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By Tonya Garcia
The new year is just getting started but analysts have already upgraded Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. and downgraded Starbucks Corp., with experts concerned that cost inflation will take a toll on the entire restaurant category.
Chipotle /zigman2/quotes/200781108/composite CMG +0.64% was upgraded to outperform from perform at Oppenheimer, with analysts identifying a few factors that could drive business gains, including the addition of Chipotlanes, which provide drive-thru order pickup service, and strategic pricing.
Oppenheimer has a $1,925 price target on Chipotle shares.
“We believe same-store sales drivers remain powerful as digital, loyalty, marketing, innovation all hold further upside,” analysts led by Brian Bittner wrote.
“Digital has represented a business transformer at 43% of sales (vs. 20% pre-pandemic) and has enabled access to a powerful loyalty base of 24.5 million members (and growing),” they said.
See: Taco Bell takes taco subscription program nationwide
The fast-casual chain also has wiggle room in pricing.
“This buoys our restaurant margin expansion forecasts over the next two years, despite the industry’s inflation headwinds,” Oppenheimer said.
In the same report, Oppenheimer downgraded Starbucks /zigman2/quotes/207508890/composite SBUX +0.09% to perform from outperform.
“As we turn to 2022 and 2023, our deep-dive analysis suggests the financial model now lacks the levers for a ‘beat and raise’ thesis,” Oppenheimer said.
“2022 represents an ‘investment year’ and its margin headwinds are well-understood… We continue to believe same-store sales trends and unit growth drivers are firmly intact, but wait to uncover new drivers of outperformance to become more bullish.”
Starbucks was also downgraded to sector perform from outperform at RBC Capital Markets. Analysts shaved $2 off of the price target, to $122.
“[T]he ongoing investment in its employees is core to Starbucks’ operating strategy and principles, and likely the right decision for the business over the long-term,” analysts led by Christopher Carril wrote.
“We continue to believe this is the case, but given the magnitude of cost pressures in FY22, we see potential for lingering debate around the timing of a return to Starbucks’ ongoing target of 18-19% operating margin.”
Also: Shoppers are willing to pay more for Cheerios and Frosted Flakes despite inflation concerns
Despite the change in rating, RBC says much will stay the same moving from 2021 to 2022.
“Our broader thesis for the group remains unchanged from 2021, as we continue to favor long-term restaurant growth stories— supported by relatively strong and/or improving unit economics—amid a backdrop of reduced industry supply,” analysts said in a separate note.


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Aristocrat Gaming has announced the appointments of Deanne McKissick as chief supply officer and Mark Wadley as chief marketing officer.
Reporting to the company’s chief executive, Hector Fernandez, McKissick will oversee the entire global supply chain for the business, while Wadley will lead the marketing efforts.
McKissick takes on his new role after more than seven years with Aristocrat Gaming, most recently serving as Senior Vice President of Customer Order Execution. Prior to that, she was Associate Vice President of Global Planning.
Prior to joining Aristocrat Gaming, McKissick spent nearly 14 years at Hewlett-Packard, holding a variety of senior roles.
Wadley has been with Aristocrat Gaming since 2020 and most recently was Senior Vice President of Marketing, with responsibility for marketing strategy, branding and partnerships for the Americas region.
Prior to entering the business, Wadley worked in healthcare marketing, where he served in a number of leadership roles at Bluebird Bio, Medivation and Amgen.
“As we continue to focus on changing the game, our outstanding talent is a core component of our ability to lead the market,” said Fernandez. “Deanne and Mark’s background lends a unique perspective to help take our business to the next level.”
“We are pleased to welcome both of them to the game’s worldwide leadership team, where they will continue to inspire our employees, suppliers, partners and customers to reach new heights,” concluded Fernandez.
About Aristocrat Gaming
Aristocrat Gaming is a subsidiary of Aristocrat Leisure Limited, a world leader in gaming with over 6,500 employees. The company is licensed in over 300 gaming jurisdictions, operates in over 90 countries and offers a unique mix of products and services.
In addition, the brand is a leader in game design, manufacturing and distribution, as well as innovations for Native American casinos and emerging markets. The company’s mission is to bring joy to life through the power of play.

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BANGKOK (AFP): With an intelligence network so good they have been compared to the CIA, Thai street vendors are often first on the scene at "guerilla" democracy protests in Bangkok, where they hawk sour pork and fishballs to a democracy-hungry crowd.
Automobile manufacturers seek to attract climate-conscious younger buyers.
HAIKOU (Xinhua): Saudel, the 17th typhoon to affect China this year, has escalated into a severe tropical storm and is heading toward south China's island province of Hainan, the local meteorological service said on Thursday (Oct 22).
KOTA KINABALU: Producers of mineral water and single-use packaging, especially polystyrene food boxes, should help to clean up the such litter from consumers and which end up in rivers and the sea.
To keep ageing at bay, LED technology seems to be a cool, effective way.
KUALA LUMPUR: Mah Sing Group Bhd targets to produce gloves by April next year to meet the pent-up demand due to the on-going Covid-19 pandemic.
Dental erosion – the irreversible loss of tooth structure caused by acids of non-bacterial origin – is a growing problem.
DISCARDED objects and materials have been put to good use at the Jesselton pocket park in Penang.
BUSINESS owners in Chow Kit, Jalan Petaling and Medan Tuanku in Kuala Lumpur --- the focal points for charitable activities --- say that Good Samaritans are doing more harm than good when feeding the city’s homeless.


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Ahead of Super Bowl, fans fight for trademarks to profit off Eagles-themed gear
A search of the United States Patent and Trademark Office's database shows that teams, players and fans are jostling behind the scenes to secure exclusive rights to NFL names, memes, slogans, and even numbers.
Brian Helwig, a FedEx driver from Brownsburg, Ind., calls Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz a "quality guy" and a "can't-miss prospect." He's even printed up "Wentz in a lifetime" T-shirts and is seeking to trademark the phrase.
But reached last week, Helwig acknowledged that he filed the trademark application in September 2016 "strictly from a profitability standpoint."
"I'm actually a Tom Brady guy," said Helwig, whose Gmail address is an ode to the age-defying New England Patriots quarterback: "bradyrules." He'll be rooting on Sunday for Brady — "my favorite athlete of all time" — to snag a sixth Super Bowl ring at the expense of the Eagles.
Helwig, who also runs a vintage baseball card store on eBay, is just one example of how everyday Joes are playing the trademark lottery outside of the public eye.
"I guess I heard somebody say it on a radio program and I thought, 'You know what? That's something that might catch on.' It was more or less just an idea to maybe sell it someday," said Helwig, who estimates that he has spent more than $600 trying to secure the Wentz trademark.
It's a long-shot bet that a deep-pocketed company might want to use it for merchandise someday – and would have to cough up a hefty licensing fee.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's database is full of teams, players, and fans jostling behind the scenes to secure exclusive rights to names, memes, slogans, and even numbers.
The Seahawks took some heat in 2015 when the Seattle Times reported that the team had filed dozens of trademark applications, including several for variations on the number "12," a reference to the stadium's loud fans, nicknamed the 12th Man. The headline: "Hey, 12s: Seahawks want to trademark you."
Eagles running back LeGarrette Blount has trademarked "Blount Force Trauma"; safety Malcolm Jenkins's nonprofit foundation owns "No Phly Zone"; and the team itself filed an application last week to lock down the rights to the phrase "Fly Eagles Fly." (But continue to sing away. That's still free. We think.)
The Eagles have also sought to trademark "53 Angry Men," which was inspired by a win over the Patriots in 2015. Owner Jeffrey Lurie had told them to play angry before the game.
And, of course, Gronk Nation, a limited liability corporation run by the family of Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, has trademarked the word Gronk for use on caps, hats, sweaters, T-shirts, wristbands, and "snap crotch shirts for infants and toddlers."
Even Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera got in on the action by trademarking "Riverboat Ron" after he acquired the moniker in 2013. It took a few years, but he finally got the certificate in 2016.
But back to the fans who are trying to turn their passion for the game into potential business opportunities.
Louis Esposito, a South Philly native turned Bensalem accountant, sought to trademark "Wentz Wagon" after he heard President Barack Obama use the phrase in 2016 while stumping for Hillary Clinton.
"We said, 'Oh, we should trademark that.' We did a search and it was available, so we applied," Esposito said. "We did print and sell some T-shirts, but our hope was if one of them ever caught on, if the Eagles or Nike wanted to do a T-shirt, they'd have to give us some sort of commission or license fee. For us, that was the ultimate goal."
That Sunday, after Wentz led the Eagles to a 29-14 victory over the Chicago Bears, Esposito heard Philadelphia fans chanting it outside Soldier Field.
"I thought we might have something," Esposito said.
Alas, a trademark officer rejected their application for "Wentz Wagon" and "Wentzday," saying it might be confused with Carson Wentz.
Which, Esposito says, was precisely the point.
However, Esposito has been granted trademarks referring to 76ers Ben Simmons ("Wizard of Aus" and "Simmonster") and Joel Embiid ("EmBiist").
"Me and my buddy are always looking to do different kinds of things, and this was something fun," said Esposito, an Eagles and Sixers season ticket holder.
Stephan Matanovic, a business and intellectual property attorney whose clients include a professional wrestling organization, said he's not surprised that teams and fans would seek to trademark sports phrases.
"It's not unusual," Matanovic said. "The question becomes: Is it right?"
Michael Burns, an intellectual property attorney in DLA Piper's Philadelphia office, said fans seeking to acquire the rights to players' name have an uphill battle with the trademark office.
"It's really hard to get something registered if it's not your name," Burns said. But speaking generally, he said, "A company can come along at any time, or you can market it, and they might buy that from you. Intellectual property is a commodity that can be sold or licensed and you can make money off it."
Shawn Wilson, 25, an East Oak Lane resident who played running back at Dickinson College, filed a trademark application in November for "Philly Philly," a spoof on the "Dilly Dilly" Bud Light commercials.
"We were 9-1 and it was a big game, and we pulled it off and the 'Dilly Dilly' commercial came on and I think, 'Philly Philly,'" Wilson said Monday. "I'm like, 'Wait, this is a real idea here.'"
Wilson, a longtime Eagles fan, said he'd like to form a partnership with Bud Light if it wanted to use the slogan to advertise to Philadelphia sports fans. He might be onto something: Last week, Bud Light used it in an ad.
"I saw that and was like, 'It's happening!'" Wilson said with a laugh.
But Conor Corcoran, a Philadelphia trial lawyer who specializes in intellectual property, says he thinks Eagles fans are "wasting their time" trying to trademark football slogans. He said their value is fleeting and the chances are slim that a team will offer big bucks to the trademark owner.
A week after the Super Bowl, no one will care "because Kim Kardashian is going to name her latest child something stupid and that's it," said Corcoran, who, it should be noted, takes great joy in antagonizing the NFL. "They're not going to chase down some jamoke in Indiana to make him an offer on some nonsense trademark."
Helwig, however, has so far met no resistance to the "Wentz in a lifetime" application he filed from Indiana.
"If you run into anybody that wants to buy the trademark," Helwig said, "let me know."


