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I am delighted to announce that the world’s largest research based pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, has become a member of ECETOC. At the same time, I am equally delighted to welcome another new member company, Johnson & Johnson who are a more diversified company, being a major player in consumer products as well as health care. In both cases, access to the expertise of these two giants will be a great asset to ECETOC.
Dr. Neil Carmichael
A full list of ECETOC Member Companies can be found here List of Members


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Inside One Lingerie Company’s Effort to Take Down Victoria’s Secret
Marketing executive Mario Costantino Pace was well-aware of the hurdle he faced in bringing a lingerie brand to the United States market.
In fact, the sales and marketing vice president had a market study to prove it.
“Nobody really knows Triumph,” Pace said. “What I was tasked with was defining a customer value proposition for the brand. What are we bringing that’s new to the table that a competitor like Victoria’s Secret wasn’t?”
So Pace started talking to women. Triumph International got their product into the hands of social influencers who could help get out the word about the brand. And they figured out that the economic recession played a big role in the way women were shopping for their bras.
Women didn’t want “sexy.” They just wanted a bra that fit.
“We listened to women and we heard that more than 65 percent of them weren’t happy with the fit of their bra,” Pace said. “We weren’t going for the sexiness appeal of Victoria’s Secret. Instead, we wanted to build-up a world of self-confidence for women around the fitting experience.”
That wasn’t always the message of Triumph, though. The international underwear and lingerie maker was founded in Germany in the late 19th century, and when Pace thought about what brand identity he wanted to introduce to the domestic market, he said three things.
“Heritage. European-style. Quality.”
Pace wanted American women to know that Triumph understood them, because they had been in the business for years. And he wanted them to know that Triumph was making a top-notch product. That meant pushing the message of the fit.
“Marketing is all about extracting the message and essence of a brand and bringing it in sync with the target customer,” Pace said. “Fit was a natural message. We found that this could be a very disruptive marketing message for the entire world.”
And so the Triumph experiment that started with the U.S. expanded to a global video and social media campaign around fit.
“Video presented an opportunity to show the fit,” Pace said. “To show the difference between a perfectly fitting bra and one that doesn’t fit. It showed the fashion of the bra and our European style. And we discovered that our retail partners in the United States loved our videos and wanted them because it gave them an opportunity to show not just the history of the brand but the fit message.”
Today, Triumph has fitted more than 250,000 women worldwide.
Their success started with using data to understand the consumer, which, in Triumph’s case, was the women who wore the bra. But Triumph’s success, Pace said, is also marketing’s biggest future challenge.
“Everything is fast-paced,” he said. “I think it’s going to be challenging for marketing to continue to gain new insights on consumers and based on those insights, propose the right strategy for the business as to how to deliver value to those consumers and capture value from those consumers for the brand. You will need the expertise to continuously interrogate the market, get insights, and use those insights to stay on top of the market and engage with the consumer.”
Clara Ritger is an assistant producer at Green Buzz Agency. She writes and manages the GBA blog. This might be the first year she watches the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, because of Ariana Grande’s face. Find her on Twitter @clararitger.

domain: news


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As reported earlier on earlightswindle.com, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has refused the import of Valkee’s HumanCharger earlight headset into the States, when it was misbranded as a therapy device. But now Valkee Ltd actually did a re–re–re–re-launch of their hokuspokus in Canada and the US. How is this possible?
Valkee’s resellers explain on amazon.com, how Valkee circumvents FDA requirements.
Hold on to your seats!
“Doesn’t this need FDA approval?”
“Only if advertised for use in Seasonal Affective Disorder. The product is advertised for Winter Blues”
It can not make any effectiveness claims, it gets no FDA approval – but it works “for winter blues”? That’s a synonym.
The USA is a known minefield for health fraud businesses like Valkee’s, because of class action suits. Power Balance, the magnetic wrist band sellers, had to return most of their shady businesses’ profits, because they made false health claims.
Valkee really doesn’t know better than to fool around with U.S. legislation. On the other hand, there is nothing to regain from Valkee, as the Company has no assets. They didn’t make even profits.
Congratulations to Merieux Developpement, TEKES and SITRA for making these shameful maneuvres possible. This is what sustainable businesses look like (in Finland)!


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Japanese shipping firm Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and partners including IBM are to undertake a blockchain proof-of-concept looking to streamline international trade flows.
According to the company’s statement, the “demonstration test” will see real-time trade transactions made using a blockchain-based application. The project will see trade agreements, logistics and insurance documents, and more, digitized, stored and shared among participants, bringing a number of benefits over traditional trade systems.
“The test is intended to verify the effectiveness of blockchain for enhancing security and reducing the time required to settle cross-border trade transactions, discrepancies among related documents and administrative costs.”
Aiming to increase competitiveness and develop new products via the technology, joining MOL on the project are IBM Japan, the Japan Research Institute, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and other arms of the Mitsui Group.
The proof-of-concept will utilize the Hyperledger Fabric blockchain framework, developed by the Linux Foundation-led Hyperledger blockchain consortium.
SMFG was recently revealed to be among a group of Japanese financial institutions that successfully tested a prototype using distributed ledger technology (DLT) to streamline international transaction agreements. That work used DLT startup consortium R3’s Corda software to streamline an ISDA Master Agreement negotiation.
In September, a joint venture between shipping giant Maersk, Microsoft and accounting firm EY was announced, having the aim of applying blockchain technology in the field of marine insurance. Built using Microsoft Azure, the effort will to create a shared database that logs information about shipments, as well as potential risks, in order to help companies comply with insurance regulations.
Container ship image via Shutterstock


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On 14th January 2021, the European Chamber, in partnership with MERICS, released a major report, Decoupling: Severed Ties and Patchwork Globalisation, which measures the costs of decoupling for businesses operating in China. In this episode, Senior Policy and Communications Manager at the European Chamber, Jacob Gunter, MERICS Senior Analyst, John Lee, and MERICS analyst, Rebecca Arcesati, discuss the state and implications of digital decoupling.
The main findings of digital decoupling are below:
- Data governance regimes in China and the EU already significantly restrict the transfer of data across the borders of these jurisdictions, creating significant compliance risks for companies.
- European companies anticipate that further restrictions on privacy and national security grounds will come into force soon, due in part to new legislation and judicial decisions in the EU, and further measures in China.
- As a result, it will be difficult and risky to exploit the potential of data pools across the EU’s and China’s jurisdictional boundaries, even as the importance of data as a tool for innovation and efficiency-building grows.
- US efforts to decouple from Chinese telecommunications and network equipment, and the scrutinisation of any China-originated links found in network value chains under its Clean Network programme are impacting European companies and their offerings in the US market.
- China’s rapidly expanding barriers to foreign telecommunications and network equipment value chains via requirements for “autonomous and controllable” technology is pushing European players out of the market or into niche roles.
- In combination, these dynamics are inadvertently forcing companies to consider firewalling their China and US network operations from one another, with their China operations relying more and more on local solutions and US ones being stripped of China-sourced inputs.
- China’s long-standing barriers to foreign telecommunications services and digital solutions now affect a larger number of industries than previously surged, especially with regard to the digital technology at the centre of the fourth industrial revolution, which includes value-added telecommunications services (VATS) like cloud and data centres.
- To offer their digital solutions, which increasingly come from traditional industries outside of ICT/ telecommunications, European companies are forced into joint ventures (JVs) with Chinese counterparts.
- As a result, European companies often have to integrate their products with locally-sourced digital solutions to serve local customers, which can result in the provision of suboptimal offerings that are not globally interoperable.
Please click here to download the report.


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Amazon (AMZN) is offering joining bonuses of up to £3,000 ($4,119) in areas of the UK which are experiencing labour shortages, to attract workers ahead of the Christmas surge in demand.
Amazon is trying to recruit 20,000 temporary staff, as the UK struggles with labour shortages in many sectors including retail, hospitality and delivery.
Positions for "sortation operative" advertised on the Amazon jobs website offer bonuses of £3,000 to workers in Peterborough and Southampton.
Temporary recruits in Northampton, Leicester and Weybridge, Surrey are being offered £2,000. Signing-up bonuses of £1,500 are being offered for seasonal warehouse operative positions in Bristol, Swindon, Doncaster, and Edinburgh.
Amazon's biggest UK warehouse in Dunfermline in Fife, Scotland, is also offering signing up bonuses for £1,500. The 93,000 square-metre warehouse sorts and packs items for across Scotland and the north of England. Other sites are offering bonuses from £1,000 upwards.
The Food and Drink Federation said there is a “battle for labour” as the UK heads towards the busy Christmas period as many food and hospitality firms will not be able to compete with the pay and bonuses now being offered by the e-commerce giant. This may affect Christmas deliveries and supplies and mean higher prices for consumers.
Ian Wright, chief executive of the Food and Drink Federation, said that the bonuses being advertised by Amazon were a “knock-out blow” for smaller companies.
“There isn’t a vast reservoir of British workers just waiting to be fought over. It’s incredibly difficult to get Christmas staff labour in many areas," he said.
“It will mean higher prices and fewer choices on shelves. Suppliers will almost certainly produce shorter runs of product and if they can, they will look at higher prices.”
An Amazon spokesperson said: “Amazon is hiring for seasonal positions across its UK network during the festive season. We are also currently offering a sign-on bonus at a number of locations to attract new permanent and seasonal associates.”
Many larger companies have increased wages to attract and retain staff amid the current labour shortage. Jewellery firm Pandora (PNDORA.CO) announced a 6% increase in salaries for its 1,200 UK workers on Monday, adding over £1,000 to the annual pay packet of a full-time worker.
Andrew Goodacre, chief executive of the British Independent Retailers Association, said: "We don't have the capacity to raise wages by those levels. We can't compete."
Retail experts have warned that Christmas food and toy shopping is likely to be hit by labour shortages and supply issues, including the lorry driver shortage that is hitting supply chains.
Global shipping bosses have warned that shoppers should plan ahead for Christmas amid delays at ports, with almost £1.5bn ($2bn) in goods hit by delays in the run-up to Christmas.
Cory Bros head Peter Wilson told the BBC last week that there may be less choice on the shelves because of the global supply chain slowdown, advising people to order items in a "timely fashion".
"I can say completely, categorically that supply chain will not fail and that goods will be on the shelves through Christmas," Wilson said on the BBC's Today programme. "There just may not be that absolute choice we're all used to."
Kate Martin, of the Traditional Farm Fresh Turkey Association, told The Guardian that there are likely to be fewer turkeys on supermarket shelves this year because of the shortage of workers to process them.
The British Toy & Hobby Association has warned that the toy sector faces fewer transport options and higher costs. The association said: “There are plenty of toys to choose from presently but, in common with other sectors’ advice, buying early — especially if buying for a Christmas or a birthday present — is prudent.”


