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As connoisseurs of all the ultimate luxury lifestyle pursuits, Gulf Sotheby’s International Realty was first in line to join the who’s who of the world’s watch industry at Dubai Watch Week 2019. A global platform “dedicated to the preservation of watchmaking culture and heritage”, Dubai Watch Week was founded in 2015 by Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons and remains one of the largest non-commercial events in the international calendar. As one would expect from an extremely refined community of devoted horologists, the most expert and experienced wouldn’t miss the opportunity to participate in this type of event, especially given its intimate environment in which brands, watchmakers and media could connect and engage on the latest developments, designs and innovations.
This year’s Dubai Watch Week featured the crème de la crème of visionary watchmaking reflecting its key theme of innovation and technology. For those attending, it was an opportunity to witness the evolution of disruption within a very traditional forum; to see how radical concepts have contributed to an emergence of new, unique timepieces that have transformed our perception of marking time. Thanks to the development of technical ability, there are even less limits to our imagination and ambition now that pieces have been created to lift thousands of miles into the air or hundreds of metres underwater. Interconnectedness was also a huge part of the discussions as smart tech is increasingly more prolific within brands and the way in which they communicate with wearers. Some of the phenomenal speakers included Nicholas Foulkes, Ian Skellern, Melika Yazdjerdi, Richard Stenning and Philippe Dufour, all appearing alongside participating brands such as Dior, Rolex, Breitling and Bulgari. Once again, the event demonstrated a timeless ability to unite the global watch community in a way that will safeguard and disseminate the vital parts of the horological past, present and future.
The Horology Highlights
As you can imagine, it is rather hard to signal in on particular highlights of such a densely-packed schedule of laudable experts, but there were some key elements that no discerning watch-owner would have wanted to miss. First off, there was the Dubai Watch Week’s Horology Forum in which a series of industry experts, icons, innovators and collectors present and discuss movements in watch-making that have already impacted, and will continue to impact, generations to come. Budding watchmakers could attend a series of master classes, including one hosted by David Flecchia, Head of watchmaking training at ocean-inspired brand Ulysse Nardin in which much was learned about the use of silicium in their process.
Time up Close
As was to be expected the timepieces themselves were the star of the show. Illustrious brand Rolex was first up, having decided to make this the first year they would participate in a watchmaking event in the Middle East. They hosted a dedicated, interactive exhibition exploring the universe of the Oyster Perpetual Submariner and how this celebrated divers’ watch came to be.
The event also had ground-breaking displays of many of the top winners from this year’s Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve, the ‘Oscars of watchmaking’. There was the ornately elaborate MB&F Legacy machine FlyingT winner of best Ladies Complication, best Jewellery Watch Bvlgari’s Serpenti Misteriosi Romani and top honour winner Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin.
Finally, it was also an opportunity to be among the first to see the newest watch collection from Chopard. Their innovative Alpine Eagle Collection only launched on 1st October and was inspired by the brand’s connection with nature and the beauty of the Swiss Alps.
As venue hosts, DIFC was the perfect forum for the convergence of so many international horological icons. A globally-recognised hub of excellence, its stature was the ideal mirror to one of the world’s most prestigious industries with such a reputable heritage of quality. Attendees needing a refuel could also avail themselves of the exquisite fair on offer at the exclusive pop up hosted by renowned restaurant Cipriani Dubai; a definite must-visit according to our DIFC Gulf Sotheby’s International Realty team! Apparently it is one of their favourites and luckily just a hop, skip and a jump from our DIFC office.


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Retailers and customers prepare for the Oklahoma lottery
Monday, October 10th 2005, 10:55 am
By: News On 6
Big dreams of fast cash are taking hold across Oklahoma as lottery fever takes hold.
Scratch-off lottery tickets go on sale at your favorite convenience store on Wednesday and both players and store owners are raring to go. News on 6 anchor Craig Day says Quik Trip stores are always busy places.
Customers like to get in and out fast. More workers will be on hand starting early Wednesday morning. Quik Trip store manager Brad Young: "All the stores have been asked to staff a little extra for the shifts starting off on the 12th. Hello. Anything else for you? It will be 86."
Quik Trip's 55 Oklahoma stores are among more than 1,200 outlets that will begin selling Oklahoma lottery scratch-off tickets this week. The store employees have undergone training sessions. The needed equipment is in place, and they're ready for customers.
Just like Mahlon Montgomery. â€œfor sure. Yes sir. I'll be here bright and early in the morning. I go to work at five and I'll stop by here every morning." Vendors will receive 6 percent of ticket sales, plus three quarters of a percent of winning lottery tickets they cash.
Governor Brad Henry hopes the lottery will produce $150-million in its first year. Lottery opponents have their doubts the lottery will be able to raise that much revenue. Stores must redeem cash prizes up to $25 and can redeem them up to $600. Sapulpa resident Jeanne Lundgren: "It's something fun to do. I'm not much of a gambler as far as going to the casinos go, but I like the scratchoff tickets, so I'm looking forward to it."
Cash prizes from scratch-off games over $600 have to be redeemed at the Lottery Commission office. Pick 3 tickets and online games are scheduled to be available on November 10th.
The Powerball Lottery goes into effect in Oklahoma on January 16th of next year.

domain: news


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NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Semiconductor stocks could rise for a third day Friday after the second dose of good news about the group's sales prospects from the Semiconductor Industry Association this week. Hardware shares fell.
The Semiconductor Industry Association said worldwide sales for April grew 7.3 percent to $11.2 billion, paced by gains in the recovering Asian region. Asia Pacific sales were $2.7 billion compared with $2.4 billion the year earlier, a jump of 9.7 percent.
Sales in the Americas were rose 6.7 percent to $3.6 billion.
"This month's global sales numbers show the continuing growth of our industry," George Scalise, SIA president, said in a statement.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index SOX, -1.82% , which tracks 16 chip and chip equipment makers, rose 1.5 percent, on top of gains Wednesday after the SIA said it expects chip sales to jump 12 percent this year, up from a previous forecast of 9 percent.
Meanwhile, National Semiconductor stock jumped 8.8 percent, ahead of its earnings release. The company reported a loss of $40 million, or 24 cents a share, excluding charges. That's in line with the First Call Corp.'s consensus estimate for a 24-cent loss.
National Semi's one-time net restructuring charge of $688.4 million was the result of its previously announced decision to exit the PC processor business and to sell a majority interest in a wafer manufacturing facility in South Portland, Maine. A year ago, National Semi reported a loss of $69.3 million, or 42 cents per share, excluding charges. Revenue for the quarter fell to $486 million from $510 million last year.
National Semi said that bookings during the fourth quarter grew 17 percent over the third quarter and 23 percent over last year's fourth quarter
"We are now on track to be profitable in the November quarter," said Brian L. Halla, CEO, noting that National /Semi will complete its exit from the PC business during the summer quarter. See press release. National Semi nsm shares gained 1 13/16, or 8.8 percent, to 22 1/2.
David Soetebier, senior equity analyst at Bank of America Investment Management, told CBS.MarketWatch.com that there's "very bullish news on the semiconductor side, less bullish news on the other side."
Credit Suisse First Boston commented on the semiconductor capital equipment sector Thursday and said Intel's INTC, -1.35% move with its 300mm wafer pilot and production plans might cause others to follow.
Intel said in a statement that the expected chip fabrication savings from the use of the 300mm wafer is 30 percent as compared with 200mm wafer production costs. The company plans to begin production on a 0.13 micron in 2002, a year after it starts 0.13 micron production on 200mm wafers.
Credit Suisse analyst Elliott Rogers said France's STMicroelectronics STM, -2.63% and Texas Instruments TXN, -1.88% may follow suit. Texas Instruments stock gained 2 3/8 to 125 3/4, while STMicroelectronics fell 2 3/8 to 132 3/16.
Intel shares gained 2 1/4 to 55 3/8. Motorola MSI, -0.87% lost 2 1/8 to 82 9/16.
Advanced Micro Devices AMD, -1.37% stock slipped 1/16 to 17 3/8.
Xilinx XLNX, -2.42% shares moved down 9/16 to 48 1/2 while another programmable chip maker, Altera ALTR, +0.08% shares jumped 1 9/16, or 4.5 percent, to 36 9/16. Lattice Semiconductor LSCC, -0.63% stock was up 1/4 to 55 3/4. Micron Technology MU, -2.50% stock was up 2 7/8 to 46.
The Goldman Sachs Computer Hardware Index slipped 1.5 percent.
PC vendors were hit hard Thursday, as IBM IBM, -0.42% shares lost 1 3/4 to 115 1/4; Compaq cpq stock slid 3/8 to 22 5/16; Apple appl stock lost 5/16 to 48 1/8 and Gateway gtw was down 3 3/16 to 58 13/16.
"I thought we'd get more benefit from the numbers that came out of the IDC earlier in the week. But, then there's worry out there over pricing," Soetebier said. See International Data Corp. story.
Other tech news
"The high growth area has been data communications. Of course, those of you in the Valley, Cisco and some of those other companies have done extremely well with growth in the data communications area, which, of course, is driven by the Internet," Soetebier added.


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Reports are coming in that Nokia will resume making smart phones come ending of next year. Parts of their deal with Microsoft indicates that Nokia is bound not to release any hardware under their brand name until the third quarter of 2016.
It appears Nokia is eagerly waiting for that time, to enable them start making smartphones. As reported by ReCode details of what they will make or its features is still unknown, but we trust Nokia-as always-to come up with something pleasing.
Is Nokia coming back with a bang? Or just trying to stay afloat. Only time will tell.


