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Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest travel and leisure company operating nine cruise lines and over 100 cruise ships, continues to expand its world-class culinary experiences with more than 20 celebrity chefs and internationally-recognized culinary experts.
The corporation’s brands have recently announced several additions to its food and beverage partnerships and programs, with the expanded offerings building on the corporation’s extensive lineup of dining options that bring some of the world’s best culinary experiences to guests sailing on its nine cruise line brands.
As dining is an important and memorable part of the overall guest experience, Carnival Corporation’s brands offer a host of inspired restaurants and cuisine from around the world, and continue to innovate their offerings to deliver extraordinary dining experiences at sea to guests.
The latest example is the grand opening of Rudi’s Sel de Mer restaurant on Holland America Line’s newest ship, ms Nieuw Statendam, recently launched in December 2018. The cruise industry’s first French-inspired, seafood brasserie specialty restaurant serves a classic selection of French seafood dishes with a contemporary twist, created by Chef Rudi Sodamin – one of the hospitality industry’s most innovative chefs and chairman of Holland America’s Culinary Council, a game-changing collaboration of seven world-class chefs guiding the culinary offerings on board and sharing their specialty menu items in all dining venues.
Carnival Cruise Line recently introduced new dining concepts onboard Carnival Horizon, its newest ship launched in 2018, including Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse | Brewhouse with BBQ favorites created by Food Network star Guy Fieri and featuring four new craft beers brewed on board. The ship also features Bonsai Teppanyaki, the line’s first teppanyaki venue. And when the brand’s totally transformed Carnival Radiance debuts in 2020, it will be the first cruise ship to feature “Big Chicken,” a seagoing version of a new restaurant created by the line’s Chief Fun Officer, NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal. The menu will feature a variety of fried chicken sandwiches and fries, with flavors to match Shaq’s larger than life personality, all free of charge.
Princess Cruises, the world’s largest international premium cruise line, is setting a new standard for the best wine list in the cruise industry with a newly imagined wine menu, offering nearly 50 percent more selections than previously available for a total of 142 wines – the most extensive in the cruise line’s history, carefully selected in partnership with Master of Wine and Master Sommelier Doug Frost. The brand also recently revamped its six-course, fine-dining experience from award-winning Chef Curtis Stone at SHARE, with fresh menu offerings and new “Crafted by Curtis” dishes on the main dining room menu rolling out fleetwide.
Carnival Corporation’s Seabourn brand, the world’s finest ultra-luxury cruise line, announced in early January the introduction of Regiis Ova caviar on its fleet of five ships – an extension of Seabourn’s culinary partnership with Chef Thomas Keller through his new caviar company. The addition of the new caviar brand, set to take place across the Seabourn fleet during the first part of 2019, further elevates the brand’s sought-after caviar service, which is renowned throughout the luxury travel industry.
P&O Cruises (UK) announced that its newest ship, Iona, will debut in 2020 with a choice of 30 different bar and restaurant venues – the widest ever selection of places to eat and drink on a ship built exclusively for the British cruise holiday market. New innovative and flexible dining options include a “foodie” market offering cuisine from around the world, a new gastropub concept for the brand and a laid-back cocktail lounge. As part of the new approach to dining, Iona will exclusively offer Freedom Dining in all of its main restaurants, a first for P&O Cruises (UK) designed to give more flexibility to each and every guest. They can choose where and with whom they want to eat, and when they will sit down for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
For those who want to peer behind the curtain to see how the culinary magic happens, Carnival Corporation’s cruise line brands offer plenty of opportunities for guests to learn from legendary experts.
During Holland America Line’s 2019 Food & Beverage Aficionado Cruises, participants will have the opportunity to attend cooking, cocktail or wine demonstrations showcasing the talents of Culinary Council members and other experts from famed New York-based chef David Burke to sushi master Andy Matsuda.
Additionally, thanks to Holland America Line’s partnership with America’s Test Kitchen, guests can embrace their love of cooking alongside the experts during onboard cooking shows on every cruise, hosted by Holland America Line’s chefs. The brand recently announced five new shows starting in January 2019 – covering everything from tacos and takeout to dinner for two – that will join the 14 current shows and feature a mix of video, instruction and live recipe demonstrations.
In AIDA Cruises’ Tim Mälzer Cooking Studio on board AIDAprima and AIDAperla, adults and children can test out new tips and tricks to bring home. In the newly styled steakhouses named by the popular German TV chef, guests embark on a culinary journey: from Tim’s burger to his favorite cut or chocolate cake, there’s something for everyone.
P&O Cruises (UK) works with the brightest lights of the culinary scene to bring innovative, delicious menus and exclusive foodie experiences to its guests. Highlights include the brand’s carefully crafted Food Heroes experiences – gourmet experiences on shore and on board with iconic Chef Marco Pierre White, master pâtissier Eric Lanlard and award-winning wine expert Olly Smith. Guests can join the chefs on shore to explore a new destination through its culinary landscape, and meet the Food Heroes on board through master classes and hosted dinners on select sailings.
Princess Cruises also offers a culinary shore excursion program in collaboration with the number one food lifestyle brand, Bon Appétit, offering guests the opportunity to indulge in culinary experiences inspired by their surroundings while cruising to destinations around the globe. Guests can choose from 30 excursions to immerse themselves in local ingredients and cooking styles, as well as demonstrations and tastings from local chefs and personalities.


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Miami-based Republica will work with Azamara and existing agencies to develop a unified, multifaceted marketing and communications strategy to showcase the cruise brand and its destination immersion offering.
During an agency review, Republica developed a campaign focusing on global luxury travelers, with the goal of driving awareness and increasing bookings of Azamara packages. The soon-to-be-launched campaign highlights Azamara's longer stays at smaller ports where travelers can experience more ashore, at locations only smaller ships can reach.
'Republica's track record as a long-term, trusted partner to numerous respected global brands, coupled with their high-caliber team, makes them an ideal partner for Azamara as we embark on this journey aimed at creating meaningful connections with international, experience-driven audiences,' Azamara president and CEO Larry Pimentel said. 'Republica has a deep-rooted understanding of the global, culturally-driven consumer.'
Azamara joins Republica's growing roster of blue-chip clients, including an array of Fortune 500 companies in the US and abroad. Among them: Universal Orlando Resort, NBCUniversal, Four Seasons, National Pork Board, Google, Toyota, Walmart, Telemundo, Gloria Ferrer and Plasencia Cigars.
'Azamara is a marvelous brand with legions of loyal customers, and we are excited to build new affinity with discerning, elite consumers around the world,' said Jorge A. Plasencia, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Republica.
Founded in 2006 by former Univision executive Plasencia and creative shop Cosmyk founder Luis Casamayor, Republica is a member of MAGNET, a network of independent agencies with partner offices in 100 cities across the globe.

domain: news


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Despite the blockbuster launches of the iPhone 3GS and Samsung Jack, the Palm Pre is still managing to sit pretty and sell well. Palm's fourth quarter earnings report showed lower losses than expected, due in large part to the success of the Pre. Palm's first smartphone sold about 50,000 units during its opening weekend, and it's managed to sell an additional 100,000 or so since.
Don't Miss: See the first leaked Black Friday 2016 Ad
Unit sales aren't the only benchmark of smartphone success. These days app downloads are almost as important as sales. Apple brags endlessly about their app store, and they even ribbed Pre's app store several times during the WWDC conference.
With over a million apps downloaded the Palm Pre now has reason to brag. Despite a bit of a shaky start the new smartphone doesn't seem to be having any trouble attracting a dedicated fan base. Pre users download, on average, 26x more apps than iPhone users. The average app in the Pre catalogue is downloaded 16x more often than the average iPhone app.
How To: Buy a Pokemon Go Plus
It's obvious why. The Pre userbase is much smaller than the iPhone's, and the Pre has far fewer apps available as well. It also appears that the average Pre user is a bit more inclined to download apps than the average iPhone user, which is news that will make designing apps for the Palm Pre a very exciting proposition for a lot of developers. Even though the iPhone is a much more successful phone, building apps for the Pre has a greater likelihood of being profitable.


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Luxury cruise line Seabourn has revealed renderings for its new Bow Lounge concept, due to debut aboard its new ultra-luxury purpose-built expedition ship, Seabourn Venture in June 2021.
Seabourn Odyssey has undergone a major refurbishment in Genoa, Italy to give her staterooms and public spaces a refreshed look and feel, as well as modern technology updates, and rich contemporary furnishings.
Seabourn has announced it will offer submarine excursions for the first time aboard its new fleet of expedition cruise ships.
Seabourn has announced a stunning line-up of guest entertainers aboard Seaborun Sojourn for her 2020 World Cruise from Miami, including South Africa’s own Soweto String Quartet, and a former private secretary to […]
Europe and its Mediterranean Sea are the world’s most popular tourist destinations, and as cruising’s global popularity continues to grow, more and more people are discovering the best way to visit Europe […]
Seabourn will sail two new wellness cruises in 2019 and 2020, one to Dubai and the other to the South Pacific.
Seabourn’s first dedicated luxury expedition cruise ship will be called Seabourn Venture in tribute to the remote destinations she’ll cruise to, the cruise line has announced.
Seabourn has finally entered the expedition cruise market with the announcement of an order for two specialized 264-passengers ships.
Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise company, is enhancing the cruise holiday experience as its nine cruise line brands expand partnerships with some of the best-known names in entertainment.
Luxury cruise line Seabourn has introduced a range of new shore excursions for its 2019 cruise program, including new options on its 2019 Cape Town cruise aboard Seabourn Sojourn.


