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An iconic Ambassador taxi makes its way down a busy street in Kolkata, India on March 21st 2016. The Ambassador has gradually been disappearing from Indian streets since production of the world-famous brand was halted in 2014. Credit: AP Photo/Bernat Armangue
The London Taxi Company has inaugurated a new vehicle plant in Ansty, near Coventry. It will be the UK’s first dedicated electric vehicle manufacturing facility. LTC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Geely (who also own Volvo), has invested more than £300m in the new site and the next-generation London taxi, which will be produced at the plant and exported around the world.


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With the banking side of Rakuten’s platform growing, it makes sense for Rakuten Ventures to invest in financial technology (fintech) startups. For that, Rakuten Ventures launched a $100 million global fund for fintech startups in Q4 of last year.
That is pretty far removed from online retail. But payment is an important part in onboarding with every platform. (That is, for example, one reason why iOS has larger revenues per app than Android, and also why Amazon still has a shot of getting its foot in Android’s door. Amazon has banking informations the company can use, same as Apple already did than the app store launched.)
Rakuten is a strong platform in Japan, but not so internationally. Maybe a breakout hit or two in fintech under Rakuten’s belt could help with that.
CB Insights has an overview on fintech investments by Rakuten Ventures:
Rakuten is also among the most active Asian tech corporates and are likely to become even more active with the announcement of their new fintech-focused fund.
The graphic below includes both Rakuten and Rakuten Ventures investments, and excludes Rakuten acquisitions.

domain: news


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Over the weekend, more than 100 A-list Hollywood stars had their private pictures leaked on the interwebs. And not just pictures per se – it was a combination of semi-nude, fully naked, and other revealing pictures of female celebrities. The celebrities who had their privacy blatantly invaded are such as “The Hunger Games” actress Jennifer Lawrence, Kirsten Dunst, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, pop star Ariana Grande, and more.
According to anonymous 4Chan users, the incriminating material was obtain from the celebrities’ iCloud accounts. The leak was teased earlier this week when an anonymous user suggested that they had access to a cache of celebrities’ personal photos. The user that claimed responsibility for the hack indicated that more pictures and videos of the celebrities were available, but requested both Bitcoin and monetary donations to a PayPal account before the stolen images and videos were posted:
What’s an iCloud account? Apple users would know that it’s a virtual storing service that allows iPhone, iPad, and Mac users to synchronise images, settings, calendar information, and other data between devices. Android users too have access to a similar service in which they can sync their data to their Gmail account. That, and there’s also Google Drive.
Other external virtual storage services that exist are such as Dropbox, Box, OneDrive, 4shared, and more.
The massive hack now raises questions about how it happened, what it means for other services, and what’s being done about this.
How Did It Happen?
Apple hasn’t confirmed that the pictures did in fact come from the celebrities’ iCloud accounts but some reports are speculating that it’s possible that it did. It seems that the hackers could’ve used a tool called iBrute, which can repeatedly try different combinations of passwords on Apple’s “Find My iPhone” service until one of them works. What has Apple’s “Find My iPhone” service got to do with access to an iCloud account? Well, only when “Find My iPhone” is breached, it’s possible to access iCloud passwords and view images and other data stored in a user’s iCloud account.
But it’s not like Apple hasn’t done anything about this possible flaw – the tech giant has previously allowed an unlimited number of password tries on “Find My iPhone” but it has since been limited to 5 attempts, making iBrute ineffective.
As such, other reports suggest that an Apple staff or more with the ability to access iCloud backups could be the one(s) behind it all. Again, Apple has long since countered that flaw with its support documents which state that iCloud backups are encrypted: “This means that your data is protected from unauthorised access both while it is being transmitted to your devices and when it is stored in the cloud.”
What Does It Mean For Other Services?
To be fair, a breach/invasion of privacy aka an invasion of another’s personal life is only possible there was incriminating material to expose. There’s a saying that once something goes on the interwebs (and in this case, not necessarily just websites or social media platforms alone), it will stay on the interwebs. As such, even other virtual storage services can’t guarantee that your data, be it something as simple as settings, calendar, or something more personal such as images, is 100% safe. Also because nothing is 100% perfect.
If you’re using other services, especially those that have smartphone applications that automatically connected your smartphone’s storage to the service, be very careful with what you choose to backup.
For example, when you install the Dropbox application in your smartphone, it provides an option to automatically upload photos taken on the device to Dropbox. Similarly, iCloud automatically backs up your device over Wi-Fi every day while it’s turned on, locked, and connected to a power source. Unless if you remember to disable that function and unlink yourself.
Keep that in mind!
What’s Being Done About This?
Meanwhile, Apple is “actively investigating” the alleged exploit to its iCloud service. An Apply spokesperson reportedly told Recode, “We take user privacy very seriuosly and are actively investigating this report.”
Also, the FBI too is paying close attention to the case, releasing the following statement that promises that it is “addressing the matter” : “The FBI is aware of the allegations concerning computer intrusions and the unlawful release of material involving high profile individuals, and is addressing the matter. … Any further comment would be inappropriate at this time.”
Meanwhile, a word of advice: Never ever take semi-nude/nude pictures of yourself regardless of how “safe” you think your data can be. Even if you don’t accidentally upload pictures onto the interwebs, don’t forget that your smartphone can go missing or get stolen when you least expect it. Nothing escapes the digital stratosphere, ever.
Be wary of your own cyber safety.
Follow us on Telegram for more updates and breaking news: https://t.me/hypemsia


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WATCHDOGS are introducing a home services directory for West Yorkshire people in search of reputable traders.
Trading standards officials have vetted every entry in their publication.
Entrants - who include builders, plumbers, decorators and gardeners - have signed up to a list of promises about their standards.
The vetting procedure includes checks with police and the register of county court judgements.
Graham Hebblethwaite, chief officer of West Yorkshire Trading Standards, said: "I am pleased to see this scheme introduced to provide extra protection for local residents.
"We have lots of good, honest traders in West Yorkshire, whose reputation can sometimes be affected by the actions of a small, rogue minority."
The directory is online at www.hsd. org.uk


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Unlike last year where Huawei made the Nexus 6P and LG made the Nexus 5X, HTC is making both Nexus phones. An FCC listing has now pretty much confirmed that two HTC phones have code names G-2PW2100 and G-2PW4100 (with the G’s being in Google’s own font). It also points to Google’s Nexus website as the location of the manuals.
The phones should support LTE bands of 2/4/5/7/12/13/17/25/26/30/41 and have Wifi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (Dual-Band), Bluetooth LE, and NFC. Other rumors say that the larger phone will have a 5.5 inch 2K screen, Snapdragon 820, 4GB RAM, and 13MP/8MP cameras. The smaller phone is expected to be 5.2 inches with a 1080p screen and all of the rest is the same as the larger phone.
We should be seeing an announcement and launch date fairly soon. Let’s hope that HTC can pack an even bigger punch than last year’s 6P and 5X. The 6P is a really, really great phone and will be tough to be in its premium quality. Yesterday we reported leaked photos of the new Nexus 2016 phone.
Check out the FCC listing below:
Source: Android Authority


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Visa, a major digital payments player, has launched the fourth edition of the Visa Accelerator Program with an open call for applications. The initiative aims to enable start-ups in India to unlock growth potential by collaborating with Visa’s payments experts, the firm said in a release.
Applications for this edition of the Programme opened on January 8, 2024, and will close on March 8, 2024. The selected start-ups will engage in the program from May to November 2024, culminating with a Demo Day later.
The 2024 edition focuses on new opportunity areas – Artificial Intelligence (AI), Global Money Movement, and Loyalty of the Future, with an emphasis on areas like Digital Acceptance for Micro, Small, and Medium Businesses (MSMBs) and Embedded Finance.
The programme, focusing on expansion stage start-ups, will emphasise the development of proof of concept, product solutions, and fast-tracked commercialisation, arming start-ups with potential collaboration and accelerated growth.
Speaking on the launch of the programme, Sandeep Ghosh, group country manager, Visa India and South Asia, said, “The Program offers start-ups a unique opportunity to work with our subject matter experts to enhance and test their solutions with real-world opportunities, building a runway for growth.”
A select group of start-ups from across the Asia-Pacific region will, through the programme, address evolving challenges of the payment ecosystem. They will also co-develop, test, and iterate new solutions and leverage Visa’s extensive network of financial institutions, merchants, and digital partners to pursue tangible go-to-market opportunities, the company further added in the statement.
Launched in 2020, the Visa Accelerator Program has consistently supported advanced-stage start-ups with experienced mentors, cutting-edge technology, and opened doors to investment opportunities. In 2023, of the seven start-ups selected, two were India-based companies – Transpure and Twid.


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Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to extend the nationwide lockdown amid COVID-19 threat, the Railways has suspended all its passenger train services till May 3. However, Railways said to ensure essential supplies in various parts of the country, movement of goods and parcel trains would remain operational.
“In continuation of the measures taken in the wake of COVID-19 lockdown, it has been decided that all passenger train services on Indian Railways, including premium trains, mail/express trains, passenger trains, suburban trains, Kolkata Metro Rail, Konkan Railway shall continue to remain cancelled till 2400 hours of May 3,” a statement from the Railways said.
Around 15,523 trains run by the railways will be affected including 9,000 passenger trains and 3,000 mail express services which are run daily.
Here is what the Railways has said regarding refund and booking of tickets:
#1. Full refund of fare will automatically be provided to online customers for trains cancelled up to May 3, while those who have booked at the counters can claim the refund till July 31.
#2. Customers will also get full refunds of their tickets if they cancel their advance bookings for trains not yet cancelled.
#3. All counters for booking of tickets for reserved/unreserved travel at stations and outside station premises will remain closed till May 3 midnight.
#4. No advance reservation of trains tickets, including e-tickets, will be allowed till further orders. However, facility of online cancellation will remain functional.
#5. Railways will not charge any demurrage, wharfage, stacking, stabling, detention and ground usage charges till May 3 for those using its freight services. Treating the period till May 3 as force majeure — unforeseeable circumstances — the railways has waived off the charges.
Demurrage charges are levied for the detention of any rolling stock after the expiry of free time, if any, allowed for such detention. Wharfage is the charge levied on goods for not removing them from the railway after the expiry of the free time for such removal.