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KELOWNA, B.C. — Two men who RCMP say are Hells Angels gang associates have been acquitted of assault charges.
Pedro Amestica and Thomas Volker were accused of punching a Kelowna Mountie in the face.
The charges stem from a fight outside of a nightclub in downtown Kelowna in December of 2011.
The Kelowna judge acquitted the men last week after accepting their explanation that they didn’t know the person they hit was a uniformed officer.
At the time, police said that two RCMP officers were trying to break up the fight when one was jumped from behind, put in a headlock, and punched several times.
Thirty-nine-year-old Amestica was charged with assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest, and 37-year-old Thomas Volker was charged with assaulting a police officer.(CHBC, CKFR)
The biggest sale of the year, on now! Find almost $4 million worth of items such as cars, trips, furniture, gift cards and more at discounts of up to 50% off. Don't miss out as savvy shoppers will move fast to take advantage of these deep discounts. Sale ends Wednesday, April 1, at 9 p.m. Like it? Buy it before its gone. Brought to you by The Vancouver Sun and The Province.


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A lucky driver-partner signed on to Uber, at the weekend drove home a brand new car courtesy of Uber’suberFREEKICK campaign. The presentation of the car was done at the UberGreenlight Hub – a dedicated support centre for driver-partners in Lagos.
Speaking at the presentation, Lola Kassim; General Manager West Africa, Uber said: “Our unique brand proposition at Uber is that we are committed to creating business and economic opportunities, especially for driver-partners. We value our driver community and are always looking at ways in which we can make their experience more memorable on Uber. We’re excited to continue stimulating growth across a broad range of sectors within the Nigerian socio-economic space.”
The lucky driver-partner, Banjo Olayemi couldn’t hide his joy and surprise at being announced the winner of the brand new car. “I am very happy to be the winner of the brand new car; I almost didn’t believe it, but my name was called repeatedly. My appreciation goes to the management of Uber for this great initiative and for truly supporting drivers in word and in deed. Owning a new car means I can be more efficient with my work, and offer my riders excellent service.”
According to OsiOguah, Senior Driver Operations Manager for Nigeria, Uber “This competition was open to all driver-partners with active accounts in Lagos or Abuja.
” Shedding more light on the metrics for selecting a winner, he said: “The winner of the uberFREEKICK competition needed to complete 40 trips per week in Lagos or Abuja during the competition period, in addition to meeting other criteria.”
In the coming week, the uberFREEKICK train moves to the capital city of Abuja, where another lucky driver-partner will go home with a brand new car.
Uber recently commemorated its Fourth year of operations in the city of Lagos. The global technology brand also unveiled its new advert campaign tagged “Moments that Matter.”


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PORT CLINTON, Ohio (WTVG) - Lake Erie put on a powerful show Thursday as high winds pushed water inland.
Waves crashed onto the shore, closing streets and shuttering business in parts of Port Clinton.
"Here we go again," Marc Wolfe, store manager, Fisherman's Wharf, said.
Just feet from the water's edge is where you'll find the Fisherman's Wharf. All day, staff has been trying to keep the lake at bay and out of the store.
"The water was just barely in the parking lot when we got here at about 8:00am and now it's in the store," Eric Langermeier, charter boat captain, said.
13abc spent about an hour at the Wharf and the puddles inside started out small. Soon, water was coming in through the doors and spreading.
"Unless you live right on the lake shore you don't understand what a northeast wind can do," Wolfe said. "It doesn't have anything to do with rain, it's just pure wind."
Aside from the mess, days like this mean boats are docked and business is at a standstill.
"It's going to put us behind the 8-ball for about a week or so," Wolfe said. "This time of year, when the walleye are spawning, they really don't care what's going on out there, they're doing their business. It's just a lost day of fishing for us."
Wolfe says they try to prepare as best as possible, putting down sandbags and moving equipment to higher ground.
For now it's a waiting game and it likely won't be the last.
"An inch is as bad as six inches. It's just enough to make a mess in the store and we'll have to dry out and start all over again," Wolfe said.


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The '100 per cent owned Aussie Beer' ... made in China: Brewery fined for fooling drinkers with this imported green and gold tipple
- Independent Liquor Group fined $10,200 by the ACCC for false advertising
- Beer claimed to be '100% Aussie' but is actually brewed in China
- 'Aussie Beer' with misleading labelling sold from March to August 2014
- Punishment handed out in line with the Australian Consumer Law
A New South Wales company has been forced to settle a tab of more than $10,000 with the ACCC, after it advertised '100 per cent Aussie' beer that was actually made in China.
The Independent Liquor Group was hit with an infringement notice by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and had to pay the fine of $10,200 after its green and gold clad beer was falsely advertised.
Independent Liquor Group was fined for advertising this Chinese brewed beer as 'Aussie beer'
'Aussie Beer' labelling from March 2014 to August 2014 featured a map of Australia with '100 per cent owned' inside it, and the statement 'Australia's finest malt'.
However, contrary to what its packaging suggested, the beer is made in China.
The ACCC dished out the penalty in accordance with the Australian Consumer Law.
'Country of origin representations, particularly those designed to grab the eye of the consumer by using well known symbols, colours, or slogans, must be truthful,' ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.
The ACCC fined the New South Wales company $10,200, in accordance with Australian Consumer Law
'Consumers will often place a premium on the provenance of a product, but are unable to check the accuracy of those claims. This is particularly the case with Australian made products which encourage consumers to support local industries.
'Consumers are entitled to expect that prominent representations made on packaging are accurate without having to check for disclosures in the fine print.'
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Get a selfie with aquarium attraction
Aquarium visitors are being invited to get snappy with one of the attractions.
Sparky, a porcupine pufferfish at Tynemouth’s Blue Reef Aquarium, has taken to following visitors around his display.
Initially it was just staff, wearing uniform, he began swimming alongside, however now he makes a beeline for any passer by and as a result has started featuring in a lot of visitors’ photographs.
He’s now become such an attention-seeker, aquarists have put up a special sign close to his favourite spot in the aquarium inviting people to take their own selfies with him and then send them to them via Twitter.
Blue Reef’s Rosie Wiggin said: “We have got a sign up on the display asking people to send their selfies to us @BlueReefT using the hashtag #selfieswithsparkyBRT.
“Puffer fish have great personalities and are always quite inquisitive fish by their nature but Sparky seems to be particularly curious.
“They are quite intelligent fish and we think Sparky began associating the staff uniform with being fed.
“Over recent months he has begun to get really interested in everyone who comes close; regardless of whether they work here or not!
“It’s very amusing to watch Sparky following people around and trying to get their attention and his antics are proving popular with visitors.”
Pufferfish are able to inflate their bodies by using special muscles and valves to rapidly gulp in and retain water. They have no ribs so they can inflate up to three times their original size.
As well as the ability to inflate themselves most puffer fish are also highly poisonous and there have been a number of reported fatalities among diners in Japan where pufferfish - known as fugu - is considered a delicacy.
For more information visit www.bluereefaquarium.co.uk/tynemouth


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On May 5th, Gizcoupon reported that @i冰宇宙 shared information about the outer screen of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 on Twitter. According to the tweet, the resolution of the outer screen is 720*748, with a size of 3.4 inches and a pixel density of 305 PPI.
Previously, Gizcoupon reported that the phone has a size of about 165 x 71.8 x 6.7mm, with a 6.7-inch inner screen (main screen) and a 3.4-inch outer screen (secondary screen), as well as a rear dual camera. The larger outer screen will provide more functions, such as viewing notifications, music control, and other basic functions, without the need to unfold the device.
Multiple sources previously reported that the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 (SM-F731U) will come with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset. It features a 3.4-inch secondary screen with an aspect ratio of 1:1.038. Users can interact with notifications, quick settings, and widgets without opening the phone, and it can also serve as a better camera viewfinder.
Samsung has not yet released an official statement regarding the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5’s release date. However, rumors suggest that the phone will be available later this year, possibly in August or September.


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Report: Google Working on Android-Based Tablet
It would be Android-based, but few other details have emerged. Google is reportedly operating in "stealth mode" with only a few publishers, the Times said. …
The Google Android Tablet: Coming Soon?
Google Preparing an Android Tablet, Reports Say
Google Android tablet rumored to be around the corner


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BSNL, the country's oldest state-owned telecom company, is constantly changing plans. The company is trying to revise the plans and offer the best benefit as compared to other companies so that the revenue as well as the subscriber base increase. In the past few months, BSNL has launched several new plans and revised the old plans. At the same time, the company has now added to the validity of its popular Rs 1,699 long-term plan.
A golden opportunity to buy Thomson's LED TV at the price of Rs 6,999
BSNL has launched a promotional offer for its Rs 1,699 plan. The validity of this long term plan has been increased to 455 days from 90 days under the offer. BSNL's plan came with a 365-day validity earlier. The company is scheduled to make the promotional offer available from August 14, 2019 to September 13, 2019.The subscribers will get 2GB of data daily in this long-term plan of Rs 1,699. The plan is significant as part of BSNL's bumper offer. Under this offer, subscribers are offered daily 2.2GB extra data. In this case, subscribers will get 4.2GB of data daily in this plan. In addition to unlimited local, STD and roaming calling, 100 SMSs are being sent daily to subscribers who subscribe to the plan.
Google Assistant can now read out text replies on WhatsApp and Telegram
BSNL has recently made it cheaper for subscribers to change SIMs. BSNL has reduced the price of SIM replacement by 50%. Initially, the company used to take Rs 10 for SIM replacement, but it was later increased to Rs 100. However, due to negative responses from users, the company has reduced its price to Rs 50 now. BSNL is offering SIM conversion facility at Rs 50 under promotional offer.
Govt to enable access of multiple account linking on BHIM app
Karbonn Mobiles launches 4 features phones, Price starts at Rs 700
Honor 20i's Limited Edition to Be Launched today, Know Offers
A great chance to grab Google Pixel 3aXL in Flipkart national Shopping days


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Laboratory tests showed that a large consignment of rice seized last week by customs officials in Nigeria was contaminated, but not plastic as feared. "The tests carried out by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) show that it is not plastic rice," Jerry ...
Top international event featuring Live Bakery
The second edition of agrofood & plastprintpack Nigeria is getting closer. More than 70 technology leaders from 19 countries will display their latest solutions. Organized by the German trade show specialists fairtrade the event takes place from 26 to 28 April 2016 at the Landmark Centre on ...


