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GoDaddy launches a program that will provide free business mentoring and online products to Australia’s Olympic athletes during their hotel quarantine.
GoDaddy is named as the official website builder partner of the Australian Olympic Team for the Tokyo 2020 Games. In this role, GoDaddy will support athletes by building their business websites.
Mums are beloved for everything, but they’re also well known for their amazing life hack advice, which was around long before the term “life hack” existed. So, what of that advice has helped some of Australia’s top IT leaders get to where they are today?
GoDaddy’s newly-launched Website Design Services allows small businesses to have a “unique, professional website” that can establish a strong online presence.
Domain registrar and web hosting company GoDaddy has appointed Tamara Oppen to the role of Australian managing director.
Domain registrar GoDaddy has announced a plugin bundle expansion for its managed WordPress ecommerce customers, which it says features free access to a library of over 75 premium WooCommerce extensions.
American cyber security company FireEye says it has identified a killswitch which will stop malware that was planted in the Orion network monitoring software, made by the Texas firm SolarWinds, from operating under certain conditions.
Promising its new capabilities "help everyday entrepreneurs create impactful visuals and build brands that stand out online", GoDaddy has "deeply integrated" its "Over by GoDaddy" design app into its "Websites + Marketing" offering.
A fake website, that is more or less an exact copy of one seeking humanitarian aid for Venezuela, has surfaced, with those who set it up having manipulated DNS records so that both resolved to the same IP - which was owned by the fake domain owner - when viewed from within the country.
A salesperson from Amazon Web Service created a publicly accessible S3 bucket containing information about high-level configuration details for systems belonging to GoDaddy, the world's biggest Web host by market share in 2018.
GoDaddy has launched a new website builder for the 97% of Australian small business that employ less than five people – 71% of which don’t have a website.
Small business is in the sights of Vodafone as it unveils a new range of flexible plans and an expanded portfolio of Ready Business Apps, featuring a selection of the what the telco calls the “world’s best” mobile business tools.
In partnership with Bitnami, GoDaddy says its new cloud platform is ‘designed to help web developers serve small businesses worldwide’.
Seeking to help Australian small businesses succeed online, which also means growing GoDaddy’s Australian market share, Tara Commerford has been appointed as A/NZ GoDaddy Country Manager.
Move over, GoDaddy. Google has quietly launched a beta, invite-only domain registration service, aimed squarely at businesses.
If you've ever thought of registering a .net.au domain, May 2014 might be the time to act.
Dud Swans? Wasn’t Swan one of your colleagues once?
If the Government and State Governments were fair dinkum they would be using existing legislation to protect children on line.In[…]
https://uploads.disquscdn.c... This is rubbish, I respect ITNEWS and I would love to see opinion pieces labeled as opinions.... this is[…]
My head is spinning. Did the Feds just gift Telstra a couple bill to buy a business?
Great news & well done Joe & Gary!Defence businesses, not just candidates can also use DISP members to help with[…]


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Carsfast taps former Hertz regional manager as GM
Back in October, tech startup Carsfast formed its advisory board that includes Women in Auto Finance honoree Marguerite Watanabe, who is the president of Connections Insights, as well as Hudson Cook partner Michael Benoit.
On Monday, the dealership driven by artificial intelligence appointed a new general manager who most recently worked at Hertz.
Taking on this role is Kenny McDonald who possesses more than 25 years of automotive retail, wholesale and finance experience. McDonald was most recently a regional general manager with Hertz Car Sales, responsible for leading one of the largest volume regions in the country.
Prior to that position, Carsfast highlighted that the Chicago native held a number of pivotal roles in automotive sales, strategy and development, bringing further specialized expertise to the Carsfast general manager role.
“We are thrilled to welcome Kenny to the Carsfast team,” chief executive officer and co-founder Shaun Sumaru said in a news release. “Kenny is incredibly well regarded and respected in the industry and has a reputation being a personable and well-rounded leader who has a hands-on approach to business.
“We have some exciting months ahead of us. We’re confident Kenny will bring the right mix of skills and knowledge to bolster the Carsfast team onto the next realm,” Sumaru continued.
McDonald shared his perspective about this latest professional endeavor.
“This is the time to really make waves and disrupt the fast-moving automotive landscape,” he said.
“I am looking forward to working closely with our dedicated operations and development teams to help refine and explore new ideas surrounding the way consumers purchase cars, and ultimately increasing our footprint across the country,” McDonald went on to say.

domain: news


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ATLANTA — A wave of fare sales has spread across the airline industry as the weak economy continues to put pressure on carriers to fill seats even after they drastically reduced capacity and some expressed willingness to cut more.
Many experts and even executives at some airlines had expected that after deep capacity cuts went into effect starting in September, the number of fare sales going forward would be fewer and farther between. But fuel prices have come down significantly, and the weak economy has eroded demand for air travel.
Even so, on average base airfares outside of the travel periods for the recently launched sale fares are higher today than in the last few years, said Rick Seaney, head of airfare- research site FareCompare .com. He noted there were 30 attempted airfare hikes between summer 2007 and summer 2008, two-thirds of which were successful.
It’s not unusual for airlines to announce fare sales in January — there were 17 or 18 announced in January 2008 — but what’s different for several carriers this year is that the discounts are for travel extending as late as April, May or June, Seaney said.
The sales last January were typically for travel through March, he said.
Seaney said he believes uncertainty in the economy is the reason for the change.
A handful of major carriers and discount carriers have launched fare sales since Dec. 31. Others are expected to follow with sales of their own, or to at least match discounts offered by rivals on competitive routes, Seaney said.
United’s fare sale — for travel within the U.S. from Jan. 14 to March 4 and to several foreign destinations as late as April 30 — was launched Dec. 31. It has done a New Year’s fare sale for several years now, spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said.


