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Bank of Hawaii bought a new stake in Square Inc (NYSE:SQ) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,620 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,000.
Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Square in the fourth quarter worth $110,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Square in the fourth quarter worth $131,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new stake in Square in the fourth quarter worth $139,000. Hudock Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Square in the third quarter worth $157,000. Finally, American International Group Inc. bought a new stake in Square in the fourth quarter worth $200,000. 52.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
In other Square news, insider Hillary B. Smith sold 75,103 shares of Square stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.56, for a total value of $2,820,868.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 563,798 shares in the company, valued at $21,176,252.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ajmere Dale sold 5,272 shares of Square stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.07, for a total value of $258,697.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 106,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,227,574.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,025,177 shares of company stock worth $43,040,753 in the last quarter. 32.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Square (NYSE:SQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The technology company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $616.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $601.63 million. Square had a negative return on equity of 6.60% and a negative net margin of 2.84%. analysts forecast that Square Inc will post 0.02 EPS for the current year.
A number of analysts recently issued reports on SQ shares. Vetr upgraded Square from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $51.38 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 23rd. Buckingham Research started coverage on Square in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer restated a “buy” rating on shares of Square in a research report on Monday, November 20th. Nomura raised their price target on Square from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 16th. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Square to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and twenty-five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $42.68.
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Square Company Profile
Square, Inc (Square) is a commerce ecosystem. The Company enables its sellers start, run and grow their businesses. It combines software with hardware to enable sellers to turn mobile devices and computing devices into payments and point-of-sale solutions. Once a seller downloads the Square Point of Sale mobile application, they can take their first payment.
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What impact will blockchain have on the asset and wealth management industry?
Tom Eckett Investment Week 28th Januaru 2019
The uptake of blockchain from the asset management industry has so far been slow, particularly compared to other areas of finance, such as payments.
For example, Mastercard has launched its own blockchain network that enables banks and merchants to make cross-border payments, while blockchain powers Visa’s B2B Connect payment platform.
However, there have been companies willing to embrace the new technology.
Blockchain technology has been gaining popularity in certain areas of the financial services industry in recent years, but wealth and asset managers have been traditionally slow to adopt the new technologies, citing numerous barriers to entry.
Full story click here

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Liquor shops open after 40 days in lockdown: In India, alcohol shops opened on the first day of Lockdown 3.0 today, and there was a huge line of buyers across the country.
The sale of liquor has been started, but the rest of the market is closed. In such a situation, the question arises why the sale of liquor is so important for governments.
In fact, alcohol and petrol are the two products on which the state governments charge the most revenue by levying taxes according to their needs. It is believed that liquor shops have been opened despite the lockdown to reduce the financial shortfall being incurred by the state governments.
But Excise Minister Ram Naresh Agnihotri in the Government of Uttar Pradesh does not agree with this. Agnihotri says, “The convenience of people has also been taken care of in the decision to open liquor contracts.”
On the question of social distancing, he says, “Police have been deployed to maintain law and order and social distancing of contracts.”
Liquor shops open after 40 days in lockdown, social distancing rules taken for a ride
Says Agnihotri, “The Uttar Pradesh government was losing a revenue of about three thousand crore rupees per month due to the sale of liquor.” Questioned whether the government has opened contracts for the purpose of revenue collection, Agnihotri says, “Revenue collection is not only an objective but the needs of the public have also been taken care of.”
In the year 2018-19, the Uttar Pradesh government collected a tax of Rs 23,918 crore from the sale of liquor. At present, there are more than 18 thousand liquor shops in Uttar Pradesh itself.
To increase revenue, the UP government also implemented a new excise policy in January 2018. Its purpose was also to break the monopoly in the liquor sales sector.
In the states where liquor is sold, fifteen to twenty-five percent of the total revenue of the government comes from alcohol. This is the reason that despite the lockdown, the state governments have shown haste in selling liquor.
UP, Karnataka, and Uttarakhand derive more than twenty percent of their total revenue from the sale of alcohol alone. However, in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra, the government gets less than 10% of the total revenue from the sale of liquor as the tax on alcohol here is less than in other provinces.
Actually, liquor is prohibited from GST. That is, states determine taxes according to their own. There is a ban on the sale of liquor in Gujarat and Bihar, and the government does not get any revenue from alcohol in these states.
In Andhra Pradesh, nearly three and a half thousand liquor shops are being opened today, while a new liquor ban tax is also being imposed.
However, the government has not yet set the tax rate. State Special Secretary Rajat Bhargava said in a press conference yesterday, ‘We are going to open liquor shops in the state due to revenue collection, but the government is also worried about the ill effects of drinking alcohol.
Our Chief Minister is particularly concerned about the harmful effects of alcohol, and that is why we are going to impose a liquor ban. Its rate will be fixed soon.
He also said that Andhra Pradesh wants to stop alcohol in the long term completely.
Revenue concern Rajat Bhargava said, ‘All liquor shops outside the Containment Zone are being opened. No shops will open inside the mall.
Sixteen big states of the country, excluding Gujarat, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh, had stated in their budget estimates for the financial year 2020-21 that they want to collect a total revenue of Rs 1.65 lakh crore from the sale of liquor.
Rajasthan had recently increased taxes to get more revenue from liquor sales. The tax on foreign liquor (IMFL) of less than Rs 900 made in India was raised from twenty-five percent to thirty-five percent, while the tax on bottles worth more than Rs 900 was increased from thirty-five percent to forty-five percent.
Not only this, but the tax on beer in Rajasthan also increased from thirty-five percent to forty-five percent.
That is, if someone buys a hundred rupees of beer, then he pays forty-five rupees to the government.
On the first day of the lockdown, when liquor shops opened in Rajasthan, there was a huge crowd of buyers. Some media reports said that the Rajasthan government might again stop the sale of liquor during the lockdown.
In this regard, when we wanted to talk to the Rajasthan government spokesperson and Health Minister Raghu Sharma, his representative said that no decision had been taken in this regard.
On the other hand, liquor shops did not open in Haryana on Monday. The reason for this is believed to be a confrontation between the liquor vendors and the government.
Liquor shopkeepers are demanding a concession in license fees. At the same time, the Manohar Lal Khattar government has decided to apply the Corona case from 2 to 20 rupees per bottle in Haryana.
Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala told reporters on Sunday that the government would impose COVID-19 cases from two rupees to twenty rupees per bottle.
Meanwhile, in the capital Delhi, the police had to close some liquor shops due to congestion.
For the first time since the twenty-fourth of March in the capital, liquor shops opened, and crowds of customers thronged.
The drinkers have breathed a sigh of relief from the opening of liquor shops, while other business people say that when liquor shops can open, why can’t their businesses open.
The Federation of All India Traders (CAT) has opposed the opening of liquor shops. CAT’s National General Secretary Praveen Khandelwal told the BBC, ‘Opening liquor shops is an excellent way of getting the mental bankruptcy and revenue of the state governments.
It is living proof of the selfishness of the person. He said, with this decision, governments are playing with the health of the citizens, and the primary purpose of the lockdown will fail.
Khandelwal questioned the government and said, “Is the danger of corona in the country reduced, liquor shops are being opened.”
If liquor shops can be opened, then why can’t the shops of ordinary traders be opened.
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C.C.'s Community Coffee House offers guilt-free varieties of its signature drinks year round. But to help customers stick to their weight-loss resolutions well into the New Year, the Louisiana company wanted to do more than offer healthy versions of its everyday indulgences.
“We also wanted to help people reach their healthy lifestyle goals,” says Rachel Hull, marketing manager for C.C.'s Community Coffee House.
So C.C.'s turned to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. With its Louisiana 2 Step program, which promotes eating right and moving more, Blue Cross Blue Shield partnered with C.C.'s to provide customers with information about leading a healthy lifestyle in time for the New Year.
The partnership is rare for Louisiana, where 29.8 percent of the population is obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That percentage puts Louisiana at No. 4 in the U.S. in terms of obesity.
“We have a great, wonderful, unique culture which is a blessing and a curse,” says Dianne Eysink, director of corporate communications at Blue Cross Blue Shield Louisiana. “The blessing is our food is just out of this world, and of course the curse is it can sometimes cause problems like obesity.”
C.C.'s guilt-free drinks switch in skim milk for 2 percent and use syrups with artificial sweeteners in place of the sugar-laden variety. The substitutions let the company offer its signature drink, the Mochasippi, with only 90 calories and 3 grams of fat in a grande size. A 16-ounce Guilt-Free Turtle Latte or Guilt-Free Caramel Swirl Mocha has about half the calories of its normal counterpart. The diet-friendly drinks clock in at 280 calories and 270, respectively.
“Guilt-free drinks are something we offer every day,” Hull says. “We just took this opportunity to educate people about it.”
The brand also added smaller portion sizes of several of its baked goods to the menu. Everything from bagels to cookies to breakfast breads are now offered in modest sizes, and the chain's new Muffin Caps downsize customers' morning muffins to a 2.3-ounce treat with 60 percent of the calories in the 4-ounce version. Mini-desserts also offer some of the store's richer pastries in half-dollar-size amounts to keep calories in check.
“They're just enough to satisfy you without going overboard,” Hull says.
In addition to its new menu offerings, C.C. is distributing its “Guilt-Free Guide” at all stores. The pamphlet includes coupons for the chain's guilt-free drinks, health information from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Louisiana 2 Step program, and a sweepstakes entry form for a chance to win either a 6-month gym membership ($450 value) or a C.C.’s Community Coffee House Gift Card ($250 value). Winners will be chosen from each of the brand's four Louisiana markets.
Blue Cross Blue Shield has 1.2 million Louisiana customers, which makes one out of every four people in the state a member. The insurance company advertised C.C.'s guilt-free drinks on its 2-Step program Web site and distributed the brand's Guilt-Free Guides at health fairs, to different employer groups, and to its 1,600 employees.
“My parents drank Community Coffee, I drank it,” Eysink says. “It's something that's really a part of Louisiana, so having them really care about Louisiana's health is such a wonderful thing.”


