text:
|By PR Newswire||
|December 4, 2012 08:01 AM EST||
LONDON, Dec. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Research sponsored by NetSuite Inc. (NYSE: N), the industry's leading vendor of cloud-based financials / ERP software suites, today revealed that almost one in four consumers surveyed plan to spend more on their Christmas shopping this year compared to the last three years. Mobile commerce is expected to play a key role in driving sales during this festive season; almost 20 percent of consumers surveyed say they plan to shop through a mobile device this Christmas and one in 10 of consumers aged under 35 said that a mobile device is their primary shopping tool of choice. The research is based on 2,000 UK consumer surveys conducted by Vanson Bourne and announced by NetSuite today ahead of its upcoming report, The Christmas Gamble.
However, when it comes to getting their hands on the perfect gift, consumers are set to gamble this Christmas. Looking back over the last three years, almost half of the consumers surveyed said that a gift they had planned to buy was out of stock, with 80 percent of these consumers experiencing products being unavailable online. Gifts most frequently out of stock include clothes, accessories and toys – with 40 percent of consumers surveyed stating they have been unable to buy these products in the past over the Christmas period. With only half of the consumers surveyed having started their Christmas shopping, many are gambling on whether they will be able to get the gift they really want for their friends and loved ones.
More spent on Christmas presents…for ourselves
The good news for retailers is that almost a quarter of consumers surveyed plan to spend more this Christmas, proving that shopping is still high on the agenda despite the economic gloom. However, austerity may have had an impact on Christmas spirit, with consumers being more selfish in their shopping habits: one in five 18-24 year olds surveyed and one in ten of all consumers surveyed plan to spend more money on themselves this Christmas than on friends and family. The NetSuite-sponsored report also reveals that the UK is a nation of literally laid-back shoppers, with almost 20 percent of consumers surveyed aged under 35 doing their Christmas shopping from the comfort of their bed through eCommerce and m-commerce channels.
Andy Lloyd, General Manager, Commerce Products at NetSuite says: "The Christmas gamble is challenging for both retailers and consumers – while retailers can't afford to be left with too much stock after the Christmas period, being out of stock means they can miss out on critical revenue opportunities and be left with disgruntled customers. Consumers stated that a lack of product availability is the most frustrating thing about Christmas shopping, and almost a quarter of consumers can go to a competing retailer to purchase an unavailable item. With people spending more on their Christmas shopping this year, it's vital that retailers embrace this opportunity and find the right balance between gambling with the right amount of stock and meeting consumer demand and, when faced with an out-of-stock item, that they help consumers find it in another store or have it delivered to their home from the eCommerce site."
Preview of the top trends highlighted in the Christmas Gamble report:
- We're still traditional at heart – despite a dramatic rise in m-commerce, consumers are still loyal to the High Street - the average consumer surveyed carries out 43 percent of their shopping in-store and 57 percent online. However, 68 percent of these consumers plan to spend more online than in-store this Christmas, rising to 75 percent in the East of England.
- Traditional gifts are also at the top of our wishlists with almost a third of consumers surveyed asking for clothes and chocolate, ahead of the iPhone at 13 percent.
- Surprisingly, only one in ten consumers surveyed are disappointed with the Christmas presents they receive, suggesting that shoppers are more on target to get Christmas shopping right.
- Londoners look to spend the most, with 31 percent of those surveyed stating that they plan to spend more on Christmas presents this year, compared to 19 percent in the South West of England.
To ensure consumers can get their hands on their ideal gifts this Christmas before they are out of stock, NetSuite's commerce expert Andy Lloyd has these top tips:
- Shop early to ensure availability – but expect to miss out on some sales, as just over half of retailers are planning pre-Christmas discounts.
- Check product availability online from a retailer's website before going to the store. Many retail websites let you see what products are in stock in a specific store.
- Shop around to find what you want, both online and in-store – although you may need to pay a premium on eBay or elsewhere if you're shopping for a really hot item this Christmas.
- Create your own wishlist and ask people for theirs – in an age of austerity you can't add to the 'regift' pile after Christmas – don't gamble more than you need to!
- Don't assume the best deals are only online – High Street businesses are providing more compelling offers and deals to engage consumers.
- Use your smartphone to capture thoughts and ideas for gifts as inspiration strikes, or even use an App or mobile store to buy the gift there and then.
About the research
The report is based on primary research conducted by Vanson Bourne at the end of November 2012 amongst 2000 consumers across the UK.
About Vanson Bourne:
Vanson Bourne is a specialist research-led consultancy carrying out user research within a technology context. Vanson Bourne's clients range from start-ups to well-known companies that need expert guidance, delivering robust and credible research-based analysis.
Today, more than 12,000 companies and subsidiaries depend on NetSuite to run complex, mission-critical business processes globally in the cloud. Since its inception in 1998, NetSuite has established itself as the leading provider of enterprise-class cloud ERP suites for divisions of large enterprises and mid-sized organizations seeking to upgrade their antiquated client/server ERP systems. NetSuite excels at streamlining business operations, as demonstrated by a recent Gartner study naming NetSuite as the fastest growing top 10 financial management systems vendor in the world. NetSuite has continued its success in delivering the best cloud ERP/financial suites to businesses around the world, enabling them to lower IT costs significantly while increasing productivity, as the global adoption of the cloud is accelerating.
For more information about NetSuite, please visit www.netsuite.co.uk.
NOTE: NetSuite and the NetSuite logo are service marks of NetSuite Inc. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between NetSuite and any other company.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to expectations, plans, and prospects including expectations relating to the future growth of the retail and m-commerce markets. These forward-looking statements are based upon the current expectations and beliefs of NetSuite's management as of the date of this release, and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements including, without limitation, the risk of continued adverse and unpredictable macro-economic conditions. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof, and NetSuite disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
SYS-CON Events announced today that Niagara Networks will exhibit at the 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Niagara Networks offers the highest port-density systems, and the most complete Next-Generation Network Visibility systems including Network Packet Brokers, Bypass Switches, and Network TAPs.
Oct. 28, 2016 12:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,449
Intelligent machines are here. Robots, self-driving cars, drones, bots and many IoT devices are becoming smarter with Machine Learning. In her session at @ThingsExpo, Sudha Jamthe, CEO of IoTDisruptions.com, will discuss the next wave of business disruption at the junction of IoT and AI, impacting many industries and set to change our lives, work and world as we know it.
Oct. 27, 2016 10:30 PM EDT Reads: 540
In today's uber-connected, consumer-centric, cloud-enabled, insights-driven, multi-device, global world, the focus of solutions has shifted from the product that is sold to the person who is buying the product or service. Enterprises have rebranded their business around the consumers of their products. The buyer is the person and the focus is not on the offering. The person is connected through multiple devices, wearables, at home, on the road, and in multiple locations, sometimes simultaneously...
Oct. 27, 2016 10:30 PM EDT Reads: 3,834
SYS-CON Events announced today that Transparent Cloud Computing (T-Cloud) Consortium will exhibit at the 19th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. The Transparent Cloud Computing Consortium (T-Cloud Consortium) will conduct research activities into changes in the computing model as a result of collaboration between "device" and "cloud" and the creation of new value and markets through organic data proces...
Oct. 27, 2016 10:30 PM EDT Reads: 1,508
Everyone knows that truly innovative companies learn as they go along, pushing boundaries in response to market changes and demands. What's more of a mystery is how to balance innovation on a fresh platform built from scratch with the legacy tech stack, product suite and customers that continue to serve as the business' foundation. In his General Session at 19th Cloud Expo, Michael Chambliss, Head of Engineering at ReadyTalk, will discuss why and how ReadyTalk diverted from healthy revenue an...
Oct. 27, 2016 10:30 PM EDT Reads: 3,082
SYS-CON Media announced today that @WebRTCSummit Blog, the largest WebRTC resource in the world, has been launched. @WebRTCSummit Blog offers top articles, news stories, and blog posts from the world's well-known experts and guarantees better exposure for its authors than any other publication. @WebRTCSummit Blog can be bookmarked ▸ Here @WebRTCSummit conference site can be bookmarked ▸ Here
Oct. 27, 2016 10:30 PM EDT Reads: 9,800
Established in 1998, Calsoft is a leading software product engineering Services Company specializing in Storage, Networking, Virtualization and Cloud business verticals. Calsoft provides End-to-End Product Development, Quality Assurance Sustenance, Solution Engineering and Professional Services expertise to assist customers in achieving their product development and business goals. The company's deep domain knowledge of Storage, Virtualization, Networking and Cloud verticals helps in delivering ...
Oct. 27, 2016 10:15 PM EDT Reads: 1,162
The Internet of Things (IoT), in all its myriad manifestations, has great potential. Much of that potential comes from the evolving data management and analytic (DMA) technologies and processes that allow us to gain insight from all of the IoT data that can be generated and gathered. This potential may never be met as those data sets are tied to specific industry verticals and single markets, with no clear way to use IoT data and sensor analytics to fulfill the hype being given the IoT today.
Oct. 27, 2016 10:00 PM EDT Reads: 2,910
SYS-CON Events announced today that Hitrons Solutions will exhibit at the 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Hitrons Solutions Inc. is distributor in the North American market for unique products and services of small and medium-size businesses, including cloud services and solutions, SEO marketing platforms, and mobile applications.
Oct. 27, 2016 10:00 PM EDT Reads: 2,110
OnProcess Technology has announced it will be a featured speaker at @ThingsExpo, taking place November 1 - 3, 2016, in Santa Clara, California. Dan Gettens, OnProcess’ Chief Analytics Officer, will discuss how Internet of Things (IoT) data can be leveraged to predict product failures, improve uptime and slash costly inventory stock. @ThingsExpo is an annual gathering of IoT and cloud developers, practitioners and thought-leaders who exchange ideas and insights on topics ranging from Big Data in...
Oct. 27, 2016 09:45 PM EDT Reads: 536
SYS-CON Events announced today that Enzu will exhibit at the 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Enzu’s mission is to be the leading provider of enterprise cloud solutions worldwide. Enzu enables online businesses to use its IT infrastructure to their competitive advantage. By offering a suite of proven hosting and management services, Enzu wants companies to focus on the core of their online busine...
Oct. 27, 2016 07:45 PM EDT Reads: 1,463
The explosion of new web/cloud/IoT-based applications and the data they generate are transforming our world right before our eyes. In this rush to adopt these new technologies, organizations are often ignoring fundamental questions concerning who owns the data and failing to ask for permission to conduct invasive surveillance of their customers. Organizations that are not transparent about how their systems gather data telemetry without offering shared data ownership risk product rejection, regu...
Oct. 27, 2016 07:15 PM EDT Reads: 314
The Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF), sponsor of the IoTivity open source project, and AllSeen Alliance, which provides the AllJoyn® open source IoT framework, today announced that the two organizations’ boards have approved a merger under the OCF name and bylaws. This merger will advance interoperability between connected devices from both groups, enabling the full operating potential of IoT and representing a significant step towards a connected ecosystem.
Oct. 27, 2016 06:15 PM EDT Reads: 1,330
November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Penta Security is a leading vendor for data security solutions, including its encryption solution, D’Amo. By using FPE technology, D’Amo allows for the implementation of encryption technology to sensitive data fields without modification to schema in the database environment. With businesses having their data become increasingly more complicated in their mission-critical applications (such as ERP, CRM, HRM), continued ...
Oct. 27, 2016 05:45 PM EDT Reads: 1,192
SYS-CON Events announced today that Embotics, the cloud automation company, will exhibit at the 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Embotics is the cloud automation company for IT organizations and service providers that need to improve provisioning or enable self-service capabilities. With a relentless focus on delivering a premier user experience and unmatched customer support, Embotics is the fas...
Oct. 27, 2016 05:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,069
SYS-CON Events announced today that Cloudbric, a leading website security provider, will exhibit at the 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Cloudbric is an elite full service website protection solution specifically designed for IT novices, entrepreneurs, and small and medium businesses. First launched in 2015, Cloudbric is based on the enterprise level Web Application Firewall by Penta Security Sys...
Oct. 27, 2016 04:30 PM EDT Reads: 1,346
Smart Cities are here to stay, but for their promise to be delivered, the data they produce must not be put in new siloes. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Mathias Herberts, Co-founder and CTO of Cityzen Data, will deep dive into best practices that will ensure a successful smart city journey.
Oct. 27, 2016 04:15 PM EDT Reads: 3,285
Data is the fuel that drives the machine learning algorithmic engines and ultimately provides the business value. In his session at Cloud Expo, Ed Featherston, a director and senior enterprise architect at Collaborative Consulting, will discuss the key considerations around quality, volume, timeliness, and pedigree that must be dealt with in order to properly fuel that engine.
Oct. 27, 2016 01:45 PM EDT Reads: 4,004
SYS-CON Events announced today that MathFreeOn will exhibit at the 19th International Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 1–3, 2016, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. MathFreeOn is Software as a Service (SaaS) used in Engineering and Math education. Write scripts and solve math problems online. MathFreeOn provides online courses for beginners or amateurs who have difficulties in writing scripts. In accordance with various mathematical topics, there are more tha...
Oct. 27, 2016 01:45 PM EDT Reads: 1,179
Successful digital transformation requires new organizational competencies and capabilities. Research tells us that the biggest impediment to successful transformation is human; consequently, the biggest enabler is a properly skilled and empowered workforce. In the digital age, new individual and collective competencies are required. In his session at 19th Cloud Expo, Bob Newhouse, CEO and founder of Agilitiv, will draw together recent research and lessons learned from emerging and established ...
Oct. 27, 2016 01:45 PM EDT Reads: 1,630