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The United States has been battling a mental health crisis for a long time. Rates of depression and anxiety were already high, but the COVID-19 pandemic only made matters worse. Isolation, loneliness, the persistent negativity of the news cycle, and a host of other factors caused mental health issues to skyrocket over the last two years.
Fisher Wallace Laboratories manufactures an FDA-cleared wearable medical device, the Fisher Wallace Stimulator, that treats symptoms of anxiety and depression. After obtaining a prescription, patients put on the neurostimulator headband and receive brain stimulation for 20 minutes at a time while watching TV or doing other activities. Many patients reported improvement in just two weeks. We reached out to co-founder, CEO, and Director Kelly Roman to learn why he has personally experienced the technology’s efficacy and what the company is looking for in an exit opportunity.
Note: This interview was conducted over phone and email. It has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
In your own words, how would you describe fisher wallace laboratories?
Fisher Wallace Labs developed a prescription wearable that received FDA clearance to treat depression, anxiety, and insomnia. Our technology electrically stimulates the brain for 20 minutes to produce neurochemicals and modulate brainwave activity and the sympathetic nervous system. The brain itself is an electrical system, so we took an electrical, non-drug approach that works without causing serious side effects. We’ve sold 85,000 version one devices through 14,000 prescribers, and we are in the midst of building version two and applying for FDA approval to treat major depressive disorder. We think version two, which will come out next year, has the potential to significantly disrupt the mental health treatment market.
What inspired you to take the leap and start this company?
My co-founder acquired the technology from the electrical engineers who created it. When I tried the device, it successfully treated my own depression and anxiety symptoms with zero side effects, so I was hooked from that moment onwards. I knew we had a long journey in front of us to validate the technology in clinical trials and design and build a version that would appeal to consumers, but if millions of people could experience the same results I did, I also knew we could build a tremendous business and make a positive societal impact.
Who is on your team and how did you come together?
My co-founder found me through the Harvard Alumni network. We both went to Harvard, but I went two decades after he did. The next thing we did was build a rock-solid medical advisory board and hire a few key consultants to help us navigate the FDA. About a year ago, I brought on Peter Rojas as an advisor. He is head of product at Meta’s new product experimentation unit and had been a partner at Betaworks Ventures. I then hired Eric Fields and Alloy Product Development to help us build version two. Between them, they helped build the Beats headphones, the Microsoft HoloLens, and the first Nest thermostat. A few months ago, after raising several million through equity crowdfunding, we tried venture capital for the first time, and that’s when Simon Webster joined our board. He has tremendous mergers and acquisitions experience. Finally, Jennefer Wang joined us as chief marketing officer this past March, having led strategy at Likeable Media, where she oversaw campaigns for major healthcare and consumer brands.
What is the current fda-approval progress and timeline?
Our technology is currently cleared by the FDA, and we are allowed to maintain that marketing clearance until the FDA renders decisions on our new research, which is targeting full FDA approval to treat depression and new FDA clearance to treat anxiety and/or insomnia. The deadline for us to submit clinical data for FDA approval is December 11, 2022, and we launched a new depression study that will yield results by the end of the summer. We completed the anxiety and insomnia trials last year and submitted them to the FDA and are awaiting their feedback. They may accept the data, or they may ask for more data and give us additional time to get it done. We will not need to redo any studies with our version two device because it delivers the same treatment as version one, just with a much improved industrial design (a fully head-based wearable with no visible wires).
How is fisher wallace laboratories transforming the mental health industry?
We’re better, faster, and cheaper. The majority of our customers either find medication to be inadequate, have completely failed with meds, or are looking to avoid medication. Aside from behavioral therapy, which is expensive and requires a lot of homework, there are very few regulated options to treat depression, anxiety, or insomnia. Ours is affordable without insurance, prescribed via telemedicine, FedExed to the home, and does not cause serious side effects. We even have a 30-day, 100% refund policy – a refund policy for drug therapy and behavioral therapy is unheard of!
What does the competitive landscape look like, and how do you differentiate?
Drug therapy and behavioral therapy are the 800-pound gorillas in our space, and their disadvantages, collectively, are cost, side effects, and lack of patient compliance.
Who is in your customer pipeline?
We have a healthy, scalable, direct-to-patient e-commerce business already, with more than $4 million in sales last year, but this year we’ve started developing our business-to-business channel by partnering with the Seattle Police Department (SPD). This past January, SPD launched a pilot study that provides up to 200 officers with a device for eight weeks, and they are tracking the results as you would in a traditional clinical trial. If the study goes well, SPD will likely buy devices for the rest of the force, and we will start scaling to other police departments. That success will also allow us to scale our solution to corporate and institutional clients in many different sectors over time. If we obtain FDA approval for depression or new clearance for anxiety or insomnia, that will also allow us to work with many insurance providers — whether private, Medicaid, or employer programs.
How do you intend to use the money you raise this round to scale the business?
The money we are currently raising will support engineering completion and production of version two as well as supplement our research initiatives, all of which are already underway.
What do you want potential investors to know about you and/or your company?
Fisher Wallace is a lot more than an idea. We are an operating company that has demonstrated traction and the ability to navigate the complexities of FDA regulation, medical device product development, and clinical research. We are well down the path to becoming a trusted brand in the prescription wearable and mental health space, and I think this is a great time to join us on this incredible journey.
As you think about the business 5-10 years down the road, what do you see exit opportunities looking like? have you set any future goals for the company?
We want to be acquired by a much larger company in the next two years that already manufactures and markets hardware at enormous scale and that can immediately bring supply chain advantages and has a vast customer base. We want one of the big tech companies that wants to become the Pfizer of the prescription hardware category. We are working hard to provide a partner like that with a scalable platform that already has the regulatory approval, clinical research, and industrial design assets in place — things that take years to develop, regardless of the size of the enterprise.
We look forward to seeing where Kelly and his team take the company. Fisher Wallace Laboratories is currently raising on StartEngine.


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EMI blames Coldplay for profits slump
MUSIC company EMI blamed delays in the launch of key albums by Coldplay and Gorillaz for a fall in sales and profits. The albums were due to be released during the fourth quarter of the year but Coldplay's X&Y will not come out until next month, while Damon Albarn's Gorillaz record hit the shops only on Monday.
Coldplay's lead singer Chris Martin last week blasted the company and its shareholders for putting pressure on the band to rush out the album. The controversial singer said: 'Shareholders are the great evil of this modern world.'
EMI said full-year profits to 31 March fell 13% to £141.9m, although these still beat analysts' expectations of £139m.
Chairman Eric Nicoli said: 'EMI Music's sales fell short of our original expectations due, in part, to lower than anticipated re-orders in the fourth quarter and the rescheduling of two major album releases.'
He hit back at suggestions that artists should compromise the quality of an album to meet a corporate deadline. 'We are absolutely supportive of our artists' creative endeavours,' he said.
The delay of Coldplay's album forced EMI to issue a profits warning in February. The band has sold 20m records worldwide and EMI expects the latest release to become a blockbuster.
EMI Music sales declined by 7.4% and market share fell to 12.9% from 13.5% in the previous year. Sales were supported by Robbie Williams' Greatest Hits, which shifted 6m copies, and the emergence of new acts such as Joss Stone.
The company, which also boasts Kylie Minogue, Radiohead and Norah Jones on its books, said digital sales, which the industry is counting on to drive growth after years of online piracy, surged to £49.7m from £15.1m a year earlier.
EMI said it was 'positive' on the outlook for the music industry and expects to deliver an improved performance. It said restructuring plans had saved £10m more than expected, with £35m worth of cost savings last year. The shares opened 1p up at 242p.
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Neuranics a recent spin out from the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh develops pioneering magnetic sensor technology for applications in the health, fitness, and metaverse sectors.
Glasgow, SCOTLAND, 31st January 2024 – Neuranics, a magnetic sensor specialist, is set to showcase their groundbreaking magnetic sensor development kit at the Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona from February 26 to 29.
The kit records heart magnetic activity, wirelessly transferring data over Bluetooth for real-time 24/7 analysis on smartphones, tablets, or laptops.
Neuranics’ patented technology, utilising tunnelling magnetic resistance, improves health and fitness tracking and human/machine interfaces. The magnetocardiography (MCG) sensors offer superior heart monitoring, replacing existing ECG sensors in sports and medical devices. The development kit, available in early 2024.
Neuranics invites attendees to booth 8.0D17.5 at the 4YFN Green Tech Zone to experience a live demonstration.