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VeriTread Partners with Vermeer Used
VeriTread is excited to announce a recent partnership with Vermeer Used. VeriTread’s one-of-a-kind Estimator Tool will soon be launched on the Vermeer Used platform. This tool enables customers to quickly and easily predict the shipping costs for their items of interest. VeriTread looks forward to this partnership for many years to come. “Job Ready” indeed!


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Disney pays $500M for YouTube network that distributes gaming content like PewDiePie, TotalBiscuit
Mouse House also to offer performance-based payouts of $450 million, which means the deal could actually be worth around $950 million.
The Walt Disney Company has acquired YouTube network Maker Studios for $500 million, with additional performance-based payouts of $450 million. All told, the deal could be worth $950 million.
Founded in 2009, Maker Studios distributes video game-related programming like PewDiePie, TotalBiscuit, and Yogscast, among many others. Writing on Twitter, TotalBiscuit said he's going to continue making the content he wants. If he's asked to change, he'll leave.
"Yup, Disney now owns Maker so also owns Polaris. No idea what this means for us, but I'll make the content I want to make or go elsewhere," he said.
Maker Studios' total YouTube reach spans more than 55,000 channels, 380 million subscribers, and 5.5 billion views per month. This makes the company a "top online video network for Millennials," Disney said in statement.
In acquiring Maker Studios, Disney gains "advanced technology and business intelligence" regarding consumers' discovery and interaction with short-form online videos, Disney said. CEO Bob Iger said short-form video programming is "growing at an astonishing pace" and by acquiring Maker Studios, Disney is poised to capture the market in a meaningful way.
Maker Studios will remain headquartered in Culver City, Calif. The deal is expected to close later this year, pending regulatory clearance.
Disney is not the first media conglomerate to invest in the short-form video space. Warner Bros. recently bankrolled game-specific network Machinima in a round worth $18 million.
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.


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Environmental Issues: Transportation
Electric Cars, Hybrids and Other Clean, Fuel-Efficient Vehicles
Getting tomorrow’s cars on the roads today will create jobs, cut fuel bills and air pollution, and reduce our dependence on oil.
A typical car engine is depressingly inefficient – for every 10 gallons of gas you put in, only about 2 of them actually move the vehicle forward. More than half the oil we use as a nation goes into our gas tanks, and vehicles are responsible for churning out about one-third of all America’s global warming pollution. Making our cars and trucks cleaner and more fuel-efficient is a critical part of building a new, clean energy economy.
Announced in 2011, stronger fuel economy standards require new cars to reach an average of 54.5 mpg by 2025, and the federal government introduced the nation’s first ever carbon pollution standards in 2010. Establishing national standards gives automakers the confidence they need to invest in building cleaner cars. They’re doing it by using better engine technology and smarter designs in traditional cars, and by ramping up production of hybrids and electric vehicles. Even with today’s energy grid, plug-ins create less global warming pollution than conventional cars. And as our grid becomes greener, electric cars will become greener, too.
The strengthened fuel efficiency average of 54.5 mpg by 2025 will save Americans $80 billion a year at the pump.
President Obama has set an ambitious, but achievable goal of putting 1 million plug-in vehicles on the road by 2015. Nearly every major automaker and a number of startups will launch at least one plug-in electric vehicle over the next five years. More than 20 models will be available by 2012, and at least 20 more are already in the works. But this is just a start. To get a million plug-in cars on the road, we need continued support for strong fuel efficiency and carbon pollution standards, incentives for car-buyers and manufacturers, and investments into battery research and development.
With the right set of policies in place to encourage the development and spread of fuel-efficient vehicles, we can help consumers save billions on gas costs and cut our oil imports by 25 percent. Building better vehicles also has the potential to create more than 150,000 American jobs by 2020, and increase Detroit automaker profits by $5 billion per year.
Modernizing our vehicle fleet isn’t going to happen overnight. But focusing on fuel-efficiency and plug-in vehicles will help spur the innovation we need to get there.
last revised 4/27/2011
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Woolworth’s in Germany has removed its Christmas section because the city that hosts the store is overrun with Muslims.
Woolworth stores didn’t survive in America or the UK and can now be found only in Austria, Mexico, and Germany, which has still has 300 stores in operation. One store in the city of Dortmund is now essentially a Muslim-only store, according to Express. Because of that, it pulled all Christmas-related items, to the dismay of the few native locals in search of yuletide cheer.
A staff member at the location said:
“We are a Muslim business now. We do not want to sell Christmas articles.”
The branch manager, Seda Capakcur, confirmed that the holiday items were removed from the store, saying, “The Christmas articles are hardly in demand here. Already last year, everything remained unsold."
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Today's PlayStation Store update 'may be a few hours late'
For the second week in a row, the PlayStation Store update will be delayed. Sony usual schedules the update to take place at 2:00pm Pacific Time, but the company has acknowledged on Twitter that the update "may be a few hours late today in fully publishing." Last week's delay was caused by "technical issues," so I'm assuming it's the same thing this week.
Update: PlayStation Store may be a few hours late today in fully publishing. We'll keep you posted!— PlayStation (@PlayStation) March 18, 2014
Once the store is fully updated, PlayStation Plus owners can expect to see Thomas Was Alone (PS3, Vita) and Unit 13 (Vita) available for download for free. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD Remaster and Luftrausers have also been released today and should be available for purchase once the update is fully published.


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At the end of April 2015, the last panel of Palazzo Italia has been laid thanks to the commitment of hundreds people, concluding in this way the construction of the iconic heart of the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2015.
Italcementi has provided two thousand tons of biodynamic cement to build 750 panels, both flat and curved, all with a different design. Each panel – sized about 4×4,2 meters – was assembled to create the outer surface texture, which recalls the shapes of a “petrified forest”, for more than 9 thousand square meters.
This innovative material was developed by 15 researchers at i.lab, Italcementi Innovation Centre in Bergamo, totalling 12,500 research hours. This product, known as i.active BIODYNAMIC is photocatalytic, as it helps to reduced pollutants in the air.
The “bio” component is given by the product’s photocatalytic properties, originating from the active principle TX Active, patented by Italcementi. In direct sunlight, the active principle contained in the material “captures” certain pollutants present in the air and converts them into inert salts, helping to purify the atmosphere from smog. Additionally, the mortar is made from 80% recycled aggregates, part of which consist of scraps from the cutting of Carrara marble, and therefore provide a superior brilliance compared to traditional white cements. The “dynamic” component is a specific characteristic of the new material, whose particular fluidity allows the creation of complex shapes like those found in the Palazzo Italia panels.
«The 2015 Universal Exposition is a great opportunity for a general relaunch of Italy; it will be an occasion for our Country to showcase its excellence in a vast array of fields, from manufacturing to technology and science” said Diana Bracco, President of Expo 2015 and Commissioner for the Italian Pavilion. The realization of this architectural narrative, designed by Nemesi & Partners in collaboration with Proger, BMS Progetti and Livio De Santoli, was entrusted to Italian companies, like Italcementi, capable of meeting this challenge.” As Diana Bracco remarked, “As home of the hosting country, Palazzo Italia will be the heart of the entire exhibition site, and the whiteness of its biodynamic cement branches will remain in the future as the icon of the 2015 Universal Exposition».
Italcementi already contributed with its research and know-how to the development of innovative building materials at 2010 Expo Shanghai, with the transparent cement used for the realization of the Italian pavilion, which is nowadays used for exhibitions and events dedicated to Italian design. «From the silver medal at the 1867 Universal Exposition in Paris, through the international success of the Italian Pavilion, symbol of the Shanghai Expo 2010, to the new biodynamic cement that will characterize Palazzo Italia at the Milan Expo 2015: Italcementi is once again a key player in a Universal Exposition thanks to its innovative products “– said Carlo Pesenti, CEO of Italcementi Group. “By providing materials for the realization of the architectural and engineering quality that our Country is able to express, our performance and solutions have contributed to the creation of the symbol buildings of several Expos. From Paris to Shanghai to Milan, Italian research wins again».


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Traveloka, a leading travel booking app for domestic and international destinations in Southeast Asia, has announced its sponsorship of the upcoming 29th SEA Games and 9th ASEAN Para Games as a Gold Sponsor.
Special deals for Kuala Lumpur
As official online travel partner, Traveloka encourages Singaporeans and those around the region to visit Kuala Lumpur and support their athletes by offering exclusive deals with savings up to 30 percent for selected flights, and up to 40 percent for hotel stays with their partners.
Flights from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur are going for as low as SGD$38 and hotels from SGD$21 per night.
Jointly known as Kuala Lumpur 2017 (KL2017), the SEA Games will run from 19 to 30 August, while the ASEAN Para Games will take place from 17 to 23 September.
To snap up these deals, book on Traveloka from now until 31 August. For more information, visit the Traveloka website.