text:
Todd Rundgren is ready to sing about the benefits of marijuana
Rock & Roll legend Todd Rundgren joins the growing list of artists interested in becoming part of the cannabis industry. According to recent updates, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer has decided to partner with Michigan-based Cheef Cannabis for a collection of two limited edition strains called “Hello, it’s Weed.” The name comes from his hit “Hello, It’s Me” released five decades ago.
One strain, dubbed Michigan Cookies, has a “super high potency level,” as well as a “sweet mocha coffee aroma.” Based on its composition, the product will make you feel “happy and creative” and “socially inspired,” according to Chef. Soi Mintz is the other strain that contains a “spicy herbal nutty flavor and a strong hint of mint” and will make you feel a “little tingle all over your body,” leaving you happy and pain-free.
“I’ve long been, I guess, an advocate for some time,” the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer says. “I don’t necessarily say, ‘Hey, everybody, drop everything and go out and smoke some pot!’ But I’ve never been coy about the fact that I’ve used mind-altering substances for various purposes – often creative purposes.”
To kick off this joining of forces with Chef, Todd said he plans to visit the stores of two branches of House of Dank, a Michigan dispensary, while in the Great Lakes State later this month for his tour with Daryl Hall. He is expected to be at the Ypsilanti dispensary today. Wednesday, he will be at the Grand Rapids store at noon. The product will be available wherever Chef is sold.
“If I had to say I was entering the branded cannabis market, I think the answer would be ‘Duh.’ I’ve never made any secret of the fact that I’ve sought inspiration from altered states. And while there’s no guarantee you’ll create a masterpiece, at least you can find some peace. It’s worth a try,” added the 74-year-old Rundgren.

domain: news


text:
A digital revolution in Dutch auction rooms has left its flower sector blooming, making it even easier for buyers to purchase flowers.
“Digital auctions are an important development and are growing in popularity,” says Jonathon Read, UK director for the Flower Council of Holland. “Like a typical Dutch auction, the price falls, so the skill of buying is knowing when to press the buzzer. The price is therefore led by the supply and demand on that particular day.”
The country’s largest flower auction is Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer. It controls a market share of 45% and sells nearly 20 million plants every day. Last year it traded cut flowers worth £1,009m.
“Around 10% of the flower turnover is realised on the basis of digital information without the buyer being physically present in the auction rooms,” says Aalsmeer.
The growth in digital auctions is benefiting UK supermarkets, the main buyers of Dutch flowers. By removing the need to take flowers to the auction room they can be delivered straight from grower to buyer in better condition.
Some 85% of auctioned flowers in The Netherlands are sold to exporters, with the UK a big market. “Britain is The Netherlands’ most important destination after Germany,” says Read. “It buys 8,000-9,000 types of flowers a year and the country is very dependent on the Dutch for supply. Three out of every five flowers sold in the UK come from The Netherlands.”
Retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury and Marks and Spencer purchase flowers from the country. But their huge buying power has caused pressure on flower suppliers, says Read. “The importance of the major supermarkets to The Netherlands’ flower sales growth over the past 10-15 years has become a big issue in the country.”
But he believes the category will remain an important one, not only in terms of margin but psychologically too.
“Flowers make a statement, providing a blaze of colour and instantly making customers feel welcome when placed at the front of a store. They get a good customer reaction and good margins.”
He also believes the UK will continue to be a major destination for Dutch flowers. “Collectively, the market has sales of £1.5bn a year and is three times the size of Coca-Cola in the UK.”


text:
Two young Ghanaians have built a factory, using locally fabricated technology to produce milk drinks, biscuits, and other products from tiger nuts.
For an hour, Prince Oppong and his production team grind tiger nuts in a mill and pass it through a strainer to separate the chaff from the juice. The juice moves into a holding tank for starch extraction, then to a pasteurizer to remove micro-organisms, and finally to bottling. Within one hour, tiger nut milk drink is made available for consumption.
Tiger nuts, (locally known as ‘atadwe’ in Ghana) are said to be a source of fatty acids, fiber, vitamins and minerals. These are highly appreciated for their health benefits and nutritive value. Despite these potential benefits of tiger nuts, the crop seems under-exploited and under-utilized in Ghana, because most people only find delight in chewing the nuts for various benefits.
Prince and his course mate, Sampare Owusu Banahene, challenged themselves to change the tiger nut narrative.
“One day, after lectures at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), I saw a woman selling tiger nuts, so I asked myself why do we only sell the raw nuts and not process it into milk. I thought we could get milk drinks from it because when you chew it, it gives milk. As a science student studying BSc Laboratory Technology, I started researching into this, and this was in 2017”, Prince narrated.
So, in 2018, the 24 year-old friends started producing tiger nut milk drinks using home-grown technology. “There are a lot of challenges in Ghana and each challenge solved is a business”, Prince noted.
Excited with the potential of owning a business, Prince and Sampare decided to spend their school vacations on campus, so they could do more research. From their research, they also realized that the tiger nuts chaffs can be used for biscuits, so they started prototyping it.
With their pocket money and help from families, Prince and Sampare rented a space from their students’ Hostel Manager and renovated it into a production unit with a small laboratory and few equipment. They noted that the Food and Drug Authority (FDA) gave them approval, after inspection, to operate a cottage industry and this birthed their company, Tiger House Limited.
The Game Changer: A Philanthropist to the Rescue
Production, according to Prince, started becoming overwhelming, as people out of campus in nearby towns became aware of the drinks and biscuits and started placing orders. This meant, they had to put up a bigger factory to be able to meet the demand. Fortunately, this was a time when they were completing their first degree and really needed a ‘saviour’.
“One day, we received a call from one Professor David Kofi Essumang, the Dean of Physical Science, then at UCC. He said he bought our products and decided to look for us. He invited us to his office and asked how he could help. We told him we needed a bigger working space, and he promised to help. Truly, he put up this big factory for us”, said Prince Oppong, Co-Founder of Tiger House.
The big factory was ready in 2019 and needed to be equipped. This was when the young partners saw the Youth Innovation for Sustainable Development (YISD) Challenge, advertised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the National Youth Authority seeking to support young people’s innovative ideas. Luckily, their application was successful.
“The grant was God-sent and made things possible. We were able to complete our production line by working with a local fabricator to make a grinder, washer, separation machine, holding tank, pasteurizer, and dough mixer for biscuits. We also increased our production capacity from 100 bottles of milk drinks to 8000 bottles per month, and the biscuit from 100 to 4000 packs. Our customer-base have also expanded, and we now supply to regular customers in Tarkwa, Kumasi, Accra and Cape Coast”, Prince narrated.
For Prince, the business incubation aspect of the YISD Challenge was a good exposure, as he met other like-minded young people, from whom he learnt a lot. “The connection makes you feel like you are not alone anytime you meet challenges. Because of the YISD Challenge, Mr. Derrick Omari, one of the judges became our Business Development Manager on a pro-bono basis, always advising us”.
Tiger House currently has eight full time workers and five sales officers as casual workers. They also have 60 registered farmers who sell tiger nuts to them.
“Currently, we buy 80kilogramme bag of tiger nuts from the farmers between Ghc300 ($52)-400 ($70) depending on the season. Now, we have about 60 farmers who supply us from the Ashanti, Central, Eastern, and Northern regions”, noted Sampare, Co-Founder of Tiger House.
“We were into tiger nuts farming but selling was taking a lot of time and not profitable. Some of us stopped farming it and diverted into onions and tomatoes farming until Prince and Sampare started coming to buy”, a farmer, Mr. Kwaku Asempa, Brenu Achim in Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem (KEEA) Municipal District noted.
The company is planning to expand and produce tiger flakes, tiger yogurts and tiger spray starch, which have all been prototyped. According to Prince, 4kilogramme of tiger nuts make 50 drinks and its chaff makes 100biscuits. So, they always have excess chaffs that they have to dry-up for stock and want to start producing the tiger flakes cereal. The two young entrepreneurs are looking forward to getting more investors to be able to address their remaining operational challenges like getting cold vans to facilitate transportation of the milk drinks, and a fully automated line to extend the current two-months shelf-life of the drinks to a year.
With more partnerships, young innovators like Prince and Sampare can be supported to grow their business to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement and contribute significantly towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).