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Finland (Suomi) Digital TV News
DNA sells pay-DTT business to Digita
Jul 17, 2019 – DNA has agreed to sell its terrestrial TV network pay-TV business to Digita. DNA will continue its operations in cable and broadband. The transfer will take place on 1 January 2020. The parties will not be disclosing the sale price.
News categories: DNA Oy, Digita Oy, Pekka Väisänen, Digital TV, Finland, MnA, Terrestrial
Dplay expands Appear TV OTT delivery with dynamic ads
Jul 9, 2019 – Appear TV has announced that Dplay is expanding their OTT solution from Appear and NEP Norway with dynamic ad insertion. Dynamic ad insertion functionality was initially launched in May for select channels in the Nordic region.
News categories: Appear TV, Dplay, NEP Norway, Naser N. Haify, Peder O. Krogh, Timothée Thirouin, Advertising, Big Data, Content Distribution, Denmark, Digital TV, Finland, Norway, OTT, Sweden
TDC selects Mediamorph for its Blockbuster VOD services in the Nordics
Jun 20, 2019 – TDC Group will use Mediamorph’s Content Value Management (CVM) for its BLOCKBUSTER VOD business in the Nordics. The CVM enables TDC to automate its VOD platforms and more effectively capitalize on content contracts, control VOD royalties, and streamline their supply chain.
News categories: Mediamorph, Blockbuster, Rob Gardos, Casper Hald, Content Distribution, Denmark, Digital TV, Finland, Norway, OTT, Sweden
Western European telcos are winning the European 5G race
Jun 10, 2019 – In Europe, Western countries are leading 5G development, with Denmark, Portugal and Switerland’s 5G adoption set to take a 23.2%, 16.2% and 16.2% share respectively of total mobile subscription in their markets by 2023, according to GlobalData.
News categories: GlobalData, Jonathan Bachrach, 5G, Denmark, Finland, Market Research, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland
10 million streaming subscriptions in the Nordics
May 27, 2019 – Streaming video continues to grow rapidly in the Nordics, Mediavision concludes in its recently published analysis of the Nordic TV and video market. An increasing number of consumers subscribe to SVOD and year-on-year the growth is 800,000 new subscribing households.
News categories: Mediavision, Marie Nilsson, Denmark, Digital TV, Finland, Norway, OTT, Subscribers, Sweden
EU opens competition investigation into Telia's acquisition of Bonnier Broadcasting
May 10, 2019 – The European Commission has opened an investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Bonnier Broadcasting by Telia Company. The Commission is concerned that the merged entity may shut out competitors from the audio-visual sector in Finland and Sweden.
News categories: European Commission, Telia Company, Bonnier Broadcasting, Digital TV, Finland, MnA, Regulation, Sweden
Telenor to acquire majority stake in Finnish telecom operator DNA
Apr 9, 2019 – Telenor has agreed to acquire 54% of the shares in the Finnish telecom operator DNA for €20.90 per share in cash, in total €1.5 billion. With the transaction, Telenor gets a strong position across fixed and mobile in an attractive and growing telecom market.
News categories: Telenor, DNA, Sigve Brekke, Cable TV, Digital TV, Finland, MnA
Local online video actors particularly strong in the Nordics
Mar 20, 2019 – Local online video actors are particularly strong in the Nordics compared to the European market. Mediavision has found that Netflix and Amazon combined holds roughly a 40% share of all Nordic online video subscriptions.
News categories: Mediavision, Denmark, Digital TV, Europe, Finland, Market Research, Norway, OTT, Sweden
HTC unveils 5G mobile smart hub
Feb 25, 2019 – HTC has unveiled its HTC 5G Hub, a dedicated 5G mobile smart hub. The device enables 4K video streaming, low-latency gaming, and 5G mobile hotspot features for up to 20 users. Carriers across the globe will offer the HTC 5G Hub.
News categories: HTC, Cher Wang, 5G, Australia, Finland, Germany, MWC19, Router, Switzerland, UK, USA
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Deloitte ups agency acquisitions tally with The Explainers
- 08 August, 2016 15:21
The team behind digital communications agency, The Explainers, will form a new operating unit within Deloitte’s Customer practice under an agreement announced today.
The Explainers and its eight-strong team will become a new ‘Narrative Strategy’ operating unit within the larger consultancy practice that works closely with Deloitte Digital. Owner and founder, Matt Taylor, will become a director at Deloitte, based in Sydney, with the full team reporting up into Deloitte’s national design lead and consulting partner, Shane Currey.
According to the company, the Explainers uses animation, film, installation, infographics, written stories, graphic novels and other media to help clients better articulate their brand story and assist with organisational change. Clients include Westpac, IAG, AMP and the Human Rights Commission, and there’s an emphasis on government, innovation and financial services sectors.
Deloitte CEO, Cindy Hook, said significantly rising demand for its advisory services made the investment into adjacent capabilities such as those provided by The Explainers a no-brainer.
“The Explainers are leaders in creating compelling stories that explain complex ideas. They very much complement our design thinking approach to problem solving and as part of our Customer practice, will help our clients connect with their customers in ever-more engaging ways,” she said.
Deloitte Digital Asia-Pacific lead partner, Frank Farrall, who also heads up Deloitte’s Customer practice, said the deal was also complementary to the consultancy group’s acquisition of spatial design agency, MashUp, in August last year, and its efforts to provide a one-stop shop for customer experience advice.
The deal is also reflective of the blurring line between traditional consultancy houses, such as Deloitte, the media and marketing agency landscape, and IT integrators brought about thanks to digital transformation and increasingly technology and data-led customer engagement.
“Our brand and spatial team has doubled in size in the past 12 months and we have just hired a new Melbourne partner to further build our retail offering,” Farrall continued. “As evidence by Deloitte Digital’s acquisition of creative agency, Heat, back in February, we see huge opportunity in increasingly providing our clients with creative content as well as strategic business advice.”
Financial terms have not been disclosed, but Farrall said The Explainers did about $1.2 million in revenue last year and is expected to double that in the first year based on Deloitte's experience with MashUp.
Taylor said storytelling has become a vital part of helping organisations cope with the disruptive change impacting the way their do business thanks to digital and transformative consumer behaviour.
“Combining our narrative skills and strategic experience with the power of the Deloitte network opens us up to a vast knowledge base and new relationships, which is incredibly exciting for us,” he said.
Other acquisitions and alliances made by Deloitte in recent years include technology integrator, SixTree, cloud infrastructure advisory group, Cloud Solutions Group, and social analytics consultancy, Digivizer.
Rival consultancy houses have also been on the acquisition trail either to boost integration or agency smarts. Accenture, for example, acquired service design agency, Fjord, and ecommerce services firm, Acquity Group, in 2013, followed by digital agency, Reactive Media, in 2014/2015, then creative tech studio, Chaotic Moon, in July 2015. All of these now sit under Accenture Interactive, its digital services arm.


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For Immediate Release
Contact:Mark Weiss Los Angeles Paintball Company (LAPCO) voice: 661-295-6815 http://www.lapcopaintball.com
Los Angeles Paintball Company (LAPCO) adds MP5 style Gas-Through Magazine for Tippmann A-5 to its arsenal of paintball marker mods
Giving players that authentic, mil-sim look.
Los Angeles, California – June 19, 2009 – Back in February of this year, Los Angeles Paintball Company’s (LAPCO’s) never ending pursuit to bring their brand of mil-sim realism to the woodsball player led them to create the M4/M16 Gas-Through Magazine for the new Tippmann A-5 E-Grip. The players jumped all over the new magazine citing its authentic military realism. Now, LAPCO has done it again with its latest addition to an already star-studded product line, the MP5 style Gas-Through Magazine for the A-5 by Tippmann.
Made in the U.S.A. by LAPCO, this magazine is constructed of a high grade polymer that will not weigh you down yet maintains strength and toughness. Its attention to detail and realism is a tribute to its namesake. It also features LAPCO’s signature scorpion logo guaranteeing the new MP5 style Gas-Through Magazine will give your A-5 marker the most realistic military appearance in the marketplace to date at an affordable price. Made in the U.S.A. and made by LAPCO. Here’s what some of the top companies in the industry have to say about LAPCO’s new MP-5 mag: “We LOVE the new MAG! It is the perfect balance of form, fit and strength! - OPSGEAR
- High Grade Polymer
- Authentic military appearance
- Lightweight yet durable
- Signature LAPCO Scorpion
Since 1987, Los Angeles Paintball Company (LAPCO) has been a pioneer in the paintball industry. Its commitment to cutting edge design technology and unparalleled quality has been the staple behind its grass-roots following. LAPCO caters to the paintball industry from its state of the art facility in Valencia, California – a well populated backdrop of contemporary Los Angeles. You can find LAPCO’s complete catalog of products at paintball retailers and distributors all over the globe and on the web at http://www.lapcopaintball.com.
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text: It has been days since the loved ones of Ryon ‘Twins Man’ Bowen last laid eyes on him. The 30-year-old taxi driver, who plies the Montego Bay to Hanover route, has been missing since last Wednesday and his spouse Sarah Tucker said she and his. game_payday_news Доброго времени суток! Публикуем полугодовой отчёт по обновлениям PayDay 2. Кроме того, сообщаем, что объявляем набор в редакцию сообщества. payday News and Updates from The Economictimes.com Blog entries related to PAYDAY news. Here is the scenario: you are in a financial bind and need some quick cash. You saw payday loan stores all over town and think “maybe I should try that…” Payday News - Find Payday latest News and Headlines today along with Payday Photos and Videos at HindustanTimes.com. All Payday News updates and notification on our Mobile App available on Android. OVERKILL Software is a game development company that was founded in September 2009 by a group of hardened industry veterans. As time passed loads of cool members joined up to execute on the PAYDAY plan and in 2012, OVERKILL joined forces with Starbreeze Studios. Payday (2013) on IMDb: Movies, Tv, Celebrities, and more. In the wake of a new partnership between Starbreeze and Smilegate, Overkill's new The Walking Dead video game release has been pushed back from 2016 to the second half of 2017: From the press release: As part of the strategic partnership, Starbreeze receives distribution rights on the Smilegate platform, enabling it to distribute its. PAYDAY 2 is an action-packed, four-player co-op shooter that once again lets gamers don the masks of the original PAYDAY crew - Dallas, Hoxton, Wolf and Chains - as they descend on Washington DC for an epic crime spree. Covering Labor in News Deserts. Greetings from the Burgh, where we’re clocking out early today to prepare for our Labor Day Picnic this weekend.


