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LONDON (Reuters) - British travel operator Thomas Cook Group TCG.L said on Wednesday it had agreed the main terms of a rescue package that will see China's Fosun Tourism 1992.HK take over its tour operations and creditor banks and bondholders acquire its airline.
The world’s oldest travel company and pioneer of the package tour, has struggled with intense competition in popular destinations, high debt levels and an unusually hot summer in 2018 which reduced its last-minute bookings.
The debt burden meant the company had to sell 3 million holidays a year just to pay the interest, it said last month.
Thomas Cook also said in July that it was working to secure new investment from shareholder Fosun Tourism which would see the Chinese group take control of the business, along with Thomas Cook’s lenders whose debt would be converted into equity.
The terms announced on Wednesday will see Fosun - whose Chinese parent owns all-inclusive holiday firm Club Med - contribute 450 million pounds ($552 million) of new money in return for at least 75% of the tour operator business and 25% of the group’s airline.
Thomas Cook’s lending banks and bondholders will stump up a further 450 million pounds and convert their existing debt to equity, giving them in total about 75% of the airline and up to 25% in the tour operator business, the group said.
The recapitalization plan, which is subject to a legally binding agreement between the parties, will result in a significant dilution in existing Thomas Cook shareholders’ interests, the company said, but it had decided it was the best way to secure the future of the group for all its stakeholders.
Shares in Thomas Cook, which were trading at 150 pence in May 2018, were down 12% at just above 6 pence on Wednesday.
Russ Mould, investment director at broker AJ Bell, said shareholders in the troubled travel company may have to accept that their investment could be worthless.
“Investors are simply trying to cash out and crystallize any value left in their investment before the refinancing, for fear there could be nothing left if they wait,” he said.
Thomas Cook, founded by its namesake in 1841, said it intended to maintain the company’s listing on the London Stock Exchange if possible.
British trade union TSSA welcomed the plan. “This appears to be good news for our members as Thomas Cook’s presence on our high streets looks to have been saved,” said leader Manuel Cortes.
Earlier this year, Thomas Cook said it was exploring a sale of its airline business, which consists of German carrier Condor and UK, Spanish and Scandinavian operations, but a further profit warning in May left management seeking a more radical solution to save the business.
Analyst Mark Irvine-Fortescue at Stifel said the airline was likely to be put up for sale again in due course, making for an uncertain relationship with the tour operator.
Fosun Tourism's parent Fosun International 0656.HK was co-founded by billionaire Guo Guangchang and is one of China's biggest conglomerates. It has spent billions of dollars over the past decade on healthcare, tourism and fashion companies in the United States and Europe.
As well as Club Med, Fosun International also owns English Premier League soccer team Wolverhampton Wanderers FC.
Fosun said earlier this year it would adopt an asset-light strategy and run Club Med resorts it plans to launch in China and other countries under management contracts.
Editing by Kate Holton and Susan Fenton
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


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Developer Motive Studio and publisher EA have released a new story trailer for its upcoming remake of Dead Space, and the game continues to look terrifying and beautiful.
Due out on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC later this month on January 27, this might be one of our last looks at the remake before it’s in the hands of players. Fortunately, this new trailer is nearly two minutes of cinematics and gameplay from the remake focused on the story of Dead Space. As expected, this remake isn’t changing much at all, utilizing the same story from the original 2008 release with updated visuals and audio (plus some new voice lines for protagonist Isaac Clarke).
Check out the new Dead Space Remake “Humanity Ends Here” trailer for yourself below:
As you can see, Dead Space Remake continues to look great and we can’t wait to play it in just a few weeks.
For more about the game, check out this extended Dead Space Remake gameplay look and then read why it’s one of Game Informer’s 25 most anticipated games of 2023. Check out Game Informer’s big list of upcoming video game remakes after that.
Are you picking up Dead Space Remake on day one? Let us know in the comments below!

domain: news


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The Blue Ocean Awards, directly inspired by Blue Ocean Strategy | Shift, were created in 2014 to recognize the most innovative and ambitious French entrepreneurs that are striving to create a blue ocean in their industries. The Blue Ocean Awards are a great opportunity for companies to be highlighted in one of the most prestigious competitions.
The 5th edition – organized by HEC Paris, AXESSIO and the DGE (Directorate General of Enterprise) – has grown tremendously with sponsors and partners such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Forbes, Bred, Carrefour, EDF, INPI (National Institute of Industrial Property) and many others, and is officially supported and hosted by the French Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Out of 400 submissions, 19 French companies passed the first screening. Over September and October, the jury met these 19 finalists who presented their companies and interacted with them during Q&A sessions.
The 2018 jury is composed of top executives from Hewlett Packard Enterprise, EDF, Carrefour, HEC Paris, DGE, INPI, AXESSIO, Davidson Consulting, Innovation Finance, Cap Digital, Pink Innov ‘, Techsap West, IE-Club and many investors such as Cape Horn Invest, Newfund, Serena Capital or the Women Business Angels network.
Come and meet the finalists and discover their offerings at the “Salon des Finalistes” during the day, with a grand finale in the evening featuring the closing ceremony. The exhibition and ceremony take place on November 6, 2018 at the Ministry of Economy and Finance (get your free tickets here: https://blue-ocean-awards.eventbrite.fr ).
The winners, selected by the jury, will be invited to the closing ceremony to explain their experience and receive their Blue Ocean Award and a copy of Blue Ocean Shift. As usual, three categories of prizes are planned: Baby, Mentor and Societal. In addition, a special “Legend” award will be given this year to one of the 16 historic awards.
PS: A new Blue Ocean Awards dedicated to companies from the Southwest of France will take place in Bordeaux in 2019!


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Shop Our Tee Shirts 👕
June 11, 2020 1 min read
After folks brought out their pitchforks during the recent Xbox Series X event for not showing enough gameplay, Sony pretty much only showed gameplay today for their "Future of Gaming" PS5 stream: with some cinematic panache thrown in for good measure.
There's a lot to unpack today. PS5 games are coming as soon as "holiday 2020," which is when the PS5 actually arrives. A few bangers like Spider-Man: Miles Morales are going to hit that same window (possibly as launch titles), and several are slated for 2021 and 2022. We've gathered up a convenient list for you to peruse below: it's going to take a while.
The big highlights are probably the Demon's Souls remake (the best Souls, do not "at" me), as well as confirmation of the long-rumored "Resident Evil Villlage/Resident Evil III" project from Capcom. Others like Pragmata look like they're going to slot in nicely, as is the very expected Horizon Zero Dawnsequel Forbidden West.
We also got a good look at the actual PS5 hardware today. It looks like it was designed straight out of the Bubblegum Crisis universe, and will sport a "standard edition" as well as a "digital edition" with no disc drive.
We still don't know a lot yet. We don't have a price point and we don't have a date. But we are slowly getting there by the grace of the Dripfeed Gods.
Sign up to get the latest on sales, new releases and more …


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Driven by consumer demand, more corporations are adopting sustainable business practices, Retailers carrying food products are particularly engaged in this process.
Recently, Target and Safeway announced that they would discontinue carrying farm-raised seafood and switch to wild caught. Environmentalists have been pushing for this, criticizing that net-pens salmon farms, which release pollution, chemicals and parasites into the surrounding ocean, disrupt and sometimes decimate nearby wild fish populations.
Greg Duppler, senior vice president, merchandising for Target, said “Target strives to be a responsible steward of the environment, while providing our guests with the highest-quality food choices.”
Safeway is also on the sustainable bandwagon. They recently announced their partnership with marine conservation group FishWise to develop and implement a more comprehensive sustainable seafood policy.The company will also implement a traceability system to screen out suppliers that don’t conform to its new policies, and will discontinue selling grouper, monkfish and red-snapper, due to overfishing concerns linked to these species.
“We hope this partnership will lead to a more sustainable product selection for our customers,” said Jim Bluming, vice president of seafood marketing for Safeway, “as well as improved transparency with our suppliers, and ultimately, healthy oceans and freshwater ecosystems for future generations.”
Good news for consumers and a hopeful sign that more corporations will make more steps into sustainability.
Filed under: Making a Difference, sustainability | Tagged: conservation, ecosystems, environment, environmentalists, oceans, pollution, salmon, sustainability, sustainable | Leave a comment »


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So, McDonald’s is charged for punishing its workers.
According to The New York Times, the charges said that McDonald’s and its franchisees illegally disciplined employees who had protested, reduced their hours, spied on them and restricted their ability to communicate with union representatives.
Regardless of McDonald’s and business groups’ protestations on the fastfood chain giant being adjudged as a joint employer and that the NLRB seeks to hold it jointly responsible for the actions of its franchise operators – do you think punishing their employees would help their cause?
The issue is – McDonald’s employees want a raise. Franchisees say they could not afford it. McDonald’s wants its way in how franchises handle their brand. NLRB then says McDonald’s is a joint employer because it enforced its standards on food preparation, store operation and employee working conditions.
So why is McDonald’s and business groups, for that matter, complaining? Profits.
If it’s only between the franchisees and their employees – this wouldn’t have dragged on like this. This wage issue could have been solved peacefully. Employees got to feed their families. Franchisees need to profit, more so, to survive. All they need to do is show the accounting. Prove that franchises would close their outlets if they give in to the $15 per hour demand.
If franchisees have shown they would indeed shut down then employees should reconsider.
The problem is McDonald’s. It keeps getting in their way. Meddling. So, isn’t that being a joint employer then? If they keep insisting on their requirements on franchisees, shouldn’t they really shoulder wage hikes as well?
If these business groups and McDonald’s are worried about disrupting longtime practices in the fastfood and other industries – don’t you think it’s about time to change? Or at least reconsider, after all, your bellies have already fattened?!
Instead, McDonald’s punished their workers because of their strike. So.. what happened to the fun they’re spreading, to the image they’ve built? Were all those happy meals, and happy feelings just a show? Probably not. Thence..
If McDonald’s is the leader that it should be, they would try to settle things amicably. Now.
See. Being on top doesn’t always mean you are right. Being on top means you have all eyes looking up to you. Being on top means you got more responsibility – and it’s not only about cleaning up your restaurant or insisting on your brand – that’s a given. Gentle reminders, that’s what you do. Profits are understandable, it’s business. Yes, operating costs are high but even when cutting your menu, do it gradually, or you will also lose customers.
The Greatest of Leaders lead with kindness and suggestion – not force and threats.
What’s your take?