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The features of Apple’s new MacBook Pro are powerful, know all the special things here. Premium technology company Apple has recently introduced two of its laptops in a new form.
The new MacBook Pro laptops have been introduced in 14 and 16-inch models. Both the Apple models have been brought with the new processor M2 Pro and M2 Max.
Be aware that in the year 2021, the company introduced MacBook Pro. In such a situation, you would also like to know with what changes the new MacBook Pro has been introduced.
Let us know in this article what new changes the company has introduced for both its laptop models this time.
Design and Color.
First of all, talking about the design, Apple has not made any significant changes in the design of the new MacBook Pro laptops.
The new MacBook Pro has been launched with the same design as the company’s old MacBook Pro.
While talking about the color, this time there is a chance to buy the new MacBook Pro in two colors. You can buy the new MacBook Pro in silver and space gray colors.
Performance and Battery.
Apple has launched both its models this time with new processors M2 Pro and M2 Max.
Regarding the M2 Max processor, the company claims that it improves the new model in many ways. Not only the functionality of the model but the battery life has also been improved.
Talking about storage in the new MacBook Pro, the models have been introduced with 16 GB RAM and 512 GB internal storage.
The special thing is that the RAM can be increased to 96 GB while the storage can be increased to 8 TB.
Multiple connectivity options.
A lot of connectivity options have been added to the new MacBook Pro. Features like an SDXC card slot, HDMI port, 3.5mm headphone jack, and MagSafe 3 port for charging have been provided in the model.
Airtel 5G Plus service started in these three cities of Rajasthan, and now 5G speed in Pink City too.
Bharti Airtel, counted among India’s leading telecom companies, is continuously expanding its 5G network. Airtel has so far launched its 5G service in more than 30 cities.
Although Telecom’s biggest rival Jio has also introduced its 5G service in more than 100 cities so far. At present, today we are talking about Airtel, which has started its 5G service in three cities in Rajasthan.


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Germany suffered its first recession since the start of pandemic, extinguishing hopes that Europe’s top economy could escape such a fate after the war in Ukraine sent energy prices soaring.
(Bloomberg) — Germany suffered its first recession since the start of pandemic, extinguishing hopes that Europe’s top economy could escape such a fate after the war in Ukraine sent energy prices soaring.
First-quarter output shrank 0.3% from the previous three months following a 0.5% drop between October and December, the statistics office said Thursday. Its initial estimate, last month, was for stagnation.
“The reluctance of households to buy was apparent in a variety of areas,” the office said in a statement. “Households spent less on food and beverages, clothing and footwear, and on furnishings.” They also purchased fewer electric cars as incentives were reduced.
Elsewhere, there was a plunge in government expenditure, while investment was up —aided by construction in unseasonably warm weather.
The result is a setback for Germany, which despite escaping the bleakest scenarios feared in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion has nevertheless succumbed to a recession that Chancellor Olaf Scholz appeared to rule out in January.
“We must turn the corner in economic policy and put an end to the neglect of our competitiveness,” Finance Minister Christian Lindner said in Berlin, adding that this included the “acceleration of planning and approval procedures and strengthening the idea of technological freedom in order to leverage our creative potential.”
Markets shrugged off Thursday’s numbers — despite their implications for the wider performance of the 20-nation euro zone.
What Bloomberg Economics Says…
“The scale of the downward revision to German GDP data means euro-area growth is likely to be revised lower in the first quarter. Other things equal, it would point to the region’s economy having stagnated at the start of 2023, but other downside revisions could well tip the rounding and place the region in a technical recession.”
—Maeva Cousin and Niraj Shah
In Germany, companies like Zalando SE reflect the flagging consumer sentiment. The fashion retailer saw inventory levels driven higher in the first quarter by falling demand. Domestic car orders, meanwhile, were down by about a third between January and April, according to the VDA auto industry association.
The key manufacturing sector is also proving to be a problem: A deepening downturn is casting doubt on the rebound many anticipate for the coming quarters.
Indeed, industrial weakness is taking a toll on the business outlook. A gauge of expectations by the Ifo institute fell for the first month in eight in May, while a survey by lobby group DIHK pointed to zero GDP growth for 2023.
A Bundesbank report this week offered some optimism — suggesting the economy may grow “slightly” this quarter as large order backlogs, an easing of supply bottlenecks and lower energy costs support manufacturers.
But goods demand is cratering as consumers faced with elevated inflation prefer to splurge on leisure and travel. That’s making economic growth increasingly uneven — a trend some analysts say isn’t sustainable.
“The optimism at the start of the year seems to have given way to more of a sense of reality,” ING economist Carsten Brzeski said in a report to clients. “A drop in purchasing power, thinned-out industrial order books as well as the impact of the most aggressive monetary policy tightening in decades, and the expected slowdown of the US economy all argue in favor of weak economic activity.”
For economists at Commerzbank, a second-half recession now looks likelier than the rebound most of their colleagues continue to forecast.
Inflation isn’t helping. It still exceeds 7% and isn’t expected to retreat quickly as rising wages feed strong underlying pressures, according to the Bundesbank.
The European Central Bank’s efforts to bring price gains back to its 2% target risk further damping demand. Bank loans are already getting pricier and interest-rate hikes aren’t yet complete, risking a stronger drag on growth.
–With assistance from Joel Rinneby, Kristian Siedenburg, Christoph Rauwald, Monica Raymunt, Constantine Courcoulas and Kamil Kowalcze.
(Updates with Lindner in sixth paragraph.)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.


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It’s been 24 years since the last Bronco came off the line at Ford, so the iconic brand knew it needed to make a bold statement for the 2020 rerelease of its off-road workhorse. As their creative agency, Wieden+Kennedy’s internal team collaborated with Musicbed composer Ryan Taubert and award-winning Director Salomon Ligthelm from Prettybird to create a sound as epic as the campaign. The partnership resulted in a stark, yet compelling score that celebrated the product and the message first.
As one of the foremost agencies in the world, Wieden+Kennedy has launched initiatives for some of the most iconic brands of all time, ranging from Nike and Stella Artois to Sprite and IKEA. If you’ve seen commercials, you’ve seen Wieden+Kennedy’s incredible work.
Ford has been planning the rerelease of the Bronco for years, and their campaign was a result of a collaboration between dozens of creatives. But, when W+K Copywriter Adam Crouch and his team were brought on in 2018, they knew they needed to create a statement, something that was more of a brand launch than a product release:
“Pretty much everyone knows the original Broncos. There’s the image people have created in their mind, and they had a vague idea of its pop-culture importance,” Adam said. “We decided we wanted to create something where Ford could define what people think about the Bronco now. It was more of a brand reveal, which came to life through a series of manifesto pieces that told you in no uncertain terms, ‘This is what the Bronco is.’”
The creative team presented ideas across the spectrum, including live installations, but they decided to move in a cinematic direction for the piece, a series of films that celebrated the car’s heritage but pushed it in a new direction.
“The best way to go about it was to have this really big, emotive piece that gives everybody a sense of what we’re really trying to say, instead of trying to hide it in something like a takeover or installation,” Producer Ava Rant said.
“Salomon’s footage, the things we shot, and the way they came together in the edit, it kind of just made sense. And, as with most other Ford projects that I’ve worked on, we were constantly focused on the music.” W+K’s Art Director Alex McClelland shared.
Of course, if you’re going for big and cinematic, you’re going to need a big, cinematic sound, which was paramount to the success of the project.
Sometimes the opportunities on a creative project can be a challenge, and that’s exactly what W+K’s creative team was facing. They had a monumental task on their hands, to relaunch and redefine an iconic vehicle, with a sound to match and celebrate it.
“We wanted this thing to tell you how to feel about Ford Bronco. We tried a lot of things. We tried hip-hop tracks over it. We tried classic rock over it. We tried weird songs like ‘Crazy Horses’ by the Osmonds, just to see what it would be like,” Adam said. “There was always this thing that wasn’t quite working. We came to the realization that if we’re telling you a new thing to think about the Bronco, we should be giving you a soundtrack that’s new.”
So, they decided to bring on Musicbed Composer Ryan Taubert to take on the project. They needed a cinematic sound that could define the project without overshadowing the voiceover or taking any attention away from the release. ”The score intrigued us because scores exist to support what you’re seeing. That’s their whole thing. You can use a score to create any emotion.” Adam said. It needed to be big, but not too big—epic, but not overshadowing.
“We thought, ‘It would be awesome if we could bring that feeling to ours if we could get music that was more progressive, a little bit more sparse, and complimented the picture,’ Alex said. “We wanted to let the sound of the vehicle shine and do its thing. The music really helped drive the energy.”
Ultimately, creative work, particularly creative work for agencies, is going to have countless rounds of revisions. Dozens, maybe hundreds, of people need to sign off on something this big and it can create plenty of back and forth. Luckily, for W+K’s creative team, they had a direct line to Ryan Taubert in his studio.
“Working with Ryan made a huge difference,” Ava said. “A lot of the time when we work on an original composition, we’re working with the producer and the creative director and we don’t really have a ton of contact directly with the composer. With Ryan that was different. There was no one on the call except for him. A lot of the time we would say ‘Here’s what the client said.’ And he’d work with it.”
For an agency as prominent as W+K, client satisfaction isn’t just a plus, it’s mandatory, and by addressing their feedback quickly and efficiently, they were able to come away with a sound that nailed the feeling and vibe the team was going for.
“There was honing, honing, and then there was just like a certain point where it was like, “Yeah, that’s got to be it,” Adam said. “We really liked the music. It wasn’t competing with the VO, and it had this structure that let the words really shine. It almost had this like spoken word feel to it that had this really raw energy.”
Wieden+Kennedy launched its campaign on July 24 with a full suite of deliverables to an overwhelmingly positive reaction, including TV, digital, social media, print, and many more. The release film featuring Ryan Taubert’s work has been streamed millions of times in just a few months.
Through Custom Music, you can craft an identity for your next film or ad by collaborating with any of the dozens of Musicbed composers, producers, and artists.
Read another case study in how Midnight Riot and Cartoon Network reimagined an iconic theme together.