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What VRA members are talking about right now
Date set for first in-person meeting for VRA members since start of the pandemic
A date has been set for the first in-person Vehicle Remarketing Association (VRA) member meeting since the start of the pandemic. Starting at 10am on Wednesday 18th May at BCA Birmingham, the event will look at key issues affecting the automotive and remarketing sectors, featuring three well-known industry experts. They are David Bailey, professor ofRead More »
Nissan can live with the Brexit deal – for now.
Having previously stressed the risks of a no trade deal for its entire European business model, Nissan has committed to assembling cars at its Sunderland plant – for now at least. That should mean that its new Qashqai model – delayed from last year amidst Brexit uncertainty – will now go ahead this year without facing tariffsLog in to read the rest of this article


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We have recently covered the explosion in investment in ‘Competitive Socializing’, ‘Family Entertainment Centers’ (FEC), and ‘Urban Entertainment’ properties. Many of these sites are seeing their embryonic rise from UK-based developers. In our previous coverage, we focused on the country’s capital as the incubator of this rise. But in this third part, we look at the growth beyond London across the country, thanks to new investment.
The monopoly of London opening new social entertainment venues has been broken, as new venues percolate outside of the metropolis. The Gravity Active Entertainment group announced plans to open ‘Gravity Liverpool’ before the end of the year. This £10m investment is part of the new entertainment venue within the new Liverpool ONE area. Once again, this mixed entertainment venue is placed within a previously closed Debenhams department store in the city and hopes to follow on the successful opening of the ‘Gravity Wandsworth’ operation back in 2020.
Gravity confirmed recently a £30m investment from Sculptor Real Estate (the real estate business of Sculptor Capital Management). This new investment will support the new phase of business, beyond their 17 ‘Gravity Active’ brand venues, and now including the two new ‘Gravity Max’ brand sites. The operation saw, in 2022, their revenue exceed £27m and increase on 2021’s £17m.
The new kind of mixed-use entertainment venue that repopulates previous department store premises was seen recently with the opening in Hastings of ‘O.W.E.N.S Entertainment’. Repurposing a previously occupied Debenhams department store near the seafront, the 70,000-sq.ft. three floor location has been transformed into a FEC, incorporating some 20 different entertainment experiences, including VR, immersive simulation, soft play, amusement, escape rooms, and duck-pin bowling – all supported by a strong food and beverage offering. The department store closed its doors in 2021 and reopened as what the owners call a “family fun factory” at the end of last year. This is the latest example of the deployment of entertainment as a strong replacement for changing retail placement.
Regarding the Manchester area, it was also announced they would be the recipients of the ‘Chaos Kart’ AR-based go-karting experience. First seen with the London venue in 2021, which was reported on in The Stinger Report, conceptualized by Little Lion Entertainment (also responsible for ‘The Crystal Maze Experience’ and ‘Tomb Raider Experience’), with content created by Make Real. Under The Ents Inc. operation, it has been announced that this digitally projected, augmented karting attraction will be coming in September to Manchester.
The installation will see an eight-player, 90-minute attraction defined as a real-life videogame. The racers collect boosts and weapons to hurl at competitors as they race-battle around this immersive environment – aimed at nine-years-of-age and above. The Ents Inc. also revealed they will be looking at their first international location, with a ‘Chaos Kart’ opening in Dubai later in the year.
Regarding the amusement scene in the UK, a leading distributor and manufacturer meetup will be taking place in London, on June 7th, with the Park Avenue Open Day. The gathering has become an important social and business event on the UK industry calendar – and offers an opportunity to visit the showrooms of leading distributors Electrocoin Sales and Unit Distributing Company (UDC) during the one-day event. Some 25 amusement suppliers and manufactures have signed up to show their latest product lines during the event – also offering the industry famous Greek BBQ to attendees.
Meanwhile, in the UK, the transformation of previously abandoned department stores, such as Debenhams and Topshop, gain momentum in the drive of social entertainment utilization. We are seeing a similar trend in the States, sweeping across abandoned Toys “R” Us, Sears, and JCPenney stores. Most recently it was announced that the entertainment chain, ‘Tilted 10’, would open their second store in a 103,000-sq.ft. former JCPenney store at Willow Grove Park, Pennsylvania. The new entertainment concept from Nickels and Dimes (the owners of the ‘Tilt Studio’ chain), incorporates in the first phase of development, amusement, VR, hyper-bowling and lasertag, with plans for bumper-cars, mini-golf, and other attractions.
Another ex-department store became an entertainment venue with news from Leominster in the States, regarding the opening of ‘Launches’ – in a previous 32,000-sq. ft. Toys “R” Us store, located in the ‘Mall at Whiney Field’. The Family Entertainment Center (FEC) features bowling, active entertainment, and amusement. The Launch Entertainment chain represents some 30-stores in the States.
PrimeTime Amusements announced the opening of their second ‘Elev8’ location – a mixed-use entertainment venue that is also seated within a former store. The entertainment operation acquired the 125,000-sq. ft. former Sears department store in 2019 for $5m, according to local media coverage. The two-story space comprises an indoor go-kart track, lasertag arena, axe-throwing, and mini-golf – all supported by a hospitality offering, and planned to open in May. This is an example of an “Retail-tainment” proposition located within previously closed ‘Citrus Park Town Center’ mall in Florida. The entertainment offering is part of the redevelopment plans for the area.
Moving beyond the States, Japan saw the 2022 opening of the ‘RED TOKYO TOWER’, a multi-level facility based in the iconic city tower. Launched by TEG (previously the Tokyo e-Sports Gate), the operation offers multi-sport and immersive entertainment under one roof, ranging from drone racing and eSports to the latest VR and MR simulators and entertainment platforms, with even a smattering of the latest amusement. The company, in March, announced the raising of some 4-billion yen ($29m) towards expanding their operation overseas, and investment in their ‘RED KIDS’ and ‘RED TOWER’ entertainment venues, along with their own eSports team.
Acquisitions and mergers have come to single out the growth in the location-based entertainment scene – and the latest major developments surround Five Star Parks & Attractions. The operation has been involved in a serious growth spurt, as seen in March with the acquisition of five locations from ‘Duddy’s Attraction’, and the previous ‘Track Family Fun Park’ operation. This move was expanded with the news that the operation had purchased the Scene75 and their chain of locations, bringing the King Star operation up to 25 venues across some 12-States.
The nostalgia for the halcyon days of classic video amusement plays an important part in drawing the audience. Arcade1Up, the manufacturer and seller of the line of video amusement home game emulations, has seen great success in selling its mini classic video game boxes. Recently, it was announced that the company was expanding its line to include a new line named “Deluxe Editions”. Echoing the look of the original classic amusement cabinets, the new range incudes larger machines that contain, rather than a single game, a selection of classic titles from the machine’s history. These larger machines are the closest we have seen to actual arcade style hardware from the company and come at a much higher price. Titles include ‘PAC-MAN Deluxe’, ‘Mortal Kombat Deluxe’, and ‘Classic of ’81 Deluxe’ – reminiscent of the BNAA arcade machine styling. The machines will include Wi-Fi support linked to the Arcade1Up smart app and leader-board competition, building a virtual arcade on the user’s smartphone via the app.
This love affair was cemented with the launch of a LEGO set, aimed at an older player base. Called the ‘PAC-MAN Arcade Machine’, the toy company released in Japan a recreation of the iconic platform as a LEGO kit. This is part of a range of sets aimed at their adult buyers – the set was priced at nearly $300. LEGO is cashing in on the nostalgia bug, but also looking at the success that Arcade1Up has seen in the market. It is expected that, based on the success of this set, other classic arcade cabinets will be getting the LEGO treatment.
The continued influence of Retro-Arcade styling across the popular media circuit has not diminished but has only grown in recent years. There is a growing vein of consumerism, ranging across the popularity of movie-based classic video arcade properties (such as ‘Sonic’ and ‘Mario Bros.’ to name the latest). The spending power of “Retro” is not lost on the social entertainment landscape, as we have seen a profusion of investment in the retro “Beercade” social entertainment mix. Regarding Social Entertainment, the classic arcade and console gaming aesthetic has been applied to the Competitive Socializing vibe. Most recently we reported from the London opening of ‘NQ64: Arcade Bar’ – a dark light and neon, cellar-populated, arcade and console game drinking den, with its retro play area.
The chain sports game-themed cocktails and craft beers, based on popular classic video arcade games – themed drinks include ‘PAC’s Punch’ and ‘Sweet Fighter’. It was revealed that, in Spring, the chain saw the tenth venue open in the Shoreditch area of London. Unlike many of the previous social entertainment chains we have reported on, NQ64 cut its teeth outside of the capital, with Manchester (acquiring the ‘Dogbowl’ location), and new sites in Birmingham, and Glasgow – up North. This development was followed in May by the announcement that private banking lender ThinCats has provided a £10m facility to NQ64. This new investment was revealed to help with plans to open five new locations before the end of 2023. This move also sees a share buyback from minority shareholder in the operation, Imbiba Private Equity.
Speaking of the Nintendo and Universal ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’, it was reported that the film was breaking all box office records for an animated film, heading past a $1b global box office after its smash Easter holiday opening. The impact of “Mario fever” was also being seen reflected with Universal reporting a strong uptake of tickets to visit their ‘Super Nintendo World’ venues in Japan and America.
The importance and value of videogame IP for movie properties was also illustrated from SEGA, with the successful ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ series of movies. Or the Rovio Entertainment success in gaming with ‘Angry Birds’, along with their merch and movie series. So, it was no surprise that “Mergers and Acquisitions” were on the cards – reflecting the trends covered previously. It was revealed that SEGA Sammy Holdings had started negotiations with Rovio towards completing a $775m acquisition. It was reported that the acquisition will be towards helping Rovio expand their successful IP’s potential across new formats. The current IP has been downloaded some 5m times since its launch in 2009 and has been turned into countless games, and into two movies.
The ‘Angry Birds’ IP has seen an extensive life in videogame, and even turned into theme attraction, redemption, and video amusement. Titles include the 2019 ‘Angry Birds Stomper’ and 2020 ‘Angry Birds Whacker’ (Harry Levy), ‘Angry Birds Arcade’ (ICE Games), or ‘Angry Birds Coin Crash’ (LAI Games). This along with the attraction scene licenses of the IP, with Immersive Gamebox, and by NeoXperience, or even the license of the IP into the VR scene by HOLOGATE (‘Angry Birds Movie’). All this and a successful series of movies and streamed TV shows. The move by SEGA will be the continued investment to secure their position in the face of the growing edifice that is Nintendo, and their success in theme park, movie, and video game properties. This is the latest major smartphone game app that has been acquired by a big publisher – ‘Farm Ville’ (Zynga) was acquired for $12m by Take-Two, and ‘CandyCrush’ (King) was acquired for $5m by Activision – in an ongoing landgrab across the sector.
The investment in new social entertainment experiences has proven a rocky road, and even the big names find it difficult o get the perfect mix. The ‘StarWars: Galactic Starcruiser’ hotel has been a highly criticized concept at Walt Disney World. The concept was originally presented as a highly immersive two-day hotel experience, including Live Actor Role Playing (LARPing), especially-themed food and mini-attractions, as well as a special trip to the Star Wars land at the park – all for pricing starting at an estimated $6,000. Debuting only just over a year ago (18-months), the concept was seen to under deliver on the original grandiose claims.
Following a high-profile launch in March 2022, and claims of filled reservations, the reality was revealed when reservations started to dry-up, as occupancy collapsed – even after Disney started to discount reservations. Heavily criticised as being overpriced and poorly executed, sources revealed previously that cast members and cos-playing actors on the project were being let go, and rumors that the end was near for the $2b boutique hotel concept.
With the announcement of the major layoffs and cost-cutting instigated by the corporation’s management, it was inevitable that the troubled project would fall under the axe. Walt Disney announced the plans to close the failed hotel concept, in a statement on social media. The statement revealed the low-capacity 100-room hotel, which was claimed to have risen the bar on innovation and immersive entertainment, would see its final voyage at the end of September (in time with their fiscal year end – as a cost saving).
Critics of the concept pointed to a poorly executed idea, and a generic offering at an inflated high price – a failure of the management behind the project to understand the offering or execute it effectively. This marked the first immersive Walt Disney World Resort hotel, to be attempted by the corporation – and is expected not to be the last, after a review of what worked and what failed with the concept that seemed to be flawed from the start.
The brainchild of two location-based experience enthusiasts, Christine Buhr and Brandon Willey, the LBX Collective aims to inform and educate, create opportunities to connect with industry peers, and to spur collaboration, discourse, and cross-pollination of ideas.
Are you a location-based entertainment or family entertainment center subject matter expert?
Do you have specific knowledge, ideas, successes or failures that you want to share with the LBC Collective community?