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Intel has combined their RealSense depth-sensing camera with a neural network to develop a facial recognition system that can enable access to a variety of technologies, Internet of Things (IoT) and devices easily. This interesting topic came to us from Engadget in their article, “Intel is using its RealSense tech for facial recognition.”
Similar to Apple’s Face ID, RealSense ID scans the contours of your face and can account for changes to facial hair and whether someone is wearing glasses. And according to Intel, it reliably works with “every skin tone and shade” — some other facial recognition systems have failed to properly differentiate between people with darker skin tones.
Computer vision algorithms have never been good at distinguishing human faces. Over time the best algorithms got better at finding a person in a large database between 2010 and 2018, and missed a true match just 0.2 percent of the time. That’s helped drive widespread use in government, commerce, and gadgets like the iPhone.
Melody K. Smith
Sponsored by Data Harmony, a unit of Access Innovations, the world leader in indexing and making content findable.


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- Business Wire•12 hours ago
Lenovo today announced an ecosystem of devices and services that support the new era of mobility and represent how today’s users are demanding solutions that bridge connectivity, hardware and user-centric design.
- American City Business Journals•5 days ago
A week after Lenovo executives pointed to partnerships as a way to drive numbers in its data center business, the company has announced an expanded relationship with SAP. It’s the latest in a string of partnerships, from Red Hat to Nutanix (NTNX), all targeted to help Lenovo better compete. For Lenovo’s North Carolina operation, data centers have been big business since the Chinese company acquired IBM’s Research Triangle Park-based x86 unit.
- Business Wire•6 days ago
Lenovo today announced an agreement with SAP under which Lenovo will deliver a new enterprise cloud solution created exclusively for customers holding licenses for the SAP HANA® platform in China.
0992.HK : Summary for LENOVO GROUP - Yahoo Finance
Lenovo Group Limited (0992.HK)
HKSE - HKSE Delayed Price. Currency in HKD
Add to watchlist
|Day's Range||4.68 - 4.73|
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The production launch program offered publishers, Microsoft, and other key industry partners an early opportunity to test the functionality of Microsoft Reader and its conversion and production tools. The book titles made into e-books through the program cover a broad range of subjects, from contemporary fiction to self-help, travel, and other nonfiction books.
“Publishers in our production launch program have been essential to the success of the Microsoft eBook group,” said Jeff Alger, group program manager of e-books at Microsoft. “We have been able to develop production scenarios and a wide range of layout and content requirements that could only have been possible by working with books in print that are now being widely distributed, rather than public domain works that are already available in electronic formats. We want to thank all the launch publishers in the program for their contributions. They have been instrumental in helping us learn about the broad range of issues that arise in bringing paper books into the world of e-books.”
All books available for sale at the launch of the barnesandnoble.com eBookstore will run on Microsoft’s new Reader software. This product showcases ClearType display technology, a Microsoft innovation that reportedly improves the clarity of text displayed on Windows-based PC and Pocket PC devices. According to the announcement, in addition to incorporating ClearType, Microsoft Reader adheres to the traditions and benefits of fine typography by providing an uncluttered display; ample margins; full justification; proper spacing, leading, and kerning; and powerful tools for bookmarking, highlighting, and annotation.
“This is an exciting time to be in publishing. New technologies like Microsoft Reader and the emergence of eBookstores are enabling publishers to reach more readers, and the University Press of Florida is proud to participate in this exciting and groundbreaking program,” said Lynn Werts, associate director for the University Press of Florida.
Other publishers expressed certainty that their current customers will be among the first to adopt the new technology. “AMACOM is pleased to be one of the publishers making its books available electronically through Microsoft’s eBook publisher launch,” said Rosemary Kane Carlough, vice president of intellectual property and Web strategy at the AMACOM Publishing Division of the American Management Association. “In this new century, many of our new customers will be reading chapters and whole books in digital rather than printed form. AMACOM’s goal is to make our books available to customers around the globe in as many formats as possible. Our participation in this program helps us achieve this goal and is critical to our continued growth.”
Other publishers were also enthusiastic about the ability of Microsoft Reader to attract new readers to their titles. “We simply like people reading and enjoying our books and are delighted at the prospect of this exciting new form of the book,” said Peter Cannell, director of Smithsonian Institution Press. “Whatever their interest, we think readers will find something of interest among our many offerings here.”
Some of the other publishers participating in the launch program include Blackwell Publishers, Cambridge University Press, Columbia University Press, IDG Books Worldwide, Inc., The MIT Press, and Yale University Press.
In addition, Microsoft announced an arrangement with Labyrinten Data AB of Sweden and isSound of Ewing, NJ, developers of a technology that will enable text-to-audio synchronization of e-books created for the Microsoft Reader format. This will give publishers the option of including additional information within their e-books to enable synchronized audio narration, and will enable consumers to freely switch between the audio and text versions of an e-book. Text-to-audio synchronization in Microsoft Reader will not be included in the initial release, but is planned for a subsequent version. Likewise, the tools for publishers to implement the new technology into e-book titles are scheduled to be available after the first version of Microsoft Reader is released.
Source: Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA, 425/882-8080; http://www.microsoft.com.
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Recently, TV Host Adeola Ariyo took to social media to bring to light a topic that’s often swept under the rug, that of the “dress code” and the subtle opportunities for discrimination that can arise from this. Unfortunately for Cape Town, some of our restaurants are under fire, facing the internet’s fury. Camps Bay has never looked hotter. In a … Continue reading Cape Town restaurants and “dress codes” – biased?
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Microsoft it seems has some big plans for its latest Windows 10 OS. The Redmond giant recently announced that its digital voice assistant Cortana is going cross platform, along with announcing partnerships with Cyanogen and Samsung that’ll see its productivity suite of apps come pre-installed on their devices. Now the company has further expanded this strategic alliance with 20 new OEM partners including global giants – LG and Sony.
With this new alliance, the 20 concerned OEM partners will pre-install Microsoft’s productivity suite of apps which include – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive and Skype on their Android tablets in the coming future. The company also announced that its productivity suite of apps will come pre-loaded on the new LG tablet while Sony’s Xperia Z4 tablet is expected to add these apps in the next 90 days.
“Today I’m excited to announce that 20 additional global and local OEM partners, including LG, Sony, Haier, Positivo and Wortman, will make Microsoft productivity applications and services available on their Android tablets. These 31 partners will offer Android tablets pre-installed with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive and Skype in the near future. They will be available on a new LG tablet, and Sony will include them on their Xperia Z4 tablet in the next 90 days”, says Nick Parker, Corporate Vice President, Original Equipment Manufacturer Division, Microsoft.
Apart from giants like LG and Sony, other regional OEMs include Axdia International GMBH (Germany), Cube (China), DL (Brazil), General Procurement (United States), Grupo Nucleo, (Argentina), Haier (China), Inco (Mexico), Ionik GBMH (Germany), Iview (United States and Latam), Multilaser (Brazil), Noblex (Argentina), Pacific – Vulcan (Mexico), Philco (Argentina), Positivo (Brazil), Prestigio (EMEA), Teclast (China), TMAX Digital (North America), and Wortmannn (Germany).
Microsoft further added that these new strategic agreements are aimed at ‘leveraging the scale of their hardware ecosystem’ to deliver rich experience to users, which is the ‘cornerstone of our cross-platform strategy’.
As you may be aware, Samsung’s latest flagship offerings – the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge – both smartphones come pre-loaded with Microsoft suite of apps. Meanwhile, Cyanogen will pre-install Microsoft services such as Bing, Skype, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook, and Microsoft Office in the version of its CyanogenMod.
While we might not see Microsoft’s suite of apps pre-installed on all the devices offered by the above mentioned companies, though it should be a good start even if a handful of them come pre-loaded with these apps. What are your thoughts of this new strategic alliance? do let us know in the comments below.


