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Energy drinks: simply fuel – or a flavour sensation?
The potent pick-me-ups are now worth £1bn and young people can't seem to get enough
Highly caffeinated energy drinks have become an integral part of a frenzied, workaholic culture in the UK and nearly three-quarters of young people say they drink them regularly.
Popular pick-me-ups such as Lucozade Energy and Red Bull deliver a dose of caffeine equivalent to a cup of coffee, while their more potent competitors Relentless and Monster – marketed to extreme sports fanatics – can contain twice that amount, around 160mg per can.
Around 73 per cent of 16- to 24-year-olds now drink them regularly, market analysts Mintel said, and most say they simply like the taste.
The market for energy and sports drinks has grown by nearly 20 per cent in just three years and is estimated to be worth £1.1bn annually. In the UK alone, 209 new energy drinks have been launched in the past five years.
The drinks were selling well despite the sluggish economy thanks to a "combination of energy-giving functionality and taste", Mintel said.
"While these drinks may have started off as aids to physical exercise, they are increasingly filling a more holistic lifestyle need, especially for 16- to 34-year-olds," said Jonny Forsyth, Mintel's senior drinks analyst. Half the UK population now regularly drink energising, non-alcoholic drinks, either as daytime stimulants or as mixers. Analysts believe the UK's workaholic culture is driving the drinks' popularity.
Two-thirds of those aged 16 to 24 questioned by the researchers said the energy drinks improved their performance at work or while studying.
An increasing number of more potent energy drinks appearing on the market has led to a number of health scares. This year, medics from the American journal Pediatrics claimed some could cause "seizures, mania, stroke and sudden death" in children, and researchers from Vermont University said those hooked on energy drinks could be more susceptible to drug addiction.
The Food Standards Agency says that highly caffeinated drinks, which can also contain stimulants such as glucuronolactone, taurine, and herbal substances, do not pose a serious health risk but that children should drink them only "in moderation" and that they should be avoided by pregnant women.
In the late 1990s, the taste for energising drinks spread beyond the realms of sport. Red Bull was the first popular energy drink to hit the UK market. Its design and marketing were based on a more potent Thai drink called Krating Daeng. Four billion cans of Red Bull are now consumed worldwide every year.
Mintel said that the appetite for a daily caffeine fix was likely only to increase, projecting that the industry could be worth nearly £2bn by 2016.
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Along with making music and headlining festivals this year, Run The Jewels have been expanding into the beverage industry. The duo made up of Killer Mike and EL-P recently hopped on the hard seltzer trend with their Pink Lemonade drink. Now, Run The Jewels are partnering with several Black-owned breweries for a new line of craft beer.
The line of beers includes the recently released rice lager Never Look Back brewed at Green Bench Brewing Co. in Florida, the molasses and corn grits ale All Due Respect brewed in collaboration with Proximity Brewing and Spaceway Brewing, and Blockbuster Night, Pt. 1, an IPA brewed at Brew Gentleman Brewery in Braddock, PA and made with cannabis terpenes.
Each of Run The Jewels’ beers benefit various nonprofits. A portion of proceeds earned from their Never Look Back beer is slated to benefit Beer Kulture, an organization that works to advance and create opportunities that foster diversity, equity and inclusion within the craft beverage space.
A portion of the duo’s All Due Respect beer will be donated to Blacktoberfest, where the beer will also debut. Blacktoberfest invites over 100 Black-owned establishments to spotlight their products and are about to celebrate their second year as a festival. Furthermore, Run The Jewels have committed to donating 50 percent of proceeds from their Blockbuster Night, Pt. 1 IPA to various Pittsburgh charities serving the children and the arts.
See product images of Run The Jewels’ new craft beer below. Order it here.

domain: news


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As of July 31, 2020, please find below COVID-19 Entry, Health & Safety Protocols by country. This page will updated as new information is received.
The Caribbean Tourism COVID-19 Task Force has launched health and safety guidelines for companies and destinations to guide the reopening of the tourism industry in the region to help safeguard the health of travelers and employees.
The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority wishes to inform that it has received notification of an amendment to the implementation date of the latest Antigua and Barbuda Travel Advisory.
Virgin Atlantic has announced its plan to restart passenger flying to 17 additional destinations from August 2020.
All travellers are assessed by the Ministry of Health, Wellness and The Environment (also referred to within this document as the Quarantine Authority), for signs and symptoms through a series of checks and the completion of a health declaration form on arrival.
ST. JOHN’S, ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA (June 4, 2020) – The Government of Antigua & Barbuda has announced a phased approach to the reopening of the country’s tourism and hospitality industry as they prepare to welcome the first guests back on island today.
ST. JOHN’S, ANTIGUA (JUNE 6, 2020) – As we prepare to re-open our borders The Antigua Barbuda Hotels & Tourism Association publishes post COVID-19 Health and Safety Protocols for Hotels and Restaurants.
ST. JOHN’S, ANTIGUA (May 15, 2019) – Antigua and Barbuda has attracted a record number of visitors for April 2019, with 27,301 visitors arriving into the country during the month.
May 7 2019, (St. John’s Antigua) – The Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority has partnered with influencer specialist Traverse for the second year running on the Caribbean’s largest influencer conference.
St. John’s, Antigua (March 21, 2019) – The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority has unveiled its new global summer campaign, #WhatCoolLooksLike, which is expected to convey the trendiness of the destination


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Announcing early in September for a November launch sounds weird the first time you read it, but does make a lot of sense. It gives developers time to adapt to the new features of the iPad Pro such as adoption of pressure-sensitive drawing. At the most basic level, apps will need reworking to take advantage of a larger ~12 inch canvas.
As the iPad Pro is the first in its line, there’s no Osbourne effect at play. Announcing the iPad Pro early is unlikely to affect Apple sales in the interim period. It also gives Apple a window to start promoting the iPad Pro to businesses before they go on general sale. Enterprise purchase have lead times: it’s not like the consumer market where there will be people ready to buy the new iPhone as soon as its available.
I can see why they want to announce now but it comes at a cost. Its another thing they have to talk about in their presentation, something that was already expected to be jam-packed. Gurman says his sources describe at as an “unprecedented blitz of product announcements”. The way I read that, its a kinder way of saying that there will be rushed announcements.
I really wish Apple would spread out their announcements more. They have an entire year to play with but shove eighty percent of their new products into two months of the year. I’m not suggesting they should host an event every month. Even just adding one more regular event to the schedule in say, January, would help relieve the pressures of the fall lineup.


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We are excited to announce the official addition of Boost Mobile into the DISH family. A big welcome to our new colleagues, thousands of independent retailers and millions of customers joining us for this next chapter. This acquisition marks our formal entrance into the retail wireless industry — and we’re proud to partner with our new Boost teams to offer better pricing and service to customers nationwide. Today we continue our journey of changing the way the world communicates!
A big DISH welcome to one of the wireless industry’s experts, Dave Mayo. He's joining our team as EVP of Network Development, and will lead our wireless buildout strategy to execute the nation's first standalone 5G wireless network deployment. We're excited to get to work!
This year, the team decided to celebrate Take Your Kids to Work Day with a little twist. We invited DISH Nation to give us a glimpse into what it's like to work from home with their new "co-workers." Take a look!
Today is an important step forward in our journey to change the way the world communicates. Federal Judge Victor Marrero approved the T-Mobile-Sprint merger. This proposed merger paves the way for DISH to purchase Sprint’s Boost prepaid mobile business and continue our work to deploy the nation’s first virtualized, standalone, 5G broadband network.
Join us in welcoming Marc Rouanne and Stephen Bye to the DISH Wireless family. "I think we have a unique opportunity [at Dish]. And we're all gonna look back in five to ten years and say, 'Wow, just look at what happened to this industry. We had a hand in making that happen.' " – Stephen Bye http://glassdoor.com/slink.htm?key=vMDUs
At DISH, we’re working to better serve our people, our community, and our planet. We recently earned recognition as one of the 50 most community-minded companies in Colorado. Caity Curtis, Head of Corporate Citizenship said it best: "Our overarching goal is to make a positive impact by connecting team members and DISH resources with the local communities we and our customers call home."
On Friday, July 26th, DISH reached several key agreements to help us accelerate our plans to build out the nation’s first standalone 5G network. These agreements include the purchase of Sprint’s prepaid mobile business (including Boost Mobile), Sprint’s low-band wireless spectrum, and full nationwide access to the new T-Mobile network. This means our customers will see more innovation, more choices, and better experiences. We’re excited for our future, and we hope you are, too! Press Release: http://glassdoor.com/slink.htm?key=vMir9
Join us in congratulating Kannan Alagappan as our new SVP and Chief Technology Officer (CTO). He will lead DISH Technologies, which develops our technology strategy, oversees our software and hardware engineering initiatives, and manages our broadcast and satellite operations. Kannan is a seasoned technology leader with experience at companies including Reliance Jio, Telstra and Rackspace, among others. We’re excited to welcome him to the team! http://glassdoor.com/slink.htm?key=vMiaN
We are happy to announce the launch of our new brand OnTech Smart Services in 11 markets around the country! OnTech is the newest brand from DISH, serving ALL consumers, not just DISH customers. Installing is just the beginning. Ensuring customers know how to operate your Smart Home is our goal. OnTech provides installation, set-up and education of the latest smart home devices and entertainment systems from top brands. Thank you to all the team members and partners who helped make this happen. http://glassdoor.com/slink.htm?key=vMFHG
Congratulations to our 2019 Volunteer of the Year Russell Black, Field Service Manager from Ann Arbor! "Not only does Russell organize and participate in countless water, food, blood and school supply drives, but he makes it a point to encourage team members across the company to contribute. As the Community Champion of our Ann Arbor team, he goes above and beyond in coordinating with his colleagues at 4 smaller surrounding locations who don’t have a Community Champion of their own to make sure everyone has a chance to make a difference." Over 120 nominations highlighted team members who lead by example and are a testament to improving their communities through service. Finalists included: Russell Bangert - Director of Digital Marketing (Englewood) Kate Ehrhardt - Senior Programming Manager (Englewood) Melinda Luft - Inventory Specialist (Kent) Joey Monjure, MBA - Senior Business Ops. Manager (Englewood) Mike Robinson - Warehouse Supervisor (Harrisburg) Jimin Shim - Copywriter (Englewood) Adam Trzaska - Work at Home International Coach Raenae Wann - Marketing Lead (Englewood)