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Kyocera Electronics Australia's managing director, David Finn, has sounded a warning for the IT channel, claiming too many resellers are simply taking orders for the replacement of existing printers.
Finn believes resellers in the high-end laser printer market from the office equipment channel are leaving traditional IT resellers behind as the convergence of printers and copiers gathers pace.
According to Finn, IT resellers are either selling down to a price or replacing what the customer already has, rather than proactively identifying how the higher speed network printers can deliver improved performance and cost savings. "This is especially true in terms of TCO," Finn said.
"I'm sure that the other vendors have the same frustration. We're trying to get everyone to sell the correct printer for the correct job and the resellers are just pushing what they think is the easiest to sell," he added.
Finn said this is despite the fact that by selling the right printer, resellers will make more money and have less problems, and have a happier customer. "It's a no-brainer. Often the customer doesn't have a clue how much they are printing a month. There's not enough consultative selling."
Finn said that as it stands now, approximately half of the 20 direct-dealing resellers of Kyocera printers are from the office automation channel.


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We are delighted to announce that our winner of the Business Person of the Year Award at The Cherwell Business Awards 2020 is Jolyon Bennett of Juice Global Ltd.
Jolyon was chosen as the winner by our judges for his exceptional hard work and dedication to creating and building his business, and his extraordinary passion for creating new and sustainable products.
Charlotte Toemaes, Corporate Services Partner and Director of the Cherwell Business Awards, said:
“Talking to Jolyon and learning about how he had built Juice from scratch was truly inspiration. He has single handed grown Juice into a multimillion pound, international business and is now developing sustainable products and packaging, which could be a game changer across the world.”
“This year we saw an extremely high standard of applications which made judging the Business Person of the Year Award incredibly difficult. All three of our finalists showed great passion for developing their businesses and demonstrated how they are thinking outside the box in these changing times.”
The 9th Cherwell Business Awards took place on Friday 11 December in a virtual awards ceremony for the very first time due to the coronavirus pandemic. Throughout the evening 10 awards were given out to businesses across the Cherwell District. To see the full list of winners, visit the Cherwell Business Awards website.


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We’ve been bringing you spy shots of prototypes for the upcoming SLS AMG Black Series model from Mercedes-Benz for close to a year now, with one of the prototypes most recently being spotted conducting some high-speed tests on Germany’s Nürburgring race track. Unfortunately, it appears that the prototype has now crashed on the ‘Ring and caught fire.
The good news is that the driver and passenger managed to walk away from the crash, long before the flames took over the wreckage.
The crash took place at the Döttinger Höhe section of the Nürburgring, a long straight that stretches close to 1.5 miles and where it’s common for AMG models to clock speeds of close to 186 mph.
With the fire having destroyed most of the car, we can see that AMG engineers are sticking with the SLS AMG’s aluminum structure rather than adopting the carbon fiber monocoque of the SLS AMG Electric Drive. Not much else can be gathered from these latest shots, but previous spy shots have revealed pumped fenders, an integrated diffuser and plenty of carbon fiber.
It’s expected that the new SLS AMG Black Series will have a more powerful engine than the 583-horsepower SLS AMG GT. Combined with this should be a lighter overall curb weight and retuned suspension, guaranteeing the Black Series will be the most capable model in the Mercedes-Benz fleet.
We don't know yet exactly when the SLS AMG Black Series will enter production, but we will likely have to wait until sometime in 2013 for the official unveiling, which means the car is likely to arrive in showrooms as a 2014 model.
While you wait for its arrival, click here to watch a spy video of an earlier prototype, also on the Nürburgring.
Interestingly, this isn't the only AMG prototype we've seen crash on the Nürburgring recently. Last month a prototype for the upcoming A45 AMG also crashed.
2013 Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG spy shots


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>> Read more trending news
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that fluid can leak inside the clutches, which makes it hard to disengage the bikes from gears and could lead riders to lose control of the bike and crash. Five crashes have been reported, but there were no injuries reported.
Recalled models are the 2017 and 2018 Police Road King, Road King, Road King Special, Electra Glide Ultra Classic, Ultra Limited, Ultra Limited Low, Ultra Limited Shrine, Police Electra Glide, Street Glide, Street Glide Special, Road Glide Ultra, Road Glide, Road Glide Special, Freewheeler, Tri Glide Ultra, CVO Limited, and the CVO Street Glide.
The 2017 Softail Slim S, Fat Boy S, CVO Pro Street Breakout and the 2018 115th Anniversary Ultra Limited, 115th Anniversary Street Glide, 115th Anniversary Street Glide Special, 115th Anniversary Tri Glide Ultra, 115th Anniversary CVO Limited, and CVO Road Glide are also recalled.
"We, along with our dealers, are committed to addressing this issue," Chief Financial Officer John Olin said during a conference call Tuesday, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported. "The safety of our riders is our highest priority."
Riders can check if their bike is part of the recall at Harley-Davidson.com.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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Berlin: Higher demand for capital goods at home and abroad drove the biggest monthly increase in German industrial orders in around 2-1/2 years in December, suggesting factories will support growth in Europe's biggest economy in the coming months.
The much stronger than expected data, released by the Economy Ministry in Berlin, gave some reassurance that Germany's economic upswing will carry into 2017 despite growing political uncertainties such as a protectionist US trade agenda.
"What a sensationally strong quarter in the manufacturing sector", Sal. Oppenheim economist Ulrike Kastens said, adding that the figures were pointing to an overall economic recovery in the euro zone.
"Despite the political uncertainties, the German economy is showing a more than robust development," Kastens said, adding she now expected quarterly growth of around 0.6 per cent in the first quarter after 0.5 per cent in the final quarter of 2016.
Contracts for goods 'Made in Germany' were up by 5.2 per cent on the month, the Economy Ministry said. That was the biggest monthly increase since July 2014 and was far stronger than the Reuters consensus forecast for a rise of 0.5 per cent.
Domestic demand jumped by 6.7 per cent while foreign orders increased by 3.9 per cent, with bookings from euro zone countries soaring by 10.0 per cent.
The data for November was revised down to a fall of 3.6 per cent from a previously reported drop of 2.5 per cent.
Still, over the full fourth quarter, industrial orders rose by 4.3 per cent on the quarter, the economy ministry said.
"This signals a continued upswing in the industrial sector over the winter," the ministry said.
The overall increase was driven by a jump in demand for capital goods of 9.7 per cent, helped by strong bookings from both domestic customers and euro zone countries.
The strong orders figures followed mixed data after German business morale unexpectedly fell in January, signalling a more downbeat assessment of the outlook for Europe's largest economy.
A survey among German purchasing managers showed last week that private sector growth slowed slightly in January, with weaker activity among services firms limiting overall economic expansion.
Strong private consumption, increased state spending on refugees and higher construction investment helped the German economy to grow by 1.9 per cent in 2016 — the strongest rate in half a decade.
For this year, the government expects an economic slowdown to 1.4 per cent due to fewer workdays and weaker exports.
ING economist Carsten Brzeski suggested viewing the data with caution as it is a highly volatile indicator but added: "Against the background of Brexit and Trump, today's data suggest that the German industry could shift into a higher gear in the first quarter of 2017," he said.


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Clearwire will issue $1.1 billion in debt to help fund the company's 4G build. It also announced a new 4G/W-Fi modem.
As competition in the 4G wireless market heats up, Clearwire has finalized a deal to create more funding so it can continue building its nationwide 4G wireless network.
It also has released a new product.
The company said today it plans to sell more than $1.1 billion in a debt offering. The company has spent months negotiating and looking for ways to inject more money into the business. The company said last month that without new funding it might not be able to continue building its nationwide WiMax 4G wireless network.
Clearwire is majority owned by Sprint Nextel, the nation's third largest wireless provider. Cable giants Comcast and Time Warner Cable also own stakes in the company, as do Google and Intel.
Clearwire had also considered other avenues of funding, such as a bigger investment from Sprint. It was even talking with rival T-Mobile USA about an investment in the company. Clearwire executives had also said the company was considering selling some of its spectrum.
So far, the company has not said whether these options have been taken off the table with the new round of debt issued. But analysts believe the company will still need more money in the coming years to continue building its network. How much? Some analysts estimate the company will need another $3 billion in the next couple of years to continue building its WiMax network.
Clearwire said recently that it now covers 103 million people around the U.S. in 68 markets. The service is already available in cities such as Washington, D.C., New York, and Seattle.
The news of additional funding comes as Verizon Wireless announced the launch of its 4G wireless network. Starting Sunday, Verizon will begin offering its next-generation wireless service in 38 markets across the country. Verizon is currently the largest wireless operator in the U.S., and its service will be available to 110 million potential customers on day one, the company has said.
Clearwire claims its network offers download speeds between 3Mbps and 6Mbps, while Verizon, which uses a competing technology called LTE, claims average download speeds between 6Mbps and 12 Mbps. Clearwire's choice of technology could become a problem for the company, although executives say the company is also open to adopting other technologies, such as LTE.
With most of the world's carriers using LTE, there will likely be fewer WiMax-enabled devices on the market. To combat this problem, Clearwire has embraced Wi-Fi, a widely adopted technology that is finding its way into everything from smartphones to printers.
In an effort to make its service more flexible and more appealing to consumers, Clearwire has been announcing products that incorporate Wi-Fi technology. Today, it released the Clear Modem with Wi-Fi. The device enables people to get the Clear WiMax service to their home and then connect laptops, tablets, iPods, smartphones, and whatever Wi-Fi enabled devices they have to the Clear broadband network.
The Clear Modem with Wi-Fi supports 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi capable devices and supports Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista 32/64, Windows 7 32/64 and Mac OS8 or higher. The modem costs $120 or can be leased for $7 a month. Monthly data service starts at $35.