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Carmel Christmas Market 2019
Mount Carmel Travel Center is offering an Oberammergau Passion Cost is $210 per person. Dec. 5: Christmas in Newport, visit either The Breakers or Marble House, lunch at the Old Grist Mill Tavern, They will miss all her wonderful Italian traditions on Christmas Eve with the way she prepared all the different fish and her famous spaghetti and meatballs. Her husband, James A. Bucci Sr., whom she “The Reynolds tractor Christmas light show, along I-69 in Fishers “That was also the function of shopping centers, city markets and downtown itself.” “It’s also how communities compete with each
“Steinbach is a celebrated German company that is well known for their world-famous nutcrackers and handmade wooden Christmas products, which are also featured at the market,” Carmel officials said in is back at the Carmel City Center. The Christkindlmarkt aims to bring the old world charm of Christmas in Germany to central Indiana. Christkindlmarkt is the German name for the traditional tinyurl.com/yb4b4ktc •If a trip to Germany’s Christmas markets isn’t in the cards, consider a visit to the much closer Carmel, Ind., which will be opening its Christkindlmarkt Nov. 17. Open
Carmel Christmas Market 2019 – “Market 100” will feature crafts Call (423) 345-2213 for more information. Mount Carmel’s Christmas parade will also be Saturday, but it will get underway at 3 p.m. along Main Street, with lineup CARMEL, IN — Carmel has the best Christmas market in Indiana, according to Taste of Home. The food media brand leader has announced the best Christkindlmarket in each state, for those looking to have Carmel’s second Christkindlmarkt is still two months from opening, but leaders are already planning a more ambitious schedule and making changes to address visitors’ concerns from the inaugural event.


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This Is Going To Be Your New Ice Cream Cookie Obsession
Stew Leonard's, "The World's Largest Dairy Store," has started serving ice cream in cookie dough bowls, like the true dairy geniuses they are.
Beginning in March 2017, the dairy and grocery superstore — which has five locations throughout Connecticut and New York and bills itself as "The Disneyland of Dairy" — began offering scoops of chocolate chip cookie dough. Yes, full scoops, on a cone, as if it were ice cream. According to their website, Stew Leonard's cookie dough treat, made with heat-treated flour and pasteurized eggs, isn't actually raw, making it safe to consume in large(r) amounts (even for kids). At $3.99 for a single scoop and $6.99 for a double, in either a cone or a cup, the cookie dough may be a bit pricey, but be honest: was it or was it not your six-year-old self's "when I grow up" fantasy to eat large, if not endless, quantities of cookie dough as a meal?
And then, genius struck. This summer, Stew Leonard's began offering ice cream on top of cookie dough. Or, if you'd prefer, cookie dough on top of ice cream. You can now try any of their soft-serve options — chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, choco-vanilla swirl — in tandem with cookie dough.
Stew Leonard's is hardly the first store to serve uncooked cookie dough as a stand-alone treat. The culinary trend began picking up last year, with Cookie Dō, a cookie dough cafe, opening up in New York City, and The Cookie Dough Cafe, based out of Illinois, starting up an online delivery hub for cookie dough fiends.
But Stew Leonard's has managed to bring the treat to a wide array of customers. And there's nothing pretentious or fussy about it. Just straightforward, delicious sugar.
Cheers to summer! Like, really, really sweet summer.


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Why the ACCC is blocking Uber's new competition iHail
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has effectively denied authorization of the new ride-sharing app iHail, which is a proposed taxi service that would allow users to request the nearest cab regardless of company.
The app is a partnership between Aussie taxi networks, and was attempting to become the industry’s answer to Uber. However, the ACCC has blocked it due to the belief that would have significant public detriments and would potentially increase prices and hurt the quality of service.
RELATED TOPIC: Uber, Hilton collaborate to enhance travel experience
Uber and other new competitors have put a lot of pressure on the traditional taxi industry to become more innovative in a pursuit to take a piece of the global market. But unlike Uber and other ride-service apps, iHail would allow passengers to book a cab at a future time while also allowing them to find one close by using GPS services.
“The iHail app would have a significant impact on competition in the taxi industry, which could impact prices and quality of service,” said ACCC chairman Rod Sims.
The ACCC anticipates iHail would entail more than half of the nation’s taxis, and possibly an even higher percentage in major cities it would operate in. The app’s initial partners were set to include Yellow Cabs, Silver Top, White Cabs and Cabcharge.
In addition, the ACCC is against iHail’s intentions of allowing users to pay more upfront in exchange for priority taxi access as it would reduce access to the lower-class sections of cities.
Although the ACCC acknowledged the service would be a much more conducive method of requesting a cab, the consumer watchdog believes the affect it would have on competition is more important.
Now, iHail chief operating officer Nick Kings says the app has begun working closely with ACCC to make some changes to the proposed service, and expects a favourable finale decision. One of the possible changes would be giving customers the ability to choose between taxi companies to encourage competition between its members.
RELATED TOPIC: How Microsoft is helping Uber take over its industry
The rival service Cabcharge, which owns about a 10 per cent stake in iHail and would have provided its startup funding, says the ACCC’s decision won’t affect its own apps and payment services.
While iHail has been ready to launch since July, the ACCC has issued a draft determination of the app and will make a final decision before the end of the year.
In the meantime, ACCC will seek input from iHail and other ride-service companies before coming to a conclusion.
Beyond Limits: Cognitive AI in APAC
Courtesy of current estimates, it looks like Asia-Pacific AI will be worth US$136bn by 2025. Its governments and corporations invest more money than the rest of the world in AI tech, the data of its citizens is considered fair game, and its pilots are small-scale and, as a result, ruthlessly effective. This is why, according to Jeff Olson, Cognizant’s Associate Vice President for Projects, AI and Analytics, Digital Business and Technology, the APAC region ‘is right on the edge of an AI explosion’.
Now, startup Beyond Limits is pushing the boundaries of what AI can do, mirroring humans in its ability to find solutions with even limited information. As of this July, it’s partnered up with Mitsui, a global trading and investment company, to expand its impact in APAC.
How Does Beyond Limits Work?
Most AI companies claim that they can help businesses make better decisions. But many need astoundingly large stores of data to feed their information-hungry algorithms. Beyond Limits, in contrast, takes a different tack. Perfect data, after all, is largely a pipe dream kept alive by PhD students. In reality, systems must often make decisions from small, incomplete sets of intel.
But Beyond Limits’ AI is no black box. ‘When little to no data is available, Beyond Limits symbolic technologies rely on deductive, inductive, and abductive reasoning capabilities’, explained Clare Walker, Industry Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. While making these leaps in logic, however, the system also keeps track, ensuring that humans can review the AI’s ‘thought process’.
Why Partner With Mitsui?
Beyond Limits is built for specific applications such as energy, utilities, and healthcare—but lacks the extensive industry network of Mitsui. Partnering allows Beyond Limits to access a portfolio of firms specialising in minerals and metals, energy, infrastructure, and chemicals. ‘We’ve been working on this deal for several years’, said Mitsui’s Deputy General Manager Hiroki Tanabe. ‘Mitsui’s global portfolio and Beyond Limits’ AI technology will...deliver impact’.
In the first test of that dramatic statement, Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) will soon deploy Beyond Limits’ new system. If everything goes according to plan, LNG will optimise how it extracts and refines energy, making money for both itself and investors—including Mitsui. This, in fact, is Mitsui’s strategy: go digital and don’t look back.
Why Does This Matter?
Forty-five percent of Asia-Pacific companies surveyed in Cognizant’s thought leadership ebook consider themselves AI leaders. Positivity bias, that oh-so-common tendency of humans to position themselves as above average as compared to others, strikes again. (Most small companies fail to launch successful AI projects on their own.) And partly, this is because firms fail to integrate AI with industry expertise.
‘A large part of the focus on talent for AI today has been getting the people who are strong in mathematics, AI, and technologies’, said Olson. ‘But where you make your money out of AI projects is when you apply them to your business’. In short: APAC nations looking for ways to bridge the gap might follow Beyond Limits and Mitsui’s playbook—coupling startup AI with a corporate network.


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AlpVision has developed a covert digital security technology - called Cryptoglyph - that serves as an invisible mark to protect packaging against counterfeiting and provide track and trace functionality.
The Cryptograph technology will be applied to various products in Serolab’s Serocytol range of medicines, which encompasses immunoglobulin products for passive immunotherapy, according to UK-based packaging consultancy Pire.
The Cryptograph technology takes the form of an invisible mark printed on the outer surface of packaging with standard ink and using standard printing systems, including offset rotograuve, laser or inkjet.
The mark contains encrypted data in the form of indelible pixels that can be detected using an image scanning device, but which are almost impossible to reproduce.
Alpvision says the printing has no effect on the design of the package or document and the mark can be overprinted on any branded design.
Serolab is the second company in the pharmaceutical sector to sign up for the system this year. In February, Alpvision struck a similar deal with Swiss pharmaceutical packaging specialist Rondo.
Chief scientific officer at Serolab Dr Michel Mpandi stressed the benefits of the approach in the fight against fake pharmaceuticals
“With the increase threat of pharmaceutical counterfeiting in certain countries the protection of our products has become a priority concern.”