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General Carbide Corp. (Greensburg, PA) has purchased automotive tooling supplier Only Tool (Ypsilanti, MI). Only Tool has developed its expertise in cold-form tool manufacturing under the leadership of co-owners Ray Fender and Mick Ruffolo, who, under terms of the agreement, will continue to operate the business.
Displaying 1-10 of 21 results for
The auto industry’s constraint in introducing new models because of a labor shortage to make dies, molds, jigs, fixtures and other tooling will be the focus of a conference next month.
“Five years ago, our fit and finish was below average,” said Dr. Raj Kawlra, director of dimensional strategy and management of Chrysler Group (Auburn Hills, MI). “To be the future world-leaders, we knew that we had to focus on all aspects of quality … vehicles that look good, feel good, sound good, and are reliable.”
Solid-carbide micro cutting tools about the diameter of human hair or smaller—some producing parts visible only under a microscope—are making a huge impact on manufacturing highly advanced electronics, automotive and aerospace fuel injection systems, and medical instruments and implants.
The auto industry wants to expand the use of 3D printers. Automakers such as Ford Motor Co. and BMW AG are working directly with additive manufacturers concerning deployment of the technology.
Titanium, stainless steel, aluminum and other super-alloys and exotic materials are on the rise for use in component manufacturing in growth industries such as aerospace, medical, and automotive.
To date, GBneuhaus has only produced its nanotech-enabled coatings in Neuhaus am Rennweg, a small village in the state of Thuringia. But that’s about to change: The 28-year-old firm in June founded a company in Pune, India, and will soon begin producing its antimicrobial coating there.
Smarter factory systems connected via the cloud are the grand vision offered for the future factories that will fully leverage the best available tools from automation, software and machine tool builders.
The Management Briefing Seminars, organized by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) in Ann Arbor, MI, is a summer tradition in the auto industry. Professionals gather outside of the northwest Michigan resort town of Traverse City to examine industry issues.
SHANGHAI—The $150 million “factory of the future” that the Swiss innovator ABB announced nearly a year ago is becoming reality in this enormous city’s Pudong New Area.


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Toyota's newly announced RAV4 EV combines the body of an SUV with the techno-wizardry of an electric car. Inside, the RAV4 EV sports an 8-inch touchscreen complete with smartphone integration. Toyota also throws in its Entune service which offers users the ability to access apps such as Bin, iHeartRadio, Pandora and MovieTickets.com.
The RAV4 EV includes a 41.8 kWh battery developed by Tesla Motors that, when combined the SUV's electric powertrain, can make 154 hp and can reach 100 mph. Despite the battery's large capacity, Toyota says it can charge in 6 hours with the help of 240-volt charger.


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Spyshots: Renault Clio RS Five-Door?
So, is Renault now making the Clio RS with two extra doors, and what does this have to do with the automaker’s intention to turn it into a veritable icon like the MINI and Cinquecento? We don’t know, but all should be revealed at next year’s Paris Motor Show.
So what about what’s under the bonnet? Well, the current generation has a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter engine which we love for its honesty, but it has been around since the age of the dinosaurs. Don’t get us wrong, we love the engine, but it will likely be replaced by a 1.8-liter turbo shared with Mercedes, which could produce 210 hp in the RS.
❐ Check out the Renault Clio RS Test Mule photo gallery


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The metamorphosis of C.J. Wilson
There's retiring, and then there's retiring at age 35 with millions of dollars in the bank and a passion for racing, owning and selling some of the world's most pedigreed car brands.
Rick Hendrick: One brand, half selling, half racing
Dealer Rick Hendrick divides his time between two companies, one in stock-car racing and the other in automotive retail. Here's how it all comes together as one brand.
Volvo prices redesigned XC60 from $42,495
Pricing in the U.S. for the redesigned Volvo XC60 will begin at $42,495. The retooled XC60 went into production in April and is to arrive at dealerships in August.
TrueCar narrows Q1 net loss as revenue rises 22%
Vehicle-shopping website TrueCar narrowed its first-quarter net loss to $6.8 million while revenue surged 22 percent to $76 million.
Store guarantees job applicants an interview
Patrick DeBruler was in the middle of a rough patch when he walked into Champion Chevrolet of Avon, Ind., last summer to pick up a job application. It proved to be just the break he needed.
Buffett seeks exemption from Texas law
Warren Buffett has run afoul of the same Texas law that prevents Elon Musk from selling Teslas at factory-owned stores.
Toyota's Carter: As U.S. peaks, spiffs 'higher than we've ever experienced'
The U.S. auto market has peaked and will shrink this year, with manufacturers using unprecedented incentives to support passenger cars through slumping demand, Toyota's U.S. sales chief said.
AutoNation's Jackson praises Trump's anti-regulatory stance
On topics from President Donald Trump to hybrid cars, AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson was his usual outspoken self at the NADA/J.D. Power Automotive Forum.
Incentives will hit $4K per car, cut profits, analyst predicts
The U.S. auto industry's typical short-term focus on boosting sales with incentives is endangering profits years down the road, an analyst said at the NADA/J.D. Power Automotive Forum in New York.
GM joins chorus warning used-car prices to fall amid glut
GM said a glut of used vehicles will return to market after their leases expire and drag on its finance unit this year, following similar warnings by peer Ford and lenders such as Ally Financial.
CarGurus tests TV spots in 3 cities
Shopping site CarGurus is jumping into TV advertising today for the first time, as it continues to challenge rivals such as competitors Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book, Cars.com and Edmunds.
KBB, Cars.com top third-party sites in satisfaction, J.D. Power says
A J.D. Power study of third-party websites gave high marks to KBB.com and Cars.com. TrueCar slipped in the study's rankings.
Car shopping site CarGurus hires banks for stock offering, report says
CarGurus, a popular website where consumers go to browse cars, has tapped investment banks for an initial public offering later this year, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Bad ethics come from factory, too
The tactics often employed to bully dealers to participate in manufacturers' mostly self-serving, revenue-enhancing programs are why state franchise laws are in place.
Chuck Berry made car-buying rock
A huge reason cars and rock 'n' roll go together so well are the songs of early rocker Chuck Berry, who died this month at age 90.
Kelley Blue Book expands abroad
Kelley Blue Book is taking its online vehicle valuation and pricing tools overseas, starting with Portugal.
State Farm partners with Openbay for auto maintenance, repairs
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance has tied up with Openbay, an online marketplace for automotive maintenance and repair, the companies said.
Time for a quiz
A Federal Trade Commission report tallied 2016's consumer complaints to state and federal agencies and watchdog groups. These are the top 10 categories, in alphabetical order.
Car stocks swell, led by GM's
Automakers and dealerships face a growing glut of passenger cars as U.S. consumers' purchases swing to light trucks faster than automakers can adjust production.
Porsche stores repeat atop online response study
Porsche dealerships earned the top spot in Pied Piper's annual online lead-responsiveness study for the second year in a row, despite scoring three points lower than last year. The auto industry's overall performance for effective lead response has not improved in five years.
Reynolds and Reynolds President Ron Lamb steps down
Reynolds and Reynolds President Ron Lamb, a salesman-turned-digital visionary who sought to reinvent the dealership software giant, stepped down to pursue opportunities in private equity.