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LONDON, May 3 (Reuters) - British lawmakers said on Thursday they were seeking information from Britain’s competition regulator regarding their concerns over Sainsbury’s’ proposed 7.3 billion pounds ($9.93 billion) takeover of Walmart owned rival Asda.
In a letter to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) the chairs of the UK Parliament’s Business select committee and its Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee said their members had concerns over the impact the deal, which combines the No. 2 and No. 3 players, would have on the grocery supply chain.
The letter said lawmakers also had concerns about the impact of the deal on the competitiveness of suppliers and on consumer choice. ($1 = 0.7355 pounds) (Reporting by James Davey; editing by Kate Holton)


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Baby, you can drive my car…
An “unlikely” string of events prompted Amazon’s Echo personal assistant device to record a Portland, Ore., family’s private conversation and then send the recording to an acquaintance in Seattle, the company said Thursday.
The woman told KIRO-TV in Seattle that two weeks ago an employee of her husband contacted them to say he thought their device had been hacked. He told them he had received an audio file of them discussing hardwood floors, she said.
h/t Captain Obvious


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Move over Pokemon Go, there’s another augmented reality (AR) player in town. This time, the technology isn’t used to catch virtual monsters, but allow consumers to manipulate a fully detailed vehicle right on their smartphone.
BMW, working with automotive industrial consultant Accenture, has rolled out an app called the BMW i Visualizer that utilizes Google’s proprietary Tango AR technology. Users can call up a 3-D image of an i3 or i8 onscreen, which is overlaid onto whatever is in the background. Just like the real thing, the doors can be opened, the lights switched on, etc.
“The thing that sets Tango apart is the fact that it understands the context of the space that it’s in. So the wheels are really on the floor, for example, giving the whole experience a much more realistic feel,” said Eric Johnsen, head of Google Ar business development.
“It’s that level of detail which means this technology offers the customers real added value,” said Johnsen.
There are customization features built into the app as well. For example, exterior paint colours, interior options and wheel styles can all be changed by simply tapping on the touchscreen. Afterwards, the modifications can be saved and shared via email, QR code or social media.
The German manufacturer says it is the first automotive brand in the world to roll out such an offering. The i Visualizer is part of BMW’s Future Retail program launched three years ago, aimed at evolving the customer vehicle purchasing experience. Other innovations include the Product Genius and the Virtual Product Presenter.
The i Division was chosen as the starting point due to its reputation as the “spearhead of innovation at the BMW Group.”
The app is still in the pilot phase, currently implemented in a handful of stores. The plan is to eventually offer the software in the Google Play store so it will be available to anyone with a Tango-equipped mobile device.


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The deal, worth $1.3 billion in cash plus 32.4 million shares of eBay stock, will command a substantial premium, 42 times Skype's expected 2005 earnings of $60 million. Skype expects revenue to grow to $200 million in 2006. Additionally, eBay will pay up to 1.2 billion euros or $1.5 billion in additional performance-based considerations, which could boost the total worth of the deal to $4.1 billion.
The agreement, reported earlier, would add a significant services play for eBay. Company executives said Monday that they see VOIP as a natural extension between buyers and sellers, pushing the auction technology into new geographies as well as pay-per-call services.
"Communication is at the heart of community and e-commerce, making Skype a natural fit for eBay," eBay president and chief executive Meg Whitman told analysts during a conference early Monday.
Read the full story: eBay To Acquire Skype; Deal Could Top $4B.


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Microsoft (News - Alert) licensing resellers are not pleased with the software giant’s decision to discontinue its development of Small Business Server (SBS) 2011, a one or two server solution for small businesses. This news was made public in July of this year, the technology giant officially stopped production on July 5, 2012 and publicized that it will no longer be selling the product after June 2013. Luckily there is light at the end of the tunnel in the form of Office 365.
Microsoft SBS 2011 was a very popular product amongst smaller businesses due to its bundled Microsoft Windows Server, Exchange Server and SQL Server functions in addition its ease of use and deployment.
The Office 365 provider decided to replace Microsoft SBS 2011 with Windows Server 2012, the successor to Windows Server 2008 R2, as its newest server for small businesses and home offices. Released in September of this year, Windows Server 2012 became the new server operating system which has four editions: Foundation, Essentials, Standard and Datacenter.
Other than the four editions, Windows Server 2012 server offers a lot of virtualization features, a new set of Web services APIs and a user-friendly dashboard.
What appears as a relief (a new released server for the small business market) was actually upsetting news for resellers about the loss of SBS 2011. In fact, it has sparked outrage among Microsoft’s resellers.
News like this makes one think how customers felt about Microsoft also putting an end to Windows Home Server (WHS), its home server operating system. Rumors speculate that sales will be discontinued on December 31, 2013.
This news about the company halting developments of these two Windows Server products (in addition to the one terminated back on June 30th, 2010 known as the Windows Essential Business Server (EBS) 2008) has prompted various resellers to lash out at Microsoft. These resellers are revolting mostly over the way Microsoft has handled the termination of the SBS product, rather than over the decisions of putting an end to the other two servers (EBS and WHS).
They are upset about the discontinuation of SBS 2011 simply because of renewal costs which force customers into having to buy each individual product separately; it brings higher costs since it has users move to a cloud-based solution. They are also complaining about the fact SBS 2011 came with licenses to use Microsoft's Exchange e-mail server while Windows Server 2012 Essentials does not include Exchange Server capabilities.
Other than having an impact on the Microsoft resellers, individuals and business alike are also troubled by the news about the break off of many server products. Many Microsoft customers claim that not everyone is keen to having their data controlled, managed and stored with a third party cloud service or e-mail provider. Some are not even ready to move to the cloud (or need Office 365) as it does not fit their business needs; while others have yet to adapt to cloud computing due to concerns about uptime, privacy, security and access to their data.
Regardless of the firm’s decision to terminate SBS (as well as the other servers for that matter) in favor of offering a future of private and public clouds and despite the resellers’ reactions, Microsoft looks ahead to give SMBs a more scalable and upgradable server, one that offers better application support, backup, management and security support for Windows 7 and Windows 8 PCs or Mac OS X computers, mobile device support and integration with external Internet-based services that can easily connect to Microsoft's cloud-based services (or else towards its Office 365 suite).
Even though Microsoft seems to have its users and resellers shift to Windows Server 2012, a cloud hosted service provider or Office 365, they are likely to overcome their grief in knowing the software company is doing all it can to offer what it feels is the best approach for the future to meet most businesses and individuals’ needs.
Edited by Jamie Epstein


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The Top 10 Most Expensive Cities In The World in 2012
You’ve probably wondered which are the most expensive cities to live in right now, and, thanks to the new Economist Intelligence Unit Worldwide Cost of Living Survey we have an answer to that. The survey compares the cost of living in 140 cities from 93 countries and it looks at the prices of goods and services such as food, transportation, schools, domestic help and so on.
New York is used as the base for the Economist survey with a score of 100. The first two cities from this year’s list, Zurich and Tokyo have a score of 170 and 166 respectively which means they’re 70% and 66% more expensive to live in than New York city. The top ten costliest cities were divided equally between Europe and Asia-Pacific.
No city from US broke the top 10, with New York dropping on 47th place tied with Chicago and below Los Angeles. We’re now presenting the top 10 most expensive cities in the world in 2012, according to the Economist survey.
1. Zurich, Switzerland
For the first time in the last 20 years, one of Switzerland’s most beautiful cities, Zurich, ranks as the most expensive city in the world, overtaking Tokyo which held this spot for most of the last two decades. The Swiss city had a swing of 34 percentage points and went up four places from last year to take the first spot.
2. Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo is still 66% more expensive than New York, and was just slightly overtaken by Zurich in this year’s survey. Its index score is almost the same as it was last year.
3-4. Geneva, Switzerland
Third and fourth places are split between Geneva, Switzerland, and Osaka, Japan. The Swiss town rose from ninth to third place, thanks to a 30 percent point rise. These major ups came because the Swiss have one of the strongest currencies in the world and thus life in Switzerland costs way more.
3-4. Osaka, Japan
Same thing could be said about Osaka and Japan as well. The Japanese currency is also really strong at the moment and even though Osaka is the second most important city of the country, it’s still pretty close to Tokyo in terms of cost of living.
5. Oslo, Norway
The Fifth place on the list is occupied by Norway’s capital, Oslo. The northern life just got more expensive, or so it seems but it’s definitely a price to pay to live in one of the most beautiful cities from Europe.
6. Paris, France
Speaking of beautiful cities in Europe, on the next spot, the sixth, lies one of the most renowned cities in the world, Paris. France has it put here thanks to its exquisiteness and unique style and probably because it’s one of the best travel destinations in the entire world.
7. Sydney, Australia
Sydney is now almost 50 per cent more expensive than the glam and glitz of New York. The coast of bread has almost doubled in the last decade, while petrol prices have risen three times and rice and other expenses even four or more times
8. Melbourne, Australia
The second city from Australia to make it in this top 10 is Melbourne, which has almost the same prices for everything as Sydney. Maybe Sydney is a bit more expensive because it’s a bit more popular, but they’re definitely close.
The city state is still one of the most expensive cities in the world, 42% more expensive than New York and over cities like Hong Kong and even London.
10. Frankfurt, Germany
The last in this list but not last in the survey is Frankfurt, one of the most important cities from Germany. Frankfurt is the financial and transportation centre of Germany and the largest financial centre in continental Europe with the headquarters of seven major banks in here.
As a surprise, Hong Kong, renowned for its prices in the past, is now ranked 22nd, knowing a fall of 19 spots, 10 years ago occupying the third spot.
The overall number of cities that took part in the survey is 130, sharing 400 individual prices throughout 160 types of products, from clothing, private schools, transport and food to rents. There’s also a known petrol price variation per liter, from $0.96 in Moscow to $2.17 in Paris. In spite of all these, Western Europe has 24 major cities scattered in the first 50 of the list, while Asia shares a more modest number, of 14.


