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De Bethune presented a new type of their beloved classic – the DB25 Perpetual Calendar 40mm at the Beau Rivage salon this year.
In 2022 the House of Bovet celebrates its 200th anniversary. Right after the Geneva Watch Days, we spent a (mostly) sunny September day at the Château de Môtiers among beautiful timepieces, ambience and people. As a watch lover you couldn’t wish for a better closing of the week.
The new addition in the ‘Fenêtres sur Temps’ line of Claude Meylan tends to brighten up the moody autumn days.
In 2011 LVMH Group debuted a unique initiative with the aim of presenting and highlighting European luxury craftsmanship to a wider audience. Journées Particulières is back in 2022.
Maurice Lacroix brought a nice amount of novelties to this year’s Geneva Watch Days – new releases in the classic Pontos collection, a new sized Aikon Automatic and a very fun addition to the Aikon #Tide line. We selected two favourites.
Zenith just announced its support of Susan G. Komen® with a special edition Chronomaster Original Pink, available only during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.
HYT watches exhibited for the first time at the Geneva Watch Days – the brand amplified the colours in the Hotel Beau Rivage with new variations of their models.
SEVENFRIDAY brought a wide range of goodies to Geneva, including some regular watch staples in the collection, upcoming novelties and edgy sunnies.
Besides the brands, the watch department at Phillips auction house also showcased some of the world’s finest collectors’ watches at the Geneva Watch Days.
TWEETS n' BITES
New @Cartier Ambassador -The actress & philanthropist Vanessa Kirby will take on the role of the Maison’s emblematic animal as a face of jewelry, watchmaking and fragrances, starting in 2023 with the reveal of a transformative new #LaPanthère perfume campaign. https://t.co/b5M7Dl4Syj
New @HYTWatches Hastroid Cosmic Hunter in bronze limited edition of 27 - it has carbon and titanium coated case in a PVD bronze treatment and a microbead finish.
The 501CM movement can be observed in the front with the two bellows at 6 o’clock. #hytwatches #novelty #watch https://t.co/gdtbnSNxiK
#ReversoStories #1931Café @jaegerlecoultre is open to the public until 30 December at the #Illuminarium, just right at the #Landesmuseum #Zurich
with an espresso or glühwein and the Art Deco signature JLC chocolates ☕🥂🍷🍫 @VisitZurich https://t.co/dGY2XxeBT2


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STOCKHOLM, Sweden, April 6 (UPI) -- Swedish furniture giant IKEA says it pulled nearly 18,000 prepackaged elk meat lasagnas from its European stores because they were contaminated with pork meat.
Belgian officials discovered in late March that elk meat produced by Swedish food manufacturer Familjen Dafgard contained just over 1 percent pork, The Local.se reported Saturday. Familjen Dafgard supplies IKEA with elk meat for its lasagnas.
At that time, IKEA held more than 11,000 tons of lasagna at its central warehouse. The company pulled 17,600 packages of lasagna from its stores throughout Europe without telling customers why, the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reported.
"We followed company routines," said Anders Lennartsson, head of sustainability at IKEA. "Since there were still many question marks, there were no grounds for informing the public while the investigation was ongoing. Now that it has been confirmed we will see how we can best communicate this."
Familjen Dafgard said the contamination was due to its facilities not being properly cleaned between the handling of different kinds of meats, the BBC said.
"Together with our supplier, we have implemented improvements to ensure that our products should not contain any other ingredients than those declared on the packages," said the IKEA statement. "IKEA is committed to serving and selling high-quality food that is safe, healthy and produced with care for the environment and the people who produce it."

domain: news


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Aug 17, 2020 Games
Rovio is one of the oldest and biggest phone game developers in the world, as they are the proud owners of the Angry Birds series. Angry Birds, at one stage was the biggest smartphone game in the world by far, and it got so popular that it had its own TV shows and a whole movie even. However, due to the decline in movie sales in 2020, Rovio actually faced a decline in overall revenue generated. The decline faced was about 3.6 percent from last year.
But that’s not the whole story though. Rovio did see an adjusted profit growth of about 160.1 percent - which is a pleasant sight for the Finnish game developer. The company has credited this growth in profit to their games doing exceptionally well in this year’s two quarters, especially due to the coronavirus as players were spending more time at home - and it also helped them cut costs.
This is what the company had to say about their success in 2020:
"We had an eventful Q2 and continued delivering on our strategy on multiple fronts. We reached record high Games revenue driven by the strong performance of our key games. Our profitability improved significantly year-on-year due to lower user acquisition investments and higher games gross bookings. The strong profitability led to the highest operating cash flow since Q418," said Rovio CEO Kati Levoranta.
"In June, we launched a new narrative puzzle game called Small Town Murders. Our aim is to scale up the user acquisition of the game gradually. Rovio's largest game, Angry Birds 2, grew quarter-on-quarter thanks to game updates, seasonal events and increased player engagement that can be attributed to Covid-19, especially in April.
"The overall impact of Covid-19, which was visible in a higher level of downloads, daily active users and player engagement, peaked late April. From May onwards, these KPIs started to normalise. At the same time, successful game improvements have led to somewhat higher monetisation compared to the beginning of the year and stable revenues in our key games."


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Healthy food start-up delivering fresh meals to Londoners wins £250,000 in investment
Cookoo, a marketplace for independent cooks delivering fresh meals to Londoners, has won a total of £250,000 in investments from venture capitalists to boost expansion in a crowded market.
The company was launched in January this year by Oxford University graduates Joanne Thompson and Rachel Swindenbank, who previously worked together at management consultancy Bain & Co.
It is one of a number of healthy food delivery start-ups in the UK, including Pronto, which also sells ready meals, and Gousto and Hello Fresh, which sell ingredients.
Healthy: Rachel Swindenbank, left, and Joanne Thompson offer chef-made meals
Last week, Mindful Chef, a healthy recipe box company that counts David and Victoria Beckham and members of the England Rugby team among its customers, said it was seeking to raise £300,000 on equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs.
Though research from venture capital analysis firm CB Insights found the amount of money invested in food delivery start-ups fell rapidly in the first quarter of 2016.
Swindenbank said: ‘I feel like the huge increase in competition and the amount of people offering this service is a sign that there’s a real gap in the market.
‘For me, it’s a comfort that customers do want more than what’s available. So many people are too busy to cook for themselves.
'We feel that what we do is connect people who love cooking to people who love to eat in a very personalised way, so you know who your cook is. Our cooks are our heroes.’
Swindenbank said the business, which details the chefs and their individual dishes on its website, is using the funding to increase its six-person team, the number of cooks and consumer awareness.
Food delivery firms raised £416 million in the first quarter of 2016, down from £1.4 billion in the final quarter of last year.
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Environment Canada forecasters say they're pretty sure Calgary won't have much snow on the ground next week.
A CIBC poll released Monday indicates 25 per cent of Albertans are planning vacation travel for the holiday season. It is the second highest percentage in the country, behind British Columbia’s 26 per cent. Nationally, 22 per cent of Canadians plan to travel. The poll also found that Albertans were behind several other regions when […]
Ever fantasized about spending the holidays in the city that never sleeps? Here 5 ways to get your holiday on in New York City
Joe Slabe's new musical takes holiday shows to places they've never been before.
The Christmas season has arrived. Well, maybe it started weeks ago if the TV commercials touting the latest must-have toys are any indication. The best part of the season for me is the way it draws people together, whether at company parties, informal gatherings with friends or the traditional Christmas dinner. All the socializing usually […]
Five ways to get home safe during Christmas party season: 1. Book a cab in advance. Roger Richard at Associated Cab reservations are guaranteed unless the weather is poor, the cab will get there as soon as possible 2. Share a sedan service. While limousines don’t run in winter, up to four people can share […]
Ever wonder how the other half lives? Well, a new study pegs the holiday spending of wealthy Albertans at more than $12,000.
This is the Alberta way — not to hide our eyes from the challenges that life puts before us, but to meet them head-on and together as a community where everyone does their part.
Resource-rich Alberta will lead the country this year in spending growth over the Christmas period.
What is it that compels a person to walk onto someone's property and steal their neighbour's Christmas lights and/or decorations? Really? Have we come to that?
With the holiday season quickly approaching, start your wellness and fitness strategies now before it’s too late. With increased temptation, stress, travel and lack of time, you get a recipe for weight gain and no time for fitness. It’s common to pack on five to 10 pounds at this time of year. Here are 10 […]
There are many reasons to stress out about the upcoming holiday season, but the pressure to dress well shouldn’t be one of them.
CALGARY - A new report released Thursday by EY says Alberta and British Columbia will continue to show the strongest sales results during the Christmas shopping period this year. The report said overall Canadian holiday retail sales are expected to grow by 3.3 per cent over the “comparatively weak” 2013 holiday season.
Holiday creep, it seems, is here to stay, and it's spookier than it used to be. The blending of holiday traditions - think Hanukkah bush - now kicks o with Halloween in a variety of ways. Here's a peek at the holiday bleed:
Attend Lake Bonavista Village's craft and bake sale on Oct. 25
Spruce Meadows, at this time of the year typically basking in a late summer glow, the lush green fields and the multicolored flowers all part of its idyllic setting, got a rude awakening on Monday along with the rest of the city. Snow covered all of the rings and the plows and shovels were out in full force on Tuesday to make the International Ring jumpable for this week’s 2014 Masters show jumping tournament.


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Apple has just updated their iTunes terms and conditions to reflect their new “In-App-Subscriptions” service. As just announced by Apple executive Eddy Cue, this will tie in directly with the Daily. No word yet if this will be a third-party API available to all developers. Apple just said in the Q/A session that an announcement will be coming soon regarding the API for all publishers.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.