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Pitney Bowes to Host Document Messaging Technologies Customer Event at Global Technology Center
STAMFORD, Conn., March 05, 2012 - Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) today announced it is hosting a Document Messaging Technologies customer event on April 10-12, 2012, at its Global Technology Center in Danbury, Connecticut. The event will offer enterprise mailers, third-party service providers and marketing leaders an opportunity to see the company’s latest customer communications solutions in action. Attendees will also have an opportunity to preview new product enhancements that will be showcased at Drupa 2012, the world's largest trade fair for the print and media industry, in May, in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Ramesh Ratan, president, Pitney Bowes Document Messaging Technologies will deliver the keynote address on ways to leverage the transactional statement to maximize customer lifetime value. “We are excited to welcome our customers to our new Global Technology Center. We look forward to sharing insight on how to more cost-effectively use customer communications to help build meaningful, personal connections with consumers that can drive revenue growth.”
At the customer event, the Company’s latest innovations will be on display including:
- Pitney Bowes’s growing family of IntelliJet™ Printing Systems with faster print speeds and new mail finishing options printing a White Paper Factory™ application.
- The Mailstream Wrapper™ next generation mail finishing system that combines innovative wrapping technology with proven intelligence and speed. Integrated with the Print+ Messenger in-line printing system, this solution can assemble envelopes and print color messages, logos and addresses in-line during mail finishing to drive unprecedented levels of productivity and operational cost savings.
- The Rival™ Productivity Series inserting system to provide mid-volume transactional mailers with a powerful and cost-efficient solution to process high-value customer communications including both letters and flats.
- A complete line of sorting solutions that can meet the volume and mail spectrum needs of both mid-sized and large mailers who want to reduce their postage costs. These include the Vantage™ Sorting System that maintains consistently high mail sorting throughput for optimizing postage cost. Also, the Reliant™ Mail Sorter with its compact footprint can help companies with lower mail volumes benefit from increased postal discounts, reduced operating costs and productivity gains.
- The MarketSpace™ Web platform which can help U.S. high-volume transactional mailers connect with third-party advertisers to sell the white space on their statements for targeted advertising opportunities.
- Pitney Bowes’s latest DFWorks® White Paper Factory™ software enables comingled mail piece jobs to be tracked and reported on separately, which is a key requirement for businesses looking to achieve job efficiency and integrity.
- The Production Intelligence® software suite, including output management and automated document factory solutions, which connect all critical print and mail processes into a seamless workflow for greater efficiency and accuracy.
- The Volly™ secure digital delivery service, a cloud-based digital mail communications platform that will empower consumers to receive, view, and manage bills, statements, and other content from multiple providers using a single application.
Customers will also tour Pitney Bowes’s newly renovated Global Technology Center, which will support the Company’s continued evolution into customer communications management. The facility brings together Pitney Bowes engineering, research and development, product management, and information technology services in Connecticut under one roof for the Company’s communications solutions businesses. This will allow for greater collaboration to build innovative hardware and software solutions, and help engineers identify ways to integrate technologies, products and services for customers.
For additional information and to register online for the customer event, please visit http://www.pb.com/pre-drupa
About Pitney Bowes:
Delivering more than 90 years of innovation, Pitney Bowes provides software, hardware and services that integrate physical and digital communications channels. Long known for making its customers more productive, Pitney Bowes is increasingly helping other companies grow their business through advanced customer communications management. Pitney Bowes is a $5.3 billion company and employs more than 29,000 worldwide. Pitney Bowes: Every connection is a new opportunity™. www.pb.com/


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Digital Wallet Abra Adds 5 More Altcoins Bringing Total To 25 Supported Cryptocurrencies
Digital wallet and exchange service Abra has announced the addition of five cryptocurrencies to its platform, now letting users buy, sell and invest across 25 cryptocurrencies and 50 national currencies, the company announced on Tuesday.
Monero, NEM, NEO, Lisk and Verge are joining 20 other cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Dash and Ethereum. The move follows the addition of seven cryptocurrencies which Abra added just last month as the company looks to provide customers with the widest range of cryptocurrencies as well as the easiest way for them to gain access to this emerging market.
Bill Barhydt, founder and CEO of Abra, said that by adding five other cryptocurrencies to the already robust list of cryptocurrencies Abra supports, the company continues to offer exposure to assets that have traditionally been difficult to access in a simple and secure way.
“The demand from our users for additional altcoins has been incredibly high, and our goal is to continue adding more cryptocurrency options and ultimately democratize access to financial services and all asset classes,” Barhydt said.
Founded in 2014, Abra is a non-custodial wallet supports both conventional currencies such as USD, EUR and JPY, as well as cryptocurrencies. The platform uses Bitcoin and blockchain technology to allow users to deposit, withdraw and transfer funds using a digital cash wallet stored directly on their smartphones. The model is entirely peer-to-peer with no middleman ever holding, managing or touching the funds at any point in any transaction.
Abra built a platform using stablecoins that facilitates holding both national currencies as well as cryptocurrencies through a combination of Bitcoin and Litecoin based smart contracts. This multi-signature smart contract-based investment platform uses P2SH scripts on the Bitcoin and Litecoin blockchains that simulate investment contracts the way a gold ETF is a contract based on USD. Abra acts as the counterparty to the P2SH scripts, and the company runs a market making operation that hedges away its counterparty risk on these contracts.
“Abra’s contract-based investment platform enables us to quickly add new synthetic assets to the app once they pass our rigid analysis around liquidity, contract market making, and other objective factors,” the company wrote in a blog post. “We are working on adding more digital assets, so feel free to let us know … which cryptocurrencies you want to see on Abra in the future.”
Abra claims to have users from 75 countries transacting on its platform, the most active of which being the US, the UK, the Philippines, Canada, Australia, and Germany. Its most popular cryptocurrencies by transaction volume are Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Stellar.


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AirPlay allows iPhone, iPad or Mac users to beam audio and video to a television using an Apple TV box. So if you’re watching a video through Hulu Plus on an iPad, or looking through the camera roll on an iPhone, you can play that content on the big screen with the press of a button. The key is that there’s no setup process. You just press the AirPlay button, and it works.
That simplicity is exactly what Google is aiming for with a new feature in Google TV, which lets users send a YouTube video from their Android phones or tablets to the big screen just by pushing a button. (Here’s an interactive website from Google that simulates the feature in action.)
Although Google has dabbled with remote playback before, previously users had to pair their devices using a nine-digit code. Now, as long as both devices are on the same network, they’re paired automatically. The feature is rolling out to LG’s Google TVs now, and will come to other devices, such as the Vizio Co-Star, in the coming months
The ability to fling YouTube videos onto a television represents just a fraction of what AirPlay can do, but it’s a start. Also, this isn’t the first sign that Google is trying bridge the gap between mobile devices and TVs. In July, GigaOM reported that Google was, in fact, planning a full-blown AirPlay competitor, starting with YouTube videos and eventually becoming available in third-party apps. That rumor, based on unnamed sources, appears to be coming to fruition.
This week, GigaOM followed up on that story, with comments on the new YouTube feature from project manager Timbo Drayson:
But it is not stopping there. Drayson told me that Google is “actively working with other companies” to turn this into an open standard, which could be used on other platforms and for other apps as well.
And it’s not just about remote control functionality and beaming a video from your mobile phone to the TV we are talking about. The new protocol makes it possible for data to flow in both directions, Drayson explained, which would enable developers to build second-screen experiences that correspond to what’s happening on live TV as well. Also on the roadmap: beaming content from your laptop to your TV screen.
It’s worth noting that Google still hasn’t made any big announcements about a possible AirPlay competitor. It hasn’t even come up with a catchy, Apple-like name for whatever this thing might be. Still, it’s hard to believe that Google isn’t working on something bigger than what exists today. AirPlay is one of the big selling points for Apple TV, and it could be a major feature if Apple ever builds its own television. Meanwhile, Microsoft has built its own Xbox companion app called SmartGlass, which works on iPhone, Android, Windows Phone and Windows 8 tablets.
There’s just one complication: Google’s method doesn’t work the same way as AirPlay. Instead of streaming from one device to the other, the Android device simply sends instructions to Google TV, telling it which YouTube video to play and letting the user control playback remotely. (It’s more like SmartGlass in that sense.) With AirPlay, however, the actual content is transferred between devices over Wi-Fi, so not only can you send a song or video, you can also mirror your iPhone or iPad’s display on the larger screen.
Google may have an answer for true screen mirroring in the form of Miracast, a new wireless standard that works over Wi-Fi networks. Miracast has also been hailed as an AirPlay competitor, and Google added support for it in Android 4.2. Still, it will take some time for Miracast support to take hold in phones, tablets, set-top boxes and televisions.
The question is, how will Google tie all of this together? The nice thing about
AirPlay is that it’s all-encompassing. Whether you’re sharing a photo, video, song, or mirroring your entire display, AirPlay is the catch-all, and barring DRM restrictions from some content publishers, it generally works in all sorts of applications. Building a credible Android alternative to AirPlay won’t be easy. At least all signs point to Google trying.


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Almost 40% of sellers targeted by councils sold vaping goods to under-age teenagers in 2018-19.Read more
BBC Victoria Derbyshire programme
BBC News Online
Cornwall Council’s Trading Standards team is warning people not to deal with a gang selling garden furniture from a white hire van bearing the “Enterprise Rental” logo.
The advice follows reports of the gang approaching residents in Feock earlier.
“Typically the gang will claim that they have excess stocks to sell, items left over from new-build properties or some similar excuse. Cold calling to offer garden furniture is a new version but the same risks and warnings apply. In reality there is no idea where the garden furniture has come from, no guarantee as to the quality and even a risk that it may be second-hand. They certainly will not be a bargain. And, of course, the gang will be here today and gone tomorrow so any guarantee they promise will be worthless and there will be no chance of getting a refund if problems are found.”
Cornwall Council is reminding members of the public never to deal with anyone offering goods from the back of a van or from people who knock at the door without an appointment.


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WILLIAMSBURG — A new app is letting you shop local this holiday season — without needing to schlep around dozens of stores.
Shophood, an app that launched Friday, lets you browse 16,000 items from 40 Williamsburg stores, ranging from artisanal cheeses and locally-made jewelry to clothing and kitchenware.
Its co-founders hope the app will combine shopping locally with the ease of browsing online.
"The perfect gift is probably just right around the corner," said co-founder of Shophood Lukas Thoms, 25.
"Local stores really are the best place to shop. [But] often they're scattered all over your neighborhood and you may not know where they are, let alone what they carry."
The app doesn't allow buying online, but shoppers can find what they want before the head to the store.
With its plethora of small, independent stores, Williamsburg was a natural place to launch Shophood, Thoms said, though it's hoped it will expand into Greenpoint and other Brooklyn neighborhoods.
Once you add an item to your cart, the app checks with the store's inventory to make sure the item is in stock before you head out.
"It's a pretty great idea considering how Williamsburg is being inundated with a bunch of corporate buisnesses." said Emily Tigges, 32, a manager at Smoochie Baby at 110 Berry St, one of the 40 stores included in the app.
"It's really nice to see something that's directed toward your mom and pop shops."