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Rajesh Rai | Phuentsholing
Three main exporters in Samtse exported a total of 373.42 metric tonnes (MT) of oranges worth Nu 15.01 million (M), bringing an end to the export for the season.
Although export was expected to start in the first week of December 2020, an issue related to importing the wooden (packing) boxes from India delayed it. Export began on December 22 after the issue was solved. The last consignment left Samtse for Bangladesh on January 17.
The proprietor of Adhikari Export, Dadiram Adhikari, said he has dismantled his depots and returned to his village.
“The business this time was average.”
He exported 13 truckloads of mandarin to Bangladesh and a few truckloads to India.
Dadiram Adhikari said the production, however, was decreasing each year.
“This has to improve.”
Other two export houses were Damzo Export in Samtse and Sipsu based DPGS Export.
Proprietor with the DPGS said the export business was not as expected this year, as pandemic resulted in escalation of transportation cost.
Usually, oranges from Sipsu, which is about 50kms away from Samtse, were directly exported from the nearby Jitti border. This time Jitti was closed due to the pandemic and exporters had to use the Samtse-Chamurchi route, which added the cost.
Transportation cost from Sipsu to Samtse and Bangladesh, transhipment and other road expenditures cost about Nu 30,000 this year compared to usual Nu 14,000 to Nu 15,000.
“The cost of packing boxes, including its transportation costs, also went up,” the DPGS proprietor said.
“We paid farmers the usual market. We ran in a loss.”
The Government of India (GoI) had agreed to open four new trade routes, such as Nagarkata, Agartala, Jogighopa, and Pandu on December 1 last year. Nagarkata route gives access to Jitti border but it has not yet opened.
Meanwhile, Phuentsholing is still exporting mandarin.
As per the Department of Agricultural Marketing and Cooperatives (DAMC), a total of 117 truckloads, equivalent to 972MT of oranges worth Nu 37.3M have been exported so far.
Unlike Samtse, exporters didn’t face much problem related to importing the packing boxes and the export first started on December 3 last year.
Exporter Sonam Tobgay of Druk Phuensum Import and Export said they faced labour shortage issues in the beginning.
“But this problem is there even in other places.”
DAMC’s marketing chief, Yonten Gyamtsho, said there was a minor issue of labour shortage because workers had to stay at containment mode.


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The last 12 months have seen rebrands galore, as companies from across sectors tweaked logos, updated brand guidelines, and announced full-scale visual identity updates. Aston Martin commissioned Peter Saville to adapt its 95-year-old logo with “subtle but necessary enhancements”, Instagram collaborated with type foundries from around the world on a bespoke new face inspired by its ‘squircle’ logo, and Hermes renamed itself to Evri – although not everyone was convinced.
And they’re not the only ones. Creative Review covered a long list of new and updated visual identities for brands including: The Big Issue, Norwich City, Pret, CNET, GSK, Magnolia Bakery, The Grand National, Cora, Baskin-Robbins, Wrigleys Extra and Street Fighter (although this last one provoked some controversy).
So without further ado, here’s some of the standout trends of 2022.


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PLYMOUTH, MN—Nilfisk, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of professional cleaning equipment, today announced that it is moving its Americas headquarters from Plymouth, Minn., to Brooklyn Park, Minn.
For the past 28 years, Nilfisk has maintained its Americas headquarters in Plymouth, most recently in a 216,000-square foot facility located near the intersection of Minnesota State Highway 55 and 21st Avenue North. With its current lease set to expire in April of 2016, the company has opted to build a new 182,000-square foot facility in Brooklyn Park’s Northcross Business Park.
“With our lease expiring, we saw an opportunity to assess our needs as it relates to production capacity and work flow and determine if our current facility was sufficiently meeting those needs. In the end, we decided that a new custom-built facility would serve us better, not just for today but for well into the future,” said Diane Lapp, CFO of Nilfisk Americas. “Not only will our new facility better serve our employees, but it will allow us to further enhance our ability to provide world-class products and service to our customers.”
Lapp added that the move, which will begin in the fourth quarter of 2015 and be complete by the first quarter of 2016, will include all current Plymouth-based employees, approximately 300, and all operations as they exist today, including manufacturing and production, sales and marketing, R&D and product management, and corporate services.
Northcross Business Park is located at the intersection of Minnesota State Highway 610 and U.S. Highway 169, just 12 miles from Nilfisk’s current location. Nilfisk is working with United Properties and Pope Architects to develop and design its new space.
Nilfisk is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of professional cleaning equipment with around 5,250 employees and an annual turnover of EUR 881M. Based on a century of cleaning expertise, we develop and manufacture high-quality products that represent the latest technology and innovation and offer the broadest product portfolio in the industry. Nilfisk has sales companies in 45 countries around the world and with an additional strong distributor network Nilfisk markets and sells its products in more than 100 countries worldwide. Nilfisk is a part of the NKT Group.


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EVE Investments (ASX: EVE) has dipped into the honeypot buy a 50 per cent stake in tea tree and honey farmer Jenbrook for a total consideration of $1.49 million.
The technology investment company entered into the agreement to acquire Jenbrook for its large asset base in organic essential oils, extracts and carrier oils, as well as its research and development into melaleuca and medical cannabis honey.
Working with Southern Cross University, the New South Wales Northern Rivers-based Jenbrook is currently exploring the health benefits of hemp honey, which is produced by bees pollinating on the nectar of medicinal cannabis plants.
Eve Investments has kickstarted its new partnership with Jenbrook by successfully completing an oversubscribed capital raising for $1.265 million, offering new shareholders a placement at 0.6 cents.
Subject to the transaction, Jenbrook's assets include therapeutic goods business EcoBotanicals, 1,000-acre tea tree facility Robyndale Farm and wholesale distribution business Naturally Aust Product Inc.
The transaction also includes the 1,147 acre Jendale Farm plantation, which has been identified as the 'birth place of the tea tree' and owns a patented extraction technique to produce high potency oils.
Eve said in a statement to the ASX that these assets will generate a strong revenue stream in the foreseeable future.
"Unaudited revenue forecasts indicate that Naturally Aus Product Inc will deliver strong revenue growth from its US customer base this financial year," said the company.
"It is expected to double its annualised monthly revenue to reach $1.6 million in June 2017, a 100 per cent increase from June 2016."
Eve says Jenbrook's leading edge in the honey market and its unique work in the medical cannabis space will also present significant growth opportunities.
"Jenbrook is currently validating the production process for a Melaleuca (Meluka) honey," says the company.
"In addition, Jenbrook is exploring the opportunity to develop a medicinal cannabis honey. Scientific validation of any active compounds in the medicinal cannabis honey with potential health benefits will be explored in the coming months."
The acquisition will be facilitated through the creation of a new company that will be a 50/50 joint venture between the two parties.
Business News Australia
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Aldi has supported charities, community groups and food banks throughout the UK by donating 550,000 meals to people in need this Christmas.
Articles in category: Retailer News
Find out which retailers are innovating in the on and offline retail space and what they are doing to keep ahead of the curve in this dynamic and highly competitive sector. Read the financials and analysis of the large multiples, the smaller chains to independent retailers, wholesalers and suppliers
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Following today’s release of Next’s figures for the 8 weeks to 25 December 2021; Emily Salter, senior rretail analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view: “Next has been an outperformer in retail throughout the pandemic,
Poundland is starting 2022 in style by accelerating its transformation plans with the vigorous rollout of its chilled and frozen food and an opening programme that includes some of the largest stores in the portfolio.
Central England Co-op shoppers showed ‘goodwill to all’ this Christmas by enjoying the retailer’s Irresistible product range and helping create 500,000 additional meals to feed people at risk of going hungry.
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Bsurance extends partnership with Kika/Leiner to create omnichannel embedded insurance experience for customers
bsurance, a leading B2B2C embedded insurance platform, and Kika/Leiner Group, one of Europe’s largest furniture retailers, have come together to create the retail industry’s first joined up in store and online embedded insurance experience.
theUp.co nets £7m cash injection and unveils plans for “ChargedUp super app” for hospitality industry
Two London entrepreneurs who pivoted their mobile phone charging business into a successful mobile order and pay app and hand sanitiser network as the pandemic hit, generating turnover of £1m in a month, today scored a new win, securing £7m
Plant-based food brand, Gosh!, has secured a nationwide listing to stock its chilled, ready-to-eat, healthy Snack Bites in more than 1,000 Aldi stores across the UK and Republic of Ireland.
Frugi, the leading ethical and sustainable children’s clothing company, has hit the £1 million mark for its Little Clothes Big Change charity project. Little Clothes Big Change is an initiative that was born in 2016 where Frugi commits 1% of
Millwall FC is the latest name giving fans a look at life behind the scenes at their football club by joining sports video platform Recast.
M&S launches Sparking Change National Challenge with tips on cooking from scratch, plant-based protein and cutting food waste
Today (Monday 3rd January), M&S is launching its Sparking Change National Challenge, inviting its 14 million Sparks customers to try a lower carbon diet, feel healthier and potentially save money – all whilst benefiting the planet.
Perfume continues to be a popular gifting option this Christmas, as The Perfume Shop reports it sold 1.9m bottles between 28 November and 24 December and announces its biggest-selling scents of 2021.
Central England Co-op has revealed it has invested over £8 million and created dozens of new jobs as part of major expansion plans during 2021 – despite the ongoing challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic and supply chain disruption.
GoodBox, the fintech revolutionising how we give, has partnered with Mulberry to offer their award-winning contactless devices in stores around the UK to raise funds for The Felix Project. A number of the luxury fashion brand stores have been fitted
Consumer spending increased 5.9% in 2021 compared to 2019, fuelled by demand for convenience, online shopping and home improvements. While Covid-19 continued to hamper the hospitality and leisure sector, social distancing restrictions spurred the rising popularity of ‘insperiences’ and outdoor
Zero. Zilch. Zip. Three words, and the name of the newest online retailer of alcohol-free beverages, dedicated to demystifying the no alcohol drinks space and offering an expert-curated list of soft drinks for grown-ups.
A resident in Kirkcaldy (Scotland) became the first person in the UK to return a potentially unwanted Christmas present, data from PayPoint reveals today. It hadn’t even got light when the first parcel was returned to a Collect+ store at
Generous Tesco shoppers have been thanked after donating more than 1.5million meals-worth of food to help charities feed people during Christmas and the winter months.
Enjoy a feel-good start to the New Year with Costa Coffee’s new limited-edition food menu for January 2022 - available across stores nationwide from Thursday 30th December 2021.
Aldi has announced plans to recruit over 100 additional British suppliers in 2022, in a bid to accelerate its commitment to increase its spend with British suppliers by £3.5bn a year by the end of 2025.
Central England Co-op can today gives a first look at the progress of its brand new community store opening in Ashby and have revealed when it is set to open its doors.
Authentic Greek restaurant brand The Real Greek has chosen Trafford Centre as a key location in its expansion into Northern England, set to open in February 2021. Taking a 4,700sq ft unit in the centre’s food court, The Real Greek
Joe Browns, the fashion and homes retailer, announced today (29 December 2021) that it had been awarded The Investors in People Standard.
Tesco will power into the new year by launching the UK’s first commercially used fully electric heavy freight articulated trucks. Two new 37 tonne DAF electric vehicles will transport food and other products from Wentloog rail terminal outside Cardiff to


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Though Hailey Baldwin recently said she's cutting back on modeling gigs and Fashion Week events to spend more time with Justin Bieber, she took a break from that quality bonding time to show off her massive engagement ring to the fashion set.
At the Carolina Herrera show, where Hailey first mentioned she's taking said modeling break, Hailey showed model Sailor Brinkley Cook her gift from Justin and looked so giddy. Someone graciously posted the sweet moment on Instagram:
In a just-published interview with TheDaily Front Row, Hailey said, "My life has changed so much, even in these past six months. You think you want to do one thing, and then life happens. It makes you rethink certain things and your priorities become really different."
She also said that within the next 20 years she hopes to be married with kids, which she's already basically halfway there. Come through with those wedding plans, Jailey!