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Loungers, which runs 146 café/bar/restaurants across England and Wales under the Lounge and Cosy Club brands, has announced plans to float on the AIM market later this month.
The company, founded in Bristol in 2002 by friends Alex Reilley, Jake Bishop and Dave Reid and currently backed by Lion Capital, is expected to float with a value of around £250m.
It has grown rapidly since 2002 under both brands, often selecting secondary sites in locations not favoured by larger restaurant brands. It has also so far avoided opening sites within London. By the end of 2019, it expected to have opened 25 more venues and aims to keep opening 25 sites a year over the medium term, of which 20 are expected to be Lounges and five Cosy Clubs.
Despite the struggles of some operators in the casual dining sector, the firm has reported 6.4% like-for-like sales growth in the 24 weeks to 7th October 2018.
Two of the original founders, Alex Reilley and Jake Bishop, remain active in the group, which is run by chief executive Nick Collins.
The business said its admission to AIM would “position the group strongly for the next stage of its development, further raising the profile of the group, assisting in attracting and retaining employees through appropriate incentive arrangements and providing it with an appropriate structure for future growth”.
Nick Collins, chief executive of Loungers, said: “I am delighted to announce our intention to list on AIM. It has long been the ambition of the founders and myself that Loungers becomes a listed entity. The listing will allow us to broaden the employee shareholder base and provide us with an appropriate capital structure to pursue our future growth ambitions.
“Loungers is the only growing all-day operator of scale within the UK hospitality sector. Our relaxed, casual, home from home proposition which combines coffee shop, pub and restaurant across our two complementary brands – Lounge and Cosy Club – resonates with today’s consumer, attracting broad demographic appeal in a diverse range of trading locations.”


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Clear evidence consumers are increasingly buying Irish during pandemic.
Forty-four of the top 100 selling grocery brands in Ireland are Irish produced; this cohort has grown by 18% to a total of €1.07bn in combined sales.
Wednesday, 10 March 2021, Dublin – There is clear evidence that consumers are increasingly buying Irish throughout the global health pandemic brought about by Covid-19, delegates at a key food and drinks industry symposium hosted by Love Irish Food today (Wednesday) will hear.
The Love Irish Food seminar, which will be streamed live online this morning, includes keynote addresses from An Tánaiste, Leo Varadkar, and leading industry experts on the future of Irish produced food and drinks brands.
According to research from Kantar Worldpanel, to be presented on during the Love Irish Food conference, 44 of the top 100 selling grocery brands in Ireland during 2020 were Irish produced. Over the past year during the pandemic, this cohort of 44 brands has grown by 18% to a total of €1.07bn in combined sales. These Irish brands currently capture 48% of the money spent among the 100 top-selling grocery brands in Ireland.
The Kantar research will be presented on at the Love Irish Food symposium by David Berry, Managing Director, Ireland at Kantar Worldpanel. Other industry experts speaking at the event include Joe Manning, Commercial Director at Tesco Ireland and leading Economist Jim Power.
Commenting, Kieran Rumley, Executive Director at Love Irish Food, said: “The contribution of Irish manufactured food and drink brands to the local and national economies in Ireland is both vital and immense. Love Irish Food aims to educate Irish consumers so that they recognise Irish brands. Buying more Irish made products helps Irish businesses survive and protects Irish jobs, which is critical in the current climate in the context of the global health pandemic and will be crucial in driving economic recovery.”
THE ROLE OF LOVE IRISH FOOD IN DRIVING ECONOMIC RECOVERY
Love Irish Food was formed in 2009 with the aim of helping consumers make informed choices about buying Irish manufactured food and drinks. The aim is to promote the consumption of Irish food and drink and create a realisation that every time a consumer makes a conscious decision to purchase an Irish manufactured food or drink product, this is supporting vital local employment, local businesses, and local sustainability all over Ireland.
While many Irish agri-food companies have a strong export focus, the domestic market is also very important, particularly for smaller companies who lack scale. Smaller companies can build scale in the domestic market, and eventually achieve an export capability, Love Irish Food must play a key role in driving home these messages, but ultimately it is the purchasing decisions of consumers that will matter most.
In the first 11 months of 2020, Ireland imported over €8 billion worth of food and drink products. Of these imports, the UK accounted for 47 per cent of the total. In the context of Brexit, some of these products from the UK are becoming more difficult to source and more expensive. There has to be potential for import substitution – in other words producing locally, what we previously imported. The decisions taken by Irish consumers can play a key role in this regard. The role of Love Irish Food is to help inform consumers about the impact of such decisions on local communities and local economies. This message has resonated with many people during the COVID-19 crisis, and the objective now is to ensure that post-COVID, consumers will not forget the importance of supporting local producers. By doing so, they are having beneficial impact on the local economy and the environment.+
88% of Irish SME food companies expect revenue growth in 2020 – Love Irish Food/PwC Irish Food Barometer new research
PwC and Love Irish Food research reveals optimism among Irish SME food companies despite sectoral challenges
Irish SME food companies are optimistic about the growth prospects for their own businesses, but are less certain about the future performance of the economy. With the vast majority focusing on the home market for growth, expansion into export markets is an area for potential development.
Business growth is set to continue into 2020, but softening expected in the Irish economy.
Very few Irish food companies (6%) expect to achieve price increases in current trading conditions indicating that margin improvements will be derived from advances in technology and operational efficiencies.
Sustainability is high on the agenda.
These are some of the key findings from the 2019 SME Irish Food Barometer, new research carried out by PwC and Love Irish Food launched today taking the pulse on business confidence, growth opportunities and challenges facing Irish SME food companies.
Optimistic about business growth
Showing they are confident about the factors within their control, over eight out of ten (88%) Irish food companies expect revenue growth in the year ahead, of which a third (34%) expect this revenue growth to be in excess of 10%.
Most of this growth is expected to be organic (rather than from external factors such as a merger or acquisition), with the key drivers being new product development and growth of exports in addition to operational efficiencies.
This optimism is reflected when it comes to projected capital expenditure. Almost all respondents (96%) confirmed that they are planning some form of capital investment in 2020 in order to develop their business. One in ten (10%) said that this would be in excess of €3 million.
However, just 16% are of the view that economic growth in Ireland will improve in the year ahead, 50% say it will remain unchanged and 34% say it will decline. As a small open economy, this is not surprising given external uncertainties and a softening in European and global growth.
Just 6% of respondents are expecting a price increase to drive revenue in the year ahead – an ongoing challenge for many Irish companies who are grappling with tight margins and cost competitiveness.
The growth of volume at the expense of value has placed huge pressure on the food manufacturing sector. With a price sensitive consumer, retailers’ opportunities to grow margins must now lie in the innovative use of emerging technologies to better understand shopping habits and to create brand loyalty.
Highlighting the need for development into new markets, the survey confirms that Irish SMEs value the domestic market (the Republic of Ireland) as the greatest source of growth (78%) in the year ahead. 24% said that the US was their most important growth market in the year ahead; 12% said this was the EU and just 11% said it was the UK.
Investment stalled, but not stopped, by Brexit
Suggesting growth is very much on the agenda in the face of change, just 31% reported that they had delayed investment in the organisation due to Brexit. Any delayed investment was principally in areas such as production capacity, operational resources innovation and marketing.
At the same time, the majority (63%) of respondent companies are currently exporting some product to the UK including one in five stating that these exports represent more than 20% of their total revenue. In light of Brexit, time will tell if exports to the UK continue at their current levels. Brexit presents an opportunity for certain Irish food manfacturers who may benefit through import substitution. Irish SME food companies may look to grow business by offering alternatives to product ranges that are currently imported from the UK.
Speaking at the survey launch, Grace McCullen, Senior Manager, PwC Ireland Retail & Consumer Practice, said: “The survey highlights optimism about the future growth potential for Irish food companies. They are also keen to seek operational efficiencies through innovation and technologies to improve margins, cost competitiveness and satisfied consumers.”
“With the domestic market being the priority for growth prospects, expanding into new markets and new products should not be ignored. The UK will exit the EU at some point and that will give rise to new opportunities for manufacturing food products in Ireland that may have been supplied from the UK.”
Skills, potential trade tariffs and operational costs holding back growth
Key challenges curtailing growth prospects include: availability of labour (43%), trade wars and tariffs (37%), operational costs such as energy, insurance and rates (28%), volatile commodity prices (21%) and embracing the sustainability agenda (17%).
Sustainability is on the agenda
84% confirmed that they have an environmental sustainability plan in place to make improvements in 2020. Key areas for this investment are energy consumption, reducing plastics and water usage.
Irish consumers want to buy Irish
Three-quarters (77%) of survey respondents are of the view that the Love Irish Food endorsement is of recognisable value to consumers and retailers largely because it clearly identifies that the product is Irish and sets the brand apart from imported products.
Key reasons for buying Irish, cited by the participating food companies, are quality, supporting local suppliers, sustainability, food traceability and positive impact on the economy.
Kieran Rumley, Executive Director, Love Irish Food, the not-for-profit organisation established to help safeguard the future of Irish Food & Drink brands, said: “The survey highlights evidence of optimism amongst Irish SMEs around growth into 2020, notwithstanding a difficult trading environment. There are considerable challenges in areas such as availability of skills across the board from operational, to technical to management – which in turn highlights the need for a greater take-up of available apprenticeships in the industry.”
“The survey also suggests that Irish food companies are taking the sustainability challenge seriously with many planning to invest in initiatives to improve the environment. This together with the strong regional dispersion of the food industry base contributes greatly to overall sustainability.”
“It’s also encouraging to see that the majority of survey respondents are now looking to invest in their companies in the coming year. For certain food sectors, this represents a significant growth opportunity, specifically for those import substitution sectors. However, behind these positive signals there remains the worrying inability of Irish food producers to recover adequate costs, forcing them to continue to operate on even tighter margins.”