text:
It’s been one heck of a roller coaster ride, but DICE’s modern war first-person shooter Battlefield 3 has done quite well for itself ever since its release back in October 2011. Five, eight, and now ten million copies have been sold across the world and the Back to Karkand DLC has offered more value than would normally be expected of a downloadable content package.
And it would seem neither the developer nor publisher EA have any ideas of slowing things down anytime soon, as reports have them announcing new DLC as early as next week in New York. EA VP of Investor Relations Peter C. Ausnit said as much when asked about any plans to offer expansion packs for both Battlefield 3 and EA’s other heavy hitter, FIFA 12.
“You’re going to hear some announcements from us on Battlefield actually as early as next week in an event we’ve got in New York.”
What content will be thrown into the package is as of yet unknown, but rumors suggest it would be an all American DLC, which would include new maps based on Miami, New Jersey, San Francisco and New York. Considering the announcement is being made in the latter, there could be some validity to this rumor. But being exactly that, we’re not holding our breath; next week will tell the truth.


text:
- Warren Buffett took advantage of an arbitrage opportunity involving cocoa beans in 1954.
- Rockwood & Company, a chocolate maker led by Jay Pritzker, was buying back its shares in exchange for cocoa beans, as it wanted to capitalize on sky-high cocoa prices without incurring a huge tax bill.
- The future Berkshire Hathaway boss spent several weeks buying Rockwood shares, swapping them for cocoa beans, and selling the beans on a commodities exchange.
- “The profits were good and my only expense was subway tokens,” Buffett told shareholders.
- Buffett and Pritzker crossed paths again when KKR acquired RJR Nabisco in the late 1980s, and Berkshire later bought Pritzker’s holding company, Marmon.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Warren Buffett’s greatest pleasures in life include chocolate and making money. The billionaire investor and Berkshire Hathaway CEO combined those two passions in 1954 – not by hoarding chocolate coins, but by taking advantage of an arbitrage opportunity involving cocoa beans.
Buffett was 24 at the time and had recently joined Graham-Newman, a New York investment fund cofounded by his mentor, Benjamin Graham. His bosses got wind of Rockwood & Company, a chocolate maker in Brooklyn, making an unusual offer to investors. They dispatched the young Buffett to Rockwood’s shareholder meeting to learn more.
Read More: Investing veteran Barry Norris is beating 95% of his peers by betting against the market’s riskiest companies. He warns investors against the ‘siren call’ to own value stocks – and explains why he’s now bearish on Rolls-Royce.
Jay Pritzker, a member of the powerful Pritzker family, was in charge of Rockwood. The price of cocoa beans had recently skyrocketed from 5 cents a pound to north of 60 cents, due to a temporary shortage, and Pritzker was eager to capitalize by selling Rockwood’s excess inventory. However, a straightforward sale would incur an almost 50% tax on the proceeds, so the executive devised a clever way to escape the levy.
Pritzker explained to Buffett at the meeting that an “arcane provision” in the 1954 Tax Code was key to his plan, the Berkshire chief relayed in his 1988 and 2007 shareholder letters. The loophole allowed a company to avoid a tax hit if it distributed inventory among its shareholders as a result of narrowing the scope of its operations.
Following that rule, Rockwood stopped selling cocoa butter and assigned 13 million pounds of its cocoa-bean inventory to the discontinued business. The confectioner then offered to buy back its stock from investors in return for cocoa beans, at an exchange rate of 80 pounds per share. The repurchase program allowed it to leverage the elevated price of cocoa, avoid hefty taxes, and reduce its outstanding shares in the process.
Read More: Bank of America unveils its top stock pick in each of the 11 S&P 500 sectors and explains why they’re poised to dominate in the year ahead
Read more:Warren Buffett swapped stock for cocoa in the 1950s. Here’s the story of the


text:
Maruti Suzuki has got its single largest order ever of 4000 units for the Gypsy SUV from the Indian Army with 50 percent of the order already delivered.
The Gypsy has been one of the few iconic SUVs that is still on sale in the country and has been favoured for its go-anywhere capabilities, which also makes it a popular choice among the off-roading enthusiasts. Even after two decades post launch, the Gypsy hasn’t lost its sheen as Maruti Suzuki most recently bagged a massive order of 4000 units for the SUV, its single largest order to come from the Indian Army. While the company has not disclosed the financials of the deal, the order is expected to be worth around Rs. 216-230 crores.
The army and the paramilitary forces are a major customer for Maruti Suzuki. The defence forces have been purchasing the Gypsy since 1991 and have purchased a total of 31,000 units over the years. The SUV’s capability to operate in tough terrains and demanding conditions like that of Ladakh has made it a more reliable choice for the army, the company said in a statement. Adding further, the company stated that the good performance and ready availability of spares on Maruti cars also make it a more favourable choice for the army.
Certainly a major boost for the long in the tooth SUV, the military spec Maruti Gypsy is a lot different than the civilian version. The Gypsys for the army come equipped with black-out convoy lights, which emit a green ray during black-outs. The SUV also come with towing hooks and special hooks for mounting weapons. The elaborate standards and quality inspection processes are carried out continuously as the vehicle needs to be prepared to take a rough beating in tough geographic adversities. The car continues to come with an All-Wheel Drive set-up.
The military Gypsy however, comes equipped with the same 1.3-litre 4-cylinder petrol engine much like the civilian version, producing 80 BHP of power and 103 Nm of torque, with the ARAI rated mileage being 11.96 km/l. Out of the latest order of 4000 units, Maruti has already delivered 2100 units, while the remaining will be delivered in the next 5 months. The procurement from the government comes after a long time since the previous government had temporarily stopped purchasing vehicles in mid-2012 due to an austerity drive. Maruti also stated that another government entity the DGS&D has recently approved the procurement of the Ciaz that will only add to the volumes of the mid-size sedan.
Source – Business Standard


text:
16 May 2014
PT Indika Energy Tbk. (INDY), an energy company, is targeting the coal production of one of its subsidiaries PT Kideco Jaya Agung to reach 40 million tons this year, or increases by 10% compared to the realization in last year of 37 million tons.
25 Jan 2014
The Trade Ministry teamed up with the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) to hold an
Indonesia Night at the Morosani Schweizerhoff Hotel on Thursday to display the country’s rich cultural heritage through cuisine, fashion, jewelry, dance, traditional cosmetics and spa, and other arts products. Among other top Indonesian business leaders, Indika Energy president director Wishnu Wardhana, were also present at the event.
17 Jan 2014
Profile of Wishnu Wardhana, the 2013 APEC CEO Summit chairman, the APEC Business Advisory Council chairman and leading entrepreneur in Indonesia.


text:
South African billionaire Christo Wiese has witnessed a remarkable upswing in the market value of his stake in Shoprite Holdings Limited, following a substantial surge in the company’s share price on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
According to data tracked by Billionaires.Africa, Wiese — widely acknowledged as one of South Africa’s most influential business figures — has experienced a notable R2.26 billion ($121.92 million) surge in the market value of his stake in Shoprite over the past 55 days.
The recent multimillion-dollar increase in the market value of his stake can be attributed to sustained investors’ interest in the retail behemoth, which resulted in the surge in the share price of the leading group on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in recent times.
Shoprite shares on JSE surge by 14.2 percent, returning impressive gains to shareholders
Shoprite Holdings — renowned as South Africa’s leading food retailer and Africa’s largest retail conglomerate — operates with a workforce of more than 142,000 employees spanning the continent. It serves customers through an extensive network of 2,989 stores.
In its recently published financial results, Shoprite Holdings achieved a 2.8-percent increase in profit for the fiscal year 2023, from R5.74 billion ($300.17 million) in the prior year to R5.9 billion ($308.55 million) — this comes amid challenging operating conditions and a notable uptick in energy costs, which elevated operating expenses, impacted profit margins.
Despite the recent challenges in its operating environment characterized by shaky consumer confidence, rising living costs, and fierce competition, the group’s share price has risen from R233.42 ($12.613) on Oct.20, to R266.57 ($14.4) as of the time of writing this report — resulting in a total gain of 14.20 percent for shareholders.
Christo Wiese’s Shoprite stake soars above $980 million
Wiese — who played a key role in Shoprite’s growth into its current position as Africa’s largest retailer — owns an 11.5-percent stake in the leading supermarket chain, this stake translates to a total of 68,083,200 ordinary shares in the group.
As a result of the recent surge in its share price, the market value of Wiese’s stake in Shoprite has increased by R2.26 billion ($121.92 million) over the past 55 days, rising from R15.89 billion ($852.50 million) on Oct. 20 to R18.15 billion ($980.42 million) at the time of drafting this report.