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|Discovering professional environment|
On March 29th, 2018 was held the 7th edition of the JDNJ (National Youth Day). This day connects young people and businesses through site visits in all sectors of the economy. This event is an opportunity for young people to discover and understand the professional environment. It is also an opportunity for companies to create vocations and promote the skills they will need in the future.
It is therefore quite naturally that POK® opened its doors at Paul Langevin Middle School in Romilly-sur-Seine (10). The visitors, students in the 9th grade class, took this visit very seriously. In order to understand the whole company, and with the help of their teachers, a 19-page booklet was created by the students, 8 interviews were conducted, and hundreds of questions were asked about the company, its products and its employees.
What a joy for our teams to discover young people already very involved in their future choices and curious to discover the industrial environment and our company founded in 1976.
At the end of this visit, the students and their teachers produced a special issue of their magazine “Parcours Avenir” retracing the two visit circuits used by the students. Edito, General presentation of the company, Interviews and spotlight on POK products, everything is there! A real journalist’s job done by motivated students.
After the success of this 2018 edition, POK will open its doors again in 2019 to welcome students who we hope will be just as curious and motivated. In the meantime, POK will continue to innovate and perhaps hopes to have the chance to recruit these former students as staff members to whom the visit has given rise to a vocation.


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PS3 for old PS2 price?
Sub-40,000 Yen mooted.
Sony Computer Entertainment may be planning to follow exactly the same pricing model with PlayStation 3 as it did with its two previous consoles, according to the latest speculation on price to emerge from Japanese reports.
Both the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 launched at 39,800 Yen (294 Euro at today's conversion rates) when they arrived in the Far East, while the Xbox and the Cube both launched at lower prices - 34,800 Yen (257 Euro) and 25,000 Yen (185 Euro) respectively.
Now a report on Japanese website Impress PC Watch is indicating that Sony Computer Entertainment has cited a price point of less than 40,000 Yen for the PS3 launch in conversations with its business partners.
That would certainly seem to indicate that the traditional 39,800 Yen price point could be adhered to, and would bring the console in significantly lower than the 50,000 Yen (370 Euro) price point quoted by Japanese newspaper Mainichi Daily News last week.
The PlayStation 3 was unveiled by Sony at a special event in Los Angeles last week, and isn't expected to launch in Japan until next Spring. Microsoft's next generation console, the Xbox 360, is slated for a worldwide launch late this year, but no price point has yet been set for the device.


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Nearly 60% of the world’s population is already online, leveraging the benefits of the internet. No surprise, why almost every generation prefers to read digitally. This shift from traditional print books to digital content is evident with these stats:
“The e-book publishing revenue in the U.S. is expected to grow to 5.33 billion U.S. dollars in 2022.” On the other hand, “the UK ePublishing market is expected to grow to $1.6 billion by 2023.” – Statista
Continue reading “Moving To Digital Publishing? Here Are The Top Industry Trends You Must Know”
2019 marks the end of a decade that witnessed notable transformations and innovations in the publishing industry. The sea-change resulted in the introduction of digital publishing platforms, formats, publishing standards, and regulations, etc.
However, such technological advancements in the publishing industry are favored by some; others are merely skeptical. The blog is addressed to those who are skeptical to make them understand how they can leverage technology to make a mark in the industry.
Continue reading “Online Digital Publishing: 2020 Trends That Might Surprise You”
The digital publishing industry is booming and witnessing a number of innovations now. It started with converting the printed material into digital content in the form of eBooks. However, many readers continued to prefer the printed version over eBooks, which led to the next bigger challenge i.e. making eBooks attractive and easy to use for the readers. When it comes to making the eBooks easier to access and use, getting a dedicated reader app designed has worked quite well. As we know, eReaders have been evolving by the day with each new version comprising better features: integrated dictionary, text search, text-to-speech conversion, bookmarks, day/night mode, to name a few. While these features have made accessing digital books easier, the only thing left is interactivity and increasing user engagement.
Continue reading “AR/VR/Mixed Reality: The Next Revolution In Digital Publishing Industry”
Will AI replace humans in the near future? That’s one of the raging questions these days. Machines nowadays are getting smarter and more advanced, so much so that they have actually started outrunning human mind. Or have they? As smart as these machines are, there are still some areas that essentially require human intervention. Take ePublishing for example. While many believe that artificial intelligence is likely to take over activities like report writing and raw content analysis, it is very unlikely to replace high-level decision making tasks like editing. But what AI can definitely do is increase the productivity of the editorial staff. Repetitive tasks that don’t require creativity can be offloaded with the help of AI.
Continue reading “How AI/ML Is Redefining The ePublishing Industry”
May 25, 2018, marked the enforcement of GDPR and the event caught several digital publishers off-guard who weren’t expecting the proposed radical reforms being implemented at such a short notice. Continue reading “How Digital Publishers Can Brace Themselves For The Impact of GDPR”


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August 9, 2022
New ISPA Research Measures Consumers’ Spa-Going Habits and Approaches to Self-Care
(LEXINGTON, KY. May 24, 2022)
The International SPA Association (ISPA) Foundation has released the volume XI of its Consumer Snapshot initiative, titled “New Era, New Consumer”. This study, commissioned by the ISPA Foundation and conducted in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers, sought to examine the habits, attitudes and expectations of consumers (spa-goers and non-spa-goers alike) as they consider the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to evaluate concerns surrounding their physical and mental well-being.
“Consumer attitudes, like so much else, have shifted significantly in the last two-plus years,” said ISPA President Lynne McNees. “This research provides insight into those shifts and will allow our members to make data-driven decisions for their businesses as they seek to bring the benefits of spa to more people and continue the industry’s robust recovery.”
This edition of the Consumer Snapshot series establishes a wide spectrum of habits, concerns and preferences for both spa-goers and non-spa-goers, evaluating them in the context of respondents’ income levels, age and gender. For example, the largest portion of respondents (47 percent) said they use a hybrid approach to receiving spa services, which includes receiving some services at a spa location and supplementing those with at-home service options.
The study also highlights respondents’ attitudes toward self-care activities, the factors that influence their decision to visit (or not visit) a spa, their spa-going habits, their purchasing trends, their outlook on the future and how they make decisions in the age of high demand for spa services and low staffing levels.
“Understanding how consumers view their relationship with spa—and, importantly, how that relationship may have been changed by the events of recent years—will afford leaders and professionals around the spa industry the opportunity to step into this new era with greater confidence,” says PwC Global Research Leader Colin McIlheney. “That starts with understanding who visits the spa, what they want from the experience and why they value it.”
The data indicates that the spa industry is well-positioned to meet the needs of consumers now and going forward. More than half of current spa-goers (58 percent) said they visited a spa for the first time in the past two years, and 39 percent said they visit the spa more often now than before the pandemic. Combined with respondents’ apparent dedication to their health and well-being (65 percent of spa-goers noted they will focus more on their health and well-being now), those figures suggest that the industry is in a strong position.


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“In a lot of ways, Facebook is more like a government than a traditional company” – Mark Zuckerburg
The rise of virtual internet platforms such as Facebook, Whatsapp, Telegram, Kakao is challenging established regimes of state and sovereignty, monetary policy and issuance of currency, control, ownership and governance of virtual resources in developing countries in Africa.
Billions of users, including Africans are spending more time on virtual networked platforms that command the attention of far greater audiences than the populations of individual nation states. WhatsApp has 1 billion, Telegram 200 million users and Facebook has 2.3 billion users worldwide.
Now, these virtual platforms are all getting into the business of issuing currencies using ‘blockchains’ or shared ledgers to monetize all the possibilities of economic activity within the confines of their platforms.
Out of all of them, Facebook’s Libra coin drew the most attention. No surprise at all considering the sheer size of its 2.3 billion people user base.
What does this mean for Africa’s fintech industry and policies, that tech giants from overseas can monetize the digital economy of Africa through non-sovereign means including issuance of digital currencies?
What follows is a transcript of conversations between Michael Kimani and Andile Masuku, about the current shift to internet virtual platforms, and currencies, and what lies ahead for Africa’s Fintech policy.
Michael Kimani is Head of Business Development East Africa at Zippie, a mobile blockchain platform, a Fintech Innovation Advisor for Visa and Secretary General of the Blockchain Association of Kenya. He is one of East Africa’s renowned digital money analysts.
Andile Masaku is a Co-founder and Executive Producer at Africa Tech RoundUp.
The structure is presented in the format of a Question and Answer. Enjoy!


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North American video game retailer GameStop has stated that it saw a boost in Nintendo Switch sales during the course of the week after Nintendo’s E3 2018 presentations. Despite some fans criticising the lack of surprises during the event, it seems that the power of the Smash Bros and Pokemon franchises shouldn’t be underestimated.
The retailer also said that they’ve seen a lot of demand for the Poke Ball Plus which is the big new accessory for the Nintendo Switch to go alongside Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu and Pokemon: Let’s Go Eevee. It will certainly be interesting to see how Nintendo does in the all-important Christmas shopping period.
“Nintendo, in particular, has benefitted from E3 2018 when it comes to grabbing the attention of GameStop customers, as Bright informs us that Switch sales doubled over the course of the week in the wake of the Smash Bros deep dive, plus ongoing enthusiasm for Pokémon.”
“Nothing beats Nintendo’s overall announcements,” he says. “Super Smash Bros is jumping right up to the top of the [pre-order] list. We’re also seeing great reaction from Pokémon Let’s Go, both SKUs, and then of course people are trying to get their hands on the Pokéball [controller] as well.”
He continues: “Nintendo fans are definitely reacting.”