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She can create more than 100 scents on a rotating basis to fit the season.
"Fruit Slices is most popular," she said. "It smells sweet, citrusy and fresh. Sandalwood smells earthy and woodsy. Christmas Splendor reminds me of spicy cinnamon candy.
"Right now people want citronella, floral scents, and fresh linen. In the fall they like spicy scents like spicy apple and gingerbread. At Halloween they like candy cane. I fine-tune orders at the appropriate time."
Plans call for teaching older students at the school how to use candle making as a business model. The students will be taught to make the candles as well as how to run a business. Eventually, the sale of high-quality candles may become an ongoing fundraiser for the school.
"We hope the kids can independently make the candles," O'Neal said. "It's the least I can do. This is a wonderful school."
Mountaineer Montessori includes 85 students age 3 to 12, said Julie Margolis, who serves as co-director with Darlene Spangler.
Margolis said the candle-making project could teach students lots of skills from science and math to business. It also would boost creativity.
For now the candles can be purchased at the East End Yard Sale on Saturday or through the school.
More than 60 families have donated goods for the event to be held 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at 1557 Virginia St. E. There will be clothing, video games, toys, books, sporting goods and other items.
The exclusive "Lighting the Way for Education" candles with an "M" logo will be a highlight. Baked goods, fruit, and coffee will also be sold.
For more information go to www.mountaineermontessori.org or call 304-342-7870.
Contact writer Charlotte Ferrell Smith at charlo...@dailymail.com or 304-348-1246.
Other Lifestyles HeadlinesLive on the Levee schedule announced


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The council said it had reached an agreement with the petrol and diesel companies and their professional groups to pay the fine collectively.
In October 2022, the council had issued a report on dysfunctions in the country's diesel and petrol market, where three companies have 60% market share.
It raised issues relating to price fixing, higher prices compared to international markets and non-compliance with legal provisions relating to storage.
In 2018, the largest fuel distribution company Afriquia, part of a AKWA group, owned by Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, was hit by a boycott by consumers who claimed it was charging too high prices.
Morocco has been importing all its refined energy products after its sole refiner went into liquidation in 2015.
Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world's largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day.Go to: https://www.reuters.com/


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China says it is fighting a trade war with the U.S. for one purpose.
Thus far, the U.S. has slapped duties on about $350 billion of Chinese goods also in December, scheduled to place tariffs on an extra $150 billion.
Trade negotiators between the U.S. and China last week rolled out a structure for the first phase of a trade deal that might see Beijing increase its agricultural purchases to as much as $50 billion annually along with reforming intellectual property practices.
In return, the U.S. agreed not increasing tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods from 25 % to 30 % on Oct.15. A decision was not made as to whether the U.S. will go forward with the levies listed for Dec. 15.
The trade war has taken a cost on the Chinese economy, and issues are anticipated to get worse before they get better.
China’s gross-domestic-product grew at a 6.2 % price within the second quarter, the weakest in 27 years. Third-quarter GDP, which is due out Thursday evening, is anticipated to have slowed to 6.1 %, based on economists surveyed by Refinitiv.
It’s not just the hard economic information that’s being impacted by the trade war. There are additionally long-term implications as companies, together with manufacturers of electronics, apparel, and electrical equipment, are uprooting supply chains and fleeing China for neighboring Vietnam, Taiwan, and Thailand in droves to keep away from the tariffs.
“With more extensive and higher U.S. tariffs activated, we anticipate stiffer headwind on Chinese exports,” a team of Hong Kong-based Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts wrote last month. That may likely thwart capital spending on new factories and equipment even additional and “become the catalyst for policy turnaround,” they added.
The analysts anticipate tariffs to stay in place until the end of next year, causing China’s GDP to slow to 5.7 %.
It’s not just the Chinese economy that’s struggling, although. U.S. GDP slowed to a 2 % development rate within the second quarter, down from 3.1 % within the January-through-March period, and the global economy is anticipated to weaken because the trade war drags on.


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Health care, consumer industry groups, and federal agencies fear that the US might face major problems in keeping basic medical, food and retail supplies available during the period of coronavirus pandemic.
On Sunday, the group that represents food and retail companies such as Clorox, Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo told the State Department and the US Trade Representative fear that other countries may cut off their exports to the US, which could aggravate the public health emergency.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump spoke to grocery, food, and beverage corporate leaders about supply chain concerns, including the Consumer Brand Association’s head and major grocery chain CEOs.
“Supply chains in the United States are strong, and it is unnecessary for the American public to hoard daily essentials,” according to a readout of the President’s conference call provided by White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere.
“All of the executives are working hand-in-hand with the Federal Government, as well as State and local leaders, to ensure food and essentials are constantly available,” Deere said.
But Consumer Brands is mostly concerned about countries limiting chemicals, ingredients, and products from getting to the US. For example, India, who is a major drug ingredient supplier, has already restricted its exports of medications like acetaminophen, a common painkiller used for flu-like symptoms, while Germany has prohibited the export of safety equipment like masks, gloves, and suits used by health care professionals.
“Absent early intervention, Consumer Brands fears that efforts by other countries to restrict the export of base materials, nutritional and food inputs, chemicals, and other essential manufacturing supplies and ingredients will prevent manufacturers from being able to increase production, ultimately leading to consumers being unable to obtain products that are vital to treating and stopping the spread of COVID-19 and remaining healthy,” the products lobbying group wrote to the State Department and federal trade office on Sunday.
“In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, we have already seen multiple countries enact restrictions on the export of base materials, chemicals, medical supplies, and ingredients. If other countries were to follow suit,” the group wrote, it would “pose a serious threat to public health.”
They’ve also said that India, Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Turkey, and Russia have already narrowed the export of some chemicals and medical products they produce.
“It would only require a handful of countries taking a similar approach to quickly result in long-term, critical ingredient shortages,” the industry group wrote.
The group of companies is demanding the government to work with the foreign leaders on trade and to try to lift tariffs.
With more and more cases of the virus appearing every day around the world, governments do everything they can in order to help their own people, however, it’s not yet clear how drastically the supply chain will be affected.
“I don’t think we quite know yet how these market disruptions are going to affect the availability of products in the US at all,” said Amanda Klingler, a Washington- and Chicago-based lawyer who advises pharmaceutical manufacturers on supply chain issues. “I think this is something we’re going to see come down the line.”
The former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy claimed on Sunday some doctors and nurses are already short on safety equipment such as gowns and gloves.
Industry groups have issued a warning with the Trump administration about possible shortages in supplies for several days, even weeks.
The supply chain problem has been on the administration’s radar since at least early March, when the President announced a meeting with some pharmaceutical and biotech companies, then pushed them on making vaccines quickly. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said on March 2 the administration was helping companies on speeding up vaccines, therapeutics and foreseeing supply chain challenges.
In addition, some industry groups have been giving advice and recommendation to the federal agencies, highlighting the coming shortages and the need for leadership.
The Consumer Brands Association has already met with the staff from Vice President Mike Pence’s office in the first week of March to talk about the supply chain problems. The group has publicly pushed for special task forces from Customs & Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security and for the creation of a White House Office of Supply Chain about receiving supplies into the US and getting them distributed.
Pence has been approached by many people that work in the administration who have alerted them about disrupted supply chains and encouraged him to pull back from drug production in China before it’s too late.
The US’s major lab industry group has also expressed their concerns with federal agencies over the past week about the possibility of shortages of supplies, including face masks and hand sanitizer.
Julie Khani, the president of the American Clinical Laboratory Association, which represents Quest Diagnostics, LabCorp and several other labs, claimed that her industry group has been in contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since mid-January.
“Since commercial tests first went live less than a week ago, we’ve been working closely with the CDC and other federal agencies to help anticipate any potential shortages laboratories may face down the line,” she said in a statement. “As a part of this ongoing communication with federal agencies, we’ve raised concerns about potential shortages of certain supplies, including specimen collection swabs, N95 respirators, viral transport media, masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer.”
The Food and Drug Administration claims they have been supervising the supply chain problems and sees potential shortages coming for medical products in the US, according to the agency’s recent public statements.
Federal regulators have also freed up some products, like respirators not normally used in health care, to be used during the outbreak by medical professionals. The FDA also warned last week of coming surgical mask and gown shortages and told healthcare workers how to limit the use of gown and mask, in case they are running low.
“We’ve been working diligently to mitigate any potential shortages in the supply chain, including addressing increased demand and supply challenges associated with personal protective equipment,” FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said in a statement earlier this month.
Last week, the consumer products lobbying group raised concerns with the Department of Justice on price-gouging around hand sanitizer and other products in short supply, and the Department pledged to hold accountable bad actors.