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California real estate investors have probably heard the word ‘recovery” many times since 2008. Commercial real estate analysts have spoke often about the market’s recovery over the last eight years, and some are now saying that the commercial real estate market has finally recovered. Though the market has been turbulent since the recession, the overall growth has been strong.
Recoveries in the commercial real estate market vary greatly by sector. Residential apartments recovered before other commercial real estate sectors when they hit all-time high occupancy and rent rates in 2011. Industrial properties took a little longer to recover and just reached peak rent rates in 2015.
Commercial real estate sectors that haven’t fared as well as others include office and retail space. Office space vacancy rates are still at all-time highs, and rental prices for retail stores are not much higher than they were in 2008. However, general data about these two sectors can be a little misleading. Office space in central business districts has had very positive growth while office space in suburban areas has not. Retail stores in metropolitan areas are strong while retail stores in other areas are still struggling.
A commercial real estate investor may benefit from gaining an understanding of the growth patterns of different real estate sectors. There could be opportunities to profit in a particular real estate sector if an investor buys in at the right time. Before purchasing a piece of commercial property, an investor may want to meet with a lawyer in order to determine if there are any title issues or zoning problems that could prove to be an impediment.


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180 jobs under threat as manufacturer plans to close Telford site
About 180 jobs are under threat after a car component manufacturer announced it was considering closing its Telford plant.
German-owned Mahle blamed falling orders for the potential closure of its site at Halesfield 25, where it makes air filtration products for the car industry.
The group, which also has a distribution facility in Bilston, Wolverhampton, said it was now in consultation with its employees about the move.
A statement on behalf of the firm said: “This results from declining order levels, which are expected to deteriorate even further due to the changed strategic direction of automobile manufacturers in Great Britain.
“The declining order levels and the planned reduction in investments and production locations of local vehicle manufacturers have considerably lowered the current and future capacity utilisation of the Mahle filter plant in Telford.
“Against this backdrop, the competitiveness of the location is no longer sustainable despite the continuous investments of recent years.
“Mahle therefore is considering the closure of the production location in Telford and consultations will commence with employee representatives shortly.
“The company will cooperate closely with the employee representatives to explore all possible alternative measures and to minimise the potential impact on the approximately 180 employees at the Telford location who are likely to be affected.”
Mahle is an international development partner and supplier to the automotive industry. The group consists of four business units – engine systems and components, filtration and engine peripherals, thermal management, and aftermarket. Products are fitted in at least every second vehicle worldwide. Components and systems from Mahle are also used for mobile machinery, rail transport and for marine applications.
In 2018, the group generated sales of about £11.1 billion, with more than 79,000 employees. It is represented in more than 30 countries, with 160 production bases. It also has more than 6,100 development engineers and technicians at 16 major research and development centres across the world.
In 2008 it was announced it was closing down its Wiltshire base and moving its operations to Telford. It said at the time its Halesfield 25 site would be redeveloped to accommodate the expansion in production and staff.
The plans to expand production at Telford at the time came as a result of a review of the company’s manufacturing capacity in Europe.


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A $100 million capital raise is in the works for Temasek Holdings, a Singaporean government-owned firm. Bloomberg claims this money will go to Animoca Brands, a venture capital firm.
Temasek Will Use Floatable Funds
According to a source who talked off the record with Bloomberg, Temasek plans to use convertible bonds as the primary financing vehicle. Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based company, revealed in January that it had raised approximately $359 million in a fundraising round.
Notable backers were the Winklevoss twins and George Soros. The company Animoca raised an additional $75 million in investment in July.
The company was valued at more than $5.5 billion after this fundraising round. There is a chance that the latest round of fundraising will add to the company’s initial funding and boost its valuation.
Even while this was being announced, the cryptocurrency market continued its steady slide. Providing Animoca keeps growing as the cryptocurrency industry does, this may be a huge boon for the business.
In the meantime, Animoca Brands is a backer of NFTs, metaverses, and blockchain-based games. The business’s portfolio now includes social networking, banking, and gaming operations, all of which have been growing recently.
Animoca Brands’ Hong Kong-based CEO, Yat Siu, told Be[In]Crypto that the company’s mission is to ensure individual ownership of digital works. It hopes to end the hegemony of Microsoft and Meta, among other internet giants.
They have not yet made any statements on the fundraising.
Siu has previously stated that the corporation was content with the confidence demonstrated by investors. Despite the fact that the crypto winter has harmed a number of businesses, this remains true.
However, Temasek’s current investment strategy fits in with its overall time frame. Pradyumna Agrawal, MD for blockchain at Temasek, has previously stated the firm’s enthusiasm for the cryptocurrency market in an interview.
Agrawal claims the firm has wide-ranging interests including the financial sector, the gaming industry, and social media. The company sees great opportunity in new markets like the social media industry.
Since then, neither party to the trade has commented publicly on the matter. Nonetheless, Temasek’s investment of more over $15 million was reported in a file made just last week.
Fi is a neobanking platform, and the investment was made in its Series C capital round. V-Sciences Investments was the intermediary through which Temasek provided funding.
Temasek typically uses V-Sciences Investment to channel its crypto platform investment requests. Moreover, in February, the firm contributed over $200 million to Amber Group’s $3 billion funding round.
At the same time, Singapore’s regulatory environment has been extremely light. The inadequate condition of crypto regulation in the country was recently exposed by the bankruptcies of 3AC, Hodlnaut, and Vauld. However, the government is getting ready to establish a complete crypto regulatory framework.


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Streaming giant Netflix (NFLX) has now taken the bold step of proactively canceling accounts of inactive subscribers, the company has announced.
“You know that sinking feeling when you realize you signed up for something but haven’t used it in ages? At Netflix, the last thing we want is people paying for something they’re not using” explained Eddy Wu, Product Innovation at Netflix.
This means that anyone who has not watched anything on Netflix for a year since they joined will be asked to confirm they want to keep their membership. The same will apply to anyone who has stopped watching for more than two years.
Members will start seeing these emails or in app notifications this week, says Netflix. If they don’t confirm that they want to keep subscribing, the company will automatically cancel their subscription. “These inactive accounts represent less than half of one percent of our overall member base, only a few hundred thousand, and are already factored into our financial guidance” Wu stated.
Anyone who cancels their account and then rejoins within 10 months will still have their account details just as they left them, Wu added.
Citigroup analyst Jason Bazinet has just reiterated his hold rating on NFLX, while ramping up his price target from $350 to $450 (3% upside potential).
“While the firm has made significant progress in reshaping the video ecosystem and garnering a substantial subscriber base, we continue to believe Netflix faces potential challenges in generating material operating leverage with its cash content spending,” he writes. “Furthermore, at current levels, valuation leaves little room for error, in our view.”
Indeed, the stock has rallied 35% year-to-date- boosted by the fact that NFLX’s limited ad exposure means it “doesn’t face the cyclical risk that other media firms are grappling with.”
Overall, Netflix scores a cautiously optimistic Moderate Buy consensus, with 23 buy ratings offset by 7 hold ratings and 4 sell ratings. Meanwhile the average analyst price target stands at $466 (7% upside potential). (See Netflix stock analysis on TipRanks)
Nvidia Sinks Despite Stellar Earnings; Top Analyst Says Buy On Any Weakness
Watch Out Amazon, Facebook is Coming for You
Microsoft Buys Metaswitch For Cloud-Based Telecoms Move, 5G Expansion


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Marks & Spencer Chief Executive Marc Bolland said the company is making "strong progress" in its bid to become an "international multi-channel retailer", despite reporting a drop in pre-tax profit during the first half of the year.
Instead, Mr Bolland highlighted the firm's performance in the second quarter, which was better than the previous quarter.
We took steps to address the short term merchandising issues in General Merchandise and as a result, we delivered an improved performance.
Eighteen months in, we are making strong progress with our plan to transform M&S into an International Multi-channel retailer.
Our new International stores are performing well, and our Multi-channel business is delivering strong growth.
More top news
New figures show people aged over 55 could be as much as four times more likely to become victims of a telephone scam .
The fallout of Greece's decision to reject the terms of an international bailout will have repercussions for the rest of Europe.
Largely dry night, but showers set to spread in from the west during tomorrow