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This wasn’t how organizers of Birmingham’s Pepper Place Saturday Market had hoped to kick off the opening weekend of the popular farmers market’s 20th anniversary season.
But as the market has done since it debuted in June 2000, it has adapted with the changing times.
In wake of the COVID-19 scare, the Pepper Place market has switched to a drive-thru-only service that offers customers the chance to order their produce, meats and baked goods in advance and then pick it up on Saturday mornings without ever getting out of their cars.
This Saturday, April 11, is the start of the market’s outdoor season, when, typically, several dozen farmers and food vendors from around the state and thousands of shoppers would fill the Pepper Place and Martin Biscuit Co. parking lots and line 29th Street South to celebrate the start of the spring-summer produce season in Alabama.
Organizers, though, began experimenting with the drive-thru pick-up model during the market’s winter season, and after a three-week trial run, they feel like they’re ready to go all in this Saturday.
“All that we have learned from this experience is that the best thing you can possibly do is be flexible and adapt and just try to be resilient,” Leigh Sloss-Corra, the market’s director, says. “If one thing doesn’t work, then try something else. Keep your faith.
“Birmingham is also such an amazing place where people are really, really loyal to their local businesses,” she adds. “And this is one way that I think that people also feel like they can be connected to their community and feel like they're giving back to (the farmers) that are really important.”
After launching the drive-thru service with five farmers on March 21, the market has gradually expanded each weekend. This Saturday, Sloss-Corra has 15 farmers and vendors lined up, and, she says, they hope to grow to about 30 vendors over the next few weeks.
“The smart thing that we did was we started small,” Sloss-Corra says. “We’re just adding a few more (vendors) every week to work out the kinks and see what the system will tolerate.”
Here’s how it works:
- Starting on Monday of every week, customers may go to the Pepper Place Saturday Market website and start placing their orders from the coming weekend’s list of vendors. All orders are paid for in advance with a credit card to ensure that no paper money is exchanged. The deadline to order each week is Thursday for some vendors and Friday for others. No in-person purchases are allowed at the market.
- (This week, customers have to place and pay for their orders individually with each farmer, Sloss-Corra says, but starting next week, they will be able to bundle their order and make a single payment.)
- On Saturday mornings, customers drive to the pick-up lane set up along Second Avenue South between 28th and 29th Streets and are directed, single file through the pick-up line. The market is open from 7 a.m. to noon each Saturday.
- Customers are required to stay in their cars and the farmers will deliver their order and place them in the trucks or backs of their cars. All the farmers wear gloves when handling the orders.
Two Saturdays ago, Sloss-Corra says, the Pepper Place market had about 350 cars go through the drive-thru line. Last Saturday, there were 536 cars.
The lines, she says, have run relatively smoothly, and customers, she adds, have been patient and appreciative.
“You know, there were a lot of cars, and when you talked to people, they would look at you and say, ‘Thank you so much for doing this. We're so grateful. We're so appreciative,’” she says.
“And even when people had to wait a long time, they were all smiles,” she adds. “You think a market exists to feed people, and our farmers are feeding people’s bodies but they’re feeding their souls, too.”
During the COVID-19 outbreak, farmers markets are among those Alabama businesses that are considered essential and allowed to stay open – if they operate within certain social-distancing guidelines – while the statewide shelter-in-place order is in effect.
The contactless, drive-thru model is being tested at other famers markets around the state and around the country.
With no immediate end to the coronavirus crisis in sight, Sloss-Corra says the Pepper Place farmers market is prepared to continue the drive-thru service through the rest of the summer, if necessary.
Also, she adds, the market is exploring the option of adding a delivery service in the coming weeks.
“I think when we get through this, we’ll be stronger than ever,” she says.
And that 20th anniversary celebration will have to wait, Sloss-Corra adds.
“We’ll celebrate our 21st birthday next year,” she says. “When we’re 21, we’ll have a big party next year.”
The Pepper Place Saturday Market takes place Saturdays from April 11 through Dec. 12. Hours are 7 a.m. to noon, and the address is 2829 Second Ave. South. To see a list of farmers and vendors and to place an order, go here.


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A slew of DF readers have emailed regarding Fred Wilson’s pessimistic prediction for wearables and Apple Watch in particular:
Another market where the reality will not live up to the hype is
wearables. The Apple Watch will not be the home run product that
iPod, iPhone, and iPad have been. Not everyone will want to wear a
computer on their wrist. Eventually, this market will be realized
as the personal mesh/personal cloud, but the focus on wearables
will be a bit of a head fake and take up a lot of time, energy, and
money in 2015 with not a lot of results.
I don’t think it’s fair to say he’s predicting “a flop” — he’s just saying it won’t be a “home run”. (Wilson, too, is annoyed by Business Insider’s headline.) But the iPod, iPad, and iPhone were all very different sorts of home runs. The iPod took years before it became a mainstream hit. The iPad started faster than any other Apple product, but plateaued far sooner than the iPhone. And the iPhone is simply unprecedented — it’s the biggest home run in the history of computing.
I don’t think it’s possible for Apple Watch to be an iPhone-type success. iPad- and iPod-like are possible, though.
I thought this was the more eyebrow-raising of Wilson’s predictions:
Xiaomi will spend some of the $1.1bn they just raised coming to
the US. This will bring a strong player in the non-google android
sector into the US market and legitimize a “third mobile OS” in
the western world. The good news for developers is developing for
non-google android is not much different than developing for
google android. [Lowercase “google” and “android” all sic.]
I don’t see Xiaomi having success introducing a third mobile OS in the West, and I don’t see them having success selling hardware here, either. It’s no coincidence that to date they’re only operating in countries with weak IP laws. I’ll be surprised if Xiaomi even tries to enter the Western markets this year, and I’ll be downright shocked if they do so and succeed.
★ Friday, 2 January 2015


text: RitzCarlton sets up signs for 12-storey on Grace Bay Facebook Twitter Google+LinkedInPinterestWhatsApp Recommended for you Related Items:cooper jack, cooper jack development, eauropean plan, ritz carlton Hotel icon J. W. Marriott Jr visits Turks and Caicos Government Former Planning Boss points to challenges with going taller with hotels in TCI Facebook Twitter Google+LinkedInPinterestWhatsAppProvidenciales, 07 Apr 2015 – Government signed some major documents just before the Easter holidays which bring two resort developments earmarked for Provo closer to fruition. Premier Rufus Ewing said this new concept in long stay ushers in a new era for the TCI. “This European Plan style hotel development provides a welcome diversification to the TCI tourism sector as it is more of a traditional hotel, rather than the previously prevalent condominium model in the TCI.” As for what we get on the Grace Bay strip with this new property: 124 luxury hotel guest rooms, penthouses, resort residences and associated facilities. The new resort will be managed by the Ritz Carlton Hotels Company L.L.C., an international luxury hotel brand operating 84 hotels and resorts in 26 countries; the contract put at $224 million dollars. The other signing was a Memorandum of Understanding with the Cooper Jack Development Limited to build a $220 million dollar hotel, spa and residences. Again the Premier noted how this project takes tourism to a new realm and a new part of Provo. Cooper Jack Development will be in the Cooper Jack area with a 281-bedroom resort consisting of a five-star stand-alone hotel of 100 bedrooms and suites, 76 condominium units and 3 luxury villas. The total project site area is 20.92 acres. Finance Minister Washington Misick and Acting Governor Anya Williams were a part of the signing; Minister Misick said, “This is an exciting time in the TCI and we welcome this new development”. The Desarrollos Hotel Group group begins construction on the Ritz Carlton in November; that work is expected to run three years. While Cooper Jack Development start date is more vague; government only saying within the third quarter of 2015 and lasting approximately 2 years.