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|Viet Nam's farming, fishery and forestry exports this year may achieve 95 per cent of the target. — File Photo
HA NOI (VNS) — Viet Nam's farming, fishery and forestry exports this year may achieve 95 per cent of the target, an official of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said on Tuesday.
During the ministry's regular press conference on reviewing the sector's first nine-month business results, Pham Cong Dung, head of the ministry's Department of Processing and Trade of Agricultural, Forestry, and Fishery Products and Salt Production, said the agricultural sector set a target of US$32 billion in export value this year.
However, an increase in the price of the US dollar, changes in the foreign exchange rates of several strong currencies – particularly Euros – which detrimentally affected export businesses and high inventory of agricultural products of Viet Nam's key importers all posed difficulties for the country's exports.
In the first nine months of this year, the total export turnover of farming, forestry and fishery products was estimated at nearly $21.7 billion, down 5 per cent from the same period last year.
Of which, exports of major agricultural and seafood products were valued at $10.3 billion and $4.7 billion, down 7.2 per cent and 17.8 per cent, respectively, while the export value of wood and forest products reached $5.03 billion, a year-on-year rise of 6.6 per cent.
By the end of this year, the ministry will also organise more trade promotion activities and continue negotiations towards market openings for several agricultural products, such as dragon fruit to Japan and chicken to Russia.
It will review traditional export markets to promote exports to those, according to the ministry. It will also reduce fees and charges of the agricultural sectors to solve difficulties in administrative procedures for export activities.
Optimism in TPP deal
Meanwhile, Dung hoped that the completion of negotiations and the signing of free trade agreements and the Trans-Pacific Partnership would help increase the national agro, forestry and fishery exports in the near future.
Also at the press conference, MARD Deputy Minister Ha Cong Tuan said that the trade deal, once effective, will help Viet Nam expand consumption markets for its farm produce and ease its dependence on traditional but fluctuant ones like China.
The TPP will enable Viet Nam to adjust its import-export market structure in the agriculture, Tuan noted.
Seafood and wood products will gain a lot of competitive advantages as taxes imposed on all agricultural products will be eliminated shortly after the deal comes into effect, he said.
With tax incentives stipulated in the pact, Viet Nam is expected to welcome a significant flow of investments into the farming sector, thus speeding up the country's agricultural restructuring.
However, the agricultural sector is forecast to face a spectrum of challenges, especially in consumption of farming products, as it is mainly driven by household-based businesses with out-of-date technologies, Tuan said.
The official suggested the sector revamp its apparatus, and called for joint efforts from managers, farmers and businesses.
Viet Nam will have the chance to buy modern livestock rearing methods and good quality breeds from other TPP members, helping advance the country's livestock sector, Nguyen Xuan Duong, deputy head of the Department of Animal Husbandry, said.
The domestic agricultural sector has a low yield, leading to low competitiveness, Nguyen Duc Thanh, director of the Viet Nam Centre for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR) said. Therefore, Viet Nam must improve productivity of its agricultural sector for sustainable development in the future.
He said technology with regard to agricultural production should be improved because the TPP includes environment commitments and Vietnamese farmers must change their habits in agricultural production to reach international environment standards, reported zing.vn.
Viet Nam should also focus on intensive production for farming products with advantages in competitiveness and business, he said. — VNS


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Home » WorldMatch launches certified games for Portuguese market
WorldMatch launches certified games for Portuguese market
15 May 2020
WorldMatch has announced the launch of a portfolio of certified products for the Portuguese regulated market.
The company has strengthened its presence in the international market with the launch of 30 products, totally localised and certified for the Portuguese market.
Operators can choose between 2 different RTPs, high and low, to better profile their offers. They can also offer a rich choice of looks to customers, covering Egyptian, fruit and space themes.
Commenting on the launch of its slots in Portugal, Andrea Boratto, CEO of WorldMatch, said: "The high quality of entertainment that WorldMatch offers to players from all over the world is now available for the regulated market in Portugal. The games we have selected have already performed above average in other markets and have now been fully localised in Portuguese and certified by SRIJ. WorldMatch is a leading player in the sector and choosing the WorldMatch product catalogue improves the range of content available and makes the offer more attractive for players.”
WorldMatch has been providing a range of games and slots for the online casino industry for more than 20 years. The company’s catalogue includes more than 200 multi-language and multi-currency HTML5 games and is one of the largest and most popular available in regulated markets.


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The Buffalo Sabres today announced that they will hold an online auction of game-worn home and away jerseys from the 2013-14 season.
The auction opened on Wednesday, October 9 at 5 p.m., and will conclude at 9 p.m. on Sunday, October 20. Fans can access the auction by logging onto the auction section of NHL.com or via the auction site link on Sabres.com.
Each jersey comes with a certificate of authenticity. All proceeds from the auction will directly benefit the Buffalo Sabres Foundation.
The Buffalo Sabres Foundation is a New York State not for profit corporation that is committed to stimulating, supporting and encouraging organizations that serve Western New York which are committed to youth hockey initiatives; the health, wellness and education of underprivileged /disadvantaged youth and military personnel; and physically and mentally challenged athlete, by providing financial generosity and other platforms for their endeavors. Through such support these organizations will realize their highest potential, thereby allowing their members to gain the confidence and integrity necessary to succeed in life.


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Monday, 9 Nov 2015
Most expensive watch auctioned sells for $7.3M
A Patek Philippe timepiece became the most expensive wristwatch ever sold at auction over the weekend, when it was purchased for $7.3 million.
The watch, called the 5016A, sold at Phillips auction in Geneva for more than 10 times its low estimate of $700,000. The sale followed nine minutes of intense bidding by two anonymous phone bidders, and led to a standing ovation by the crowd at the La Reserve Hotel...The proceeds will go to charity.


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“Someone may have accessed your account.”
That is the subject of a notification some Facebook users will be seeing if the credentials for their social media account are the same as their recently compromised Adobe account. The body of the message reads:
“Recently, there was a security incident on another website unrelated to Facebook. Facebook was not directly affected by the incident, but your Facebook account is at risk because you were using the same password in both places. To secure your account, you'll need to answer a few questions and change your password. For your protection, no one can see you on Facebook until you finish.”
Ammon Bartram, a software engineer, recently told the New York Times that it is “disturbing” how many people used the same password for their Adobe account as they did for their email address, Facebook account, bank account and garage code. He added that tens of thousands used “same as my Facebook password” or “same as my bank password” as a reminder hint.
In the beginning of October, Adobe began warning customers that their accounts were breached and their credit card information had been compromised. The intruders were also said to have stolen product source code.
At the end of October, Adobe revealed that the number of impacted customers had skyrocketed to about 38 million from the roughly three million it announced weeks prior. Security firm Stricture Consulting Group analyzed the hashed passwords and revealed that nearly two million Adobe accounts had ‘123456' as a password.


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Home rental firm Airbnb is now accepting Alipay, the huge Chinese Internet payment offering, on its site, reports ReCode.
This isn’t necessarily the beginning of mainstream U.S. acceptance of Alipay, as it might be little more than an attempt to make Chinese travelers more comfortable. “Airbnb has been slowly rolling out the Alipay option since the summer for people who visit its site from a Chinese IP address,” the story said. “One big reason: It felt it was missing out on business from Chinese travelers who didn’t have a dual-currency credit card or the PayPal account necessary to purchase a stay through Airbnb, according to its global payments head, Lex Bayer.”
Now that travel from China is a footnote. Business travel from China alone “has grown more than 250 percent year over year at Airbnb, Bayer said. Since Airbnb added the Alipay option, 60 percent of new users have chosen to pay with it.”


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SYDNEY (Reuters) - Shareholders of David Jones Ltd, Australia’s No. 2 department store by sales, on Monday began a crucial meeting to vote on a $2 billion takeover bid from South Africa’s Woolworths Holdings Ltd.
The vote for the offer would end years of uncertainty about the future of the 176-year-old Sydney-based firm, which has languished for half a decade as online retail ravaged its traditional store-based model.
Prior to the Woolworths bid - which killed off two earlier approaches from Australian rival Myer Holdings Ltd - David Jones shares last traded over the A$4.00 offer price on July 11, 2011.
The takeover has already been endorsed by Woolworths shareholders and the David Jones board, which has watched profits fall while the A$18.7 billion department store sector shrinks and online shopping grows up to 30 percent annually.
A vote for the takeover would also complete a key step in Woolworths’ transformation from a South African company with offshore interests into an aggressive global player with the muscle to compete with the likes of Industria de Diseno Textil SA’s Zara, H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB and Top Shop.
It would also mark the end of a lengthy stand-off between Woolworths and the biggest David Jones shareholder, reclusive Melbourne billionaire and former Myer chairman Solomon Lew.
Lew, who built his fortune investing in clothes retail, has prevented Woolworths from taking full ownership of another Australian clothes company, Country Road Ltd, for 17 years by keeping his 11.88 percent stake.
He threatened to derail the David Jones takeover as well, when just a month before shareholders were due to vote on the Woolworths bid he revealed without explanation that he had built up a 9.89 percent stake in the department store chain.
The move established a potentially blocking stake in David Jones and was widely interpreted as an attempt to pressure Woolworths into offering to buy his Country Road shares at an inflated price.
On June 24, Woolworths offered to buy Lew’s Country Road shares for A$17 each, 21 percent higher than their previous closing price. Lew paid roughly A$2.00 a share for his stake in 1997.
Lew has still not disclosed how he plans to vote in relation to either of the Woolworths offers for Country Road or David Jones, although he is generally expected to give them the nod.
David Jones shares, which were halted on Monday, closed flat at A$3.93 on Friday.
Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Stephen Coates


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With mobile gaming becoming the highest revenue generator in the online gambling industry, a number of gaming providers are building their own apps, optimized for Android and iOS devices.
Playtech, whose iOS native casino app has been on the market for the past three years, is getting ready for an upgrade, following up on Apple’s upcoming change in guidelines.
The New Policy Comes into Effect This Fall
According to Playtech’s official announcement, the existing app will be used as a basis for the new platform, which will consist solely of the native games. The decision to perform an upgrade was inevitable, as Apple has recently informed the gaming companies about the 4.7 clause update.
The new guideline states that all gaming content – including real money, lottery, and digital commerce apps – must be iOS native. The online casino operator that do not comply with the new standards will be removed from the App store within a month, however, Playtech’s partners have no cause for concern. Thanks to the supplier’s SDK (Software Development Kit), the operators can build the native apps at no extra cost.
Reading between the lines of Peter Mares’s statement (Chief Technology Officer at Playtech), one can easily conclude that Apple’s decision did not receive a warm welcome from the gaming software companies. Fortunately, Playtech has been in the business for far too long to be caught off guard, and Mares assured the partners that the new “Apple-shaped hoop for operators to jump through” was being efficiently dealt with.
Mares added that their licensees would be able to operate without any impediments, despite the upcoming changes (which are expected to take effect by the 3rd of September).
More News from Playtech
This season has been quite hectic for the company – not long ago, Playtech landed a new agreement with Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, providing OLG with BetBuddy analytics software, designed to promote responsible gambling.
The end of July 2019 was marked by the release of Casino Stud Poker, live poker variant with a progressive jackpot, streamed 24/7.
The release came only two weeks after the company’s triple live Roulette launch: American Roulette, Spread Bet Roulette, and 80s themed Hi-Lo Club.
Earlier this month, Playtech penned another long-term contract with CasinoSolverde.pt, an online casino launched in 2017 as a part of the Portuguese Solverde group.
The agreement will allow the operator to integrate Playtech’s Information Management Solution (IMS) system and deliver a wide range of developer’s top-performing games to their players.