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View the article online at http://citywire.co.uk/new-model-adviser/article/a661211
Skandia launches 'find an adviser' tool for orphan clients
by Jun Merrett on Feb 25, 2013 at 11:51
Fund supermarket Skandia has launched a 'find an adviser' tool on its customer-facing website in an effort to reconnect orphan clients with advice.
The tool aims to encourage people to use a financial adviser who can advise them on Skandia products, although the site will also refer clients to another website which will help them find an adviser independent of Skandia.
Skandia said it has written to all of its customers that it knows have lost contact with their financial adviser to inform them of the tool.
Peter Mann (pictured), Skandia UK managing director, said he hoped the tool would dispel any myths that the company was building a direct to consumer platform and show it was committed to financial advisers.
'The fact that we are building new digital services for our customers to use directly had led some people to assume we are building a direct to consumer platform,’ he said. ‘I hope that this first launch shows our true intention which is to promote financial advice and help people engage with their investments in a more interactive way.
'We know that many of our customers have lost touch with their financial adviser for a number of reasons and we are hoping that this tool will help them reconnect with a new adviser and benefit from the valuable services they offer.'
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As the UK coalition government strives to rebalance the national economy, so called 'reshoring' looks set to play an increasingly important role in economic recovery.
Today's top headlines
Alastair Mundy met Citywire's Daniel Grote at the London Stock Exchange Studios for a detailed interview about the Investec Cautious Managed fund.
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Top price deals spur property slump fears
FEARS are mounting that a slump is on the way in commercial property prices after a wave of big building sales by seasoned developers bagging massive profits.
Michael Marx, deputy executive chairman of Development Securities, the firm leading the construction of the Paddington Central office scheme, is warning of 'an asset pricing bubble' in the property investment market.
Last year was a record one for investment in the London office market with close to 300 deals worth more than £9.5bn, according to figures from agents Cushman & Wakefield, Healey & Baker.
Agents Lambert Smith Hampton recorded £42bn of commercial property sales for Britain as a whole.
But Marx's warning is the first negative comment from the head of a listed property company. It follows his firm's sell-off last year of nine properties for £33.8bn, a 15% net surplus over the figure the sites were last valued at in Development's books.
Marx said: 'Whenever you get this type of extreme movement, you think of a bubble. When you are at the top, noone can see a reason for going down.
'But prices always change direction and I am not as sanguine as others for a new paradigm. It will be more of a leak than a burst.'
Warnings of overpricing in the market have also come from veteran investor Gerald Ronson, whose Heron firm is considering a £480m-plus bid for housebuilder Crest Nicholson.
According to reports last weekend, Ronson, 65, is cautious about making future commercial property deals after experiencing two previous property crashes.
Commercial property investment returns - the money from increases in capital values and rental income - rose every month last year to reach an annual rate of 19% by the end of December. The industry benchmark, the IPD monthly index, was up from 11.3% a year earlier.
A flurry of deals concluded in the past week include Minerva's £135m sale to German investors of its 90 High Holborn site, home to lawyers Olswang, while Canary Wharf sold 15 Westferry Circus, one of Morgan Stanley's Docklands bases, to Irish investors for £134.75m, chalking up a £21.75m premium over the valuation put on the building only last June.
Clive Bull, head of London investment at Cushman, said: 'I am conscious that when there are price increases there tend to be corrections if the demand tap is turned off - but I can't see in the short term that will begin to happen. There is a wall of money out there.'
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A new technology developed by Qeexo for mobile touchscreens can help smartphones and tablets identify if a user is interacting with their devices via a fingernail, a knuckle, or a fingertip. Many touchscreen todays, by way of capacitive touch technology, can only register input on the display via a fingertip.
Carnegie Mellon researchers have made some small hardware changes to a Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone that allows the touchscreen to identify and register these three new inputs. The modified Samsung flagship smartphone is able to differentiate between the three different touchscreen inputs thanks to a small vibration sensor and some smart software.
While registering and understanding that the screen is being poked at by your knuckle, fingertip, or nail in and of itself is not really interesting, the interesting part is when you take into account the number of new gestures that can be unlocked. For instance, New Scientist is reporting that a right click or long press can be done by using your knuckles.
The tech is now being commercialized by Qeexo and the company is saying that it is in discussions with smartphone-makers to embed the sensor and bring this new technology to consumers.
Smartphone-makers have been researching on different ways users interact with the touchscreen. On the Samsung Galaxy Note II, Samsung is experimenting with the active digitizing S Pen stylus so that users can hover over the screen to pull down drop down menus. On Nokia’s latest Windows Phone 8 Lumia offerings, the company is partnering with Synaptics to bring a hyper-sensitive touchscreen that works with fingernails and gloves, though additional gestures and functionality is not enabled with that mode.


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On 28 June 2018 the keel laying ceremony of Regent Seven Sea Cruises new ultra-luxury cruise ship, Seven Seas Splendor took place at the Fincantieri shipyard in Ancona, Italy.
The new ship will be a sister ship to Seven Seas Explorer and is expected to launch in 2020. The 55,000 gross tonne Seven Seas Explorer will accommodate 750 passengers.
Silversea Cruises has completed one of the biggest endeavours ever taken on a luxury cruise ship. The ultra-luxury cruise lines’ Silver Spirit was cut in two at the Fincantieri shipyard in Palermo and extended by 15 metres (49 feet).
The lengthened ship left the shipyard on 03 May 2018 having spent 53 days in dry-dock at the Italian shipyard. Around 1,000 highly skills shipyard workers and contractors worked on the project.
The ultra-luxury cruise line Seabourn has taken delivery of its newest ship, Seabourn Ovation. The brand new 604-passenger ship was delivery on 27 April 2018 at the Fincantieri shipyard in Sestri, Genoa in Italy.
The new 40,350 gross tonne ship is a sister which to Seabourn Encore which was delivered to Seabourn in December 2016.
The next new ultra-luxury cruise ship for Seabourn, the 40,350 gross tonne Seabourn Ovation was floated out at the Fincantieri shipyard in Genoa on 01 September 2017.
The 600-passenger Seabourn Ovation is expected to launch in Spring 2018 and will be a sister ship to Seabourn Encore.
Silversea Cruises has taken delivery of its brand new cruise ship, Silver Muse. The ship was delivered to the ultra-luxury cruise line from the Fincantieri shipyard in Genoa, Italy on 03 April 2017.
At 40,700 gross tonnes, Silver Muse is the largest cruise ship ever built for the ultra-luxury cruise line and is the first new build for Silversea Cruises in seven years.


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Bank customers weary of using ATMs for fear they’ve been compromised by ne’er-do-wells using skimmers to get their hands on card numbers have a new option. That is, if they bank with JPMorgan Chase, as the company is rolling out new cash machines that are not only cardless, but will let you take out money in a wider variety of denominations. [More]
The next generation of ATM may be nothing more than a slot in the wall that spits out money. No screen, no swiping your card, no having to pull your sleeve down over your fingers because the person in front of you sneezed all over the buttons. [More]
If you took a summer vacation this year, you may have spent it on a beach, on a boat, or at a theme park. Security journalist Brian Krebs spent his summer vacation doing something that sounds super-fun to us: hunting down compromised ATMs in Mexico. He found quite a few, and also learned who might be behind all of his fraud. [More]
More than two years after a federal court dismissed price-fixing lawsuits against Visa, MasterCard, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, a federal appeals court has revived the cases that involve allegations that these banks and payment networks illegally and anticompetitively established fee levels for out-of-network ATM use. [More]
Sure, all humans make mistakes, and sometimes we even make mistakes at work. However, you have to feel really sorry for the ATM company employees in New Jersey who left a bag containing $141,000 outside of a building where they were working…and accidentally left the bag behind. Local police say that the employee responsible for leaving the bag had to be transported to the hospital when he learned that it had been stolen. We hope that he’s okay, but there’s something very weird about this incident. Update: Police have found the people who allegedly took the money, one of whom happens to have recently bought a $46,000 SUV in cash. [More]
While retailers and payment networks work to cut down on data breaches in stores and online, it looks like fraudsters are relying more on stealing your card info at the ATM, as recent months have seen an unprecedented spike in the number of debit card data thefts from both non-bank and in-bank ATMs. [More]
When a woman in Australia checked her bank account balance earlier this week, she was surprised to see that she had $10 million available in her account. (That’s worth about $7.8 million US dollars, if you’re wondering.) She wondered whether it was an error or a prank, so she called her bank instead of running off on an international spending spree. The bank told her that it was no error: she was an unwitting millionaire. [More]
Some of the world’s banks likely had a crummy Valentine’s Day after a new report from a computer-security firm came out this weekend, saying that a group of criminals has stolen millions of dollars since late 2013 from financial institutions in Russia, Eastern Europe and the United States. And it doesn’t seem like they’re done yet.
Customers at a Morrisons grocery store in the United Kingdom received an exciting surprise if they went to take some money out of the store’s cash machine: it was paying out double. No, this is not a thing that was actually supposed to happen, but customers rushed to the store to take out some extra money…even though it would be fairly easy for the ATM owner and their banks to determine who had taken out more cash than they were entitled to. [More]
If your next trip to the bank involved going to the drive-thru, you might find no one there to greet you. That could certainly be the case if you put your financial needs in the hands of Bank of America, which has plans to close some of its drive-thru windows this year. [More]
ATMs are giant boxes filled with cash that sit on every street corner. Of course crooks will try to gain access to the money inside, using everything from forklifts to explosives. Here’s one method that you my not have anticipated, though: some savvy crooks gained access to an ATM’s ports and connected a mobile phone to it, planning to make it spit out cash. [More]
Recently here at Consumerist, we’ve reviewed some very unsuccessful ways to open up ATMs and get at the money inside. Smashing the machine with a forklift, for example, is not a useful method. Neither is pouring acid on it. Now we have a new addition to the list: you also cannot gain access to money inside a cash machine with an explosive. [More]
We have a morbid fascination with ATM skimmers here at Consumerist, as anyone with a bank account probably should. The technology has made a lot of progress, from molded overlays for card slots and PIN pads to invisible Bluetooth devices that beam payment information to the bad guys until their batteries die. Now there’s a new type of skimmer spotted on real ATMs, but impossible for customers to detect: wiretaps. [More]
Some people would steal an industrial forklift from a construction site, and that would be the extent of their crimes. Forklifts are expensive, after all. Just sell the forklift and call it a (criminal) work day. Yet one criminal in Florida aspired to more. He or she apparently stole the forklift, then turned it to a greater purpose: stealing an ATM from a bank. [More]
For decades, we’ve been sliding our credit and debit cards into ATMs with the shorter side of the card entering the reader. All this while, ID thieves have been improving their card-skimming devices to fit this well-established mold. The skimmers have gotten smaller, sleeker, and smarter, to the point where even a trained eye might be fooled. So what’s the best way to upend all those years of hard work by the bad guys? According to ATM biggie Diebold, it’s just as simple as turning the reader 90 degrees. [More]
Depositing a check, transferring funds between bank accounts and withdrawing cash used to entail a drive to the bank and sometimes a long wait in line to see a teller. Today, with the advent of mobile banking consumers rarely have to come face-to-face with another human being. But the newest development in banking aims to reconnect consumers with the teller, kind of.