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The Internet's governing body today unveiled a list of 1,930 applied-for generic top-level domain (gTLD) names that executives said will usher in a "new era" of the Web. On the list were applications from top tech firms like Google, Samsung, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple.
"The Internet is about to change forever," Rod Beckstrom, president and CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), said during a press conference in London this morning.
At this point, there are 22 gTLDs, including .com, .org, and .net. In June 2011, however, ICANN approved a plan that would allow people to apply for new gTLDs, like .pcmag, for example. ICANN started accepting gTLD applications via its TLD Application System (TAS) on Jan. 12, and after a glitch took the system offline for several days, the application process closed last month.
Today, ICANN revealed the list of applied-for domains, which covers everything from fedex and fido to transformers and translation.
On the tech front, Apple only applied for .apple - no .iphone or .ipad on the list. Samsung also sought to secure the rights to its name with two applications; one for .samsung and another for its name in Korean characters.
Google, however, appears to have applied for dozens of domains under the name Charleston Road Registry. The company did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation that all Charleston Road Registry applications were related to Google, but they include product-related domains like google, youtube, android, app, blog, book, chrome, cloud, docs, drive, earth, gmail, nexus, hangout, and search. There's also moto, presumbly related to its acquisition of Motorola Mobility, as well as generic domain names, like tech, web, buy, fyi, how, family, mom, lol, meme, and love.
Google confirmed last month that it had applied for several gTLDs. At the time, Google's chief Internet evangelist, Vint Cerf, said that "by opening up more choices for Internet domain names, we hope people will find options for more diverseand perhaps shortersignposts in cyberspace."
Amazon, meanwhile, also made a bid for several domains, including amazon, app, audible, cloud, fire, imdb, kindle, and map.
At Microsoft, the software giant is looking to secure the rights to azure, bing, docs, hotmail, live, microsoft, office, skydrive, skype, windows, and xbox.
As you may have noticed, several tech giants applied for some of the same domains. Symantec, Amazon, and Google will all be battling for the rights to .cloud, for example, while Google and Microsoft both want .docs. Blog was also quite popular, with nine separate applications, including one from Google.
ICANN said that approximately 231 domains were applied for by more than one organization, a list that also includes book, broadway, buy, cars, casino, city, college, corp, fashion, and more.
When asked if it was unfair for major companies to hoard all the more popular domain names, Beckstrom said said the "program was opened up as a level playing field and it's really up to the institution to decide whether they want to participate."
Domain applications come with a hefty price tag. Applicants paid a $185,000 evaluation fee, with $5,000 upfront, though some organizations might be afforded a discount depending on their situation. ICANN said today that it collected approximately $350 million from applicants; about $60,000 will be set aside for each applicant for a "risk contingency fund."
Overall, Beckstrom said ICANN received applications from 60 different countries; 901 were from North America, 675 were from Europe, 303 were from the Asia Pacific region, 24 were from Latin America and the Caribbean, and 17 were from Africa.
"If even three-fourths of these applications are approved, the total number of gTLDs will expand approximately four fold," Beckstrom said.
ICANN will now open up a 60-day comment period, where anyone can give their two cents about the program and the applied-for domains. Also today, a seven-month objection period begins if anyone takes issue with the domains for which companies have applied.
Starting next month, meanwhile, ICANN will convene various evaluation panels, which will consider things like whether an applied-for TLD string is too similar to another TLD, whether it meets technical requirements, and whether it is a geographic name. The panels will also consider whether the firms that applied for the domains are capable of running a registry.
The results of these initial evaluations should be complete by December or January, ICANN said. At this point, those who applied for a discount on the application fee will also find out if their request has been granted.
An application that has no objections will then proceed to pre-delegation. "Eventually the string will be live and reachable on the Internet as a TLD," ICANN said. "However, some applications will be subject to special processes depending on the circumstances."
That includes those domains that have more than one application; "attempts to resolve the contention begin" at that point, ICANN said.
The full list of applied-for domains is available on newgtlds.icann.org.
For more from Chloe, follow her on Twitter @ChloeAlbanesius.


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AAA Predicts Busy Holiday Travel Season
AAA is expecting this year’s holiday travel to be busy.
According to the organization, more than 53 million people are expected to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday alone.
This bumps the amount traveling up by around 6 million compared to last year.
This prediction from AAA brings this year’s holiday travel levels close to those that happened before the pandemic.


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Perfect for those that keep their smartphones and tablets as close as their sunscreen while on vacation, Sandals Resorts will introduce free Wi-Fi and complimentary long-distance phone calls for select room categories in 2013.
These special perks are provided specifically to clients staying in Concierge Rooms and Butler Rooms, at any of the seven Sandals Resorts in Jamaica.
Beginning March 15, free Wi-Fi will keep guests in concierge or higher rooms connected whether accessing the latest news and gossip while lounging poolside; uploading pictures of a romantic beachfront sunset via social media; or checking emails while relaxing in their luxurious suite.
Additionally, guests in these select room categories at Sandals Resorts in Jamaica will be permitted to make free long-distance calls to the U.S., Canada and to U.K. landlines, as well as local calls to Jamaican landlines, beginning June 20. These phone calls will be offered exclusively through travelers’ personal smartphones by downloading the Sandals Resort’s online app, which will be free and available to guests through the Apple and Android app stores.


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Honda Motor is recalling more than 600,000 Accord mid-size cars sold in the United States and Canada.
The target of the recall is the Accord with a V6 engine from model years 2003 through 2007.
The carmaker says the Accord's power steering hose can deteriorate prematurely after being exposed to engine heat. This may result in cracks and leaks that could cause a loss of power steering or smoke and fire.
Honda told the US and Canadian transport authorities that more than 570,000 Accords in the US and about 30,000 in Canada will be recalled.
The company says it has received several reports of smoke and unusual noise from the engine, but none resulted in injuries or crashes.
The Accord is a popular model designed and marketed exclusively for the North American market, with sales of more than 200,000 units a year.
China's television regulator has ordered a crackdown on dramas about the country's battles with Japan during and before World War Two and demanded they be more serious, state media said on Friday, following viewer complaints about ludicrous storylines. (Reuters )
Shukan Post (May 24) conveys the difficulties experienced by other parts of the adult-entertainment biz in servicing customers from the communist nation.
A deri heru (“delivery health”) call-girl tells the tabloid that she is often requested to arrive at major hotels in the Shinjuku and Ikebukuro entertainment areas of Tokyo by Chinese visitors. (Tokyo Reporter)


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Bourbon: no longer the drink of choice for just wild west gunslingers and Southern gentlemen. According to a report in the Associated Press, bourbon is the current de rigueur drink for Americans (and drinkers abroad), causing a boom in sales for bourbon distilleries in the billions of dollars a year.
What are we doing with all this bourbon? Drinking the fuck out of it, of course. According to the AP and a report in Fortune in February, bourbon and Tennessee whiskey are flying off the shelves like it's the 1970s again, the last time bourbon was at this level of popularity.
Last year, Kentucky distilleries filled 1.2 million barrels of bourbon — the most since 1970, according to the Kentucky Distillers' Association. Inventory has topped 5 million barrels for the first time since 1977, the group said.
Production has surged by more than 150 percent in the past 15 years in Kentucky — home to 95 percent of the world's bourbon production.
As a means to fulfill the demand, distilleries are taking to overproducing their stores so that they can be prepared to sell through the demand years later. Will this work? Hm, last time it didn't!
The last time the industry spiked production in the 1970s, distillers ended up with a glut when demand went in a tailspin.
Back then, the industry had grown stale and many consumers switched allegiance to vodka, Scotch and other spirits.
"You had the same old brands, you were pretty much on autopilot," Morris said.
But the producers know how to grab OkCupid-using, mason jar-owning millenials: through small batch premium production and cool twists on old standards. This may be the reason for high sales last year: the bourbon and Tennessee whiskey industries reached a whopping $2.4 billion. Additional interest from foreign markets like China appear to contribute to bourbon's growth.
Bill Samuels Jr., retired top executive at Maker's Mark told the AP, "It doesn't feel like a fad. It feels like a legitimate trend," which sounds like the beautiful slurred philosophizing of someone who has perhaps drank too much bourbon.
[Image via AP]


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The deal makes Stamps.com (STMP)
the first online service to offer small business and corporate enterprise
customers a sole source for mailing and shipping needs.
Now clients have one-stop access to mailing, shipping and tracking services
with the combination of iShip’s multi-carrier shipping technology and
Stamps.com’s Net postage service.
Stamps.com will fork over 8 million shares of its stock for
all outstanding shares, options and warrants of iShip. iShip brings an
impressive clientele list to the table, including eBay (EBAY), Intel (INTC)
and Mail Boxes, Etc (MBE).
“This acquisition will revolutionize the way mailing and shipping services
are offered,” said Stamps.com Chief Financial Officer John
Payne.”Eighty-five percent of all e-commerce packages are shipped through
the U.S. Postal Service and UPS.”
Also last week, Stamps.com launched its online postage service, enabling
consumers to print usable postage from their homes and businesses using only a computer, printer and Net connection.


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The next generation of furniture designers and makers was celebrated at The Furniture Makers’ Company’s annual Young Furniture Makers Exhibition last week.
More than 40 designs from some of the UK’s finest young furniture makers packed out Furniture Makers’ Hall on Tuesday 11th October.
Now in its 10th year, this year’s exhibition showcased pieces from talented GCSE and A Level students through to BA and MA graduates from around the UK.
Ben Burbidge, master of The Furniture Makers’ Company, officially welcomed guests from across the furnishing and design sector at 6.30pm ahead of a prize-giving ceremony.
The Young Furniture Makers Bespoke Award, sponsored by Festool, was awarded to Jan Waterston from the City of Oxford College for his Velo Rocking Stool.
The Young Furniture Makers Design Award, sponsored by Crofts & Assinder, went to Philipp Stummer from Warwickshire College for the Mini Maestro.
The Young Furniture Makers Innovation Award, also sponsored by Crofts & Assinder, was won by William Keenlyside from Kingston University for The Pour Man’s Stool.
The winners of the B&Q Homefit School Prize were Ella Lemaire and Sebastian Banwell, who receive a cash prize for their school and vouchers for themselves, plus an all-expenses paid trip to Blum's factory in Austria.
The Blum Best in Show Prize, an all-expenses paid trip to the Blum factory, was given to Philipp Stummer for Mini Maestro.
Alex Crofts, chairman of the Young Furniture Makers, says: “We set up the Young Furniture Makers Exhibition so schoolchildren, students and graduates could showcase their work, and meet potential employers and members of the company, giving them an opportunity to network and receive feedback.
"Every year the exhibition gets bigger and better, and this year’s was no exception. All of the designs on show were of an incredibly high standard. We’d like to thank all of our sponsors, particularly our main sponsor, Axminster Tools & Machinery.”


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The medical device industry is moving forward in 2009 to address a problem that will inevitably result in onerous government regulation if something isn't done now. But has the industry moved fast and far enough to encourage transparency? Read about it in tomorrow's edition of MDD Perspectives, an op-ed e-zine that provides fresh commentary and opinions on issues that you can't find anywhere else. And best of all, it's free.
If you don't already subscribe to this complimentary e-zine, go to medicaldevicedaily.com to sign up.


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Content marketing company Sprocket Media has released Digarati, a fully integrated social publishing portal. Sprocket created Digarati to give publishers the ability to build social communities around
their content, encouraging readers to connect and engage. “Traditionally, content marketing was about producing timely, high quality content that was relevant to users. That is no longer
enough,” said Kevin Kennedy, Digarati general manager, Sprocket Media, adding that "it requires enabling and engaging communities as well."