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Nissan Leaf 2018: What we know so far
Nissan was the first to introduce an all-electric vehicle to the mass market with the original Leaf appearing way back in 2010. Since its arrival, Nissan has sold more than 277,000 units, making it one of the world's best-selling electric vehicles.
The Nissan Leaf – the world’s best-selling electric car – will power up like Pac-Man for its second-generation. A bigger capacity battery will boost range, power and torque increase, and there’ll be a suite of autonomous features and a distinctive one pedal driving experience, all wrapped in a much edgier design.
Nissan Leaf 2018: Release date
The new Nissan Leaf will be announced in September 2017, several weeks before the Tokyo Motor Show kicks off.
The official announcement will take place on 6 September after the car manufacturer itself tweeted at the end of June: "The new Nissan LEAF premieres September 6, 2017 #Nissan #LEAF". The tweet also featured an accompanying image, though it gives very little away.
As to when the new Nissan Leaf will be available to buy is currently unclear but more information is expected to be revealed at the launch event so we will update this feature as soon as we hear more.
Nissan Leaf 2018: Design
The new Nissan Leaf is expected to bring with it a whole new design, which will come as no surprise to most. The current model features an aerodynamic underbody and rear diffuser, allowing air to flow smoothly underneath, while the front sees aerodynamic halogen headlights specifically designed to redirect airflow away from the side mirrors.
The next-generation Nissan Leaf will further improve its aerodynamic design, with Nissan claiming it will be more efficient in order to allow drivers to travel further on a single charge. According to the company, the new Leaf is lower to the ground, allowing for zero lift and better stability at high speeds.
Nissan has also said there will be other new design features on board to significantly stabilise the car when hit by strong crosswinds, though it didn't detail what these would be. The new shape is said to be inspired by airplane wings to enable a symmetric airflow and Nissan has teased images of certain elements, including the headlights, though no more than snippets are being revealed.
A one-pedal driving experience
‘The new Leaf will be a focal point of 2018,’ Nissan UK managing director Alex Smith told CAR. ‘It’s an EV, and it embodies everything we’re hugely focused on.’ Not only does that mean the electrification of the Nissan fleet, but autonomous driving – an area where Nissan is striving to be the leading mainstream car maker.
The new Leaf will be equipped with Nissan ProPilot Park, where the EV can park itself in parallel, perpendicular or slanted bays, driving forwards or reversing. It will also get autonomous highway capabilities, dubbed ProPilot I, such as cruising in lane between 18 and 62mph, and potentially ProPilot II – automated motorway overtaking at the flick of an indicator.
ProPilot I is due on the facelifted Qashqai, but wasn’t available for the crossover’s commercial launch this summer. Smith says it’s in the pipeline, but necessitates fine-tuning for European roads and right-hand drive. ‘When we’re introducing tech, it’s properly tested. We don’t test on consumers but before it reaches them.’
Nissan Leaf 2018: Price
The current Nissan Leaf starts from £16,680 so hopefully the new model will stay around this price bracket. With all the new technology going into the next-generation Leaf though and the redesign, it wouldn't be too surprising to see a slight increase.


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JAXPORT hosts Logistics and Intermodal Conference
The Port of Jacksonville will host its inaugural JAXPORT Logistics and Intermodal Conference on March 16-18, in partnership with American Shipper.
A 12-member program committee of industry professionals has formulated conference topics and speakers. There will be plenary sessions on:
' Pressing Logistics & Intermodal Challenges in a Post-Panamax World from the perspective of shippers and service providers.
' New Global Links: Emerging Markets and New Transshipment Opportunities
' The Global Supply Chain: Cargo Control and The Evolution of 3PLs and 4PLs.
'This conference presents an ideal opportunity to network with leaders in the fields of logistics, transportation and port management,” said Conference Chairman Dave Kulik, who also serves as vice chairman of the Jacksonville Port Authority's board of directors and chairman of ANJI-TNT, a joint venture between CEVA Logistics and Shanghai Automotive Industries Corp. “The focus will be on challenges and benefits facing shippers, and panelists are being drawn from around the country to discuss problems common to all logistics and intermodal decision makers.”
The event, which is presented with Jacksonville-based American Shipper, will be held at one of Florida’s premier resorts, the Amelia Island Plantation, just north of Jacksonville.
The event will include an evening cocktail reception on the evening of the March 16 overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, followed by a full day conference of consecutive panel discussions on March 17 focused on challenges and opportunities facing industry professionals. There will be dinner and entertainment that evening followed by a golf tournament on March 18 at one of Florida’s most scenic courses, Ocean Links.
Conference registration is limited to 250 registrants. For more information or to register, visit www.jaxportconference.com or call the port authority at (904) 357-3047. For sponsorship information, visit the Web site or contact American Shipper by e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.org or phone (212) 422-2420.


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Danny Glen Dorris, 46 of Silver Creek, is facing additional charges following his burglary arrest in April. Reports stated that Dorris stole $1,200 in old money, a shotgun, sewing machine, a gold pendent, jewelry and a hot water heater from the home of an elderly woman for whom he was working as her handyman. The items that was stolen from the home on Pleasant Hope Road totaled over $5,800.
Reports stated that Dorris was living at the home of the 80 year-old woman when the thefts occured
Investigators added that Dorris also stole close to $3,000 worth of jewelry, a coffee pot and a purse from another person living at the home and then proceeded to sale it a pawn store.
Dorris is charged with two felony counts of theft by taking.
Danny Glen Dorris, 46 of Silver Creek, found himself behind bars over the weekend after being arrested for burglary of a neighbor’s home.
Reports said that Dorris broke into a home on Pleasant Hope Road back on April 14, 2016 and stole numerous items. Reports added that he later took the items to a pawn shop to sell.
He is charged with burglary.


text: Toyota Boasted Saving $100M on Recall, Documents Show WASHINGTON Toyota officials claimed they saved the company $100 million by successfully negotiating with the government on a limited recall of floor mats in some Toyota and Lexus vehicles, according to new documents shared with congressional investigators. Toyota, in an internal presentation in July 2009 at its Washington office, said it saved $100 million or more by negotiating an "equipment recall" of floor mats involving 55,000 Toyota Camry and Lexus ES350 vehicles in September 2007. The savings are listed under the title, "Wins for Toyota Safety Group." The document cites millions of dollars in other savings by delaying safety regulations, avoiding defect investigations and slowing down other industry requirements. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,587090,00.html in my opinion, if you still own a toyota, you are an idiot.


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Tumblr recently released what is labeled as a highly important security update for all iPad and iPhone users.
In a post on Tumblr Staff, the company announced:
“We have just released a very important security update for our iPhone and iPad apps addressing an issue that allowed passwords to be compromised in certain circumstances. Please download the update now.”
It seems like the security update is vital, although no information was released about the problems that actually exist.
We say this because Tumblr also advices iPad and iPhone users that utilize Tumblr apps to update the password. Everything goes one step further as it is also said that if the same password was used anywhere else, it should also be changed there as well.
After extra digging we found out that the problem was that the Tumblr app was actually sending the passwords as a clear text when running on iOS devices. That is definitely a huge problem and is no doubt why Tumblr is urging all Apple device users with Tumblr apps installed change their passwords as soon as possible.
The Android version of the app was not affected.
No serious problems have been reported related to the security problem to date, according to tumblr. But this is sure to hit Yahoo a little as it struggles on the market and has already spent over 1 billion dollars on Tumblr improvements.


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By Kristin Beerman | email
Edited by Jon Bush | email
LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - BPA has been an ongoing concern in baby bottles and plastics for some time. A new study in Consumer Reports says researchers used an independent lab to test 19 different foods and found measurable levels of BPA in all of them, from cans of soup and juice to green beans to corn and chili, even in cans that were already labeled "BPA free", and both sides of the issue are more angry than ever.
"We know enough about babies and children's exposure to hormone disrupters to know that we should be protecting them as much as possible," says Mia Davis, with Clean Water Action.
BPA is a chemical used in plastic bottles and food-can liners. It is approved by the FDA, but has been questioned because animal studies have linked it to abnormal reproductive development.
"The European Union, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, separate studies by France, Germany, and Norway have all found no risk," said Trevor Butterfield, an Editor at STATS.org.
Now, baby bottle manufacturers have removed the chemical from bottles, but experts at Consumers Union say BPA should be eliminated from all materials that come in contact with any food.
Officials with the FDA agree that there is no risk, or at least that was the decision under the Bush administration. Now, the agency under Obama is taking a second look and will have a decision on BPA's by the end of the month.
©2009 KCBD NewsChannel 11. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