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Amazon Web Services (AWS) has launched Amazon Honeycode. A platform, in beta, that allows almost anyone in a business to build a custom web or mobile app without having any prior coding knowledge. “Most teams rely on their IT Departments for new apps. Many IT departments don’t have the staff or capacity to build all […]
Old Mutual has struck a deal with Amazon Web Services which will see the financial services group move a significant portion of its IT workload to the cloud. Components being moved to the cloud will include; Digital customer platforms core insurance applications product administration systems Old Mutual will migrate over a thousand applications to AWS […]
Google is now integrating blockchain technology with its cloud services platform by announcing a new partnership that will deliver blockchain technology to Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Its latest partnership with Digital Asset Holdings LLC will see the startup’s blockchain platform and developer tools made available on the Google Cloud Platform (GCP). In its blog post, Google said […]
One example is Amazon Lightsail the new virtual private server (VPS) line that is designed to give users the option to set up a VPS in the cloud for as little as $5.
Startups often have to come up with workarounds for every cost centre that could potentially derail their efforts. Email servers are one such area when it comes to the setup of decent tech. Here is a recipe or guide for setting up an email server that makes it easy for anyone to understand.
I don’t know when it began, but it has been going on for a while now in the boutiques and other indigenous clothes stores. As soon as you enter the store you notice that all the clothes have no price tags. A creepy guy or lady follows you around as you go around the racks. […]
In May this year, the first ever Zimbabwean edition of the Startup Weekend was held at Hypercube in Harare. The good news for those interested in being part of it is that the tech entrepreneurship event is headed this way again, with this edition set to run from the 21st to the 23rd of November […]
At the moment one is hard pressed to come up with any drawbacks for the cloud. That is assuming one can come up with an accepted definition of the cloud since it is, much like the Hindu elephant, a different thing for everyone: Virtual Private Servers for some, cloud storage for others and Software as a service among other things. It has been a revelation, a Panacea and not counting Richard Stallman, it has not received much disapproval from the upper echelons of the IT world. But, I shudder to say, to some extent Stallman has a point.


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But just a few weeks later, Suntory said it would be launching a new Hibiki whisky expression by the name of "Blender's Choice" on September 4th.
The whisky will only be available in the domestic Japanese market for now.
"The Hibiki Blender's Choice will be under a limited allocation," said Hasumi Ozawa, a PR representative for Suntory.
"The blend will include carefully selected vintages, married together by Suntory’s team of expert blenders. According to Ozawa, the addition of a few wine cask-aged whiskeys in the blend delivers a round, well-balanced profile and immense depth. The blend will come in 700ml bottles, at 43%, and will initially be released for the domestic Japanese market, destined for on-premises sales," writes "Forbes."
"Blender's choice" joins Suntory's two other no-age statement (NAS) whiskys that the company has in its portfolio, including the Hibiki Japanese Harmony and Hibiki Japanese Harmony Master’s Select.
Young whisky is on the rise as new whisky distilleries are popping up across the globe and as big name whisky distillers are releasing more NAS whiskys.
Aged expressions used to be seen as the superior form of whiskys, but consumers are started to realize that this isn't always the case.
With that being said, more distillers are experimenting with new methods to produce whisky.
"When age is no longer the main issue, distillers and blenders can experiment freely, playing with different wood finishes, younger vintages, and accelerated aging techniques. Look at the Taiwanese Kavalan distillery and the brand's success after just 10 years. It's all down to accelerated maturation, innovative production methods, and vast experimentation and passion," writes "Forbes."
Hibiki whisky has become one of Japan's more popular liquor beverages.
Suntory has a portfolio filled with award-winning beverages. The distiller's Hibiki 21-Year-Old whisky has received the "World’s Best Blended Whisky" five times from the World Whiskies Awards.
Read more about Suntory's new Hibiki Whisky at "Forbes."


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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Millions of Americans now get their books on Kindles, Nooks, or iPads, but there can be a sticker shock. New books can cost $12.99 or $14.99, which got us wondering: Why do eBooks cost so much? Good Question.READ MORE: Vaccine Doubts Fuel Dr. Scott Jensen's Rise In Minnesota Governor Race
Browsing through Apple’s online bookstore, new fiction books are priced at $14.99 or $12.99, in general. The prices are set by the publishers, with Apple and Amazon taking a cut of each sale.
A federal government investigation led to a lawsuit against Apple and five major book publishers, alleging price fixing. The Attorney General said price fixing has led to consumers paying millions of dollars more than they would have.
However, publishers argue that coming up with a “fair” price for eBooks isn’t as clear as many consumers would think.
“Why do eBooks cost so much?” asked WCCO reporter Jason DeRusha.
“I wouldn’t know if they say ‘so much,’” said Chris Fischbach, Publisher at Coffee House Press in Minneapolis.
Coffee House publishes literary fiction and poetry books in traditional paper form and electronic form, according to Fischbach.
He said eBooks have many of the same costs as traditional books.
“You have to edit the book, the book gets marketed, it gets proofread, it gets designed, so there’s a lot of expense that goes into each book — there’s an office space and a publisher,” he said.READ MORE: 'Perfect Timing To Go': MEA Marking One Of The Busiest Travel Weekends Of The Fall
Of course, eBooks don’t have to be printed, nor do they have to be shipped and warehoused.
“The book, if it costs $16 retail, it probably costs $2 or $3 in the paper or the printing,” he said.
Fischbach said he still has to pay a distributor with eBooks. That distributor reformats the book into a digital form compatible with the different types of readers, as well as getting that book into those online booksellers’ systems.
“In fact, the majority of the cost is not the object, it’s all the things that go into making it available to you when you want it,” he said.
When Amazon first started selling eBooks, they used the wholesale pricing model: A publisher would sell an eBook to Amazon, and Amazon priced it at whatever they wanted. Because Amazon was trying to build its Kindle business, it often sold the books at a loss, at $9.99.
The government alleges that publishers were concerned that book-buyers would expect all eBooks to be at $9.99, so they colluded with Apple to force an agency pricing model: The publisher sets the price, often at $12.99. Amazon and Apple take a 30 percent cut of that sale, about $3.90.
“You finding out about the book in a book review costs the publisher a lot of money in infrastructure,” he said, pointing out the huge volume of books available online requires investment to help separate the good from the bad.
Even so, critics say like the music and movies businesses, publishing’s overhead is way out of whack with the digital reality.
It’s something Fishcbach acknowledges.MORE NEWS: A Ride-Along With Minneapolis Police Shows How Staffing Shortages Have Officers Stretched Thin
“We need to create our infrastructure around what the public is willing to pay,” he said.


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The Million Dollar Man appears on NXT with Cameron Grimes
WWE Hall of Famer “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase Sr. has finally appeared on WWE NXT TV for a segment with Cameron Grimes.
There have been rumors on DiBiase appearing on NXT ever since Grimes started name-dropping him when he returned with his new “big money” gimmick a few months back. That million dollar cameo finally happened during tonight’s NXT show on the USA Network as The Million Dollar Man one-upped The Technical Savage.
The segment started with Grimes shopping for a watch at a local jewelry store. Grimes told the jeweler that he was looking to get something nice for a special someone… himself. He went on to say he was looking for the shiniest, most expensive watch in the entire city. The segment was “to be continued…” until later when Grimes finally decided on a new timepiece.
Grimes took a look at his new watch but DiBiase appeared out of nowhere and said it wasn’t a bad piece, kid, but it’s not a million dollar watch. The Million Dollar Man then revealed his much nicer watch and did his signature laugh in Grimes’ face. Ted exited the jewelry store as a frustrated Grimes looked on.
Grimes tweeted after the segment and wrote, “That damn @MDMTedDiBiase can #KissMyGRITS @WWENXT”
DiBiase has not commented on the segment as of this writing.
There’s no word on what WWE has planned next for Grimes, but it’s likely that this was a one-off appearance for DiBiase.
Stay tuned for more. Below is video from the segment, along with Grimes’ tweet:
— Cameron Grimes (@CGrimesWWE) April 28, 2021
— WWE (@WWE) April 28, 2021