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Tesla’s recently launched home battery solutions generate enough power to light a home for up to five hours. Such batteries, which store renewable energy, could come in handy to transform Africa’s power supply, suggests a report from the Guardian by Christine Mungai.
Initiative from Tesla could do wonders for Africa
Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed previously that his company had Africa in mind while developing the wall-mounted energy source. Similar to the mobile revolution, the new battery solutions for a home or business could help Africans to test the limits of the grid.
Dan Loeb's Third Point returned 11% in its flagship Offshore Fund and 13.2% in its Ultra Fund for the first quarter. For April, the Offshore Fund was up 1.7%, while the Ultra Fund gained 2.3%. The S&P 500 was up 6.2% for the first quarter, while the MSCI World Index gained 5%. Q1 2021 hedge Read More
In order to help the technology achieve scale, Tesla promised to release it in the public domain, which will allow more manufacturers to utilize the framework and come up with even better solutions. For now, 10 and a 7-kilowatt hour versions cost $3,500 and $3,000 respectively, but as more players come in, the prices could drop significantly.
Africa has potential for battery revolution
As per the report, Africa has the resources to become a global center for green energy. Geographically, the region has the resources needed for going green including deserts, strong winds, an arid interior and geothermal reserves.
Of note, the region is witnessing a boom in the technology hubs, and presently, Africa has at least 90 such hubs across the continent. Moreover, large tech firms such as Facebook and Google have plans to make wireless Internet to large parts of the population by using drones or hot-air balloons. Together, a combination of Tesla solar panel batteries and drone/balloon internet could do wonders for the region.
According to the report, the local power and internet access could even make the idea of smart tech city obsolete. The new batteries could be used to create a mini-tech hub or replace workplaces. This could result in mobile, “guerrilla-style” workplaces “anywhere in urban or rural Africa, like a flash mob for geeks,” notes the report.
Also, taking parts of Africa off-grid with the help of Tesla batteries would lower the public pressure on the national governments to provide infrastructure and services to its people.


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After growing two percent in 2017, Canarchy Craft Brewery Collective – a consortium of beer companies formed by Oskar Blues and Fireman Capital Partners following investments in Cigar City Brewing, Perrin Brewing and Utah Brewers Cooperative – has brought in a pair of C-level executives to “develop necessary and scalable infrastructure” within the organization.
“We’ve built this business by breaking bottlenecks,” Oskar Blues Brewery founder Dale Katechis said via a press release. “Now’s the time to weld on industry expertise and experienced executives to lead this pirate ship to the next level.”
Canarchy has tapped outsider David Pillsbury, who most recently served as the CEO of the Laser Spine Institute, as its new chief executive. Patrick Daugherty, who spent 17 years with ad agency The Integer Group, was also named Canarchy’s CMO last July.
In addition to leading day-to-day operations, Pillsbury, who spent about 11 years as the president of the PGA Tour, will be tasked with helping CANarachy “expand and improve collaboration amongst breweries,” a release noted.
“He was hand-selected by Dale and the breweries and brings the right kind of cross-functional leadership and executive skills to help lead the Canarchy collective to the next stage of growth,” marketing director Chad Melis told Brewbound.
Katechis, meanwhile, will continue to shape the strategy and long-term vision of the group.
“This move will allow Dale to focus on the larger stuff, without having to worry about the day-to-day responsibilities of CEO position,” Melis added.
The new hires come as the Canarchy breweries have grown to a combined 350,000 barrels.
Despite slowing category-wide growth and a myriad of headwinds blowing against mid-sized craft breweries, Canarchy now boasts the top two independent canned craft beers sold in six-packs — Jai Alai IPA and Dale’s Pale Ale – and emerged from challenging 2017 up about two percent.
“It’s tough going out there, particularly for the small and mid-sized companies,” Melis told Brewbound. “But we are in a good spot. We have a group of breweries of different sizes and different maturities. We are competing in so many different geographies and can play the quality and local cards.”
Oskar Blues produced about 180,000 barrels in 2017, according to Melis, and Florida’s Cigar City grew production by 42 percent, to 92,000 barrels. Meanwhile, the Utah Brewers Cooperative – which consists of the Squatters and Wasatch brands — produced about 54,000 barrels of beer while Michigan’s Perrin Brewing made about 23,000 barrels, Melis said.
“There are challenges, but that is what we hope the collective Canarchy platform will help us combat and compete against,” he added.
As it looks ahead to 2018, Melis said the company would continue to consider acquisition as a part of its growth strategy.
“We are absolutely open and looking to do so,” he said. “We have tried to be more strategic, and it has been a dynamic couple of years in the market, but we have learned a lot. We are solidifying as a group and understanding the platform much better. The opportunity for different brands to join, that are a cultural fit and will add to the overall strength of the platform, is something we are actively looking for.”
Additional information, including growth statistics on individual Canarachy brands, is included in the press release below.
LONGMONT, Colo., – Jan. 23, 2018 – CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective, a disruptive collective of like-minded craft brewers, kicks 2018 off as the largest supplier of independent craft beer in a can. In 2017, Cigar City Brewing’s Jai Alai IPA and Oskar Blues’ Dale’s Pale Ale led CANarchy as the #1 and #2 craft can six-packs sold in the nation. The portfolio of craft breweries including Oskar Blues Brewery, Cigar City Brewing, Perrin Brewing Company, Squatters Craft Beer and Wasatch Brewery collectively brewed nearly 350,000 bbls in 2017. The brewery group changed its name late last year to CANarchy to better reflect the goal behind the collective – to be the number one provider of independent craft beer in a can.
Since joining CANarchy, Cigar City Brewing has experienced significant increases in their distribution and overall production through the collective’s developed and supported national distribution networks. This year, the Tampa-based brewery doubled their out-of-state availability from 6 to 12 states and increased shipments 43% from 65,000 bbls to 92,000 bbls. The trend is supported by the dominant hold on their home state of Florida and the growing demand of Jai Alai IPA as they expand their footprint across the U.S.
Oskar Blues Brewery, home of the Original Craft Beer in a Can, saw a 10% increase in Texas following the opening of their Austin brewery, which hosts the Tasty Weasel Taproom and live music venue. They also increased production at their Brevard N.C. brewery by 20% in the past year. In total, Oskar Blues brewed 180,000 bbls in 2017 led by flagship brew Dale’s Pale Ale, showing solid growth of 9.7% in Total US Multi-Outlet + Convenience. PINNER Throwback IPA experienced 90% growth in large format packages transitioning from 12-packs to 16-packs in 2017. The brewery recently updated the packaging of its full line of 12 and 16-packs with a bold, yet classic new look, and gave Mama’s Little Yella Pils a facelift to focus more specifically on the pilsner style.
Michigan’s Perrin Brewing Company continues to establish itself as a major player in the Midwest. In 2017, they experienced 20% growth (MI Food) in their home state and +22% in IRI’s Great Lakes Region.
Squatters Craft Beer and Wasatch Brewery, both based in Utah, have been quietly defying odds with great beers since the 1980’s. Both experienced rising trends on their flagship brands – nearly +20% on Hop Rising Double IPA and +16% on Apricot Hefeweizen.
With the increased operational growth, CANarchy tapped two industry leaders to further bolster the team with the appointment of David Pillsbury as Chief Executive Officer and Patrick Daugherty as Chief Marketing Officer. Pillsbury brings more than 30 years of domestic and international leadership across multiple operating companies in diverse disciplines. Daugherty brings 25 years of marketing experience in beverage alcohol, most recently holding the title of Executive Vice President at The Integer Group where he led the strategic and creative services team charged with marketing the agency’s largest client, MillerCoors.
“We’ve built this business by breaking bottlenecks. Now’s the time to weld on industry expertise and experienced executives to lead this pirate ship to the next level,” said Dale Katechis, Soul Founder of Oskar Blues Brewery. “I’ll continue to stoke the entrepreneurial spirit, vision, cultural inspiration and storytelling at Oskar Blues and the CANarchy platform. David’s main objective will be working with the founders and leaders of each team to expand and improve collaboration amongst breweries while developing necessary and scalable infrastructure within CANarchy.”
The CANarchy “See E Oh”(CEO) and Chief Marketing Officer are newly created roles intended to support the goal of craft breweries working together to preserve craft beer culture and bring quality, innovative flavors to beer drinkers worldwide. Pillsbury and Daugherty will be based at the CANarchy headquarters in Longmont, Colorado.
To keep up with the CANarchy collective of craft breweries visit https://www.canarchy.beer.
CANarchy achieved the #1 supplier of independent craft beer in a can with verified info using the combined total US multi outlet data and a broad cross section of national liquor data.
Founded in 2015, CANarchy is a disruptive collective of like-minded brewers dedicated to bringing quality and innovative flavors to beer drinkers in the name of independent craft beer. The portfolio of craft breweries, partially funded by Fireman Capital Partners, including Oskar Blues Brewery, Perrin Brewing Company, Cigar City Brewing, Squatters Craft Beer and Wasatch Brewery, ischallenging corporate convention to preserve independent craft beer culture. CANarchy is the #1 provider of American craft beer in a can by bringing value to distributors, retailers and beer drinkers. Cigar City Brewing’s Jai Alai IPA and Oskar Blues’ Dale’s Pale Ale are currently the #1 and #2 sold craft can six packs in U.S. Grocery. The CANarchy platform brewed nearly 350,000 bbls in 2017, reaching all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., parts of Canada, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, the U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Brazil, and South Korea. https://www.canarchy.beer


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As many of you are aware by now, the coronavirus outbreak has impacted the world in more ways than one. Travel has been affected, people have died, and of course the market has also been affected where companies have been forced to suspend operations to help prevent further spreading of the virus.
Apple themselves have also warned that they might miss their own revenue guidance, but it seems that the Cupertino company isn’t alone. According to analysis by TrendForce, they are suggesting that the coronavirus outbreak could have a very huge negative impact on the smartphone industry as a whole.
They are predicting that smartphone production could shrink by as much as 12% this quarter, and that smartphone shipments for 2020 will be around 1.381 billion units. This represents a 1.3% decline and will be the lowest output since 2016, making it the lowest the industry has seen in the past five years. TrendForce also cautions that it is possible that the numbers could actually be lower than they predict.
That being said, it shouldn’t be surprising that they are predicting this. This is because many smartphone makers rely heavily on China for production. Also, Huawei is one of the world’s largest smartphone makers and they are also based in China. The industry will more than likely recover eventually, but don’t be surprised if it becomes harder to purchase your favorite smartphone this year.