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The growth of boutique and lifestyle hotels in Australia – driven in part by Instagram and social media – is showing no sign of abating with Ovolo, Wyndham and Accor all announcing new offerings this week.
Fast-growing Hong Kong chain Ovolo, led by Girish Jhunjhnuwala, is expanding its Melbourne pipeline with a new 100-room-plus hotel to be developed at 230 Toorak Road in South Yarra.
The new hotel, which will come under Ovolo’s Mojo Nomad brand – a micro hotel and share accommodation concept, is being developed by Argo, led by Nick Argyrou.
The hotel, which will be officially announced by Mr Jhunjhnuwala at the AHICE conference on Thursday, is due to be completed in mid-2020.
In Adelaide, global giant Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is bringing a 124-key TRYP Hotel to the centre of the Adelaide to be developed by the Ginos Group.
The design-led brand focuses on providing guests with an authentic local experience.
In the more traditional hotel space, Wyndham has struck a deal with developer Prizac for a new 205-key Ramada Hotel in the Adelaide suburb of Playford.
Joon Aun Ooi, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts regional managing director, said the group was “excited about the growth prospects” in Australia, where its portfolio currently stands at 43 hotels.
Mr Ooi added that Wyndham was also bringing its economy Super 8 hotel chain to Australia, which will be offered as a franchise solution to existing hotel and motel owners.
There are also plans to offer its Trademark Collection “soft brand” affiliation in Australia, whereby boutique hotel owners can leverage off the Wyndham platform, but still retain their own brand and identity.
In Perth, Accor will open its ninth Art Series hotel and first in WA in October.
The $90 million hotel is being developed by George Atzemis at 900 Hay Street, where it will rise 27 storeys.
Art Series Hotels, a concept developed by the Deague family before selling the chain to Mantra (now part of Accor), takes its inspiration from Australia’s contemporary artists, with original artworks hung in the hotel.
“This announcement reflects the continued expansion and evolution of Australia’s only boutique hotel brand creating art-inspired experiences for guests,” said Accor Pacific boss Simon McGrath.
Speaking at the AHICE conference on Wednesday, Mark Peters, founder of Tribe Hotels, said boutiques were about “the Snap[chat] and Instagram moment”.
“That’s how we sell our product going forward,” he said.
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The median sales price of homes in southeastern Michigan rose 8.6 percent to $189,425 in February, from $174,400 in the same period in 2017, according to figures compiled by RE/MAX of Southeastern Michigan in Troy.
During the same monthly periods, home sales fell 4.7 percent to 2,642 last month as compared to 2,773 a year ago. The number of days from listing to a signed contract was 47 average days last month, versus 51 average days a year ago.
In turn, the region had a 1.8-month supply of homes on the market, down from 2.6 months a year ago. A supply of six months is considered balanced.
Further detail of the median sales price by county shows increases in Wayne (22.4 percent), Oakland (13.6 percent), and Macomb (13.7 percent), while Livingston showed a decrease of 3.5 percent.
“This marks the third consecutive month we have seen a year-over-year decline in home sales. New listings are down across all counties as well which means we can anticipate fast sales and increasing prices to continue as we head into the spring market,” says Jeanette Schneider, vice president of RE/MAX of Southeastern Michigan.
The data for the local market trends and county-specific data trends included in the report is based in whole or in part on data supplied by Boards of Realtors and their MLSs.
Home Sales are the total number of closed residential transactions during the given month. Months Supply of Inventory is the total number of residential properties listed for sale at the end of the month (current inventory) divided by the number of sales contracts signed (pending) during the month.
Days on Market is calculated based on the average number of days listings are on-the-market actively being promoted by the current listing office. Median Sales Price is the midpoint value of all sales processed for the month. This indicates 50 percent of the sales were higher than this amount and the other 50 percent were lower.


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By Erin Zaranec
How do you rebrand a traditional company that is nearly 40 years old and markets to females age 8 to age 80? For Vera Bradley, this started with one simple question for the company’s target audience - why #ItsGoodToBeAGirl.
Holly Wager, a public relations and product placement representative for Vera Bradley, hosted the Why It’s Good To Be a Girl session at National Conference, giving 240 student attendees insights on the iconic company’s rebranding efforts.
“It’s been an evolution, not a revolution,” Wager said of the company’s #itsgoodtobeagirl campaign.
Launched in August 2016, the campaign encourages Vera Bradley’s fans and customers to share reasons for loving and embracing femininity - which the company believes is a superpower.
During the session, audience members across the gender spectrum proudly shared their reasons about why #itsgoodtobeagirl.
“I think it’s really kick-ass that women are responsible for carrying and creating all human life on the planet!”
“As a female, I get to defy expectations and break barriers for my gender.”
“Gender doesn’t equate with the ability to slay.”
“It’s good to be a girl because I love my mother and she is the foundation of my family.”
The audience laughed, clapped and cheered as reasons rang out loud and proud - one of the most powerful effects of the campaign.
“We at Vera Bradley… we say that femininity is not dead and, in fact, it’s a super power,” Wagner said. “We are celebrating everyday reasons why it’s good to be a girl.”
The campaign did more than just create a catchy hashtag, it started a new era for the classic brand.
Vera Bradley’s rebrand, created by Redscout, had three key goals: to ignite a social movement, inspire creative energy and increase brand visibility.
The company opened the first Vera Bradley showroom in New York, opening a SoHo location that creates an exclusive shopping experience that isn’t open to the general public. By partnering with key influencers and hosting a VIP opening event, the company garnered media coverage across print and web platforms, bringing new visibility to the brand.
Vera Bradley has transformed from a handbag company to a lifestyle brand. To combat the challenge of marketing to such a large audience, the brand created Amanda: The Day Maker. This persona is your typical joiner - she loves to be busy and takes on any challenge life throws at her, she’s the hostess of the party and is making sure everyone feels comfortable and everything flows smoothly.
Amanda represents the girl that Vera Bradley previous lost after college because they struggled to transition the brand into their career and professional life. Vera Bradley’s leather line and other new brand initiatives create “beautiful solutions” to the busy girl’s life and is timeless and classic for any age.
To supplement the campaign, the company created an online hub featuring multimedia content that spreads the message of femininity being a super power. Users can go on the website and share their reasons for why #itsgoodtobeagirl, sharing product photos or plain text.
Overall, the campaign is still going strong today with strong female partners like blogger Amber Fillerup, actress and professional dancer Julianne Hough and singer Kelsea Ballerini. More than 225 million impressions have been generated online as a result of the campaign.
Another reason #itsgoodtobeagirl? Free product at National Conference sessions! All student attendees at the session received a free Vera Bradley makeup bag and everyone received Vera Bradley lanyards at conference check-in.
Erin Zaranec is a senior public relations major and is PRSSA Kent's president. Contact her at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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While its smartphones face an uncertain future, Microsoft’s Surface devices are firing on all cylinders
Apple's iPad Pro packs a smart pen, keyboard and a gigantic display
Windows 10 is fast, fresh and free to millions of users
Can Microsoft's lesser slate step out of its sibling's shadow?
“I’m just charging my phone!” Guys, we finally have a reason not to be embarrassed when we’re caught with our pants down. Pornhub, provider...
With Samsung commanding the lion’s share of press coverage at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, it’s easy to forget that dozens of manufacturers...
Giving technology for Christmas may seem impersonal, but for the right person it can be an incredible gift.
With the Nexus 6 and 9, Google is taking a bold step into previously unexplored territory


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You now have an easier online way to manage your Home Delivery subscription for The Oklahoman. Go to our secure server to update account information, make a payment, set up vacation no-delivery times, change your delivery address, or report delivery concerns.
Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee, left, is joined by state Attorney General Bob Ferguson as he talks to the media in Olympia, Wash. about the federal government's announcement that it will not sue to stop Washington and Colorado from taxing and regulating recreational marijuana for adults, on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2013. Last fall, voters made both states the first in the country to legalize the sale of marijuana to adults over 21 at state-licensed stores. The states are creating rules for the system, with sales expected to begin early next year. (AP Photo/Rachel La Corte)


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Pitney Bowes Sues Apple, Lexmark, Xerox Over Patents For Laser Jet Printing
Press release from the issuing company
STAMFORD, Conn., June 20 -- Pitney Bowes Inc. today announced that it has filed legal actions against eight companies for infringement of its "272 patent,'' or variable dot printing patent which enhances the resolution of laser jet printing, that was the subject of a recent settlement with Hewlett-Packard. The suits were filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.
Legal actions were filed against: Apple Computer, Inc., Lexmark International, Inc., Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, Panasonic Personal Computer Computer Co., NEC Technologies, Inc., Samsung Electronics America, Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., and Xerox Corporation for infringement of Pitney Bowes' 272 patent.
"We are currently engaged in discussions with these companies and seek a business resolution to these claims,'' said Michael E. Melton, deputy general counsel, Intellectual Property and Technology Law, Pitney Bowes. "We will continue to look for ways to strategically leverage our intellectual property assets for licensing, and to form partnerships that will further enable us to deliver mission-critical, best-in-class solutions to our customers.''
Pitney Bowes has a long history of licensing its technology, and currently has license agreements with companies in a variety of industries, including printing, word processing, shipping and mailing.
WhatTheyThink is the global printing industry's go-to information source with both print and digital offerings, including WhatTheyThink.com, WhatTheyThink Email Newsletters, and the WhatTheyThink magazine. Our mission is to inform, educate, and inspire the industry. We provide cogent news and analysis about trends, technologies, operations, and events in all the markets that comprise today's printing and sign industries including commercial, in-plant, mailing, finishing, sign, display, textile, industrial, finishing, labels, packaging, marketing technology, software and workflow.