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GREATER Manchester-born James Hitchen was trained to be a BBQ pit boss in Nashville, Tennessee. Now managing director of East Coast Concepts, which runs popular Manchester city centre restaurant and bar, Neighbourhood, and Victor’s in Hale, he reveals how the group is on course to hit the £11m turnover mark this year with the launch of Neighbourhood in Liverpool in autumn.
He made “a few thousand pounds” selling cigarettes to fellow pupils at Ampleforth Catholic Boarding School, and later learnt how to cook meat in an authentic BBQ kitchen in the American Deep South.
Now the owner and founder of Neighbourhood and Hale-based Victor’s, he says the trajectory of the group both venues sit within, is very much pointing upwards, with the popular Spinningfields restaurant and bar about to undergo a major £850,000 refurbishment programme in May ahead of a re-launch on June 2.
“Neighbourhood was central to the boom in restaurants and bars in Spinningfields back in 2013, as a brand we always like to evolve and stay ahead of the pack,” says James.
“The refurbishment will see us improve the customer journey, we are creating a scheme that will be more comfortable for our dining guests, offering an all day, refined, casual dining service style we open for Brunch at 10am, right through to 2am. We host large and small business meetings, events and lunches and Thursday late afternoons and early evenings have become a thriving business hub.”
With annual net sales at Neighbourhood reaching £4.5m, East Coast Concepts, the parent of Neighbourhood and Victor’s, is an independent business which will employ more than 200 by the time Liverpool is on the map.
The team has just appointed former Manchester House general manager, Ciaran Hogg, as operations director who will boost the management team led by James and supported by his brother, Guy and brand director Ashley Williams.
James, 33, who lives in Manchester city centre, said: “I am absolutely delighted that a small, independent company such as ours has managed to attract a huge talent like Ciaran. He was an integral part of Manchester House’s success and has lots of great new ideas that we look forward to building into our offer here – hospitality is key to our service style, and we always strive to be the best and there is no better person in the city capable of helping us achieve this. With the refurbishment comes a renewed focus on our dining guests, with the introduction of a modern, all day brasserie menu, designed with a nod to the US, Neighbourhood will continue to offer an up tempo, yet relaxed, welcoming social space for meetings, dinner or catch ups.
“This appointment very much links to where we are and where we intend to go.
“Neighbourhood in Spinningfields has undoubtedly been integral to the explosion of the food and beverage scene in Manchester and the forthcoming refurbishment which will turn it, even more so, into a place for everyone.
“Neighbourhood is ideally situated within Spinningfields to become a really popular corporate venue and one with a unique corporate offering.”
Winding the clock back a bit though, James says his family has “a bit of a back story.”
“My grandad started food manufacturer Hitchen Foods in the 40s when he was 14, because he was told he wasn’t clever enough to sit his exams at school by his headmaster,” he said.
“My great grandfather actually bought my grandad a horse and cart, as well as some stock, which he went up and down the streets of Chorley, selling bagged potatoes. Within a month he had paid for the horse and cart.”
Hitchen Foods was later taken over by James’ dad and uncle who turned it into a £50m turnover operation employing more than 1,000 people.
And the company, one of the largest food manufacturing factories in the North West, is now part of the Bakavoor group of companies. When looking at it from this perspective, you could have hazarded a guess about James making it in business. But his journey wasn’t quite so smooth.
He says: “As a 17-year-old at Ampleforth Catholic Boarding School in North Yorkshire, I sold cigarettes I’d bought in Gibraltar to pupils – and made a few thousand quid.
“From there I went to study at Manchester Metropolitan University and during my sandwich year in industry I got an undergraduate job with Aldi.”
He adds: “Aldi really taught me the value of hard work and how to manage. It was through the experience learnt with Aldi that whilst in my final year I was offered a job with Lidl on their graduate scheme.
“Three months into the management training scheme I got given a district to manage and became the youngest area manager in the country. It was soul destroying work, but I learnt to stand on my own two feet. The turnover of the stores in the area was £8m. And I was responsible for hiring, firing and was managing more than 100 people at the age of 24 as well as earning £40,000 and driving a company car.”
James says Lidl reminded him of his family’s humble beginnings and made him focus on driving efficiency, and the bottom line.
After a year, interested by food concepts in America, he travelled there and nailed down a trainee BBQ pit boss job.
“I knew I wanted to start out on my own in the food world, but felt I had to go to America to find out more. And it blew my mind.
“I worked in Nashville with an ex-con and Vietnam veteran called Dustin, who trained me to be a pit boss.
“At that time, I think I was one of only around 10 people in the UK who were fully trained by working in a proper smokehouse in the southern states.”
The experience led to James launching Southern 11, an authentic BBQ concept in both Manchester Arndale and in Spinningfields.
“I wanted to bring BBQ to the UK in a chain format, because it hadn’t been done at that time,” says James. “I even worked at Byron and Nando’s before launching so I could learn on someone else’s money.
“I guess I didn’t really understand profits and bottom lines as well as I should and it wasn’t financially successful. We just couldn’t pay the £150,000 rent a year in the Arndale, selling £3 sandwiches at the end of the day.”
He adds: “It was a really tough time because no one in my family had ever failed in business.
“I thought I was invincible because of all my Lidl experience. And it knocked me sideways for a long time. But it taught me to get back up and do it again.”
One vow he made to himself, was to never fail again.
“There’s nothing like learning from your mistakes and the feeling of having failed or let your family down” says James. “That can often put people off business altogether, but in order to succeed you have to fail or you will never understand hardship and never be humble or down to earth. I am really excited about where we are with the business and East Coast Concepts is on a journey towards real success right now.”
“Liverpool Neighbourhood will open by October with work due to start in site in around 12 weeks weeks,” says James. “It’s an exciting time in our story.
“When that venue opens we will be on course to have a group turnover of £11m.”
He also thanked Allied London boss Mike Ingall for providing him with his ‘big-break’ in 2009.
“I was 28, and Mike gave me one of his prime retail units after asking me what I wanted to do with it.
“I told him about the vibrant American concepts in the many different US cities that I’d visited and said Manchester needs something like them.
“He talked me through the long list of well-known people and brands that were after that unit in Spinningfields, but that he was going to give it to me.”
James says his dad and uncle thought he was crazy pursuing such an ambitious project, but that he had to trust his gut.
“You could say the rest is history,” says James. “At the time when Mike handed me the 6,000 sq ft Grade A retail unit in the heart of Manchester, Southern 11 was only just washing its face.
“But Mike believed in me and I will be forever grateful.”
Victor’s in Hale opened in 2015 and soon followed Neighbourhood’s success, which has led to the expansion into Liverpool.
He says: “All three of these places are community focused and venues where people can go all night. I didn’t just want a bar or just a restaurant.”
“And it is paying off. I don’t think there are any other independent restaurants in Manchester doing £4.6m turnover.
“At Neighbourhood, there is something for everyone. We also employ 100 people from that site alone, we are proud to be part of the thriving Manchester community there.
“It makes me proud to be honest, proud of our young team because we have learnt on our feet and still are learning. Take Victor’s for instance. It’s a real business hub in Hale for meetings throughout the day and has great brunch. It’s also a popular spot for after work drinks. It’s not just a party hot-spot.”
James says no one teaches or owes you anything in life.
“You should always learn from your mistakes and take people at face value,” James says, “You should always listen and watch but always be prepared to follow your gut instinct no matter what advise others give you, if you can’t trust your own instincts you shouldn’t be in business.”