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Volume 6 Issue 9 October 2005
GLASS BUILD AMERICA
Return to Atlanta a Good Move
by Tara Taffera
Comparing the comments from last year’s GlassBuild exhibitors to those from 2005: one thing is for certain-exhibitors are glad to be back in Atlanta. The show, held September 13-15, attracted more than 9,000 participants including exhibitors and attendees and 482 exhibiting companies. While some did say there were periods of slow activity, many agreed that the quality of those attendees was positive. Next year’s show will be held September 20-22 in Las Vegas.
New product launches were especially plentiful after an 18-month gap since the last large U.S. show. While there is not enough space in this issue to cover all of these products, we bring some to you here and ask you to look to future issues for more Glass Build America introductions.
Edgetech Makes it Fun
Attendees (and exhibitors alike) were abuzz about one company-Edgetech. One exhibitor even said admirably, “Edgetech is the fun company.” Fun, indeed.
This year, instead of bringing its equipment to the show the company opted for a Vegas-style booth complete with gambling tables, a Marilyn Monroe look-alike and a jazz trio. The company also offered what it deemed the 360° lounge which played off the company’s message.
“With 360, our message is that everything comes back to the customer,” says Erin Johnson, director of marketing.
Although there was no equipment at the booth, this was still a strong focus of the company’s message. Plasma televisions in the booth showed the various lines by different suppliers including Billco, Bystronic, For.el., LD Industries, Lisec, Spadix and Uvekol.
“Our message is that customers don’t have to get boxed in by one supplier,” says Johnson.
Edgetech even gave visitors incentives to visit the equipment suppliers. Any visitor to the booth was given gambling money. And, if they visited any of the other suppliers then came back to Edgetech they were given additional money with which to play.
Integration is Key at GED
Another company you couldn’t miss at the show was GED Integrated Solutions. The company took up nearly 25,000 square feet of space to display it’s i3 integrated technology. It brought roughly 80 employees to talk to attendees about the system. In fact, the GED booth was set up as a manufacturing plant so attendees could see how all the technology works together.
“People really get i3 now that they see it all together,” says Pete Chojnacki, director of marketing and information technology.
All the machines integrate with GED’s NxWare software, which offers features such as scrap reduction, process improvement and downtime reduction. For example, “This will save people $40,000-$90,000 per year in glass that they would have wasted,” says Chojnacki.
Following are a few of the machines shown at the booth:
• CleanCut i3, shown for the first time, performs cutting and edge deleting simultaneously and offers the fastest cycle time, according to Chojnacki.
• The Intercept i3 frame machine increases productivity by 30 percent, as compared to the previous system.
• The i3 extruder has the capability to produce 3,000 IG units per eight-hour shift and changes sizes automatically.
• The IG assembly system assembles IG units robotically.
• The i-track system employs wireless technology, based on chips and antennas that are placed throughout the plant, making bar code tracking no longer necessary.
“I firmly believe that someone currently using Intercept will save $2-3 per window while someone using a competitive system will save $3-4 per window,” he adds.
Machinery Suppliers Make News
Fenestration machinery suppliers were out in full force at the show. One of these companies, TruSeal Technologies, unveiled its enhanced Tape-AT machine which offers a simplified design. The company has partnered with Besten Equipment to design a machine that is 30 percent more compact than the previous version.
According to Darcy Meyer, general manager for Besten Equipment Inc., the TAPE-AT system has been simplified substantially.
“The more functions it has, the less time it takes for production,” says Meyer.
A great feature of the machine is that it can be customized to meet the needs of individual manufacturers. According to Meyer, the machine shown at GlassBuild was a little more compact but features can be added back in as needed.
The machine, which can produce 1,100 IG units in a typical shift, can also mix and match between single and dual-seal spacer systems.
“We’re trying to show the market that we offer single and dual-seal systems,” said Kevin Zuege, director of technical services.
Another machinery manufacturer, Bystronic Inc., had a successful show, according to Marcel Bally, sales and marketing director.
“The automated Super Spacer line has created a lot of interest,” he says. Additionally, the company’s Verticut machine was sold off the show floor which Bally says was unexpected.
“The value is seen when they see it in action,” he says.
Bally adds that GlassBuild lived up to his expectations.
“We expected it to be better than any American show,” he says. “We had a constant flow of attendees.” Though he did say he wonders how next year’s show will fare as it is scheduled one month prior to Germany’s glasstec show. Other fenestration companies say they are still weighing their options, again due to GlassBuild’s proximity to glasstec. Many machinery manufacturers also told us that they were making GBA an every other year event and would not exhibit in Las Vegas in odd years and if they did they would have smaller booths.
Stürtz Machinery Inc. of Solon, Ohio, brought several machines to exhibit and when Mike Biffl, national sales manager, was asked what machine received the most attention he said, “Everything has received interest.”
One of these machines was the company’s redesigned corner cleaner, the SMI CNC 2K 18, twin head sash corner cleaner. The machine, is an upgraded version of the company’s SMI CNC 2K 16 and has an added drilling operation.
Additionally, the company had a development machine at the show, a friction welder that the company is billing as a new concept in welding that will eliminate corner cleaning.
New to the Show
There were many exhibitors new to GlassBuild, one of which is Technoform, a European-based company that is new to the North American market.
We’ve been growing 20 percent per year for several years,” says president Mark Silverberg. “We wanted to bring high-performance products that can be made more productively.”
One of those products is the i-spacer, which features a hybrid design that offers superior warm-edge performance, argon retention and condensation resistance, according to Silverberg, as well as size and colors to match any requirement.
“Four of the top ten window manufacturers have stopped by. We’re definitely on the radar screen,” says Silverberg.
On the window side, variety and customization reigned.
Deceuninck North America displayed its new impact-resistant casement windows, both single- and double-hung. Steve Brownfield, fenestration marketing manager, says customers are not only looking for impact resistance but DP-50 ratings. He adds that the company has certified all of its windows to the levels required in coastal applications.
But that’s not all they want.
“Customers increasingly want differentiation,” says Brownfield.
To meet this need, just a few of the many options offered by Deceuninck include the ability to offer different colors on the inside and outside of a unit and four interior laminates.
The windows displayed at Chelsea’s booth also showed the trend toward differentiation. In fact, Chelsea Windows displayed 12 different products and Les Lundeen, marketing communications manager, says the company may need a bigger booth next year as there wasn’t enough room for all the products and attendees. “The show was absolutely outstanding,” he says.
Chelsea, who has now added new construction products to its line, has a product to offer in any market area, according to Lundeen.
One of these windows, the 400 S Series window system offers a 3 1/4-inch frame depth, a strong multi-chambered frame design, a European style bevel, among other features.
In fact, Chelsea says interest for this product was even greater as the Sashlite booth featured Chelsea’s products so after visiting Sashlite many people then stopped by the Chelsea booth.
Speaking of Sashlite, John France, vice president, says every day of the show was a success. “Everyone who came through validated that this is the technology now and for the future,” he says.
France says that current fabricators of the Sashlite technology were also present at the booth to speak to attendees.
“Last year’s show was an introduction to the technology,” he says. “This year’s show was a confirmation of the technology. Everyone is excited that this is now in the commercial stage.”
On the decorative glass side, Glasslam unveiled a new way to laminate decorative film to glass.
David D’Amico, North American sales manager for the company says, “there is nothing like it.” DecoPane replicates the pattern of stained glass, and is a vacuum formed UV stable PET film laminated to glass. The product offers strength and security, and any color can be applied, according to D’Amico. It also offers 99-percent UV blocking capabilities and is lighter in weight than a triple-pane unit.
According to Steve Howes, president, no other company offers a product like DecoPane, who adds that this is an important product since “everyone is importing decorative glass from China. This allows you to get more intricate designs and to replicate patterned glass and stained glass. You can fabricate this at much lower costs than Chinese imports,” he says.
Howes summarized his company’s success at the show simply by saying, “This is the best show we’ve ever done.”
Tara Taffera is the publisher/editor of DWM magazine.
© Copyright Key Communications Inc. All rights reserved. No reproduction of any type without expressed written permission.


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Finland: K-citymarket shoppers go mad for Malaysian exotics
A two-day promotional campaign was held at Finnish chain K-citymarket as a platform to test the market and introduce new products to Finnish consumers.
It was such a success that a new deal could be on the cards between Malaysian exporters and the hypermarket which has 80 stores across the country.
The hypermarket does already import small volumes of some Malaysian fresh produce and processed food, but officials believe much higher volumes could be absorbed, following the response of the campaign,
Malaysian fruit including carambola (star fruit), mangosteen, mango, red dragon fruit, jackfruit, pineapple and papaya were promoted at a K-citymarket store in Tammisto.
K-citymarket already stocks carambola worth around €20,000 (US$22,576), while around 800kg of fruit was brought in for the campaign with 30% for test sampling and the rest for sales.
All produce sold out within two-day signaling a good response from consumers eager to try imported produce.
The promotion was organized by the Malaysia Agriculture Office (MAO) in the Hague and involved Malaysian exporter DRS Trading and officials from the Embassy of Malaysia in Helsinki.
"The promotion event was a success and indicates market potential in Finland," an Embassy of Malaysia spokesperson tells www.freshfruitportal.com.
"The program was aimed at exploring possible opportunities to open avenues for Malaysian agro-food products to penetrate Finland's market as well as to enhance close cooperation with the local supermarkets."
Follow up meetings are to be arranged to discuss market potential for the coming year with importers and distributors and the Malaysia Embassy in Finland is also planning the Asean Food Fair where more fruit will be featured during the summer event.
Photos: Embassy of Malaysia in Helsinki


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Washington D.C, Jul 25 : Have you ever picked one e-cigarette over another because of the nicotine content claims on the label? You may have been tricked.
Researchers at North Dakota State University, Fargo, found that 51 percent of labels on e-cigarette liquid nicotine containers from 16 North Dakota stores don't accurately reflect the levels of nicotine found in the products.
In one instance, actual nicotine levels were 172 percent higher than labeled. The majority of e-cigarette liquid containers also did not provide child-resistant packaging. The study examined products purchased from North Dakota retail stores selling e-cigarettes, but not required to have a tobacco retail license.
The research team noted that 23 e-liquid containers claimed to have no nicotine, but 43 percent did, in fact, contain nicotine.
Levels of nicotine in those e-cigs averaged 0.19 mg/mL, with the highest level found at 0.48 mg/mL. The NDSU research team includes Kelly Buettner-Schmidt, associate professor of nursing; Donald R. Miller, professor of pharmacy practice; and research scientist Narayanaganesh Balasubramanian. "Mislabeling of nicotine in e-liquids exposes the user to the harmful effects of nicotine," said study author Kelly Buettner-Schmidt.
"In areas without child-resistant packaging requirements, children may be exposed to harmful nicotine." Depending on the size of a child, even small levels of ingested liquid nicotine could severely impact a child, according to Buettner-Schmidt, and result in nicotine toxicity, accidental poisoning or death.
The study is published in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing..