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The Corporate Market Tracker team at Lexis®PSL has published a Trend Report examining market trends in initial public offers (IPOs) on AIM in Q1 2014 and continuing trends in AIM activity. 2014 has seen a marked increase in the number of companies coming to market and the amount of money being raised. This reflects an upsurge in investor confidence in smaller growth companies, as monitored in the QCA/BDO Small and Mid-Cap Sentiment Index, powered by YouGov, and suggests that 2014 will be a buoyant year for AIM.
The report provides an in depth analysis of the types of companies seeking admission to AIM in 2014 and the commercial factors that may be affecting domestic and global IPO activity. It also examines how the issue of cyber security and the possible effect of Scottish independence are being disclosed to investors. The report features expert commentary from Edward Craft, Chairman of the Corporate Governance Expert Group of the QCA and a partner at Wedlake Bell LLP.
Lexis®PSL has also released its latest video in its Market Tracker Talking Points series in which Dan Hirschovits, of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, discusses the booming IPO market, the quality of companies currently coming to the market, and whether the FCA is taking a tougher attitude towards companies seeking IPOs.
This article was prepared by the Corporate Market Tracker team at Lexis®PSL. For further information about the report or the video, please contact Nicola Green or Jane Mayfield at Lexis®PSL Corporate.


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- By admin
(«ΕLLA-DIKA MAS» is the logo created by EUROCERT Inspection and Certification Company S.A. with a view to certify businesses of Greek property whose products are produced in Greece and have presence in the Greek Retail Market.)
Forty six extrovert Greek-owned production-processing companies have joined forces in the «ELLA-DIKAMAS» initiative to highlight and promote the modern, business and productive culture of our country. The initiative launched in the years of crisis by five companies is constantly growing.
In fact, the 5th plenary session of «ELLA-DIKAMAS» was held in Thessaloniki on 21-23 September with the hosts of the initiative's member companies based in the county, Regina, Agrino, Haitoglοu Bros S.A. and Ktima Gerovassiliou, with a view to taking stock of its work and planning the upcoming years.
Following the completion of the plenary session, the participants visited the factories of Regina, Agrino and Haitoglou Bros, as well as the Gerovassiliou Estate. Then the members visited the archaeological site of Vergina.
Speaking to Voria.gr, the food company head of Regina, Nikos Kourantidis, who welcomed and guided visitors to the premises of the 3,000-metre surface operation in the Industrial Area in Sindos,Thessaloniki highlighted the importance of the «ELLA-DIKAMAS» initiative. “The initiative is not only a synergy but the real proof that members not only produce and standardise in Greece but also have their headquarters here, unlike several other companies that have moved it elsewhere, so that we are taxed here and all social security contributions are paid in Greece so that Greek society as a whole benefits and every consumer knows that Mr Kourantidis noted.
Regina was founded in 1958 by Christos Kourantidis on the marketing of royal jelly and then honey, and from its first steps invested in innovation and outward orientation. In 1971, Regina was the first Greek company to participate in an international food fair, especially the Anuga exhibition in Cologne. The company has its products in Greece and abroad, with 40-50% of sales being exports to Europe, America, Asia, Australia and the Balkan markets, and participates every year in many fairs around the world. Particularly dynamic is Regina's exhibition presence in 2018, the year of celebration of the 60-year anniversary of the company's founding.
The «ELLA-DIKA MAS» initiative
ELLA-DIKA MAS initiative is comprised of Greek manufacturing companies that choose, despite adversity and ever-increasing disincentives, to maintain the center of their worldwide business activities in our country, and for the most part they are private entrepreneurs-producers who too , as natural persons, have their tax and business headquarters in Greece. That is to say, companies that insist on maintaining the triptych in Greece: (1) Production, (2) Headquarters and (3) Property.
The high added value offered to the Greek economy by the member companies of the «ELLA-DIKAMAS» initiative is certified by Eurocert, a European Inspection and Certification Company. Eurocert has created a ‘Standard of Requirements’, which evaluates and attributes to member companies, the «ELLA-DIKAMAS» mark, so that their products bear an identification mark in order to be identified and selected by consumers and traders who wish to support Greek productive entrepreneurship.


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Popular Windows Phone game, Despicable Me: Minion Rush received a new update in Windows Store. The latest update comes with new features and improvements in celebration of Holiday season.
Catch the spirit of the holidays with minion rush in this festive new update!
• Collect Holiday – themed items such as the holiday Bell, Santa Hat and Bag of gifts to win Dave’s Snowboarder costume in the new special mission!
• Don’t miss out an festive treats such as the re-decorated Jelly Lab and the new Bobsleigh mini-game!
• Race against other players in the Arctic and take advantage of new costume skills available for Dave’s Santa and firefighter costumes in Minion races!


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Gamer accounts have never been more at risk than they are now. Attacks have surged since the pandemic.
According to the report, the attacks came after the popularity of cloud gaming platforms. “The gaming industry has attracted cybercriminals almost from the start. The sudden boom in gaming during the pandemic has not gone unnoticed by global threat actors. In 2021, attacks on the gaming industry have more than doubled from the previous year.”
The player account is a consumption account
The report says gamers are spending heavily on things like character upgrades and tools. For example, in just 3 months in 2020, Activision Blizzard made $1.5 billion from microtransactions alone. This growth in spending on virtual goods shows no signs of abating.
“To attackers, gamers represent value. If they can hack into user accounts, bad actors can steal everything from in-game currency and assets to account information, and then sell the loot on the dark web. Or, they can steal The entire account and the amount of time gamers put into creating the gaming experience. They can then rename the account and sell it. Also, if hackers can hack into a gaming company, they can do all kinds of damage – from stealing source code and engineering Cheating makes the game unfair, to extorting companies by encrypting systems or publicly exposing leaked data.”
Player Accounts and Microtransactions
This Microtransaction Marketplace It is expected to be worth $106 billion by 2026. The gaming industry is currently the target of 37% of all DDoS attacks. The financial industry is the second largest target industry, accounting for 22%.
According to the report, “The United States is the main target of attackers, followed by countries in Europe and Asia such as Switzerland, India, Japan, the United Kingdom. Gaming companies are moving operations to the cloud, creating a new threat surface for hackers. Microtransactions – in The gaming industry is pervasive — there’s a huge appeal to criminals who can exploit the spending power of gamers without drawing attention.”
Cyber Attacks and Cloud Gaming
Jonathan Singer is a Senior Strategist at Akamai. “As gaming activity increases and evolves, so does the value of disrupting gaming activity through cyberattacks. Cybercriminals often disrupt live services and use credentials to steal gaming assets. Additionally, as the industry expands toward cloud gaming, new The threat surface of the world has opened the door for attackers to introduce new players who are prime targets for bad actors.”
Crimes like microtransactions come because many small transactions can fly under the radar of tax officials. This is because they do not trigger the dollar amount threshold ($10,000).
All information contained on our website is published in good faith and for general information purposes only. Any action that readers take with respect to the information on our site is entirely at their own risk.


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Marijuana is big business. In North America, legal sales of cannabis climbed 33% in 2017 to hit $9.7 billion, according to research from ArcView. The industry is projected to reach $25 billion by 2021.
With Canada set to officially legalize adult use of marijuana in October, lots of investors are looking at marijuana stocks with greater scrutiny. After all, a lot of the projected growth will likely come from Canada’s market. And marijuana-related sales may also include edibles, CBD oils and other cannabis-related products.
But have investors overshot marijuana stocks? Is the bubble about to burst?
North American Marijuana Index Falls
The North American Marijuana Index tracks share prices of top Canadian and U.S. marijuana stocks. Between mid-January and mid-July, the index has fallen 46%. Its value has quadrupled since February 2016, but it looks like the market reached its peak and is in the process of bursting.
Marijuana is a tricky market because there’s no precedent. Canada is the first industrialized nation to legalize pot. There’s little to go off of in terms of supply and demand outlook.
Demand may outpace supply initially, but as time goes on and as Canada’s growers reach full capacity, there may very well be a supply glut.
Oversupply became a problem in Washington, Colorado and Oregon within just a few quarters, so a supply glut is a valid concern.
Largest Pot Stocks Underperform in July
July was a disappointing month for marijuana stocks. Out of the top 25 largest stocks, 24 dipped lower. Among those, 10 ended the month lower by a double-digit percentage.
Zynerba Pharmaceuticals (ZYNE) took the biggest dive, falling 31.7% in July. The cannabis-based drug developer lost nearly a third of its value last month. The dip came after the company announced that it was offering about 4 million shares of common stock at $8 per share.
Zynerba also had disappointing clinical results with its ZYN001 cannabinoid-based patch. The company is now focusing on ZYN002, a cannabinoid gel that is being tested for use on patients with Fragile X syndrome and a few other ailments.
Shares of Auxly Cannabis Group (CBWTF) fell more than 26% last month. Auxly’s issue is its outstanding share count due to bought-deal offerings. The company has turned to common stock to raise capital, and its share count has soared as a result.
Auxly, which is a streaming company, provides capital to its licensed partners. Although the company’s market cap has markedly increased, share prices have fallen more than 70%.