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NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Net shares turned lower by midday Wednesday after an early morning run, but the buying continued for shares of Akamai and Lycos.
The 17-stock Goldman Sachs Internet Index lost 1.7 percent, after adding 0.7 percent Tuesday. The Amex Internet Index slipped 0.9 percent, after gaining 0.8 percent Tuesday.
"The key going forward, from a technical standpoint, is whether the Net leaders can hold their recent lows," said Mike Hurley, a technical analyst at E-Offering. Yahoo yhoo shares lost 8 7/16 to 161 9/16. Shares traded as low as 156 on Tuesday. "It's technically important to see Yahoo hold its lows in the mid-150's," he said.
AOL and Time synergies?
But to have access to AOL's network, Akamai will also make guaranteed payments to AOL, the company said. Akamai has over 2,000 servers deployed around the world. The company would not comment on the financial structure of the deal or how many more servers it would deploy as a result of the AOL deal.
Akamai currently serves content for many of Time Warner's TWX, +0.00% properties, including CNN Interactive. Time Warner is in the process of being acquired by AOL. Akamai will only be serving up content for the customers that it has already signed on. Akamai also has a strategic alliance with cable broadband online service Road Runner, a joint venture among affiliates of Time Warner, Media One Group, Microsoft, Compaq, Advance/Newhouse.
Last week, Akamai said it's buying Intervu itvu for $2.8 billion in stock in a move to bring added streaming capabilities to Akamai's existing offerings. On Wednesday, Time Warner chose Intervu to deliver highlights of Winter Goodwill Games over the Web.
Shares of Intervu jumped 13 1/2, or 11 percent, to 137 1/2.
Currently, AOL buys its caching solution product from Inktomi inkt. Shares of Inktomi rose 3 1/8, or 3 percent, to 117 1/16. The Akamai and AOL deal is independent of AOL's main network operations, which include Inktomi's caches. "AOL is still caching the vast majority of content using Inktomi and we continue to be an important partner," said Kevin Brown, an Inktomi spokesperson.
Content distributio company Digital Island isld fell 4 15/16, or 5 percent, to 105 1/4.
Lycos lcos shares rose 3 9/16, or 5 percent, to 72 5/8 after the company posted better-than-expected earnings for the fiscal second quarter. The Internet portal earned $3 million, or 3 cents a share. Analysts polled by First Call expected Lycos to earn a penny. The profit reverses a loss of $1.6 million, or 2 cents, in last year's comparable quarter. Revenue jumped to $68.6 million, up 120 percent from a year ago, and up 23 percent from the previous quarter.
Lycos generated 122 million page views per day around the world, with the U.S. accounting for 101 million of those page views. Just to put that into perspective, Yahoo generated 465 million in page views in the fourth quarter of last year. Yahoo also generated $57 million in profits in that period.
TheStreet.com has hired investment bank Wasserstein Perella & Co. to advise the financial news Internet company on strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the company. TheStreet.com tscm added 13/16 to 16 13/16.
The company was founded in 1996 by fund manager James Cramer and Martin Peretz, chairman of the New Republic. Cramer, Peretz, Softbank, and The New York Times Company " own minority interests. See full story.
Hosting and ASP combos
Digex digx jumped 8 1/2, or 7 percent, to 125 to extend its recent gains. Shares took off Monday after PaineWebber analyst John Hodulik raised his 12-month price target by nearly 25 percent to $130.
"It's the best positioned company in the managed Web hosting space and it has an excellent business model that's very well suited to take share as enterprise customers and ASPs become a larger portion of the growth.
The leading Web hosting firm Exodus exds added 2 3/4 to 121 1/8. While both Digex and Exodus target the same Fortune 2000 customer base, Exodus offers co-location services as opposed to managed hosting. Co-location is when the customer owns the servers and places them in Exodus' datacenter. In a managed hosting environment, which Digex offers, a customer doesn't own the servers but instead contracts with Digex to manage and maintain the machines.
Healtheon HLTH, +0.17% lost 3/4 to 67 7/8. Shares surged 22 percent Tuesday as investors began to react to "Healtheon's acquisition of CareInsite," said Daren Marhula, an Internet analyst at U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, who upgraded Healtheon to a "strong buy" on Monday following the e-health firm's purchase of CareInsite.
"Healtheon is the undisputable leader in this market now, and this machine will keep rolling," said Marhula. Additionally, CareInsite announced Tuesday that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts became a new client. "This proves that CareInsite can expand outside the New York and New Jersey area," said Marhula.


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By Reginald Allen
For The Birmingham Times
Alchemy 213 held the grand opening of its store in Five Points South earlier this month with a number of city and business leaders on hand.
The official ribbon cutting featured remarks from Five Points Board Chairman Steve Alexander, Birmingham City Council President Valerie Abbott and REV Birmingham President and CEO David Fleming.
The boutique is located at 1923 11 Ave S. and is part of the resurgence of retail in the Southside hub.
Rooted in high-end street wear, Alchemy launched its flagship location in the heart of Downtown Birmingham on 20th North in 2015. Inspired by owner Ace Graham’s residency as a fashion brand consultant in Bologna, Italy, the boutique specializes in European fashion, offering an assortment of high-end brands Nike, New Balance, Kappa, PUMA and Champion.
Despite securing a building downtown, Graham always had his eye on the coveted retail space on the Southside.
“For me, even when we were on 20th St., this is the place that I wanted to work,” Graham said during the grand opening. “There just was no space available . . . I hawked this place for weeks trying to get in here because I knew this was the best place for us. With us being a boutique business, we can’t work in a mall. We can’t work in a traditional strip mall because our accounts won’t allow us to do that, so we had to be here and we felt like there was no other place in Birmingham that we would want to be other than here. It’s just a dream come true.”
Alexander said 10 vacant spaces have already been leased in November and hopes that Alchemy’s relocation will serve as a catalyst for more retail businesses to flock to Five Points. The clothing store now resides in the 16,000 sq. ft. space once occupied by Magnolia’s Card shop.
“We are so excited and thrilled that you’ve [Graham] taken this space and this beautiful reincarnation of it for us here at Five Points South,” Alexander said. “It’s really key to bring more retail back into Five Points.”
Abbott added the boutique will add a dash of flair to the district, which is mostly comprised of eateries and bar establishments.
“You know, I like bars and restaurants as much as anybody but there’s nothing like retail,” Abbott said. “I’m hanging at the hardware store a lot, so you can see that I need some new place to visit in Five Points and I’m getting ready to retire, so I’ll need more upscale casual clothing.”
The grand opening festivities continued with an evening mixer of fashion, music and art sponsored by Birmingham Mountain Radio. With the new location, Graham said he hopes to have more events like this, including popular mainstay “Summertime Sundays”, an exhibition for local artists and musicians.
In 2017, Alchemy was one of 14 stores to receive a collective capsule of merchandise, commemorating the 20th anniversary of Jay Z’s “Reasonable Doubt.”
For additional information on Alchemy 213, visit Alchemy213.com.


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Aristocrat Partners with Inspired to Launch Virtual NFL Games
Aristocrat Gaming, the gaming supplier, has announced it will partner with Inspired Entertainment in a deal to launch its virtual NFL sports offering.
Aristocrat has a multi-year licensing agreement already in place with the NFL, which allows for a game to provide simulated matches between NFL teams.
Under the terms of the deal, the developers have access to the logos and marks of all 32 NFL teams in the franchise. As well as the Super Bowl and Conference logos, which will make the virtual games more realistic and enhance the experience for players.
Players of the virtual NFL games will have the chance to wager on these games, with many of the popular bets available, including regular moneyline wagers, the over/under total points markets, and a variety of touchdown betting.
We are delighted to work with the NFL and Aristocrat Gaming on this historic new simulated gaming experience to bring fans a unique way to connect with the game, even in the off-season. We look forward to launching this partnership and reaching millions of NFL fans with exciting entertainment options both online and in retail.
The collaboration between Aristocrat Gaming and the NFL sees the addition of a potential NFL customer base of 500 million fans worldwide. This deal will give Aristocrat the opportunity to bring its titles to a new audience and raise brand awareness.
Through Inspired, this NFL license expansion into virtual sports presents a ground-breaking entertainment option that's never been done before, As part of our overall NFL strategy, we are thrilled to tap into the global appeal the NFL offers to current and new fans and casino, sports betting, and lottery players.