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September 28, 2016
Global Culinary Talents Converge at International Young Chef Chinese Culinary Challenge 2016 Aspiring Young Chefs from 13 Regions around the World to Showcase the Art of Chinese Cuisine
Charlie Lee, Lee Kum Kee Sauce Group Chairman graced the stage at the opening of Lee Kum Kee International Young Chef Chinese Culinary Challenge 2016 to deliver his welcome address.
Lee Kum Kee today kicked off the finals of the International Young Chef Chinese Culinary Challenge 2016 (IYCCCC 2016). Themed “Celebrating Global Culinary Talent”, the event signifies its breakthrough to becoming a true international challenge for promoting Chinese culinary arts.
IYCCCC 2016 is organised by Lee Kum Kee and jointly supported by 21 Chinese culinary associations around the world. This is a combined effort aimed at raising industry standards and encouraging creativity and knowledge sharing among young chefs. Hosted at Hong Kong’s Chinese Culinary Institute, the final round features 43 young chefs from Australia, Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, the United States and other regions to compete for the International championship title.
The 43 contestants will infuse their creativity and Chinese culinary expertise into the making of a dish within 90 minutes according to designated ingredients, paired with Lee Kum Kee sauces and condiments. This year’s finalists all boast an average culinary experience of 14 years with an average age of mid-30s, specialising in Cantonese, Sichuan, Huaiyang, Hunan, Fujian, Zhejiang as well as Taiwanese cuisine.
At the opening ceremony, the guests lighted up the torch, and shown the commitment to promoting Chinese cuisines worldwide and facilitating experience sharing. Charlie Lee, Lee Kum Kee Sauce Group Chairman said, “Founded in 1888, Lee Kum Kee is committed to promoting Chinese cuisines worldwide. For more than 128 years, we have been devoted to the development of the Chinese culinary industry, with an emphasis on grooming young chefs. The theme of the competition “Celebrating Global Culinary Talent” is a vivid illustration of our commitment to promoting Chinese cuisines worldwide and facilitating experience sharing. We hope more and more people from different cultures will be able to enjoy the best that Chinese cuisine has to offer.”
The judging panel comprises seven influential chefs including Chan Kwok-keung (Executive Committee of Hong Kong Chefs Association, Chinese Chefs), Chen Hui-rong (Honorary Chairman of Vereniging van Chinese Chef Koks), Kondo Shinji (Vice Chairman of Japanese Association of Chinese Cuisine), Lu Ching-lai (Chairman of Korea Chinese Cuisine Association), Lu Yong-liang (China Master Chef), Pung Lu-tin (Vice President of International Master Chef Committee of World Federation of Chinese Catering Industry), and Jacky Yang (Lee Kum Kee Consultant Chef). Judges will evaluate dishes based on taste, texture, creativity, presentation and hygiene to select the world champion, as well as gold, silver, and bronze awards and three excellence awards, including “Most Creative”, “Best Sauce Combination”, and “Best Presentation”.
Madam Shang Ha-ling, Secretary-General of the World Federation of Chinese Catering Industry (WFCCI) said, “The long-standing strategic partnership between WFCCI and Lee Kum Kee is one of the many outcomes of this vision. Through our cooperation in international competitions, cooking demonstrations and food expos, we have successfully created an international platform for Chinese culinary exchange, hence enhancing its international status by highlighting its unique appeal to the world. The arrangement of IYCCCC is indeed a fine example of such contributions, one that will go a long way in grooming talents and encouraging culinary creativity in this field.”
In addition, the students of Lee Kum Kee’s “Hope as Chef” CSR programme in China delighted the guests in today’s event with their outstanding craftsmanship on cold-dish plating and food crafting.
This year is the second IYCCCC since the inaugural competition in 2014. The international challenge is sponsored by Chef Works, Fish Marketing Organization, Hing Lung Food Place Limited, Nature’s Parlour, The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Ltd., True Aussie Beef, Lamb & Goat, and Vegetable Marketing Organization.
Charlie Lee, Lee Kum Kee Sauce Group Chairman, and Madam Shang Ha-ling, Secretary-General of the World Federation of Chinese Catering Industry (WFCCI) joined the 7 influential judges to officially kick off Lee Kum Kee International Young Chef Chinese Culinary Challenges 2016, amid much fanfare.
Charlie Lee, Lee Kum Kee Sauce Group Chairman, and Madam Shang Ha-ling, Secretary-General of the World Federation of the World Federation of Chinese Catering Industry (WFCCI) joined the 7 influential judges and 21 Chinese culinary associations to offer their active encouragement to the 43 contestants of Lee Kum Kee Chinese Culinary Challenge 2016 from 13 regions around the world before the challenge began.
Charlie Lee, Lee Kum Kee Sauce Group Chairman, and Madam Shang Ha-ling, Secretary-General of the World Federation of Chinese Catering Industry (WFCCI) sounded the traditional gong to kick start Lee Kum Kee International Young Chef Chinese Culinary Challenge 2016.
Students from Lee Kum Kee’s “Hope as Chef” CSR programme in China served up a smile with their outstanding culinary finesse when it came to food crafting and cold-dish plating.


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Google prepared to rollout a new feature for its Fit app which will allow users to measure their heart and respiratory rates using a smartphone camera, a move it insisted didn’t conflict with its recent $2.1 billion acquisition of wearables company Fitbit.
Though Fitbit trackers capture similar data, a Google representative told Mobile World Live it believes there is value in offering people “an additional way to access health measurements, using their everyday devices”.
Data from Statista showed there were approximately 3.2 billion smartphone users worldwide in 2019, compared with around 722 million connected wearable devices (including watches, wristbands and hearables).
In a blog, Google explained computer vision technology enabled smartphone cameras to “track tiny physical signals at the pixel level”, including colour changes in a user’s fingers to measure heart rate and chest movements for respiratory rate.
It warned the measurements should not be used to diagnose medical conditions, instead being “useful for people using the Google Fit app to track and improve day-to-day wellness”. Users will have the option to delete the data or save it to monitor long-term trends.
The feature will initially be available to Google Fit users with a Pixel phone starting in March, with plans to expand to additional Android devices in future.
Samsung previously offered a heart rate monitor in several Galaxy smartphones starting with the S5, but dropped the sensor from the Galaxy S10e and later models.


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Telkomsel invests an extra $300 million in Gojek – TechCrunch
Telkomsel, a unit of Indonesia’s largest telecom operator Telkom, has invested an extra $300 million in ride-hailing and funds agency Gojek, the 2 corporations stated Monday, simply months after the community supplier wrote a $150 million check to the Southeast Asian agency.
The announcement comes amid Gojek working to seal a proposed merger with e-commerce platform Tokopedia. The $18 billion deal would lead to a brand new entity known as GoTo, based on media stories. Telkomsel’s funding at the moment seemingly makes it considered one of GoTo’s prime eight buyers.
Gojek — which has raised over $3.45 billion so far from high-profile buyers together with Google, Fb, PayPal, Visa, and Tencent — and Telkomsel stated their strategic partnership will “open up new synergies as the 2 firms scale up digital companies and ship new, modern options.”
The 2 corporations have maintained a deal since 2018 to subsidize the price of cellular knowledge consumed by the ride-hailing agency’s driver companions.
With greater than 170 million subscribers, Telkomsel is the biggest telecom operator in Indonesia. Along with ride-hailing, Gojek has expanded to a number of further companies, together with digital funds and meals supply in Indonesia.
Right this moment’s information follows a $150 million funding Telkomsel made in Gojek in November final yr. The 2 corporations have since built-in a number of elements of their companies to speed up digitization of micro, small and medium enterprises and bringing better value financial savings for driver companions.
A few of these embrace integration of Telkomsel MyAds with GoBiz, which permits Gojek’s MSME companions to make use of MyAds to effectively broaden their outreach to Telkomsel customers, and simple onboarding for Gojek MSME companions to change into Telkomsel reseller companions by means of the DigiPOS Aja! Software.
The 2 corporations additionally co-market gaming companies by means of Telkomsel’s Dunia Video games and GoPay in collaboration with Tencent, offering better worth for PUBGM customers, they stated.
“Telkomsel is optimistic that this newest funding will open extra alternatives for society to entry superior digital technology-based improvements developed by homegrown firms,” stated Telkomsel chief govt Setyanto Hantoro in an announcement.


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Capcom Announces Lost Planet 3, Coming 2013
Posted on Tuesday, April 10 @ 08:27:49 PST by Alex_Osborn
Capcom has just announced that Lost Planet 3, the third official installment in their popular third-person action series is currently in development and will release sometime next year. In addition to this news, the publisher also revealed that this latest entry will be crafted by the team at Spark Unlimited, the studio behind titles like Call of Duty: Finest Hour and Legendary.
Along with this announcement, Capcom unveiled the game's first official trailer, which features some gorgeous cinematic moments set against a snowy landscape (big surprise there). Unfortunately there's no actual gameplay footage to be found, but considering the fact that this is just an announcement trailer and that the game is still at least a year away from release, we'll take what we can get.
The reveal was made earlier today at Capcom's Captivate Event, so expect to hear more news very soon as additional details are bound to trickle out as the event continues.
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Jake Lindamood and his 1988 Peterbilt 379 took top honors at the 34th annual Shell Rotella SuperRigs competition in Joplin, Mo., last week. Winning Best of Show honors, he took home $10,000 from Shell Rotella and $5,000 from Mac Trailer.
“We won Best of Show and got picked for the SuperRigs calendar, which was super exciting,” Lindamood said. “Winning Best of Show was huge and we are just beyond thrilled about it.”
Best of Show first runner-up, Jay Blackbourn with his 2015 Peterbilt 389, was awarded $7,000 total. Second-runner up Charles Self and his 2004 Peterbilt 379X won $4,000.
The SuperRigs competition is a truck beauty contest for actively working trucks. Owner-operators from the U.S. and Canada competed for cash and prizes valued at around $25,000.
The contest was part of a weekend of festivities at the Joplin Convention & Trade Center in Joplin, Mo, that included a Friday night truck parade through downtown. There was also a concert and a fireworks show.
A record number of 89 trucks were judged during the weekend. The Limited Mileage and Non-Working/Show Truck categories were expanded to recognize three trucks in each division. Sam’s Club donated free one-year memberships to the Best of Show winners, the first and second place Tractor/Trailer, Tractor and Classic winners, the People’s Choice winner and Hardest Working Trucker.