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As Amazon came under fire last week for working conditions in its warehouses and among its delivery drivers, the company went on the offensive on Twitter, aggressively replying to members of Congress.
Amazon’s tweets were so aggressive that one of the company’s own security engineers filed a support ticket—titled “Suspicious activity on @amazonnews Twitter account”—that aired concerns about whether the posts were evidence of the company’s Twitter account being hacked.
“These tweets are unnecessarily antagonistic (risking Amazon’s brand), and may be a result of unauthorized access by someone with access to the account’s credentials,” the ticket said. The engineer included links to eight tweets sent between March 23 and March 25.
The tweets targeted members of Congress, who have been critical of the company lately. “You don’t really believe the peeing in bottles thing, do you? If that were true, nobody would work for us,” one of the tweets said in reply to a post by Rep. Mark Pocan. Another criticized a tweet from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who was calling for breaking up the company.
1/2 You don’t really believe the peeing in bottles thing, do you? If that were true, nobody would work for us. The truth is that we have over a million incredible employees around the world who are proud of what they do, and have great wages and health care from day one.
— Amazon News (@amazonnews) March 25, 2021
The engineer who reported the tweets noted the aggressive tone and source of the postings as cause for concern.
Over the past two days, there have been two threads by @amazonnews in response to comments made by US Government officials that have received considerable attention. The tweets in question do not match the usual content posted by this account, and doesn’t seem to match the quality careful wording, and doesn’t report the same source-label (the offending tweets all report ‘Twitter Web App’ instead of ‘Sprinklr’).
Sprinklr is widely used by media organizations and PR teams and allows users to schedule posts to a number of social media platforms. Generally, if a company uses a tool like Sprinklr, any posts made using the Twitter website would be viewed as highly unusual.
Amazon’s PR team has been on the offensive under the direction of CEO Jeff Bezos, who has been riled by recent coverage of the company. Bezos pushed executives and the PR team to aggressively counter criticisms he judged to be misleading or inaccurate, according to Recode.
The last few weeks have been bruising ones for the company. Nearly 6,000 workers at an Alabama warehouse cast ballots to decide whether to unionize. That election concluded Monday, and vote counting is currently underway. The Biden administration named Lina Khan, a vocal Amazon critic, to the Federal Trade Commission on March 22. And the retailer is fighting a lawsuit in Texas that alleges it’s liable for a defective product that severely injured a toddler.
Listing image by Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images


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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Silence spoke volumes for investors in CBT Systems on Tuesday.
At the NationsBanc Montgomery Investment Conference, the company's chief financial officer, Rich Okumoto, didn't touch on market concerns that slower end-of-the-quarter European sales may threaten the company's traditional profit surprise.
Those worries clipped a quarter of the value of CBT (CBTSY) cbtsy shares on Monday, and the weakness extended to Tuesday. The stock dropped 9 1/8 to 31, a decline of more than 20 percent.
The Irish company's sales deals in Europe are in question because a key senior executive may be distracted at a crucial time because of the death of his son. Sales in Europe account for about 20 percent of CBT's total revenue.
Asked by CBS.MarketWatch.com about European sales, Okumoto declined to comment.
"For a person to be out of the loop for just a few weeks" doesn't warrant the kind of sell-off the company has experienced, said Bruce Bartlett, a portfolio manager for Oppenheimer Funds. The decline of CBT System is a "gross overreaction. But it shows that this market has no tolerance for bad news."
Another portfolio manager at the CBT presentation, who declined to be identified, said he is interested in putting some money into the company.
"This certainly isn't a systemic problem. It's just a real small hiccup," the manager said. "They're still going to make their numbers, even if they have to just shift a little money around."
CBT typically gets one-third of its quarterly revenue from backlog, one-third from upgrades or renewal, and one-third from new business, Okumoto said.
CBT, a software training company, typically chalks up a disproportionate number of sales in the last two weeks of a quarter. The companycloses its third quarter at the end of this month and is scheduled to report results toward the end of October.
CBT has met or topped analysts' profit expectations for all 14 quarters since the company has been publicly traded, noted Howard Block, an analyst at BancBoston Robertson Stephens.
Block projects that CBT will earn 23 cents per share on sales of $49 million in its third quarter. That compares with a profit of 14 cents per share, split adjusted, on sales of $35.1 million in the same quarter last year.


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Washington, D.C. — On August 31, China’s National People’s Congress adopted legislation that it says will hold e-commerce platforms, including Alibaba, accountable for the posting and sale of fake goods on their sites. Once the law goes into effect on January 1st, failure by e-commerce platforms to remove infringing goods will result in fines ranging from $7,328 to $293,130.
“For the fight against counterfeit coins and bars, the new law is a significant development,” said PMANA president Scott Smith. “But, let’s not get our hopes up just yet,” he continued. According to Smith, there are still a lot of unknowns especially when it comes to fake American Eagles, bars, and other fake bullion. “The law is very broad so we have to wait and see how far-reaching it actually is. In the meantime, China could show just how serious they are about counterfeits and protecting consumers by imposing marking requirements on fake coins and bullion sold on these sites,” Smith said.
Although it is too early to judge the law’s effectiveness, Smith was quick to credit the Trump administration and United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer for China’s supposed policy shift. “By allowing the PMANA and other industries to participate in the USTR’s Special 301 Review and Notorious Markets List report, the Trump administration recognized just how egregious Alibaba’s practices were and put China on notice,” he said. “That’s something we have not seen in recent years.”
In the months leading up to the law’s implementation, the PMANA will conduct a comprehensive review of the new law, and release its findings and recommendations. In the meantime, we will continue to work with the USTR to address the flow of fake goods from China and ensure our industry’s best interests are represented in future trade negotiations.
Press release courtesy of the Precious Metals Association of North America.


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Center for Value Chain Research's Joel Sutherland
Hundreds of schools offer logistics higher education of some sort, but Lehigh’s supply chain management program was recently recognized as one of this country’s 25 smart choices by Inbound Logistics Magazine
In the article, the magazine states that “supply chains have risen in prominence within many companies, keeping executives with fine-tuned skill sets in high demand.”
It’s a common refrain shared by students enrolled in the graduate level program, says Mary Theresa Taglang, director of the College of Business and Economics’ graduate programs office.
“It’s a subject area that is incredibly popular today, especially as international companies look to make their supply chains as efficient and innovative as possible,” Taglang said. “Our program does a great job at connecting well-known faculty, groundbreaking research, and professionals who are looking for that extra edge.”
Inbound Logistics Magazine
, which targets international business logistics managers, created the list as a sampling of “smart choices” for MBA seekers, professionals and distance learners.
Supply chain managers exploring their options are often attracted by Lehigh’s Center for Value Chain Research
—a collaborative research center that leverages the expertise of faculty spanning the College of Business and Economics as well as the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science.
It’s a partnership that caught the attention of the magazine’s editors.
“Supply chain programs are also becoming broad-based—many cross the engineering and business school lines, and technology is increasingly intrinsic to the coursework,” writes reporter Lisa Terry.
“Lehigh University's College of Business and Economics offers a variety of flexible graduate certificate programs and may include courses from the Manufacturing Systems Engineering curriculum in the PC Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science,” says the Lehigh profile. “In a creative, hands-on environment that uses case studies and industry experts, students explore multiple factors that impact corporate supply chains.”
“The broad nature of the curriculum allows attendees to expand beyond a narrowly defined logistics program into one that incorporates the complete supply chain,” it adds.
The supply chain management certificate
at Lehigh is designed to be flexible. Courses can be taken individually or as a complete certificate and may be transferred into the MBA program at Lehigh upon full application and acceptance.
The program takes about a year to complete and is offered on campus, online, or by satellite through our corporate partners.
“This is exciting news for our supply chain program and for the center,” added Joel Sutherland, managing director of the Center for Value Chain Research. “The center has steadily increased its stature as it seeks to redefine how global corporations can ally themselves with well respected and productive university research centers—like the one we offer here at Lehigh.”
To read the entire Inbound Logistics
article, click here
Posted on Wednesday, March 14, 2007


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Hanoi: Bilateral trade between India and Japan is likely to get a boost after their comprehensive market-opening pact comes into effect. (Agencies)
Bilateral trade and strategic ties between the countries came up for discussion during a meeting between India's Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, and Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda here on Thursday. The two ministers were in Hanoi for the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank.
The two countries had signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in February. However, the agreement is yet to be implemented pending ratification by the Japanese Parliament.
"... As a result of coming into force of CEPA, bilateral trade is likely to increase substantially, as has happened in the case of South Korea, where after coming into force of CEPA, bilateral trade during the first year increased by more than 40 per cent," an official said after the meeting of the two ministers.
While Japan would get entry to a vast Indian market for its products, Indian professionals would be able to provide their services in Japan, he said.
Under CEPA, the two major Asian economies had committed to eliminate import duties on 94 per cent of their trade in 10 years.
Indian pharmaceutical companies will get treatment similar to Japanese firms in the matter of registration and release of generic medicine in that market.
India expects that the comprehensive trade pact covering goods, services and investments would help double bilateral commerce to USD 25 billion by 2015.
India also supports the Japanese initiative for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in East Asia (CEPEA), which aims at building a more inclusive trade alliance in East Asia.
Both the ministers also emphasised on early and successful conclusion of the Doha Round of WTO talks for a multilateral trade deal.
Currently, bilateral trade between the nations stands at USD 15 billion. Japan ranks sixth in the world in terms of foreign direct investment inflows into India and accounts for 3.62 percent of the total FDI inflows into India.
Hanoi: Bilateral trade between India and Japan is likely to get a boost after their comprehensive market-opening pact comes into effect.


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AROUND THE WORLD
Published 6:30 am, Friday, February 24, 2006
Retailers rail against Wal-MartMEXICO CITY - Mexico's long-established retailers want the Congress to strengthen antitrust laws to stop Wal-Mart's expansion juggernaut from devouring smaller businesses, a sector leader said on Thursday.
Vicente Yanez, head of the retail association ANTAD that includes about 100 top retailers other than Wal-Mart Mexico, urged lawmakers to pass proposals to bring anti-monopoly laws to international standards and provide for more "equilibrium" in the market.
Intel to get license for chip factoryCalifornia-based Intel Corp., the world's biggest maker of semiconductors, will receive a Vietnamese government license to build a $605 million chip and computer-parts factory.
Intel applied in early January to build the plant in Ho Chi Minh City.
The factory would employ 2,000 people.
IN OTHER NEWS ...• Mexico unexpectedly posted its first trade surplus in eight months in January as surging automobile sales to the U.S. led a jump in exports. The bolsa rose 337.26 points to 19,117.72. The peso fell to 9.5465 cents from 9.5740. The dollar rose to 10.4750 pesos from 10.4450.
• Nestlé , the world's biggest food and beverage company, said its full-year net profit rose 21 percent to $6.1 billion.
•News and financial data provider Reuters Group reported a 25 percent rise in full-year profit because of the sale of its stake in Instinet, but a disappointing 2006 outlook sent its shares slumping 10 percent in London.
• Japan posted its first trade deficit in five years last month as oil and revived domestic spending boosted imports.