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Parents in the UAE seeking a ban on PUBG Mobile
The UAE (United Arab Emirates) parents are asking for a ban on popular game PUBG Mobile. All you need to know.
PUBG has become one of the most popular online games of late, but there are many cases of PUBG addiction which have appeared in the past, too. And now after India, parents in the UAE are also seeking a ban on the game that has got the country's youth hooked onto their mobile devices.
Gulnaz Arif Moula, a parent in Dubai told Khaleej Times that, "PUBG should surely be banned as it has a negative effect on the children's mind. It makes them very aggressive. Kids have taken this game so seriously that nothing else seems to matter to them - not even studying. They care only about winning in this game."
"They cannot concentrate on schoolwork anymore. They are fully engaged in these addictive games and are always on their laptops or iPads - no more outdoor activities," said Bibi Usaima.
It seems that the UAE is also facing the same kind of issues with PUBG addiction as India and the youngsters and minors of the Arab nation seem to be the worst affected. Just recently, it was reported on the Indian media that a student from Telangana committed suicide because he was scolded for playing PUBG rather than studying for his exams.
PUBG ABOVE EVERYTHING:
According to reports, 45 per cent of Indian gamers admitted that they have missed sleep in order to play the game, over 37 per cent of gamers have skipped a meal, and another 35 per cent missed out on spending time with friends or going out on a date. Unsurprisingly, more than any other country, India also has the most gamers missing work so they can play at 24.2 per cent.
Meanwhile in China, the game developers have restricted the gameplay for under 13-year-old to avoid gaming addiction. It remains to be seen what PUBG developers are going to do now in order to make the game more healthier for the players.


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Jamaica. Illegal (decriminalized), Illegal, Illegal, Legal. Main article: Cannabis in
Jamaica. On 25 February 2015, the Jamaican House ...
Mar 21, 2016 ... Jamaica's law on legalizing marijuana are evolving meaning that Jamaica will
soon legalize weed.
Jan 26, 2016 ... Check out this exploration video of Jamaican weed, and just how much you can
score for as little as $20.
Jun 30, 2016 ... Jamaica is looking to install airport kiosks where tourists can obtain permits to
legally purchase marijuana, in an effort to cash in on the ...
Mar 24, 2016 ... Jamaica seems like a place where weed would be legal. Iconic footage of Bob
Marley and his crew carelessly smoking blunts on the streets ...
Under the new Jamaican marijuana law, if you're a tourist with a medical
marijuana recommendation, you can purchase and possess up to two ounces of
Jul 1, 2016 ... Talks are underway on installing cannabis kiosks at airports and seaports, which
Jamaica believes could boost government revenues.
Apr 24, 2016 ... The same Amendments also created the framework for the development of legal
medical marijuana, hemp and nutraceutical industries.
Jun 29, 2016 ... Jamaica is planning to install marijuana-dispensing kiosks for tourists in ...
Senate creates world's first national marketplace for legal marijuana.
Negril, Jamaica. Smoking tolerance level [1= very illegal 5=virtually legal]: 4 ...
Where to buy marijuana in Negril: This section doesn't really need to be filled out,


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In a farmhouse kitchen-style showroom on an upper floor of an Ap Lei Chau industrial building, David Meredith, founder of Tas’Mania Fresh, is showcasing the mouthwatering products his company supplies to Hong Kong’s retailers and food industry clients.
On display is a bounty of quality produce plucked from Tasmania’s clean waters and fertile hills. This includes the smoked salmon that is sometimes served in Cathay Pacific’s Business Class cabins, live seafood, salad leaves and, most importantly at this time of year, Tasmanian cherries – prized for their size, flavour and crisp juiciness.
Next door, in a room dominated by industrial fridges, a team of nimble-fingered and eagle-eyed women are emptying boxes that arrived on a pallet from this morning’s Hobart flight at 5.30am. Inside are gold-standard packs of cherries grown by Reid Fruits and handpicked the day before. Although the cherries have been pre-sorted by species and graded for size on the farm – they have been travelling, and need to go through a further layer of quality control.
The nimble fingers and eagle eyes are not just looking for blemishes, but ensuring that the stem is green and replete with the nodule where it once joined the tree. This ‘feeds’ the cherry while it travels, and is also a sign of hand picking rather than machine harvesting.
A 2kg box of ‘gold’ cherries will retail for anywhere between HK$600-HK$800, so ensuring the quality is vital. But the bigger concern for Meredith was being able to get them to Hong Kong at all.
Located off the southern coast of the Australian mainland, Tasmania has been slightly cut off from the rest of the world in cargo terms since the pandemic. The airport serves domestic destinations using narrow-body aircraft, which suit the short runway but are not ideal for cargo shipments. As Meredith says: ‘Any cargo is loaded by hand and you can’t fit a pallet in a Boeing 737.’
In ordinary times, his cherry shipments would be loaded into refrigerated trucks and driven the 200km or so to Devonport, loaded onto the Spirit of Tasmania for an overnight sea crossing departing at 7pm, arriving in Melbourne at 7am for transfer to a warehouse to be repacked.
This all needed to be done before 11am in order to catch the CX104 flight to Hong Kong. That’s a tight schedule, and a delay anywhere could jeopardise the shipment. ‘But that wasn’t so heart-breaking,’ explains Meredith. ‘There was also CX178 at midnight or CX134 the following morning.’
But these are not ordinary times. The pandemic means that while Cathay Pacific freighters are running to schedule in Australia, the passenger flights are not. ‘Now with the current schedule we can’t even count on a back-up flight from Sydney,’ says Meredith.
Cathay Pacific Cargo’s decision to create an airbridge to Hong Kong with seasonal cargo-only flights came as a relief. ‘The Hobart flights give us certainty,’ he says.
Yet it was far from certain that these flights would even be possible. There have long been plans to extend the runway at Hobart Airport and to cater for international flights, but to date there’s been more work on budgets than bulldozers. So it took some persuasive calculations from Cathay Pacific’s Flight Operations team to convince the airport authority that a cargo-only Boeing 777 with enough fuel to break its journey in Melbourne could land safely and fly out with around 40 tonnes of Tasmania’s produce.
For Meredith the flights have been a lifeline, and assures quality for his chilled produce. ‘The cool chain is important, because the low temperature slows the metabolism, and that’s why the Hobart flight is so important to us,’ he says. ‘The flight cuts a day out of the journey. On the same flight today, we have salad leaves in packs for a supermarket. The salads are very sensitive and have a very short shelf life, so these flights have really helped. At this time of year, there’s a lot of pressure on capacity. With Chinese New Year every spare space is gone and these flights have helped to alleviate that demand.’
‘To organise and run these flights when our network is severely handicapped, and to continually deliver extra capacity to make these flights successful has been an outstanding team effort,’ says Cathay Pacific Regional Cargo Manager for Southwest Pacific Nigel Chynoweth. ‘It is at times like these – usually the bad ones – that you can really see Cathay Pacific has an inbuilt culture to deliver.’
And thanks to these flights, so can Tas’Mania Fresh. After the hubbub of cherries dies down, thoughts will turn to avocados from Queensland. ‘We use Cathay Pacific out of Brisbane and Wellcamp,’ says Meredith. Then, attention will turn to the Tasmanian oyster season in May, and the island’s apples until September.
This can now be planned with confidence. Without the Hobart flights, the outcome for Meredith would have been starkly certain: ‘We wouldn’t have a business.’


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Carabao has launched 500ml PET bottles across its core range.
The new bottles are available in Original, Mango Burst, green Apple and Mixed Berry.
Their launch comes in the wake of Carabao’s Original bottle launch in Poundland stores in March, which the supplier says has been a success.
They will be available to convenience and wholesale later this summer, following an initial launch in Poundland and on Carabao’s website.
John Luck, chief marketing officer at Carabao UK&I, said: “Carabao research revealed that 87% of frequent energy drinkers would buy a 500ml resealable bottle version of their favourite energy drink with convenience and responsible consumption being the main drivers.
“Extending our range into this larger pack format was the obvious next step to give our consumers what they want and to help our customers grow.”
Read more product news


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The company, owned by French luxury holding Kering, has opened its first travel retail pop-up at the Singapore international airport.
YSL beauty gets the airport treatment. The luxury company, owned by French holding Kering, has opened its first travel retail pop-up at the international terminal of the Singapore airport Changi T3.
The pop-up store, located at the Shilla Duty Free Changi airport store, is inspired in a Beauty Station, where customers can interact with professional makeup artists and play digital games to redeem the company’s products.
Emily Coleman, general manager, Yves Saint Laurent beauty travel retail Asia states that the company has “been pushing its boundaries in creating out-of-the-box retailtainment for all beauty travelers.”
Kering, also owner of companies like Gucci, Balenciaga or Bottega Veneta, has finished the third quarter of the year with a revenue of 3.8 billion million euros, up 14.2% from the same period last year.