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The development adds to the growing number of high profile executives, and co-founders leaving Facebook’s businesses.
In a development that adds to the growing list of executives leaving Facebook, Instagram has notified that Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, its co-founders, have resigned as the company’s chief executive officer and chief technical officer.
Facebook has provided very little information on their departure.
Systrom’s and Krieger’s departures come in thew wake of Jan Koum, co-founder of WhatsApp, leaving the company earlier this year. These departures leave the social networking giant without the developers behind two of its biggest services.
These developments come at a time when Facebook is under heightened scrutiny over safeguard measures of its user data, which has been repeatedly used for political gains. Concerns over Facebook’s business had sparked the biggest one-day wipeout in U.S. stock market history in July 2018.
According to a report from Bloomberg, the departures come midst increasingly frequent clashes with Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg over the direction of Instagram.
Zuckerberg described the two as “extraordinary product leaders” in a statement. “I’ve learned a lot working with them for the past six years and have really enjoyed it. I wish them all the best and I’m looking forward to seeing what they build next”.
Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion. With more than 1 billion active monthly users, the photo-sharing app has grown by adding features such as the ability to add short videos and messaging.
In 2016, Instagram added the feature to post slideshows that disappear in 24 hours, mimicking the “stories” feature of Snap Inc’s Snapchat.
The increasing use of advertising on Instagram has seen the average price-per-ad across Facebook’s apps drop this year after a year of upswing. Further, a new privacy law in Europe has also affected ad prices in its apps.
Video content has been a major emphasis for Facebook as it seeks to satisfy advertisers’ desire to stream more commercials online.


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Mobile World Congress 2019 is the biggest Tech event which has already started in Barcelona, Spain. There are many devices which are waiting for its launch in this event. Whereas, a number of upcoming smartphones have already been showcased at today’s pre-launch event. Huawei has announced the first-ever Foldable 5G Smartphone, Huawei Mate X today at the pre-launch event of MWC 2019. This device officially marks the beginning of the new era of Smartphones. There are several other foldable smartphones which are upcoming in this event. One such smartphone is from Energizer. Here is all you need to know about the Huawei Mate X 5G foldable smartphone.
A Huawei spokesperson officially said that the Mate X is going to come in. He added that the complete hinge Technology used in the foldable smartphone has been patented by the company. Moreover, he said that the engineers talk about three years to bring this concept of foldable smartphone live.
Huawei Mate X: All You Need To Know
Design & Display
The Huawei Mate X has two OLED screens which are foldable. The foldable screen allows converting the hardware into a screen. Moreover, the device has a full display and you will not find any notch on the screen. This is because it is powered by a common camera which will function as both rear and selfie camera. The device uses a special patented hinge to make it foldable. As mentioned earlier, Technology has been patented. However, we have already got to know that many big tech companies are working on foldable Smartphones. Enjoy 8 inches full HD display with 1148 × 2280 pixels, when the device is unfolded. Hence, you will get the entire experience of a table while using this smartphone.
Huawei Mate X is powered by HiSilicon Kirin 980 SoC which will support the much awaited 5G network. Therefore, get ready for experiencing the next generations fast network. Moreover, it has a 1.8 GHz octa-core processor. It currently runs into Android 9.0 pie and has the Huawei UI on the top.
Additionally, it has a 40 + 16 + 8 megapixel camera. A big screen would drain the battery at a very fast rate. Keeping this in mind, Huawei has used a huge 4500 MAH battery. If you want to save battery, use the device in a single screen mode. The device seems promising and will also set a completely new user experience. It will be having a number of variants. One is confirmed to have 8 GB Ram and 512 GB storage space.
The device will make a global debut and the price has been set to EUR 2249. The device will be available in the market by mid-2019. Moreover, Huawei will be launching a hard case for carrying this device. Hence, it is going to be a complete game changer in the smartphone industry.


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Over the years, customers opting for the drive-thru lane at restaurants have become well acquainted with a process that’s remained largely unchanged for decades.
“They drive around the back of the unit, by the garbage, along a brick wall that kids have been throwing things against, and up to an old window,” Lee Peterson described to an audience of restaurant design, development, and customer experience leaders.
WD Partners’ EVP, Thought Leadership & Marketing had no shortage of criticism for the current state of takeout during a joint presentation with Google at RestaurantSpaces ‘19. Despite the fact as much as 70 to 85 percent of quick-service revenue comes from drive-thru or pickup, he continued, it’s “where the majority of customers get the weakest brand experience. All in all, I think we can do better.”
And brands will have to do much better, much quicker, if emerging statistics are anything to go by. Not only has takeout increased 20 percent across all restaurant segments over the past five years, but just in fast casual, there’s been a 10 percent bump in the last 12 months alone.
In particular, Peterson explained, the rapid growth of order-ahead behavior is where companies really need to focus their attention. A WD Partners’ study involving 4,000 shoppers several years ago revealed 86 percent of customers want more innovation from brands when it comes to being able to buy online and pick up in-store.
“Out of 14 different digital retail technologies, this was their number one request by far,” Peterson said. “For a long time now, people have been saying this is what they want to do. We need to get to the point where we’re much more customer-focused than we have been before.”
The Big Potential of BOPIS
To get a good indication of just how big the trend could get in the restaurant industry, one only has to look at what’s happening in retail.
During this year’s Super Bowl, Walmart aired a mega-budget ad showcasing its buy-online-pick-up-in-store (BOPIS) capabilities, featuring no fewer than 12 iconic cars from blockbuster films. According to Google’s Retail Innovation Lead, Chris Lydle, such a move shows how important a channel it is.
|Chris Lydle speaking at RestaurantSpaces
“Walmart is going big in that area,” he said. “You’re not taking out ads in the SuperBowl with millions worth in licensing unless you know it’s an important and meaningful mechanism.”
Lydle explained the company’s investment in BOPIS propelled its grocery sales, which in turn helped it become the nation’s third-biggest online retailer, overtaking Apple in the process. Meanwhile, the rest of the retail industry has seen a 119 percent increase in customer uptake over the last 12 months.
“Even this past holiday, BOPIS was up almost 50 percent from the year before,” Peterson said. “It’s really taking off and I think by next holiday season, it’s going to be up another 50 percent.”
For the restaurant industry, the potential for this method of purchase is huge. Lydle suggested investing in BOPIS will be an important strategy to counter the rising popularity of third-party delivery.
“Right now the cost of delivery is being hidden with a lot of tricks. Paying the drivers out of tips and stuff like that,” he said. “When all of that gets out of the way and those costs get reflected back to the shopper over the course of time… If they have to pay eight, nine or $10 for delivery, is that going to shift them back to BOPIS? The research indicates that it will.”
Tearing Down the Wall Between Digital and Physical
Though if brands truly want to reap the benefits of BOPIS, they’ll need to take a far more serious approach to physical and digital convergence to make it happen.
According to Lydle, in recent years there’s been a 600 percent rise in Google searches including the words “can I buy?” and “near me.” Failing to capture the attention of those customers right from the search bar will severely limit a brand’s overall success.
“When people are out in their car or in the streets, their searches really change. They’re looking to take action,” Lydle said. “Being able to put the product the customer wants, in their hands exactly when they want it is a huge opportunity.”
For many restaurant chains, this means abandoning an insistence on proprietary apps, investing instead in creating seamless mobile experiences via their websites.
“Being able to put the product the customer wants, in their hands exactly when they want it is a huge opportunity.”
“How can you address the 99 percent of people who have a phone, instead of the four percent of people who might have your app?” Lydle asked. “Apps are awesome, but we can’t have our strategy dependent on them.”
A web-based approach, however, also requires proper integration with store operations. Allowing options for check-in with Google or Apple Pay, QR codes, or NFC capabilities are simple ways of avoiding confusion once customers arrive at the store. Being an early adopter of real-time GPS tracking will also be a game changer for back-of-house operations, helping staff prepare food around customers’ estimated arrival times. For example, Google is currently working with its navigation app, Waze, to fulfill this function and effectively “make the shopper part of the logistics chain.”
Without this kind of digital innovation, Peterson said, consumers will instead continue to opt for what’s easiest and most convenient. “We have to keep up with that customer, or somebody else definitely is going to,” he said, hinting at the array of online delivery apps impacting the industry.
Rethinking the Restaurant
Once improvements in digital presence start to flow, truly novel enhancements at the pickup end of things can begin to unfold.
While the last few years have seen chains introduce collection shelves, designated car spots, separate building entrances and drive-thru lanes for order-ahead customers, Peterson stressed these measures do a poor job of exploring what’s possible.
“I wouldn’t call that innovation. I’d call it necessity.”
Instead, he suggested a reverse engineered approach — quite literally.
“I wouldn’t call that innovation. I’d call it necessity”
“What if we took the entire restaurant and turned it around? What if we started to celebrate the idea that 80 percent of your customers just want to pull in, get that hot food and go?”
WD Partners’ early concept for a quick-service or fast casual unit optimized for BOPIS would allow order ahead customers to pull into a designated drive-thru lane at the front of the restaurant. Here, staff members would provide concierge service, meeting guests with their meal as they stop at the curb. A different lane would cater to traditional drive-thru users. Meanwhile, around the back of the store, companies can examine creative ways of engaging dine-in guests.
“For the 20 percent who like to go to the restaurant and sit down, now they don’t just have to look at cars and a super busy street. You can put in some greenery. There’s probably some kind of entertainment you might be able to show them as well,” Peterson said.
While he admitted such a radically different setup could only be applied at new developments, Peterson explained elements of the concept could be used to modify existing locations.
Most importantly, Peterson stressed that failing to respond to the customer’s demands for greater efficiency and convenience will surely render a trip to the restaurant a useless endeavor sooner than companies might think.
“We need to totally rethink how we’re doing things. Because what’s happening right now isn’t really working,” he said. “There are bags stacking up at the counter. The restaurant needs to be redesigned from storage, through to pull-up, and in back-of-house. Everything really needs to be tested and thought out again.”
The need for chains to get serious about digital and physical convergence is immediate and very real. Secure your spot at RestaurantSpaces 2020 for the latest in store development + tech. Click here to find out more.
Chain Restaurants Reimagined.
The Retreat to Reimagine Restaurant Development, Design + Technology.
Oct 6-8 | Napa, CA