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JD.com’s health subsidiary announced that it has raised USD 830 Million from private equity firm Hillhouse Capital during the Series B financing. The equity firm is already an early backer of JD Health and also a renowned investor in the healthcare industry.
After Chinese competitor Alibaba who made a move to expand its branch in the healthcare sector, JD.com rolled out its telemedicine and pharmacy delivery services a year ago. Their business also includes gene testing which was possible after partnering with prominent institutions.
In 2019, JD.com announced that its healthcare unit is valued at USD 7 Billion after it raised around USD 1 Billion in Series A round in November. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, JD Health witnessed a surge in its consumer-related health services. The company’s CEO Xin Lijun announced that the business has “achieved profitability” last year.
Until now, various Chinese companies such as Ali Health, Tencent Trusted Doctors and Ping An Healthcare and Technology are striving to occupy the multi-billion dollar market; however, most of them are struggling to turn profitable. “If you want to expand vertically into the retail drug business, it has to be integrated with hospitals and the medical services they provide,” Xin said in an interview. JD Health won’t be only limiting itself to the current business but is looking forward to turning their partnered hospital technologically advanced with artificial intelligence.
According to the study by Deloitte, the Chinese pharmacy sector is anticipated to reach USD 57 Billion in valuation by 2020. Recently, JD Health announced that it’s enabling a family doctor service that would redefine the scenario of telemedicine in China. The company states that under these services, the entire family will get 24-consultation services which would include the exchange of texts, photos, and video or phone calls. According to Xin, the firm is expected to serve over 50 Million families over the next five years.
The CEO said in an interview that “JD Family Doctor will be closely integrated with the country’s primary healthcare systems.” He also added that it will “improve the entire family doctor experience in China.” In 2018, China introduced a policy that encouraged the companies to partner with healthcare providers and also allows online sales of prescription drugs which were earlier a matter of controversy.
Last year, JD Health was announced as the most valuable startups in China last year while ranked No.2 worldwide following Uber’s self-driving division, Uber Advanced Technologies Group which has a valuation of around USD 7.3 Billion, according to TechCrunch. JD Health’s CEO told The Post that there are plans for IPO but the time period has not been decided yet.
The coronavirus outbreak has encouraged the investors to invest in telemedicine and the online pharmacy market owing to the “new normal” trend in the economy. Recently, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) acquired Netmeds, an online pharmacy store, for USD 63 Million while Johnson & Johnson invested in telemedicine startup Thirty Madison. According to the market research report, the telemedicine market is expected to grow at a rate of at least 15% in the coming years.


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Everyone thought that Fortnite was just a trend and that the game will lose all its popularity in under a year. Well, it looks everyone was wrong. Fortnite is much more than a simple trend and the game’s popularity keeps growing every single day. In fact, there are so many people who play Fortnite that Netflix has admitted that Fortnite is its biggest threat and not other streaming services such as HBO Go or Hulu.
Nonetheless, the reason why Fortnite keeps getting bigger is simple. The game is always improving through a constant stream of regular updates that Epic Games releases on a weekly basis. Talking about Fortnite updates, Epic Games is reportedly working on a spectator mode for the game.
Fortnite Spectator Mode
Fortnite is packed with tons of features, but the one that it’s missing right now is a spectator mode. From the looks of it, Epic Games who is the developer behind the massive hit knows that players are asking for a spectator mode and it is already working on one.
Epic Games has sent out multiple invites to content creators from YouTube and Twitch to attend a private event. The event takes place in Los Angeles, California and it’s where the features of the new spectator mode will be showcased.
Private Los Angeles Event
From what we can tell, the spectator mode is in beta right now and Epic Games is adding the finishing touches. What’s great about this is that Fortnite is asking content creators who love the game to come and see it so that they can offer some insight. Let’s hope that other gaming companies see this and realize that the best advice that they can get is from their pro players.
Expected Release Date
Even though Epic Games has yet to announce an official release date for the spectator mode, we believe that it will arrive at the end of February. The private Los Angeles event takes place in the first week of February and after the testing phase is done, the mode will be released through an OTA (over the air) update.