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DESTINATION Queenstown’s inaugural Queenstown Week event saw attending trade delegates venture into the great outdoors on the third day of their Queenstown famil.
The group experienced life on the waters of Lake Wakatipu with Southern Discoveries, got a taste of luxury with some breakfast at Touch of Spice villa, before travelling to Glenorchy to experience the Dart River Wilderness Safari with the help of Alpine Adventures.
Queenstown Week commenced 30 Oct and will wrap-up this Sat on 04 Nov.
Pictured is part of the delegation taking in one of the many highlights during their Queenstown Week famil.
The post Q’town shows its best views appeared first on Travel Daily.
Source: Travel Australia


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USWNT F Christen Press said she "wasn't familiar" with Barstool Sports before her brief collaboration with the outlet during the team's post-World Cup celebrations. She said, "To be perfectly honest, I wasn't familiar with the site when my (representation) team presented the opportunity to me, and I think everybody that knows me well knows that I support kindness, respect and dignity for all people." In Utah, Brad Rock noted Press "agreed to give Barstool followers an inside look" at the USWNT's championship celebration on social media. Rock: "Don’t plan on seeing her again [on the outlet]" (DESERET NEWS, 7/21).
SEEING RED: In N.Y., Paul Lukas wrote some sports fans have "become reluctant to wear their favorite teams’ red headwear, or have even stopped wearing it altogether, because they don’t want people to think they’re wearing one of the MAGA hats" made popular by President Trump. Managers at several sportswear shops said that red caps "have been harder to obtain from distributors lately, and some of them said the scarlet scarcity was directly related to the MAGA connection" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/21).
GOING THE DISTANCE: Under Armour has "signed NCAA champion distance runner Morgan McDonald to a sponsorship deal, giving it a high-profile endorser in a segment of the sportswear industry long dominated by Nike." McDonald joins a "relatively small group of track and field athletes" sponsored by UA, and becomes one of the athletic brand’s "most high-profile endorsers in the sport." McDonald "wore Under Armour as a collegian," as the company signed a $96M deal in '15 to outfit the Univ. of Wisconsin (BALTIMORE SUN, 7/19).


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The legendary Italian team joins Parley and adidas, transforming threat into thread
“The new Juve kit has eco-innovation and longevity at its very heart.”
-Francesca Venturini, Designer at adidas
Following our collaborations with Manchester United and Major League Soccer, Parley and adidas Football have teamed up with Juventus to equip the legendary team for the 2018/19 season. Fusing performance, technology and innovation, the kit is made from Parley Ocean Plastic®, a range of premium materials transforming intercepted plastic waste into symbols of change.
The sleek dark grey jersey, now available at adidas.com and the official Juventus store, is a call to action to protect the oceans. It highlights the threat that is plastic pollution, and sets a new industry standard focused on creativity and collaboration to come up with more ecologically aware products.


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E-Bucks signs Pro Shop
Good news for South African golfers. FNB’s eBucks has joined forces with The Pro Shop, Africa’s largest golf retailer.
Good news for South African golfers. FNB’s popular loyalty programme, eBucks, has joined forces with The Pro Shop, Africa’s largest chain of specialist golf retailers.
And it means that all First National Bank account holders and e-Bucks members who play golf can use their eBucks to obtain free golfing equipment, footwear and apparel.
It also provides the perfect opportunity for those members who have been thinking about taking up the sport, to go out and get together the golfing goodies they need to finally get started.
Benjamin Marais, Partner Acquisition Executive at eBucks, says that golf is a key area of interest for many FNB customers and eBucks members.
“Annually, an FNB customer spends in the region of R 2, 000 on golf (balls, equipment and apparel) so we’re excited to bring the country’s leading golf retailer on board, as it is not only a well-known and respected brand in South Africa, but the market leader too.”
Rhys Hughes, joint managing director of The Pro Shop’s holding company, MoreGolf, in the meantime says that partnering with eBucks opens up the world of golf to a much wider audience.
“Being able to use your eBucks to buy your first set of clubs, a few balls and a glove makes it so much easier to get started on the golf course. It is also a great opportunity to get your kids or your significant other half into golf without breaking the bank.
“Most golfers have had the unfortunate experience of counting the cost of lost golf balls. An average golfer can lose around 40 golf balls a year, and if you take into account the 160,000 golfers registered with the South African Golf Association, that’s a lot of golf balls,” Hughes added
But with their wide and extensive ranges that include all the world’s biggest and latest International brands as well as many of it’s smaller, less expensive golfing options, eBucks can get you a lot more than just golf balls.
They can also be earned and spent at The Vodacom World of Golf, Vodacom Golf Villages, PlayMoreGolfSA, MoreGolf Getaways and TeeTimeSA.
To date prior to the e-Bucks-Pro Shop partnership, I, the writer of this report, have, over the years, purchased a dish-washer, a refrigerator and a hob and oven with my e-bucks so I can’t wait to save up enough of them to ‘buy’ the new three wood I need.
FNB customers are also able to earn additional eBucks – over and above what they would normally earn – if they use their FNB credit, cheque or debit cards at The Pro Shop’s till points.
Marais confirmed that eBucks members will earn 2% of their purchases back in eBucks from The Pro Shop, and if members pay for the purchase with FNB products (check and credit cards etc), they will earn up to 3% of the purchase price back in eBucks.
eBucks, First National Bank’s (FNB) rewards programme, is widely acknowledged as South Africa’s leading loyalty programme with over 2 million members who are highly active, spending in excess of 80% of the eBucks earned in any given month.
To date, members have spent almost over R1.2 billion worth of eBucks since the programme’s inception in October 2000; with FNB having made the largest contribution to the over R1.7 billion worth of eBucks allocated to members during this period.
About The Pro Shop:
MoreGolf (Pty) Ltd, owned and operated by Darryl Egdes, Rhys Hughes and a consortium of investors was founded in 1997 and focuses on the retail and leisure sectors of the golf industry. The Pro Shop changed the face of golf retail in South Africa by delivering amongst other propositions, world class stores, internationally branded products at internationally competitive prices, 30 day satisfaction guarantees and unsurpassed service.
The Pro Shop has a significant share of the South African golf retail market. The Pro Shop operates under the MoreGolf Group which also owns The Vodacom World of Golf, Vodacom Golf Villages, PlayMoreGolfSA, MoreGolf Getaways and TeeTimeSA.
Padraig Harrington: Bryson DeChambeau has stolen the glory and the thunder
Padraig Harrington says Bryson DeChambeau’s successful power game is going to shape the future of golf.
Bernard Gallacher and Sam Torrance relive 1995 Ryder Cup moments
This Thursday marks 25 years since Europe won the Ryder Cup on American soil in sensational fashion.
US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau ‘changing the way people think about the game’
The 27-year-old was the only player to break par on a demanding final day.
5 things you might not know about US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau
DeChambeau can sign his autograph backwards with his left hand.
Bryson DeChambeau savours ‘blood, sweat and tears’ US Open triumph
The American won by six shots from compatriot Matthew Wolff.
Bryson DeChambeau wins US Open with Winged Foot masterclass
The American finished six shots clear of compatriot Matthew Wolff,
Rory McIlroy unravels within minutes as Winged Foot bears its teeth
The four-time major winner found the fairway and green in regulation on the opening hole, but then four-putted from 90 feet.
Distance debate set to roll on as errant drives fail to derail US Open hopefuls
Only two players had finished under par in five previous US Opens at Winged Foot.


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- The method allegedly used by China to view the networks of U.S. tech companies lacked complexity, according to Jamil Jaffer.
- He was responding to a Bloomberg report that some U.S. tech servers were embedded with Chinese spy chips. The companies strongly deny the report.
- "That's actually a pretty amateurish way to conduct a hack," says Jaffer, founder of the National Security Institute at George Mason University.
The method allegedly used by China to view the networks of some U.S. tech giants lacked complexity, according to Jamil Jaffer, a former senior advisor to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"They're talking about putting a chip on a motherboard," said Jaffer, founder of the National Security Institute at George Mason University. "That's actually a pretty amateurish way to conduct a hack."
In a bombshell report Thursday, Bloomberg BusinessWeek said data center equipment run by Amazon Web Services and Apple may have been subject to surveillance from China via a microchip inserted during the manufacturing process of the hardware.
Apple and Amazon have strongly denied the report.
According to Bloomberg, the chips were used for gathering intellectual property and trade secrets from U.S. companies and may have been introduced by a Chinese server company called Super Micro.
In an interview Friday on CNBC's "Squawk Box," Jaffer said implanting a microchip would actually be quite unusual. Instead, the Chinese government could have manipulated software, which wouldn't be as obvious, he said.
"It was an odd sort of effort by the Chinese, [which] we know are pretty sophisticated," he said.
It's normal for another country to want to enter or gain access to another government's system, Jaffer said.
However, he added that the U.S. has gotten more aggressive with China over the years, causing China to narrow its cyber intrusions but "they are still conducting very focused efforts."
China is also under intense scrutiny from President Donald Trump, who has been using accusations of intellectual property theft by the Chinese as a core argument for tough trade restrictions on Beijing.
CNBC reported Monday that the Pentagon, amid intensifying tensions with China, canceled Defense Secretary James Mattis' visit to China that had been scheduled for later this month.


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Following various leaks presenting renders and less-flattering photos of the unannounced HTC U11 Plus (or U11+), we can now see the smartphone in a hands-on video. Inadvertently published by Swiss publication Blick.
We can take a pretty good look at the HTC U11 Plus and its 6-inch, 1440 x 2880 pixels display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. The new phone has thin bezels around its screen.
Meanwhile, there is still no headphone jack on the device pictured, so users will likely have to use Bluetooth, USB Type-C headphones, or a USB Type-C adapter on that front.
Suspected benchmarks for the device, as well as previous leaks, suggest it will arrive with the same Snapdragon 835 SoC since that is still the best chipset on the market. It is also expected to ship with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM, combined with 64GB and 128GB of storage, depending on the variant chosen.
One area that has reportedly been improved is in the size of the device’s battery. Where the HTC U11 only packed in a 3,000 mAh battery, the U11 Plus may arrive with a 4,000 mAh battery inside, if the most recent rumors are to be believed.
The U11 Plus also kept a single camera on both front and back and it is still encased in the attractive mineral-laden “Liquid Surface” of its predecessor.
Like its predecessor (U11), the HTC U11 Plus comes with Edge Sense, letting users squeeze its frames in order to perform various tasks. The hands-on video shows that HTC enhanced this feature, now providing more customization options.
Besides the high-end U11 Plus, the leaked video also showcases the mid-range HTC U11 Life – more exactly, its Android One version, which should have cleaner software compared to the model expected to be released in the US.
The HTC U11 Life will be available in a “Brilliant Black” color option and be priced at €369, one industry insider recently said. The black color adds to the blue and white variants of the handset that were reported earlier this month.
The source also claims that the aforementioned price tag will be attached to the variant with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal flash storage, with the cost itself translating to $429 at the current exchange rate.
It’s likely that HTC will also offer a variant with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage but there’s still no available information regarding the pricing and availability of that model.
However, everybody should know soon enough, since HTC is holding an event on November 2nd and its newest device is expected to be announced at that time.


