearly as many projects that we can’t talk about but watch this space for more……….
We’ve just launched our Sharp Relations Twitter account please follow us @sharprelations
Find out what we’re up to on Instagram too @sharprelations


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The Turkish online retailer for Islamic fashion Modanisa has sold a minority stake to Goldman Sachs and Wamda Capital.
With the sale of its shares, the e-commerce company Modanisa wants to finance its further expansion, reports “Salaam Gateway”. For example, the expansion of existing logistics centres in Europe and the Middle East and the opening of new branches.
The online retailer plans to open an office in London this year to monitor its North American and European operations, and offices in Amsterdam and the United Arab Emirates will follow in due course.
VAE venture capital firm Wamda had already invested in the Istanbul-based company in 2016. The online retailer, founded in 2011, now works with 650 designers and suppliers who produce 70,000 items for customers in 130 countries. In the past 12 months, more than 150 million visitors should have viewed the retailer’s website for Modest Fashion.
Source: Halal-Welt – Global Halal Business Magazine


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Innovative Cork business valid8Me eyes expansion as it resolves to drive the future of identity management.
Cork regulation technology (regtech) business valid8Me plans to double its headcount to 60 people after raising €12.5m in funding from Grant Thornton Ireland.
Valid8Me allows both individuals and corporations to securely store, share and manage their key Know-Your-Customer related data.
“KYC and the process by which businesses look to on-board and verify client identities is broken”
“The idea that consumers repeatedly share their most sensitive data, often through insecure channels, to prove their identity is archaic. Valid8Me is fundamentally different, we empower consumers to maintain a reusable digital identity that can be used universally across all industries,” explained Patrick Horgan, CEO of valid8Me.
“Our platform addresses an enormous challenge for businesses by enabling enhanced AML compliance in a radically future proof and cost-effective way, whilst offering their clients a more secure and convenient experience”
“This investment from Grant Thornton Ireland, combined with their global reach and multisector expertise, will act as a transformational partner in accelerating valid8Me’s ambitious high-growth strategy. Grant Thornton truly understands valid8Me’s vision to become the universal defacto standard for digital identity globally.”
Digital identity management
Valid8Me pioneered and champions reusable digital identity, helping businesses streamline proof of identity and onboarding processes with simplicity, certainty and control.
“We view the valid8Me platform as complementary to a number of our service lines and specifically addresses the needs of our clients across a number of sectors including financial services, legal, accounting, wealth management and real estate among others,” explained Mick McAteer, managing partner of Grant Thornton Ireland.
“We are excited to build our product and service offering in these sectors and bring real innovative solutions to our clients.”
Customer onboarding has become a significant pain-point for customers and businesses alike in recent years, with a lack of joined up thinking resulting in businesses spending a disproportionate amount of budget and time on manually validating, updating and storing documents. The average bank, for example, spends 60 million dollars per year on Know-Your-Customer compliance.
Steve Tennant, Head of Financial Services Advisory at Grant Thornton Ireland added: “KYC and the process by which businesses look to on-board and verify client identities is broken. We deal with an increasing number of clients who are extremely challenged by the resource overhead in complying with AML & KYC regulatory obligations.
“Valid8Me offers a ground-breaking approach to solving this problem and importantly optimising the customer and client experience. We use valid8Me ourselves and have first-hand experience of how it has transformed our client onboarding processes.”
Main image: (Back Row L-R) Patrick Horgan, valid8me CEO and co-founder; Ciaran Corkery, CPO and co-founder of valid8Me; (Front Row L-R) Stephen Tennant, Partner, Head of Financial Services Advisory and Louise Barry, Partner, Head of Risk, Grant Thornton Ireland


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Fall Guys Season 4 has been confirmed, and the start date has been announced with a new cinematic trailer that teases a sci-fi theme and an Among Us crossover.
After we saw Fall Guys Season 4 teased with a clip of a 60-player gauntlet with low gravity zones last week, the developers at Mediatonic have now formally announced what’s coming next for the party game.
Today, Mediatonic and Devolver Digital pushed a new trailer that confirms Fall Guys Season 4 will be available on all platforms on March 22. Check out the new trailer below, and soak in those neon sci-fi vibes.
The new season – formally known a Fall Guys 4041 – will introduce seven all-new levels to the game, and if you watch the trailer above until the ‘credits scene’, you’ll note that a Fall Guys bean wearing an Among Us costume falls lava and “Fall Guy was ejected. 1 imposter remains” appears on-screen. Considering we’ve seen Fall Guys feature crossovers with including Godzilla, Sonic the Hedgehog, Goose Game and more, it’s not a surprise that we’re seeing this new collaboration, either, really.
You will be able to play Fall Guys Season 4 on PC for Steam and PlayStation at launch, even though developer Mediatonic was recently purchased by Epic Games.
If you own the game on these platforms, you’ll still be able to play it from there and will receive future updates. It is also still coming to Nintendo Switch and Xbox this summer.