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Kyle ‘Mongraal’ Jackson, an esports competitor, turned down two generous offers for his Bored Ape ‘Dookey Dash’ key NFT and has made a sale to businessman Adam Weitsman.
Adam Weitsman purchased the NFT for 1,000 ETH ~($1.62 million). It is a significant discount from the seller’s original asking price of 3,333 ETH—an eye-watering $5.39 million.
Mongraal ‘Thrilled’ on the NFT Sale
With regard to the sale, Mongraal noted, “Super nice guy [Adam Weitsman] and thrilled the sale went through with him.”
Mongraal officially rejected UpDAO’s bid for 690 ETH or $1.1 million for the Golden Key earlier this week. Jackson tweeted that he would accept the offer if UpDAO doubled the bid.
Another offer from Memeland came in at 999 WETH. Memeland is a web3 venture studio from the 9GAG team. It had been the highest bidder at the time before Mongraal let it go to Weitsman
Memeland bought eight rare-hat Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs on Feb. 6, 2023 for almost 800 ETH. The sum spent on the shopping extravaganza was 796.87 ETH or roughly $1.2 million at the time of press.
‘Dookey Dash’ Toad Mode Unveiled
Mongraal also stated, “A special thank you to Yuga Labs for hosting an incredible competition. I look forward to competing in future events.” He committed that he would settle the entire royalty.
Yuga Labs reportedly charges a 5% royalty on the sale, which comes to 50 ETH. Yuga Labs has made it clear several times that the NFT ecosystem has to respect creator royalties.
The Bored Ape parent has previously blocked marketplaces that failed to honor this. In 2022, the platform’s royalty collection from BAYC and other top NFTs was said to have surpassed $107.8 million.
That said, the skill-based mint game ‘Dookey Dash’ is getting ready for season 2.
BAYC recently introduced Toad Mode, a momentary Dookey Dash adventure. Users require a Sewer Pass to play the game. According to the official description, Sewer Passes could only be claimed by BAYC and MAYC holders.
It noted, “If you didn’t have a BAYC or MAYC NFT, you couldn’t claim a Sewer Pass, but you could acquire one on the secondary market or access one through warm wallet delegation.”
In adherence to the Trust Project guidelines, BeInCrypto is committed to unbiased, transparent reporting. This news article aims to provide accurate, timely information. However, readers are advised to verify facts independently and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.


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Nissan’s latest results underline scale of recovery challenge ahead – GlobalData
Following the release of Nissan’s financial results (12 November 2019), where the company has reported quarterly operating profits are down 70 per cent on last year, David Leggett, automotive editor at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view: “The latest set of results from Nissan underlines the scale of the recovery challenge ahead for Nissan’s newly shaken-up management team. The company is clearly struggling to get back on track a year after the arrest of ex-chairman Carlos Ghosn on financial misconduct charges.
“The company is looking to conserve cash with a diminishing share dividend outlook and a major cost-cutting drive that will axe a tenth of its global workforce through 2023.
“However, the global recovery plan is also facing headwinds, including a stronger yen and slowing demand in key markets – especially North America and Japan.
“Nissan has cut its sales and profit forecast for the current fiscal year – something that will cause concern for investors and weakens the company’s position in its alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi.
“The new CEO Makoto Uchida has plenty to do to get Nissan back on track and re-set the alliance. Indeed, tensions with Renault may be heightened by a reduced profitability contribution from Nissan. It is a company desperately in need of renewal.”


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The first glimpse of Samsung foldable phones was leaked long back but has yet to show up. The company is said to be working on the device for the past two years. Earlier in 2018, the South Korean giant’s mobile division CEO DJ Koh had announced that the hotly-anticipated handset could finally become a reality by November this year.
While leaks and speculations are still around the corners, CEO Koh has given out some of the details of the upcoming device. The description as provided matches the concept trailer the company released back in 2013, which showed a device with one large internal screen combined with a second smaller screen on the outside for use when folded.
He has reportedly confirmed that the Samsung foldable device will work as a tablet that users could fold into a smartphone that can fit into a pocket. With this feature, users will also get multitasking capabilities in the device along with easy portability.
On October 12, 2018, at the Samsung Galaxy A9 launch, Koh revealed in an interview that the device would be a tablet that folds down into a phone. It’s still a mystery how the tech behind this will work, but there are some theories in the original story below, published on September 6, 2018.
Numerous companies have tried making their own foldable smartphones. Huawei reportedly planned to release a foldable handset in limited quantities in 2019, and Lenovo and Xiaomi have also teased their own prototypes. Finally, LG has also invested big in flexible displays, showing off a concept TV that rolled up into a box when not in use something very similar to foldable phones.
Koh confirms that the new Samsung foldable smartphone will have big screen sizes that will extend beyond 6.5 inches. He is optimistic about the new technology saying; “Possibly when we start selling the foldable phone, it may be a niche market, but definitely, it will expand.”


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New Leeds hotel planned in 10-acre Victoria Gate expansion
Hammerson is to seek permission to open the 8,400 square meter Victoria Hotel in addition to a 10 acre phase two development of Victoria Gate for development in 2021.
The group also announced immediate expansion plans for the Victoria Gate shopping centre. Prestons is due to open a Rolex boutique in late summer whilst Aspinal of London is to relocate to Victoria Quarter.
The firm said it has introduced a number of exclusive brands with temporary pop-up stores for Rapha, the premium UK cycling brand, at Victoria Leeds.
Victoria Leeds encompasses the Victoria Quarter and Victoria Gate shopping areas and includes a John Lewis store, a Harvey Nichols store, a Super Casino and over 90 boutiques.
Victoria Gate, which opened in October 2016, is anchored by John Lewis’s first store in the city. The arcades are also home to a range of premium brands including Anthropologie, GANT, Hackett, Jo Malone, Joules, Aspinal of London, Liz Earle, Le Pain Quotidien and international restaurant group D&D. Over 75 per cent of the brands at Victoria Gate are new to the city.
The Grade II listed Victoria Quarter building was bought by Hammerson in 2012 and the 160,000 sq ft scheme is set over two distinct shopping streets - County Arcade and Queen Victoria Street.
Hammerson said Leeds has an affluent population and a prominent position as the principal shopping destination in Yorkshire.
It said there is a big opportunity to capture growing consumer demand throughout the region by bringing new brands to the city. The Victoria Quarter scheme is anchored by Harvey Nichols and includes brands such as Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, Vivienne Westwood and Reiss.
Hammerson announced its expansion plans for Leeds alongside interim results for the six months to June 30. The firm reported losses as its portfolio of shopping centres slumped in value amid challenges to the high street.
The retail property firm swung to a loss of £319.8m in the first half of 2019, compared with a £55.7m profit this time last year.On an adjusted basis, which is the company's preferred measure, profits were down 10.5 per cent to £107.4m.Net rental income fell 12.3 per cent to £156.6m.
The headline loss was largely due to a £423.4m net revaluation loss on its property portfolio in the first half, as continuing market uncertainty and a slowdown in leasing hit value, especially in the UK.More than half of this was down to its flagship shopping destinations in the UK, which had a revaluation deficit of £266m.However, premium locations produced a revaluation surplus of £111m.
Rental income on a like-for-like basis fell 0.1 per cent.For UK flagship destinations the decline was steeper at 6.8 per cent, affected by CVAs and administrations leaving shops empty.
Hammerson's chief executive David Atkins said: "The UK retail landscape is undoubtedly challenging and traditional high street fashion is under pressure."However, our focus on shifting our line-up towards categories with greater customer appeal and rental growth potential has resulted in over 90per cent of new leasing to leading consumer and food and beverage brands."
The group also said it had achieved 90 per cent of its target to sell off £500m worth of assets.This included a £423m deal with AXA IM Real Assets for a 75 per cent stake in Paris's Italie Deux shopping centre.
Mr Atkins said: "Our absolute priority remains to reduce debt. We stated our intention to achieve over £500m of disposals in 2019 and even in this tough environment where deals are taking longer to transact, we are now most of the way there."We will continue to pursue additional sales throughout 2019 and into 2020 to further strengthen our balance sheet."


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The most wonderful time of the year for shopping is right around the corner and if you’re eager to start saving now, don’t fret — we’ve compiled everything you need to know about Amazon’s Black Friday sale right here, so you can plan ahead.
While the retailer offers new deals across its many departments every day through its Today’s Deals storefront (we’re talking anywhere from 20 to 80 percent off everything from Instant Pots to Nintendo Switch consoles), some of the best markdowns of the year will launch on November 29 (a.k.a Black Friday) and last just a few days — if not hours, considering how quickly many of the most popular deals sell out. Each year, the retailer seems to upstage previous sales with even more impressive savings, and if Amazon’s 2019 Prime Day sale was any indication, this year will be epic.
Shoppers can expect huge discounts on nearly everything — most notably, televisions, electronics, laptops, tech, and of course, its very own slew of Amazon devices. There’s no word yet on whether its newest Echo devices — the recently-released Echo Buds, Amazon Smart Oven, and Echo Flex, for instance — will be on sale or not, but we have a feeling they’ll be a hot commodity either way.
Here’s everything else we know about Amazon’s Black Friday 2019 deals and sales, so you can start your holiday shopping early and save big while you’re at it.
When do Amazon’s Black Friday deals start?
With Thanksgiving falling on Thursday, November 28 this year, the shopping holiday, which is celebrated the following day, will begin on Friday, November 29. Black Friday sales typically kick off promptly at midnight and are likely to last all day Friday, with new ones launching every hour. We will update this post with more details as soon as they become available, so be sure to bookmark this page and check back so you don’t miss out.
How long will Amazon Black Friday deals last?
Like other retailers, many of Amazon’s Black Friday sales will last the full day, with some even lasting through the weekend. But unlike its competitors, Amazon offers some of its most impressive savings through i“Lightning deals,” which can last as little as six hours. If you happen to miss a sale you wanted to shop, be sure to check back through the weekend and on Monday, December 1, when the retailer is expected to launch even more Cyber Monday deals and sales.
When does Amazon announce its Black Friday deals?
Prime members (or anyone who registers for a free 30-day trial) can get exclusive first-looks at upcoming deals and sales through Amazon’s “Prime Early Access Deals” section on its Today’s Deals page. Members can also “watch” deals that are listed as “upcoming” before they go live, to ensure they don’t miss fast-moving sales. This post will be updated when deals become available.
Do I need to be a Prime member to shop Amazon’s Black Friday sales?
While you don’t have to be a Prime member to shop on Black Friday, non-members will miss out on hundreds of exclusive deals as well as free, two-day shipping offered on all Prime-eligible products. If you’re not ready to commit to a membership, you can still shop, save, and gain access to tons of great perks (like Prime video, Prime rewards, and special savings at Whole Food Markets) by signing up for a free month-long membership, while students can sign up for a free six-month trial.