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|Li Keqiang Meets with President Sebastian Pinera of Chile|
On April 24, 2019, Premier Li Keqiang met with President Sebastian Pinera of Chile at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.
Li Keqiang expressed that Chile is the first South American country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. President Xi Jinping held fruitful talks with Mr. President, which has injected new impetus into the in-depth development of China-Chile comprehensive strategic partnership. The bilateral trade between China and Chile grew last year against the backdrop of a global slowdown, which showed the great potential for cooperation between the two countries. It is hoped that both sides will look to the future and take the in-depth and joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative as an opportunity to align the two countries' development strategies, upgrade the China-Chile Free Trade Zone, and expand practical cooperation in areas including transportation infrastructure, electricity, agriculture, mining and innovation. The Chinese side is willing to import more high-quality products from Chile, take full advantage of digital economy platforms such as e-commerce, and deepen economic and trade cooperation with other Latin American countries with the help of the China-Chile Free Trade Zone to push forward the overall relations and cooperation between China and Latin America.
Sebastian Pinera said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Chile and China 50 years ago, both sides have witnessed fruitful results in the development of bilateral relations and cooperation. The People's Republic of China has scored remarkable and great achievements since its founding 70 years ago. The Belt and Road Initiative has injected new vitality into the millennia-old Silk Road and the Chilean side stands ready to actively participate in the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. The two sides have completed the upgrading of the bilateral free trade agreement and Chile is willing to take it as an opportunity to promote cooperation in various areas and push the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership for greater development.
Xiao Jie attended the meeting.


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EDIT: Jubilee Kevin toy bundles are now out of stock online, but individual toys will be available in Aldi stores from Thursday 26th May.
Oh boy. Kevin the Carrot is no longer just for Christmas, as he and his friends are back to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee! Aldi have revealed that they will be launching a new Kevin the Carrot range, including new friends and members of the royal family in cuddly carrot form!
You can find lots more Jubilee goodies here including clothing, food, party supplies and more.
You'll be able to buy the new plush toys online from Sunday 22nd May, in two bundle choices for £15.95 each. There will also be limited stocks of individual toys in store from Thursday 26th May for £3.99 each.
Kevin will be joined by a series of royal friends, including The Queen herself wearing a regal purple skirt suit, Prince Charles in his traditional medal adorned scarlet tunic and Her Majesty’s Corgis in a choice of brown or grey.
Kevin is always a big hit at Christmas, but with Jubilee fever making things sell out even faster than usual we're expecting Kev and friends to fly off the shelves! Get ready to move fast folks!
Find more Specialbuys bargains here.
When Is The Queen's Jubilee 2022?
The Queen's Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years on the throne, will be marked by a 4 day Bank Holiday Weekend from Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th June, giving many Brits an extra 2 days off to celebrate. The usual late May bank holiday will be moved to Thursday 2nd June 2022 and the new, additional bank holiday will be on Friday 3rd June.


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Four and a half months on from the club heading out on its first ride, the first kit has been ordered and is in production.
South London’s finest are looking forward to gracing the roads of Surrey and Kent in the official club jersey and gilet in July. The new kit is inspired by the club’s jersey designs of the 1940s and 50s and incorporates the original logo on the family photograph that started this whole project in November 2015.
You’ll need to be a member to own one of these. You can become a member by registering at British Cycling, before that though, say hello at email@example.com and arrange to come out for a ride and a social with us. We’d love to hear from you.
The Club Chairman said: “We’re very proud of launching a black coloured kit in the heat of summer, nearly as much as we were when we launched the club with a ride in January on the coldest day of the year so far.”


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Sony teases Xperia Z3 for September 3 unveiling
The Sony Xperia Z3 looks set to enter the realms of reality on September 3, as the Japanese manufacturer issues invites for its IFA 2014 press conference.
With the Berlin-based show set to act as a launch platform for a number of flagship handsets – including the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 – Sony has confirmed what many had already predicted, announcing its will unveil new devices on September 3.
Although having failed to mention the Xperia Z3 by name, Sony’s official media invite includes a couple of teasing shots of a smartphone.
While these might not be images of the Z3 themselves, it is a good indication that new smartphones will be the stars of Sony’s show in Germany.
As well as teasing new handsets, the Sony invite has suggested that the tech giant will introduce new lens cameras, TVs and audio products.
The Xperia Z3 has been the subject of multiple leaks in recent weeks, although there appears to be little to get excited about.
Like the existing Z2, the Z3 has been tipped to run a 5.15-inch, 1080p Full HD display, 20.7-megapixel rear-mounted camera and 3GB of RAM.
According to leaks, the main discernable difference between the two handsets will be the jump from a 2.3GHz to a 2.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor.
With the Z3 expected to share the launch stage with the sub-sized Sony Xperia Z3 Compact, we will be on hand live from Sony’s press conference on September 3 to bring you all the breaking news and hands-on access.
Read More: CES 2015: What to expect


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On Monday, Google announced some big changes to Google+. The Mountain View company will, in the coming months, no longer require users to have a Google+ account to utilize all of the various Google products. Rather, you will only need a standard Google/Gmail account. Bradley Horowitz, Google’s Vice President of Streams, Photos, and Sharing, addressed the changes and the decision in a blog post:
While we got certain things right, we made a few choices that, in hindsight, we’ve needed to rethink…People have told us that accessing all of their Google stuff with one account makes life a whole lot easier. But we’ve also heard that it doesn’t make sense for your Google+ profile to be your identity in all the other Google products you use.1
This move has been a long time coming. While Google+ logins were accepted, if unpopular, in the early stages of the integration process, once it was expanded to YouTube, the backlash hit a fever pitch. As such, YouTube will be the first service to completely remove Google+ integration. The YouTube team noted a few of the immediate changes that will take place:
- First off, we’ve improved the ranking system that reduces the visibility of junk comments. It’s working—the rate of dislikes on comments has dropped by more than 35 percent across YouTube.
- With today’s announcement from Google+, you’ll see more changes. The comments you make on YouTube will now appear only on YouTube, not also on Google+. And vice-versa. This starts rolling out today.
- Creators told us they liked the moderation options on their channels, like reviewing comments before they’re posted, blocking certain words, or auto-approving comments from certain fans. All this stays.2
Further, the YouTube blog post went on to note that down the road, users will “no longer require a Google+ profile when you want to upload, comment, or create a channel.”3 The option to use Google+ will remain though.
For whatever my opinion is worth, I think Google+ does a lot of things really well, but not everything. In shrinking down the scope of the platform, Google is giving + a new shot at life; a shot to be what it really is: a content sharing and consumption platform. It has never been, and in my opinion should never try to become, a social network – a la Facebook or Twitter. This was the major problem with the platform to begin with. By branding Google+ as a social network, Google set it up for failure – maybe not failure, but at the very least a major letdown. By eliminating the widespread integration, across nearly every single product, Google is allowing + to shift their resources to realizing a better content network. Horowitz expanded on this idea, fittingly, in a followup Google+ post:
Relieved of the notion of integrating with every other product at Google, Google+ can now focus on doing what it’s already doing quite well: helping millions of users around the world connect around the interest they love. Aspects of the product that don’t serve this agenda have been, or will be, retired.4


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YOU may never have heard of FANUC, the world’s largest maker of industrial robots. But the chances are that you own a product built by one of its 400,000 machines. Established in 1956, the Japanese company’s automated workers build cars for Ford and Tesla, and metal iPhone cases for Apple. The firm distinguishes itself from competitors by the colour of its robots’ whizzing mechanical arms, which are painted bright yellow. Its factories, offices and employee uniforms all share the same hue.
FANUC is red-hot at the moment. Its shares have jumped 35% in the past six months, more than double the 14% return of Japan’s benchmark Nikkei stock index. And the booming market for robots shows little sign of slowing. According to the International Federation of Robotics, unit sales of industrial robots grew 15% in 2015, while revenues increased 9% to $11bn. In 2016 turnover in North America rose by 14%, to $1.8bn. ABI Research, a consultancy, reckons that the industry′s sales will triple by 2025.
The popular narrative about robots is that they are stealing human workers′ jobs. A new paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research broadly supports this belief, estimating that each additional robot in the American economy reduces employment by 5.6 workers. However, the relationship between automation and employment is not always straightforward. One big trend is the growth of “collaborative robots”, smaller and more adaptable machines designed to work alongside humans. Barclays, a bank, thinks that between 2016 and 2020 sales of these machines will increase more than tenfold. Moreover, by improving productivity, automation can sometimes create new jobs for humans, or at least relocate them. Adopting robots has made it economical for some manufacturers in high-wage countries to “re-shore” production from poorer countries. This year Adidas, a sportswear firm, will begin producing running shoes in a German factory staffed by robots and 160 new workers.
FANUC is not taking its dominance for granted. The company is working on smarter, more-customisable robots and investing heavily in artificial intelligence. Its efforts to adapt in the rapidly evolving robotics industry can be seen even in the firm’s new choice of colours. When the company unveiled its first collaborative robot, CR-35iA, its trademark yellow colour had been replaced with green.
Original article here.