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The dynamic layout, improved photo and video quality and easier sharing capabilities makes the iPad app a slick new way for users to access news, photo, videos and more.
Harrisburg, PA (PRWEB) December 19, 2011
PennLive.com has launched a new iPad app, with real-time local news, sports, entertainment, business, and opinion articles, photos and classifieds—powered by The Patriot-News.
The PennLive.com iPad app features content from Central Pennsylvania’s leading news and information properties including PennLive.com and The Patriot-News.
The free app is available in the iTunes App Store. It was developed and launched with Advance Digital and Verve Wireless.
"This is just the latest step in our effort to give readers the news and information they want, how they want it and when they want it," said The Patriot-News Publisher and President John Kirkpatrick. "We are excited about the functionality and ease of use."
The app includes a bold, photo-driven home screen that automatically arranges top stories into an attractive, dynamic layout. Articles automatically adjust to portrait or landscape orientation. Article pages feature a clean look, with adjustable text size, and saving and sharing functions through Facebook, Twitter and iMessage.
“The dynamic layout, improved photo and video quality and easier sharing capabilities makes the iPad app a slick new way for users to access news, photo, videos and more,” said Ashley Zywusko, senior producer of PennLive.com. “With user feedback and continuing development, we hope to continue expanding our mobile offerings to meet our readers’ needs.”
Articles with multiple photos automatically generate photo galleries. Intuitive swiping gestures quickly move the reader from one page to another. A convenient pop-up “More Articles” tray shows the 20 most recent stories in a section. Articles are downloaded and stored locally in the app for fast access, even when offline.
Content on the app includes news coverage of local communities throughout Central Pennsylvania, high school sports, local pro and college teams; entertainment coverage of TV, movies, music and the local arts scene; and photo galleries and obituaries. There’s also local advertising and links to classifieds listings of jobs, autos, and homes for sale and rent.
PennLive.com, an affiliate of Advance Digital, Inc., is the leading local website for news and information throughout Central Pennsylvania featuring the latest Central Pennsylvania news, business, sports, travel, weather, traffic, shopping and entertainment information. In addition, PennLive.com has a comprehensive business listings directory, as well as local classified listings for jobs, homes, apartment rentals and autos. PennLive.com is powered by The Patriot News.
About The Patriot-News
The Patriot-News Co., founded in 1854, is a diverse media company that is central Pennsylvania's leading source of news and information. It publishes the region's largest daily newspaper, weekly community newspapers, and a large collection of magazines including Body & Mind and In Central Pennsylvania. The Patriot-News is also the region's largest 24/7 digital news source via Pennlive.com, Facebook and Twitter. Through all of its media, The Patriot-News reaches more than 490,000 readers each week.
About Advance Digital
Advance Digital, Inc., based in Jersey City, NJ, provides digital information and connection solutions for local consumers and businesses. The company operates 11 media properties across the U.S. that are the number one local news, information and community hubs in the markets they serve. The sites include al.com, cleveland.com, gulflive.com, NJ.com, NOLA.com, OregonLive.com, SILive.com, syracuse.com, MassLive.com, PennLive.com, and lehighvalleylive.com.
About Verve Wireless
Verve monetizes local mobile media. Our solutions help local media companies monetize their mobile inventory and enable advertisers to reach a valuable, premium audience where they live, work and play. Over 1000 local publishers use the Verve platform to manage their mobile advertising businesses and help make their sales teams more effective. In addition, we bring incremental revenue to our publishers through our relationships with national advertisers, who value the Verve network’s high quality local media companies, including the mobile outlets of recognized local media brands as well as newer digital-only local and hyper-local publishers. It is a brand-safe, editorially-driven, high-quality and transparent environment with market-leading targeting, creative and reporting capabilities. Only Verve has assembled such an extensive national footprint of high quality local media. Verve is located in San Diego, CA and Washington DC. For more information, visit http://www.vervewireless.com.