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Billionaire hedge fund manager J. Tomilson Hill has a keen eye for great art that's also made for some incredible investments. Hill shared some of his personal rules for buying art with CNBC.
Net/Net: The Capitol - Capital connection
Net/Net: Telling Your Story
It's not that being a retailer is a bad thing. But investors want drugstores to reinvent their businesses as Amazon's threat looms.
Net/Net: Reinvention and innovation - a conversation with Brian Moynihan
Net/Net: The art of the deal, literally
Net/Net: Walgreens Boots Alliance, the CEO-CFO Partnership
J. Tomilson Hill, one of the world's top art collectors, said the art market is unlikely to cool or crash anytime soon, due in part to soaring demand from new museums in China.
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said that the adoption of technology at the second-biggest U.S. lender has allowed him to cut 100,000 workers in less than a decade.
Sears says liquidation sales are coming soon for 142 stores. It wasn't immediately clear which locations would be going dark.
Delta Air Lines has started selling tickets on its new Airbus A220 jets. Flights will begin in January from New York aboard the planes whose sale Boeing disputed last year, saying they were illegally dumped in the U.S. below cost.
J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman and now Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga will not be attending an investment conference in Saudi Arabia later this month, CNBC has learned.
Evercore ISI upgrades shares of McDonald's to outperform from in line.
The Apple Watch could prove useful for patients undergoing knee and hip replacement surgeries by tracking their activity level after the procedure.
U.S. retail sales barely rose in September as a rebound in motor vehicle purchases was offset by the biggest drop in spending at restaurants and bars in nearly two years.
The 73-year-old bottle of French Burgundy sold at a Sotheby's auction for more than 17 times its original estimate of $32,000.
Amid popular backlashes against globalism, Michelin chief executive Jean-Dominique Senard believes corporations have a duty to dedicate more of their resources to sustainability and ethical practices.
In one of Wall Street's starkest divergences, the shares of big asset managers have been trampled during this year's bull run.
If the history of corporate relocations teaches us anything, it's that CEOs often move their companies near their homes. After buying The Washington Post in 2013, Bezos bought the most expensive home in Washington, D.C., paying $23 million.
David Tepper downplayed the prospect of another financial crisis in the short run.
"Counter to what most people think, many of the extreme actions we took were not done to make a profit; they were done to support our country and the financial system," the CEO said to employees in the message obtained by CNBC.
The Vikings new “Huddle” may just be the solution for both the NFL and America. Vikings COO Kevin Warren tells us more at our Net/Net Minneapolis event on September 12th.
More than half of the Fortune 500 companies from nearly 2 decades ago cease to exist today. Here’s what Fred Haberman has to say about innovation that keeps companies afloat at the latest Net/Net event in Minneapolis on September 12.
At our Net/Net dinner in Minneapolis, Vikings COO Kevin Warren and former NFL linebacker Pete Najarian sit with Tyler Mathisen and dive into the reaction to the Nike ad.
GE CEO John Flannery talks about turning around GE, why he never stops asking why and the reason he won’t run GE from the center
What’s the key to innovating? It’s simple, GE CEO says
Gary Kelly shares the number one skill he needed to learn after moving from CFO to CEO
Why Tilman Fertitta won’t take his company public again
Southwest Airlines CEO and CFO share their secrets on innovation, leadership and how they fuel that famous Southwest company culture
The full interview with Steve Ballmer.
VC Jim Breyer discusses the transformative promise of artificial intelligence with CNBC's Kelly Evans. Also, his take on Facebook, Amazon and the Valley.
Jim Cramer breaks down how Take-Two Interactive is still a buy despite the market's disregard for the sector.
Jim Cramer sits down with Coca-Cola President and CEO James Quincey for a wide-ranging interview about his company's global strategy.
Global CEOs are seeing a bit of a slowdown outside the United States, but that's not what U.S. chief executives are saying about the nation's economy, according to Steve Odland, president and CEO of The Conference Board.
Victoria's Secret, owned by L Brands, has struggled to grow sales as younger shoppers turn to more inclusive bra and underwear retailers.
Talented professionals won't be willing to work traditional 9-to-5 jobs in the future. CNBC recently spoke with Upwork CEO Stephane Kasriel about the need to institute remote-work policies, and the consequences for companies if they don't.
Ant Financial runs Alipay, one of China's most popular mobile payments systems. Alipay accounts for the majority of its revenue now, but that could change in the future.
Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei's consumer business, told CNBC that the augmented reality glasses could be ready in "one to two years."
Real friendship is the key to our long-term career success, health and happiness. Yet we often overlook our fellow co-workers as friends because we try to separate our needs in the office from those at home.
Culp tells CNBC GE has "got plenty of opportunities through assets sales" to reduce the company's leverage.
Tesla tapped Telstra CFO Robyn Denholm, already a Tesla independent board member, as its new chairman. Critics say she will be a rubber stamp for Musk; others that she may be able to counterbalance his impulsive ways.
Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang is preparing to take over the role of chairman from company co-founder Jack Ma.
Google's 'bungee program' allows employees to step into the full-time roles of peers, such as those on maternity leave. The concept promotes the work/life balance and development opportunities that are important to retaining top millennial talent.
The stock purchases come just one week after IBM announced a $34 billion proposed acquisition of Red Hat.
With many tech companies enjoying worldwide prominence, many headquarters have now become architectural wonders in their own right. Both the state-of-the-art buildings and lifestyle are fascinating to outsiders.
Jim Cramer and billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones discuss the possibility of stocks entering a bear market.
The Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice are investigating Tesla's Model 3 production projections, the company says in a filing.
NBC News canceled Kelly's morning talk show last week after she made controversial on-air comments about blackface.
Jim Cramer details how big advertisers are key to the social media company's revival.
Jim Cramer sits down with Wingstop Chairman and CEO Charlie Morrison, who speaks to his company's technological initiatives.
The letter, and first-time inclusion of Canada, suggests Facebook's legal challenges are far from over — and potentially broadening.
Schools can no longer insulate its students from the unpredictability of technological progression and disruption. The result: new, nontraditional education options are beginning to proliferate.
Mark Zuckerberg tells analysts that video, messaging and Stories are the key to Facebook's future.
As advancing technology continues to drive the demand for tech skills, companies are getting fiercely competitive when it comes to snagging — and keeping — the best talent on the planet. Yet there is a basic way for smaller companies to win the war.
The taxi app Careem recently secured $200 million in fresh funds from Saudi Arabia.
Jim Cramer breaks down the action in Facebook's stock after its earnings report.
Panera Bread is slated to pass $2 billion in annualized digital sales this year, double that of last year, its CEO Blaine Hurst said at CNBC's Productivity@Work event in New York City Tuesday.
Mujin, a start-up spun out of Tokyo University, has developed industrial robots that can fully automate warehouses and fulfillment centers. After doing this for JD.com in China, it plans to enter the U.S. marketplace.
Virtual reality is being embraced by Walmart, Boeing, UPS and other F500 companies as a training tool. The rise in retention rates and productivity numbers so far have been impressive.
Jim Cramer explains why commercial real estate may be the next industry to fall.
Jim Cramer sits down with the CEOs of IBM and Red Hat after a blockbuster deal between the two cloud companies.
Thomas Kurian, who was named the new head of Google's cloud on Friday, is facing an instant culture clash when he starts at the internet company. Google and Oracle, where he spent 22 years, are embroiled in a bitter legal dispute.
PG&E, the parent company of the Pacific Gas & Electric utility unit, is expected to become a major player in the early warning camera expansion, CNBC has learned.
Google is replacing its head of cloud computing, Diane Greene, with Thomas Kurian, who was previously president at Oracle. Greene joined Google cloud three years ago.
Verily, Alphabet's life sciences unit, found it more challenging than expected to measure glucose levels in tears. Especially once it started testing its device outside of the lab.
For years, digital media companies wrestled with charging for their content. The pendulum might be swinging in the direction of subscriptions as paywalls gain popularity and ad-fueled businesses struggle.
Google just launched the new Night Sight feature for its Pixel smartphones and it works almost unbelievably well.
Fitness start-up MIRROR uses a built-in video screen to project workout classes onto your mirror at home.
The city of San Jose just released details on its negotiation with Google to buy a swathes of land to build a mega-campus just 15 miles south of its headquarters.
A weekly recap of the most interesting venture capital deals, funds and start-ups.
Jim Cramer tells investors to steer clear of Nvidia's stock as it hovers near its 52-week lows.
Channing Dungey, the president of ABC Entertainment, has resigned.
Chipmaker Nvidia fell 18.8 percent Friday after missing analyst expectations on revenue and guidance in its third-quarter 2019 earnings report. Competitor Advanced Micro Devices also fell almost 3.9 percent.
Cryptocurrency founders have been prosecuted for everything from non-compliant initial coin offerings to outright fraud in recent weeks.
Fundstrat's Tom Lee is taking his bitcoin price target down to $15,000 from $25,000.
Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg should step down as chairman and focus on being CEO, Yale's Sonnenfeld says.
The New York Times reported earlier this week that Facebook hired Definers Public Affairs to downplay public statements and deflect public scrutiny onto rival tech companies.
Esports competitions and livestreaming have turned full-time gaming into a lucrative career path.
Technology stocks were hurt by a "challenging earnings season" last month but that's created a window of opportunity, J. P. Morgan internet analyst Doug Anmuth tells CNBC.
New research from Climate Central and Zillow shows the area could see significant coastal flooding by 2020. By 2050, extreme projections of sea level rise have low-lying buildings under water.
A building material known as a 3D cementitious sandwich panel can withstand flames for up to two hours.
Facebook CFO David Wehner is one of three new board members appointed to Alector, a company taking an innovative approach to curing Alzheimer's. The other two are 23andMe's chief science officer, Richard Scheller, and ex-Genentech CFO Louis Lavigne.
Airbnb is expected to hold its initial public offering as early as next year. A source told CNBC the company is on track to be profitable for the second straight year, as measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Volkswagen said it will spend 44 billion euros on electric cars, digitalisation, autonomous driving and new mobility services by 2023.
Prince William criticized social media firms for failing to take action to prevent issues such as cyber bullying.
The chipmaker reported disappointing earnings and forward guidance but its cryptocurrency outlook was especially bleak.
Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said in a Facebook post that she and founder Mark Zuckerberg were "too slow" to respond to the Russian interference on the site.
BlackBerry said on Friday it will acquire Cylance, an artificial intelligence and cybersecurity company, for $1.4 billion in cash.
Goodin suggests we should think about "our digital diet, like our food diet" — and identify what our own digital junk food is.
AI may have created the Xinhua anchor and its voice, but the anchor itself cannot think, Dr Ali Shafti, a research associate in robotics and AI at Imperial College London, told CNBC.
Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei's consumer business gave insights into how the smartphone business at the Chinese tech firm grew so quickly and is focusing on future innovations like artificial intelligence.
Net Net is CNBC’s editorial franchise produced specifically for CFOs that examines how top companies are promoting and managing innovation to accelerate growth. Through live events, on TV and online, Net Net helps executives anticipate, react and respond to the trends that will affect their bottom line.
Net Net is CNBC’s editorial franchise produced specifically for CFOs that examines the ways top companies are promoting and managing innovation, leveraging rapid change, and using technology to accelerate growth. In this time of constant disruption, rapid technological innovation, shifting demographics and consumer behavior, change comes lighting fast; through live events, TV programming and digital content, Net Net helps executives anticipate, react and respond to the latest trends that will affect their operations and bottom line.