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Dying Light 2 has been shown frequently in recent days. The title received a recent trailer in E3 2019's presentation, highlighting a new protagonist, named Aidan. However, once it goes to be distributed by Square-Enix, he came forward during the company's conference tonight (10).
The trailer focuses on showing pieces of gameplay, to the sound of melancholy music. Interesting to note that the focus, this time, was not the fight against zombies, but the confrontation against humans. Focusing on a world where the worst of mankind has surfaced, the game will show that zombies are not the real monsters.
Dying Light 2 arrives in the spring (fall in Brazilian lands) of 2020, without a specific date announced. Continue to follow our full coverage of E3 2019.


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If you wanted to fly to space on one of Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic space planes, you should have bought one seven years ago.
Virgin Galactic announced on Thursday that ticket sales for its flights, which rise above 50 miles and provide about four minutes of free fall and a view of Earth against the darkness of space, would resume.
The cost per seat is at least $450,000.
That’s about $200,000 more than the company charged in 2014, before sales were halted following the crash of its first space plane, the VSS Enterprise, during a test flight. Approximately 600 people purchased tickets in the first round of sales.
You’ll have to wait even longer if you haven’t already put down a $1,000 refundable deposit. The 1,000 people who were able to reserve a spot on the waiting list for when ticket sales resumed will be the first to receive tickets from Virgin Galactic.
Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier acknowledged during a conference call with industry analysts as the company announced its quarterly earnings that the higher price would result in higher revenues and please shareholders. However, he stated that the trip to space “delivers such great value that the people who experience this journey with us can’t help but recommend it.”
While the tickets for the earlier customers are now relatively cheap, they have been waiting for years longer than they anticipated. Branson has stated repeatedly over the years that commercial flights will begin soon.
Branson founded Virgin Galactic in 2004, with the intention of starting commercial flights in 2008. However, the rocket plane’s development proved to be far more difficult and time-consuming than anticipated. Branson was one of six people on a test flight in July when he finally got his flight.
The next flight is expected to take place in late September. Although it is still a test flight, it will carry paying passengers — the Italian air force purchased the flight to conduct experiments with two of its researchers.
The space plane, named VSS Unity, and the carrier plane that takes it off the ground to an altitude of about 45,000 feet before releasing it for its short flight to space will then be upgraded by Virgin Galactic.
Virgin Galactic plans one more test flight in the middle of 2022 to verify the upgrades before beginning commercial operations, according to Colglazier. With more space planes coming into service, Virgin Galactic hopes to speed up the pace of flights.
Even at the exorbitant price, Colglazier expects repeat business. “We believe this experience is so unique and compelling that it will drive multiple repeat experiences with friends and family across multiple spaceports around the world,” he said.
Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ rocket company and a competitor to Virgin Galactic in the suborbital space tourism market, recently started selling tickets for its New Shepard spacecraft, which launches like a rocket rather than a plane and travels a bit higher, to more than 62 miles.
Blue Origin auctioned one seat on its first flight, which carried Bezos, for $28 million, which went to Bezos’ space-focused charity, Club for the Future.
Blue Origin began selling seats to auction participants, but it has not revealed the current ticket price or the number of people who have purchased tickets.


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Hulu Plus has made its long-awaited debut on Android.
For now, the app supports just six Android phones--the Nexus One, Nexus S, HTC Inspire 4G, Motorola Droid II, Motorola Droid X, and the Motorola Atrix. But Hulu is promising support for more Android phones as the year progresses.
New subscribers to Hulu Plus can try the service free for one month before deciding whether to kick in the monthly fee to continue using it.
The Hulu Plus Android app now joins its counterpart for the.
Beyond Android and iOS, though, Hulu Plus is still unavailable for other mobile device platforms. However, Research In Motion has been talking to Hulu about making the paid video service available on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, according to AllThingsD and other sources.
Hulu Plus is available on much bigger and less mobile devices, including Hulu Web site., , and . Hulu Plus and the free Hulu service are both accessible on PCs through the regular
Hulu has been in the news lately over reports that the company hasand has already fielded an offer from a prospective buyer.


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So far Acer has kept its hands off the smartphone segment but now global PC maker has decided to foray into the world of smartphones with a Windows based affordable device called Acer Liquid M220 and an Android-based phablet named Liquid X2, both of which are being prepped for a US launch.
This time the stage is set in the year 2060, roughly thirty-five years from the last story, as the ‘Call Of Duty: Black Ops III’ takes its players on a new journey deep into the heart of military science fiction. If your appetite is whetted, you can get your hands on the latest Call of Duty as soon as November 6, 2015 just ahead of the start of the holiday season.
Apple is finally reviving the device that propelled it to the forefront of the electronics market – the iPod and word is out that there will be a re-launch of its portable music player with the iPod Touch Sixth Generation that is expected to arrive sometime this fall. According to one Apple Insider report, “A source familiar with Apple’s future product plans indicated that Apple’s iPods – specifically the largest-screened model, the iPod touch – are expected to see an update later this year.”
For those of you who have been eagerly awaiting the latest, uber-cool, convertible laptop from HP; it is finally here. First unveiled at the Mobile World Congress 2015 at Barcelona and now finally launched on the Indian market, the HP Spectre x360 convertible laptop is being promoted as the company’s ‘most premium’ portable PC.
Following closely on the heels of its recent Lava Iris Alfa launch in January this year, Indian cell phone manufacturer Lava has recent the latest variant – the Lava Iris Alfa L – where the ‘L’ actually stands for Lollipop 5.0 which is the operating system built into this phone.
Facebook has decided to change its tactics; in a recent statement made by the Menlo Park, California based social media giant, it said that Facebook would be reconfiguring its News feed-related algorithms to make it more specific to updates from their friends rather than outsiders and strangers.
Since the advent of the internet and later social media networking, India has been known as a hotbed of active networking and this was once again proved as Viber, the popular OTT (over-the-top) free messaging and calling app announced that it had crossed the 40 million registered users mark in India.
The budget smartphone segment seems to be the hottest space in the smartphone market at the moment. With competitors like Huawei, Xiaomi, Yu already crowding the segment with an abundance of inexpensive but feature-rich phones, Chinese mobile phone maker Gionee has decided to take the competition head-on with the launch of its latest budget flagship – the Pioneer P4s.


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William Hill's plans to turn around its online sector began to pay dividends as the business returned to growth in the second half of the financial year, helping the bookmaking giant to record an increase in revenue in the six-month period.
In the 17 weeks to 25 October, the FTSE 250-listed group saw overall revenue grow 6% year-on-year, boosted by a strong performance in its Australian and US markets, which recorded a 59% and 81% increase in revenue respectively.
Meanwhile, revenue in the online business, which had been beset by issues earlier this year, was 4% higher than in the corresponding period a year ago as the amount wagered online in the first six months of the year grew 6%.
Philip Bowcock, the group's interim chief executive, said the bookmaker remained on track to record full-year profit at the top end of its guidance forecasting a figure between £260m ($326m) and 280m, indicating the company would continue to invest in its online business next year.
"Looking forward, we remain on track to deliver 2016 operating profit at the top end of our guided range," he said.
"With our significantly improved products and user experience, we are confident that this is the right time to invest further in our online business."
The company has examined a number of merger offers, in a bid to keep pace with the ever-evolving nature of the sector, which has seen a number of its rivals join forces over the last 12 months. Last year, GVC, owner of Sportingbet, outbid 888 to clinch its purchase of Bwin, while Paddy Power and Betfair completed their merger in March, creating a company with a revenue of more than £1bn.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, Ladbrokes and Gala Coral completed their merger, after clearing the final regulation hurdle.
However, last month William Hill shareholders walked away from a proposed £4.6bn merger with Canadian group Amaya, while in August Britain's largest bookmaker turned down a takeover offer worth £3.2bn from gambling groups Rank Group and 888, claiming the offer "substantially undervalued" the business.


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Technology has been at the forefront of India’s recent economic growth and digital transformation, and in technology lies the answer to many of our real life problems as we strive to become a developed nation. To this end, with the upcoming Union Budget 2017-18, the Government should look at rolling out initiatives to boost adoption of technology for education, skilling, manufacturing and infrastructure development that are key to India’s growth story. For the digital empowerment of citizens, the Government should look at making technology more affordable and introducing initiatives to encourage PC buying in the country. Government needs to create conducive environment and support eco-system where we have at least one PC per family as a means to accelerate technology proliferation and migration towards a digital economy. While the relaxation of FDI and the introduction of several initiatives have helped citizens embrace economic transformation and digitization, additional initiatives to boost domestic manufacturing will also help them adopt technology in its most tangible form.
On the business front, IT manufacturers are bracing themselves for the implementation of the much anticipated Goods and Services Tax (GST). The Government’s objective should be to enable this transition from the current taxation system as smooth and orderly as possible — both for itself and for businesses and consumers. It will be important to outline a roadmap for IT manufacturers for the implementation of the new GST policy well in time.