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Brand Connect Initiative
With Microsoft Kaizala, users have the option to make peer to peer payments in one to one and group chat conversations via the MobiKwik wallet and via YES Bank’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) integration. The UPI payment integration on Microsoft Kaizala works with all 86 banks that are already participating in UPI.
Microsoft Kaizala is also aimed at making the Firstline workforce more productive and helping them to communicate in real time. There are nearly 1.9 billion such workers worldwide, and a large portion of this workforce is based out of India. Microsoft Kaizala, a mobile-only product designed for large group communications and work management, enables organizations to take business workflows to its Firstline workforce.
“When we launched Microsoft Kaizala for India in July 2017, we provided consumers as well as businesses with a secure chat platform to collaborate and be productive, on the go. Microsoft Kaizala is used by thousands of organizations across different industry verticals for their day-to-day workflows today and is growing. Payment transactions within the app was a key demand from our users for getting work done and we are happy to offer it today in collaboration with YES Bank and MobiKwik,” said Rajiv Kumar, Corporate Vice President, Office Product Group, Microsoft.
“YES BANK has been a pioneer in UPI and we have emerged as a leader in the UPI ecosystem by leveraging our strategic partnerships, as well as the bank’s first-of-its-kind API banking solution. We are glad to collaborate with Microsoft Kaizala and bring seamless payments to businesses and users by employing our state-of-the-art UPI Platform. The addition of payments makes Microsoft Kaizala an even more compelling platform for collaboration,” said Ritesh Pai, Chief Digital Officer, YES Bank.
Microsoft Kaizala was launched in July 2017 in India to provide a seamless convergence of an instant messenger, a collaboration portal, and a productivity enhancer. Existing Office 365 customers through early adopter program can avail 12 months of free subscription of Kaizala Pro for their users. Users can be quickly onboarded on Microsoft Kaizala by using just their phone number as a unique ID. It has been optimized for 2G network to enable connectivity in remote locations.
Microsoft Kaizala is being used by over 900 organizations, including YES Bank, State Bank of India, Apollo Telemedicine, Narayana Hrudyalaya, United Phosphorous, and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan. Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP), an autonomous society of the Department of Rural Development, Government of Andhra Pradesh, is leveraging Microsoft Kaizala for its frontline workforce of nearly 475,000 to share on-ground, real time information around latest welfare scheme and development projects.
Microsoft Kaizala is available as a free mobile app on Android, iOS and Windows platforms for individual users.


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Henkel Ties up with Asian Paints
Asian Paints has entered the retail segment of the adhesives category through a distribution arrangement with Germany’s Henkel Adhesive Technologies. Under the arrangement,
Henkel’s adhesive brand Loctite will be sold at the retail level through a co-branding initiative. Although the company had B2B presence in the adhesive segment in India, this is the first time it is entering retail.
Asian Paints has already started selling the brand in some selected markets in western India. The paint major is expected to use its strong distribution network spanning 36,000 hardware shops. Industry experts feel that it could put pressure on Pidilite which enjoys about 70% market share in the segment. ')}


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Here Is Why This is Huge for Crypto
Coinbase has taken giant steps in bringing the crypto industry closer to mainstream adoption. As the first-ever crypto exchange to go public, it allowed investors to invest in crypto stocks without having to enter the space or specifically owning cryptocurrency.
Now, Coinbase has again taken another giant step to accelerate the adoption of Web3, partnering with one of the biggest companies in the world: Google.
Coinbase and Google Enter Strategic Partnership
Coinbase announced on 11 October 2022 that it was entering a strategic partnership with Google’s cloud computing suite, Google Cloud, after several months of negotiation and cooperation between the two companies. Web3 is the next-generation decentralized internet where people and corporate entities can build and own digital properties, and both Google and Coinbase believe companies of all kinds will begin creating a presence in this space soon enough.
Since the Google Cloud team is open to the idea of broadening the scope of crypto services and building in Web3, Coinbase decided to take up this partnership to bring the two companies together in the quest to enhance the adoption of Web3.
Google Will Use Coinbase to Bring Crypto Payments to Cloud Customers
As a result of the partnership, a select group of Google Cloud customers who are already developing Web3 services can begin to pay for services using selected cryptocurrencies, with payments facilitated by Coinbase Commerce.
Furthermore, Coinbase Cloud’s Node service will enable Web3 developers to access Google Cloud’s blockchain data through BigQuery. The integration should allow faster development with fewer overhead costs.
In addition, Google will use Coinbase’s secure institutional and corporate custody and trading platform, Coinbase Prime, to provide institutional crypto services.
Coinbase selected Google Cloud as its cloud services provider to leverage its extensive hardware and computing infrastructure. To provide its customers with crypto insights driven by machine learning, Coinbase will also use the superior data and analytics technologies that Google provides to build a secure global data platform on Google Cloud.
Coinbase will use Google Cloud’s powerful compute platform to process blockchain data at scale, and enhance the global reach of its crypto services by leveraging Google’s premium fiber-optic network.
It is noteworthy that Google provides some of the best and cheapest cloud storage services in the world.
Why the Google-Coinbase Partnership Is Huge for Crypto
Google is one of the biggest companies in the entire world, dominating online search, advertising, and numerous other areas of technology. Coinbase is also a major leader in the crypto space, and their alliance could help crypto take a major place in the mainstream tech industry.
With Coinbase’s determination to further the development of Web3 technology, the two companies will complement each other to ensure that Web3, of which crypto is at the center, becomes a reality.
There is little doubt that the development of Web3 will continue, and companies like Google want to remain at the forefront of the internet. Partnering with Coinbase illustrates that Google certainly sees cryptocurrency as the vanguard of that development. However, don’t go out and start speculating on what cryptos Google envisages as part of its Web3 platform—there was no mention of a specific crypto, so it’s all speculation at the current time.
Still, as crypto advocates like to meme, “This is good for Bitcoin.”


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The Facebook scandal has not only dented the Menlo Park company’s reputation but also served as a wake-up call for social media firms and marketers on the transparency around data collection and users’ changing attitude towards data collection methods. The recent Cambridge Analytics-Facebook data scandal caused mass outrage among users over the use of consumer behavioural data and how it is harvested by third party users across a wide range of platforms. Facebook and Twitter have already come under scanner for hosting extremist ads and fake news on their platform.
Industry veteran Rajeev Srinivasan observed in Open Magazine that so far the ad-revenue model for social networks has been selling consumer data. Tech behemoths like Google and Facebook host ads on their platform by providing diced and sliced demographic data. Facebook and Google are dubbed as digital supply chains delivering more than a quarter of advertisements of brands. An Investors news report indicate that some of the world’s biggest brands spend a quarter of their advertising budget on digital medium. Unilever deemed the world’s biggest advertiser spent $2.4 billion on marketing its family of brands.
Sign up for your weekly dose of what's up in emerging technology.
So What’s Changed For Brands/Marketers & Social Media Companies?
Data collection policies will undergo a change: Social media companies will have to ensure that data collected is real and genuine. As marketers refine and improve their way of data collection, marketers will also have to ensure that data doesn’t become public.
Data privacy will come to the fore: As social media companies will evolve new ways to find relevant user data, companies will also become doubly sure about data breaches. Often, social media companies known for promoting fake profiles will find themselves in trouble and face loss of public trust and suffer reputational damage.
Data Safety will become crucial: Companies storing data on the cloud would also step up security to prevent leak or breach of data.
Informed consent from user: Given how governments across the world are tightening data privacy rules and paving the way for informed consent (e.g. GDPR allows users to ask companies to delete their data) gradually, social media companies in a bid to collect psychographic markers would bring back consent to avoid loss of consumer trust. So marketers and brands who want to collect individual data will have to seek explicit permission from users.
Data privacy rules could rewrite the way data harvesting is done: For example, for long marketers have used the loyalty card to understand and track a user’s behaviour. This data is further sold to brands to improve their marketing campaigns. Going forward marketers and social media companies may have to give disclosures on how they wish to leverage the data harvested.
Facebook and Google will make data more restrictive: Given the public outrage over the recent data breach, social media giants Facebook and Google could restrict the data they make available to marketers for the ad campaigns. This implies that social media companies and brands will have to work doubly harder to find the right data. News just poured in about Facebook stopping apps from harvesting user’s data about two weeks ago.
Brands that have been associated with Facebook and Instagram will become more aware about privacy breaches that could end up in a PR nightmare. Or companies that find novel ways of collecting and analyzing online data may find themselves in a great deal of trouble when their methods become public knowledge. With stricter policies coming into force, marketers would change the way consumer data is accessed and used. Perhaps less data will become more relevant to brands. Industry experts believe brands and marketers can improve their customer experience when they harvest the right data.
Meanwhile, social media behemoths Google, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube are working hard to fight fake news, hate speech and abuse on their platforms, brands are becoming more aware of the challenges posed by associating with these platforms. For example, Tesla chief Elon Musk deleted both the company pages – Tesla and SpaceX with the barb, “What’s Facebook”. Tesla chief Musk is not the only one to sever ties with Facebook, Mozilla tweeted about taking a break from Facebook and pressed pause on FB advertising. Consumer electronics company Sonos has pulled ads from Facebook and all other social media platforms like Google, Youtube and FB-owned Instagram. Even Hugh Hefner founded iconic magazine Playboy pulled the plug on Facebook to safeguard user’s privacy.


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Sony's acclaimed action-adventure spectacle, Ghost of Tsushima, is rumored to be stepping beyond the confines of PlayStation exclusivity, eyeing a grand entry into the vast PC gaming arena. This speculation comes amid a whirlwind of anticipation, with an official announcement purportedly on the horizon. The game, a vivid portrayal of samurai valor amidst the Mongol invasion of Japan, has captured the hearts of players since its 2020 debut on the PlayStation 4, followed by an enhanced Director’s Cut for the PS5 in 2021. Its potential PC port is a testament to Sony's evolving strategy, aiming to broaden its horizons and embrace a wider gaming audience.
Meanwhile, amidst the strategic reshuffling within Sony, including significant layoffs that impacted 900 employees, a beacon of hope shines for the Horizon universe. Reports have circulated about the cancellation of various projects, including a Twisted Metal live service game. However, the gaming community can breathe a sigh of relief as Jason Schreier of Bloomberg quells fears regarding the fate of Guerrilla’s multiplayer Horizon game. Contrary to the swirling rumors of its demise, this ambitious project remains steadfast in its development journey, promising to expand the lush, post-apocalyptic world that fans have grown to adore.
The potential PC port of Ghost of Tsushima aligns with Sony's recent endeavors to port other PlayStation exclusives, such as God of War and Horizon Forbidden West. This strategy not only revitalizes interest in established titles but also paves the way for a more inclusive gaming ecosystem. The success of titles like Helldivers 2 on PC suggests a promising future where Sony games may find a new home on PC much sooner after their initial console release, enriching the gaming experience for a broader audience.
The layoffs and project cancellations within Sony paint a complex picture of a company in transition, striving to adapt to the ever-evolving demands of the entertainment industry. Yet, amidst these challenges, the commitment to projects like Guerrilla's multiplayer Horizon game signifies a dedication to quality and innovation. The development teams, despite facing setbacks, continue to forge ahead, driven by a passion to deliver unforgettable gaming experiences.
As the gaming community stands on the cusp of these exciting developments, the anticipation for the official announcement of Ghost of Tsushima's PC port and the continued progress of the Horizon multiplayer project is palpable. These ventures underscore Sony's ambition to transcend traditional boundaries and embrace the future of gaming, promising thrilling adventures and groundbreaking experiences that will captivate players for years to come.