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Beijing: Smartphone shipments in mainland China fell by 10 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in the second quarter of 2022, with just 67.4 million units shipped, says a new report.
According to Canalys, back in the first place, vivo shipped 13.2 million units, followed closely by HONOR with 13 million units. OPPO (including OnePlus) stayed in the top three, shipping 11.8 million units.
"HONOR and Apple achieved the best year-on-year growth among the top vendors. HONOR has consolidated its top five positions in just one year," Canalys Analyst Toby Zhu, said in a statement.
"But this year will be a critical time for HONOR to show it can survive in a harsh environment. Apple has also been enjoying resilient demand in the high-end segment, despite the severe lockdowns in its key cities. The vendor's active marketing during the promotional period has also been a key contributing factor," Zhu added.
Xiaomi came fourth with 10.6 million units, while Apple came fifth with 9.9 million.
As per the report, high-end Android launches from local brands are in full swings, such as the vivo X80 series, OPPO Find X5 series, HONOR Magic 4 series and Xiaomi MI 12 Ultra.
"Right now is the investment phase. Monetization will come from our side...To me, right now, we have to create a base and right now we are only focused on the rollout of the 5G network. And do keep in mind that there's already offload happening from the 4G network to 5G, which will also improve the 4G quality," said Mittal.


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Coronavirus and the impact on the video games industry
This is one of the biggest stories in the world right now, the coronavirus is spreading around the world pretty fast. This is effecting all different kinds of industries and the video games industry is no different. The following is a look at the coronavirus and the impact on the video games industry.
As a quick bit of background, the coronavirus (COVID-19) is caused by a member of the coronavirus family which has been transmitted from animals to humans. It appears to have originated in Huanan, China from a seafood market in the city. Since then it’s been spreading around the world including Italy, UK, USA, France, Japan, Australia and South Korea. If you get it then you may suffer from a cough, fever and breathing difficulties. As it’s viral pneumonia antibiotics won’t work and recovery depends on the individual’s immune system. All in all, it’s not great so do take care out there.
As well as an impact on our immediate health, it’s also going to impact our video games in 2020 and maybe more significant than you think.
Events postponed or cancelled
The Game Developers Conference 2020 this past weekend was postponed. This is a yearly get together of industry professionals full of networking, marketing and press events. This is a really important event for indie companies looking to make those connections and get some important press coverage ahead of release, and with the conference being postponed until later in the year that has hit really hard. Many spent lots of money trying to get to the conference only to lose their investment in travel and accommodation.
With so many faces losses the game industry has rallied around this cause with Wings Interactive creating the GDC Relief aimed at indie developers. It’s already raised $35,000 and has support from Raw Fury, Modern Wolf, Landfall, The Games and Online Harassment Hotline, and GameDev.World. This fund is available to all indie developers who had invested in going to GDC and will be assessed based on impact to their business.
Other events cancelled include the Taipei Game Show, PUBG Berlin is being rescheduled in April and The Big Deal Conference in Moscow has been pushed back too.
PAX East did go ahead this past weekend, however, it’s unclear at the moment what is going to happen to other events later in the year. Many have come ou tto say they are “monitoring the situation concerning Coronavirus”, so we’ll have to wait and see concerning E3, GamesCom, EGX and the other PAX events.
Next-generation consoles and production
Next-gen could be impacted too in terms of production. Many of the factories who are producing the next-generation consoles like Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are based in China and have been closed temporarily. We don’t yet know the date for the next-gen console release, and Sony, Microsoft et al have been tight-lipped since announcing the ‘holiday 2020’ details last year.
Nintendo has also moved some production of Switches from China to Vietnam. Jefferies analyst Ken Rumph said many game studios, including EA, Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard, have operations in China or outsource to Chinese partners.
“If shutdowns exceed a month or so, game schedules will be delayed. New consoles may likewise suffer supply issues from a prolonged disruption, ahead of their Fall 2020 planned launches.”
According to gamesindustry.biz games could also be delayed with Ubisoft (makers of Assassin’s Creed, The Division, Rainbow Six) and Take-Two Interactive reporting potential delays. Yves Guillemot, the Ubisoft CEO said there was some disruption in China, although he didn’t mention coronavirus specifically.
“At the moment it’s easy to handle,” he said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen. What you can expect is that we will be able to work with all the other studios we have in case it’s too long.”
Private Division has announced that its port of The Outer Worlds to the Nintendo Switch has been delayed from its original March release date.
“We’re delaying The Outer Worlds on Nintendo Switch due to the coronavirus impacting the Virtuos team working on the port, to provide them enough time to finish development,” read the tweeted statement. “We’ll now be releasing the physical version on the cartridge. Once we have a new launch date, we’ll let you know!”
That’s it for this look at the coronavirus and the impact on the video games industry. Let me know what you think down in the comments or check out more features.


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By Andrew R. Johnson
While Discover Financial Services (DFS) is on a mission to expand through mortgage lending and student loans, it remains on the hunt for opportunities to expand its core credit-card business, seeking out new partnerships with membership groups and potential private-label deals.
Discover, the sixth-largest credit-card lender by spending, last month announced a partnership with conservation group Ducks Unlimited through which it is marketing a Discover-branded credit card to the organization's 600,000-plus adult members. The deal is Discover's first so-called affinity partnership, in which banks market cards to trade groups, alumni associations and other membership organizations.
"The affinity business is one the management team here knows and understands very well," Mark Graf, chief financial officer of Discover, said in an interview after the company reported earnings Tuesday. "Based on our primary experience, it's a business that does not really amount to a change in strategy for us."
The Ducks Unlimited partnership "provides a really good foundation for us to begin expanding our efforts" in the market, Graf added.
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) has been a major player in the affinity card market thanks to its 2006 acquisition of MBNA Corp., a credit-card lender that had scores of relationships with college groups and other associations. Discover Chief Executive David Nelms worked at MBNA before joining Discover in 1998.
Bank of America has been scaling back in certain areas of the credit-card market more recently, selling smaller portfolios it issues on behalf of smaller banks and selectively renewing deals with certain partners. CEO Brian Moynihan told analysts in April that it has "narrowed that group" of affinity partners by paring "off several thousand programs" on which "the economics just didn't make sense."
Betty Riess, a spokeswoman for Bank of America, said Tuesday it is "focused on those affinity relationships that bring us unique rewards, robust distribution channels and customers who will bring more of their banking business to us."
Provisions of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act have caused lenders to rethink their strategies related to college affinity groups, given the law requires card issuers to disclose contracts they have with schools.
The "affinity space has changed dramatically in the last few years," Nelms said during an earnings conference call Tuesday. "Service is critically important to groups and group members. We think we're well positioned to help address that marketplace."
Discover executives also have cited private-label credit cards, or those issued on behalf of retailers and other businesses, as another area where it wants to expand.
Last month, Graf said at a conference that Discover was "intrigued" by parts of HSBC Holdings PLC's (HBC) U.S. credit-card portfolio, which included a large number of card programs for retailers such as Best Buy Co. (BBY) and General Motors Co. (GM). Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) ultimately acquired that business in May.
Discover finds the private-label business "attractive," but it has been "difficult to find an entry point into that business," Graf said. "It's concentrated into three or four big players today, and the last I checked none of them are openly, readily available at this moment."
Citigroup Inc. (C) last year reincorporated its approximately $40 billion portfolio of retail cards into its main business after scrapping plans to sell the business, which it deemed noncore after losses surged during the financial crisis.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that General Electric Co. (GE), the largest issuer of private-label credit cards, is considering selling parts of its portfolio, an effort it attempted around 2008 but later abandoned.
Graf declined to say whether it was looking at GE portfolios or cite other opportunities in the market.
Efforts to expand credit-card lending come as Discover has pushed into new areas that could help it increase revenue at a time when borrowing remains tepid for many consumer-finance lenders.
Discover last week launched its online mortgage business, through which it plans to originate home loans and sell them to investors. While the loans won't remain on Discover's balance sheet, they will help it generate fee income from originations.
The company also has continued to expand its portfolios of personal loans and private student loans, which have increased partly due to acquisitions Discover made last year.
The company on Tuesday reported its total loans rose 8.6% from the prior year to $57.06 billion in the fiscal second quarter, driven by growth in all three loan categories.
However, its profit decreased 11% to $537 million as it set aside a larger amount of money to cover future loan losses, though it beat analysts' estimate.
Discover's shares were up 2.4% at $33.62 in recent trading.
Write to Andrew R. Johnson at email@example.com