text:
CORONA, Calif., Jan. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- AVT, Inc. (OTC Markets: AVTC) (www.autoretail.com), a leader in custom vending machines, automated retailing business opportunities, and self-service kiosks, announced that the "Burrito Box," which they designed for their client, has been called "The Next Redbox" by the Los Angeles Times, and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, People Magazine, and Good Morning America, along with many other top media outlets.
Like the marijuana dispensing machine that AVT designed, the Burrito Box is attracting international attention due to its unique design and functionality.
AVT has a history of innovations and continues to surprise and delight the world with its new machines. Recently, a system they built to dispense fresh-squeezed juice was featured in media throughout the nation. Other AVT systems that were industry firsts and gained international acclaim include the cupcake machine, the Kardashian Cosmetic Center, the Automated Propane Exchange system, and the award-winning Mountain Dew Recycling Center.
"We are innovators at our core," said Shannon Illingworth, Founder and Chairman of AVT, Inc. "People bring us ideas and we bring them to life," he added. "We have the patents, the technology, and the resources to create incredible automated systems that engage customers, build brands, and drive revenues."
For more information on AVT and their industry-leading automated retailing systems, micromarkets, automated malls, custom vending machines, and self-service micro-stores, contact the company at (877) 424-3663, or visit the website at: www.autoretail.com.
For more information on Burrito Box, visit the company website at: http://tastetheburritobox.com/
To view the story on Burrito Box on Good Morning America, visit: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/vending-machine-dispenses-hot-burritos-21464250
To read an article in the Los Angeles Times on Burrito Box, visit: http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-burrito-box-burrito-vending-machine-20140107-photos,0,4720669.photogallery#axzz2pm8SDaIy
To see the Burrito Box in People Magazine, visit: http://greatideas.people.com/2014/01/08/burrito-vending-machine-los-angeles/#more-5576
SOURCE AVT, Inc.


text:
Will you bother updating your internet-connected toaster?
Billions more everyday items are set to be connected to the internet in the next few years, especially as chips get cheaper and cheaper to produce — and crucially, small enough to fit into even the smallest product.
Potentially, any standard household item could become connected to the internet, even if there’s no reason for the manufacturers to do so.
Eventually that processors needed to power an IoT device will become effectively free, making it possible to turn anything into a internet-enabled device.
“The price of turning a dumb device into a smart device will be 10 cents,” says Mikko Hyppönen, chief research officer at F-Secure.
However, it’s unlikely that consumer will be the one who gains the biggest benefits from every device their homes collecting data; it’s those who build them who will reap the greatest rewards — alongside
To read more see the full post at: Internet of Things security: What happens when every device is smart and you don't even know it? - ZDNet


text:
Rap group will co-headline the Isle Of Wight Festival in 2017
Run-DMC rapper Darryl “DMC” McDaniels has filed a $50m (£40.7m) lawsuit against a number of retailers for allegedly unlawfully using the group’s name on items of clothing.
McDaniels, who owns a firm named Run-DMC Brand, made the allegations in a complaint filed in the US District Court in Manhattan.
He said that products, which include T-shirts and hats, sold by Amazon, Walmart and other stores violated federal trademark and New York competition laws.
The rapper also accused the corporate giants of “advertising, selling, manufacturing, promoting and distributing multiple products” in the group’s trademarked name without his consent.
McDaniels said the brand was “extremely valuable” and had been legitimately licensed to various manufacturers including sportswear firm Adidas, itself the subject of one of Run-DMC’s most successful songs, reports BBC News.
The rapper said the brand has generated more than $100m (£80m) in revenue since its inception in 1981.
Earlier this year, McDaniels revealed how listening to Sarah McLachlan’s ballad ‘Angel’ prevented him from committing suicide.
The rapper wrote in his autobiography Ten Ways Not To Commit Suicide: “I cannot over-emphasise how important that song was to me in the midst of my depression. ‘Angel’ kept me serene even when every fibre of my person was screaming for me to lose it and made me believe that I could soldier through.”
The Isle of Wight Festival takes place from June 8-11 at Seaclose Park, Newport. It was previously reported that the festival could be cancelled next year.
Bastille, George Ezra, Rag’n’Bone Man and Jack Savoretti have also been added to the line-up.
Isle of Wight festival originally ran between 1968 and 1970 before being revived in 2002. This year’s festival saw 58,000 attend to see headline sets from Status Quo, Faithless, Stereophonics, The Who, Richard Ashcroft, Queen + Adam Lambert and Ocean Colour Scene. Other past headliners include David Bowie, Foo Fighters, The Killers, Blur, Fleetwood Mac and The Rolling Stones.


text:
Sierra Wireless introduced the AirCard 775 PC Card and the MP 775 GPS modem for EDGE networks at the CTIA show in Atlanta. Both products are slated for commercial availability in the second half of this year. The AirCard 775 offers data rates up to three times faster than on GPRS networks, according to Sierra Wireless, for enhanced user experience and increased productivity. The MP 775 rugged vehicle-mount modem provides in-vehicle data solutions. It operates over EDGE and GSM/GPRS networks. Sierra Wireless is offering current MP 750 GPS rugged wireless modem customers an upgrade to the MP 775 modem.
Wavecom SA and SensorLogic said they are working together to market complete machine-to-machine solutions for existing GSM and CDMA networks. According to the agreement announced at CTIA 2004, SensorLogic will integrate devices from Wavecom’s hardware partners, based on the WISMO Quick Q2426 and Q2438 CDMA modules, in the SensorLogic M2M Portal. The company will present Wavecom as a preferred module supplier of data devices to SensorLogic customers and its sales force while Wavecom will promote the SensorLogic portal to its carrier partners, said the companies.
MapInfo Corp. introduced its location-based demographic analysis solution for telecommunications companies at the CTIA show last week. The Predictive Analytics solution is designed to help communications companies perform in-depth analysis of customers, new markets and potential adoption of new products and services, said the company.
WDS Global will integrate Bitfone Corp.’s mProve 3.1 over-the-air firmware update technology into its service framework. The solution should allow carriers to configure user settings and update handset software over the air. The companies demonstrated the solution at the CTIA Wireless show in Atlanta. The companies say the joint solution ensures that, after point-of-sale, mobile phones remain compliant with the latest device parameters and software configurations.


text:
The season of holiday shopping is upon us, and while Toys R Us is Amazon., another retail giant has stepped in to be your go-to place for toy shopping:
Amazon has mailed out its holiday toy catalog, which can be seen here (PDF). Amazon breaks its toys down into different sections, ranging from Lego sets and other building toys, to superhero and Disney toys, to tech toys (video games and electronics), board games and more.
The Amazon catalog doesn't list prices, but pages have QR codes to scan. More info about products can be seen online at amazon.com/holidaytoylist.
Amazon announced the catalog back in November, and a Amazon spokesperson confirmed Wednesday that the company shipped out the catalog to millions of customers. The physical catalog can also be found in Amazon Bookstores and physical retail locations.
The Toys R Us holiday catalog may havein holiday shopping over the years for kids and parents alike, but perhaps the Amazon catalog will take its place for future generations.
CNET's Holiday Gift Guide: The place to find the best tech gifts for 2018.
: The best discounts we've found so far


text:
Digital TV News: MediaTek
Skyworth unveils smart home lineup at CES
Jan 14, 2020 – Skyworth unveiled its smart home system and full lineup of smart household appliances at CES 2020. Skyworth's Q91 8K Ultra HD TV and W81 Wallpaper OLED TV series led the lineup. The Q91 series is based on MediaTek's S900C TV SoC.
News categories: Skyworth, CES2020, Digital TV, In-Car, Semiconductor, Smart Home, Smart TV, USA
ADB builds satellite STB platform with MediaTek
Nov 21, 2019 – ADB has selected MediaTek as the chipset provider for its latest 4K satellite STB platform. ADB is currently deploying its products for major Pay-TV operators in Europe and Australia. The platform runs on ADB's own software.
News categories: Advanced Digital Broadcast, MediaTek, Krzysztof Biliński, Winson Hsu, Australia, Digital TV, Europe, Middleware, Satellite, Semiconductor, Set Top Box
MediaTek 8K DTV SoC begins volume production at TSMC
Nov 8, 2019 – MediaTek (TWSE: 2454) and TSMC (TWSE: 2330, NYSE: TSM) have announced that the industry’s first 8K digital TV SoC manufactured with 12nm technology, the MediaTek S900, has entered volume manufacturing with TSMC.
News categories: TSMC, MediaTek, Dr. Kevin Zhang, H.W. Kao, Digital TV, Semiconductor, Smart TV, Taiwan, Worldwide
Pay-TV revenue in Russia up by 14.2% in 2018 year-on-year
Oct 31, 2019 – The European Audiovisual Observatory has released a report written by J’son and Partners Consulting on pay-TV and cord cutting in Russia. At the end of 2018, 43.2 million viewers were subscribed to Pay TV services in Russia, 3.1% more than in 2017.
News categories: European Audiovisual Observatory, J’son and Partners, Cable TV, Digital TV, IPTV, Market Research, OTT, Russia, Satellite, Subscribers
MediaTek introduces MT5670 chipset for 4K UHD Smart TVs
Sep 25, 2019 – MediaTek has introduced its newest chipset for smart TVs, the MT5670. The highly integrated chipset lets consumer electronics manufacturers build high quality, feature-rich 4K Ultra High Definition (UHD) digital TVs at affordable price points.
News categories: MediaTek, Mike Chang, Android TV, Digital TV, ICs, Semiconductor, Smart TV, Worldwide
Amazon and partners announce Voice Interoperability Initiative
Sep 24, 2019 – Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and leading technology companies have announced the Voice Interoperability Initiative, a program to ensure voice-enabled products provide customers with choice and flexibility through multiple, interoperable voice services.
News categories: Amazon, Jeff Bezos, Semiconductor, Smart Home, Worldwide
Fransat and HD+ adopt Intertrust XCA content protection
Sep 12, 2019 – Intertrust has announced that Fransat and HD+, France and Germany’s leading free TV operators, have selected Intertrust’s ExpressPlay XCA to protect and manage video streams over major broadcast and IPTV networks.
News categories: Intertrust, Fransat, HD+, Talal G. Shamoon, Digital TV, DRM, France, Germany, IBC2019, Satellite, Semiconductor, Set Top Box, Smart TV
MediaTek launches S900 smart TV SoC
Jul 8, 2019 – MediaTek has launched its S900, the company’s latest smart TV SoC supporting 8K resolution and high-speed edge AI computation. The S900 combines a high performance CPU, GPU and a dedicated AI processor unit (APU) to support features including AI voice-user interface and picture quality enhancement.
News categories: MediaTek, Mike Chang, Digital TV, ICs, Smart TV, Worldwide
Eastern Europe to add 16 million SVOD subscriptions
May 1, 2019 – Eastern Europe will have 26.19 million SVOD subscriptions by 2024, up from the 10.02 million recorded at end-2018, according to Digital TV Research. Russia will supply 8.77 million to the 2024 total, with Poland bringing in another 6.32 million.
News categories: Digital TV Research, Simon Murray, Digital TV, Europe, Market Research, OTT, Subscribers
- Disney+ available directly on VIZIO SmartCast TVs
- Comscore announces renewal with CBS TV stations
- TVSquared releases pan-European TV advertising performance analysis
- Imagine Communications agrees ad insertion deal with the NCTC
- DISH Network pay TV subscribers down 194,000 in 4Q 2019
- One third of Taiwanese online consumers have accessed TV piracy sites
- Redbox launch Redbox Free Live TV across the U.S.
- Cisco releases Annual Internet Report
- Pixelworks and Qualcomm integrate Live Local TV with 5G broadband
- Kantar to measure TV audiences for MINTIC in Colombia
- NCTC to offer discounted Amazon Fire TV devices to members
- Viu reaches 41.4 million monthly active users
- Roku ends 2019 with 36.9 million active accounts
- Online viewing continues to gain ground on traditional broadcast TV
- Vianeos provides revamped UX for Batelco TV in Bahrain
- VUALTO partners with ATEME for automated encoder integration
- STV selects Arqiva Hybrid TV Service for HD restart feature
- AfricaXP adds DTH capacity from Eutelsat for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Altice USA residential video RGUs down 44k in 4Q 2019
- 'Tapering subscriber acquisitions' for Dish TV India in 4Q 2019