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BMW’s product plans include an all-electric version of the X3 crossover in 2020, and the automaker is offering a glimpse of what that vehicle will look like at the 2018 Beijing Auto Show. The BMW Concept iX3 is much more conventional than the current BMW i3 electric car, but that means it may sell in larger numbers as well.
The Concept iX3 looks like an X3 with the grille from the BMW i Vision Dynamics concept. It’s a new take on BMW’s trademark “twin-kidney” grille that probably won’t sit well with fans, given how much the traditional design has been altered. But we wouldn’t be surprised to see the grille and other styling elements from the Concept iX3 carry over to the production model.
An electric motor propels the Concept iX3 with 270 horsepower, while a 70-kilowatt-hour battery pack allows for 249 miles of range. That’s as measured on the European WLTP testing cycle, so the U.S. EPA figure might be a bit different. DC fast charging allows for a nearly complete charge in around 30 minutes.
When it enters production, the all-electric version of the X3 will mark a significant milestone for BMW. The German automaker was one of the first to get serious about electrification, with the i3 and i8 plug-in hybrid. But both cars were radical departures from the norm in styling and design, winning BMW praise but also limiting sales potential. So BMW began adding electrified powertrains to its more mainstream models, starting with plug-in hybrids, and now, with the X3, moving on to all-electric powertrains.
Like most other automakers, BMW is concerned about stricter future emissions standards. While the Trump Administration is looking to lower emissions targets, Europe and China will push ahead with tougher regulations. BMW must also compete with automakers like Volvo, Jaguar Land Rover, and Infiniti that are planning to offer hybrid or all-electric powertrain options across their entire lineups.
Not every future BMW will be electrified, but many of them will be. The automaker plans to launch 12 all-electric cars by 2025. The first will be a production model based on the Mini Electric concept, due in 2019, followed by the electric X3 in 2020. In 2021, BMW will unveil an electric sedan code-named iNext, which is also expected to have some degree of autonomous-driving capability.
- 2024 BMW i5 unveiled as the first electric 5 Series
- 2022 BMW i4 first drive review: The real deal
- BMW’s electric Concept i4 has two words for Tesla’s Model 3: Watch out
- Too hip for a minivan? Check out VW’s all-electric ID.Space Vizzion concept
- Lexus plugs in its electric car offensive with an innovative concept


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Originally published on February 7, 2018 in The Jamaica Observer by Dennise Williams.
The Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (MSME) sector is acknowledged as the future driver of growth in the local economy, and the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship – Caribbean has shifted its focus to support the medium-sized enterprise in the MSME sector of the business community.
The Branson team explained that with several incubators and programmes now available in Jamaica to assist entrepreneurs starting a business, the Branson Centre Caribbean has made it their mission to support the entrepreneurs looking to move on to that next stage of development.
…According to Lisandra Rickards, CEO, Branson Centre Caribbean:
“We do a lot of tracking and analysis here at the Centre, and based on our monitoring and evaluation reports, we realised that we could increase our impact by supporting entrepreneurs ready to scale in this way in order to remain committed to our mission ‘To create dynamic economies’.”
Read more in The Jamaica Observer.


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This year’s ad campaign for Toronto Pride is causing controversy in the LGBT blogosphere. The ad, part of a campaign called “Don’t Just Get Pumped, get Pride Pumped” features “Toronto fitness guru Brody” advertising his “Pride Pump” workout, which includes exercises like “Sexy Sparkle Crunches” and “Bangin’ Booty Butt Clenches”:
I asked folks on Twitter what they thought, and by and large the ones who responded weren’t really fans. One follower said she thought the biggest problem was poor execution, while another said her first response was, “Huh, sad.”
I didn’t find the Toronto Pride Pump ad particularly offensive, but I didn’t find it funny, either. And what annoyed me was that it reinforced the idea that Pride is all about gay men. There were a couple women in the video but they didn’t get a lot of play and didn’t really look like they were having fun. Organizers of the Trans March and Dyke March have often struggled for recognition next to the larger Pride parade and it would’ve been better to make an ad that exemplified a greater cross-section of the queer community.
What do you think of the ad?


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What The Other BLACKPINK Members Were Doing When Jennie Was Promoting SOLO
While it has been revealed that all four BLACKPINK members will be releasing solo music at some point in the future, many fans might be wondering what the other three members JiSoo, Rose, and Lisa were up to while Jennie was busy promoting ‘SOLO’.
Lisa seems to have been keeping herself busy with modeling for Adidas Originals Korea.
While also keeping herself busy on social media as well uploading photos of new hairstyles. Well, it turned out to be a wig, but any how, it did get the fans hyped up.
Rose seemed to be busy attending various fashion shows and red carpet events.
And it seems that JiSoo really enjoys taking time away from the spotlight the most among all the members as she revealed through social media that she was busy meeting friends and eating.


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Facebook login details to access all of the apps’ functions and, allegedly, to disable in-app ads.
The stolen information was exfiltrated to the server by the trojanised applications.
The list of apps and the numbers of times they have been installed are as follows:
- App Lock Manager – 10 installs
- Horoscope Pi – 1,000 installs
- Lockit Master – 5,000 installs
- App Lock Keep – 50,000 installs
- Inwell Fitness – 100,000 installs
- Horoscope Daily – 100,000 installs
- Rubbish Cleaner – 100,000 installs
- Processing Photo – 500,000 installs
- PIP Photo – 5,000,000 installs
“The advertisements inside some of the apps were indeed present, and this maneuver was intended to further encourage Android device owners to perform the required actions,” the researchers from Dr. Web stated in their blog post.
Watch out for malware on the Play Store
Although Google Play Store is home to millions of apps, it is also a breeding ground for malicious apps. In fact, nasty malware like Joker, AlienBot Banker, and TeaBot, etc. have already infected millions of unsuspecting Android users worldwide.
Avoid downloading unnecessary apps
This discovery only shows how many scams and fraudulent apps exist on Google Play Store and it is really easy to fall into the trap of scammers which is why people are better off only downloading apps that are from known and trusted developers.
Moreover, you should properly consider what kind of permissions you grant to the apps that you use and carefully go through the user reviews of apps before installing them.
Google removes malicious apps
Google has taken note of this issue and subsequently, they announced new measures for the Play Store which ensure that if any developer wants to publish their app, they first need to turn on 2-Step Verification (2SV) for their accounts, provide an address, and verify their contact details.
Did you enjoy reading this article? Like our page on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.


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Bulgarian auto market has marked a steady up-rise in car sales over the last year, with a growth of 43.3 percent for the first five months of 2004 compared to same period 2003.
The recent Automobile Hall in Sofia, raking place for a fourteenth time, has reflected that trend selling more than 1,300 cars, while last year that number scarcely reached 900 deals.
Peugeot has confirmed its leader position on the market, registering intensive interest to its latest released model 407.
Renault and Citroen are also proud with the results, showing a total of 221 and 140 cars sold for the time of the expo.
However, Japan's Toyota has entered the books as the fastest market-progressing model in Bulgaria over the last five years.
Sofia-France Auto, Ford Moto Phohe, TM Auto and Toyota occupy the largest share of the automobiles sales market.
Still, Bulgarians are mostly fond of Skoda Fabia, which has sold a total of 400 vehicles since the start of the year.
An attempt to gain control of the Turkish UAV Bayraktar TB2 ended with the destruction of the Russian Avtobaza-M complex


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Get ready to mark your calendar soon: neuro-marketing mogul, Internet Entrepreneur, public speaker, and co-founder of Paper Boyz by NFTMagazine.com is bringing his NFTMag Convention to South Florida once again. This winter Josh King Madrid and and partners–creators of The Junior Punks; Joey Sendz & TheBlondeJon are bringing a powerful lineup of celebrities, influencers and NFT industry professionals will be speaking and advising attendees in Miami, Florida.
In recent years, JetSetFly has cemented himself as the 1 chatbot automation marketer within the world. With over three years of experience in Instagram DM automation expertise before anybody else was allowed access to the tech, JetSetFly has amassed over 14,000 customers and has generated more than $20 million in total online sales — all from humble beginnings.
In addition to his internet marketing & ecommerce empire, Josh King Madrid also heads NFTMagazine.com, a news media firm with over 40 crew members. In 2021, JetSetFly was estimated to have introduced $10 million and over 100,000 leads to 3x NFT collections the place he consulted marketing operations.
Additionalmore, this yr JetSetFly co-based PaperBoyz by NFTMagazine.com, a NFT assortment of three,650 Paper Boyz NFTs delivering the NFT Magazine scoop of the day. All Paper Boyz members get access to NFT schooling, the latest news, a bad-ass alpha community & much more.
Paper Boyz NFT is likely one of the few projects with a Famous well known artist on the team. The artist behind mobile apps Indignant Birds & FIFA, Edgar Vehbiu, a 16 year trade veteran who has worked with hundreds of manufacturers including Sony, SalesDrive and Drata; 3 unicorn status tech firms meaning they have reached $1B+ evaluations.
Paper Boyz’ 2022 NFTMag Conference will be among the largest NFT business conferences in the world, with an estimated three,600 people planning to attend the prestigious event which is roughly the same size as Miami real estate Entrepreneur Grant Cardone’s 2022 10X Growth Con. Between eating, shopping, and hotel lodging, the weekfinish event is anticipated to net around $1 million in income for the Miami space, so local business owners and sponsors will be happy. Seats at the occasion will only be available to Paper Boyz NFT holders, with a limited number of tickets released in this fall this yr for $2,450 on NFTMagCon’s official conference’s website here.