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Shanghai UBM Sinoexpo Int’l Exhibition Co.,Ltd.
Welcome to Furniture China 2012, Sourcing the Best Value from 3,000 exhibiting companies!
Shanghai, July 02, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Sourcing the best value from 3,000 exhibiting companies from all over the world, Furniture China 2012, as a grand furniture exhibition, will be held on 11 – 15 September in Shanghai, China. Starting this year, Furniture China becomes a five-day exhibition, which is one more day than before, in order to meet the buyers’ demands. All varieties of furniture products and supplies will be displayed by category at three venues with a total exhibition space of 750,000 sq m. This includes home furniture, office furniture, kitchen & cabinets and furnishings at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) and JSWB global home furnishing centre; plus woodworking machinery and raw materials at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center (SWEECC).
In its important role promoting the domestic and overseas furniture industries, Furniture China improves its quality every year and presents more innovative ideas. Three major highlights this year are pavilions, design and conferences.
Besides the key Chinese furniture enterprises, there will be around 170 overseas companies participating as exhibitors, including eight country pavilions: French, Spanish, Portuguese, Belgian, Indonesian, the Philippines, Malaysian and Singaporean. It is obvious to see that more and more overseas companies choose Furniture China as their most important and valuable platform for exploring not only the Chinese and Asian markets, but also over 100 countries of other continents.
Design is always a popular topic. For the furniture industry, how to make the furniture products more attractive and special but still comfortable and humanistic is the eternal pursuit of designers and manufacturers. During this year’s exhibition, two locations are arranged mainly about design: Hall W5 (Design Hall) at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) and DoD (Design of Designers) at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center (SWEECC). It is a great opportunity to discover many pieces of furniture created by talented designers and to join the forums and presentations on the relevant topics.
The other highlight requires most concern is the World Furniture Summit 2012, a pre-eminently important event held concurrently on 11 September at the Kerry Hotel Pudong. The topic centres on “The Impact & Outlook of the World Furniture Industry after the Global Financial Crisis” with the goal of facilitating an actual exchange of information among world furniture markets while aiming at strengthening relationships in the furniture industry in countries all over the world.
The World Furniture Summit 2012 will invite esteemed speakers including Mr Zhu Chang Ling, President of the China National Furniture Association; Mr. Denis Heylen, President of European Furniture Retailers Association FENA ; Mr Todd Wanick – President & CEO of Ashley Furniture Industries Inc and Dr Lim Cheok Sin, Chairman of the Council of Asia Furniture Associations, who will all share their views and participate in a friendly discussion of the topic. Other distinguished speakers are IAFP members from Australia, Turkey, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Romania, Mexico, France, Britain and Russia who will also get highly involved in this magnificent event.
For more inquiries, contact: email@example.com
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TiVo is finally getting its digital hub act together. The purchase of Strangeberry is yet another proof that it is going to be competing with the likes of Microsoft in the digital hub sweepstakes. While most of its conjecture, some nuggets gathered during course of reporting tell me that this is the direction TiVo might be headed in.
ANALYSIS: For past few days the PVR universe has been hubbub about TiVo’s acquisition of a little known company called Strangeberry. I have refrained from posting anything about this for a couple of days because first, I was busy with work, and secondly I had to go through my old emails to dig-up some juicy nuggets about the company.
Strangeberry had caught my attention, thanks to a tip off from a venture capitalist who at the time was in the know about Marimba, a software company known more for their chief executive than their products. Nevertheless for JavaHeads this was big news. I did some follow-up reporting but nothing came off it, and since at that time Red Herring was going through some shaky times, it fell through and was forgotten. Anyway since then nothing much has been reported on this company, and TiVo’s SEC filing does not say much either.
On January 12, 2004 we acquired Strangeberry Inc., a small Palo Alto based technology company specializing in using home network and broadband technologies to create new entertainment experiences on television. Strangeberry has created technology, based on industry standards and including a collection of protocols and tools, designed to enable the development of new broadband-based content delivery services. In exchange for all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Strangeberry, we issued shares of TiVo common stock to the stockholders of Strangeberry in a private placement. We have agreed to file a registration statement on Form S-3 to cover the resale of these shares by the Strangeberry stockholders.
So what are they really building? My best guess is that Strangeberry crew, all former Sun folks, developed a piece of software that actually makes finding devices on the home networks as easy as turning on the power switch. And it is using some variant of Apple’s Rendezvous technology. I remember these guys had released some variation of Rendezvous for Java in the early days of their operation. Rendezvous is a technology which can and does work with all sort of networks – Wi-Fi, Ethernet or powerline networks.
Now, at the 2003 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, a colleague of mine saw them talking to folks from companies like Philips and Sony. Add the two together, to me its seems that Strangeberry folks were developing an application for home networks–something that can detect all of the devices on the network and interact between them, maybe something that would let you control your Internet home gateway, PC, TV, stereo, etc. from one remote control device. Of course since more and more companies are supporting the high speed Wi-Fi networks and some are even contemplating streaming video wirelessly using the super speeds offered by 802.11g implementations, it does not seem that far fetched that Strangeberry came up with this killer app.
I am still trying to get more details on this, but if this is the case then TiVo could easily become a big player in the digital hub business. First of all it does not have the heavy footprint of Windows Media Player. This distinguishes the company from many PVR clones out there, and also provider higher value to its partners such as Sony, Toshiba and Phillips. I think this would be a killer and unique selling point for TiVo which has seen its innovation of PVR get commoditized.
More proof at the bottom of the San Jose Business Journal article?
Two weeks ago at CES, TiVo announced new development partnerships with digital photo and music companies XM Satellite Radio, Adobe, MoodLogic and Picasa that it said will expand the features and capabilities of the TiVo service.
In a press release, TiVo CEO said:
“DVR was just the beginning for TiVo… we’re committed to extending the TiVo experience to a host of new and exciting, yet very easy to use, services for our subscribers. Strangeberry shares this vision and can help us accelerate innovation for the TiVo service through our own engineering initiatives, and through our expanding third party developer program, to build new products and services for the TiVo platform,” said Michael Ramsay, CEO of TiVo.
TiVo at present can save video and playback video easily. It can easily take music stream from your computer and play-it back through your music system. (I personally would buy TiVo over some standalone MP3 streaming device – it is a great two for price of one deal, which somehow does not get enough attention.) And now if Strangeberry can provide easy control and management through TiVo, you are talking big dollars.


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Rick Helfenbein will be the president and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association. Right now he is the chairman. He’s an experienced apparel and footwear executive. For the past 16 years, Helfenbein has directed the US operations of the Hong Kong-based apparel and footwear giant Luen Thai and was one of the key executives that helped grow the company into the largest publicly listed apparel, accessory, and footwear manufacturer on the Hong Kong exchange.
He has had extensive experience in US apparel manufacturing, textile mills and Central American sourcing. Helfenbein holds a degree in economics from Wharton. He lectures frequently on the subjects of supply chain and international trade at industry events, and prestigious business schools including Wharton, Harvard, Cornell, and Columbia.
During his time on the AAFA board, he helped secure several legislative victories including the passage of the Generalized System of Preference update legislation, the first significant change to the GSP program in 40 years. He has also been active in promoting AAFA’s global presence, appearing several times on national television with commentary about international trade and other industry related issues. As AAFA president and CEO he will continue the fight to expand and protect opportunities for all its member companies.


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Indonesia to import 968,143 tons of raw sugar in second quarter
The government will allow the import of 968,143 tons of raw sugar in the second quarter of this year for the food and beverage industry, according to the Trade Ministry’s acting director general for foreign trade, Karyanto Suprih.
“It [the permit document] has been signed and will probably be released next Monday,” Karyanto said.
Imports of the sweetener are expected to increase by 5 percent this year, or 3.2 million tons, from 2.88 million tons in 2015, to catch up with the food and beverage industry’s average growth of over 8 percent per year.
Indonesian Food and Beverage Association (Gappmi) chairman Adhi S. Lukman said the industry would need 3 million tons of sugar this year.
“To meet needs we need 3.2 million tons of raw sugar,” he told The Jakarta Post.
Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s biggest sugar consumer, has vowed to achieve self-sufficiency in the commodity within three to four years under the administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
According to the Trade Ministry, sugar consumption within the consumer retail segment is 3 million tons per year, while national sugar production is only 2.5 to 2.7 million tons, resulting in a shortfall of 300,000 to 500,000 tons annually.
Indonesia’s youthful population and growing middle class are feeding demand from the food and beverage industry as well as from hotels and restaurants, which means needs will continue to rise, highlighting opportunities that the sector has to offer. (sha/dan)