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Samsung Bioepis isn't flinching on its trastuzumab biosimilar launch schedule, COVID-19 and 4 other biosimilar competitors notwithstanding, said Sang-Jin Pak, MD, executive vice president of the company's Commercial Division.
The United States market for biosimilars doesn’t always get the respect it deserves, especially when it’s compared with Europe, which has at least a 10-year lead on biosimilar introduction. But for one company that’s moving into this space, there are undeniable advantages to the US market.
Samsung Bioepis in a partnership with Merck is launching its own trastuzumab product, Ontruzant, and conditions for biosimilar uptake in the United States have been improving lately, said Sang-Jin Pak, MD, executive vice president of Samsung Bioepis’ Commercial Division, in an interview with The Center for Biosimilars®.
“If you look at the latest launches, especially in oncology, they actually are quite successful,” he said. “The uptake is steep, and we see that, among both payers and providers and also patients, the acceptance level is increasing significantly, and so we remain very optimistic for the US market.”
The introduction of Ontruzant marks the fifth trastuzumab biosimilar introduced since 2019, but also the third trastuzumab biosimilar introduced just this year, the other recent entrants being from Pfizer and a partnership of Celltrion and Teva. Samsung Bioepis is based in the Republic of Korea.
It may seem like the market has grown very crowded very quickly, and also highly competitive, but the time proximity for all of these launches is so narrow that sales opportunity is still robust, Pak said.
“We believe there is enough room in the market for us to grow, and there’s enough unmet patient need for this life-saving medicine, so we believe we have an important role to play here in the US market,” he said.
Ontruzant was cleared for marketing by the FDA in January of 2019, and with the first competitor to reference Herceptin jumping into the market in July 2019, and the fourth biosimilar trastuzumab arriving in March 2020, there was undeniable pressure on Samsung Bioepis and Merck to get rolling with their commercialization plan as well, but this was a preplanned launch that was not accelerated by any competitor action, Pak said.
Nor did coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) influence the schedule, he said, although, “obviously, COVID-19 is an exceptional time.”
In the United States, Merck is handling the commercialization end of the launch. For that reason, Pak could not speak to the strategy that would be employed to get the product out to providers and patients. But remote access will be part of that effort, as sales representatives across the pharmaceutical industry have been grounded by COVID-19 and forced to utilize other means of getting the product message out, he said.
“In the time of this lockdown, none of the pharma companies can actually do face-to-face meetings. I think all of them have resorted, more or less, to remote technologies. But I cannot comment if this is going to be the case after COVID-19,” Pak said.
COVID-19 has been a well-placed wrench in the works of many engines of commerce, but Samsung Bioepis believes it will be able to fully support the commercialization of its trastuzumab biosimilar. “We’re very proud of our supply continuity because we have a dual-sourcing strategy, and we believe we have enough inventory in order to ensure continued supply, even in times of COVID-19,” Pak said.
Samsung Bioepis has indicated that it intends to market traszuzumab at a 15% discount to Herceptin. With 6 trastuzumabs on the market, including the reference product, The Center for Biosimilars® asked Pak whether the diversity of offerings would make it difficult to sustain an 85%-to-reference price level.
“It’s obviously hard to predict how this will go, but our experience in Europe has shown that with more competition there is also more price competition; so, yes, my expectation would be that prices will go down over time,” he said.
Samsung Bioepis already has 1 biosimilar on the US market—the infliximab product Renflexis. The company also has a bevacizumab biosimilar planned for the United States. The application for that product was accepted by the FDA in November 2019 and a decision is anticipated by the fourth quarter of 2020.
The company aims to bring an adalimumab biosimilar to market. That launch, against AbbVie’s blockbuster Humira, is expected to occur in 2023, at which time as many as 9 adalimumab biosimilars could flood the market. Five of those, including Samsung Bioepis’ Hadlima, have received FDA approval.
An additional product is Eticovo, an etanercept biosimilar to Amgen’s Enbrel. Eticovo got its approval in April 2019, but the launch date is up in the air. “Eticovo is still not decided yet, and I cannot comment further because there’s some legal action ongoing with another etanercept biosimilar (Erelzi, Sandoz) that we are closely monitoring,” Pak said.
Samsung Bioepis was founded in 2012 as a joint venture between Samsung Biologics and Biogen. Biogen is handling commercialization of the Samsung Bioepis’ biosimilars in Europe. It’s an exciting time for the company, Pak said.
“This is the first oncology biosimilar for us, together with our commercialization partner Merck, in the United States, and we believe that we have really, through process innovation and our quality management, developed and manufactured a high quality biosimilar which will help patients gain access to this medicine,” he said.


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The government could face “limitless” losses as a result of businesses that accept payments in untaxed and untraceable cryptocurrencies going bust, an insolvency expert has warned.
A growing number of companies, including the ethical cosmetics firm Lush and office-sharing firm WeWork, have begun taking payments for goods and services in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, alongside debit payments, credit or cash.
But while the shift has been welcomed by crypto-enthusiasts, experts said it could be an easy way for directors to hide cash from authorities, particularly when companies go bust.
Julie Palmer, a managing director at insolvency firm Begbies Traynor, said the growing popularity of cryptocurrency payments would make it harder for administrators – who are in charge of winding down a business after it fails – to track where money has come from, and whether owners, staff or directors are stripping funds out of the business illegally.
It means criminals could walk away with income that would usually be clawed back and distributed to creditors, including the tax collectors at HM Revenue and Customs and local authorities.
Palmer said that without new regulations and taxation plans, the government could face huge losses. “The potential is limitless, depending on how popular this becomes,” she warned.
It is the latest threat emerging from the rising popularity of cryptocurrencies, which have been linked to money laundering and black market dealings.
Criminals hoping to conceal wealth from tax collectors and administrators have traditionally had to go through the onerous process of setting up an investment vehicle, such as an offshore trust, to hide cash. In recent years, it has become easier for small businesses, tradespeople and criminals to accept payment in cryptocurrency by setting up “virtual wallets” online.
With trusts, “at least we could see the source of that money and where it’s gone”, Palmer said. But with cryptocurrencies, which are harder to trace, “we’ve got even less of a chance of actually tracing that and seeing the money that’s been taken out”.
Palmer said there was nothing the insolvency profession could do to tackle the issue on its own and believes UK authorities – who are a “year or two behind” the US on the issue – should take action and introduce laws to ensure crypto-assets are properly regulated and taxed. “It’s potentially a major loss of income tax revenue,” she said.
HMRC said it recently released a manual outlining the tax consequences of different types of crypto-asset transactions.
An HMRC spokesperson said: “We take action, including using powers provided by parliament to gather data from a range of information sources, to identify and investigate those that have failed to declare all their income and gains, ranging from individuals operating in the hidden economy, through to sophisticated organised crime groups and offshore structures used to hide earnings and other assets.”
The Treasury is reviewing evidence from a consultation on how to regulate crypto-assets.
The review is taking place at the same time as the Bank of England and the Treasury weigh up the possibility of digital assets being integrated into the UK’s monetary system, potentially via a Bank-issued asset sometimes dubbed “Britcoin”.
While the Bank has signalled that it is open to the idea, its chief economist Andy Haldane has dismissed as fanciful the idea that existing cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin could become a standard payments mechanism.


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Google made a couple of exciting announcements for its customers and partners in Nigerian and Africa during the 3rd edition of the annual Google for Nigeria event that took place on Wednesday, July 24 2019 in Lagos.
Google launched new apps, added new features to existing offerings, and made other key announcements. In case you missed the event here are some of the key announcement made at Google for Nigeria 2019
Key Announcements at Google for Nigeria 2019
- Bolo: Bolo is an app that helps kids (aged between 6 and 11) learn how to read and increase their reading fluency. It listens to your kid read and corrects them when they mispronounce words while still encouraging them to keep trying. To make reading fun, the kid is awarded stars (points) as they successfully read through the sentences. The app is already at the Play Store, click here
- Gallery Go: Gallery Go is a light photo app built for low budget smartphones with low memory or slow internet connections. The app is only 10MB in size and can help you manage and edit your photos offline. Gallery is available at the Google Play for devices running Android 8.1 or higher and will be pre-loaded in a couple of budgets phones targeted at the Nigerian market. Download here
- Google Go: Google Go is a light version of Google Search app that like the Gallery Go is also built for devices with low RAM and slow networks. Google Go has been around for a while, but Google announced it will be incorporating more of its services within the app. So going forward, apart from Search, Google Go will now incorporate other Google services like Discover feed to enable you catch up on the latest news and learn more about your interests. Google Assistant and Google Lens will also be available on Google Go soon.
- Google Lens now in Google Go: Google Lens is an app that enables you know what things are simply by taking their photo with your phone’s camera. It can also be used to read written text and convert to speech (text to speech). If the text is written in a language you do not understand, Google Lens can translate to a language of choice. Google Lens is a standalone app, but will now be bundled in Google Go for cheap android phones or users in areas with slow data speeds.
- Google Lens will now supports Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba:
- Google Assistant will now have Nigerian Voice: Yes, Google Assistant will now speak in an accent that most Nigerians can understand. No more foreign and confusing accent. Google Assistant will also be accessible inside Google Go starting next week.
- Google Maps adds Motorcycle Routes: Motorcycles have routes (Okada routes) in Nigeria with motorcycles restricted from certain roads. Google has now a dedicated travel mode on its Maps apps for motorcycle in Nigeria, Benin Republic, Ghana, Uganda, Togo, and Rwanda.
- Maps Navigation Instructions in Nigerian Voice: Google announced that navigation instructions for motorcycle and car driving modes will be in Nigerian accent. This ensures that street names and landmarks will be pronounced the way locals pronounce them eliminating confusion.
- Google Street View coming to more Nigerian Cities: Google Street View was launched in Lagos about two years ago. Google has announced that the service will be expanding to four new Nigerian cities with almost 12,000 kilometers of road added. The four new cities are Enugu, Abuja, Benin City, and Ibadan
- Danfo routes to be introduced for Lagos in a couple of Months
- YouTube will support 10 emerging Nigerian music artist to build their global audience and fanbase on YouTube
- $3 million Google.org grant: Grant to support African non-profits focusing on offering computer science education in under-served communities. Grant will also be available to NGOs that focus on girls, youth empowerment, and agriculture.
- Partner with Nigeria to Develop an Online Safety Curriculum: Google is Partnering with the Nigerian government to develop an online safety curriculum for students in primary and secondary schools
For more details you checkout Google’s Africa blog sharing the Google for Nigeria event.