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Gold and silver prices have remained steady today, with the cost of 24-carat gold being Rs. 6338.0 per gm, and the cost of 22-carat gold being Rs. 5810.0 per gm. The percentage change in 24-carat gold over the past week has been -0.78%, and in the last month, it has been -1.63%. Additionally, the price of silver is Rs. 79500.0 per kg.
Moreover, the gold and silver prices in various cities have been provided, with Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata all having their own respective prices. The gold April 2024 MCX futures were trading at Rs. 0.0 per 10 gm, down by 100.0% at the time of publishing. Similarly, the silver May 2024 MCX futures were trading at Rs. 0.0 per kg, down by 100.0% at the time of publishing. It is also important to note that fluctuations in gold and silver prices are influenced by multiple factors, with global demand, currency fluctuations, and government regulations regarding the gold trade all playing significant roles.
Gold and silver prices are of perennial interest to a wide range of people, including investors, consumers, and financial experts alike. The precious metals have always been seen as a solid investment and a hedge against inflation and economic upheavals. Factors such as global demand for gold, geopolitical events, and even the development of new mining technologies all have an impact on gold and silver prices. Therefore, staying informed and up-to-date with the prices and various market variables is crucial for understanding and navigating the current market trends and making informed investment or purchasing decisions.


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Salesforce recently suffered a critical outage after it was discovered that customer data was vulnerable. An apparent bug in the system caused all permissions to be granted to every single profile in some orgs. This included standard profiles and custom profiles.
This meant that users didn't just get read access, but they also received write permissions, making it easy for malicious agents tamper with a company's data.
Salesforce CEO Parker Harris updated via Twitter, “To all of our Salesforce customers, please be aware that we are experiencing a major issue with our service and apologise for the impact it is having on you. Please know that we have all hands on this issue and are resolving as quickly as possible.
“We have had to disable access to our service to customers affected in order to help resolve the issue. We expect to be able to restore access soon as we continue to work through this issue.
Salesforce customers in the EU and North America were impacted the most by the shutdown. The script supposedly only impacted customers of Salesforce Pardot, however, the company decided to take down all other Salesforce services, for both current and former Pardot customers.
Salesforce has supposedly been working over the weekend to restore access to customers, however, they are still limping along after the incident.
An update from yesterday states, “We restored administrators' access to orgs affected by the recent permissions issue. In parallel, we ran an automated provisioning fix to restore user permissions to where they were before the incident occurred.
“The automated provisioning has been run on most instances, including NA57. We continue to work on a fix for the remaining instances. If you are still experiencing issues with your user permissions, we have prepared a set of instructions for admins to manually restore them.
“While the permissions issue did not affect every Pardot customer, we did disable jobs that sync data between Pardot and the Salesforce application in order to protect the integrity of our customers' data.
“As we work to restore permissions to affected orgs, we are also working to reenable sync between Pardot and the Salesforce application for those orgs that have not been affected or have had their permissions fixed. Data from interactions with Pardot is being queued and will resume processing back to the CRM once it is safe to do so.
Needless to say that Salesforce users are less than impressed at the moment.


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Expected output is around 1,479bhp.
VW group boss, Martin Winterkorn has officially confirmed that the successor to the Bugatti Veyron will be released and stated it will come with a hybrid powertrain. In an interview to the German newspaper Bild he said that the new car would be offered with a hybrid powertrain while also confirming the launch of VW’s budget brand in 2018.
“Next to the petrol model there will be a hybrid version with added performance for the first time,” Winterkorn told Bild. What isn’t exactly clear is if this implies separate models for hybrid and conventional engines, although development costs of two powertrains make it highly unlikely.
The replacement of the Veyron is set to adopt a heavily reworked version of its predecessor’s turbocharged 8.0-litre W16 engine. The power output is expected to be somewhere around 1,479bhp. The new Bugatti is currently undergoing initial conceptual engineering tests, with an aim to unveil the car in 2016.
The successor is set to also be a mid-engined car and is expected to use e-turbos to help boost the power of the quad-turbocharged engine from the Veyron. However it is not yet confirmed what sort of hybrid technology will be used on the new car.
Source: Autocar India


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scranton in houston
A pop-up bar inspired by The Office debuts in downtown Houston this weekend
Did you know that actor Briam Baumgartner is the highest-earning personality on the celebrity app Cameo? Best known for portraying Kevin from Accounting, the actor made over $1 million via the app in 2020, according to a recent interview with Cameo CEO Steven Galanis published by the New York Times.
Baumgartner's success helps explain why a pop-up bar inspired by The Office is coming to downtown Houston. Dunder Mupplen will occupy 711 Main St. from January 15-30.
Presented by Plethora/Four44 Hospitality Group Inc, the creators of last year's Harry Potter-themed Muggle-less Bar, Dunder Mupplen will offer Office superfans a range of experiences including Instagram-worthy photo opportunities, food and drinks inspired by the show, and activities such as trivia and costume contests.
“My goal is to create unforgettable experiences to downtown Houston,” Asha Holloway, owner of Plethora/Four44 Hospitality Group Inc., said in a statement. “For years, The Office brought people together and created its own ‘culture,’ so we are so excited to bring it to life with added twists exclusive to us.”
The food and drink menus reference the show. Sip a "That's What She Said" or an "Assistant to the Regional." The large-format "World's Best Boss" is served in a giant coffee mug. A full list of food items hasn't been released, but it will include Kevin's chili, a reference to one of the show's most cringeworthy moments.
For a show that hasn't aired a new episode since 2013, The Office remains extremely popular. NBC Universal paid $500 million to make the show the centerpiece of its Peacock streaming service, stealing it away from Netflix, where it reportedly accounted for an astonishing 3-percent of the platform's traffic.
Tickets to Dunder Mupplen cost $15 per person and can be purchased online. Food and drink is available for additional costs. Groups of five or more who wish to sit together should expect to pay an additional $15 reservation fee per party. The event is only available for people 21 and over. Measures to limit the spread of COVID-19, including mask requirements and temperature checks, will be in place.


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- Salesforce founder has slammed the leadership styles of Silicon Valley bosses
- Marc Benioff told a panel that trust must come before growth as a company priority
- Salesforce recorded revenue of $2.68 billion vs. $2.65 billion as expected by analysts in its last reported quarter
The leadership culture of Silicon Valley tech gurus has been slammed at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
Speaking at a CNBC-moderated Davos panel titled "In Technology We Trust?," Marc Benioff claimed that tech leaders need to modify their autocratic style.
"We basically got to a point where the whole super majority vote structure thing in Silicon Valley where I'm the entrepreneur and I am in charge no matter what happens, kind of gets blown up," he said.
"The idea (is) that this is somehow acceptable, and it's not," Benioff said.
The Salesforce boss cited the example of Uber as a company that he claimed, under previous CEO Travis Kalanick, had forgotten to value trust among its customers.
"What is the most important to you. Is it trust or is it growth? Because if anything trumps trust, then you are in trouble," he said.
"And the previous Uber CEO (Travis Kalanick), he had a different value at the peak of his hierarchy than I'm sure Dara has today," he added.
Dara Khosrowshahi who is the current CEO of Uber was also on the panel but remained quiet on the leadership style of his predecessor.
Benioff further claimed that trust has to be the highest value in any company and if it is not "something bad is going to you."


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Microsoft's first upgrade of the CRM applications it released earlier this year includes improved setup tools and a simpler and more flexible user interface.
Version 1.2 of Microsoft CRM is available to users in North America, and will be available outside of North America next month. The upgrade will support nine languages and is due to be offered in 47 countries next month.
Microsoft CRM is aimed at small and midsized companies, plus departments or divisions within larger businesses. About 1,000 customers have bought the software since it began shipping last January.
Jeff Young, vice-president of emerging retail and CRM solutions at the software supplier, said he and other officials are pleased with the number of installations so far. He added that Microsoft has hit its initial target of fielding applications that end users will actually turn on.
"One of the biggest holdbacks with CRM is the ability to get it from being 'shelfware' to get people to be able to use it," Young said.
But Erin Kinikin, an analyst at Giga Information Group, said Microsoft still has a way to go, both technically and in terms of CRM market penetration. "Overall, we're hearing customers ask about Microsoft CRM, but not a lot of people [are] implementing."
Marc L Songini writes for Computerworld