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A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business’s Before the Bell newsletter. Not a subscriber? You can sign up here. You can listen to an audio version of the newsletter by clicking on the same link.
Investors around the world have been trying to adjust their portfolios to cope with the big rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and other central banks this year. But Warren Buffett needn’t worry.
It looks like the Oracle of Omaha has the last laugh this year. Shares of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) are up about 5.5% in 2022. The S&P 500 is down more than 15%.
Buffett has been helped by the fact that Berkshire has a large stake in oil company Chevron (CVX), which is the best stock in the Dow this year with a gain of almost 50%. Berkshire also owns a large portion of Occidental Petroleum (OXY), which has more than doubled…making it the biggest gainer in the S&P 500.
Oil inventories have soared on the back of rising crude oil prices.
Buffett’s affinity for dour consumer stocks also served him well in 2022. Berkshire has large holdings in Coca-Cola (KO) and Kraft Heinz (KHC), each of which is up about 10% this year.
Berkshire Hathaway, a huge conglomerate that owns businesses ranging from Geico and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad to consumer brands such as Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom and Duracell, has also held up relatively well during a tumultuous year for the economy and markets .
The company posted a net loss in the first three quarters of 2022 due to the decline in value of other top investments such as Apple (AAPL), Bank of America (BAC) and other financial stocks, but Berkshire Hathaway’s actual business units are doing just fine.
Berkshire Hathaway’s operating profit — the metric both Buffett and Wall Street analysts prefer to use as a measure of the company’s health — is up nearly 20% in the first nine months of the year to $24.1 billion.
Can Buffett and Berkshire do it again in 2023? More challenges lie ahead as oil prices fall and inflation spikes. That could hurt Berkshire’s own huge energy and utility companies. Higher interest rates could also continue to put a dent in Berkshire’s banking investments.
Investors will also look to Buffett’s lieutenants to get more public about how they plan to lead the company in an eventual post-Buffett world. Buffett will be 93 in August, while Berkshire vice chairman and longtime confidant of Buffett, Charlie Munger, will celebrate his 99th birthday on New Year’s Day.
So it’s reasonable to wonder how much longer Warren and Charlie’s show will last. Fortunately for Berkshire investors, there is a succession plan. Vice Chairman Greg Abel will eventually become Berkshire’s CEO, while Buffett’s investment gurus Ted Weschler and Todd Combs will manage the portfolio.
Berkshire has taken advantage of this year’s market turmoil to snag some bargains. Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) is the most recent example. Berkshire also continued to buy back its own shares. But many corporate executives don’t seem too eager to buy into this year’s dip.
Only about 5,000 members of management teams have bought stock in their own company so far this year, according to research from VerityData. That’s less than about 6,500 insiders during the 2020 Covid bear market.
It is also well below the number of insiders who bought stock of their company during the Great Recession in 2008 and 2009, the 2011 debt ceiling debacle that led to the US credit cut and the pre-presidential election market jitters of 2016.
That can be a bad sign. If CEOs and other C-suite leaders aren’t so confident in a market recovery, should you be?
The lack of insider buying is even more telling when you consider that top CEOs such as JPMorgan Chase’s (JPM) Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs’ (GS) David Solomon have also been making cautious comments on the economy lately.
But Ben Silverman, director of research at VerityData, warns investors not to worry too much. That’s because insiders don’t sell many stocks either.
“There seems to be a reluctance on the part of insiders to call a market bottom,” Silverman said. “But insiders also don’t sell or convert stock-based compensation into cash. Many insiders do that regularly. They seem willing to hold on, but not put more skin into the game.
So CEOs and other corporate insiders may choose to err on the side of caution. They really don’t know where the market and the economy are going, just like the rest of us.
The stock market turmoil of 2022 is like a fleeting rainstorm compared to the raging storm underway in crypto circles.
While bitcoin prices have rebounded a bit lately after a gloomy November, there are still concerns about the health of other crypto giants, such as Coinbase, in the wake of the collapse of FTX and the arrest of founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
As my colleague Michelle Toh reports, there are now big withdrawal concerns from FTX rival Binance, who at one point considered buying/rescuing FTX before changing his mind.
CNN’s Matt Egan also notes that there is growing bipartisan support in Washington for sweeping regulatory changes in the crypto industry. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren has teamed up with Republican Senator Roger Marshall to introduce a bill to tackle money laundering in the crypto world.


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Wood raw-material costs slide for European pulpmills
Aug. 11, 2017 - Wood costs for the pulp industry in Europe were generally lower in the 1Q/17 than in the previous quarter, continuing a downward trend that, depending on the country, has lasted for four to six years. The biggest price declines for pulplogs and sawmill residues in early 2017 occurred in Germany and France, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ). The price reductions occurred mainly because of an oversupply of pulplogs, unchanged demand for wood fiber from the pulp industry, and reduced usage of raw-material by the competing wood pellet sector.
In neighboring Austria, conifer pulplog prices have been very stable during most of 2015 and 2016 (in Euro terms) and prices did not change much in the 1Q/17. However, the weakening of the Euro against the US dollar has resulted in Austrian pulplog prices falling seven percent in two years.
In the Nordic countries, wood fiber costs in the 1Q/17 were at their lowest levels since 2006 (in US dollars). This was mostly thanks to the weakening of the local currencies in both Sweden and Finland. The wood fiber costs currently account for about 60 per cent of the manufacturing cost when manufacturing pulp in the region, according to Fisher International, so a reduction in prices for pulplogs and wood chips has a major impact in improving the competitiveness of the pulp and paper industry when competing in the global market place.
The pulp sectors in Portugal and Spain, which are the third and fourth largest consumers of hardwood logs in Europe, have also enjoyed a period of declining wood costs with the price levels in early 2017 being 20-25 per cent below the fiber costs five years ago.
Hardwood fiber costs for pulpmill in Europe have fallen more rapidly than in other parts of the world from 2012 to 2017, and the industry has become much more competitive with competitors in North America, Latin America and Asia, according to the WRQ. For example, the price discrepancy for hardwood pulplogs between Sweden and the US South has fallen from US$62/odmt in the 1Q/12 to only US$9/odmt in the 1Q/17.
Global lumber, sawlog and pulpwood market reporting is included in the 52-page quarterly publication Wood Resource Quarterly (WRQ). The report, which was established in 1988 and has subscribers in over 30 countries, tracks sawlog, pulpwood, wood chip, lumber and pellet prices, trade and market developments in most key regions around the world. To subscribe to the WRQ, please go to www.woodprices.com
Global softwood lumber trade reaches record-high in 2017: WRQMarch 21, 2018 - International trade of softwood lumber is…
Body found on Domtar site has been identified as missing wildfire evacueeMarch 16, 2018 - RCMP have identified a body found…
Softwood hardwood balance: CFI tours Quebec millsMarch 20, 2018 - While on location for the Montreal…
It’s time for a national tree planting strategy: Forest Recovery CanadaMarch 21, 2018 - Spring is a time for renewal…
Canadian Woodlands Forum Spring Meeting
April 4-5, 2018
Atlantic Heavy Equipment Show
April 5-6, 2018
2018 BC Council of Forest Industries Convention
April 6-8, 2018
April 11-13, 2018


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The Overwatch League has announced automotive giant Toyota as a brand-marketing partner for the league’s inaugural season.
The news may not come as a surprise to many, with Toyota adverts already featuring on the broadcasts alongside Intel and OMEN, two previously confirmed sponsors of the league.
Toyota is a “North American Launch Partner” for the Overwatch League and the deal will see future collaborations including behind-the-scenes exclusive branded content to fans. In addition, Toyota will have additional broadcast integrations and a vehicle present at the Los Angeles-based Blizzard Arena.
Blizzard signs Overwatch League partnership with Toyota
Blizzard has signed a partnership deal for Overwatch League with Japanese carmaker Toyota, the game publisher announced on Thursday.
Under the agreement, Toyota will be a North American Launch Partner for the Overwatch League. Blizzard expects to work with the automaker on “bringing behind-the-scenes content to fans.” Toyota also intends to have “additional broadcast integrations, as well as a vehicle presence at Blizzard Arena Los Angeles.”
Toyota Motor North America media and engagement marketing vice president Steven Curtis expressed the automaker’s excitement about the new partnership. “We love the passion of eSports fans, and the goal of our partnership is to help take the Overwatch League and the fan experience to the next level,” he said.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Toyota to the Overwatch League,” said Blizzard MLG division president and CEO Pete Vlastelica. “When we were building the league, our desire was to create a premium experience for players and fans, and partners like Toyota are helping us do just that,” he added.
The announcement follows the very successful opening week of Overwatch League’s inaugural season. The tournament amassed a huge audience with more than 10 million total viewers across various streaming platforms.
Apart from this deal, the Overwatch League also has HP and Intel as sponsors. The tech giants are providing gaming hardware for the tournament, including HP’s OMEN gaming PCs which are powered by the latest Intel Core i7 processors.
Following a thrilling opening week for the Overwatch League that drew more than 10 million viewers worldwide, a major new brand-marketing partner has signed on to support the league during its inaugural season: multinational automotive manufacturer Toyota.
Toyota will be a North American Launch Partner for the Overwatch League, and is looking forward to future collaborations around bringing behind-the-scenes content to fans. The automaker plans to have additional broadcast integrations, as well as a vehicle presence at Blizzard Arena Los Angeles.
“Toyota is excited to be a launch partner of the Overwatch League,” said Steven Curtis, vice president, media & engagement marketing for Toyota Motor North America. “We love the passion of esports fans, and the goal of our partnership is to help take the Overwatch League and the fan experience to the next level.”
“We’re thrilled to welcome Toyota to the Overwatch League,” said Pete Vlastelica, president and CEO of Blizzard Entertainment’s MLG division. “When we were building the league, our desire was to create a premium experience for players and fans, and partners like Toyota are helping us do just that.”
The Overwatch League is further supported by sponsors HP® and Intel®, with players competing on cutting-edge gaming hardware including HP’s OMEN gaming PCs, powered by the latest Intel® Core™ i7 processors.
About the Overwatch League™
The Overwatch League™ is the first major global professional esports league with city-based teams across Asia, Europe, and North America. Overwatch® was created by globally acclaimed publisher Blizzard Entertainment (a division of Activision Blizzard—Nasdaq: ATVI), whose iconic franchises have helped lay the foundations and push the boundaries of professional esports over the last 15 years. The latest addition to Blizzard’s stable of twenty-one #1 games, Overwatch was built from the ground up for online competition, with memorable characters and fast-paced action designed for the most engaging gameplay and spectator experiences. To learn more about the Overwatch League, visit www.overwatchleague.com.
Toyota has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 33 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 46,000 people (more than 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold almost 2.7 million cars and trucks (2.45 million in the U.S.) in 2016—and about 85 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 15 years are still on the road today.
© 2018 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. OVERWATCH, OVERWATCH LEAGUE, BLIZZARD and BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT are trademarks of Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. MAJOR LEAGUE GAMING is a trademark of Major League Gaming Corp.