text:
Barnes & Noble has scheduled an event seemingly to launch the company’s new NOOK ereader, with the New York City press conference taking place on Monday, November 7. While the invite itself makes no mention of the ereader, the NOOK logo features prominently; leaks last week suggested that B&N would indeed launch the NOOK Color 2 on the 7th, in an attempt to take on the new Kindle Fire.
“Please join us for a very special announcement” is all the hint B&N gives, but with the first-gen NOOK Color now over a year old, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the ebook retailer refresh it. Specs are unknown at this stage, but a color touchscreen and Android underpinnings look likely if it’s to compete with the Kindle Fire.
However, Barnes & Noble lacks the broad multimedia ecosystem that Amazon can call upon to bolster its new ereader, such as the Amazon Prime streaming TV and movie content. Instead, B&N will have to focus on how it can leverage its ebook catalog as well as build on the popularity of the original NOOK Color with developers.


text:
MASERU — China Garment Manufacturers (CGM) says it has delayed re-opening one of its factories due to a serious shortage of skilled labour.
CGM was forced to shut down its United Clothing factory last year after experiencing financial problems.
A M30 million bail-out package from the government’s Lesotho National Development Corporation (LNDC) has since helped the company recover.
CGM chief executive Madhav Dalvi said the company’s plans to use part of the bail-out package to revive the factory had stalled because “there is a shortage of qualified sewing machine operators”.
“We had wanted to re-open the factory this year but we have since postponed to next year,” Dalvi said.
“The main reason is that we are finding it very difficult to find qualified manpower to operate some of the machines. This is a specialised area that needs people that are well trained.”
But even those plans to re-open next year will depend on the availability of qualified personnel, said Dalvi.
He said the LNDC bail-out had helped stabilise the textile group.
Before the capital injection the company was struggling to access lines of credit to buy raw materials and other supplies.
Orders from source markets were also drying up because buyers had lost confidence in the company’s ability to deliver on time.
“After the bailout we have witnessed a steady growth in business. Suppliers are now confident to give us raw materials because they know that we can pay. They know that their money is secure because the government is involved.”
“We are also getting orders because the market is aware that we can deliver.”
Dalvi said the company also employed more people after getting the loan.
The number of workers has increased to 3 500 from 2 500 six months ago.
He said the new factory will require 1 000 more workers.
Under the bail-out package the government had an option to transform part of the loan into equity in CGM. This means that the government will be able to get a significant stake in the textile company that has contracts with global brands like Levis and Wal-Mart.
The company also supplies South African chain stores like Pep, Ackermans and Woolworths.
“With the bail-out we can be able to re-open the factory but at the moment we are not yet ready because there are no qualified operators. Perhaps the government must push more on training programmes,” Dalvi said.
LNDC’s outgoing chief executive Peete Molapo told a press conference last Thursday that the bail-out was meant to protect the textile industry which he described as “very fragile”.
“Often buyers divert their orders elsewhere where they feel that there is more stability. When the confidence of the buyers is gone it is very difficult to regain it,” Molapo said.
“In the backdrop of the financial crisis there would have been massive job losses, which would lead to poverty and this could have affected the economy of the country negatively.”
Molapo said under the loan arrangement CGM was required to appoint a full time chief executive and chief financial officer as well as aggressively reduce costs.
“They (CGM) cut the number of expatriates working in the company from 240 to 110, and this has reduced their costs. They have also increased the number of orders around the globe, ” said Molapo.
He said there was nothing unique about the loan that the government gave to CGM.
“Mauritius had forked out US$330 million to save 1 700 jobs and our neighbour South Africa has put in place a five-year plan worth R5 billion to save jobs in their country,” Molapo added.
“It is important to protect the industries that have origins in the country, and as LNDC we encourage other companies to follow the lead of CGM and have fixed assets based in the country.”
The government recently instructed LNDC to establish a fund to help distressed companies.


text:
Slow demand shrinks March factory output
May 13 2014 , New Delhi
That wrapped up a sluggish financial year, which saw a 0.1 per cent contraction in industrial production compared with 1.1 per cent growth in the previous year.
The Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), which releases the IIP, however revised the February industrial output data marginally upwards to 1.8 per cent contraction from 1.9 per cent.
Icra senior economist Aditi Nayar said the industrial contraction in March was largely in line with expectations, given the subdued core sector growth and a contraction in overall merchandise exports.
A revival in exports of yarn, textiles and apparels may have led to an uptick in production of consumer non-durables in March compared with the previous month and this trend may sustain in the ongoing quarter.
Notwithstanding the easing of contraction in the capital goods sector in March compared with that in February, investment activity remained sluggish with no visible sign of a broadbased turnaround in the first quarter of the new financial year, Nayar said.
A pickup in investment activity is unlikely to take root until the second half of the financial year, which will act as a drag on the overall manufacturing growth. Moreover, with a repo rate cut highly improbable in 2014, interest rates will remain sticky, limiting any improvement in consumption, she said.
Natural gas output is likely to remain sluggish in the near term. To a large extent, performance of domestic coal mining will crucially affect growth of mining and quarrying in this financial year, which will in turn affect electricity generation. “The outlook for the manufacturing sector, as things stand, seems to be bleak. Weak demand and investment conditions continue to plague the sector,” Ficci president Sidharth Birla said.
Factory output started to decline in October, when the IIP contracted 1.2 per cent, and continued till December. It entered the positive zone in January and slipped again into the negative territory in February.
Manufacturing, which constitutes over 75 per cent of the index, declined 1.2 per cent in March against 4.3 per cent growth a year earlier. Production of capital goods, a barometer of demand, shrank 12.5 per cent, in sharp contrast to a 9.6 per cent expansion in the same month in 2013.
Overall, 12 of the 22 industry groups in manufacturing showed negative growth in March compared with the corresponding month of 2013.
Output of consumer goods declined 0.9 per cent in March compared with 1.8 per cent growth a year ago. The consumer durables segment contracted 11.8 per cent in March against 4.9 per cent decline previously. Consumer non-durables output expanded 7.2 per cent compared with a 7.3 per cent growth in the year-ago period. Power generation expanded 5.4 per cent in March while the mining sector declined 0.4 per cent.
Commenting on the dismal IIP data for March, CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee said low consumption and investment demand, which is contributing to negative growth in the manufacturing sector, was the matter of concern. “The negative growth of consumer durables reinforces our view that the sector continues to be stymied by the high interest rates prevailing in the economy,” he said.


text:
Tata Motors has committed to launch ten new electric vehicles in the next five years. Recently, the company has confirmed the launch of the electric version of their popular SUV Harrier. The car will come in a full-battery powered version by next year i.e. 2024. The picture of Tata Harrier EV on social media posts also got a lot of response.
Tata Harrier EV will be launched next year
At the Auto Expo 2023, Tata showcased the electric concept model of the Harrier. But the latest pictures show the car with a completely new paint theme. It features a combination of bronze and white. This dual tone theme may also be added to the ICE version of the Harrier SUV later on. Again, Tata may reserve it for the electric version only.
Tata Harrier Electric: Range, Features, Specifications
The Harrier Electric will be based on the company’s Land Rover-derived Omega architecture. Which is also noticeable in the current model. Along with this, the coexistence of Tata’s second generation EV architecture will be noticed. Tata Motors has not yet revealed the battery capacity of the electric vehicle. As reported, it will come with a dual motor all wheel drive setup. Again the vehicle will have vehicle-to-load and vehicle-to-vehicle charging capacity.
For information, vehicle-to-load charging means that the vehicle can be charged by an external device. Whereas vehicle-to-vehicle is charging from other electric vehicles. It is estimated to be able to provide a range of 400 to 500 km on a full charge. It can be provided with a 60 kWh battery.
Tata Harrier EV: Launch and Price
Tata has confirmed that the Harrier EV will be launched in 2024. It is expected to be launched as Tata’s latest car. The car is expected to be priced between Rs 22 lakh and Rs 28 lakh (ex-showroom).