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What: Boulder businessman Seth Haber sells his Trek Light Gear hammocks
When: Noon Friday, and possibly 5 a.m. Saturday
Where: The Home Shopping Network (Comcast channel 21)
More info: treklightgear.com
Boulder businessman Seth Haber has come a long way in the last four years.
Haber, 32, first developed the idea for his lightweight, go-anywhere hammock system in the early 2000s when he was working as an information technology specialist for a major medical company in Louisville.
That idea turned into an obsession, leading Haber to quit his day job to develop and sell his hammocks full-time.
Haber is now celebrating his fourth year as a cart vendor on Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall, where he has steadily grown the brand for Trek Light Gear.
On Friday, he will take that brand to a national audience through an appearance on the Home Shopping Network.
“A number of years back, it crossed my mind,” Haber said of the cable shopping channel. “It seemed like such a long and arduous process, with so many people wanting to get their products on HSN.”
But in January, recruiters from the network called Haber. Their offer: two 10-minute time slots on one of the biggest shop-from-home names in the business.
“They pretty much knocked on my door, which is awesome,” he said.
Haber stockpiled inventory and boarded a flight Thursday afternoon for the HSN studio in Florida.
The network will feature his double hammock — his most popular model — with a hanging kit. The retail price hadn’t been set as of Thursday, but Haber said the bundle would be offered at a discount over the regular price of $87.
Haber is not paying for his live appearance on the show. Rather, he said he negotiated a wholesale price with the network for each product sold.
He said his goal is to use the appearance to introduce his products to a broader audience.
“It’s definitely a first-impression kind of thing,” he said. “Every time I can get a larger audience, the business grows.”
Haber is set to appear in his first time slot at noon today. Depending on how the sales go, he has a second slot reserved at 5 a.m. on Saturday.
“Hopefully, I sell out in one” showing, Haber said.
Clif Harald, executive director of the Boulder Economic Council, said Haber’s television appearance highlights his company as well as the Boulder brand.
“This is a perfect kind of testimonial about Boulder’s predominance in the outdoor industry,” he said.
He added that many leading companies can trace their roots to humble beginnings in Boulder, and that Haber and his Pearl Street cart could be on a similar path.
Contact Camera Staff Writer Heath Urie at 303-473-1328 or firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Q&A: Ken Dodelin of Capital One Financial Corp.
Capital One Financial Corp. is perhaps the gold standard of a financial services company advancing every technical innovation imaginable from day one. In 2016, the company announced plans to transform into a tech company that provides top financial services. Chief Information Officer Rob Alexander told “Computer World,” “The winners in banking are going to be really great technology companies.” With more than 2,000 employees in Wilmington, Capital One is a key player in the Delaware fintech landscape.
Here, we pick up on that conversation with Ken Dodelin, vice president of digital product management at Capital One.
What is on the horizon for the fintech sector?
You’ll continue to see innovation in technologies like virtual assistants and chatbots, which facilitate new ways for people to interact with financial accounts, wherever and whenever, through voice or text.
Last year, we launched the Capital One skill for Alexa, giving our customers a convenient, voice-based experience to interact with their credit card, bank, auto and home loan accounts through their Alexa-enabled devices. We will provide a similar service via Microsoft’s Cortana platform soon.
We also piloted Eno, the first natural-language SMS chatbot from a U.S. bank. With Eno, customers can see credit-card and bank balances, view recent transactions and make credit-card payments using texts – or even emojis. Send a “bag of money” for an account summary or a “thumbs up” to confirm a payment.
What is the most exciting trend in fintech today?
Advances in technology have unleashed the potential of machine learning, including increased computer power, access to significantly more data, algorithmic advances in neural networks and deep learning, and open-source machine-learning software. This is exciting because it opens up the potential to help people with their financial lives in ways that we can’t even imagine today.
Machine learning is ripe with applications in all major areas of our business. We’re harnessing it for fraud protection and cybersecurity. The Second Look feature of the Capital One Wallet will identify charges that look like a mistake based on your spending habits – like a duplicate charge or a wildly generous tip. When this happens, Second Look will send out a real-time alert and work to get it resolved.
By harnessing data and analytics, we can create interactions that go beyond transactions to add value and help individuals succeed in their financial life, with ease and confidence.
What does the future hold?
While I think the possibilities are nearly endless, the most important component of innovation is to be thoughtful about the “˜why’ behind your application. Leveraging voice-activated technology is only worthwhile if you can connect the dots between why it will make someone’s life better and how it will actually accomplish that goal.
A recent update for the Capital One Wallet leverages machine learning, cloud computing and location-based technologies to provide our customers with discounts (coupons) at stores they visit often as well as nearby stores. We placed a lot of focus on quality with this experience, and deployed the strictest filters for what notifications we provide and when to provide our customers with timely insights that make it easy to save.
Another tool focused on helping people save is Paribus, which automates the process of tracking price drops at online merchants and securing the price difference. Since its launch less than two years ago, Paribus has saved millions of dollars in price-drop refunds that otherwise could have gone unclaimed.


text: Identify those companies in tech that are waging price wars -- and avoid them, Jim Cramer advised in the TheStreet.com TV's Wall Street Confidential video Friday. Host Aaron Task said it seems as though the damage has been contained after recent warnings from software company SAP ( SAP) and chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD). Cramer said both businesses have been challenged for some time, with AMD being a repeat warning offender. AMD is locked in a vicious price war with Intel ( INTC). As for SAP, Cramer said it's also another company that he expects to hear negative things about. There probably should have been a heads-up that SAP could go down after Amdocs ( DOX) plummeted yesterday, Cramer said, adding that rival Oracle ( ORCL) should go down as well. "There's some sort of negativity going on in this customer relations management business that I can't get my arms around, and until then I can't recommend anything in that space," Cramer said. Task mentioned that Helene Meisler, a longtime contributor to RealMoney.com, has been saying that Oracle looks like a good short. Cramer noted that Oracle just went from $12 to $18, and there also is a price war in that kind of software. "You've got to stay away from those," he said of software that doesn't have a distinct proprietary aspect to it. "There are enough places where there are no price wars -- you don't need a price war."


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Suzuki Other description
Built by Southern Oregon Vintage Bobbers. Brand new lime green paint new tires Dunlop. New seat bars blinkers hardtail. Lowered custom exhaust Harley pipes new battery fresh tune up new plug wire. All new graphics. Custom license plate cover harley. New grips all black motor black heat wrap header pipe. Please call or textl 1 of a kind head turner...
Suzuki Other for Sale
Moto blogFri, 18 Nov 2011
As expected, Suzuki has officially announced its withdrawal from MotoGP racing, though the Japanese manufacturer says it plans to return to the world championship in 2014. Suzuki cites the recession, the value of the Japanese Yen and a series of natural disasters as reasons for suspending its MotoGP program for at least two years. Reports of Suzuki’s withdrawal began circulating earlier this week with some staff members reportedly receiving notice late last week, but signs of Suzuki’s impending withdrawal have been around for over a year.Fri, 13 Jan 2012
Suzuki announced the 2012 edition of its GSR750 naked middleweight will get ABS as an optional add-on. What it still doesn’t have? U.S.Mon, 06 Feb 2012
Suzuki motorcycle business back to operating at a loss despite being making it profit over the first six months. In November, Suzuki reported its second consecutive profitable quarter from its motorcycle segment, with a net profit of 300 million yen over the six months ended Sept. 30, 2011.
Suzuki Other by State
Suzuki Other by City
Suzuki Other by Color


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“China is now open to the world,” says Susan Shen, president of the fashion label Nisiss, “and our design principles celebrate freedom and peacefulness.” Fittingly then, Nisiss clothing is elegant but easy to move in. “Our main fabric is silk, but not used in a traditional way,” she says, gesturing at racks of crinkled loose blouses and creatively cut skirts and trousers at one of her stores.
Nisiss’s business similarly embraces distinction. Based in Guangzhou, China’s third-largest city, Shen has boldly sought out opportunities for growth in “second-tier cities,” where McKinsey estimates 45% of China’s middle-class and high-income earners will live by 2022. In 2013, Shen opened two new stores in Chengdu, a western boomtown; this year, she plans to expand into Qingdao, Dalian, and Suzhou, a trio of cities in Eastern China with a combined population of more than seven million people.
Shen, a petite, woman, favors cool colors–blues, grays, greens, and earthy browns–paired with bright-red lipstick. She doesn’t advertise. She cultivates word of mouth for Nisiss through a VIP program, inviting professional women to attend private fashion shows for the chance to buy limited-edition designs, such as a $900 cocktail dress.


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PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), a multinational audit & consulting firm with over 220,000 employees and $36 billion annual revenue has acquired a minority stake in the Chinese Startup ‘VeChain’. In an official statement, PWC announced that PWC Hongkong and PWC Singapore have each acquired a small ownership in Vechain Global Technology Holding Ltd, a Blockchain based anti-counterfeit and supply chain startup out of China.
On the eve of announcement, the chairman of PWC Asia Pacific & Greater China said that,
“We are glad to establish a deeper relationship with VeChain, which aims to build a trusted and distributed business ecosystem to help address long-standing challenges in supply chain management, food trust and anti-counterfeiting areas. VeChain’s mission aligns with PwC’s purpose of solving important problems and building trust in society.”
VeChain is a subsidiary of Chinese Blockchain technology company BitSE, which was launched in November 2016 to create, manage and update shared data about products in the supply chain. VeChain provides blockchain services and has specialized in anti-counterfeiting, Internet of Things (IoT) and Supply Chain Management. For PWC this is a strategic partnership because it has invested in VeChain mainly to utilize IoT network of VeChain to assist large scale businesses. Additionally, investment will provide PWC, VeChain’s trust-based services through its platform, which will require the use of VeChain Tokens to access and perform transactions. VeChain’s system is designed to apply IoT technology to create private keys for each product, making it possible to trace them throughout the distribution process.
Moreover, VeChain’s platform has already been adopted by several established companies as part of their production system across various industries. Therefore, PWC plans to integrate the VeChain’s platform with PWC Infrastructure.
PwC is one of the largest corporations in the world who are called as “Big Four” when it comes to accounting & tax along with KPMG, KPY and Deloitte. Post the announcement, price of VeChain’s token ’VEN’ has seen lot of volatility and is moving on both sides. This clearly indicates that PWC’s investment has brought lot of attention to VeChain. Given the long term partnership with PWC, we can expect extensive utilization of VEN as a major IOT Blockchain protocol and token. Among the Big Four, KPMG is the other organization which adopted Blockchain.


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Black Friday weekend is the year’s biggest promotional event for most major U.S. retailers, and yet there are prominent holdouts ignoring it — or at least being discreet about their specials.
About 821,000 workers will be hired for retail seasonal jobs this year, up 11 percent from a year ago and the highest since records were started in 1990, estimates Michael Niemira, founder of economic forecasting firm The Retail Economist LLC.
Tiffany & Co., the world’s second- largest luxury jewelry retailer, missed third-quarter profit estimates and cut its forecast after sales in Japan and other Asian markets slowed.
BoF speaks to Art Peck, incoming chief executive of Gap Inc., to discuss his 10 years of experience at the American fashion giant and his imminent take over from Glenn Murphy at a critical juncture in the company’s history, amidst a market landscape being reshaped by digital technology and fast-fashion competitors.
Check out this week’s new partners and job postings on BoF Careers, the global marketplace for fashion talent.
Critics of Gap Inc.’s Old Navy won concessions from the clothing chain after complaining that they were overcharged for women’s plus-size jeans.
Gap Inc., the biggest U.S. apparel- focused retailer, cut its annual profit forecast as sales at its namesake brand continue to struggle.
Perry Ellis International Inc. on Thursday reported a loss of $437,000 in its fiscal third quarter. The results fell short of Wall Street expectations.
Gap Inc. incoming chief executive officer Art Peck is overhauling management at the ailing Banana Republic and Gap brands.
Cosmetics retailer Sephora USA Inc has blocked the online accounts of scores of customers with Asian names because it suspected them of buying discount items in bulk to resell them, a new lawsuit claims.
EBay Inc is retooling its local delivery program and extending more logistics options to smaller merchants that make up the bulk of the e-commerce giant’s sprawling base of marketplace sellers.