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Insights September 2021
Insights September 2021
- Australian mango harvest continued to progress in the Northern Territory with 309,000 trays harvested so far.
- Australian broccoli producers are anticipating strong production across key growing regions thanks to favourable growing conditions and large plantings.
- A smaller Californian almond crop will hold Australian producers in good stead, with global prices expected to rise as a result.
Primary producers are hopeful that relief from seasonal labour shortages are on the horizon. This will come in the form of the Australian Agriculture Visa. The Australian government has confirmed regulations to enable the Ag Visa will arrive by the end of September. The visa will build off the strengths of the Seasonal Worker Programme and the Pacific Labour Scheme. Industry consultation begun in August to better understand needs across the sector. The Federal Government has also announced an extension of the International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM) to mid-2022. This will come as a relief to producers with total funding for the program now at $1.04bn since it was launched in April 2020.
Australian Mango harvest has continued to progress in the Northern Territory. There have been 309,000 trays harvested through to the start of September. Darwin is currently forecast to deliver 2.9 million trays. Kununurra are forecast to produce 48,000 trays while Katherine is forecast to produce 2 million trays. Harvest within the NT is expected to peak in Mid-October, though it has been generally patchy so far. Some growers are reporting a strong crop while others are anticipating a drop in volumes compared to prior seasons. Production forecasts for Katherine and Kununurra are due to be released next week.
Strawberry producers are currently in the middle of peak harvest. Strong production has been reported in Queensland where over 40 per cent of all Australian strawberries are grown. Unfortunately, sales have more than halved thanks to lockdowns throughout NSW and Victoria. There are reports of farmers spraying strawberry fields to prevent further development of crops. This is due to producers being unable to afford to pick, pack and transport the produce due to current market conditions.
Stone-fruit production forecasts for 2021/22 have also been released. Cherry production is projected to increase by 11 percent, and peaches and nectarines to increase by five percent on the year prior. These production increases alongside with an easing of labour shortages, and reduced logistical challenges are expected to result in an increase in exports.
As the potato harvest slows down at the start of spring, it is worth reflecting on Australia’s opportunities in potatoes. Being a staple crop, potatoes enjoy minimal upsets from events such as COVID-19. A favourable potato season has coincided with good demand from both the domestic and global market. Heat and drought stress have also negatively impacted the US potato crop, which should hold Australian producers in good stead. There have been minor issues in the eastern states over plant variety rights, but this has not affected production.
In the midst of broccoli season, prosects are looking good across Australia’s key growing areas. Victorian producers are taking advantage of good conditions with large plantings. Queensland will be expecting an above average season off the back of improved climatic conditions. Western Australia will also be looking to have a good year after a very wet winter. Both domestic and export markets are looking favourable for producers.
Californian almond producers are currently in the middle of harvest. The crop is anticipated to be an estimated 10 per cent lighter in comparison to last year. Given California is the world's largest almond producer, almond prices should increase in comparison to last year. Australian growers will benefit as a result with a strong crop on the horizon.
* The edible flower index includes artichokes, broccoli and cauliflower
** The tropical fruit index includes bananas, mangoes, papaws, passionfruit and pineapples
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Rural Bank and Ausmarket Consultants.


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Russian-German trade relations proved to be stress-resistant, said the Chairman of German-Russian Foreign Trade Chamber Matthias Schepp on July 27 in Moscow at the roundtable “Russia-Germany: Business Cooperation, German Investments to Russia.”
The roundtable was organized by the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry together with Russian Business Guide.
“No other foreign country makes so large investments to Russia like Germany and that defines us from Anglo-Saxon world,” Schepp said. According to him, with all difficult conditions Germany would remain present on the Russian market. At the first quarter of this year (2021) German investments to Russia investments amounted to 1 billion 100 million euros, said Schepp quoting the data of the Bundesbank. In 2018 Germany showed the record investments to Russia since the collapse of the USSR 3 billion 400 million euro. The exceptional was year 2007, when the annual investment were 7.4 billion euros due to a major deal between Germany and Russia. The Russian market is not as huge as the Chinese market, but it is also huge, stressed Matthias Schepp.
He mentioned that German chamber in Russia (Deutsch-Russiche Auslandshandelskammer) has grown by 11 percent, “we are not stagnating - we are growing”, - he said. German business in Russia feels comfortable, said Schepp. Russia is now a good business case and most investors now want to hire new workers, not fire, he said. The main task today is to attract new investors along with those who have firmly settled in the Russian market, such as Simmens. Not only Mercedes, Volkswagen or Henkel are present in Russia now, but also medium businesses.
According to a German representative, the family business in his country is now experiencing problems due to the aging of its owners and managers. “Often times, family businesses find themselves without leaders,” he said. Therefore, they look for new non-standard solutions and think about long-term prospects.
Sergei Nikitin, who took part in the zoom conference, head of the representative office of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Germany mentioned as a competitive advantage human capital in Russia. He also said that now 1,600 Russian enterprises operate in Germany and to attract new Russian investors to Germany one has to explain local rules and conditions.
Germany is one of the key trade and economic partners of Russia and ranks second after China in terms of foreign trade turnover. Today, in Moscow alone, there are more than 500 enterprises with German capital. The volume of accumulated investment from Germany in the Moscow economy is $ 7.7 billion.
The meeting was moderated by the Chairman of the Editorial Board of Business Dialogue Media Vadim Vinokurov and the general director of Business Dialogue Media, Editor-in-Chief of the Russian Business Guide Maria Suvorovskaya.
By Petr Cheremushkin, Press Office of The Chamber