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Today marked the first day of the British Style Collective, it also marked the first time the event has been held in Liverpool.
The event itself is split across a variety of venues, with the Exhibition Centre being home to a huge shopping hall, packed with high street and independent retailers.
The ECHO arena is where the fashion meets dance spectacular will be taking place daily, and St George's Hall will be hosting talks by industry experts.
Organisers promised a city-wide takeover in what would be a fashion and beauty extravaganza.
Having spent the day down at the British Style Collective, it was clear to see visitors to the event certainly saw it as an excuse to up the style stakes.
We found so many fashionistas looking stunning this afternoon, it was hard to narrow it down to these 12.
Thanks to the warm weather we spotted plenty of summer dresses and light jackets, with red and pink tones definitely trending throughout the day.
Charlotte Pearson is 19 from Aigburth.
She is wearing a dress from Zara and Adidas trainers. Charlotte has given her laid-back look a designer feel by accessorising with a Givenchy bag.
She has booked to attend two of the three days and told the ECHO her favourite bargain has been the one on offer by Glamour magazine.
Charlotte said: "It's great, you pay £9 and receive £100 worth of products and a subscription to the magazine."
Chloe Chong has travelled to Liverpool with her friend.
She is wearing a dress from Zara and shoes from Kurt Geiger. She is another visitor who has chosen a designer bag to complement her outfit, her is DKNY.
Her sunglasses is from her friends own brand CelebdollsUK.
Delia Hanlong is 48 from Mossley Hill.
Her outfit suit the weather perfectly. She has chosen a light wrap dress from warehouse and wedges from New Look.
She has been enjoying browsing the stalls at the shopping hall this afternoon.
Lucy Carrington from Allerton was spending the afternoon enjoying the shops and the bars on offer at the British Style Collective.
The 22-year-old has opted for a high-street outfit today, wearing a jacket, top and jeans from Topshop.
Her trainers are Balenciaga runners, which can be found at Liverpool's Cricket store.
Lauren Levin, 23 from Leeds is wearing a top and trousers from online retailer Pretty Little Thing.
Her bag and sunglasses are from her own website Celebdollsuk.com, which she has been running for one month.
Lauren said: "I'm looking to have a stall here next year so we've came down to see what it is like.
"There are so many amazing brands here, everything looks great."
Sarah Wood is from Upton, she is wearing a playsuit from River Island and a waistcoat from Boohoo.
Her shoes are also from River Island.
Sarah will soon be started a make-up course so was enjoying a day out spotting on-trend looks.
She said: "I'm loving having a look around and spotting any fashion or beauty looks which are catching my eye.
"I'm started a make-up course soon, so this is a great opportunity to get inspiration."
Laura Thomson, 24 from Glasgow is staying in Liverpool until tomorrow, so will be enjoying two days of the British Style Collective.
She is wearing a jumpsuit from online retailer Missy Empire and shoes from Public Desire.
Her jacket is from H&M while her bag is Mulberry.
Milly Lowe, 22 lives in Aigburth.
She was supporting Liverpool-based brand Miss Pap this afternoon. She is wearing a a top and bag from the retailer.
The ECHO recently spoke with Olivia Buckland about her new range for Miss Pap, the interview can be found here.
Milly's skirt is from Topshop and boots are from ASOS.
Jessica Lloyd is 25-years-old and from West Derby.
She is wearing a top from Zara, her trousers and bag are both from Topshop while her shoes are from ASOS.
We bumped into Jessica earlier on today and already she had been busy hitting the stalls.
Jessica said: "I've visited the Miss Pap stall and bought clothes from there and I've also picked up make-up too."
Danielle Panther, 22 is from Halewood and came with her friend to enjoy the first day of the British Style Collective.
Her blazer is from PrettyLittleThing.com and the top she is wearing is from River Island.
Danielle's shoes ad jeans are from high-street giant Topshop, whilst her bag is Louis Vuitton.
Marius Janciaukas, 35 is currently living in Liverpool city centre.
He is wearing trousers from Zara and shoes from Geox.
He works for Sane Seven who provided the image for the advertising for the event.
Olivia Smith, 24 from Glasgow is wearing a dress from Zara and shoes from Topshop.
We are very jealous to see Olivia has managed to get her hands on the must have Gucci belt, which is sold out almost everywhere.
Her earrings are from Inthestyle.co.uk and bag is from Miss Pap.


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KAMPALA, Uganda — Jostling for space, people jam the crowded footpaths crisscrossing a massive open market in Uganda’s capital. They are mostly looking for secondhand clothing, sifting through underwear for pairs that seem new or trying on shoes despite getting pushed around in the crush.
Downtown Kampala’s Owino Market has long been a go-to enclave for rich and poor people alike looking for affordable but quality-made used clothes, underscoring perceptions that Western fashion is superior to what is made at home.
Discarded by Europeans and Americans, these clothes are often purchased from wholesalers and then shipped to African countries by middlemen. It’s a multimillion-dollar business, with some two-thirds of people in seven countries in East Africa having “purchased at least a portion of their clothes from the secondhand clothing market,” according to a 2017 U.S. Agency for International Development study, the most recent with such details.
Despite the popularity, secondhand clothes are facing increasing pushback. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, a semi-authoritarian leader who has held power since 1986, declared in August that he was banning imports of used clothing, saying the items are coming “from dead people.”
“When a white person dies, they gather their clothes and send them to Africa,” Museveni said.
Trade authorities have not yet enforced the president’s order, which needs to be backed by a legal measure such as an executive order.
Other African governments also are trying to stop the shipments, saying the business amounts to dumping and undermines the growth of local textile industries. The East African Community trade bloc — consisting of Burundi, Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda — has recommended banning imports of used apparel since 2016. However, member states have not enforced it at the same pace amid pressure from Washington.
In Uganda, the president’s order has spread panic among traders, for whom such a ban, if implemented, would spell disaster. They hawk used clothes in scores of large open-air markets across the country of 45 million people, at roadside stands and even in shops in malls where it’s possible to buy secondhand clothes marketed as new.
The clothes are cheap and drop further in price as traders make room for new shipments: a pair of denim jeans can go for 20 cents, a cashmere scarf for even less.
At one of Uganda’s Green Shops, a chain specializing in used clothes, apparel reseller Glen Kalungi shopped for items his customers might want: vintage pants for men and cottony tops for women.
“I am a thrift shopper,” he said. “I usually come to these Green Shops to check out clothes because they have the best prices around town.”
Kalungi likes to visit on clearance days when he can buy clothes for a fraction of a dollar. Then he sells them at a profit.
The chain, whose owners include Europeans, unveils new clothes every two weeks at its three stores. Some of the items are sourced from suppliers in countries including China and Germany, retail manager Allan Zavuga said.
“How they collect the clothes, we are not aware of that,” Zavuga said of their suppliers. “But (the clothes) go through all the verification, the fumigation, all that, before they are shipped to Uganda. And we get all documents for that.”
The Green Shops are environmentally friendly because they recycle used clothes in bulk, he said.
The association of traders in Kampala, known by the acronym KACITA, opposes a firm ban on used apparel, recommending a phased embargo that allows local clothing producers to build capacity to meet demand.
Some Ugandan apparel makers, like Winfred Arinaitwe, acknowledge that the quality of locally made fabric is often poor. Not surprisingly, many people would rather buy used clothing, she said.
“Because it lasts longer,” she said. “It can easily be seen.”
In Owino Market, a ban on used clothes is inconceivable to many, including some who say they don’t think the president’s threat was serious.
Abdulrashid Ssuuna, who tries to persuade customers in the market to stop by his brother’s used clothing business, said a ban would deny him a livelihood.
“It’s like they want to chase us out of the country,” he said of the president’s order. “From these old clothes, we get what to eat. If you say we leave this business, you are saying we go into new clothes. But we can’t afford to go there.”
Ssuuna approaches people in Owino Market to urge them to visit the stall where his brother sells used jeans. The market is aggressively competitive, with merchants sitting behind heaps of clothes and shouting words of welcome to possible customers.
If he helps his brother sell clothing, “I get something,” said Ssuuna, who started this work after dropping out of high school in 2020.
The market is always full of shoppers, but business is unpredictable: Traders must try to anticipate what customers are looking for before they are lured by other sellers.
Some days are better than others, said Tadeo Walusimbi, who has been a used-clothes trader for six years. A government ban is simply untenable, he warned.
It “will not work for me and for so many people,” Walusimbi said.


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Coffee could become a luxury in the UK, experts warn
Poor farmers in Peru are struggling to cope with problems associated with climate change and low coffee prices.
Tuesday 1 October 2019 18:21, UK
Coffee could become a luxury in the UK if businesses do not help farmers, experts say.
Climate change and historically low prices are forcing coffee producers in Peru to abandon their crops and turn to other sources of income.
The delicate Arabica bean, which is used in Briton's flat whites and cappucinos, is being farmed on ever-higher and cooler land as temperature increases make more and more land unsuitable for growing the plant.
Experts say that by 2050, up to half of the land used to grow coffee globally may be rendered unsuitable for this purpose.
This could lead to increased deforestation, as well as causing coffee prices to rocket as production volumes decrease.
Catherine David, head of commercial partnerships at Fairtrade, said: "I think if we don't invest now then coffee could become a luxury, longer term.
"Because if 50% of land currently used for coffee isn't going to be suitable for it by 2050, and coffee farmers are abandoning their farms, there simply won't be enough coffee, and so we could, conceivably, get to a point where coffee is no longer available for, say, £1.50 at Greggs, but becomes a premium product for only those who can afford to enjoy it."
Ms David said that if more of the public were aware of the situation, they would be "scandalised that brands, retailers and coffee shops that they are buying their coffee from aren't doing more".
She said the UK public "really expect businesses to be paying a fair price for their coffee - this isn't a nice-to-have for them".
Coffee producers have been hit with problems including leaf rust disease, which covers the plant's leaves with orange dust and causes them to fall off, preventing it from photosynthesising.
A devastating outbreak of the disease wiped out crops in Piura five years ago, leading coffee production in the area to shrink from 80% to 20%.
Many farmers are turning to different - but often lower-quality - varieties which are more resilient.
Segundo Alejandro Guerrero Mondragon and his family farm coffee in the area and have been forced to start planting on higher land.
The 72-year-old, whose family have been farming coffee for more than 100 years, says: "Our area used to be free of all types of disease.
"Lately we were managing to partly control brown eye, but when we got rust it was a largely unknown disease and really concerned us, it hit us really hard and there was a huge drop in production.
"For me it was very disappointing, we had coffee plantations with a really good crop and we were left with next to nothing, it was almost completely destroyed.
"I was a little bit lucky because of my children (three are agronomists) who helped to manage the crop and for the greater part managed to control the fungus. Others were left with nothing."
Sefelmira Alberca Pangalima is a single mother who is struggling to support her two daughters with her dwindling, disease-ridden coffee crop.
She told PA: "Sometimes we plant coffee but a disease that comes in on the wind or something, I don't know, they dry out.
"We plant them, and they start well and then they wither.
"But in the future, I hope to produce enough coffee and then perhaps join an organisation and sell at a better price."