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Cigarette manufacturer Gold Leaf Tobacco Company (GLTC) accounts for 75.1% of sales below the minimum tax rate and what the National Tobacco Market Study released on Thursday suspects to be illicit trade.
One of the brands of the Johannesburg-based company is now the second biggest selling in the country.
According to the report, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) is losing over R7bn this year to illicit tobacco trade.
“Cigarettes selling at prices below the minimum tax owed to SARS, which is R17.85 per pack, were found in almost 3 out of 4 informal shops,” said Francois van der Merwe, Chairperson of the Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa (TISA).
He said it was impossible for traders to sell at such low rates, unless there was no tax paid for the product.
The study conducted by Ipsos revealed that illicit traders could have made over R15bn in the last three years.
Illegal cigarettes cost as little as R5 per pack, and sold in more than 100 000 shops across the county, according to the report.
One of GLTC's cigarette brands, RG, is the second biggest selling brand in the country after Peter Stuyvesant, which is owned by British American Tobacco.
Other popular GLTC brands are Savannah, Sharp, Chicago and Sahawi. The GLTC manufacturing plant is officially licenced by SARS.
Van der Merwe stated that the flow of illegal trade had mushroomed since the disbanding of a unit by SARS investigating illicit trade in tobacco under the suspended commissioner Tom Moyane.
“Trouble started in 2014 when Project Honeybadger was terminated, creating an opportunity for operators to flourish,” he said.
The report stated that the legal tobacco volumes dropped 15% since 2015, as a result of the demise of the SARS investigating unit.
Van der Merwe said companies selling “ultra-cheap” brands had developed highly efficient distribution systems.
The tobacco institute TISA recommended a ban on cigarette sales below the tax level, and called for stricter monitoring in manufacturing plants.
The tobacco industry has a market value of R28.8bn and supports 8 000 to 10 000 jobs in the agricultural sector and more than 179 000 wholesalers and retailers.
SARS is ramping up efforts to implement compliance programmes aimed at curbing the illegal tobacco businesses and has recently announced plans to reopen dedicated investigative teams to probe the illicit trade.
In May, the Hawks told the Standing Committee on Finance that they were investigating 394 cases of illicit tobacco trade for the 2017/18 year.
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text: After receiving mixed reviews of Jeremy Scott’s latest sneaker design Adidas has decided to scratch its’ release. The Adidas Roundhouse Mid ‘Handcuff’ has come under fire for its’ use of ankle shackles, while some have said this sneaker takes a low blow to slavery, Adidas has played it off as just another one of Scott’s crazy and 1-of-a-kind designs. Either way these will not see their August release date as the brand has decided to go with public opinion and not release these controversial kicks. We only have two questions, what will happen to the samples or if these have already been produced what will happen to those? There’s a possibility a few pairs of these could pop up on eBay soon.


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Articles byPage 1
What do consumers actually want?
The foods consumers say they're seeking and what they choose in the end aren’t necessarily the same.
CU Boulder named an industry leader in tech
The university and other winners of a tech accelerator award are using technology to revolutionize their business models and reshape the customer experience.


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Ciclope Director Francisco Condorelli discusses Buenos Aires advertising festival
The second Ciclope advertising festival will take place in Buenos Aires from November 14th to 16th. Its full name is the Ciclope International Advertising Craft Festival and festival director Francisco Condorelli talked to TLG about how it celebrates the craft of storytelling in commercial production.
This year’s event will be held in Palermo in Buenos Aires. Jurors will include Brian Carmody, Co-Founder of Smuggler, Stephen Venning, Executive Producer at The Mill, Lyle Greenfield, Founder of Bang Music, and Erik Verheijen of Wieden & Kennedy.
The industry is not so aware how important it is to give recognition to production companies, especially because even the best idea can easily be killed with bad execution.
Francisco Condorelli, Ciclope
Francisco comments: “The industry is not so aware how important it is to give recognition to production companies, especially because even the best idea can easily be killed with bad execution. It’s time to stop considering production as ‘service’ and to start talking about this as an art: the art of telling stories in 30 seconds.
“This is a new way of judging, because the jury evaluates the art behind an execution, and not an idea so, naturally, the honoured is the production company and not the agency. Lastly, there is a time and space to talk, to learn and to have fun.”
The Location Guide is excited to be a media partner of the event and it’s great to be involved with a festival that focuses specifically on the talents of commercial production companies.
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Scottish Business Briefing – October 25th 2012
WELCOME to scotsman.com’s Scottish Business Briefing. Every morning we bring you a comprehensive round-up of all news affecting business in Scotland today.
Scottish manufacturers hit at home and abroad
THE weak economy has taken its toll on Scottish manufacturing firms in recent months, with official figures showing a decline in exports and a key survey revealing a sharp slowdown in domestic orders.
ENERGY & UTILITIES
ScottishPower chief Galan hits out at Cameron over price controls
WESTMINSTER plans to force big power firms to offer their cheapest price plans to customers were branded anti-competitive by Ignacio Galan, chairman of ScottishPower parent firm Iberdrola, yesterday.
Paradigm wins cash to develop tools
Scottish firm Paradigm Drilling Services said yesterday it had secured £250,000 of funding through the Technology Strategy Board for its drilling tool solutions. The Smart development-of-prototype grant will allow the expanding business to develop rotary traction systems for use in extended-reach horizontal drilling and in completion applications.
Hunter acts over retail debts as he switches investment focus
SIR Tom Hunter’s West Coast Capital has absorbed £151 million of debts owed by its retail investment subsidiary, and appears poised to do a similar deal to relieve pressure at its property arm. Accounts filed for West Coast Capital (WCC) reveal that it completed a debt-for-equity swap after net debt reached £239.6m by the close of the financial year to 31 January.
Debenhams sees annual profits rise
Department store chain Debenhams has reported a rise in full year profits despite “challenging trading conditions”. Pre-tax profits for the year to 1 September rose 4.2% to £158.3m. Debenhams said that the warm, dry autumn and cold, wet spring had hit demand for seasonal products, especially clothing.
IndigoVision founder sells his £8m stake
INDIGOVISION founder Oliver Vellacott, who tried unsuccessfully to engineer a management buyout of the stock market-listed technology company, has sold his £8 million stake to institutional investors.
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Weather for Edinburgh
Wednesday 19 June 2013
Temperature: 9 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: West
Temperature: 12 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: East


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- Google searches may decide your Facebook ads
- Facebook to recognise, share your music, TV shows
- Behind the mass Facebook exodus
Facebook will now use personal information gathered from your activities elsewhere on the web to more precisely target advertisements on the social network.
Given Facebook's extensive reach around the globe, the development has alarmed privacy advocates who are asking US regulators review the matter.
In an effort to quiet concerns, Facebook said it would let users see why certain ads pop up in their News Feeds, similar to what Google does. Users can then add or remove an interest to make the ads more relevant.
Facebook made the announcement in a blog post on Thursday.
With its "like" buttons on websites across the web, Facebook has been able to keep tabs on what its 1.3 billion users are doing. But this is the first time the company will use people's browsing history to target ads on its service.
The company is looking to ramp up revenue as it competes with Google for ad dollars.
Facebook said users have asked to see ads that are more relevant to them.
"Let's say that you're thinking about buying a new TV, and you start researching TVs on the web and in mobile apps. We may show you ads for deals on a TV to help you get the best price or other brands to consider. And because we think you're interested in electronics, we may show you ads for other electronics in the future, like speakers or a game console to go with your new TV," the company said.
But, if you are not interested in a new TV, a tool that you can click on each ad will explain why you are seeing the ad and all you to make changes, Facebook said.
Giving people the opportunity to fine tune their personal information and see more relevant ads could also boost Facebook's ad sales.
But most US online consumers don't want to trade their personal data for more relevant ads, according to a recent survey by Consumer Reports.
The survey found 76% of consumers said it was of little or no value to them that ads on the websites they visit or in the apps they use show products and services that match their interests.
While this new program is initially only launching in the US, Facebook has plans to expand it globally "in the coming months". A self-regulating online advertsing body, of which Facebook is a part, currently allows US users to opt out of having their browsing history mined for the purposes of advertising.
For years, Facebook has dealt with qualms over how it handles the hoard of personal information it keeps on users. That concern has come to the attention of regulators.
In 2012, it settled charges with the US Federal Trade Commission that it had deceived consumers. Under the settlement, Facebook is required to get the consent of users before making changes to its privacy settings. It's also subject to 20 years of independent privacy audits.
"Allowing companies subject to legal orders to disregard their privacy commitments to consumers must end," said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.


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Since 2011, Fizz Creations, in Commerce Way, Lancing has been producing toys and games, which it sells to major high-street retailers including Argos, Tesco and BHS, as well as more than 50 countries overseas.
The firm is owned by brothers Dominic, Lawrence and Paul Boon. They have invested in a new warehouse, next to the existing one, and created eight additional jobs following a £525,000 loan from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.
Dominic said: “When we started Fizz Creations three years ago my brothers and I had no idea it would grow to be this successful.”
The brothers do not intend to stop there, and plans are already underway to make Fizz Creations an even larger enterprise in Lancing.
“We’re hoping to secure a further £1.5million funding package this year to combine our two warehouses into one super warehouse that will serve as a central base for all our international operations.”
Elliot Brown, relationship manager at Lloyds Bank, said: “Fizz Creations is a great example of an ambitious, family-run business that started out as a small venture and has since grown into a really successful, global brand.
“Expanding to new premises or taking on extra work space is a great way for a business to expand, and provides opportunities to increase services or help day-to-day operations run much more smoothly and efficiently.”
Dominic added: “The support we’ve received from Lloyds Bank has been second-to-none.
“We’ve banked with them for many years now and the relationship team really understands our business and goals.”
With a core team of 25 members of staff, Fizz Creations also has an international office in Hong Kong.
Fizz Creations was born out of the need to be different and the idea that all products they design should stand out from the rest.
To learn more about the company, visit www.fizzcreations.co.uk