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This weekend, word got out of an Intel-based PC that was as small as a USB stick but could still run Windows 8.1. Now another tiny PC, the ZOTAC ZBOX PI320 pico, has officially gone on sale and unlike the Intel USB stick, this PC actually has Windows 8.1 with Bing pre-installed.
First announced in August, the ZOTAC ZBOX PI320 pico has a case with the dimensions of 115.5mm x 66mm x 19.2mm, or about the size of a a small smartphone. Inside, there's an Intel Atom Z3735F quad-core Bay Trail processor along with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage. There's also three USB 3.0 ports, a microSD card slot, an Ethernet port and a HDMI port, along with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth hardware. The big addition is that every one of these PCs has Windows 8.1 with Bing pre-installed.
The ZOTAC ZBOX PI320 pico is currently on sale at some retailers for about $200 or even lower. That's an excellent price point for a full Windows 8.1 desktop PC that can literally fit into your pocket. Would you be tempted to buy such a small PC?
Source:ZOTAC via Liliputing
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Federal Reserve Economic 2013 Outlook, No one knows this better than the Federal Reserve
Quantitative Easing (QE) is the act of printing money to buy government bonds that support spending programs. Since 2008, the Federal Reserve has printed roughly $3.0 trillion, or roughly $9,533 per person, and it’s climbing each month by an additional $85.0 billion.
The extra dollars pumped into the economy are supposed to spur growth. Unfortunately, it also has the reverse effect of shrinking the buying power of each dollar—the driving force of inflation. Since July of 2012, the U.S. dollar index has gone down more than five percent. As the U.S. dollar declines in value against other world currencies, goods imported into the U.S. become more expensive.
What has an influx of $3.0 trillion into the U.S. economy accomplished? It was supposed to increase lending, create more jobs and lower the unemployment rate. Instead, banks are sitting on a pile of cash and remain tight-fisted, fewer jobs have been created and the unemployment rate remains high.
So, what’s keeping the U.S. economy afloat? The Federal Reserve is artificially propping up the entire U.S. economy by buying 61% of the government debt issued by the Treasury Department. As a result, the U.S. government has become dependent on borrowing (creating money) to finance itself.11
Where does the U.S. government get the money to buy the bonds? It creates money out of thin air, printing the money itself.
This is a dangerous, unsustainable trend that cannot continue. And, it’s one Ponzi scheme that will eventually come to a crashing end. The U.S. cannot continue to issue government debt and then print the money to pay for said debt.


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I was in San Francisco last week for two conferences (this one and this one). At one of the evening get togethers, the conversation turned briefly (and I do mean briefly) to podcasting. It went a little like this:
“So, how come no one talks about podcasting anymore?”
“Because it’s not new anymore. Everyone’s doing it. It’s totally mainstream.”
I guess I agree and disagree. A couple of years ago when I launched the company, I anticipated that podcast production would be a big part of the business model. With my years of experience as a video producer and director, it seemed like the next logical step in the evolution of online media creation. I was, and continue to be, a HUGE consumer of podcasts, many of them courtesy of NPR. But I was wrong about the production part being a big segment of my business. Aside from my own, we only produced a couple of others.
But back to the topic of podcasting and NPR…Tom Webster from Edison Research had some interesting stats that he presented at IMS. 43% of Americans are aware of this thing called podcasting, up from 22% just three years ago. And about 27 million Americans listened to a podcast in the last month. Chances are, a lot of them were from NPR.
While stories about the contraction of mainstream media outlets abound, an underreported story is how much NPR has grown, thanks largely to their bear hug embrace of new media. They consistently have several programs in the iTunes top 10 and traffic on NPR.org grew 78% from 2007 to 2008. There has been some internal conflict from member stations that they are essentially cannibalizing themselves. NPR member stations have to pay the mother ship for programming, but if all that programming is available online on matter which affiliate you listen to, you might be less inclined to give during pledge drive time.
Or maybe not. According to a recent article in Fast Company, the NPR audience “is perhaps more ready than most for the radical concept of paying for the content they consume… When we had to announce layoffs and cuts in December, there were comments on some of our stories: ‘How can we help? Where’s the give button?’ There’s a sense that the organization is leaving money on the table. People would like to contribute more to this service that they adore and depend on.”
Compared to traditional media, podcast audience numbers are still small. Yet, as we say over and over, it’s not about the quantity of your audience, it’s about the quality. 50,000 highly motivated listeners (or viewers) is preferable to 1 million indifferent ones.