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Kellogg’s has launched a new TV ad for its Crunchy Nut Clusters cereal, marking the cereal’s first return to screens since December 2007.
The campaign will form part of Kellogg’s £5m marketing investment into its various Crunchy Nut cereal brands over the next three months. The new executions have been created by JWT London.
The ad features people eating Crunchy Nut Clusters in new and unusual ways, such as in skewers on a BBQ and using chop sticks to dunk the clusters in a chocolate fountain.
Kellogg’s is hoping to increase awareness of Crunchy Nut Clusters by placing emphasis on the “tasty caramel and irresistibly chunky clusters”.
There are also new ads for Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Original, continuing on with the “Ludicrously Tasty” campaign. It will highlight the connection felt between Crunchy Nut fans and their favourite cereal.
Kevin Butterworth, Crunchy Nut brand manager, says: “More than ever we are finding that consumers are sticking to the brands they know and love which is reflected in the growth we are enjoying on the Crunchy Nut brand.”
The current TV support for Crunchy Nut Original and Crunchy Nut Bites will continue throughout April. The new Crunchy Nut Original ad will begin to appear on screens from May 25.


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International.- When there is still no date set for the release of Google Glass , information released by Google indicates that the Austria Email List company is working intensively with the University of Georgia Institute of Technology in order to carry out a canine Google Glass.According to the Technology Review site, which was the first to disseminate the information, there would be at least three researchers from the university – Melody Jackson, Thad Starner and the scientist Clint Zeagler – working on the development of a unique device for dogs that must perform particular tasks. and above all, dangerous, as is the case with police dogs, for example.
The device is just being tested on animals, but Austria Email List according to Professor Jackson, the system called FIDO (“facilitating interactions for dogs with occupations”) will be designed to establish better communication with the human – a person with a disability or a policeman, for example – by activating his vest or collar, to transmit a verbal command that the person can hear through an ear device or see on a screen on the head.According to the researchers, the dogs they are working with have learned in record time to activate the sensor inside a vest. The first samples and advances of this research will be made public at the ISWC that will take place in September in Switzerland.
The Young CEO: The Precocious Taxidermist Austria Email List With regard to the difficulties of the device, the duration of the batteries and the durability would be the most important, considering that dogs “do not take care” of things. These are surely “hairs on the tail” if the goal is achieved.Detecting and classifying explosive devices, along with rescuing people will be some of the tasks that FIDO helps to achieve or at least that is what is expected. Probably, when the time comes to present the device, Google will have us more than one surprise.
The social customer relationship with Facebook and hashtags
Digital trends indicate that communication is taking place on different platforms, and thanks to social networks, any comment, photo, video or audio published will have almost immediate effect.A study carried out by Carat indicates that during 2013 the advertising investment will register a growth of 3.7 percent, while for 2014 it will reach 5 percent.An analysis by Conversational indicates that the recent use of hashtags on Facebook so far has not generated the effect that it has on other social networks for brands, categorizing and streamlining messages or topics.
The point is that while Facebook users can fully interact, brands can only access stream content .This means that brands increasingly Austria Email List focus their service on the social customer, but in the case of the use of hashtags there are protocols and security locks that do not allow users to have more than one account. The ability to share is also unlikely.


text: Communications regulator Ofcom’s annual communications market report describes the changes in the public’s use of media over the past year as ‘dramatic’.Ofcom’s chief operating officer Ed Richards, commented on the report’s findings, saying: “The sector is being transformed by greater competition, falling prices and the erosion of traditional revenues and audiences.” He added that “a new generation of consumers is emerging for whom online is the lead medium and convergence is instinctive.”Bewteen 2004 and 2005 the number of households with broadband connections reached 9 million, an annual increase of 63%, and by March 2006 18.3 million households had digital TV. Advertisement Ofcom market report says media changes are “dramatic” 19 total views, 1 views today AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to TwitterTwitterShare to FacebookFacebookShare to LinkedInLinkedInShare to EmailEmailShare to WhatsAppWhatsAppShare to MessengerMessengerShare to MoreAddThis AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to TwitterTwitterShare to FacebookFacebookShare to LinkedInLinkedInShare to EmailEmailShare to WhatsAppWhatsAppShare to MessengerMessengerShare to MoreAddThis Howard Lake | 21 August 2006 | News Online advertising revenues reached £1.3 billion in 2005, one third of TV advertising revenue, and a rapid growth from £0.17 billion in 2001. Radio advertising meanwhile has not grown in real terms since 2001.The Internet continues to eat into users’ consumption of other medium. Those aged 16-24 spend so much time on the Internet that as a result each week they spend seven hours less watching TV and 1.5 hours less listening to radio. Social networking sites such as Bebo and MySpace are particularly popular, with over half of 16-24 year olds using one at least once a week. This age group are also using their mobile phones more often, sending 42 more text messages and seven more calls per week than they did the previous year.So, digital media, not surprisingly, are still a growing force in the UK. Tagged with: Digital Research / statistics About Howard Lake Howard Lake is a digital fundraising entrepreneur. Publisher of UK Fundraising, the world’s first web resource for professional fundraisers, since 1994. Trainer and consultant in digital fundraising. Founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.org.uk. Researching massive growth in giving.


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Amazon India has launched phone fest which would offer attractive discounts and cash backs on budget mobile phones which include 40% discount and Rs. 50 cash back from Amazon balance where the minimum purchase has to be of Rs. 250/-. The fest will run through 17th – 20th April, 2018 which will include very popular brands offering features phones at discounts.
The phone fest will offer a wide variety of budget phones which typically have longer battery backup, useful for those who have to make calls on a frequent basis daily, without having access to charging points and do not require complex features in a phone.
The discounted pricing is pretty amazing with Nokia phones to get 15 per cent off, Intex phones at 30 per cent off, JioPhone is effectively free where a deposit of Rs. 1500/- is required, Karbonn phones at 30 per cent off, Lava phones at 40 per cent off, Micromax at 15 per cent off and Samsung phones at 10 per cent off.
The Amazon Phone fest will have the following price after discount-
• Samsung Guru Music 2 with FM radio/ recording and 800mAh battery – Rs. 1,625 /-
• Intex Eco Beats with a 1.8-inch colour display and a 0.3-megapixel rear camera – at Rs. 665 /-
• Karbonn K5000 with a 5000mAh battery – Rs. 1,149 /-
• Samsung Guru FM Plus – Rs. 1,375 /-
• Micromax X412 – Rs. 699 /-
• Karbonn K2 Boom Box – Rs. 689 /-
• Karbonn K9 – Rs. 1,099 /-
• Samsung Metro XL – Rs. 3,225 /-
• Winstar by Forme W10 Power Bank Phone – Rs. 899 /-
For Nokia series which also be rolling out some very popular and handy feature phones with the in demand Nokia 3310 to be priced at Rs. 3,149 /- , the Nokia 105 at Rs. 960 /- ,Nokia 105 with a Dual SIM at Rs. 1,120 /- , the Nokia 216 at Rs. 2,300 /- and Nokia 150 with a Dual SIM as well at Rs. 1,949 /-.
Customers can prefer phones with a mixture of features and opt for the IKALL series with the IKALL K71 Combo with a monochrome display experience at Rs. 709/- and the IKALL K3310 Combo with a colour display at Rs. 1,049/-
Cheapest of all with further discounts:
And if you want something really cheap nothing can be economical with the Micromax X412 at Rs. 699 , the Micromax X424 at Rs. 810 /-, the IKALL K72 – Rs. 429 /- and the Aqua Fusion Star – Rs. 849 /-.
Though such phones may not get the additional fancy features of a smart phone, these phones are still in demand in today’s market because of their convenience and efficiency which addresses the core issues of mobile communication which still attract large number of customers to buy it.


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LevelEleven is 18 months old and starting to do what so many tech startups should concentrate on, generating revenue.
The downtown Detroit-based startup, a HelloWorld
(formerly ePrize) spinoff, is hawking an enterprise gamification app that is native to the salesforce
platform. The mobile app helps motivate sales professionals and track their progress. LevelEleven has doubled its customer base over the last year, taking on big-name clients like PayPal
, Tifany & Co
, and Quantcast
"It's a combination of continually evolving the product (and some hiring)," says Bob Marsh, founder & CEO of LevelEleven
. "The product is strong and solves a need. We also hired some strong sales people."
That growth in clientele has enabled LevelEleven to triple its revenue over the last year. That in turn prompted the company to hire 13 people (sales, marketing, engineering, and customer service professionals), expanding its staff to 20 employees and two interns. It currently has two open positions for an engineer and a sales professional.
LevelEleven is focused on further growing its client base and refining its business model to maximize revenue and profitability. It is also aiming to fundraise for a Series A later this year.
"We're just going to continue growing at the same pace," Marsh says.
Source: Bob Marsh, founder & CEO of LevelEleven
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.


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Shares in Yum China soared as high as 12 percent on Tuesday, amid reports that the company behind KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell franchises in China had rejected a 17 billion US dollar buyout bid.
Investors reacted to a story in The Wall Street Journal, which claimed Yum China had rejected the buyout from parties including Hillhouse Capital, KKR and China Investment Corp.
The reported offer of 46 US dollars per share in the fast-food giant represented a premium of more than 30 percent on Yum China’s stock price on Monday.
While Yum China has neither confirmed nor denied the reports, shares in the New York Stock Exchange-listed company increased by as much as 12 percent, before finally closing up by 3.86 percent, at 37.17 US dollars per share.
This is the second time in recent months that investors have reacted to media reports concerning a buyout of Yum China. In July, Hillhouse Capital was again linked to a potential takeover of the company, sending Yum China shares up by 16 percent.
Despite these two peaks in investor activity, shares in Yum China are still down overall by approximately 10 percent so far this year, after gaining 53 percent in 2017.
Yum China split from Yum Holdings in 2016, and controls 8,198 fast-food stores across China.
The company has an estimated market capitalization of 14.3 billion US dollars, but sales have fallen in recent years, a slump that can be attributed to recent food safety concerns, changing lifestyle habits and the growth of online food delivery platforms like ele.me and Meituan Dianping.
In an earnings report published earlier this month, Yum China revealed its overall revenue was up 12 percent in the second quarter to 2.1 billion US dollars. However, same-store sales were down by one percent year-on-year, with KFC figures flatlining and Pizza Hut dropping four percent.
The data showed that Yum China’s deliveries sector had only grown by three percent year-on-year in the second quarter, suggesting the company is failing to take full advantage of China’s burgeoning food delivery sector.
CGTN reported earlier this year that 350 million people across China were using food ordering and delivery platforms in 2017, with revenues up by 50 percent. The sector has grown so large that Alibaba took over delivery platform ele.me in April, in a buyout that valued the company at 9.5 billion US dollars.