text:
Malaga-based meat company Famadesa has decided to increase the investment budget for the project to extend its facilities, currently underway in Campanillas (Malaga), to €30m.
The initial plan was for €24m, as estimated at the start of the project two years ago.
The company has introduced some changes which have made it necessary to make this €6m contribution, mainly due to the acquisition of 110,000 m2 of adjacent land and the inclusion in the plans of the construction of a new wastewater treatment facility.
First phase of expansion to be completed in 2020
At present, the expansion of Famadesa’s facilities has completed the first phase, which includes new stables, an airing room with a surface area of 1,957 m2 and a stabilisation chamber of 4,043 m2 – last year an investment of 7.4 M was formalised -, while the assembly of the wastewater treatment facility is already underway. The construction of a 2,921 m2 cutting room and the extension of the slaughterhouse, which will add some 1,978 m2, will begin shortly. After completion of the entire project, the facility will have a processing capacity of 800 pigs/hour at start-up and 1,000 pigs/hour at full capacity.
The company has already set up new cold stores in 2019, with a 2,500 m2 warehouse, where it can store up to 3,000 t of product.
Advances in R&D&I and Biodiversity
For months now, as we can see, Famadesa has been developing the expansion and technological improvement of its industry in R&D, thanks to a grant from the European Union and its own resources, which has allowed it to undertake an important project for a new cutting room, as well as new corrals and an automated driving system, focused precisely on setting up slaughtering and product preparation lines, aimed at meeting the demands of the foreign market.
Export markets/main destinations
The main market for Malaga frozen pork meat products is China, where 67 percent of exports are invoiced, followed by Portugal (17.5 percent) and France (4.75 percent). These products are also exported from Malaga to ten other countries, according to Extenda data: Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Germany, Benin, Sweden, Mozambique, Niger, Uruguay, Comoros, Togo and Haiti.
True reflection of 2020 and 2021
Famadesa obtained sales of 303 million euros in 2020, with a growth of 7.4% over the 282 million obtained in 2019, with an average workforce of 1,000 people. Some €185m came from pork exports, following a 26% increase, with China and Portugal as the main destinations.
In the first quarter of 2021, the figures reflect a very positive evolution also in terms of exports and similar to the upward trend at the end of the previous financial year. International sales increased by more than 25% compared to the same period in 2020. The Asian market, mainly China, is once again the main customer or destination, with an increase in sales of 97%.
Its international transactions have been well over a thousand operations for years, mainly with China and Europe, which together with the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Mexico are the main countries of its foreign market.


text:
Some shopping malls, markets reopen amid virus fear
As government has permitted to keep shopping malls and markets open on a limited scale from today, some reopened while some kept their businesses shut due to virus transmission fears.
Market owners in Rajshahi, Sylhet, Chandpur, Feni and a significant number of them in Chattogram and Dhaka have decided to keep their businesses shut until Eid-ul-Fitr to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Most shopping malls in the capital will remain closed for now considering the present coronavirus situation, according to Bangladesh Shop Owners Association (BSOA).
BSOA president Helal Uddin said most of the shopping malls and markets, including the busiest markets in Gulistan, Bangabazar and Mirpur areas will remain closed until Eid.
Aziz Super Market in Shahbagh and Palwal Market in Paltan area will also remain closed, he told UNB.
The authorities of Old Dhaka's Islampur Market, Chawkbazar, Keraniganj, Ayesha Market at Jatrabari, Dhanmondi's Rapa Plaza, New Super Market and shops at Elephant road area have decided to reopen the markets from today, he said.
Earlier, the authorities of Bashundhara City Shopping Complex, Jamuna Future Park, New Market, Mouchak, Anarkoli markets decided not to reopen their markets, Helal Uddin added.
In Sylhet city, business leaders and owners decided to keep shopping malls and markets shut until Eid-ul-Fitr.
The decision was taken at a meeting on Friday attended by local business leaders and presided over by Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) Mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury.
Everyone agreed to keep their shops shut until Eid, they added.
"It's a bold message to the government," said Sylhet Chambers of Commerce's President Abu Taher Md Shoeb, adding that life comes first.
In Chattogram city, 11 shopping mall owners also decided to keep their businesses closed until May 31.
They took the decision at a meeting at Mimi Super Market attended by business leaders of the respective markets.
The markets that will remain closed until May 31 are: Sanmar Ocean City, Chittagong Shopping Complex, Finle Square Shop, Central Plaza, Amin Center, Afmi Plaza, Akhtaruzzaman Centre, Singapore-Bangkok Market, Kollol Super Market, and Mimi Super Market.
In Rajshahi, City Corporation Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, local police administration and local MP on Saturday evening decided to keep all the markets, shopping malls closed considering public health safety.
In Chandpur, Deputy Commissioner Md Majedur Rahman Khan in an emergency notice on Saturday night announced that shopping malls, markets, shops and businesses will remain shut until Eid as the new coronavirus cases are rising in the district.
Stern actions will be taken against the businesses if they violate the directives, the DC wrote in an urgent notice on his personal Facebook profile at 8:15pm.
The decision was taken by the district coronavirus prevention committee, he wrote.
Meanwhile, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) on Thursday asked city dwellers to complete their Eid shopping from markets located within two kilometres of their respective areas, maintaining government declared timetable and hygiene.
DMP also directed to install automatic disinfection tunnels or chambers at the entrance of every shopping mall. In addition, each store must have separate temperature measurement system.
The government on Tuesday allowed businesspeople to keep shops and shopping malls open for six hours from 10am to 4pm every day from Sunday (today), after maintaining health guidelines during the general holidays.
Amid the surging new coronavirus cases, the government extended closure until May 16.
The government also decided to keep shut all the educational institutions in Bangladesh until May 30.


text:
Gupta tied up with the company’s team in 2015 as its Business Head who was later named as company’s CEO( Chief Executive Officer ) in 2018 and as a co-founder in 2019.
On September 14 , 2021, the co-founder and supply head of online food delivery platform Zomato, Gaurav Gupta resigned as confirmed by him in an email.
In an email sent on Tuesday, Gupta expressed his words and said he’s taking an “alternate path” in his journey. Email noted, “I am taking a new turn in my life and will be starting a new chapter, taking a lot from this defining chapter of my life- the last 6 years at Zomato. We have a great team now to take Zomato forward and it’s time for me to take an alternate path in my journey. I am very emotional as I write this and don’t think any words can do justice to how I am feeling right now.”
Deepinder Goyal, company’s CEO, responded with gratitude, “Thank you GG for everything you have helped Zomato achieve over the last few years. We have seen Zomato through great as well as terrible times together, and brought it here today. There’s so much of our journey still ahead of us, and I am thankful that you are hanging your boots at a point where we have a great team and leadership to carry us forward.”
Gupta is not the first one to quit Zomato. Pankaj Chaddah, co-founder of Zomato, had also resigned back in the year 2018.
He has vacated his position right after the company decided to sew up its operations in the grocery delivery service on September 11, 2021, which will come into effect on September 17, 2021.
Gupta tied up with the company’s team in 2015 as its Business Head. He was also positioned as Global Advertising Sales Head and later in 2018, he was named as the Chief Executive Officer of the company.
Zomato raised an IPO worth Rs.9,375 crore two months ago which was opened for subscription from 14 to 16th July. The market capitalization of the company stood remarkably at Rs. 1,08,067.35.
As a recent update, the company closed down its grocery delivery service due to differences and gaps in fulfilling customer’s orders and lacking its service in the express delivery approach model. Akshant Goyal, Chief Financial Officer of the platform disclosed that the company claims over $100 million of stake in Grofers, an online grocery delivery service. Although the company had “moderate success” in the grocery delivery service to its users from neighborhood stores, it is believed that the company would get better returns from its investment in Grofers. The company’s note said, “We have realized that it is extremely difficult to pull off such a delivery promise with high fulfillment rates consistently in a marketplace model (like ours).”


text:
Tesla Has Removed 2022 Production Date References From Its Cybertruck Webpage
Tesla has taken the step of removing all mention of 2022 production from its Cybertruck website. While the site previously said that buyers “will be able to complete your configuration as production nears in 2022,” that’s now gone.
Now, it just says: “You will be able to complete your configuration as production nears,” which is much less exciting.
Spotted by Edmunds, and as reported by The Verge, it appears that the references to 2022 first disappeared towards the end of last year and it still isn’t clear exactly what the roadmap looks like for the odd-looking truck. Tesla will surely want to get it onto roads as soon as possible, but can it?
The Verge suggests that the company doesn’t see Cybertruck as a priority. The company struggles to get all of its cars produced quickly enough and might instead be focusing on those.
Ramping up production on the Cybertruck might also be a relatively low priority for Tesla considering its other vehicles have had fantastic years. The Model 3 became the first EV to top monthly sales charts in Europe, for example, while the company delivered close to 1 million cars in 2021 — an impressive 87 percent increase on shipments in 2020.
None of that will be comforting to those waiting for a Cybertruck, though. With companies like Rivian and Ford already setting the world alight with their own electric trucks, Tesla will surely want to ensure that it joins the fight sooner rather than later. It was the company that make electric cars cool — if it waits too long it’ll miss the electric truck market completely.


text:
Microsoft Teams: Join Meetings from Apple CarPlay Calendar View Now Available
Microsoft Teams has rolled out an update to its iOS app to now support the joining of meetings from the new meetings view on Apple CarPlay.
The company first announced this feature back in mid-February, saying it would roll out in mid-March. An update to the Microsoft Teams iOS app yesterday now mentions, “Join meetings from calendar view on Apple CarPlay,” so it’s now official.
What does this mean? Microsoft Teams on iOS has a new calendar view for Apple CarPlay. When in the car, you can now tap your meeting in this calendar view to join a meeting, saving you time.
“Tapping the Teams icon will bring users to the new calendar view where they can see upcoming meetings for that day, see progress bars indicating meeting progress, and an icon on the right indicating Teams online meetings that they can join via CarPlay,” explained Joao Ferreira in February.
For workers that are travelling by car, joining a Teams meeting from CarPlay is convenient as there’s no need to fumble with your iPhone. Now it’s even easier to one-tap from your calender view to join a meeting while on the road or in the car. Microsoft launched Apple CarPlay support back in December 2020.