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Recently, T-Mobile (NYSE: TMUS ) has been shaking things up in the domestic wireless industry with its "Uncarrier" strategies. However, the company's latest move seems somewhat removed from this philosophy, and has caused some backlash among consumers. While T-Mobile has made pricing transparency a priority, CEO John Legere just announced that the company is getting rid of its corporate employer rate plan discounts. While this could make prices more transparent, it could also cause them to go up significantly for a large number of T-Mobile users.
In this segment from Tuesday's Tech Teardown, host Erin Kennedy and Motley Fool tech and telecom bureau chief Evan Niu take a look at T-Mobile's latest strategy, and why the $25 gift card it is now offering to customers who buy a new device could feel more like a consolation prize than compensation for customers who could easily see their service increase by $100-$150 or more annually.
The real winner of the next smartphone evolution
Want to get in on the smartphone phenomenon? Truth be told, one company sits at the crossroads of smartphone technology as we know it. It's not your typical household name, either. In fact, you've probably never even heard of it! But it stands to reap massive profits NO MATTER WHO ultimately wins the smartphone war. To find out what it is, click here to access the "One Stock You Must Buy Before the iPhone-Android War Escalates Any Further..."


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It's been more than two years since the last SupCom2 patch. Is there something more at play?
If you needed an excuse to revisit Supreme Commander 2 , a real-time strategy (RTS) title that debuted to PC just over three years ago, here it is. There's a new patch available and it promises to fix a bevy of AI issues and improve game play in a number of areas, not to mention a reworking of the economy, which our sister site PC Gamer says is the biggest change of all. That's all well and good, but what should we make of the timing of this patch?
More than two years have passed since the last SupCom2 update, and according to Steve Bauman from Gas Powered Games (GPG), there's no significance to the timing of this latest patch. Maybe that's true, but it's worth pointing out that Wargaming.net recently acquired GPG . Might a revival of the SupCom series be in order? Time will tell.
In the meantime, Steam posted an extensive list of changes the latest patch brings to SupCom2. It's a pretty big update with balance improvements, better networking performance, and a whole lot more.


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Few interesting links related to Microsoft’s offer to Yahoo,
- MSFT + YHOO: What Would Microsoft Yahoo Look Like?
- Live Blogging Microsoft’s Bid For Yahoo Call
- Q&A With Microsoft On Proposed Yahoo Purchase: 2+2 = #1
- What Will Microsoft Yahoo Merger Mean for SEO?
- Microsoft/Yahoo merger would have practically no impact on any high-quality Silicon Valley startup: Marc Andreessen
Bloggers are already using the term MicroHoo! (Microsoft + Yahoo!). Google has published an interesting article on why this deal is bad for the internet community.
The openness of the Internet is what made Google — and Yahoo! — possible. A good idea that users find useful spreads quickly. Businesses can be created around the idea. Users benefit from constant innovation. It’s what makes the Internet such an exciting place.
So Microsoft’s hostile bid for Yahoo! raises troubling questions. This is about more than simply a financial transaction, one company taking over another. It’s about preserving the underlying principles of the Internet: openness and innovation….More
Google’s reaction is not surprising at all. They know very well that Google cannot acquire Yahoo,
It is considered unlikely that Google would itself bid for Yahoo because of regulatory concerns related to their large shares of the search and online advertising markets. But the people familiar with the matter say Google could play a role in attempts by others to outbid Microsoft, or by Yahoo to remain independent…More
Microsoft employees mentioned that they received an email from Steve Ballmer which had a subject “Proposed acquisition of Yahoo…” (or something like that) but the body of the email spoke about post-acquisition events and “integration process”. Yahoo has been quick to deny the “integration process” part,
In a memo to Yahoo employees on Friday, which was obtained by Reuters on Sunday, Yahoo leaders wrote: “We want to emphasize that absolutely no decisions have been made — and, despite what some people have tried to suggest, there’s certainly no integration process underway.”..
So will it be GooHoo! (Google + Yahoo!)? Doubt it.