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Samsung was light on details but did reveal that it is planning to launch its first 8K TV later this year. The 8K ”QLED” LCD TV will feature a new ”MFA” full array local dimming system. Here are our first impressions.
Micro Full Array
The 85-inch 8K TV, dubbed Q9S, was on display during a backroom demonstration. The design had not been finalized but picture quality was impressive, primarily due to a new ’Micro Full Array’ (MFA) dimming system.
The 85-inch TV managed to reproduce very deep blacks, something that was a challenge for last year’s edge-lit LCD models. Again, Samsung declined to go into specifics but an infographic on the wall behind the TV referred to MFA technology as ”Full Array Micro-LED” backlight technology, suggesting that Samsung will replace the conventional LED backlight behind the LCD panel with one based on Micro-LED. Confusingly, the infographic also referred to the ”future of QLED”
The same infographic claimed that the technology could reach 4000 nits peak brightness and ”0.0015 nits black”. The 85-inch in display appeared to reach around 2000 nits while maintaining depth in black. We asked Samsung how this is possible and were told that the backlight has ”thousands” of addressable element. The number of zones was later clarified to be in the ”hundreds”. (update 19.01.2018: Samsung insists that it has 10.000+ zones, via John Archer, we will seek clarification as soon as Samsung is ready to talk openly about the TV). Our best guess is that there are indeed thousands of micro-LEDs in action but ”only” hundreds of addressable local dimming zones.
A 65-inch version was put to the test in a side-by-side demonstration with two unnamed LCDs and one OLED (Samsung Q9F, Sony Z9D, and LG 2017 OLED). It easily outperformed the other LCDs and showed some advantages over the OLED, mainly in peak brightness. However, black was not as pure and the viewing angles were narrow. The larger 85-inch appeared to have a more advanced version of the local dimming backlight system because it was capable of reproducing deeper blacks.
Once again, we should stress this is not a finished product. Samsung may decide to go to market with a different implementation – like last year. The demo was a bit confusing because Samsung refused to go into specifics about this year’s line-up but was happy to talk about the ”future of QLED” that will ultimately lead to self-emitting QD displays. However, based on what we saw – based on the 85-inch 8K TV – Samsung will this year introduce at least some TVs with significantly improved picture quality.
We were not allowed to take photos during the demonstration. The picture in the article is expected to be the final design of the 85-inch Q9S.


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LAS VEGAS (AP) ? Chanel Inc. has filed a sweeping cyberpiracy and trademark infringement lawsuit in Las Vegas against 399 websites it accuses of selling counterfeit items bearing the luxury retailer’s trademark.
The civil lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Nevada seeks unspecified damages from unnamed operators of websites that the New York-based company says operate from China, the Bahamas or other overseas jurisdictions with lax trademark enforcement systems.
The lawsuit was first reported in the Las Vegas Sun. (http://bit.ly/qJkSTD ).
The 32-page complaint seeks an injunction barring the defendants from selling counterfeit goods including handbags, wallets, shoes, boots, sunglasses, scarves, tee shirts, watches and jewelry bearing the Chanel name.
The company says offending websites use keyword optimization methods to show up atop Google and Yahoo search engine lists.
Information from: Las Vegas Sun, http://www.lasvegassun.com


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MORE THAN CONTENT
Malaysian Netflix challenger iflix is now flush with cash after securing a new round of investment, and is targeting emerging markets where piracy has previously reigned.
Malaysian video-on-demand service iflix has raised USD90 million in a new round of investment, provided by the London-based cable firm Liberty Global and telecommunication firm Zain, which is based in Kuwait. Existing investors Sky, Evolution Media Capital (EMC), and Catcha Group, the company of Co-Founder Patrick Grove, also committed to the new round. Sky committed a USD45 million last year, while Catcha Group and EMC provided an initial USD30 million to start the project in 2015.
In February, Zain and iflix set another milestone with the establishment of iflix Arabia, a joint venture that will be based in Dubai to expand into the Middle East and North Africa. Besides Kuwait, Zain is present in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Sudan, markets that iflix can add to its global footprint with the potential of growing further. The commercial launch of iflix's Internet TV service across the MENA region is planned for the second quarter of 2017. Thus far, iflix has launched in nine markets in Asia with a total of 5 million subscribers. With Zain's 47 million customers, the joint venture will leverage the mobile operator's established market leadership. With MENA's large youth population, rapidly growing internet and smartphone penetration, and appetite for digital content and entertainment, iflix Arabia sees opportunities ahead.
In a recent interview with TBY, Co-Founder and Group CEO Mark Britt expressed that iflix is not really competing with the likes of Netflix, as it focuses on different markets and has a pricing that is one-third of Netflix' monthly fee. Rather, iflix competes with piracy, “which in emerging markets more often is a matter of convenience rather than a moral question," said Britt. '"or the price of one pirated DVD, roughly three dollars, you get access to more than 15,000 hours of online content."
iflix is ambitious; “there are more than 2.5 billion people with smartphones in emerging markets who have a passion for cultural influences from around the globe and want access to the best entertainment content available," Britt adds. The service aims for 1 billion users worldwide by 2020.
iflix was co-founded by Patrick Grove in 2015, a Singaporean-Australian internet entrepreneur who successfully brought five companies from startup to IPO, including the online classifieds portals iProperty, iCar Asia, Rev Asia, and the investment firm for emerging markets Frontier Digital Ventures.
iflix recently added complementary HD streaming to its services, and has also implemented a special feature to download TV shows and movies for offline viewing. The service is now live in Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Brunei, the Maldives, and Pakistan and is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur.


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After months of rumors, leaks and speculation, LG on Wednesday officially announced the long-awaited G2 smartphone.
The LG G2 is a super-thin 5.2-inch device that LG claims is “inspired by you.” The phone features a 5.2-inch 1080p IPS display, which has 423 pixels per inch. It’s also the first worldwide-launching device to be powered by a Qualcomm(s qcom) Snapdragon 800 CPU. The G2 features a quad-core 2.26GHz chip, to be precise.
Perhaps the most interesting detail is that all of the physical controls are located on the back on the phone, right beneath the camera sensor, which is where LG claims most people tend to rest their hands. To do this LG had to build a 3,000mAh battery that would fit into the phone without getting in the way of the buttons.
The G2 measures 2.7 inches across, and the bezel is ultra-thin, at just 0.1 inch. The phone will come in 16 or 32GB versions, but there’s no microSD card slot. It is running Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)(s goog), and LG hasn’t yet commented on any future upgrades to the OS.
The phone will be available in the U.S. on AT&T(s t), Sprint(s s), T-Mobile(s tmus) and Verizon(s vz)(s vod). Pricing and availability have not yet been announced.
I got a chance to get my hands on the G2 at LG’s event, and will be posting some photos and thoughts on my experience shortly.


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S Korea to step up cooperation
Myanmar and South Korea are to step up development cooperation, focusing on agriculture, livestock breeding, industrial and rural development sectors. During his recent visit to South Korea, President U Thein Sein discussed with his counterpart Park Geun-hye on improvement of SME industries for production of value-added agricultural and livestock products; promotion of trade, investment, culture, education and health sectors; development of ports, waterways, electricity and energy sectors.
YESB to be corporatised
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will transform Yangon Electricity Supply Board (YESB) into a corporation next year, said Vikram Kumar, resident representative of IFC in Myanmar. The process would take a few months if it ran smoothly, he said, depending on the speed of the government’s decision. The IFC has been providing assistance to YESB since March.
Indonesian tin miner drops Myanmar smelter plan
Indonesian tin miner PT Timah Tbk has decided to call off a plan to build a tin smelter in Myanmar as it could not find an ideal location for the plant and due to concerns over the security condition, Kontan reported, citing Corporate Secretary Agung Nugroho.
Myanmar firm plans Thai listing
A local tourism firm in Myanmar with expected market capitalisation of over $300 million is planning to raise funds from a primary listing on the Thai stock market in 2016, according to Thai media reports. Adisorn Singhsacha, managing director of Twin Pine Consulting, which is acting as the financial adviser for the listing, told Bangkok Post that his firm is considering fund-raising options for the Myanmar company. Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission recently said it will relax rules and regulations for foreign companies listing on the Thai bourse. The amended rules are expected to take effect next February.
Yangon airport sees more tourist arrivals in 11 months
The number of tourist arrivals through Yangon International Airport reached 931,236 in the first 11 months of this year, up from about 700,000 in the same period of last year, according to official data. Thailand stood first with 148,260 visitors, followed by Japan and China. According to the Ministry of Hotel and Tourism, tourist arrivals in Myanmar hit 1.6 million in the first seven months of this year, and are expected to surpass 3 million by the year-end.
Myanmar, Thailand set to resume Joint Trade Commission
Myanmar and Thailand will resume the Joint Trade Commission in January in a bid to cement economic cooperation and boost bilateral trade, Thai deputy commerce minister Apiradi Tantraporn said, according to Thai media reports. The two nations’ leaders will chair the JTC meeting, which had been suspended for much of the year because of the political turmoil in Thailand. With the upcoming Asean integration, Thailand and Myanmar aims to tighten cooperation, mainly cross-border trade and promoting special economic zones in border provinces between Mae Sot and Myawaddy, she was quoted as saying. The agenda for the January meeting, which will be held in Thailand, is to exchange trade information and promote growth via trade activities; reduce duplicated customs procedures; and promote more trade and investment after completion of the second Friendship Bridge and four-lane roads linking the countries next year. Cross-border trade between Thailand and Myanmar stood at $5.2 billion in the first 10 months of the year, 7.8 percent higher than in the same period last year.