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The Streaming Wars are fought in number of subscribers, and these are the figures of Netflix, HBO, Disney +, Apple TV + and Amazon Prime Video . Sure you know who the leader is, but who is his imminent rival?
In the Streaming Wars, the numbers are what count. How many subscribers does Netflix have? What about HBO, Disney +, Apple TV + and Amazon Prime Video? By this we do not mean that the content is not important. Obviously, having good series and movies, and that they are relevant, is essential to get subscribers, but it is this last value that appears in all the articles of specialists who narrate the battle between streaming services , and who theorise with the position that it will occupy each one in not so many years. The leader is still Netflix, but Disney + may be its great rival in the not so long term. What about the others?
203.7 million subscribers
According to the most recent information, at the end of January, from expert media such as Variety , Netflix currently has 203.7 million subscribers worldwide, far exceeding the expectations of the last quarter of 2020, during which it added more than 8 million users. Being number 1 as the online platform with the most subscribers gives its executives some peace of mind, although the domestic figure, that of the US, is the one that worries the most, because it has grown the least in recent quarters. However, it may already have reached business maturity there, while in the rest of the world it continues to evolve .
140 million subscribers
8 million subscribers on HBO Now
HBO’s is a special case because in some countries it combines the linear broadcast on its traditional cable chain with the catalog of its streaming service. The most recent data affirms that HBO registered 140 million subscribers at the end of 2018 , 35 of them in the United States, a base that will be key for the 2020 landing of HBO Max, the platform with which WarnerMedia, its owner, wants to impose itself. as a rival to match. That is their great challenge for the future, the adaptation (technical and brand) from one to the other . HBO Now, the online version for which it is not necessary to be registered on cable, has an approximate figure of 8 million subscribers.
100 million subscribers
Disney + is undoubtedly the most expensive upstart who can plant the leaders. At the end of 2020 we learned that the audiovisual eminence had reached 86.8 million subscribers , in just six months of operation, almost double that of last March, exceeding all expectations. In January 2021 that number rose to 94.9 million and now, less than a year and a half after its launch, it has exceeded 100 million. It is the effect of its recent international expansion: in Spain, for example, it landed on March 24. Although the platform executives have not assured it, it is also possible that Wandavision had a lot to do with this new milestone. The insiders, They say Mickey Mouse House will be the fastest growing service in the next five years , and we understand that. Its content is already known to all and plays with the trump card of nostalgia.
Apple TV +
33 million subscribers
Apple’s original fiction service has been with us for a short time , since last November, so what makes the most sense is to compare their numbers with those of Disney +. But we do not have official figures. The American portals have echoed the study that an agency that affirms that Apple TV + already registers 33 million subscribers. It is something that we have to take with a grain of salt, since their titles, being new, are not as well known as those of Disney +. That is the company’s challenge: to position series and films in the media arena.
Amazon Prime Video
150 million subscribers
Currently, the platform that most rivals the number of Netflix subscribers, the one that occupies the second position, is Amazon Prime Video , although the measurements are not as exact as in previous cases. Recall that Prime Video is a service included in Amazon’s Prime subscription, which recently celebrated 150 million subscribers . However, having Prime is not the same as watching Amazon Prime Video. Entering this field, an independent study collected in expert media ensures that its series and films are seen by 96 million viewers.


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December 26, 2014
The banking industry is encountering various disruptive forces - including stiff regulations, the proliferation of online lending and innovative new lending activities - that bankers should monitor if they want to capitalize on existing opportunities.
USPS banking foray
A perfect example of one development that could significantly impact the sector is the suggestion that the U.S. Postal Service begin offering consumers financial products including small loans, prepaid cards and remittances, according to American Banker.
In January, the Postal Service's Office of Inspector General released a whitepaper, claiming that by offering financial services to the 68 million consumers who don't work with traditional banks, the USPS could earn close to $9 billion a year, American Banker reported.
When this idea was first floated, many industry experts reacted critically, with some arguing that the Postal Service should stick to transportation. Some contended that since the government organization has suffered financial challenges in recent years, taking on new ventures could create even broader problems.
However, the industry's tides have since turned, and many are warming up to the idea of the USPS offering banking services, American Banker reported. One major development that has coincided with this change of heart is U.S. Postal Service Inspector General David Williams emphasizing that instead of competing with private banks, he would like to partner with them.
While many still have their doubts, one sign of progress has come in the form of the North Carolina Bankers Association, a trade group for the southern state, volunteering to take part in a pilot program where the USPS offers banking products, according to American Banker. Williams helped elaborate on his plans during a speech given to the NCBA on Oct. 7. The attendees responded well, although they are seeking additional information, he said during an interview.
"The North Carolina Bankers Association said that in the near term, they'd like to work with us to help think of ideas and ways to go forward," he stated, American Banker reported. "And then they said, beyond that, they'd be interested in exploring the idea with the Postal Service of piloting the offering of financial services."
In addition to having this organization's backing, the USPS has a few other aces up its sleeve, industry expert Ryan Gilbert told American Banker. Gilbert, CEO of Billfloat, a non-bank startup that issues consumer loans with small principals, noted that the government organization has strong brand recognition, and also a sizable retail distribution channel.


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Things have been incredibly busy here leading up to the holiday season, and we have a lot of exciting news to share! We have two big announcements to for you today, and even more coming soon. It’s a good time to be a SolForge fan!
Gary Games Is Now Stone Blade Entertainment!
We’ve come a long way here at Gary Games since our humble beginnings as the publishers of a then-unknown game called Ascension. Thanks to our incredible fans, Ascension became an enormous success, and propelled us to the position we’re now in making SolForge. As Justin Gary, Stone Blade Entertainment CEO and founder, said in the press release announcing the change, “Gary Games was founded with the goal of gathering a group of awesome people to make awesome games. Changing our name to Stone Blade Entertainment aligns with this vision, because now our name will be awesome too.”
Full Video Demo
Things have been coming along incredibly well with SolForge, and we’re at the stage that we want to share that progress with you all! We have an all new gameplay video available, with a full game walkthrough narrated by Brian Kibler. We’re incredibly proud of the progress we’ve made in how the game looks and plays, and we hope you enjoy this fresh new look at SolForge and share it with all of your friends!
More to Come!
We have even more exciting news coming soon that we can’t quite share with you yet. Be sure to keep checking back here and at our website, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter so you don’t miss anything!


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Google released this Thursday (1) the list of the best Android apps and games in 2022🇧🇷 Repeating last year’s format, Google separated the winners between popular vote and apps chosen by the company. In addition to the best app and best game categories, Google released “subcategories” such as “best hidden treasure app”, “best good app” and “best multiplayer game”.
According to Google, which released a list for each country, the best Android game in 2022 was Apex Legends Mobile🇧🇷 The mobile adaptation of the Electronic Arts game is a worldwide success on Android, but has lost popular vote in Brazil for Kingdom Maker — game about strategy and creation of kingdoms.
The Brazilian public again voted for a streaming app as “best app of the year”. Discovery+, launched just over a year ago, was considered the app of 2022 in the popular vote category — in 2021, Disney+ won in that category. The Google team considered Giga Gloob as the best app of the year. Giga Gloob has games, activities and videos aimed at children. See the full list of the best games and apps on the Play Store in 2022 below.
Best games on the Brazilian Play Store
best game🇧🇷 Apex Legends Mobile
popular vote🇧🇷 kingdom maker
Best Multiplayer🇧🇷 Dislyte
best casual game🇧🇷 Angry Birds Journey
best indie game🇧🇷 Dicey Dungeons
best story🇧🇷 Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds
Best game continuity🇧🇷 roblox
Best apps on the Brazilian Play Store
best app🇧🇷 Giga Gloob
popular vote🇧🇷 Discovery+
More fun🇧🇷 Dream by WOMBO
Best app for personal growth🇧🇷 Spoken: Learn English Fast
Best app for everyday🇧🇷 Plant Parente – Care Guide
best hidden treasure🇧🇷 PetStar: My Dog & Cat Sings
best good app🇧🇷 Proof Project
Global results and ranking changes
Last year, Google released the podium for each category, generating a nice list with 40 applications🇧🇷 For 2022, the company dropped the idea and went with the winners only. In the statement on your websiteGoogle only gave “honorable mentions” to some applications chosen in its own curation.
In the global result, Google considered Dream by WOMBO and Apex Legends Mobile as the best app and game, respectively, of 2022. The choice of game was the same as that of the company for the Brazilian Play Store — while the app, as already seen, was considered the Giga Gloob.
In the popular vote, Apex Legends Mobile repeated the result in the game category and BeReal was chosen as app of the year🇧🇷 For tablets, Tower of Fantasy was the winner. And in the new category for chromebooks the chosen one was Roblox.
Google considered that the best good app of 2022 was The STIGMA Appa mental health app where users can open up about their issues with other people going through the same situation.
Other categories that are also present for another year are “best wearable app” and “best tablet app”. In wearables, Google considered the Todoist as app of the year, while the Pocket won in the tablet category. The novelty is due to the category of best app for chromebooks, in which the BandLab was the winner.