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Microsoft Begins Selling Lumia 535 In US For $149By cheatmaster 02:05 Sun, 25 Jul 2021 Comments
Microsoft has finally started selling the Lumia 535 in the United States. The device, which was released in December last year and was only available in the country through Expansys, is now available for purchase from the US Microsoft Store for $149.
Specs-wise, the handset is powered by a Snapdragon 200 SoC with a quad-core 1.2 Giga Hertz (GHz) Cortex-A7 Central Processing Units (CPU) and an Adreno 302 GPU, and sports a 5-inch display with 540 x 960 pixels resolution. It comes with 1GB Random-Access Memory (RAM) and 8GB expandable internal memory, and packs in a 1905 mAh battery.
In terms of camera, the Lumia 535 features a 5MP rear unit as well as a 5MP front snapper. It runs Windows Phone 8.1.
Source | Via
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Polish DJ Tom Swoon is in some serious trouble right now. According to multiple Polish online publications, Swoon was allegedly behind the wheel of a vehicle while drunk and caused a fatal accident in his home country of Poland. According to the reports, (This was 1st reported by the Polish journalist Aneta Łuczkowska from RMF
Those who follow Tiesto have become accustomed to his 21-year-old girlfriend Annika Backes popping up in his posts and stories as the two travel the world. The American model has been on the road with Tiesto for almost two years now, and yesterday the producer made it official that she will be joining him on the road for the rest of his life. Tiesto popped the question in the Maldives, and the two are now engaged!
Everyone from festival organizers to artists themselves have taken to social to express their congratulations to the couple. Oliver Heldens has even gone as far as to prompt fans to retweet him 5,000 times so that he can make a Tiesto and Annika meme account.
A big congrats from Dancing Astronaut to the newly engaged couple.
Facebook will soon offer a select list of news publishers access to a “breaking” designation for their articles. The scarlet tag of distinction will appear below the post’s image, displaying the amount of time that has passed since the piece’s publication. The publishers with the breaking tag at their disposal will have the ability to apply the tag for anywhere between 15 minutes and six-hours, but can only use the breaking classification once every 24-hours.
Facebook’s implementation of the tag seeks to show its users the most significant, recent news, designed to add urgency to the platform’s non-chronological newsfeed organization. The tag, however, will not be weighted differently in Facebook’s algorithms — for now.
A spokesperson for Facebook has indicated that initial use of the breaking tag will function as a measure of whether or not breaking news stories should be algorithmically favored over other newsfeed posts. If use of the breaking tag is met with a positive reception, posts with the tag might later receive preferential temporal ordering.
While Facebook has not released the full list of media entities cleared to use the breaking tag,ABC News and Vox Media will be permitted to use the exclusive tag.
After celebrating a groundbreaking third iteration, Romania’s largest festival UNTOLD has finally released its 2017 aftermovie, along with details for Chapter 4.
Shot in 4k, by over 120 people across 75 terabytes, the fifteen-minute aftermovie is brimming with magical moments from across the four-day extravaganza. The clip perfectly encapsulates the unparalleled spirit and heart of a festival that has fast become one of Europe’s biggest musical highlights. With over 330,000 attendees from across the world flocking to Cluj-Napoca to witness a lineup packed with over 200 international acts across 10 cutting edge stages, it’s easy to see why UNTOLD has become an international phenomenon on the festival circuit. Including spine-tingling performances from the likes of Ellie Goulding, Hurts, John Newman, Armin van Buuren, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Martin Garrix, Steve Aoki, Sven Väth, and Andy C among others, the aftermovie effortlessly captures the unrivalled atmosphere of UNTOLD and will leave fans desperate for more.
To coincide with the release of its 2017 aftermovie, UNTOLD festival has announced the first batch of 4 day passes for Chapter 4 are now on sale. Only fans who have registered via the official website will be able to purchase the first wave of tickets. All those registered will receive a unique link that will be activated at the time of sale and fans will be able to purchase up to 4 tickets. Pre-registry is available here.
When the LA production team um.. — made up of Ben Bruce and Dylan Gold — released a cryptic video titled “this is our last song” on October 19, fans and critics took it as a break-up announcement and subsequently skeptical questioned why such a promising rising talent would be parting ways so soon. As it turns out, um..‘s new (and apparently last) release was a media stunt all along. The eccentric bass music duo has just announced over their socials that the whole thing was a Halloween trick.
The guys disclose in a rather bumbling Facebook video that they were simply participating in a round of “trick or treat,” beginning with the trick of breaking up. Their treat to fans is that new music is officially out now. Um.. also go on to allude to their Pay Attention EP in the video, followed by an awkward joke session.
Tricked you, we’re getting back together. It was a trick and we’re back. If you didn’t see that coming then you haven’t been paying attention, gotta say. We saw it coming…and we’re not even paying attention. Also, if you were sad, sorry that you were sad but we’re back so…we didn’t mean for you to be sad. But also, don’t forget to be sad sometimes. It’s totally on-brand for us to say that, so embrace the sadness.”
Everyone’s favorite enigmatic candy-pop producer has just tackled some uncharted territory in the world of cooking entertainment. In his YouTube upload on Oct. 31, “Cooking With Mello: Chocolate Mice,” Marshmello doubles as a kitschy Halloween cook, all the while promoting of few of his recent single releases.
But that’s not even the best part.
While Martha Stewart may not have too much cause for concern, Joel Zimmerman could take issue with the video’s (perhaps not so) subtle jabs at his deadmau5 project. It’s no secret that deadmau5 and Marshmello have had some back-and-forth professional beef in the past, the most potent of which was Marshmello’s reference to a caged mouse in one of his music videos. In the above video, however, Marshmello takes it one step further. Perhaps there’s a new king of trolling in town.
The drum & bass community has suffered a heartbreaking loss today as beloved UK producer Apex has allegedly taken his own life. Prior to his solo career résumé, chock full of drum & bass gems like “Inner Space,” “Nowhere To Run,” and “Just One Second,” Robert Dickeson was also the producer and DJing member of Unknown Error. Not many details have been provided into the legendary figure’s death other than social media posts from industry producers and friends across the web. Though anyone from Apex’s camp has yet to confirm the news, sources close to the producer have alleged that Dickeson’s death was the result of suicide.
RIP to Rob Apex / Unknown Error one of the first i met in the DNB game, def a huge inspiration to me any many others. much respect brother. pic.twitter.com/2GhrzRf6TL
Excision‘s inaugural Lost Lands may be the most lit festival on the horizon after all, as one of the volcanoes next to the main Prehistoric Paradox stage caught fire Saturday night during Destroid.
Around 11 PM a small fire began at the top of the volcano, where Destroid played their first live show together since Ultra 2016. Personnel acted quickly and the situation was handled in a number of minutes. Dancing Astronaut was on the scene and captured the footage below.
After a brief closure of the main stage and subsequent approval by the fire marshal and sheriff, the festival resumed with Zeds Dead. Albeit, the volcanos were then dormant. No word has been given on whether the awe-inspiring pyrotechnics will resume. Luckily, zero injuries were reported as a result.
The golden master version of iOS 11 appears to have leaked yesterday evening, shedding some very early light on products and features Apple plans to announce at their unveiling event on Sept. 19 at 10am PST. Apple blogger, John Gruber, has referred to the spoiler as the biggest for an Apple product to date: “More surprises were spoiled by this leak than any leak in Apple history.”
Two most of the most controversial rumors were confirmed in the leak last night, which had been evidently sent to tech blogs 9to5Mac and MacRumors by a “rogue” employee. The first was the removal of the home button so as to enhance the overall full screen experience. Second, rumors were confirmed over Apple’s new facial recognition software. Face ID appears to be the official marketing name for the facial recognition features, which will likely replace the Touch ID fingerprint recognition feature.
The leak also solidified rumors that Apple’s newest device would be called the iPhone X. According to sources, Apple has chosen to name the OLED version of the new model to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the iPhone. The two LCD models will be named iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus.
There even appears to a lot more fun in iOS 11 than rumors previously anticipated. One particular feature, referred to as Jellyfish, appears to be 3D, animated versions of emoji characters for iMessage. Dubbed “Animojis,” the characters will use facial tracking and your voice to create expressive animated messages.
There are also references to AirPods 1, 2, which may be a revised version of the wire-free headphones Apple first introduced last year.
Perhaps one of the most exciting features of the newest software is an integrated camera feature called Portrait Lighting, which will produce dSLR-like shots by using depth by simulating different lighting effects. The new feature will supposedly work with the flash on the device, offering up Contour Light, Natural Light, Stage Light, Stage Light Mono, and Studio Light, as well as provide a new range of video recording options like 1080p HD at 240 fps.
Finally, a selection of colorful new wallpapers are said to look impressive on an OLED display. There are stills of the earth and moon, several floral images, a selection of retro-style rainbow wallpapers, and one wallpaper that’s plain black.
MTV hosted the 2017 edition of its annual Video Music Awards ceremony this evening, doling out Moon Men to the winners of a variety of categories ranging from “Best Collaboration” to “Best Cinematography.” With its host Katy Perry kicking off the star studded ceremony with her inimitable brand of giddy humor, the VMAs honored artists working across a variety of genres.
The Chainsmokers are up for “Best Editing” and “Best Collaboration,” where they will compete alongside Calvin Harris for the evening’s best collaboration. Harris is nominated for his Pharrell Williams, Katy Perry, and Big Sean feature, “Feels.”
UPDATE [8/28/2017 12:08 AM ET]: Wyclef Jean took the VMA for “Best Editing,” while Zayn and Taylor Swift left with the VMA for “Best Collaboration” for “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever.” The Chainsmokers presented the award for “Best New Artist” to frequent EDM feature, Khalid.