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welcome to The long view– where we go through the week’s news and cut it down to the essentials. let’s work what really matters.
This week: The Open App Markets Act is questioning developers well, Germany is fining a website for using Google Fonts, and The New York Times is buying Wordle for an infeasible sum.
1. Antitrust Bill Would Open App Stores
First meeting this week: The Open Application Markets Act seems to be a big hit with the developers. In a poll, more than 80% wanted lawmakers to adopt this Senate bipartisan bill.
Analysis: But 30% of nothing is nothing
One of the biggest complaints from developers is the 30% reduction in all Apple revenue, including in-app purchases. Many developers also experienced random rejections of store submissions. And these seem to be the main driving forces behind calls from developers to tear down all the walls around the gardens. But they have to be careful what they wish for – users might don’t see it the same way.
Karl Evers-Hillstrom: 8 out of 10 app developers support measure to curb Google, Apple
The Coalition for App Fairness, [an] industry group for app developers, is pushing Congress to pass the Open App Markets Act. [The] The bipartisan Senate bill…would prevent app stores from favoring their own in-house apps in searches, forcing developers to use their payment systems, and preventing users from downloading apps from third-party stores.
Developers interviewed…complained about exorbitant fees…and how they had difficulty getting their apps featured or accepted by app stores. Only 13% of app developers surveyed oppose the bill. … The margin of error is plus or minus 7.11 percentage points.
The proposal, co-sponsored by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), are scheduled for committee markup this week. Apple and Google CEOs personally pressured lawmakers to drop out [such] antitrust legislation.
Wouldn’t that kill the proverbial goose? No, says this anonymous coward:
The only reason Apple is successful with the iPhone is because developers write apps for it, it’s no different from Windows in that regard. … If Apple’s app store is so good, everyone from developers to end users will continue to use it and no one will use third-party app stores.
Clearly, there is a clear profit motive for excluding any competition in the App Store space. But I don’t understand how people can claim that Apple makes great products and at the same time claim that they couldn’t survive the competition on the platform.
But Dr. Edith Müdyk—@BabyHueby– doesn’t seem to hope this will go anywhere:
Too bad that politics is not dictated by public opinion.
2. German court fines site for using Google Fonts without consent
Did you know that you must obtain permission from a European user before downloading a Google Font? do it now.
Analysis: Schrems II comes home to roost
No more GDPR popups oh! A German court has “clarified” that websites and apps must obtain informed consent before loading content if it reveals a user’s IP address to a third party. Fortunately, the fine was only $110 – this time, but if the culprit were to do it again, the court threatened 2500× this amount.
Thomas Claburn: Website fined by German court for leaking visitor’s IP address via Google Fonts
A German court has fined an unidentified website €100 ($110)… for violating EU privacy law by importing a web font hosted by Google. [It] transmitted the IP address of the unidentified requestor to Google without authorization and without a legitimate reason to do so. And it violates… GDPR.
The website could have avoided this tragedy by hosting the font itself. … The decision explicitly cites this possibility to assert that relying on Google Fonts hosted by Google is not legally defensible.
The decision orders the website to stop providing IP addresses to Google and threatens… with a fine of €250,000 for each violation, or up to six months in prison, for continued misuse of Google Fonts. …These data privacy judgments … reflect the consequences of the EU Court of Justice’s 2020 decision to strike down Privacy Shield data protection agreements that previously allowed US companies to trade data with European partners under “standard contractual clauses”.
Isn’t that ridiculous? And surely not the intention of the GDPR? Aristos Mazer strongly disagrees:
This is absolutely the intended consequence, with a lot of analysis in this regulation. … Even if it means rethinking the foundations of the network.
Forcing sites to stop transferring data in any form to Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, etc… is exactly the point. [It’s been] repeatedly validated by surveys of EU citizens.
And indeed, the goal is to obtain “informed consent”. This is Hans Neeson-Bumpsadese:
“To go beyond this point…your IP address must be shared with a third party.” Would they click on it? … I know at least one person who would read this as follows: “If I click on this link, you will tell people where I live.” (I know because they had a pop-up like that once and called me in a slightly agitated state.)
3. Wordle Sold to NYT for Over $10 Million
Josh Wardle, a Welsh developer living in New York, sold this winter’s social game hit to his state’s eponymous newspaper. The New York Times thinks it will be a useful addition to its Games section. But the the price is amazing.
Analysis: Nice payday for Josh
How? ‘Or’ What many? Hard to see how the Times is going to make any money from this. The word of tomorrow must be: NOROI.
Alexis Benveniste: The sudden rise of Wordle
In less than six months, Wordle went from a giveaway to a viral sensation, to… part of The New York Times. … Josh Wardle, a software engineer in Brooklyn, created the game as a gift for his partner … and its popularity skyrocketed.
Nearly two months later, 300,000 people have played it. … The buzz around the game can be attributed to the spoiler-free scorecard that allows players to share their Wordle victories on social media.
Wordle was acquired for an undisclosed price in the low seven figures.
In other words, north of $10 million. Not bad for a quick one-dev hack by Josh Wardle:
The game got bigger than I ever imagined (which I guess isn’t much of an achievement considering I made the game for a one-person audience). … I’m so grateful for the personal stories that some of you have shared with me.
[But] I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a bit overwhelming. [So] I am incredibly happy to announce that I have reached an agreement with The New York Times. …I’m thrilled they’re the stewards of the game.
But “RIP Wordle”, cries _xeno_, apparently speaking for many:
It’s about to get bogged down with trackers, then later ads. … A paywall is almost certainly on the way – The New York Times has very cautiously stated that it will “initially remain free”. … Not surprisingly, there are already many clones. … There’s no way The New York Times can make any money from this.
The moral of the story: No disguise will hide his true character.
Have you read The long view by Richi Jennings. You can contact him at @RiCHi Where [email protected].
Image: Masahiro Miyagi (via Unsplash; leveled and cropped)


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CALGARY, AB – (Sept 11, 2019) With a progressive vision of sustainable food production, the National Pork Board, based in Des Moines, Iowa, has announced that it will host the inaugural Swine Innovation Summit in Indianapolis on Sept. 17, 2019. The association has invited LWR CEO Karen Schuett to present the LWR manure treatment platform and expand on how using technology can improve on-farm sustainability. She will also share her recent experience as a member of THRIVE, 2019’s Most Valuable AgriFood Tech Accelerator.
The Swine Innovation Summit will focus on three key drivers of change including emerging technology, new and dynamic business models and consumer behaviors which impact shopping preferences and food choices. As part of its mandate to support pork research, promotion and education, the National Pork Board is offering the conference free of charge to pig farmers, swine veterinarians, authorized academics and allied industry. Interested attendees can see the agenda of the Swine Innovation Summit and register here.
View the Official Press Release here


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After another successful Australian Blockchain Week in March this year (which was the largest cryptocurrency and digital asset festival that Australia has ever held), you can now access the recordings that are now live on their website. With many topics covered from an array of highly experienced industry experts, we’re sure that the recordings will […]
The largest Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and digital asset festival is happening in Australia. The event is being hosted in 6 cities. Spanning over 5 full days of exclusive online and in person events which includes a launch, roundtables, live panels, and lots more.
Following on from the success of Blockchain Week 1.0 in April 2021, Australian Blockchain Week 2022 is going to be the largest blockchain, cryptocurrency and digital asset festival that Australia has ever held. The event will be hosted in 6 cities across Australia: Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and Launceston. There are 5 jam packed […]
Blockchain MeetUp christmas party in Sydney.
The State of Play by Blockchain Australia will bring some of Australia’s most recognisable businesses to discuss what the future of Fintech, financial services and the digital asset sectors have in store. The virtual event will be held via ZOOM. Session 1 – 12:00pm Nick Wiley, ASX, General Manager Strategy Katrina Stuart, New Payments Platform, […]
NFT Fest virtual event by Blockchain Australia brings together speakers from different crypto areas. Learn how to create, sell, store and use NFT’s and other ecosystems like metaverse, gaming and collectibles and lots more! Visit the official event site to confirm details
Australia’s largest Blockchain event runs for 4 days which includes over 50+ events that will be held online and in person. The event will feature 120+ speakers ranging from a mix of pioneering technology, academics, executives, and government leaders.
Australia’s largest Blockchain event which is being run by Blockchain Australia is kicking off with a jammed packed schedule. The event runs for 4 days which includes over 50+ events that will be held online and in person. The event will feature 120+ speakers ranging from a mix of pioneering technology, academics, executives, and government leaders. The Agenda […]
Huobi Australia is holding a Crypto Christmas party! The shindig will kick off next Thursday from 6pm at the Blockchain Centre in Melbourne. Drinks and food are on the house. On top of a chance to eat, drink and be merry, there will also be over $2000 in crypto and prizes to be won. Test […]