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Union Bankshares to rebrand following wave of acquisitions
Union Bankshares in Richmond, Va., will rebrand as it integrates it latest acquisition.
The $16.8 billion-asset company said in a press release Friday that it will become Atlantic Union Bankshares. The company plans to change the name of its Union Bank & Trust to Atlantic Union Bank starting in May.
Union on Thursday completed the $500 million purchase of Access National in Northern Virginia.
John Asbury, Union's CEO, had told American Banker to expect a rebrand following its purchase of Xenith Bank and Access. The change will address confusion with other bank brands in Northern Virginia and North Carolina.
“We want a unifying brand that makes it easy for our customers to recognize us no matter where they live, work and play throughout the Mid-Atlantic region — from Virginia to North Carolina and Maryland,” Asbury said in Thursday’s release. Atlantic Union “is the perfect marriage between who we are today and where we came from.”
Union said that customers throughout the region were surveyed to evaluate the new name and image. The company will keep the Middleburg brand for its wealth management businesses.


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Were you one of the handfuls of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate players who took part in the Spirit events? If so, there is bad news.
Nintendo has announced that the Spirit events and tournaments are coming to an end very soon. The Japanese Super Smash Bros. Twitter informed fans that November 19 would mark the end of new in-game events and tournaments. After that date, the Spirit events will be recycled from the past.
"We look forward to your continued participation," Nintendo concluded.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate events coming to an end
The final original event is coming this weekend. From November 12 to November 14, Super Smash Bros. fans can participate in an event focused on stages that take place on a vehicle. This includes Pirate Ship, Mute City, and Spirit Train.
Every battle won on these unique maps will get special, "luxurious" spirits to add to their collection.
After this event wraps up, there will no longer be new Spirit events in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. While recycled events are great opportunities for players to take part in events they missed in the past, it mostly points to a concern a lot of fans have had since Sakurai announced that Smash was "done": Will there be any new content or updates ever again?
Sakurai wrote in a recent column that a new Super Smash Bros. game wasn't in the works but that it wasn't the end of the series. But fans are wondering what the future of Smash will look like. Sora is said to be the last DLC, with no more on the horizon if Sakurai's countless warnings are to be believed. Fans are wondering if there truly won't be any more fighters joining the roster. And will there still be balances, patches, and other new content?
The announcement that Spirit events are ending does seem to point towards the team's decision to not create new Smash content. At least not for now.
Esports writer and editor with a passion for creating unique content for the gaming community.


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Greater Tabor City Chamber of Commerce will sell hot chocolate, coffee and food!
It is free to enter the Flotilla! Pre-register by calling 910-377-3012. Event day registration begins at 5:00 p.m. Flotilla begins at 6:00 p.m.
Posted on: 06.13.2018 at 09:54 a.m.
KJ’s Market IGA Whiteville is closing, an employee of the grocery store confirmed yesterday.
There is no set close date, however items are marked down 20% in a store closing sale. One source said they would close when inventory is depleted.
The grocery store has been located at 604 Jefferson Street for many years, taking the place of former IGA. It currently employees 45 people.
The News Reporter has been unable to reach corporate office for comment, but will update the story as more information is acquired.


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Well, it’s about time that someone is getting it right! We recently read Tom’s blog about Phil Purcell getting a $106 million separation package. Now, meet Jim Sinegal, chief executive of Costco Wholesale, whose annual salary is a mere $350,000.
In a recent article in the New York Times (17 July 2005, “How Costco Became the Anti-Wal-Mart”), we see that Costco puts their customers and their people first. They pay the bulk of health care premiums, offer benefits after only 6 months of employment, and they believe that “a happy employee is a productive long-term employee.”
Some analysts think that Jim Sinegal is too benevolent, that he gives his employees too much, and that his prices are too low. Yet, Costco has about half the warehouse retailer market, and their stock price has risen more than 10% in the last 12 months, according to the New York Times.
Jim continues to go to bat for his employees, has negotiated favorable terms with the union, and still manages a booming business. Hats off to you, Jim Sinegal, for not following the crowd and for re-imagining how business can really be run!


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Whitebox, a startup that manages e-commerce logistics and fulfillment for a wide range of manufacturers, has raised $18 million in Sequence B funding.
Even though talking about the new funding, CEO Marcus Startzel repeated a issue he built just after Whitebox lifted its $5 million Collection A very last 12 months — that the startup is differentiated by combining applications for taking care of e-commerce listings across a selection of marketplaces with the means to store and ship products from its own warehouse areas throughout the United States.
“We actually observed an chance for a platform that could both of those offer things and go things,” Startzel mentioned.
Having said that, he recommended that much more just lately, “The detail that definitely shined for us by means of this period has been the third layer of that platform, which is our decisioning layer.” That’s the layer that makes it possible for manufacturers to use information to respond to concerns like, “Must I fulfill this big wholesale buy or keep stock for the marketplaces? Must I inbound a bunch of stuff into Amazon, or do I retain it right here in my Whitebox warehouses to probably fulfill wholesale orders?”
And of course, this is taking place as e-commerce has turn out to be more and more crucial through the pandemic. Startzel proposed that to begin with, Whitebox’s suitable customer was a “challenger brand name” whose small business was generally coming from Shopify, and who necessary aid as it expanded to Amazon and other marketplaces. But progressively, the startup is also functioning with much more regular prospects.
“20-five years in the past, if you wished to purchase a bottle of ketchup, you had to go to a retailer and find a bottle of ketchup as you walked down the condiment aisle,” Startzel explained. “Right now, the shop brand names can no for a longer time count on foot traffic, and they’re starting to understand how essential it is to be on e-commerce.”
As a consequence, Whitebox said it saw 40% quarter-over-quarter profits growth in the initial three months of 2020, adopted by 78% advancement in Q2. And its direct-to-buyer shipments grew 300% above the first fifty percent of the 12 months.
Startzel also mentioned that the enterprise took “a really aggressive and conservative tactic” to taking care of its fulfillment services throughout this period of time — aggressive in the sense that it wished to make certain that there was no disruption in shipments, conservative in its initiatives to make absolutely sure the services have been risk-free.
The Sequence B was led by Alan Taetle of Noro-Moseley Associates, with participation from TDF Ventures, TCP Undertaking Capital’s Propel Baltimore Fund, Merkle world-wide chairman David Williams and Millennial Media co-founder Chris Brandenburg.
“Whitebox remains a chief in this incredibly busy and competitive room, and is uniquely positioned to see ongoing development,” Taetle claimed in a assertion. “The staff has constructed a technology system that not only expands the instruments and insights that makes need to manage their gross sales and success procedures from leading to bottom, but also powers the much larger e-commerce economic climate by reducing marketplace complexities. Our financial commitment signifies our self esteem in Whitebox and the capabilities that we know the firm can bring to the desk for new and present prospects.”
Startzel mentioned the company will use the new funding to broaden its income and advertising and marketing groups, proceed acquiring its technologies platform and construct out its achievement facilities — it at present has centers in Baltimore (where by Whitebox is headquartered), Las Vegas and Memphis, with ideas to broaden in the Midwest subsequent calendar year.


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During its first open platform partner conference, Chinese B2C e-commerce website JD.com published four major support plans, covering technology, logistics, service, and finance.
Chinese B2B e-commerce company Alibaba Group has inked a deal with Chinese Web portal Sina.com for a wide range of cooperation.
Following the recent change of its chief executive officer, Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba has now announced new executive appointments.
Coach, a leading American designer and maker of luxury lifestyle handbags and accessories, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Taobao.com, the Chinese Internet shopping subsidiary of Alibaba Group, to prevent the sale of fake…
Alipay.com, the third-party Internet payment subsidiary of the Chinese B2B e-commerce group Alibaba, has launched a new Internet trading platform for second-hand products.
China Dongxiang has published a report, stating that it will invest USD100 million in the Chinese B2B e-commerce group Alibaba via its wholly-owned subsidiary.
Chinese Internet company Tencent has announced at its e-commerce annual meeting that the company plans to launch a B2B2C platform in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Chinese B2B e-commerce group Alibaba has announced plans to launch a CNY3 billion housing loan scheme for its employees and a CNY500 million education fund to solve the preschool and primary education problems of children…
Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba will soon launch a new cloud mobile operating system.
Chinese B2B e-commerce group Alibaba has announced that to serve the customers more effectively and to ensure the competitiveness and innovation of Taobao.com, the group has decided to separate this subsidiary into three independent companies.


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A recent discovery about how to maintain good skin may surprise you. Our body makes its own form of cannabis (that's right, formal name for pot), similar to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and it may play an important role in maintaining healthy skin. This important finding may help researchers create new drugs that can help with everything from acne to dry skin to skin-related tumors.
The actual study and related information is due to be released in an October issue of the FASEB Journal. Researchers hope that with this new information, a cream with this active ingredient can be used to treat a variety of skin issues. One thing researchers know is that THC probably also protects the marijuana plant from pathogens, and they are now assuming that these endocannabinoids help our skin stay healthy AND protect it from pathogens as well.
So don't be surprised if down the road we see a cream on the market with a cute slogan like "a pot of pot for your skin."
Published On: August 20, 2008


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At the national Industry 4.0 conferencefrom Romania, our colleagues, Mrs. Cristina Baghiu, president of the Digital Innovation Zone Association and Mr. Cătălin Dosoftei, conf. univ. Dr. at Universitatea Tehnică Gheorghe Asachi din Iași and coordinator of Test Before Invest Manufacturing within the hub, represented the Digital Innovation Zone EDIH.
Mr. Dosoftei gave an interesting presentation on the challenges of digital education for developing the skills needed by SME’s in the manufacturing industry. In a world of continuous technological evolution, it is crucial that the workforce is prepared for change and acquires the necessary skills to quickly adapts to new production paradigms.
On the other hand, Mrs. Cristina Baghiu brought to the fore the topic of financing innovation and digitization in Industry 4.0. With the right resources, SME’s and larger enterprises can accelerate the transition to intelligent and efficient production processes. This funding is vital to ensure the continued development of the industry in a constantly changing environment.
In addition to the representatives of the Digital Innovation Zone, the event was honored by the presence of Mrs. Niki Kousi, EIT Manufacturing East director and Mr. Dan Zaharia, Extind representative, along with other specialists in the field.
Participation in FACTORY 4.0 it was an opportunity for Digital Innovation Zone to connect with the ecosystem of solutions and tech providers for the industry. Along with traditional collaborators such as Factory 4.0 Digital Innovation Hub, Bosch Rexroth, IFM, etc., the Digital Innovation Zone has played a key role in ensuring that the North-East region is represented as an example of best practice in innovation and digitalisation.
The conference highlighted the importance of continuous adaptation to technology and innovation and emphasized the need for adequate funding to support this transition. With technology experts and collaborators, we are ready to tackle the challenges of Industry 4.0 and build a more digital and competitive future for the entire industry.