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A company that sells secure mobile phones has found more than a dozen "interceptor" cellphone towers in Washington, D.C., some of them located near the White House and the U.S. Capitol.
Les Goldsmith, CEO of ESD America, the makers of the secure Cryptophone 500, said it is unclear who installed the units.
"It’s highly unlikely that federal law enforcement would be using mobile interceptors near the Senate. My suspicion is that it is a foreign entity," he said.
The devices, which aren't really towers and can be as small as a suitcase, can listen in on phone calls. VentureBeat, which first reported on the devices, said two kinds of interceptors have been found: "IMSI Catchers, which can steal subscriber info for later monitoring, and GSM Interceptors, which can listen into calls." Some devices do both.
What's more, the devices can load spyware onto a mobile device -- a cell phone or tablet -- before passing off a victim’s call to a real network.
ESD America said it has found 15 in downtown Washington and three in Northern Virginia. And EDS said some 45 devices have been found outside the D.C. area. The Federal Communications Commission announced last month it is investigating the use of network interceptors by gangs and foreign intelligence agencies. But so far, no one knows who is planting or operating them.


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This week’s early advance: Skincare is preferred over makeup, mobile bars are trending at weddings, finding a furry four-legged friend at hardware stores, and Gen Z says, make mine red.
Tag Archive for: Business Acumen Series
This week’s digest: The value of digital marketing, what’s driving man-made diamond sales increases, maintaining online grocery loyalty when favorites are out of stock, and tool rental’s building growth.
This week’s digest: Young consumers use mental healthcare services more, Hispanic shoppers driving digital shopping, popular gas-related perks, and caution advised for crypto investors.
This week’s digest: Leveraging radio’s branded social content, reCommerce is growing, low effort car buying wins, and homeowners’ smart savings with smart tech.
This week’s digest: Home improvement spending remains strong, the dating challenge for single Americans, in-store shopping grows and 2022 Mother’s Day revenue is predicted to top last year.
This week’s digest: Summer travel means clothes shopping, life insurance too costly for many, exercise lowers the risk of depression, and how to get more out of your home DIY projects.
This week’s digest: More love for grocery delivery, mortgage rate increases highest in decades, inflation driving higher used cars prices, and Easter season deal hunting.
This week’s digest: Social ads gain trust when paired with radio ads, caregiver’s retirement planning, pairing seafood with beer, and living paycheck to paycheck is on the rise.
This week’s digest: The effects of delayed healthcare, half of U.S. workers worried about retirement savings, mobile shopping while in-store, outdoor products targeting women.
This week’s digest: This week’s digest: Home remodeling growth continues, diamonds prices are going up, young Americans job hunting, health expense increases are here to stay.


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Facing their first loss in 71 years, Toyota has decided to make a change at the top. Akio Toyoda will take over as the new company president in June.
Toyota Motor has named Akio Toyoda its next president. Toyoda, 52, is the grandson of company founder Kiichiro Toyoda. He will take over for current chief Katsuaki Watanabe in June, becoming the first member of the Toyoda family in charge since 1995.
Akio Toyoda will hold the reigns at a hazardous time for the company. Expected to post their first annual fiscal loss in 71 years, Toyota sales dropped four per-cent for the 2008 calendar year. The global economy is the worst in recent memory, with several countries finding themselves in recession.
The United States, Toyota's largest market, auto sales are down substantially. Toyota sales dropped 16% in that country alone. In Japan, the value of Toyota stock has dropped nearly 52% since February 2008.
Shares of Toyota, traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, ended up 1.3%, closing at 3,100 yen, according to Bloomberg News.


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News by Topic
- Search Marketing
- Email Marketing
- Loyalty Marketing
- Mobile Marketing
- Social Marketing
- Viral Marketing
- Trends & Ideas
- Internet Marketing 101
Retailers failing to maximise power of apps to drive consumers in-store
Mobile and online commerce is not the death knell for in-store shopping as some might predict, according to mobile app developers Apadmi. Instead, mobile - and apps in particular - can play a significant role in bringing consumers back into physical stores.
Mobile apps can drive consumers through the doors of high street stores, if only they connect the channels effectively and in the way consumers expect, concludes a recent report from Apadmi.
However, it seems that current attempts by retailers to engage via mobile apps is not hitting the mark. Just 31% of consumers currently use retail apps while in-store yet 41% more would do so if the app enhanced their in-store experience. Furthermore, 29% of consumers would be happy to share details such as their location with a retail app if, in return, they received in-store offers and incentives.
The top four favorite features of retail apps were being able to browse products (53%), offers and promotions (49%), loyalty scheme (45%), and click and collect (42%).
According to Nick Black, CEO of Apadmi, there exists "a big opportunity for retailers to use mobile as a way to drive in-store sales, especially as our research found that a massive 97% of Brits with a smartphone take it with them when they go shopping. It's time that retailers realised that consumers actually want digital channels, and specifically mobile, to complement the experience they have in store, and not see stores disappear altogether".
Additional stats from the report include:
- 80% of consumers would be happy to collect loyalty points on their mobile, including when they complete tasks as they walk around a store; currently just 20% interact with a retail loyalty scheme on their mobile device;
- 43% said they would be more likely to download a retail app if it allowed them to browse and buy products quickly and easily;
- 74% said they would be more likely to download an app if it was free of charge;
- 41% would be more likely to download an app if it complemented the in-store and online experience;
- A fifth of adults in the UK use their favorite retail app a couple of days a week - just 2% use them daily;
- Slow and unresponsive mobile apps would cause 71% to stop using them;
- Just 17% said mobile retail apps offered a better experience than a website.
For more stats and information, check out Apadmi's full report here.
- Marketers say their role is to collect, not analyze, customer data
- Two-thirds of US, UK consumers worried about how brands use personal data
- Study: Marketers overwhelmed with data
- Top 3 tips for a more earth friendly marketing campaign
- Local Brands: Why SEO needs an upgrade
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- In ecommerce, personalization missing the mark
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Female riders around the world will unite for what is dubbed the largest women’s motorcycling event on earth, the International Female Ride Day (IFRD), Saturday, May 6. This is the 11th annual IFRD, with the goal of highlighting and promoting women as motorcycle riders.
Each participant essentially becomes a role model or spokeswoman for every woman who rides, representing their own culture, city/region and country. It’s all-inclusive and can be experienced alone or in a group, on- or off-road, and on whatever type and size of motorcycle you prefer.
In past years, IFRD says it’s had participants from Canada, Iceland, India, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, Germany, the UK, The Netherlands, the U.S., the Czech Republic, Japan and more.
IFRD founder Vicky Gray wants women to get out there and “Just Ride” in unison, proving that more women are riding every year and that we are an essential component of motorcycling worldwide.
For more information, check out IFRD’s Facebook page.


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EPA approves remote-controlled pheromone dispensers
11/24/2014 7:32:03 PMThe Environmental Protection Agency has approved three aerosol pheromone products from Vancouver, British Columbia-based Semios,... Read more.
Bee Buffer program seeks growers to plant bee forage crops
11/20/2014 5:22:26 PMThe Pollinator Partnership is seeking 300 California and North Carolina farmers and ranchers who want... Read more.
Indian River shipper not packing this season
11/19/2014 4:44:28 PMHogan & Sons Inc., an Indian River grapefruit grower-shipper, is not packing fruit this season,... Read more.
Greenhouse grower honored with sustainability award
11/19/2014 4:16:52 PMThe Ventura County Resource Conservation District recently honored Casey Houweling, CEO of Houweling’s Tomatoes, with... Read more.
UF organic strawberry project included in new e-book
11/19/2014 9:59:06 AMWork by five University of Florida researchers that examined open-field and high-tunnel organic strawberry cropping... Read more.
Global warming may affect pest-parasite relationship
11/19/2014 9:11:21 AMWarming global temperatures may affect the pest-parasite relationship, limiting the benefits of parasitoid wasps that... Read more.
BASF gears up for full launch of Merivon in pome, stone fruit
11/18/2014 4:13:12 PMAlthough Merivon fungicide was registered about two years ago for pome and stone fruit, BASF didn't... Read more.
- Vine-ripe Tasti-Lee tomato creates a buzz among consumers
- Desert frosts nip lettuce
- Central Valley citrus growers dodge a freeze but expect more
- Farmers Mutual Hail to acquire John Deere Insurance
- USDA seeks to knock down trade barriers, create consistent rules
- Guest opinion: Biologicals play a key role in food production


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By Lamin Njie
The Gambia government is set to abandon a policy imposing a 75 percent increase on tax on wine and beer as well as sugary drinks, sources have told The Fatu Network.
The Gambia government and Banjul Breweries Ltd are engaged in negotiations after the country’s only brewery threaten to quit The Gambia.
The government last year announced a 75% tax rise on wine and beer and sugary drinks.
A senior official of Banjul Breweries Ltd told The Fatu Network at the time that excise hike from 10% to 75% was found in no country in the whole of Africa. He also told the outlet the move will have a negative impact on the beverage manufacturing industry and the economy.
A finance ministry source told The Fatu Network on Monday the government ‘will most likely abandon the policy.’
The minister of finance spoke on the Banjul Breweries kerfuffle on Monday, saying ‘we’re working with them.’
“As at now, we are engaging them. The impact, they have now communicated to us through the ministry of trade with the national assembly select committee. We’re working with them,” Mamburay Njie told journalists at a press conference in Banjul.
The sales manager at Banjul Breweries Borri Darboe has confirmed that negotiation were ongoing.
“We are waiting for the government response but no production is taking place right now,” Darboe told The Fatu Network Monday.