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After being rescheduled three times, the Vino Mobile Wine Bar Annual Sip n Shop is finally here this week!
Jenn Kampmeier, founder, of Vino Mobile Bar joined us this morning saying the event will take place at a much larger location this year, and social distancing practices will be in place.
It’s happening Thursday, July 16 at Clay Terrace Mall in Carmel, IN at the Forever 21 Space from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The event is free and it will showcase over 60+ local boutiques and business owners. Come and shop from a variety of vendors while sipping on a glass of wine. Also, enjoy wonderful food samples including chocolates!
- Louellas Paperie
- Tori Belle Cosmetics
- Geeky Endeavors
- Holliday Paintings
- PJ’s Pink Boutique
- Color Street
- Grace & Heart Jewelry
- Premier Designs Jewelry


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Jewelry and design have always been a part of Carolyn Rafaelian's life. Her father, Ralph, opened a jewelry manufacturing business in 1966. It was there that Carolyn developed her love of design. In addition to designing pieces for her father's business, Rafaelian began to create her own jewelry line. An overpowering sense of belief in those products led Carolyn to start Alex and Ani, the jewelry company named for her two eldest daughters.
Eco-friendly jewelry retailer Alex and Ani increased its sales and average order value (AOV) last year by ramping up its Facebook ad program.
An online shopper from Rhode Island, A. Cemal Ekin, Ph.D., has filed a class-action lawsuit against Amazon.com over its Prime Shipping program. Ekin paid $79 for Amazon Prime annual membership in order to receive free shipping on Prime-eligible goods, but alleges that Amazon induces sellers who participate in its Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program to mark up prices of Prime-eligible items to include shipping charges.
If you were one of the 111.5 million people watching the Super Bowl earlier this month, you might have noticed a commercial from jewelry company Alex and Ani. While the Super Bowl might seem like a funny place for a jewelry company to be advertising — amidst all the beer, soda, technology and cars — the move was just another one of Alex and Ani's unconventional business strides. The Rhode Island company was started by jewelry maker Carolyn Rafaelian in 2004. Over the last 10 years, the company has grown 365 percent in revenue from $2 million to $230 million.
It's hard to ignore the force that is Alex and Ani. Founded by Carolyn Rafaelian, the holistic inspired jewelry company has rapidly evolved from a small business to a national brand that consists of retail boutiques, wholesale licensing, cafes, a professional development program and media company. Alex and Ani's bangle bracelets and charms have been sported by the like of teenage girls, Olympians and none other than the Dalai Lama. So how did this SMB from Rhode Island become a household name in just two years?


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Undeterred by two court defeats in two weeks, the competition watchdog has appealed a Federal Court decision to dismiss its case against Woolworths over claims the retailer made about the biodegradability of its picnic products.
The appeal comes less than a week after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission appealed the Federal Court’s decision to dismiss part of its case against toilet paper and nappy maker Kimberly-Clark over claims about its “flushable” wipes.
The loss of the two cases in quick succession prompted the legal community to question whether the ACCC was losing its touch.
In a recent report, law firm Addisons said the ACCC failed to produce sufficient evidence to show that Kimberly-Clarks’ “flushable” wipes – as opposed to other wipes such as baby wipes and household cleaning wipes – had contributed to problems in sewerage systems.
In the Woolworths case, the ACCC alleged Woolworths made false or misleading claims about its range of W Select Eco disposable plates, bowls and cutlery, which were labelled “biodegradable and compostable”.
The Federal Court disagreed with the ACCC’s view that the picnic products needed to break down or compost “within a reasonable time” in order to justify the retailer's biodegradability claims.
The ACCC is now appealing that decision on the basis that Woolworths made claims about future matters and did not have reasonable grounds to make them.
The trial judge found that the likely performance of Woolworths’ picnic products was not a “future matter” because the reference to “biodegradable and compostable” was about the inherent characteristics of the product rather than a prediction, forecast, promise or opinion of a future event.
Accordingly, the court was not required to consider whether Woolworths had reasonable grounds for making the claims. The Court did, however, find that if Woolworths had made the claims in the terms alleged by the ACCC, it would not have had reasonable grounds to do so.
“We are appealing this case because we think that the biodegradable and compostable claims made by Woolworths were predictions about what would happen to these products in the future,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims said on Monday.
“Consumers who pay more for products which businesses represent as better for the environment should be able to assume those claims are true," he said.
A hearing for the appeal before the full Federal Court will be set at a later date.
- Fiona Carruthers and Nina Karnikowski


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The inaugural Coolabunia Limousin bull sale made a strong first impression on Saturday as prices climbed to a top of $28,000.
Kingaroy vendor Jen-Daview Limousins had a cracker of a day, selling top-priced Jen-Daview Sargent to Charles and Carmel McKinlay, Bloodwood, Yamala.
The son of Mr Pinnacle, 18-month-old Sargent weighed 760kg in the ring.
His P8 and rib fat measurements were 10mm and 7mm respectively, he had an eye muscle area of 140sq cm, intramuscular fat of 5.6pc, and a scrotal circumference of 38cm.
Jen-Daview also sold the $20,000 second-top priced bulls Ronaldo and Rambo to Chris Bourke of Wanders Limousins at Sandy Camp, and Warrigal farms at Beerwah respectively.
Les and Leanne Lee, Silverleaf Limousins, Silverleaf offered the top-priced female, selling heifer Silverleaf Splash N Puddles to Jane and Jamie Saunders, Dingo, for $10,000.
Thirty-six bulls sold for a 100pc clearance to average $13,000 and four females sold for a 100pc clearance and averaged $6375.
Jen-Daview Limousins spokesperson Brent Evans said they were left speechless by the sale results.
"It was a very, very strong sale. We had good buyer support from all over Queensland," Mr Evans said.
Mr Evans said bulls went to Aramac, Emerald, Duaringa and Glen Innes, NSW, and heifers went as far as WA.
He said the sale had bulls for every budget, from top end bulls to $5000 to $8000 bulls for commercial cattlemen.
"We had a very big inquiry on good quality black polled bulls and a lot of commercial cattlemen stepped into that job, which was awesome," he said.
Mr Evans said Sargent was one of their best, being homozygous polled and homozygous black, and having two copies of the F94L Limousin muscle gene.
Jen-Daview Limousins sold 12 bulls to average $15,583, while Jasmine Green, Summit Livestock, Uranquinty, NSW, sold seven bulls to average $12,142.
Glen and Kathleen Franz, Wahroonga Limousins, Jandowae, sold five bulls to average $8600, while Jamie Hollis, Kalara Livestock, Pittsworth, sold three bulls to average $13,333.
Andrew Stumer, Provenance Limousins, Fernvale, sold three bulls to average $14,000, while Sarah Benbow, Mervale Limousins, Mount Kilcoy, sold two bulls to average $13,500.
Bede Mcalpin, Mcalpin Livestock, Pheasants Nest, NSW, sold two bulls to average $9000.
Michael and Toni Dwan, Elwanvale Limousins, Allora, sold one bull for $15,000, while Ray Zanhow, Fernvale Limousins, Fernvale, sold one bull for $11,000.
Silverleaf sold two females to average $7250, and Provenance and Jen-Daview sold one female each for $6000 and $5000 respectively.
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For EMAG, California is an exciting and growing market. To showcase our diverse product range to customers and potential customers on the West Coast, we’re very excited to be exhibiting at Westec 2017!
Westec is SME’s premier manufacturing event for the West Coast and is taking place from September 12 – 14 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, CA. Our team of technology experts will be set up in booth 2025 to showcase some of our latest technology, as well as answer any questions you may have about EMAG.
At the booth, we’ll have a number of displays featuring a variety of technologies from our portfolio – including our VL 2 vertical turning machine. This modular vertical turning machine will be performing live demonstrations allowing visitors to see the vast capability of our modular standard machining line.
If you’d like to visit EMAG at Westec and are looking for a complimentary entry ticket (or for more information) visit our website westec.emag.com. We look forward to seeing you there!
September 12 – 14
Los Angeles Convention Center – Los Angeles, CA