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NEW YORK, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- A piece of famous space rock -- a meteorite -- was pulled from a New York auction after it failed to generate high enough bids.
The 30-pound piece of the Willamette Meteorite, which was found in 1902 in Oregon, peaked at a $300,000 bid, despite expectations that it would bring in up to $1.3 million at Bonhams auction house, the New York Post reported Monday.
However, a total of $750,000 was brought in by other space rocks and related items at the auction.
The "Claxton mailbox," a mailbox that was hit by a falling space rock outside a Georgia home in 1894, fetched $82,750 at the auction.
The 164-pound Campo del Cielo Meteorite, which fell from the sky in Argentina in 1576, was purchased for $14,000 in the sale.


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GM decides to pull Chevy brand out of Europe General Motors announced "its sponsorship deals with Liverpool FC and Manchester United would not be affected in the wake of its decision to pull the Chevrolet brand from Europe" in '15, according to Sebastian Joseph of MARKETING WEEK.
Despite the withdrawal, GM said that there would be a "level of continuation of experiential and digital work" across the region over the next two years, but the volume of it is currently "unclear." Chevrolet "struck ties to both Premier League clubs last summer in a bid to support a revamped global marketing strategy to build awareness" in markets outside the U.S., "particularly Europe and Asia."
The automaker's "football-themed activity has struggled to accelerate European sales over the last 12 months." Industry experts said that the car brand's "exit from Europe is borne from pure economics but it could inadvertently prove to be a 'smart move' in light of its sponsorship strategy," reflecting a "wider shift affecting the sporting landscape." MediaCom Sport UK Managing Dir James Hough, whose company "works with Audi on its Chelsea FC sponsorship," said that Chevrolet will be "investing in tactical promotions moving forward to make the brand more relevant in the markets it is concentrating on." MARKETING WEEK
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If you want to play Dragon Quest XI on a Nintendo console you won’t have to play it on your 3DS anymore. Square Enix has announced that Dragon Quest XI S will hit the Switch sometime in 2019. The release has only been confirmed for Japan so far. It should be noted that there are fewer barriers to an international launch now that the version with English voices is widely available on the PS4 and Windows PCs. Hopefully, they will do it.
You might have noticed the “S”. This suggests that it isn’t just a straightforward port. Without giving you any spoilers, we can tell you that it does change the ending. We can look forward to Square Enix revealing more during a livestream in January, so you may have more reasons to revisit the game if you’re a fan.
The Switch release opens the game up to a wider range players, and delivers a portable version that’s much closer to its counterpart. It’s good that fans have something more to look forward to in this series. They would do well to release this in the US as there are many fans here who are hungry for more from this franchise.


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Gullickson to present 'All about Bulbs'
Mary Beth Gullickson will present "All about Bulbs" at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16, at First Presbyterian Church, 503 W. Sixth St. Attendance is free and the public is invited to attend. Gullickson will be bringing bulbs that will be for sale. This presentation is sponsored by the Goodhue County Horticultural Society. Please enter the church through the doors on the West Avenue side of the building.
Gullickson is a horticulture major and master designer in floral culture and landscape design. She has been in the floral and garden business for 35 years working with top leaders in the industry. Her passion is to develop new designs with all plant varieties using colorful textiles and current trends. She lives on a hobby farm raising chicken and ducks. Her passion is growing and gardening with a focus on vegetables and herbs. Gullickson is co-owner of Cedar Brook Garden Center in New Prague, Minn.


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PITTSBURG — The city’s culinary crawl is back for its second year after sellout events during its inaugural run last summer.
The popular restaurant walking tour — which lets participants sample mini-appetizers from six Old Town restaurants — kicks off June 5. And like last year, the weekly crawls will alternate on Thursday nights, with classic car shows on Railroad Avenue throughout the summer months.
The three-hour crawl will make stops at New Mecca Cafe, LaVeranda Ristorante, Lumpy’s Diner, EJ Phair Restaurant & Brewery, Dad’s BBQ and the Hall of Fame Sports Bar & Grill. On average, between 135 and 150 people attended each crawl last year.
The crawl concept gets people out to new places, said Dietra King, one of the owners of Dad’s BBQ.
“There were people who came to the restaurant who had never come to the restaurant,” she said of last year’s crawls. “It gave them the opportunity to do some tasters.”
It also helped improve business at the restaurant, she added.
One change this year is a higher ticket price: $10 instead of the $5, which covers all six restaurants.
“Last year was to get the word out and get people excited about something,” said Kolette Simonton, the city’s community relations manager.
Surveys taken of those who went on the crawls determined that people would be willing to pay from $10 to $20 for each walking tour.
“We didn’t want to do $20; we figured $10 was the right amount,” Simonton said. “And this year, we did not limit the tickets like we did last year.”
If you want to buy a ticket, don’t look to make the purchase online. Tickets will be sold only at the Railroad Book Depot. Not having online sales accomplishes a couple things: It avoids a service charge associated with the online transaction and gets people downtown.
“By selling tickets in the bookstore, it also brings traffic to the bookstore. We encourage people to purchase in advance,” Simonton said. “That way, we know how many people are coming, and the restaurants have a better idea of how many people they are serving.”
That said, there are expectations that some people will buy tickets at the last minute, she added.
For more information, go to www.pittsburgcrawl.com or call 925-252-4860.
Contact Eve Mitchell at 925-779-7189. Follow her on Twitter.com/EastCounty_Girl.
June 5 — Culinary crawl hosting restaurant, New Mecca Cafe
June 19 — Classic car show, Opening night, PHDs Band
June 26 — Culinary crawl hosting restaurant, La Veranda Ristorante
July 10 — Classic car show, All-American classics, Sam-One Band
July 17 — Culinary crawl hosting restaurant, Lumpy’s Diner
July 24 — Classic car show, Car club night, Vocal Ease & The Boogie Men
July 31 — Culinary crawl hosting restaurant, EJ Phair Restaurant & Brewery
Aug. 7 — Classic car show, Back to the Future, Nicky D & the Extreme All-Stars
Aug. 14 — Culinary crawl hosting restaurant, Dad’s BBQ
Aug. 21 — Classic car show, Closing night, Project 4 Band
Aug. 28 — Culinary crawl hosting restaurant, Hall of Fame Sports Bar & Grill
Culinary crawl tickets are $10 and sold at the Railroad Book Depot, 650 Railroad Ave. Each crawl starts at 5 p.m. at Railroad Book Depot and finishes at the hosting restaurant with a raffle and entertainment. There is free admission to the classic car show, which takes place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Railroad Avenue between Fourth and Sixth streets.
(Events are not scheduled over the Fourth of July weekend and the weekend that follows the June 11 graduation ceremony for Pittsburg High School.).


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Events such as the Oscars and Fashion Week are influential spaces of inspiration and recently places of increasing sustainability. However, are these high-profile events doing enough to encourage sustainability within the hugely impactful fashion industry?
It is a well-known, and often repeated fact, that the fashion industry has a huge impact on the environment. The Geneva Environment Network reports that fashion production makes up 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions, dries up water sources, and pollutes rivers and streams. While this relates to the impact of fast fashion, events such as fashion week, the Oscars and other high profile fashion events have a responsibility to encourage sustainability.
Copenhagen Fashion Week is taking the largest steps towards sustainability within the fashion week circuit. The organisers decided on eighteen requirements that the event and designers would have to adhere to which are based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The reinvention of Copenhagen Fashion Week aims to reduce negative impacts, innovate the business model, and accelerate industry change. Some of the requirements include a ban on fur, not destroying stock from previous collections and the encouragement of using upcycled materials. There is also a requirement for strong relationships with suppliers and that factories are free from child labour and provide safe working conditions.
Whilst this all sounds positive, the requirement for shows to “offset their show emissions” as of February 2023, is a contentious one. Carbon Offsetting is when companies invest in environmental projects which balance out their carbon footprint, not solving the problem of climate change in the long term but greenwashing for appearances. Through Carbon Offsetting companies don’t have to change their output, just balance it out with projects such as planting trees. Whilst carbon offsetting through reforestation can be positive, it needs to be done amongst a whole host of other sustainable efforts and not just done for PR or marketing purposes. In relations to Copenhagen Fashion Week, carbon offsetting is one of their many sustainable guidelines and therefore can have a positive impact.
However, if other larger fashion weeks such as New York, London and Paris aren’t following Copenhagen’s sustainability stance, then is it really working?
London Fashion Week is not following the example of Copenhagen Fashion Week. Caroline Rush, CEO of the British Fashion Council, states that rather than “setting a one-size-fits-all sustainability standard” the BFC will encourage brands to commit to voluntary initiative such as joining the UN’s Climate Challenge, for fear of alienating smaller brands. Whilst this is justified, there is an argument that by encouraging smaller brands to start with sustainability at their core then the huge impact fashion has on the environment can be tackled from the outset.
This year the Oscars came with a sustainable fashion guide for guests from RCGD Global, or the Red-Carpet Green Dress Initiative spearheaded by Suzy Amis Cameron. RCGD Global, in their own words, is “a women-led global change-making organisation bringing environmental and social sustainability to the forefront of conversation and action within the global apparel and design industry.”
By partnering with the Annual Academy Awards the organisation brings sustainability directly into the spotlight and makes it fashionable. The ‘green’ spotlight that the Academy Awards creates holds a similar impact to the showcasing of sustainability during Fashion Week. The positivity of seeing stars dressing in sustainable garments can be an inspiration to think more consciously clothing choices and the environment.
During awards season there are endless fashion reviews on YouTube, TikTok and in magazines about the fashion and outfits but what is becoming an increasing point of discussion is how sustainable these outfits are. Some of the stars that championed sustainability at the 2023 Oscars wore archival or vintage dresses, such as Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara and Kendall Jenner. Whereas others like Naomi Scott and Olivia Wilde wore dresses made from conscious materials.
Ultimately, the sustainability steps the Oscars and Copenhagen Fashion Week are taking can only be in the right direction by inspiring others and setting an example for other high-profile events. Nevertheless, there is still a long way to go to cut the impact the fashion industry has on the environment. Perhaps having similar sustainable guidelines for all events will lead the way to more climate conscious creative industries and inspire others to think more about their clothing choices.
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China’s Alibaba Group and software company SAP has made a partnership where SAP will offer two of its flagship products in China. The partnership was announced at Alibaba’s cloud summit this week.
The deal will help companies to run their business processes in an IaaS model (infrastructure-as- a service). SAP’s cloud will assist the cloud customers of Alibaba in expanding their current business solution, create fresh applications, and connect third-party technologies.
SAP’s two products are business suite 4 SAP HANA (S/4HANA) and its cloud platform. The difference between S/4HANA and the cloud platform is that S/4HANA is developed on SAP’s popular database while the cloud platform is PaaS (Platform-as-a-service). This PaaS will provide enterprise application platform and an in-memory database.
As per the deal, Alibaba will adopt S/4HANA to run their business models and SAP will continue to utilize Alibaba’s cloud technology. There are many other areas like IoT, AI, manufacturing and digital marketing where both the companies will explore.
According to Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group, the company is very pleased with the partnership. Alibaba has formed a close partnership with SAP in the past, and it is exciting for the company to expand the partnership.
“What this will do is create a growth revolution for companies here in China and around the world because the ability to expand will be so much greater. And the massive simplicity and the ease of consumption and the beautiful experience will be unbelievable,” said Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP.