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How GDPR is curbing carbon emissions
Despite being the bane to many business professionals, new research suggests that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) framework is assisting in the global fight to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was introduced in May 2018 to replace the UK Data Protection Act of 1998. The purpose of GDPR is to protect personal online data while creating common protection laws across EU member states.
While the implementation of GDPR has caused confusion for many businesses due to its complexity, new research from software solutions firm Jet Global suggests that the framework may be benefiting the planet.
Summarising a collection of data sets and studies, Jet Global estimates that the number of marketing emails being sent has decreased by 1.2 billion per day since the implementation of GDPR in May 2018.
Using Guardian findings citing carbon footprint expert Mike Berners-Lee’s book “How Bad are Bananas: The Carbon Footprint of Everything”, the carbon footprint of an email can range from 0.3g CO2e for spam to 50g CO2e for long emails with attachments. The new research estimated that the decreased volume of emails has reduced carbon emissions from sever usage by 360 tonnes per day.
Berners-Lee also noted that global data centres in 2010 accounted for 130 million tonnes of CO2e and are predicted to produce up to 340 million tonnes by 2020. Additional research estimates that it will take three average office workers’ yearly received emails to surpass the average carbon footprint of one person’s yearly activities.
Data centre of attention
Fortunately, tech companies are taking a greater interest in the energy consumption and carbon footprint of their data centres.
Vodafone data centres, for example, achieved ISO 50001 certification in just six months, a move that is anticipated to generate 5-7.5% in energy savings.
Elsewhere, Microsoft has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030 and with the vast amount of energy that data centres use, is looking for innovative solutions to lower energy demand.
The company recently placed a small-scale centre of 12 racks sunk underwater off the coast of Orkney. Undersea cables are used to power the data centre, which has enough room to store the equivalent of five million movies worth of data.
Data centres account for 40% of Capgemini’s total emissions and 70% of energy use – but the firm’s ‘Merlin’ data centre has set a new standard for sustainability in that area. Additionally, Google is now allowing its artificial intelligence (AI) system – rather than its staff – to directly control its data centre cooling system as a way of lowering emissions and energy consumption.
More broadly, BT research suggests that investment in ICT could result in a 24% annual reduction in the UK’s carbon emissions by 2030 and help cut the European Union’s carbon emissions by more than 1.5Gt annually as corporates within the sector move to decarbonise.
© Faversham House Ltd 2023 edie news articles may be copied or forwarded for individual use only. No other reproduction or distribution is permitted without prior written consent.


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California’s economy staging strong comeback
Current statistics clearly indicate that California is on the road to recovery, and despite reports in the popular press, the state is not headed for a second recession over the short run.
in the NewsIAM, IoT and the Connected Supply Chain New shipper survey reveals that small businesses face “import overhead” Happy 100th Birthday, New England Motor Freight! What a ride, chairman says U.S. rail carload and intermodal volumes are mixed for week ending February 10 Memo to Washington D.C.: Stop talking about raising the gas tax, go do it More News
Although its economic recovery got off to a lackluster start, California has recently started to outpace the United States.
According to Jock O’Connell, Beacon Economics’ International Trade Adviser, current statistics clearly indicate that California is on the road to recovery, and despite reports in the popular press, the state is not headed for a second recession over the short run.
“In fact, the labor markets have made a manifest turn for the better – adding more than 2.2 percent to its nonfarm payrolls since hitting bottom in September 2010,” he said.
“In addition, this growth is occurring despite continued job losses in the government sector. Separate out private sector employment, and the state has done even better, posting 2.5 percent growth over the same period.”
O’Connell said that this equates to roughly 250,000 jobs – clearly not enough to correct the 1.3 million jobs lost during the Great Recession, but a steady move in the right direction and a far cry from another recession.
“It is also important to keep in mind that job growth is typically the last thing to turn around in a recovery, which suggests that the underlying fundamentals of the California economy are growing even faster,” said O’Connell.
Beacon Economics maintained that consumer spending is a prime example as consumers have shown steady increases in spending over the past two years almost consecutively. And while this is true both in California and the U.S., taxable sales in the Golden State have risen by more than 17 percent since their trough in the second quarter of 2009.
That compares with 15.7 percent in the U.S. overall in terms of goods purchases on a nominal basis. This extra growth in California has developed despite the fact that the state fell nearly twice as much as the nation overall (-19 percent vs. -9.7 percent) and that California hit bottom one quarter late.
About the AuthorPatrick Burnson, Executive Editor Patrick Burnson is executive editor for Logistics Management and Supply Chain Management Review magazines and web sites. Patrick is a widely-published writer and editor who has spent most of his career covering international trade, global logistics, and supply chain management. He lives and works in San Francisco, providing readers with a Pacific Rim perspective on industry trends and forecasts. You can reach him directly at [email protected]
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CTVNews.ca CTV with Vancouver Island's Yvonne Raymond report
Published: Thursday, December 20, 2018 at 9:07 aC EST
To B.C. Families are bad, when they were receiving an envelope with open sheets, and the gift cards disappeared from the inside.
Canadian Post asked Barham to apologize, in Crofton, B.C., 45 miles south of Nanaimo.
Family members said they were worried about the CTV Vancouver Island opening their mail.
"On Friday, my husband received our mail … at the local office," said Julie Bayley. "He noticed a card [envelopes] it was opened on the side ".
Jared told his son that his father believed that a cut was "incision" deliberately.
"The next day, they called on our relatives, who sent them, and they said that they included letters, so the gift cards disappeared," he said.
Bayleys said they had received cards and gift cards in the family in North Vancouver every year.
A Canadian Post statement said the corporation Crown had "apologized for this" unfortunate and strange incident, "and took" issues and mail security very seriously ".
In the case of the family, Tim Hortons's gift card is considered to be only items missing. But Bayley told other families that something valuable could be missing.
"The main concerns we do not want to talk about are happening with other people," he said.
His son said that most families could refuse to open the envelope, excluding potential gifts missing.
"I did not know that relatives send us gift cards, we might not have called and tried to investigate," said Jared.
He added Canadian Post statements, "Obviously, we do not know the details, Canada Post has procedures to ensure email security."
"Although it could prevent damages, as it may be like a sorting machine, mail removal is very serious," he added.
But Bayley and her son in Canada's Post response laughed and said: "There will not be any machine that will get that perfect cut."
The Bayley family expects a profound investigation.


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Mexican fast food chain Guzman y Gomez has kicked off 2017 with a new Chief Marketing Officer, Lara Thom.
“Lara is industry leading talent who can leverage the GYG story with our customers in a disruptive way and with technology at the heart of it. We were overwhelmed by the quality of applicants who wanted to work with GYG” said Guzman y Gomez’s chief executive officer for ANZ, Mark Hawthorne.
“In ten years, GYG has opened 79 taquerias in Australia, as well as five in Singapore and four in Japan. We’re not slowing down, with plans to open 20 more across Australia in 2017 and most will be Drive Thru.”
“As we grow, we’re adding new members of the GYG family who understand and share our vision for serving Australians healthy, quality food that can be just as quick and convenient as fast food. Lara has the perfect combination of digital know-how, food expertise and personality to help make GYG the industry leader,” Mark added.
Thom joins Guzman y Gomez, after a period as general manager of digital and marketing for Vittoria Food & Beverage.
Importantly, Thom is an entrepreneur at heart and will add a powerful founder led mentality to the GYG Leadership. Having launched several successful ventures, including digital agency Be.Interactive which was sold to Salmat in 2010, babywear brand “L’il Fraser Collection” and the “Junior MasterChef” range of children’s cookware and aprons, Lara is well placed to keep the entrepreneurial spirit of invention and expansion at the core of GYG’s marketing.
“Anyone who has spent more than a few seconds speaking with Guzman y Gomez founders, Steven Marks and Robert Hazan & CEO Mark Hawthorne will understand why I have joined GYG. Their uncompromising approach to quality, entrepreneurial spirit, founder led passion, agility and operational expertise are a rare combination” said Guzman y Gomez, chief marketing officer for ANZ, Lara Thom.
“The commitment GYG has to serving healthy, real food in a fast food industry is unrivalled, it’s a story we can’t wait to tell” Thom said.
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Australian owned and operated email and SMS marketing software company, Vision6, announced the launch of its first-ever national brand campaign and new brand platform “Simply Reliable”. Founded in 2001, Vision6 was one of the first email marketing software providers in Australia and has since been relied upon by thousands of Aussie businesses and organisations for […]
Out-of-Home media company JCDecaux New Zealand has appointed business growth specialist Adam McGregor in preparation for its bid to win upcoming local government street furniture tenders across the country. With contracts for the provision of street furniture including bus shelters across New Zealand up for renewal from late 2022, they collectively represent the biggest advertising […]
Fetch TV has announced that ABC iview will soon be available as a dedicated Virtual Playlist Channel on the Fetch platform. Virtual Playlist Channels (VPCs) were developed by Fetch to promote content discovery, and to provide a clear bridge between the traditional world of linear TV and the growing availability of on demand content via […]
Jackie Gillies, businesswoman, psychic medium and cast member of The Real Housewives of Melbourne is bringing her sassy, inspirational and adventurous spirit to her new podcast Shine It Up, With Jackie Gillies, which launches today via Acast. Hosted and distributed by the creator-first podcast company Acast, the show will offer listeners inspiration and motivation to […]
Crowdsourcing platforms DesignCrowd and BrandCrowd are promoting vaccination efforts in a unique way, launching a logo redesign contest among their networks of designers. The initiative saw iconic Australian brands such as Hungry Jack’s, Jetstar, JB Hi-Fi, and Bunnings undergo a redesign. “We thought it would be fun to see some other iconic Australian brands back […]
Jillian Davison has been named editor-in-chief of the recently relaunched Harper’s BAZAAR Australia. She will oversee all content, development and creative direction across the iconic magazine’s digital and brand platforms. Davison (pictured) succeeds Eugenie Kelly, who recently stepped down to pursue other opportunities. The announcement was made by Maureen Jordan, publisher of Harper’s BAZAAR Australia […]
Freedom Foods and 72andSunny Sydney have launched the first advertising campaign for Australia’s Own range of plant-based beverages. The campaign introduces a new visual world and identity for the brand and captures the healthy, positive feeling you get when spending time in nature and when consuming Australia’s Own certified-organic, plant-based beverages. As well as featuring […]