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Experts reveal the hidden cost of a £1 bikini ... and other wear-it-once bargains
- Women now have four time as many clothes in their wardrobe than in 1980
- Beth Hale explores the sustainability of fast fashion and throwaway culture
- The industry produced more CO2 emissions than flights and shipping in 2015
- Missguided has recently been blasted for offering customers a £1 bikini
- Mary Creagh MP says items costing less than a coffee could cost us the earth
Walk into a coffee shop with £5 and you will be doing well to walk out with two hot drinks, let alone change.
But take that £5 into the world of fashion, and it’s an altogether different situation. You could, for instance, pick up five of the new £1 black bikinis from online retailer Missguided, one of a plethora of websites offering High Street fashion at rock-bottom prices.
The item in question — a flimsy string affair, in black — is available in sizes 4 to 24, but in a marketing ploy the retailer is only selling 1,000 of the sets each day.
‘Introducing the £1 bikini, a one-off item to celebrate ten years of empowering women to look and feel good without breaking the bank,’ declared the retailer. ‘It cost us more to produce than £1 and we’ve absorbed the costs so we can offer it at an incredible price as a gift to you, our babes.’
Sadly for Missguided, the response was less gratitude, more horror.
Beth Hale investigated the sustainability of fast fashion and celebrity-driven throwaway culture, after Missguided is slammed for selling a £1 bikini (pictured)
‘Wow, a £1 bikini. That is wrong on so many levels,’ wrote one Twitter user, while over on Instagram, the brand’s post (with accompanying picture of model wearing the bikini) was greeted by a barrage of criticism.
‘While I’m sure a £1 bikini is tempting, it encourages overconsumption which has been proven harmful to the planet. In addition, there’s no way this is ethically produced at that price. Where are your clothes being made? What are the conditions under which your workers are labouring? Please inform your customers of the true cost,’ said one commenter.
‘Absolutely no shame,’ wrote another.
Perhaps predictably at that price, the limited edition bikini keeps selling out — but there’s no shortage of cut-price alternatives for the hordes of young women looking to emulate the stars of Love Island. (Missguided partnered with the ITV show last year, while rival bargain store I Saw It First is this year’s retail sponsor.)
A huge industry caters to millennials looking for a ‘fast fashion’ fix. In the click of a button, a trend-conscious young woman can buy a garment that will arrive within days, and pay so little she can happily wear it only once.
A search of such online retailers this week — Boohoo, Missguided, Pretty Little Thing, Shein, even established names such as H&M and New Look — revealed dresses costing as little as £4, camisole tops for £2.99 and a pair of flip-flops costing 90p.
There is also a growing outcry about the environmental cost of a celebrity-driven (even Taylor Swift has worn Missguided) throwaway fashion culture.
For in all likelihood, many of those £1 bikinis and £4 dresses will end up discarded at the back of the wardrobe or in the bin after just a handful of outings.
The Government recently rejected recommendations that there should be a tax on fast fashion to help fund recycling, Pictured: Pretty Little Thing's £4 crop top
Meanwhile a new crop of digital brands, who use Instagram and Facebook as their shopfront and churn out clothes as fast as they can, are accelerating the fast fashion cycle.
Orsola de Castro is the co-founder of Fashion Revolution, a global campaign to promote more transparent and sustainable fashion. She says: ‘A £1 bikini is just the strongest visualisation of when an industry is promising something it’s not delivering. It almost feels like a slap in the face to me, it’s tempting people to do something quite bad for the environment, and doing it openly.’
The environmental costs that Orsola talks about have been well documented, notably when the House of Commons environmental audit committee published a report, Fixing Fashion: Clothing Consumption And Sustainability, in February. The committee’s recommendations based on that report included introducing a ‘fast fashion tax’ of 1p per item to help fund recycling of the mountain of cheap clothing thrown away every year. It is no small irony that on Monday — just as the £1 bikini was launching — the Government rejected those recommendations.
In 2016, British consumers purchased more than 1.1 million tonnes of clothing — up from 950,000 in 2012. Women have four times as many clothes in their wardrobes today as they did in 1980.
According to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers the global fashion industry produced more CO2 emissions than international flights and maritime shipping combined in 2015, pictured: Shein's £3.99 cami
One survey found 33 per cent of women consider clothes ‘old’ after a couple of wears, so it should come as no surprise to find around 350,000 tonnes of clothes, with an estimated value of £140 million, are said to go into landfill in the UK each year.
While clothing comes sixth on the list of household spending, it’s fourth in terms of its impact on the environment — below housing, transport and food.
Experts say it’s an environmental and ethical minefield. The total carbon footprint of clothing in use in the UK was 26.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2016 — up from 24 million tonnes in 2012 — and if the trend continues it is feared the industry could account for a quarter of the world’s carbon budget by 2050.
In 2015 the global fashion industry produced more CO2 emissions than international flights and maritime shipping combined, according to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
Cotton is a thirsty crop, draining water resources, while polyester, made from oil-based polymers, has twice its carbon footprint.
Then there is the hugely damaging impact of plastic on marine life.
The Daily Mail has led the way in highlighting the scourge of global plastic pollution with its Turn The Tide On Plastic campaign, and it’s a sad fact that billions of polluting particles are being flushed into our waterways every time we do a wash.
Boohoo have seen a sharp rise in profits and revenue this year, pictured: Boohoo's £4 dress
Then, of course, there is the human cost of workers around the globe working in terrible conditions, often paid a pittance to make the cheap clothes worn by many.
Two years ago, Channel 4’s Dispatches programme exposed a cheap clothing scandal in which factory bosses in Leicester said they were in direct competition with Bangladesh and China. An undercover reporter was paid less than half the national living wage in three factories (£3 an hour in one) to pack and press dresses for High Street stores. Nevertheless, the fast fashion trend has, to date, proved a business winner.
Earlier this year, Boohoo unveiled a sharp rise in profit and revenue for the year. The firm saw overall revenue rocket by 48 per cent to £856.9 million in the year to February 28, while pre-tax profit jumped 38 per cent to £59.9 million.
Of its bikini, Missguided, which has said it had a ‘challenging year’, stressed the garment cost more than £1 to make and it had ‘absorbed’ costs to be able to offer the item as a gift.
‘There has been no compromise with this bikini — it is sourced to the same high standards as all of our other products,’ it said.
Tim Cooper, professor of sustainable design and consumption at Nottingham Trent University, said some brands — such as ASOS — were showing a greater interest in addressing the issues.
Environmental audit committee chair Mary Creagh MP, believes eco-conscious shoppers are realising that the cost of fast fashion could end up costing us the Earth, pictured: Missguided's £12 mini dress
But of fast fashion: ‘They are throwaway garments for young people who don’t want to be on Facebook in the same item twice, clothes for going out are becoming throwaway items.’
And the future? ‘We can carry on pouring clothes into landfill, but we will pay the price in due course in one way or another,’ he says. ‘The Government should intervene in this discussion.’
Environmental audit committee chair Mary Creagh MP said she was heartened by the backlash against the budget swimwear. ‘I think this shows the era of fast fashion is coming to an end, and not before time. The backlash shows that the eco-conscious shopper is realising that bikinis that cost less than their morning coffee are going to end up costing us the Earth.’
‘We heard a lot from brands [on the committee] about the steps that they were taking to reduce their environmental and social impact, but this shows it’s business as usual in the fashion world and people are getting very rich, very quickly online from business products that are fundamentally wrong.
‘The £5 dress, the £2 T-shirt, the £1 bikini — the question is how much is the person making it getting paid, how much is the fabric being used costing and what is the real environmental cost of that item?
H&M who have reduced their CO2 emissions by 11 per cent, hope to ensure all packaging used on clothes is made of 100 per cent recycled or sustainably sourced materials by 2030, Pictured: H&M's £2.99 top
‘I think people are now saying they have had enough and that an entire generation of consumers are turning their backs on fast fashion.’
Boohoo, which owns PrettyLittleThing, said: ‘We are committed to continuing to drive improvements and take our environmental responsibilities extremely seriously.’
Boohoo has a number of sustainability initiatives in place.
Primark said: ‘We sell our products at lower prices because we make a lower profit margin, buy in bulk, and keep our costs down.
‘Everyone should have access to good quality fashionable clothing at a price they can afford. Not everyone can afford expensive clothing. Our products are made in factories where care and respect is given to workers’ rights and the environment.’
H&M has reduced the CO2 emissions from its operations by 11 per cent. It is aiming to ensure all packaging used on clothes is made of 100 per cent recycled or sustainably sourced materials by 2030.
New Look declined to comment.
Missguided has also joined the Ethical Trading Initiative.
Nitin Passi, the CEO and founder of Missguided, said in written evidence to the House of Commons’ environmental audit committee: ‘While we are a “fast fashion” retailer, we do not operate at the discount end of the market.’
And: ‘Most of our ranges — over 75 per cent — have a full-price of between £10 and £35.’
Shein and I Saw It First were approached for comment.
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If you like chocolate like I do, you’ll be very pleased to hear that eating chocolate has been linked to lower blood pressure, a reduced risk of heart disease and now, in a new study, a lower risk of stroke in women.
Even better, the more chocolate women indulged in, the lower their stroke risk, Swedish researchers found. For every 50-gram (1.8-oz.) increase in chocolate consumption per week, participants’ overall stroke risk dropped 14%. The protective effect appeared to kick in at 45 g (1.6 oz.) of chocolate a week, with women in the highest consumption group — who ate a median of 66.5 g (2.4 oz.), or between one and two chocolate bars a week — enjoying a 20% lower risk of stroke than those who ate the least.