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Eating fruit and veg with high levels of key compound flavonoids may help prevent weight gain, according to new research.
The joint study by the University of East Anglia and Harvard University singled out foods such as apples, pears, blueberries, strawberries and radishes - as well as tea and cocoa.
According to report author Aedin Cassidy, these are the best fruit and veg for maintaining a healthy weight:
14. Citrus fruits such as oranges and grapefruits
How much do you need?
Even a single 80g serving of the fruit or veg per day may improve health, according to the study
Professor Aedin Cassidy, from UEA's Norwich Medical School, said: "Just a single portion of some of these fruits per day would have an important impact on health at a population level."
What are flavonoids - and how do they work?
Flavonoids are plant compounds found in various foods and drinks, including a wide range of fruit and vegetables, tea, chocolate and wine.
They have long been celebrated for their antioxidant effect which is thought to help prevent cell damage.
Prof Cassidy said: "Most adults gain weight as they age and even small increases in weight can have a substantial impact on risk of high blood pressure, developing heart disease, cancer or diabetes - so strategies to help individuals maintain a healthy weight in middle-age are needed.
"We found that an increased consumption of most flavonoids was associated with weight maintenance, and even a modest weight loss. The results were found to be consistent across men and women, and different ages.
"However losing even small amounts of weight, or preventing weight gain, can improve health and these modest effects were seen with a small, readily achievable increase in intake of many of these fruits."
How was the research carried out?
In the study, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), experts examined data for 124,086 men and women in the US over a 24-year period.
They found that consuming just a small amount of flavonoids was linked with maintaining a healthy weight, and even losing a little.
The research focused on three large groups of people - one featuring women with an average age of 36 at the start of the study, another with women aged 48, and the third for men with an average age of 47.
Prof Cassidy said: "This is the first large study to examine the associations between consumption of all flavonoids and weight gain in middle-aged and older adults."
And are any of the flavonoid-rich foods better than others?
Prof Cassidy said the strongest links were found for foods containing anthocyanins, which are found in blueberries, strawberries, cherries, blackberries, grapes, radishes and blackcurrants.
He said: "We also found that flavonoid polymers - found in tea and apples - were particularly beneficial, along with flavonols - found in tea and onions."


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For the first time, China declares all cryptocurrency transactions illegal. The country’s top regulators have joined in an effort to prevent the use of unofficial digital money. The announcement affected Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies globally.
All cryptocurrencies will be illegal in China. Through a statement, the People’s Bank of China said these could “change the economic and financial system.” This announcement marks the first time that the central bank, and the financial regulators of securities and currency in Beijing have cooperated to outright ban transactions with these digital currencies.
The text published by the People’s Bank of China lists illegal activities that they consider criminal, including money laundering and illegal fundraising. Similarly, the financial institution asserts that it will “take strict measures against speculation in virtual currency to protect people’s property and maintain economic, financial and social order.”
While it’s not the first time that China has intended to regulate cryptocurrencies, in fact it banned Chinese banks from using them in 2013, this Friday’s decree, according to experts, is the most detailed and comprehensive.
The statement represents a major setback for cryptocurrency progress in a country that two years ago used three-quarters of the electricity devoted to crypto-mining in the world, according to AP figures. Already in April, as a result of other restrictions, it fell by 46%.
The Chinese government’s decision had repercussions on Bitcoin. This Friday, it is down 9%, and Ethereum, another cryptocurrency, is also down 10% from $3,100 to $2,800.
What are the reasons that prompted China to ban cryptocurrencies?
Many concerns have prompted China to seek to end cryptocurrency. One is that the country’s government, like many others, is afraid to end its control over financial systems. In addition, he believes that they can promote financial crimes.
However, the reasons go beyond the economic sphere. One of the alarms that cryptocurrencies activate is their environmental impact. Mining, which is the computerized process by which cryptocurrencies are developed, consumes a lot of energy.
On the other hand, the People’s Bank of China is also developing its own currency, the “digital yuan” that the government can control. Cryptocurrencies can damage this record.
With EFE, Reuters and AP
“Unapologetic pop culture trailblazer. Freelance troublemaker. Food guru. Alcohol fanatic. Gamer. Explorer. Thinker.”


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So, Tyson has said that it will stop using human antibiotics in its chickens within two years.
The change won’t do much to improve the inhumane conditions in which Tyson’s chickens are kept. In fact, if Tyson uses this as a selling point in the company’s ads — and I’m sure it will — it could very easily make things worse by increasing the demand for chicken meat.
But clearly, Tyson is responding to pressure from the public and the government. That’s encouraging. Hopefully, we can keep pushing them — and more importantly, consumers — in the right direction.


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Ola Electric, a Bengaluru-based mobility startup, has finally started shipping its S1 and S1 Pro electric scooters starting December 15. On August 15, 2021, the Ola electric scooter was released. Continue reading to learn more about Ola electric scooter delivery.
Ola electric scooter deliveries
Bhavish Aggarwal, the CEO of Ola Electric, revealed the updated delivery date on his Twitter profile. He stated that delivery of Ola electric scooters will commence on December 15, 2021, in India. “Scooters are getting ready,” says the CEO. ” Production has been escalated, and delivery will begin on December 15th. I appreciate your patience!”
Ola Electric completed 20,000 test rides
He also stated that 20,000 test rides had been completed by the company. “Amazing effort by the team on India’s, if not the world’s, largest such initiative.” “In December, we’ll get to over 10,000 test rides a day across 1000 cities!”
Ola-most pre-booked scooter 1 million registrations
For its electric scooter, Ola has received 1 million reservations. Within 24 hours, it had got 1 lakh reservations. Ola electric scooter is the most pre-booked scooter in the world, with 1 lakh pre-bookings. On the evening of July 15, the company began accepting reservations for its electric scooter.
In September, Ola Electric began accepting bookings for the first batch of S1 and S1 Pro electric scooters, and it is now ready to accept full and final payments for the Ola S1 and Ola S1 Pro. Only customers who booked Ola S1 and Ola S1 Pro in the first window will be able to make full payments.
Ola S1 and S1 Pro
The electric scooter is propelled by a Hyperdrive motor with an 8.5kW peak power output. The S1 is supposed to feature a top speed of 90 km/hr and a battery pack with a capacity of 2.98 kWh. It has a range of 121 kilometers, whereas the Ola S1 Pro has a top speed of 115 kilometers per hour and a battery capacity of 3.97 kilowatt-hours, giving it a range of 181 kilometers.
Both versions can accelerate from 0 to 40 kilometers per hour in 3.6 seconds and 3 seconds, respectively. Normal, sports, and hyper are the two riding modes available on the Ola S1 and Ola S1 Pro.
The Ola Electric S1 and S1 Pro electric scooters were released earlier this year. The S1 is priced at Rs 99,999 ex-showroom, while the S1 Pro is priced at Rs 1,29,999.


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Morocco's trade gap widened to 91.04 billion Dirhams in April, the source pointed out in a release, noting that the coverage rate of imports by exports has reached 60.4%.
Exports amounted to 139.01 billion Dirhams (+34%), while imports rose by 37.8% to 230.05 billion Dirhams.
The increase in goods imports concerned almost all product groups. For its part, the energy bill increased to 43.79 billion Dirhams, due to the increase in supplies of gas-oil and fuel-oil (+MAD 12.14 bln), according to the same source.
Thus, the purchases of finished consumer products increased by 53% while raw material purchases jumped by 72.6%.
As for exports, their increase concerned all sectors, mainly the sectors of phosphates and derivatives (98.6%), agriculture and agribusiness (15.4%), textile and leather (+33.6%), and automobile (+12.9%).
Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse


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Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.
In some end-of-the-year housekeeping, BMW said it will stop charging drivers for CarPlay, Craigslist finally releases an iOS app and YouTube is revealing the top videos for 2019.
PewDiePie is still the number one most viewed creator, and Minecraft is the most viewed game.
Considering the App Store has been around for 11 years and Craigslist for 13 years before that, it’s astonishing the bastion of online classified ads hasn’t bothered to create an official first-party iOS app until now.
For years, BMW has charged customers for access to Apple CarPlay. Initially, the automaker charged a $300 lifetime fee, but this summer, it introduced a subscription model at $80 per year. Now, BMW says it will no longer charge a subscription fee for 2019 and 2020 cars equipped with Apple CarPlay in the US.
Now thousands of “free movies, TV shows, extreme sports films, music documentaries, Bollywood musicals” have been unlocked inside the Plex app. The ad-supported video-on-demand service is available in more than 200 countries to anyone with a free Plex account. American Ultra, Frequency, Lord of War, Rain Man, Raging Bull, The Terminator, Thelma & Louise and Apocalypse Now all feature, with more movies set to be added in the future.
Google has announced that it no longer offers the 100Mbps tier to new Fiber customers — it’s either the $70 gigabit plan or nothing. If you ask the company, it’s a reflection of evolving internet technology and usage habits.
But wait, there’s more…
- Nintendo Switch Online is adding ‘Star Fox 2′ and Super Punch Out!!’
- Tesla Model X and Porsche Taycan score 5-star rating in EU safety test
- Motorola’s bezel-free One Hyper has a 32-megapixel pop-up selfie camera
- Ford will turn McDonald’s used coffee bean husks into car parts
- Microsoft may be building a disc-less next-gen Xbox after all
- Mozilla pulls four Firefox add-ons over excessive data collection
- Apple confirms shutdown issue with the 2019 13-inch MacBook Pro
- More signs point to Samsung’s Galaxy S11 capturing 8K video
- The best portable (and affordable) USB MIDI controllers
- DiGiorno and Stouffer’s bring plant-based ‘meat’ to frozen Italian food
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First peanuts, now pistachio nuts.
The Georgia Nut Co., which is based in Illinois, said today it is recalling pistachio nuts after lab tests came up positive for salmonella.
The recall, issued by the Food and Drug Administration, covers shelled pistachios sold in packages and in bulk in stores in Wisconsin and Illinois and through the company's Web site.
None of the nuts were sold in Oregon, said Doug Plunkett, spokesman for Georgia Nut Co.
He said routine testing showed there was salmonella in one batch from one supplier. He said pistachio nuts from that company had already been sold to retailers, prompting the recall.
"This has nothing to do with peanuts," he said, adding that no illnesses have been associated with the nuts.
This is the first salmonella-related recall associated with pistachio nuts, said Stephanie Kwisnek, a spokeswoman for the FDA.
It comes on the heels of a massive recall for peanut products from Peanut Corp. of America. Almost 700 people have been sickened in that salmonella outbreak and nine people have died.
-- Lynne Terry; firstname.lastname@example.org