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Pokemon GO players, get ready to Spring Into Spring with a new event starting on April 4th. The event will bring several exciting bonuses, debuts, and rewards to the game that are sure to keep players engaged and entertained. In this article, we’ll go through all the details about the Pokemon GO Spring Into Spring event 2023.
Table of Contents
Pokemon GO Spring Into Spring Event 2023 Schedule: Date and Time
The Spring Into Spring event will start on April 4th at 10:00 a.m. and end on April 10th at 8:00 p.m. local time. So, players have one week to take advantage of the event’s features.
One of the main highlights of the Spring Into Spring event is the debut of Cutiefly and Ribombee in Pokemon Go. These adorable Bug/Fairy-type Pokemon are known for their cute appearance and unique abilities. It’s a great opportunity for trainers to expand their Fairy-type Pokemon collection and add a new companion to their team.
Moreover, during the event, players will find Pikachu, Raichu, Pichu, Eevee, and all Eeveelutions dressed in Cherry Blossom outfits. These special Pokemon will appear in the wild, and players can capture them for their collection. Not only do they look cute, but they’ll also give players an additional chance to collect unique Pokemon.
Bonuses And Rewards
The event will offer several bonuses such as 2x Hatch Candy and reduced egg hatch distance when eggs are placed into incubators. Players will also receive a longer duration for Lucky Eggs activated during the event.
Players can expect to encounter Pikachu, Eevee, Chansey, and Togetic wearing flower crowns during the event. They can hatch several new Pokemon from 2km eggs, such as Eevee, Pichu, Togepi, Azurill, Happiny wearing flower crowns, Munchlax, Riolu, and Cutiefly.
Pokemon GO Spring Into Spring Event Raids And Field Research
Players can look forward to special Field Research tasks during the Spring Into Spring event. Pikachu, Eevee, Chansey, and Togetic will all be wearing flower crowns which can be found in the wild during the event.
Several Pokemon will be available in different tiers of raids. In the one-star raid, players can encounter Pikachu, Eevee, Jigglypuff, and Cutiefly. In the three-star raid, players can battle Exeggutor, Alolan Exeggutor, Chansey, and Togetic wearing flower crowns. Finally, in the five-star raid, players can battle the legendary Pokemon Lugia, and Mega Lopunny will be available as a Mega Raid boss.
New Stickers and Avatar Items
During the Spring Into Spring event 2023, players can get their hands on new stickers and avatar items in Pokemon Go. The Happiny Hoodie is one such item that trainers can add to their collection. Special event-themed stickers can be obtained by opening gifts, spinning Pokestops, and purchasing them from the in-game shop. It’s a great opportunity to customize your avatar and stand out from other trainers.
The Pokemon GO Spring Into Spring event offers a lot of exciting content for players, including new Pokemon debuts, bonuses, raids, and rewards. So, make sure you mark your calendars and take advantage of this event to catch ’em all!


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- Rap artist Eminem purchased a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT for 123.45 ETH, or about $462,000.
- He opened his OpenSea wallet less than a week ago but already has collected 22 NFTs.
- Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs are one of the most popular on OpenSea, with a current floor price of about $280,000.
- Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell
Award-winning hip hop artist and icon Eminem purchased a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT for the first time, joining a growing list of celebrities who have bought into the hype.
He acquired the non-fungible token, which he has since set as his Twitter profile picture, on the OpenSea platform for 123.45 ether, or about $462,000.
But this wasn’t his first NFT purchase. Under the name Shady_Holdings, the rapper has loaded up on 22 NFTs, despite only opening his OpenSea wallet less than a week ago.
User GeeGaza, who sold Eminem the Bored Ape NFT, tweeted “I’m living in a simulation” after the transaction with the rap star.
Eminem has won 15 Grammy music awards in his multi-decade career, as well as the 2002 Oscar for Best Original Song.
He joins other high-profile owners of the Bored Ape NFTs — NBA superstar Stephen Curry bought one for $180,000, and celebrities Jimmy Fallon and Post Malone have also bought in.
Bored Ape Yacht Club is one of the most popular NFT sets on OpenSea, with a current floor price of 73.5 ether, or about $280,000 each. In late January, its floor price surpassed that of CryptoPunks for the first time.


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Latest edition of NatWest Sustainable Business Tracker suggests number of SMEs with onsite energy generation is set to double, despite economic headwinds
But reverse trends seen among larger companies, which have stepped up their focus on climate over past two years, according to NatWest analysis
Industry-led group to focus on overcoming barriers to deployment of corporate electric vehicle fleets in the UK
New report highlights how climate action offers small and medium-sized enterprises huge potential for revenue growth
NatWest will help its business customers harness Microsoft's data and AI expertise to calculate and shrink their carbon footprints
Green Home Retrofit Finance Principles spearheaded by Green Finance Institute aim to 'strengthen integrity of retrofit finance market'
Partnership with fintech company CoGo will give NatWest customers access to an on-the-go carbon emissions calculator informed by their personal spending


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Wall Street apparently thinks the end is near for Sears. The stock price for Sears Holdings, owner of retail store brands Sears and Kmart, fell significantly on news that the CEO and largest shareholder Eddie Lampert will not lend the company any more money. Sears faces a key $134-million debt payment on Monday that Lampert has refused to fund from his hedge fund ESL Investments Inc. unless a special committee formed by the Sears Board of Directors accepts a rescue plan presented by Lampert. The committee has declined to do so amid concerns over a backlash from other Sears creditors and shareholders, leaving bankruptcy as the company’s only option. Sears Holdings met with its lenders Wednesday night but did not reach an agreement that would keep Sears operating, one of the persons involved told The Wall Street Journal.
Rather than restructure the business, Sears may liquidate its assets in a chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, a plan supported by major lenders, including Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup Inc., according to The Wall Street Journal. The other option is a chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, which would allow Sears to cut debt and close more stores in an attempt to possibly survive as a smaller, profitable company.
For landlords, a Sears bankruptcy and liquidation is a mixed blessing. For owners of Sears stores in desirable locations, landlords such as Simon Property Group, Macerich and General Growth Properties will have an opportunity to redevelop the Sears buildings for new tenants willing to pay much higher rents. But for owners of malls in secondary and tertiary locations with weak retail tenant demand, the stores may sit vacant for a long time.


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Public sector net borrowing in July (excluding nationalised banks) was in surplus by �184m. City experts had expected a �1bn deficit.
Provident Financial has issued its second profit warning in two months. Photograph: Chris Radburn/PA. Provident Financial. Doorstep lender Provident's chief quits after profit warning.
Lidl has beaten Waitrose to become the UK's seventh largest supermarket chain, according to latest grocery market share figures.
Ford is the latest car company to launch an incentive for UK consumers to trade in cars over seven years old, by offering �2,000 off some new models.
Theresa May must commit to George Osborne's pet project aimed at bolstering northern England to avoid the UK becoming a “one-trick pony”, the former chancellor has said.


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Sift Science is Now Privacy Shield Certified
By Sift /
18 May 2018
At Sift Science, we understand that trust powers the internet. Users trust businesses to deliver secure and exceptional experiences. Businesses trust their users to behave safely and honestly on their platforms. When fraudsters threaten to interrupt this flow of trust, that’s where we come in.
Sift Science helps thousands of websites and mobile apps fight online fraud and abuse. These businesses trust us with a plethora of data to fight fraud in a powerful way. Compliance with data protection standards is the expectation in our business — and why we’re now Privacy Shield-certified!
The Privacy Shield framework provides companies with a mechanism to comply with European data protection requirements when transferring data from the EU and Switzerland to the U.S. Developed by the United States Department of Commerce in conjunction with the European Commission and Swiss Administration, Shield certification makes compliance easier for our customers with operations in Europe.
“If companies in Europe are questioning whether Sift can operate or do business from a legal or compliance point of view,” says Fred Sadaghiani, CTO of Sift Science, “this can immediately alleviate any questions they may have.”
The legalities of transferring data internationally is becoming increasingly complicated. By offering PS, Sift Science joins 2500 other successful companies, including Google, that are committed to easing friction with their European customers. We can now offer two mechanisms to transfer data safely from Europe to the US: Privacy Shield and Standard Contractual Clauses.
Check out our Compliance Center, Service Privacy Notice, Website Privacy Notice, or Privacy Shield pages for more details. We’re excited to continue working to make the internet a more trustworthy place for years to come. If you have any questions, feel free to email firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Belfast fish and chip restaurant Fish City and South West seafood business Rockfish have both won double at the Marine Stewardship Council’s annual UK Awards, honouring achievements in sustainable seafood. This is the first time two food service businesses won two awards.
Fish City scooped MSC UK Marketing Champion of the Year for advancing consumer awareness of seafood sustainability as well as Foodservice Champion of the Year for its commitment to sourcing high quality, sustainable seafood.
Devon and Dorset based Rockfish, owned by chef and entrepreneur Mitch Tonks, won Social Media Hero of the Year while its Brixham based fresh fish supply business Rockfish Quayside won Fresh Fish Foodservice Supplier of the Year.
Bidfood and Direct Seafoods won Foodservice Wholesaler of the year for the number of MSC labelled products, variety of species and volume of MSC certified fish on sale to UK foodservice companies.
The MSC UK Awards, which are a celebration of the commitment to sustainable seafood across the whole supply chain from ocean to plate, were held on October 26 at the Fishmongers’ Hall, London and were sponsored by Seafood Scotland.
Collecting the awards on stage with business partner and wife Grainne Lavery, owner John Lavery said: “This is completely unexpected. Thanks so much. It’s really appreciated to be recognised for the work we have to promote and educate the people of Belfast on the importance of sustainable seafood.”
“We are honestly blown away at this recognition by the Marine Stewardship Council for the commitment we proudly share in the health of our oceans and in safeguarding seafood supplies for future generations.
“So thankful to and proud of our team for their work in championing the Marine Stewardship Council in preparing, cooking and serving our MSC-certified sustainably sourced seafood dishes and sharing our advocacy and sustainability journey with the next generation of ocean heroes.”
Fish City, a lively, multi award-winning seafood and fish and chip restaurant and takeaway in the heart of Belfast city centre, was the first fish and chip business on the island of Ireland to become MSC certified in 2014. Last year, they took the leap of achieving and now facilitating their own MSC certificate, a huge milestone for both Fish City and the MSC.
Since 2014, the Fish City team has also run a Kids Club for local primary school children in Belfast with the aim of educating them about the importance of seafood sustainability to the fishing industry, and the health of our oceans.
Rockfish now comprises eight restaurants across Devon and Dorset with more locations opening soon, a tinned fish business and online seafood market delivering fresh fish directly from Brixham into homes and restaurants around the country.
A team from Rockfish attended the ceremony. Collecting the award for Fresh Fish Foodservice Supplier of the Year, Joshua Perkes, director of sustainability at Rockfish Quayside, said: “Thanks to the whole team at Rockfish Quayside. Here’s to extending our scope and having products for future generations.”
Seth McCurry, MSC UK & Ireland Senior Commercial Manager, said: “Both Fish City and Rockfish are absolute pioneers in sustainable seafood having put innovative solutions for sustainability at the heart of their businesses.
“Fish City has played a vital role in bringing certified sustainable seafood to diners in Northern Ireland over the last ten years while Rockfish is leading the way, in not only creative and stylish restaurants but in its growing fresh fish supply business. We commend the inspiring leadership at both businesses which has driven this change.”
This year’s MSC award was handmade by eco homeware company Rawr, using crushed clam and cockle shells from the MSC certified Poole Harbour fishery in Dorset, and mussel shells from Shetland’s MSC certified fishery.
To mark the tenth year of the awards this year, a display featuring key milestones in the MSC’s UK history was exhibited. The keynote speech was given by broadcaster and marine biologist Monty Halls, with an additional address from MSC CEO, Rupert Howes.