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Wild Terra 2 has launched the Stay Home pack, with new phase of Alpha running through April 12.
The Stay Home pack includes the following:
- Full version of the game (Steam key).
- Play now, before the release of the game.
- Reclusive mask. You can’t lose it.
- Home "cute" cactus. Unique pet. You can’t lose it.
- 999 rolls of Legendary Toilet Paper. When used, people nearby will read a funny phrase.
- Title Recluse (can be disabled).
- Access to private Discord chat to discuss the development.
Additionally, the team has launched a new phase of Alpha testing, which will run through April 12 according to the accompanying press release. If you’re interested in learning more, click here.


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KENNY’S SPECIAL VALENTINE
Kenny Chesney has created a special Valentine’s gift for his fans on his website, a new video for his hit “Summertime.”
Kenny decided to release the clip to capture the fun and excitement of his 2006 tour. “The more footage that Shaun [Kenny’s video director Shaun Silva] and I looked at, the more we realized what a huge part of this music the fans really are,” Kenny explains. “I decided I wanted to do something for the fans, to show them just how cool they are.” Fans can go to kennychesney.com to catch the video—and possibly see themselves.


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January 17, 2011: Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and John Madden may have been instrumental in driving sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops, NBA 2k11 and Madden NFL 11, respectively, but even their combined star power could not prevent videogame sales in the U.S. from dropping in 2010 versus 2009.
Meanwhile, Tiger Woods had to deal with his own set of issues as sales for his namesake title, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 took a steep dive due to both soft videogame category sales and Woods own brand issues.
U.S. retail sales in 2010 of new physical videogame content, which includes portable, console and PC game software, generated revenues of $10.1 billion, a 5% decline over the $10.6 billion generated in 2009.
In addition, the preliminary estimate for total consumer spend on gaming content via all monetization methods was between $15.4-$15.6 billion last year, a total consumer spend on games content in 2010 representing sales that were flat to down by as much as 1% when compared to 2009, according to marketing consultants and analysts The NPD Group, Port Washington, NY. That figure include new physical video and PC games, used games, game rentals, subscriptions, digital full-game downloads, social network games, downloadable content, and mobile game apps.
Sales of EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 were down 68% from the previous year, when Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 move more than 2.3 million copies, according to NPD. EA Sports formed an alliance with The Masters for the recently released Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 in an effort to renew interest and boost sales.
A final estimate of the total consumer spend on the games industry is scheduled to be released in March in NPD's report, Games Industry: Total Consumer Spend (2010).
"The dynamics of games content purchasing changed dramatically in 2010 with options ranging from the physical product to digital downloads on connected devices as well as in-store digital kiosks,"Anita Frazier, industry analyst for The NPD Group, said in a statement. "The increasing number of ways to acquire the content has allowed the industry to maintain total consumer spend on content as compared to 2009, and we should expect 2011 to be a growth year in the games industry as the consumer demand for gaming continues to evolve."
Call of Duty: Black Ops from Activision rose to the No. 1 spot for the entire year in just two months, taking in $360 million in retail sales on its first day of release and $550 million in its first week in November, per industry analysts. Black Ops came with an extensive national campaign, anchored by a TV spot that featured Bryant and late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel as combatants alongside civilians including executives and housewives.
Madden NFL 11 from EA Sports was the best-selling game in August, when it was released, selling more than 1.8 million copies (on PlayStation 3 and Xbox combined) for the month and No. 2 overall for the year. NBA 2K11, from Take Two/2K Sports, had Hall of Famer Michael Jordan on the cover and in the game, which drove it to the best-selling videogame during its release month of October and No. 10 for the year.
According to NPD, the ten best selling new videogames of 2010 at retail (listed with publisher) were:
1) Call of Duty: Black Ops (Activision)
2) Madden NFL 11 (EA Sports)
3) Halo: Reach (Microsoft Game Studios)
4) New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo)
5) Red Dead Redemption (Rockstar Games)
6) Wii Fit Plus (Nintendo)
7) Just Dance 2 (Nintendo)
8) Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision)
9) Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft)
10) NBA 2K11 (Take Two/2K Sports)
NPD said that based on its estimated figures, spending on new physical content at retail continues to account for the majority of the total consumer spend on games content. While overall sales were down, retail sales of PC game were up 3% in 2010. Concurrently, increases in the consumer spend on used games sales, full-game digital downloads and downloadable content, mobile gaming apps, and social network gaming offset declines in console and portable new physical game sales, rentals and subscriptions.
"December 2010 represented one of the strongest monthly performances the industry has ever had at retail. It was a robust finish to a year marked by innovation and engaging millions of consumers through a multitude of delivery models," Michael Gallagher, president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Assn., the trade group that represents U.S. computer and video game publishers, said in a statement. "Computer and videogames led all other entertainment options as we responded to consumers’ demands for creative content on every platform from consoles to smart phones to handheld game devices."


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Starbucks To Open Juice Bars In 2012
World's Largest Coffee Chain To Compete With Jamba Juice
Starbucks Corp announced its plans to start a chain of juice bars starting in early to mid-2012.
The world's largest coffee chain said it bought California-based juice company Evolution Fresh for $30 million in cash.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz told reporters on a conference call Thursday, the acquisition is the first of many things the company has planned to venture into the health and wellness market.
Schultz says he hopes buying Evolution Fresh, whose products are sold by a handful of retailers including Whole Foods Market Inc., will give the company a meaningful foothold in the estimated $50 billion health food market.
"We think we can build a major business,” he says.
The first juice bars will open on the U.S. West Coast in early to mid-2012, but the company would not say how many were planned. The chain's name has not been revealed and it was not immediately clear whether Starbucks' familiar logo would be displayed by the new chain, reports Reuters.
Evolution Fresh was started by the founder of “Naked Juice” and sells fruit and vegetable juices. According to its site, it uses a low-heat, flash-pasteurization process to ensure freshness, flavor and nutrition compared to using conventional heat pasteurization.
The jump in markets will inevitably intrude on territory dominated by juice-bar-king Jamba Juice.


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NM Cafe Is Opening within Neiman Marcus at The Natick Mall
A high-end department store west of Boston will soon be opening a new restaurant within its space.
According to a job post on the Craigslist site (and confirmed by the shop's website), NM Cafe will open inside the Neiman Marcus branch at The Natick Mall. This will be the only dining spot to open in New England from the chain (at this point in time), with the closest ones to the area being a spot called The Zodiac in White Plains, NY, a place called The Rotunda in Paramus, NJ, and a location of NM Cafe in Short Hills, NJ. Based on the menus at other NM Cafe locations, expect to see soups, salads, sandwiches, a few main entrees, and a children's menu at the casual upscale eatery.
Expect an August opening for the new NM Cafe at The Natick Mall.
[September 17 update: According to the store's website, NM Cafe is now open at The Natick Mall.]
The web page for the restaurants at Neiman Marcus shops can be found at http://www.neimanmarcus.com/stores/restIndex.jsp


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The services sector PMI in Sri Lanka fell to 52.6 in November of 2018 from 55.5 in the previous month, pointing to the weakest growth in the services sector since the series began in May of 2015. Slower increases were recorded for new businesses (53.4 from 58.2) and employment (52.3 from 55.4) and expectations for activity also worsened (55.1 from 63.6) due to the current political situation in the country and uncertainty on future policies. Also, backlogs of work continued to fall although at a lower rate (44.6 from 43.1). On the other hand, business activity (57.4 from 57.1) increased faster, namely wholesale & retail trade and accommodation, food & beverage due to the upcoming festive season and the peak in tourism season. Prices charged increased due to the depreciation of the local currency. However, some respondents cited that the recent reduction in fuel prices would cause a less than expected increase in their output prices. Services Pmi in Sri Lanka averaged 58.34 from 2015 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 66.80 in May of 2015 and a record low of 52.60 in November of 2018.
Services Pmi in Sri Lanka is expected to be 57.90 by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Services Pmi in Sri Lanka to stand at 56.50 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Sri Lanka Services PMI is projected to trend around 56.90 in 2020, according to our econometric models.