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On February 28th, Chinese media Jiemian obtained information from multiple sources indicating that ByteDance is actively engaged in the secret development of various products in the field of AI large models. These products include multimodal digital human offerings, as well as AI-generated image and video solutions. A source revealed that they witnessed a demonstration of ByteDance’s multimodal digital human product late last year.
Moreover, ByteDance’s video editing platform, CapCut, established a secluded team several months ago to discreetly work on AI projects. Currently, this team remains in a highly confidential phase, with their developed products yet to be released.
A knowledgeable individual close to ByteDance noted that founder Zhang Yiming dedicated a significant portion of his focus last year to AI endeavors, underscoring the company’s commitment to AI initiatives.
ByteDance is currently employing a comprehensive approach in the development of AI large model-related products, spanning from the model layer to the application layer and adopting a multifaceted strategy. In the realm of fundamental large models, ByteDance introduced its first large language model, “DouBao,” and the multimodal large model, BuboGPT, in August of last year. Additionally, its Douyin Yunque large model, which was among the first to be filed under the “Interim Measures for the Management of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services,” is now accessible to the public. Recently, ByteDance also unveiled the SDXL-Lightning open model for generating high-quality, high-resolution images in just 2 to 4 steps, significantly boosting the generation speed.
At the AI application layer, ByteDance established the new AI department, Flow, in November of last year, and has since launched three AI conversation products: DouBao, Kouzi, and Cici. Within the fundamental large model layer, ByteDance has strategically positioned itself in both language and image modalities, with both teams reporting to TikTok’s tech lead, Zhu Wenjia.
Another source with insights into ByteDance’s operations mentioned that the company is currently facing notable pressure in its large model strategy due to oscillations between self-research and investment approaches last year.
Initially considering entering the large model arena through investments, ByteDance deliberated investing in companies like MiniMax and Jieyue Xingchen. However, in June of last year, ByteDance opted to discontinue investing in external large model companies and instead focus on internal research and development. The efficacy of ByteDance’s decision to entirely forego investments in favor of in-house research warrants further evaluation, particularly in light of Alibaba‘s recent substantial investment in Moon’s Dark Side.
Despite challenges, individuals familiar with ByteDance’s large model initiatives stress that it is premature to dismiss the company’s positioning in the AI large model sector. Among ByteDance’s product portfolio, CapCut appears to be the prime candidate for advancing ByteDance’s AI large model implementations.
An analysis by one insider highlights CapCut’s role as a video creation tool situated at the forefront of content creation, progressing towards AI applications, particularly in the realm of AI-generated videos. Furthermore, content generated within CapCut seamlessly integrates with Douyin, enabling creators to leverage ByteDance’s AI-generated videos and multimodal digital human products for content creation, presenting substantial creative opportunities.
Before the Chinese New Year, former Douyin Group CEO Zhang Nan stepped down from his position, expressing intentions to concentrate on CapCut’s development moving forward. This move has been interpreted by industry insiders as ByteDance’s strategic push to strengthen its foothold in AI-generated video content through CapCut. An insider noted, “CapCut’s immediate focus lies in addressing the availability of creative materials, encompassing various personalized elements within the video and animation categories.”


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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Teachers, this is YOUR week.
May 1st through the 7th is Teacher Appreciation Week and businesses are offering deals to show educators just how important they are.
Chipotle is giving all educators a bogo deal. Teachers, faculty and staff can bring their school ID to any Chipotle on May 3 from 3 p.m. to close to receive a buy one, get one deal.
— Chipotle (@ChipotleTweets) April 25, 2016
J. Crew is offering a 15 percent discount to teachers when they show valid school ID at checkout.
LOFT is offering teachers several discounts such as 15 percent off a full price purchase, teacher appreciation nights and more.
A.C. Moore is offering 15 percent off teacher’s entire purchase. Just present a school ID at checkout.
Barnes & Noble says teachers can save 20 percent off publisher’s list price every day, plus they can get up to 25 percent off the publisher’s list price during educator appreciation days.
The Limited is offering 15 percent off every purchase made at any The Limited store, just show school ID.


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All Service and technology provider articles
View all stories with this subject category.
Groupe Cat, one of Europe’s biggest finished vehicle services company, has signed up to the Vinturas consortium, which is developing a blockchain-based platform providing digital services to OEMs, fleet owners and dealers. With the French group on board, Vinturas claims it now covers all key markets ...
Spanish carmaker Seat is trialling the use of drones to move parts lineside at its Martorell plant near Barcelona. Lightweight components are being flown 2km from a warehouse in Abrera run by compatriot logistics company Grupo Sesé. The journey time is 15 minutes. At this trial ...


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Teepee Wins Contract to Supply RBW Electric Cars
Teepee Electrical to Supply Harnesses to RBW Electric Cars
A specialist in electrical work from the Black Country has made a deal with Britain’s only maker of handmade electric cars.
Teepee Electrical, based in Aldridge and Bloxwich, is now the main supplier of wiring for RBW Electric Cars, which is crucial for its manufacturing in the Midlands.
As part of the deal, Teepee will provide various wiring systems for each classic car RBW makes at its factory in Lichfield.
RBW Electric Cars is already selling its Roadster and GT models to customers and dealers worldwide and the collaboration between engineers from both companies has helped cut costs and make parts ready for mass production.
Steve Clarke, managing director of Teepee Electrical, said: “We are very proud of our British manufacturing roots, so it is a big honour to be named as an official partner for this exciting project. There is nothing like RBW and it is very pleasing to see how founder Peter Swain and his team are so committed to designing and manufacturing cars in the West Midlands, the original heart of the UK’s automotive sector.”
“We’ve worked closely to develop our manufacturing outputs on the complex cable assemblies and wiring looms that play such a critical part in the electric drivetrain of the vehicles. With volumes expected to rise to hundreds of cars per year, this represents a great opportunity for us to grow too.”
Peter Swain from RBW Electric Cars, said: “The interest in what we are doing is huge, with 334 cars already sold and our showrooms in Bermuda, Hong Kong and London proving extremely popular. We’ve captured the imagination and now we need to deliver, which is why getting our supply chain right is so important.
“Teepee Electrical is the perfect example. We don’t want traditional automotive supplier relationships based purely on cost and constant demands. Instead, we prefer to develop long-term partnerships where we benefit from outstanding engineering expertise and there are mutual benefits throughout.
“There is also a willingness to make things work and sometimes go above and beyond to reach the desired outcome. This is very much a UK manufacturing success story, and we want Teepee, and others like them, to be part of writing the next chapter.”


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Revolut CEO Nikolay Storonsky
The London-based fintech firm has become one of the fastest tech companies in Europe to reach unicorn status after closing a £179m funding round.
Revolut, the digital banking alternative, has raised an additional £179m in funding which will see the firm increase its valuation 5x in less than a year to £1.2bn.
The Series C round was led by Hong Kong-based DST Global alongside a portfolio of new and existing investors including other blue-ribbon Silicon Valley investors, Index Ventures and Ribbit Capital.
The latest cash injection brings the total amount raised by Revolut to £244m since the company launched three years ago.
The new round of capital and surge in valuation follows incredible growth figures to date, with Revolut now processing £1.29bn through the platform each month.
The company also signs up between 6,000 and 8,000 new customers every day, with nearly two million customers in total and an ambitious target of 100 million customers in the next five years.
Boasting over 250,000 daily active users, Revolut has been pushing out product at an impressive rate as part of its mission to convince people to ditch their traditional banks.
In the last few months alone, Revolut has launched features that allow customers to instantly buy and sell cryptocurrencies as well as a savings feature that lets customers round up their daily transactions and save their spare change in a digital Vault.
The new capital will be used to expand Revolut worldwide, starting with the United States, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia in 2018.
It also expects to increase its workforce from 350 to around 800 employees by the end of the year, with a focus on attracting world class engineers and designers.
Nik Storonsky, founder and CEO of Revolut, said: “Our focus, since we launched, has been to do everything completely opposite to traditional banks.
“We build world class tech that puts people back in control of their finances, we speak to our customers like humans and we’re never afraid to challenge old thinking in order to innovate.”
“To have DST Global on board is an incredible endorsement of our business strategy as we begin to expand Revolut around the world.
“Banking has historically avoided disruptions by technology, but that is all about to change on a big scale.”
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Twin blow for the economy
A DOUBLE dose of dreadful news triggered fresh fears about the economy today. Retail sales suffered their biggest fall in April since Britain was mired in the early-1990s recession, according to the CBI.
Meanwhile, a closely watched barometer of the manufacturing sector revealed the first contraction for nearly two years.
The news will cement expectations that the Bank of England will leave interest rates at 4.75% for a ninth consecutive month next Monday as it adds to evidence that the economy is rapidly losing momentum.
The CBI said a net 14% of retailers reported lower sales in April than a year ago - the worst balance since July 1992. Trading was poor in most sectors, but chemists and furniture stores were hardest hit.
'This ongoing decline in sales is likely to reflect the recent fall in real disposable incomes, higher fuel and utility bills, reduced activity in the housing market and higher mortgage rates than a year ago,' said CBI chief economic adviser Ian McCafferty.
Meanwhile, the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply's purchasing managers' index registered 49.5 in April, below the 50 no-change level and the first time factory activity has fallen since June 2003. Some firms blamed the collapse of MG Rover for falling orders, which led to a slowdown in production growth.
Economist John Butler at HSBC said: 'The question is whether this renewed soft patch is temporary or indicative of a more sustained slowdown. The latter would point to interest rates having peaked.'
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