text:
THE push to limit the use of the word 'milk' on labels has gained political support
Taking account of the warming effect of different greenhouse gases - not their carbon emissions - would change the way methane was treated in emissions reductions targets.
THE incredible impact Lyndon and Joyce Cleggett, Brookleigh, Glencoe, have had on the Guernsey industry was recognised at this year's Guernsey feature breed showing at the Royal Adelaide Show.
Phil Ryan looks back at the 12 months since his viral video about the dairy crisis and drought aired and there's a mix of good and bad news.
A new program will boost the dairy industry's food safety culture and training options to ensure South Australian dairy processors remain at the forefront in best practice
The environmental and organics sector support a disallowance motion for changes to the gene technology act, but other farm groups do not.
THERE was a somewhat unusual sighting in the dairy interbreed judging at the Royal Adelaide Show this year, with a Brown Swiss heifer taking a turn in the juvenile competition.
Global dairy prices rose on Tuesday night, despite the escalating US-China trade war and slowing economic growth.


text:
Tasting Virtual Realityadmin
Virtual reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) is growing by leaps and bounds every day, but now at least two teams are taking VR where it’s never gone before – to the tastebuds.
Researchers from the National University of Singapore presented research that “showed they were able to simulate the taste of sweet foods using a system that rapidly heats and cools the tongue,” according to IFLScience.com. In order to change the temperature of their tongues, experiment participants touched their tongue to the thermoelectric element that then stimulated the tongue. “Results from the preliminary experiments suggest that the participants were able to perceive mild sweetness on the tip of their tongue while using the proposed system,” the researchers wrote. As these technologies expand, companies are continuing to inovate ways to immerse users, this would enhance a users experience.
Researchers from the University of Tokyo are focusing on another important aspect of eating – food texture. They placed electrodes on the muscles in the jaw that are used for chewing and, “by altering the frequency and length of an electric pulse, have been able to simulate levels of hardness and elasticity of virtual foods.” According to IFLScience.com, these researchers have “tricked participants into thinking that real food they are physically chewing has a vastly different texture. Watch a video about this research here.


text:
Customer deliveries are still months away, however.
The 2021 Toyota Tundra is well past its sell-by date, but that's okay because an all-new 2022 model is on the way. As you may know, the Tundra will subsequently be available with a twin-turbo V6 engine producing more power than the outgoing naturally-aspirated V8.
The Tundra is expected to go on sale in December, with specific models following in March 2022. Even so, an eagle-eyed Toyota fan recently spotted the Double Cab and CrewMax models months before they're going on sale, posting them on the Tundra3 forum.
It's nothing we haven't seen before, but it is nice knowing there are a few units already roaming out in the wild.
The styling will be divisive, but oversized grilles are very much in vogue at the moment. Can it even be considered a pickup truck if it doesn't have a grille large enough to swallow a medium-sized moose? Not that it matters, because we're far more interested in the interior. The old Tundra was highly outdated, but the new interior looks epic. A little OTT in TRD trim, but that large 14-inch optional touchscreen looks the business.
Our deep dive into the specifications revealed several suspension and technology upgrades, which will serve it well in the inevitable battle with the Nissan Titan, also a brand-new model.
Sales have remained relatively static since 2005. Even with customers being aware of the imminent arrival of the all-new Tundra, Toyota sold 8,828 units in August.
This isn't surprising, considering the results of J.D. Power's 2020 US Automotive Brand Loyalty Study, which revealed that 60% of Toyota buyers keep buying a Toyota. People also tend to keep their Tundras for longer. The same study showed that the top five cars people keep are all Toyotas.
This bodes well for Toyota, which is also feeling the pressure of the semiconductor chip shortage. With the Tundra scheduled for a December launch, Toyota's head of marketing is confident that its customers are willing to wait.


text:
Since the brand was revived in 2017, the company has been operating between both the Midlands and France. Moke confirmed the brands move back to the UK was made possible by Government grant funding.
According to Moke, their models will now be built at a “state-of-the-art” facility operated by British manufactures Fablink Group.
Fablink has over 500,000 ft of production space and has around 700 engineers.
They have also worked with some of Britain’s biggest manufacturers including Jaguar Land Rover and Morgan.
From the revival in 2017, Fablink’s team has worked alongside Moke engineers to help scale production.
The new Mini Moke is valued at £20,000 and is based on the original Austin-Mini.
The car will be fitted with a four-speed automatic gearbox and will have a top speed of 68mph.
The new model is slightly bigger than the original vehicle to increase passenger space.


text:
Aeon to Acquire Japanese Grocers
Aeon Co., Japan’s largest supermarket operator, agreed to acquire regional grocers Marunaka Co. and Sanyo Marunaka KK to expand in the western part of the country with its biggest purchase since 2008.
The retailer will pay 45 billion yen ($587 million) for the closely held supermarket chains in a transaction to be completed Nov. 25, the Chiba, Japan-based Aeon said in a statement to the Tokyo Stock Exchange yesterday. The price amounts to 0.14 times revenue, compared with the median 0.25 times for acquisitions of Japanese retailers in the past three years, based on figures in the statement and Bloomberg data.
Aeon will add the two grocers’ 211 outlets to the chain of about 1,300 supermarkets nationwide as it invests in opening stores to boost growth, President Motoya Okada said. The retailer is expanding amid a recovery in demand as northeastern Japan rebuilds from the March 11 earthquake and consumers seek electricity-saving light bulbs, air conditioners and refrigerators amid concern about possible power shortages.
“We need to concentrate on opening stores for a short period of time, otherwise it would be tough in terms of profitability,” Okada told reporters in Tokyo yesterday. “Marunaka has a good network of outlets in the west of Japan and we can help in distribution.”
Marunaka and Sanyo Marunaka had combined operating profit of 8.2 billion yen in the year ended March 31, on sales of 330 billion yen, according to the Aeon statement.
Aeon fell 0.7 percent to 1,027 yen at the 3 p.m. close in Tokyo trading yesterday, while the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 0.9 percent.
Separately, Aeon raised its profit forecast by as much as 36 percent from the previous estimate to a record.
Net income will be between 63 billion yen and 68 billion yen for the year ending February, compared with a previous projection of 50 billion yen, it said yesterday.
The Marunaka chains’ revenue will be added to Aeon’s results this fiscal year, the retailer said in the statement.
The Marunaka and Sanyo Marunaka acquisition is also the biggest this year of a retailer in Japan after MM Holdings Co.’s $1.25 billion purchase of Culture Convenience Club Co., completed in July.


text:
Digital Tour Bus, which gives fans “an all-access pass” to the tour buses that their favorite bands travel in, has posted its latest “Bus Invaders” episode, focusing on Swedish melodic death metallers DARK TRANQUILLITY. The four-minute clip, which was filmed February 12 in Joliet, Ilinois, can be seen below.
On its North American tour, DARK TRANQUILLITY sold a seven-inch EP entitled “A Memory Construct”, which will also be released digitally in the beginning of March. Recorded during the “Construct” sessions, the single contains the two songs, is limited to 500 copies worldwide and is available on a transparent red wax. Featured tracks are the previously unreleased “A Memory Construct” and “Sorrows Architect”, previously only available as a limited flexi seven-inch released with issue #106 of Decibel magazine.
DARK TRANQUILLITY‘s tenth studio album, “Construct”, was released on May 27, 2013 via Century Media Records. The CD was mixed by Jens Bogren (PARADISE LOST, OPETH, KATATONIA) at his Fascination Street studios in Örebro, Sweden.
DARK TRANQUILLITY filmed a music video for the song “Uniformity” on April 13, 2013 with Patric Ullaeus of Revolver Film Company, who has previously worked with DIMMU BORGIR, LACUNA COIL, IN FLAMES, SONIC SYNDICATE and KAMELOT, among others.


text:
New 2018 Hot Wheels 67 Camaro for RLC Members?
Two new Hot Wheels cars were recently spotted on auction sites. They include a light blue spectraflame 67 Camaro and a yellow spectraflame 68 Cougar. Both have the "50th" anniversary logo of Hot Wheels on the doors. Could this be a sneak peek at the upcoming releases for the 2018 Hot Wheels Red Line Club?


text:
Australian model and actress Gemma Ward has booked her unborn child’s first modelling job.
The 28-year-old, who is 14-weeks pregnant, is walking the catwalk for David Jones this week.
“I’m really doing this so that my baby can have a first catwalk show early,” she joked to The Daily Telegraph.
The spring-summer fashion show on Wednesday night will also feature Jesinta Campbell, Montana Cox, Jason Dundas and one of Ward’s close friends, Jessica Gomes.
“I am really excited that they’ve embraced me and this concept,” she said.
“I just think it is a really lovely way to celebrate a period in what some women go through and it is nice to celebrate all the different ways your body changes.”
Ward has a two-year-old daughter, Naia, with partner David Letts.
Ward last walked for a David Jones fashion show when she was just 15-years-old.
“I suppose I will just make sure that I am feeling comfortable, nothing that will restrict me too much,” she told The Telegraph.
Discussions about the show had been under way with Ward’s management “for a while” according to Michiel Tops, General Manager Marketing Communications at David Jones.
“When we found out Gemma was pregnant, this didn’t change our minds at all, and we are so excited for her to be joining the line-up to present our SS16 collections,” he told Mamamia.
A photo posted by Gemma Ward (@gem.gems) on Jul 18, 2016 at 7:15pm PDT


text:
One device we are interested in playing with and enjoying is the upcoming Android gaming console called the EVo 2. Developed by a company called Envisions, this will be a home gaming console like the Xbox 360 or PS3 but will run Android as it’s operating system.
Tag: EVO 2
Envision has been making some news lately with the recent announcement of the EVO 2, a console gaming system that will be running the Android OS. Well Envisions has just launched their GameBox service today and are offering free units to initial subscribers of the service.
Well here is something that should have happened possibly a year ago but better late than never right? It looks like a company by the name of Envisions is going to try and use Android to dig a bit deeper into their market share in the world of console gaming. This unit will be named the EVO 2.