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Reliance Free Jio Phone:
The much anticipated Reliance Jio phone has been unveiled in the Reliance AGM at Mumbai. Group chairman Mukesh-Ambani has unveiled the new Free Jio 4G VoLTE phone with basic features. After the success in the Jio 4G services, the company is now aiming feature phone users in India. Also, the company believes that over 50 percent of the total mobile phone users in India cannot afford a 4G smartphone. Focusing on this segment, Reliance Jio phone offers feature next to regular feature phone and close to the smartphone.
Jio Phone – Made in India, Made for India
This new Jio phone comes with an aim to introduce a new era of feature phone and says it “India ka smartphone.” Besides this, this Jio phone claims the first phone in India to come with 4G VoLTE support. Also, jio phone work only on 4G VoLTE network bringing back the CDMA like tradition. However, Jio fanfare is much enthusiastic to know about the Jio phone features rather than its hardware specs.
Jio Phone features:
Discussing the specs, Jio phone features a 2.4-inch QVGA display with an alphanumeric keypad. It comes with all typical feature phone options like microSD card slot, torchlight, FM radio. Interestingly, this low priced phone from Jio comes with voice command in 22 Indian languages. At the launch, Directors Nita Ambani and Aakash have demonstrated how Jio voice command works.
Moving further, Jio 4G VoLTE phone comes with NFC support which users can make digital payments after an update. It comes with a bunch of Jio apps like JioTV, Jio music and Jio movies along with Prime minister’s Mann Ki Baat. Jio TV app in Jio phone gets the screen mirroring option which users can connect the phone to TV sets. However, there are separate plans with dhan dhana dhan offer for this service.
Jio phone cost:
Jio phone cost is another major aspect which comes into consideration among segment. As said earlier, feature phone market in India is delicate and is subjected to many things. Breaking all stereotypes, Jio phone cost is Rs.0 which means users can avail the device for free. Yet, the company will charge you a deposit of Rs.1500 which will be refunded after three years to avoid potential misusage.
Reliance Jio phone plans:
Jio 4G VoLTE phone gets its very own pricing which starts as low as Rs. 24. Every Jio phone recharge plan offers unlimited calls and unlimited 4G data along with free access to jio apps. Rs. 153 plan offers all unlimited phone services valid for one month. Also, there are Rs.54 and Rs.24 sachets valid for seven days and two days respectively. Users who wish to connect the phone to TV should recharge with Rs.309 and can watch TV content on the big screen.
As per recent reports, Reliance Jio aims to reach 100 million feature phone users with this jio phone. However, the recharge plans and the features of the phone will help to attract customers. As jio is well known for aggressive pricing, this new 4G VoLTE-enabled feature phone will bring a new era in the segment.


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In order to boost the local economy, Fuengirola town hall has launched a campaign to encourage residents to make use of the local shops and businesses during the post-Christmas sales instead of heading to large shopping centres.
The initiative was announced by councillor for Commerce, Francisco Javier García Lara, who stressed that it will contribute to strengthening the commercial fabric and improve the local trade.
The campaign has been devised to help boost the revenue of small shops and businesses that have suffered as a result of the pandemic, and also to generate employment in the area.
The councillor claimed that the support of the local community is needed “now more than ever, because buying in local shops gives life to our municipality and benefits everyone”.
Lara also pointed out that shopping locally would help to cut emissions and contribute to the town’s long-term sustainable mobility programme.
According to a study by the town hall, approximately 80 per cent of the residents of the town are expected to spend between 150 and 300 euros during the sales.


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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
CONTACT OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Commerce Secretary Gary Locke Urges Americans to Prepare for June 12 Switch to Digital Television
Commerce to Increase Outreach to Most Unprepared Communities During Final 30 Days
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke is urging Americans to prepare for the national switch to digital television (DTV) before the June 12 deadline—just 30 days from today. In the final month before the national switch, the Commerce Department is increasing its outreach efforts into communities that have been identified as the least prepared for the transition.
“With just 30 days to go, Americans who haven’t prepared for the transition to digital need to act now to ensure they will be able to continue to receive the television programming they count on,” said Commerce Secretary Gary Locke. “We are aggressively reaching out to the most unprepared communities across the country to educate consumers and help them to get ready for the June 12 national switch.”
The president’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act set aside $650 million to help millions of unprepared Americans get ready for the transition from analog to digital television. The money funded the creation of an additional 12.25 million coupons to help consumers offset the cost of buying digital-to-analog converter boxes and has allowed the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to eliminate the waiting list for coupons.
During the final month before the end of analog broadcasting, NTIA will focus its outreach efforts on communities that are lagging in DTV preparedness. NTIA will send mobile assistance centers to more than two dozen cities and their surrounding metropolitan areas, where staff will help consumers apply for coupons toward the purchase of DTV converter boxes and learn how to install the boxes.
These cities include: Portland, Ore.; Seattle, Wash.; Boise, Idaho; San Jose, San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno, and Los Angeles, Calif.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Salt Lake City, Utah; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Albuquerque, N.M.; Monroe, La.; Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, and McAllen, Texas; Tulsa, Okla.; Joplin and St. Louis, Mo.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Des Moines, Iowa; Cleveland, Canton, and Akron, Ohio; Baltimore, Md.; and Indianapolis, Ind.
In addition, the Commerce Department is running Public Service Announcements in buses, transit shelters and benches; airing radio ads in both Spanish and English; and will launch a text message campaign to raise awareness about how to prepare for the transition.


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Here is what you need to know.
China’s trade surplus shrinks.Data released by China’s Customs Bureau showed the value of exports fell 6.1% year-over-year in US dollar terms while the value of imports slumped 3.1% YoY. As a result, China’s trade surplus narrowed to $40.82 billion in December from $44.61 billion in November.
Bank of Korea cuts its growth forecast. The central bank held its key interest rate at 1.25%, as expected, and lowered its 2017 growth forecast to mid-2% this year from its October forecast of 2.8%. The Korean won ended stronger by 0.8% at 1174.98 per dollar.
Anthony Scaramucci has a spot in the Trump White House. Scaramucci, the founder of the hedge fund SkyBridge Capital, has been named an assistant to President-elect Donald Trump, serving as a liaison to Wall Street, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Morgan Stanley lays off bankers and cuts bonuses.The investment bank laid off an undisclosed amount of senior bankers and slashed bonuses by 15% as a result of a decline in revenue generated by dealmaking, Reuters reports.
Nintendo tumbled after releasing its new gaming console. Shares of Nintendo tumbled 5.8% after the company officially released its new gaming console, the $299 Nintendo Switch.
Airbus takes the sales crown from Boeing. Airbus booked 321 net orders in December, running its 2016 total to 731 to beat the 668 orders won by Boeing.
Stock markets around the world are up. Japan’s Nikkei (+0.8%) outperformed in Asia and France’s CAC (+0.8%) leads the charge in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open higher by 0.4% near 2,273.
3 big banks report. Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo will release their quarterly results ahead of the opening bell.
US economic data flows. Retail sales will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET and University of Michigan consumer confidence will cross the wires at 10 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 1 basis point at 2.35%.
US markets are closed on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. They will reopen on Tuesday.
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You’ve had a bad day at work. Things didn’t go according to plan and all you want to do is go home, sit back and play some video games. As you crash on the couch you turn on your PS4, throw in a copy of Destiny and want to release some rage in The Crucible. Only you can’t. Because PSN is down. Again. Welcome to the world of Playstation 4.
Sony has never been the best at online. Next to Microsoft they are a shocking ways behind. This is going back all the way to The Great Hack of 2011 where the service was down for weeks forcing Sony executives to bow and give away a bunch of free games. You’d think they’d have learned their lesson.
Over the past couple of months, PSN has been down longer than in a decade of Xbox Live. And this is no exaggeration. It seems like every week there’s either scheduled or unscheduled maintenance, almost always during peak European times. The most hilarious being on a Bank Holiday weekend. Yes, as people have said, “it’s always peak times somewhere”, but do they always have to be scheduled for 6pm here in the UK? After all, it is one of the biggest PS4 markets. But we have to ask. What is all this maintenance achieving?
It certainly didn’t stop the DDOS attacks as they became frequent and crippled the likes of Call of Duty and Destiny, and they didn’t seem to speed up the store or friends list which are glacial. So what did they do? Nobody knows because Sony isn’t particularly forward with this sort of information.
After the downtime earlier this week, a quick gander through social media and message boards showed us something, all the goodwill Sony accumulated is dissipating rapidly. During the console reveals Sony were saying everything right, and Microsoft the complete opposite. The power had shifted; Sony seemed to be once again on top. The PS3 launch arrogance was a distant memory and this was cemented when people bought PS4’s in their droves. Both consoles sold extremely well, but the PS4 was clearly the frontrunner. But the tide is shifting. People were starting to miss the solid as a rock Xbox Live and with Forza Horizon 2 earning critical accolades (and DriveClub having a shaky start to say the least); maybe it’s time to make the move. After all, the multiformat games may be 900p, but at least it’ll work online.
Earlier this week Sony released the news that Destiny had done wonders for PS4 sales and helped it achieve the highest selling console for September, its ninth month running in the States. Despite this, as a company overall Sony is struggling. So maybe all this money is being siphoned off to help the other ailing sides of Sony’s business? It’s the only explanation, after all, how can something so successful not be doing anything to fix what at its core is staggeringly broken.
Maybe the upcoming 2.00 update will fix all this, but then again, maybe not. In the list of what to expect, not one mention of anything stability related, and maybe you’d think if it was included, they’d want to advertise that fact. But don’t worry. You change the colours of the background! Yay!
We felt that this all needed to be said, as aside from a few “PSN is down” news stories, nobody appears to be critical of the online infrastructure. PSN is no longer free, that’s not something they can hide behind anymore. And you know what? We’d happily take less free games if it meant producing a more stable online network.
Hopefully as Microsoft build up more and more momentum Sony will take notice. They need too.