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Among the many ways Trump has shattered White House norms, his impulsive public communications rank among the most consequential. By inspiring investors or spooking them, his...Politicsread more
A federal judge in New York City on Wednesday said Deutsche Bank and Capital One can turn over financial documents related to President Donald Trump and his businesses in...Politicsread more
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Household wealth in the U.S. rose nearly 2 percent in the third quarter and is approaching double the level it was during the financial crisis, according to Federal Reserve data released Thursday.
The balance sheet for Americans now shows $96.9 trillion in wealth, up from $95.2 trillion in the second quarter for a new record that represents an 8 percent gain from a year ago and a 72 percent surge since the 2008 crisis low.
Another quarter of stellar stock market performance contributed greatly to the wealth surge. Equity value jumped $1.1 trillion to $17.3 trillion. The S&P 500 has gained more than 18 percent this year.
Debt across the public and private sectors also continued to move higher, with the household level up 6.2 percent for the biggest gain in nearly two years and the second-largest move since the crisis.
However, the biggest move in that regard was the government, which saw a 10.3 percent rise and is now more than $20 trillion. The Fed attributed the move to the restoration of government trust funds the Treasury had been using to keep operations going during the 2017 debt limit impasse.
Business debt rose 5.4 percent and household debt was up 3.7 percent, a move that is consistent with previous quarters over the past year or so.
Correction: An earlier version misstated the household wealth total.


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We're extremely excited by the potential applications for our new PTS shuttle ASR for freezer warehouses, and for the benefits this system will bring to our North American customers who operate and manage frozen goods facilities," Retrotech
Chief Executive Officer Paul Deveikis said.
com)-- Leading industry publication, Food Logistics, has chosen Retrotech
A material handling technology called ACTIV[TM] Systems, recently introduced by Retrotech
, is said to solve the problem of blast freezing entire pallet loads.
For example, when Retrotech
Inc, Fishers, NY, a system integration company specializing in updating automated warehouses, was hired to replace a complex AS/RS conveyor system at the Prairie du Chien-WI facility of 3M, the company developed the entire system in its office on a PC using real-time simulation and emulation.
July 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Retrotech
has been included on Food Logistics 2014 Top Green Providers list.
Beginning on January 7, Deveikis will become the CEO, taking over from Peter Hartman who has led Retrotech
May 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Retrotech
has been placed on the 2014 Supply & Demand Chain Executive 100 list, which recognizes the country's "100 great supply chain projects" of the year.
2013 was a phenomenal year and 2014 has gotten off to an exciting start for us," said Retrotech
Chief Executive Officer Paul Deveikis.
com)-- The editors of Food Logistics Magazine have selected Retrotech
The new system uses Retrotech
automation and Viastore equipment, and replaces a system that has served the plant since Ronald Reagan was president of the United States.
, Inc, a specialist in the design, modernization and optimization of automated material handling equipment, has been named to the eighth-annual Food Logistics 100 list.
, Inc a specialist in the modernization and optimization of automated material handling equipment will offer two free educational seminars in conjunction with the ProMat Show on Wednesday, March 23.


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Bob McAlpine named Vice President of Sales, North America at Cobalt Digital
April 6, 2011
Gene Zimmerman, president of Cobalt Digital has announced that Bob McAlpine has been named vice president of sales, North America. McAlpine, a well-respected industry veteran with over 35 years of sales management experience, will oversee Cobalt’s highly experienced US-based sales organisation. He will report to Chris Shaw who was simultaneously promoted to senior vice president of sales and marketing on a global level.
“We are fortunate to have industry experts such as Chris and Bob at Cobalt as we enter our next phase of expansion,” Zimmerman commented. “The Company has thrived under Chris’s sales leadership, and I’m confident our international presence will benefit from his increased global role. Bob’s sterling reputation reflects our philosophy of providing the highest level of service available. Together, they will offer our customers around the world unparalleled guidance and support.”
McAlpine comes to Cobalt from Telecast Fiber Systems, Inc. where he served as vice president of sales responsible for direct sales and channel operations. Previously he was vice president global sales & business development at MultiDyne Video & Fiber Optics Systems. McAlpine also held several sales management positions during a 17 year tenure at Pesa where he rose to senior vice president of sales and marketing before the Company was acquired by QuStream and he was promoted to vice president of business development, a title he held for over two years.
“Bob is a highly regarded professional in the broadcast community known for his knowledge, talent and leadership qualities,” said Shaw. “We are confident that Bob’s skills and strength will drive Cobalt to our next level of success as we debut many new products during this breakout year.”
“I’ve followed Cobalt’s growth and progress over the years and was always impressed with the Company’s ability to respond to changing industry requirements with timely products and robust technical solutions,” said McAlpine. “I look forward to working with the management team and sales staff during this time of significant expansion and bringing customers closer to a total ‘one-vendor’ solution.”
McAlpine holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from New York’s Polytechnic University.


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Aug 2nd - A new report suggests that the Huawei Mate 10 will be announced at an event in Germany on October 16th, while being priced around $1,100.
Aug 1st - We’ve had the Moto Z2 Force for a little bit over 24 hours, and wanted to share how well the battery has been standing up so far.
Aug 1st - Samsung Electro-Mechanics, the subsidiary behind the company’s camera modules, has published some examples of a device using a dual-camera setup while detailing new features of the sensors.
Jul 31st - A new report seemingly confirms LG’s plans to announce the LG V30 at IFA 2017 on August 31st, with the device to go on sale in the US on September 28th.
Jul 28th - Verizon is offering the Moto Z2 Play for just $120 after bill credits, provided that you sign up for the Verizon Unlimited Plan.
Jul 28th - In a recent interview, Huawei’s chief of the consumer division claimed that the Huawei Mate 10 would be looking to take on the iPhone 8 directly.
Jul 27th - Huawei has permanently discounted the Huawei Mate 9 and Honor 6X, bringing the price down to $459 and $199, respectively.
Jul 26th - Now that the Moto Z2 Force has been officially announced, the device has touched down at Phandroid HQ and we are here to give you a quick look at the device and what’s in the box.
Jul 26th - Xiaomi has officially unveiled the Xiaomi Mi 5X which features a respectable spec sheet, but also includes a new dual-camera setup.
Jul 25th - Motorola is set to announce its 2017 flagship, the Moto Z2 Force, and we are on-site getting ready to provide the information you need!
Jul 24th - A new series of rumors confirm that the Galaxy Note 8 will feature a dual rear camera and a 12MP telephoto lens capable of 3X zoom.
Jul 24th - A new rumor claims that the Pixel 2 will be the first device to feature the Snapdragon 836 processor which provides 10% faster performance than its predecessor.
Jul 21st - Samsung and Best Buy are both offering up to $300 on either the Galaxy S8 or S8 Plus to celebrate the launch of the Coral Blue color variant.
Jul 21st - After initially rolling out for iOS users earlier this year, Amazon has confirmed that it is bringing Alexa Voice Services to the Amazon app for Android.
Jul 20th - A new round of rumors has been shared which confirms a fair bit of information regarding the Moto Z2 Force ahead of its official announcement next week.


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- Euler Hermes announces that 18 country risk ratings have been downgraded in the first quarter in 2020 due to the risk of a prolonged recession and a wave of bankruptcies caused by the Covid-19 outbreak
- The world leader in credit insurance also lowered 126 sector ratings across automotive, transportation, electronics, and retail in numerous countries
Already weakened by numerous factors of uncertainty (Brexit, trade tensions, electoral deadlines), the global economy now faces a new challenge: the Covid-19 pandemic. Not only do we witness a heavy human cost, it is also taking a toll on businesses around the world, disrupting supply chains and business operations, affecting household and market confidence, and severely limiting international trade.
Therefore, according to Euler Hermes, global economic growth in 2020 will register a strong slowdown, reaching only +0.5% (+2.5% in 2019). In parallel, international trade will contract this year at -4.5%. As a result, the risk of non-payments will rise significantly. Euler Hermes expects insolvencies to increase by +14% in 2020. In this weak international landscape, numerous countries and sectors will be hit hard.
Country risks: a compass for anticipating “sudden stop” risks (brutal interruption of capital flows)
Every quarter, Euler Hermes publishes its country and sector risk ratings to measure the development of non-payment risk in trade receivables. We monitor and evaluate a total of 242 countries and 18 sectors every quarter through continuous tracking of 40 short-term and long-term economic and financial indicators. The defaults in Argentina and Lebanon these last few months confirm the necessity of the country risk model in order to measure the vulnerabilities that a crisis, such as the Covid-19 outbreak, can expose.
In the first quarter of 2020, Euler Hermes lowered the grade of 18 countries: Ecuador, Thailand, Indonesia, lndia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Morocco, Kenya, Ghana, Mauritius, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Ireland, Slovakia, and Lithuania. This list includes both developed and developing economies. For instance, Brazil is paying dearly in this global economic and health crisis, despite initial hopes that dynamic reforms would accelerate growth. Similarly, Japan, which was already fragile at the start of 2020 following several shocks last autumn, now sees its weaknesses made worse with the Covid-19 pandemic. India is also on the list: The country was already facing numerous structural and cyclical challenges, and these are now being amplified by the current situation.
Ludovic Subran, Chief Economist of Euler Hermes and Allianz warns:
"The visible and potential consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic are integrated into our country risk analysis. We are still paying attention to the situation of other developed countries, notably France, Germany, Spain, and the United States. These countries have the necessary means to protect their businesses but their situation could rapidly become more complicated should their measures of isolation and the freezing of their economies last longer. "
A record number of changes to sector ratings since the methodology’s launch
Euler Hermes has downgraded 126 sector risk ratings across the world. This is a new historic level, never seen before: The previous record was in Q1 2016, which saw a total of 70 sectors risk ratings downgraded. It is important to highlight that in 60% of cases, these changes have led to the sector rating going from “moderate risk” to “high risk”. These two signs prove that the global economy and businesses are going through an unprecedented, extremely complex and uncertain time.
The automotive sector is the most severely impacted. Euler Hermes has downgraded it in 26 countries. It is followed by the transportation sector (downgraded in 21 countries), electronics (14), and retail (12). Pharmaceuticals and software and information technology are the two most resilient sectors. From a regional perspective, Western Europe suffers the highest number of sector rating downgrades with 52 cases. This region is followed by Asia Pacific (29) and Central and Eastern Europe (24).
Get full access to the Euler Hermes country and sector risk reports on our website.