text:
Pop singer conquered the audience with his chic outfit at fashion shows from world brands in New York. At one of them, from the Altuzarra Fashion House, Rihanna’s toilet delighted and fascinated by its frankness.
Rihanna at a fashion show riveted public attention
At the Fashion Week in New York, Rihanna demonstrated a chic outfit
The famous singer from Barbados was irresistible
The editors of uznayvse.ru can note that, according to insiders, the star carefully monitors its appearance and does not save on itself.
A spokesman for Marina Kovtun denied information about the fight during the event with the participation of the Governor 12/27/2013


text:
5 June 2019 is World Environment Day - the United Nations’ day for encouraging awareness and action to protect our environment. It is celebrated in over 100 countries and is our opportunity to do something to take care of the Earth.
The theme this year is ‘Air Pollution’ but there is also a huge focus on reducing our plastic waste.
Did you know…
Bankstown Sports prides itself on continually looking for new ways to be a more sustainable organisation and we have a number of initiatives operating in our clubs to reduce our waste.
In November last year, the club signed up for The Last Straw Movement, which encourages cafes, bars and restaurants to phase out plastic straws to help save the environment. From February this year, all of our venues began phasing out plastic straws, replacing them with environmentally-friendly Austraw Paper Eco-Straws. These straws are biodegradable and compostable, and are suitable for all kinds of drinks.
Bankstown Sports recently introduced a new food waste processing system, which is going to heavily reduce our impact on the environment. The ORCA acts as a large rectangular metal stomach, which essentially breaks down organic food scraps and turns them into trade waste water, which is then treated offsite and recycled.
In March, we teamed up with Hoxton Industries, a unique specialist packaging and recycling company who will assist with the recycling of our beverage containers and E-waste. Hoxton proudly provides meaningful employment to more than 100 people who face barriers to mainstream employment, including disability and disadvantage.
Over the first two and a half months of the partnership, Hoxton has collected and recycled more than 65,000 cans, plastic and glass bottles from all of our venues, which has generated over $5,700 for the company via the Return & Earn scheme.
If you would like to meet some of our team, pop down to Bankstown Central until Sunday 9 June, where we will be handing out reusable shopping bags to visitors. You will find us near Kmart.


text:
The owner started doing Youtube videos from inside the facility and scored big on his last ditch effort to bring in revenue when he couldn’t accept customers
The lockdowns in my state were extensive during the COVID-19 pandemic. My friend was a restaurateur and he had to close two of his locations permanently just to survive with the remaining three. It was a hard compromise to make, but at least he’s doing better now and is slowly working his way to opening another location again if the demand continues to increase like it has in recent months. He said that a lot of people are returning to in-person dining and he has regulars from before the pandemic that have already come back to show their patronage. If the food service industry can slowly rebound, I hope that means that other industries hit hard from the pandemic can as well. Another example are fitness centers and gyms, as many around the country were forced to close their doors during the worst parts of the pandemic depending on which state they were in. That’s why despite there being so much inflation right now, some gyms in my area are offering discounts on gym memberships to get people in the door. It’s a relief they survived at all, but my own favorite gym and fitness center had to close its doors for over a year and somehow managed to not go out of business altogether. The owner started doing Youtube videos from inside the facility and scored big on his last ditch effort to bring in revenue when he couldn’t accept customers. Thankfully they’re back and operating again in my city, giving people like me a chance to workout again and get healthier.


text:
Oh No She Didn't! Kim K. Reveals Plans For Lingerie Line “Kim-ono” With Suspiciously Close Timing to Rihanna's Savage Launch
Seems like right after Rihanna broke news that she was launching her Savage lingerie collection, Kim Kardashian West also revealed that she too, would be launching an intimates line. With Rih’s line set to drop this Friday, May 11, new details on Kim’s line have emerged.
The mom-of-three is reported to be designing a Japanese-inspired lingerie, inspired by her recent trip to Japan with sisters Khloe and Kourtney. According to the Daily Mail, her company has filed documents to trademark "Kimono intimates." Designs will include bustiers, pasties, leotards, breast shapers, nightgowns and more.
Wow! As much as we hate to admit it, this sounds like it’s gonna be real good. What do you guys think – Rih better watch out, or chileee she doesn’t have a chance?


text:
Fitness company Peloton Interactive is suing Chattanooga-based Echelon Fitness in federal court in Delaware, alleging patent and trade infringement, false advertising and unfair business practices.
The suit alleges that Echelon appropriated Peloton's intellectual property and flooded the market with cheap, copycat products.
"With Peloton's hard-fought success, competitors, including defendant Echelon, have attempted to free ride off Peloton's innovative technology," the suit said.
However, Echelon President Lou Lentine said there's no legitimacy to the lawsuit.
"It's an example of big business trying to intimidate a strong but young competitor," he said. "We're redefining the marketplace."
Lentine said Echelon owns its own patents, has registered trademarks and pending patents.
"We've created a great fitness platform," he said. "We're reaching everyone, not just the elite and wealthier people."
New York-based Peloton has become the largest interactive fitness platform in the world with a community of over 1.4 million members, the suit said. It said the company has delivered more than 400,000 Peloton bikes and, in fiscal year 2019, its members completed over 58 million Peloton workouts.
The suit said Peloton employs more than 1,900 people across the country and earned more than $900 million in revenue in fiscal year 2019.
The lawsuit claims Echelon copied Peloton's federally registered trademark and the Peloton bike's distinctive trade dress, including but not limited to its logo, coloring, and font.
The suit alleges Echelon specifically infringes the Peloton patents by, among other things, displaying live and archived cycling class content to remote riders, tracking a remote rider's performance, and comparing that remote rider's performance against those of other remote riders.
In addition, Peloton's suit said Echelon unlawfully engaged in a false advertising campaign "in an effort to further undercut Peloton's business."
Echelon is a leading competitor to Peloton in the live, online fitness field and has already attracted about 100,000 users to its interactive app used to connect to one of the spin, yoga or other courses originating at the Chattanooga Choo Choo.
Lentine, a 47-year-old serial inventor and promoter from New Jersey who brought his Viatek Consumer Products to Chattanooga in 2011, created Echelon in 2017 to provide what he calls a more affordable stationary bike with the tracking and interactive features of Peloton and other higher-priced rivals.
After opening Echelon's studio in the Choo Choo last November, Lentine announced this year that his company has attracted a major equity boost from a Greenwich, Connecticut, investment firm that he hopes will help his Chattanooga firm grow into a global leader in the market for at-home spin classes with fitness tracking apps.
"It's exciting to get them to invest in us," Lentine said. "We're trying our best to do what's right and get the best team in place."
He said Echelon has hired more than 30 instructors in Chattanooga "who've made their names nationally in peoples' homes, People are not only joining but they're staying with us."
Peloton recently became a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The company ended its first day of trading down 11% from its IPO price.
Contact Mike Pare at firstname.lastname@example.org or 423-757-6318. Follow him on Twitter @MikePareTFP.


text:
After last year’s success, the yard sale is back and already bigger than before. On Saturday, Sept. 27, all residents in Woodhaven are invited to participate in a coordinated day of yard sales.
Last year saw more than 60 households participating, but this year already has over 80 homes signed up to sell.
“The Great Woodhaven Yard Sale is back by popular demand,” WRBA Director Vance Barbour said. "Last year was a lot of fun, as many Woodhaven residents found new homes for items they no longer wanted and bargain-hunters found great deals. It's no surprise participation has grown so much.”
Neighbors will set up shop from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, with a rain date of Sunday. WRBA members will distribute a map designating where all of the participating households are located.
Anyone who is interested in hosting a yard sale who has not yet signed up should email the WRBA at email@example.com or call (718) 296-3735.


text:
Earlier this week,
What is Wi-Fi Calling? Wi-Fi Calling lets you talk and send text messages over Wi-Fi if your cellular service is weak or not available in certain areas. After you set up Wi-Fi Calling, your phone will be able to automatically detect when it should be used. The Apple devices that support Wi-Fi Calling includes the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus.
Permission From The
Verizon requested permission from the FCC for native Wi-Fi calling on October 23, 2015, which is a couple weeks after
T-Mobile and Sprint were already offering Wi-Fi calling at the time, but AT&T’s senior executive vice president-external and legislative affairs James Cicconi claimed those companies offered the feature without proper approval from the FCC. AT&T said that delays from the FCC on its waiver request put it behind its rivals for offering Wi-Fi Calling. AT&T wanted to offer Wi-Fi Calling on September 25, 2015 when the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S devices were released, but it was delayed until October 8, 2015. According to eWeek, Cicconi said that AT&T filed the waiver request in June but the FCC “sat on it for six weeks.”
Sprint launched Wi-Fi Calling for Android users in February 2014 and iOS users in April 2015. Apple first introduced Wi-Fi calling in iOS 8, which immediately worked on the
Other Major Features Included In iOS 9.3
Apple iOS 9.3 is expected to be fully rolled out to the public within the next couple weeks. The Night Shift feature in iOS 9.3 will adjust the color temperature of your display based on your location and time of day to reduce eye-strain. When iOS 9.3 is released, you will be able to add a password or fingerprint to Notes and sort your notes by date created, date modified or alphabetically. The News app in iOS 9.3 will be more personalized to better tailor your interests and videos contained within a story will be able to be played from the feed directly. And iOS 9.3 will have a major emphasis on education by adding features like Shared iPad for students, a new Classroom app, Apple School Manager and Managed Apple IDs. The third beta of Apple iOS 9.3 also includes a carrier update for T-Mobile users that fixes a bug preventing apps from loading on a cellular connection.
What are your thoughts about Verizon Wi-Fi Calling finally being added to iOS? Do you plan to use this feature? Please leave a comment!