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Tokyo considers game ratings
Industry website Gamasutra.com today reports from Japan on the latest initiatives being considered there to restrict the sale of adult-content videogames to minors. Osaka, Ishikawa, and Saitama prefectures are already considering new bills to restrict the sale of ultra-violent games, whilst Tokyo authorities are now also considering their options. Like the USA, Japan currently offers no enforcement of ratings at a national level, but games like GTA are prompting similar debates among lawmakers, increasingly mindful of public concern surrounding the impact of adult games upon youngsters.
Tokyo are planning to introduce new violent game labelling in stores, which will act as further warning beyond the current self-policing of Japan's CERO ratings. CESA are already urging retailers to check ID when selling mature-content games, however loopholes and ambiguities exist in the current system. That said, Tokyo officials are only planning to introduce the new labels with trade body CESA's backing, indicating that the power to censor games still lies within the industry, unlike new proposals being made stateside.
"It's best to leave the judgment to the industry's voluntary efforts," a spokesman is quoted as concluding.
- Hearthstone win-traders will be permanently banned says Blizzard
- Evolve Big Alpha delayed on PS4 due to issues with system update 2.0
- Your PC will need this much power under the hood to play The Crew
- LittleBigPlanet 3 will be fully backwards-compatible
- PS4 sales soar past the 13.5 million mark
- Resogun is coming to the PS Vita
- Smaller, cooler Xbox One processor in the works
- Prey 2 finally gets officially canned
- SEGA confirms the rumoured PC version Valkyria Chronicles, gives a release date


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Tech-ni-Fold Stops Rosback from Infringing on Tri-Creaser Patents
LUTTERWORTH, LEICS, UNITED KINGDOM—August 6, 2013—UK-based Tech-ni-Fold Ltd has successfully prevented a third U.S. company from continuing to sell a device that Tech-ni-Fold believes infringes upon its Tri-Creaser patents. As a result, Rosback Co. of St. Joseph, MI, will be discontinuing the current design of its TrueScore-Pro and TrueScore-Pro Quad products.
Tech-ni-Fold has decided to publicize the details in order to reduce confusion within the postpress marketplace, as well as to send an important message that Tech-ni-Fold will stand up against unauthorized copying of its patented technology.
Tech-ni-Fold, specialists in the field of creasing, cutting and perforating technology, maintains a “zero tolerance" philosophy toward infringement. Tech-ni-Fold says it will litigate, without hesitation, to enforce its patent rights. These recent events come almost two years after Tech-ni-Fold Ltd reached a settlement in an infringement lawsuit against two other companies, Update Ltd. and D&R Bindery Solutions, both of Chaska, MN. Under the terms of that settlement, Update agreed to cease manufacturing its “Ultimate Score” product and its consumable components. Update also discontinued sales of its then-current Ultimate Score design in April of 2012.
Graham Harris, managing director of Tech-ni-Fold Ltd., further explained the situation in more detail: “Rosback was a former reseller of the Update/D&R 'Ultimate Score,' which Rosback sold under the name 'Truescore.' When we successfully stopped sales of the Ultimate Score by litigating against Update and D&R, Rosback could no longer resell the Ultimate Score design. Earlier this year, however, Tech-ni-Fold learned that Rosback was selling products called 'TrueScore-Pro' and 'TrueScore-Pro Quad.' Upon further investigation we concluded that although the look of the devices had changed in some respects, both products clearly infringed our patents.”
Harris continued, “We wrote to Rosback, and last week Rosback agreed to cease selling the products. Because Tech-ni-Fold caught the problem early, we do not know how many allegedly infringing devices Rosback sold nor how many companies may have been caught up in this. We also do not control whether Rosback will continue to come up with still other versions under the same brand names. Tech-ni-Fold is more concerned that the thousands of loyal Tech-ni-Fold USA customers—many of whom own Rosback equipment—are notified of these events.”
Harris added, “I have fought quietly and fairly for five years to protect our intellectual property and good name in the market. Every person within our organization works hard to ensure that we provide the quality products and services our customers expect, and it has come to a point where enough is enough, and we have to make a stand. It is sad that litigation is sometimes the only tool that works to deter certain behavior. But I will not hesitate to start litigation proceedings next time I see a product that our legal team and I deem to be potentially infringing.
Tech-ni-Fold welcomes competition, but it must be fair and just, and I hope that by speaking out, others will think twice about “chancing” a design to gain quick access into the market.”
Andre Palko, president of Tech-ni-fold USA, authorized retailer of Tech-ni-fold products for the USA and Canada, had this to say about the situation. “Our creasing and perforating products have boosted the satisfaction level of owners and operators of folding machines, scoring machines, saddle stitchers, perfect binders and web presses for more than a dozen years. With this agreement, they can rest assured that when they think they are buying a Tech-ni-fold based product, they truly are. It’s really a win-win scenario.”


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Hyundai reveals extreme new small car
The Hyundai Elantra is no more. The brand's next-generation small sedan will now be called the i30 sedan.
The little sedan will launch in Australia during the second half of the year and will take on the likes of the Corolla and Mazda3 sedans.
But the name change isn't the most extreme part of the small sedan's makeover. New styling is sure to polarise buyers in what is usually a very conservative segment.
The design, "parametric dynamics" in Hyundai-speak, is dominated by a huge, wide spider-web styled grille that dominates the car's front end and extends all the way to the slender headlights. The rear end is a mass of jagged edges and creases, while the profile is wedge-shaped.
Hyundai's head of design, Luc Donckerwolke says: "The fresh aesthetic was completed through unconventional lines and a face that broke a taboo in automotive design. The i30 Sedan is highlighted by its stance that looks like geometric crystals and divided body surfaces to get a strong emotional response from the customers."
Hyundai has confirmed it will build a hybrid version to sit alongside its petrol-powered examples.
The hybrid set-up consists of a 1.6-litre petrol four-cylinder matched to a 23kW electric motor making a combined 103kW and 264Nm, which is the same combo featured in the current Ioniq hybrid. This will be paired with a six-speed dual-clutch auto transmission.
Petrol-only models will be powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder making 109kW and 179Nm.
Hyundai is going big on tech for the new i30 sedan. On top of the list is a new digital key which can open, lock and start the car via a smartphone app.
And the car's new dual digital displays would look more at home in premium brands such as Mercedes-Benz. Hyundai has combined two large 10.25-inch displays under one piece of continuous glass, with one working as the digital cockpit and the other as the infotainment screen.
And for lovers of smartphone mirroring there will be wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Hyundai has added a mountain of safety gear including autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane keep assist, blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise and reversing camera with parking sensors.
We'll have to wait closer until the launch date to see what comes standard in Aussie-spec cars.
The switch from Elantra to i30 sedan will allow Hyundai to close the gap to the Mazda3 and Corolla in the sales race. Until now, Elantra and i30 have been counted separately in the official VFacts sales figures.


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Jimmy’s Cannabis will be opening its doors to the public for the first time on Oct. 17 — but it’s still not clear whether there will be any pot products on its shelves.
The Saskatchewan-based chain of recreational pot stores is one of 51 retailers to receive a store permit and is putting the finishing touches on two locations, which feature reclaimed barnwood and custom-made display cases and other details to reflect their provincial roots, said co-owner David Thomas.
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While Thomas’s Battleford store has received the provincial green light to stock the products he has ordered, his Martensville location is still awaiting final inspection next week. If it doesn’t come through, his backup plan is to open on Oct. 17 as an “educational opportunity” but without pot, he said.
The Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority is doing its best given the “compressed timeline,” Thomas said.
“It’s new for everyone, and then we’re trying to do a six-months job in two months… Our expectations change hourly.”