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At conference, chipmaker tries to spur creativity among computer makers, but company won't likely make such a device. Photos: Intel's own mini PC
As part of a speech at the Intel Developer Forum here, Vice President Don MacDonald demonstrated several concept PCs, including the Sleek Concept Entertainment PC--a square, metallic-colored device that was immediately reminiscent of the desktop computer Apple Computer introduced earlier this year.
It's unlikely that Intel itself would build such a device. The chipmaker often uses its twice-yearly developer events to try to spur creativity among computer makers. Past efforts have seen PCs twisted into all sorts of shapes and even embedded in an Ottoman foot rest.
An Apple representative declined to comment on Intel's concept PC.
Thus far, the concept PC is just a piece of plastic, literally, although its design showed a clock display and optical drive in front, with ports such as USB, optical audio and FireWire in the back.
Most design efforts from computer makers to date have been focused on making entertainment-oriented PCs that look less like PCs and more like the kinds of electronics people have in the living room, such as stereos or DVD players. Gateway put out such a PC in the past, and HP has a current model, as do several niche PC makers.
The style push has led to smaller, less bulky desktops. In the relatively near future, Japanese desktop makers will likely begin to adopt notebook chips to craft sleek desktops, said Mooly Eden, a vice president in Intel's Mobility Group.
Some notebook makers have adopted Intel concepts, such as VoIP and cellular handsets that pop out of a bay in a notebook, and external second screens in laptops, Eden added.
Future add-ons for notebooks include putting transducers in the screen so that it can act as a loudspeaker, Eden added.
At the same time that Intel is looking to push computermakers on the design front, it is also working to improve the quality of such devices. It is also working to ensure that content can be secured to the satisfaction of Hollywood studios, which will decide whether or not to make their movies available on such machines.
MacDonald brought Microsoft eHome executive Joe Belfiore on stage to talk about collaborations between the two companies. He spoke about an effort to make sure Microsoft's digital-rights management technology is compatible with Intel's push for standards to enable content to move among home devices easily while still being protected from widespread distribution.
A Disney executive also spoke about the potential for bringing its Moviebeam service to PCs. The service, which offers more than 100 movies on demand, currently works only with set-top boxes.
Apple, for its part, has not played up the Mac Mini as specifically designed for the living room, although some enthusiasts have envisioned such a future.
Also at the developer event on Wednesday, Intel Executive Vice President Sean Maloney touted a number of the company's mobile computer and cell phone chip efforts.
He showed off the next generation of Intel's Centrino mobile-technology effort, code-named Napa. The company showed off its first 65-nanometer, dual-core mobile chip, code-named Yonah, as well as a future chipset and updated Wi-Fi chips.
Maloney said that Intel plans to include several new technologies with Yonah, including improved heat management techniques and a Digital Media Boost function that Intel said will aid in content creation.
Intel also talked about its plans for Hermon--its latest effort to crack the cell phone market. The company said that later this year it will have one-chip and two-chip designs that include built-in graphics and models optimized for both high performance as well as low power use.
CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos contributed to this report.


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FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Electrical equipment maker AZZ Inc.'s fiscal first-quarter fell 9 percent, hurt by tough comparisons to a quarter boosted by hefty one-time gains.
The results Friday fell short of Wall Street predictions, and the company issued a disappointing profit projection for the full year. Its shares dropped 10 percent shortly after the markets opened.
For the quarter that ended May 31, AZZ earned $14.5 million, or 57 cents per share, down from $16 million, or 63 cents per share, a year earlier.
The recent quarter included losses related to a fire at one of the company's facilities, a gain related to a favorable lawsuit settlement and costs tied to recent acquisitions. Last year's quarter included a gain from insurance proceeds related to the facility fire and costs related to acquisitions.
Excluding those items, the company said it posted an adjusted profit of 56 cents per share for the recent quarter, compared with 51 cents per share a year earlier.
Revenue jumped 44 percent to $183.2 million from $127.1 million.
Analysts, on average, expected a profit of 63 cents per share on $197.6 million in revenue, According to FactSet.
Revenue at the company's electrical and industrial products and services business more than doubled to $96.5 million, boosted by contributions from recent acquisitions, while revenue from its galvanizing service business rose 5 percent to $86.7 million.
The company said it expects to post a profit for the current fiscal year of between $2.65 and $2.95 per share. It backed its previous fiscal year revenue guidance of $825 million to $900 million.
Analysts expect a profit of $2.98 per share on $878 million in revenue.
AZZ shares fell $4.21, or 10 percent, to $38.89 in morning trading. Over the past 52 weeks, the company's shares have traded between $28.95 and $49.10.


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iPhone 4cf – Apple hit by The Yes Mens’ fake ad promoting conflict free production
iPhone 4 Conflict Free Edition: the well known pranksters “The Yes Men” stroke again. This time their target is apple. The fake advertising website apple-cf.com promotes “conflict free” produced iPhones and promises more corporate responsibility. Minerals used in the production of Apples iPhone 4 are extracted from mines in the Congo, where conflicts killed up to five million people. (Read this article in German)
(Update)The Yes Men told macnotes that apple indeed forced their upstream provider to take down the site (Google Translation). They want to bring the page contents back on the net ASAP, though this “… reaction just shows where their big mechanical (and conflict-mineral-rich) corporate heart is at. More is learned by that than would be by keeping the website up.”(/Update)
“We have taken the time to find a new approach to our mineral sourcing in order to ensure that our products only work to help the people of the Congo rather than exacerbate the already occuring problems there. In order to do so this Apple aims not only to purpose conflict free products but also to raise awareness and force other companies on this challenging path of change.”,
reads the promise on apple-cf.com. The Yes Men also name people carrying responsibility for the ongoing conflicts in the third world:
“You can also perform a citizen’s arrest against shareholders and officers of the mining companies that have been implicated in pillaging the resources of the Congo and fueling the conflict in the Congo over the past 14 years. Why not start with John Paulson, the majority shareholder of AngloGold Ashanti, the mining company most responsible for financially supporting rebel groups and furthering the Congo conflict. His office is located in New York at 1251 6th Ave, Floor 50.”
Apple is the last in a long row of corporations and organizations being attacked by the Yes Men. Best known is their prank against Dow Chemical, the company which bought Union Carbide, being responsible for the large dioxine accident in India more than 20 years ago. They promised to take responsibility and pay for the damages done, what Dow Chemical had to deny shortly after.
Apples Reaction on the “iPhone CF” is yet to come. Cupertino is well known for its harsh reactions on unallowed use of trademarks and designs, so the Yes Mens’ perfect copy of Apples style on the fake site will not stay unrecognized. Still, even the WTO did not take down GATT.org, the Yes Mens fake information site on WTOs “General Agreement on Terms of Trade”. A gatt.org-email adress is being used as contact adress for the registration of the apple-cf.com-Domain. On gatt.org itself the actual headline reads “WTO Announces Formalized Slavery Market For Africa”.


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While most people are looking forward to the launch of the Huawei P20 series on March 27, Huawei will be launching a new phone before then. According to recent reports, that phone is the Huawei Y9.
The Huawei Y9 is said to launch on March 15 in Thailand and has already been seen at the FCC and Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission. Evan Blass has leaked a teaser poster of the upcoming phone and it confirms one of the features we have seen in earlier leaks.
Images of the Huawei Y9 that have surfaced show that the phone will have dual rear cameras, and the teaser confirms that. As you can see in the image above, there are two cameras at the top left corner. The Huawei Y9 is also expected to have dual front facing cameras but that isn’t teased in the poster.
Other features it will have include a 5.93” FHD+ display, up to 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. On its rear is a 13MP+2MP combo while the front packs a 16MP+2MP combo. It will also run Android 8.0 Oreo and have a 3900mAh battery.


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Helped by a strong fourth quarter, Harley-Davidson is reporting signs of growth for 2012, with the company’s global sales again up 6.2% over the figures from last year. With sales up 6.6% in the United States, and 5.6% abroad, Harley-Davidson sold 249,849 motorcycles in 2012, and those sales figures translated onto the balance sheet into a 6% growth in revenue ($4.9 billion) and a 4% increase in net income ($623 million).
“Thanks to the outstanding efforts of our employees, dealers and suppliers, Harley-Davidson achieved its growth and restructuring goals in 2012,” said CEO Keith Wandell. “The ambitious restructuring of our manufacturing operations, aimed at delivering better responsiveness for customers and greater operating efficiency, is now largely behind us.”
Though showing only modest growth in the United States in 2012, Harley-Davidson continued to see strength in the Latin American (+39%) and Asia Pacific (+14%) markets. However, sales in Europe were down 3%, following the overall trend for the region.
With the Milwaukee brand’s stronger fourth quarter, there is at least evidence of there being some momentum to the US motorcycle industry’s resurgence after the recession from the credit market falling out. Responsible for roughly half of the US market, Harley-Davidson’s sales gains bode well for the industry’s annual report.
Beginning to invest in its growth in the European market, the woes of the EU continue to plague the Milwaukee brand, as with virtually every other OEM, which has likely been the impetus for Harley-Davidson making advances into India and other developing markets. Expect to see Harley-Davidson continue to push into India in 2013, especially with its rumored made-for-India model.