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Over the past few years, hackers have become bolder and cyberattacks are on the rise. According to the HISCOX Small Business Cyber Risk Report, 47% of small businesses suffered a cyberattack within the past year. Of those, nearly half experienced up to four more attacks.
Along with fraud, cyberattacks are ranked among the highest concerns of small business owners for keeping their businesses alive and healthy.
How bad is it out there and what can you do about it?
Let’s look at the numbers.
According to a recent Internet Security Threat Report from Symantec, nearly half of all small businesses will be the target of a cyberattack. Less than 20 percent of those businesses believe they currently have the ability to mitigate those attacks. While large businesses are also susceptible to attack, they are likely better positioned and prepared to effectively defend themselves.
Of those attacks that target SMBs, customer records are the most targeted type of information followed closely by intellectual property, credit card numbers, and other financial information.
The news gets worse.
For businesses that fall prey to a successful cyberattack, the costs can be overwhelming. In a report by the Ponemon Institute, on average, SMBs lost approximately $2 million due to damage or theft of sensitive IT data. The disruption to business operations can cost even more. In the case of healthcare or finance industries, which have heavy regulatory compliance issues, violation fines can often triple that expense.
Responding to a cyberattack after the fact is too little, too late. The damage has been done to your business assets and your reputation.
It’s not all doom and gloom. There are ways you can protect your data from bad actors and save yourself the headache of an embarrassing and damaging cybersecurity breach.
The very first level of security protection involves solid, safe, and sensible authentication protocols. This not only means having a strong password creation process but also considering the use of two-step authentication.
In addition, you can establish and enforce policies to change passwords on a regular basis and educate employees about not sharing password information with anyone.
Encryption goes a long way in keeping your data safe. Even if a bad actor manages to get access to your networks, when you have the proper encryption tools and protocol in place, accessing that data will be worthless to them. Encryption can be placed on either or both ends of an information exchange – from mobile devices and desktop workstations to network servers or cloud applications and storage.
It is often said that your greatest assets are your employees. This is no less true when it comes to protecting your company’s data. Make sure your employees not only understand the importance of correct password and encryption use but also safe email and internet use. They should know when to be wary of phishing emails, suspicious attachments, and links that are not what they pretend to be.
Simple precautions can save you and your business a lot of trouble.
Depending on your business needs and size of your network, you may wish to consult with a managed service provider who can help determine your security needs, provide monitoring, and offer support either online or remotely. They can also help you formulate a disaster recovery plan should your data be compromised in any way.
Knowing the risks and knowing how to minimize those risks is your best bet in helping your business survive the rising tide of cybercrime constantly looking to compromise your data and hurt your business.
The threats are real and the consequences can be devastating. By taking precautionary steps, shoring up your network security, and educating your employees, you can keep your business running smoothly and safely and focus on growth rather than disaster.
Don’t miss out on the latest news from Entech. Submit your e-mail to subscribe to our monthly e-mail list.


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Tesla’s self-drive mode labelled “The Worst”
Stay tuned with 24 News HD Android App
Multi-billionaire and CEO Tesla, Elon Musk is considered the kingpin of tech in heavy machinery and has made billions of Dollars delivering to the tech industry. Tesla is a fully electric commercial car and also has an auto-pilot mode which only requires someone to be in the driver’s seat and all the sensors and the cameras on the car will do the work. Musk claims that the auto-pilot software is awesome, whereas, a safety engineer believes the complete contrast.
A campaign was carried out by The Dawn Project for testing the self-drive mode on the Tesla and they found out that the Tesla runs over child Mannequins, every time it is put in its way.
The safety engineer in-charge of this project claims that Tesla’s auto-pilot software is the “Worst” commercial software despite of this, there are 100’s of 1000’s of Tesla’s on the roads and highways. He wants the congress to shut it down.


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DES MOINES, Iowa -- A Quad Cities-based telemarketer accused in a nationwide fraud scheme will pay more than $2.5 million.
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller says the judgement against Alphonso "Al" Barnum of Davenport, a number of his associates, and 10 companies also permanently bans them for doing business in the state.
The Attorney General's Office sued Barnum and the others in 2018, saying they used deception, confusion and high-pressure tactics to sell advertisements for direct-mail pieces and promotional items, and in many cases the operation didn't deliver any products.
Polk County District Judge Heather Lauber says Barnum's agents called businesses and falsely told consumers that they had previously agreed to purchase advertising and that their accounts would be sent to a collection agency unless the consumers paid that day. The consumers would give the defendants credit card or bank account numbers as a result.
The AG's office says the judge also found that the defendants then made unauthorized charges against the victims’ accounts, including creating checks that were run through victims' bank accounts,


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SINGAPORE (April 22): Long queues were seen at bubble tea shops in Singapore after the country’s Ministry of Trade and Industry announced that all standalone food and beverage outlet are also in the temporary shutdown list until May 4, starting from today, reported China Press.
Photos and videos on social media showed that fans of bubble tea lined up in late last night at the shops to get the last fix of their favourite beverage.
The announcement by the Singapore government was part of a further tightening on businesses during the city state’s Covid-19 Circuit Breaker, which has been extended to June 1.
One of the netizens described the temporary shutdown as a “tragedy” after McDonald’s was asked to close. In his posting, he said, “The biggest consolation: Better-shaped Singaporeans after the CCB period.”
Another netizen offered a creative idea for bubble tea fans, paint the black dots on a plastic cup and fill it with milk tea every time when one has a having craving for bubble milk tea.
Stay calm. Stay at home. Keep updated on the latest news at www.EdgeProp.my #stayathome #flattenthecurve
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Prices continue to rise for food. Although they are called an outcry for democracy now, the increasing price of foods was one of the sparks in the Tunisia uprising.
The causes are varied. Certainly poor weather –even apart from weather blamed on global warming- has always caused fluctuations in food pricing. But we are getting to the point were both demand, because of increased world population, and supply, because of high oil prices, is acting in concert.
Alan Bierga and Leslie Patton, Bloomburg, 25 May 2011, ht NC
Groceries and restaurant meals rose 2.4 percent in the four months through April, the most to start a year since 1990, government data show. During the period, rice, wheat and milk futures touched the highest levels since 2008, and retail beef reached a record. Yesterday, J.M. Smucker Co. announced an 11 percent price increase for Folgers coffee, the best-selling U.S. brand, after the cost of beans almost doubled in a year.
“It’s going to be a tough year” for U.S. shoppers, said Lapp, who is president of Advanced Economic Solutions, an agriculture consultant in Omaha, Nebraska. “You’re looking at an economy where a lot of consumers are under some serious pressure from food and fuel costs.”
Meat Costs Rise
In the first four months of 2011, meat and fish prices rose 4.3 percent, according to the bureau. Consumers paid about $2.722 for a pound of ground beef, a 14 percent increase, while a fresh whole chicken cost $1.261 a pound, slightly lower than $1.28 at the start of the year.
The price of a pound of field-grown tomatoes last month reached $2.27, the highest since 2004 and up 43 percent from the beginning of the year, the bureau said. Fresh fruit and vegetables, which are more volatile because of weather, fell 1.3 percent in April. They have already risen 3.4 percent this year, according to government data.
Paul Ziobro, Wall Street Journal, 26 May 2011.
Starbucks Corp. is raising prices on bagged coffee sold at its U.S. cafes by an average of 17% in response to escalating coffee costs...
Coffee makers have been dramatically raising prices in response to increases in green coffee costs. Tuesday, J. M. Smucker Co. raised prices on Folgers, Dunkin' Donuts and Millstone coffee by an average of 11%.
Future prices of Arabica coffee, the bean variety Starbucks says it uses exclusively, have doubled over the past year on Intercontinental Exchange, boosted by consecutive poor harvests from major grower nations, a slumping dollar and speculative buying.
Karen Talley, Wall Street Journal, 26 May 2011
"We saw quite a bit of inflationary pricing," during the third quarter, and the pressure is expected to continue in the current period, Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said during a conference call with analysts.
"Everything from dry dog food up 3.5%, to all your detergents of 10% plus, to various waters 10% or so, to all your plastic, your plates and your plastic cups and everything, 8% to 9%," Mr. Galanti said. "We're fighting to keep them lower, keep them delayed."
GRFA [Global Renewable Food Alliance] Press Release
TORONTO, CANADA--(Marketwire - May 24, 2011) - As the G20 Agriculture Ministers meet for the first time today in Paris to discuss food security, the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) is urging those ministers to focus on the real driver behind rising food costs – the rising price of crude oil.High oil prices impact global food prices in many ways. Oil price spikes can increase the cost of fertilizer, inflate the cost of packaging and raise the cost of transportation. The GRFA first highlighted the direct link between food and oil prices in March and are seeing this dangerous relationship continue today.The following graph clearly outlines the strong correlation between the price of crude oil and the UN FAO's Food Price Index.