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Huobi crypto explained all the systematic details of how they will close their exchange for the Chinese users amid crypto renewed ban of the People Bank of China.
Recently the Central Bank of China, People Bank Of China, released a renewed crypto ban law to restrict all kinds of crypto platforms, whether they are giving any kind of operational services or informative services. To follow the guidelines of Chinese authorities, Huobi & Binance exchange stopped the new users registration.
Earlier this, Huobi exchange announced the retardation of crypto operations for the Chinese users but was not announced to close the exchange directly. So now Huobi explained how they will close their services more systematically for the Chinese users.
The whole details are not officially announced by the Huobi exchange, but a Chinese crypto blogger shared the details of the Huobi withdrawal from China.
According to Blockchain Wu, Chinese crypto blogger, Huobi will stop its crypto deposit services by December 14. And after that the following day, they will restrict the trading features for Chinese users. And finally on 31 October, they will delist the trading pairs against Chinese Yuan.
So Wu asserted that it will not impact the Chinese users and their funds.
Following the same tweet, Wu tweeted that Huobi is a Major crypto exchange of China, so will it follow the same move for other subsidiary exchanges? This will surely be a big move for the Huobi and here we may expect that Huobi should talk about it.
Here Huobi is not alone a crypto firm, which has decided to withdraw its services from China, there are many exchanges and crypto related websites which stopped their services for new Chinese users. And also few websites got banned by the Chinese authorities through the China internet firewall.


text: Hong Kong’s newest micro-sized housing project has been priced at levels that represent a double-digit percentage discount to similar offerings released only a few months earlier. The offer of cut-price micro flats reflect the eagerness of the developer to adopt a lower pricing strategy as the residential market continues to cool. The 22-storey residential block named AVA 228 – a project in Sham Shui Po featuring 160 flats – has priced the smallest of an initial batch of units, measuring 151 square feet, at HK$18,563 per square foot, or HK$2.8 million (US$356,750), according to a price list released by Magic Sight Holdings on Thursday. That is nearly 15 per cent lower than the cheapest units offered at micro-flat project T-Plus in Tuen Mun in November. The flats were the most affordable since February 2016, when a 299 sq ft flat at Sun Hung Kai Properties’ Twin Regency in Yuen Long was offered at HK$2.8 million. The “Developers now do not dare to price their new homes at a high level. Also, nano flats like this have seen extremely bad results recently,” said Derek Chan, the head of research at Ricacorp. Hong Kong home prices have tumbled 9.2 per cent from August through December, amid headwinds that range from rising mortgage rates, a cooling economy and uncertainties over the US-China trade war. Nano flats, in layouts of less than 200 sq ft, or smaller than a car park space, have been especially hard hit during the slowdown. T-Plus, which holds the crown for the city’s smallest flats in configurations starting at 128 sq ft, has sold just two units since its December launch. CK Asset Holdings executive director Justin Chiu Kwok-hung cautioned in December that prices for tiny flats could tumble as much as 30 per cent in 2019 as demand softens. “Flats of such small size are not suitable for humans. Cutting out the washroom, kitchen, etc, how much space is left for daily use?” Chiu told the Post on Tuesday. AVA 228’s showroom, which opened to the media on Thursday, featured a 203 sq ft unit. “People can use the coffee table for meals,” said Adrian Choi, manager of Wing Shing Land Investment, a unit of Magic Sight Holdings, referring to the apparent lack of a dining area. “Different buyers favour different products. We target young people who do not have much space at home and are eager to stay in their own space.” The initial batch of 50 flats offered at AVA 228 will open for subscription on Saturday. Two tiny flats measuring just 129 sq ft will go on sale later.


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February 5, 2016
Mozilla's Connected Devices to Focus on Product Innovation Going Forward
The final version of Mozilla’s Firefox OS for mobile — version 2.6 — will be is released in May.
Mozilla announced at its developer’s conference back in December that it will no longer develop Firefox OS or have Firefox OS-powered Smartphones manufactured. In a Thursday blog post, the company offered up more details on what its customers can expect.
Also, as of March 29, Marketplace will no longer accept submissions for Android, desktop and tablet and all apps that don’t support Firefox OS will be removed. Firefox OS apps, however, will continue to be accepted into 2017.
Mozilla’s Connected Devices team, meanwhile, will have a new job: product innovation. The team is currently in test mode and, thus far, three products have passed the first “gate” and “many more are in the pipeline.”
“Having multiple different product innovations in development will be the approach moving forward, and we’re hoping to open up the formal process to non-staff participation in the first half of the year,” said George Roter, head of the Mozilla Participation Lab.
“Obviously, these decisions are substantial. The main reason they are being made is to ensure we are focusing our energies and resources on bringing the power of the web to IoT. And let’s remember why we’re doing this: we’re entering this exciting, fragmented space to ensure users have choice through interoperable, open solutions, and for us to act as their advocates for data privacy and security.”
Mozilla senior vice-president of connected devices Ari Jaaksi said the company’s decision to axe Firefox OS was due to quality control.
The problem, he wrote in a Feb. 4 blog post, was that “the circumstances were not there for Mozilla to win in the commercial Smartphone game.”
That does not means all that hard work will be wasted, however.
“Although Mozilla development of the smartphone OS will cease with 2.6, the OS stack will be used for Smart TVs and potentially other devices in the future,” Jaaksi said. “Our platform is open, as always, for volunteers, contributors and enthusiasts to improve on and submit patches for further advancement of the OS stack.”
The project, initially, was a bid to provide the “emerging world” with an operating system built on open Web standards. Affordable mobile phones running Firefox OS were later added to the mix.
Jennifer Cowan is the Managing Editor for SiteProNews.


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Investors bought shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ) on weakness during trading on Friday. $125.79 million flowed into the stock on the tick-up and $86.95 million flowed out of the stock on the tick-down, for a money net flow of $38.84 million into the stock. Of all stocks tracked, Constellation Brands had the 21st highest net in-flow for the day. Constellation Brands traded down ($1.53) for the day and closed at $217.52
Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $255.00 price target for the company. Credit Suisse Group upped their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $211.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. SunTrust Banks restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Constellation Brands in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Susquehanna Bancshares set a $207.00 price target on shares of Constellation Brands and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Constellation Brands from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Constellation Brands has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.00.
The firm has a market cap of $42,651.23, a P/E ratio of 23.69, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.
Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 5th. The company reported $2.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.13. Constellation Brands had a net margin of 27.50% and a return on equity of 24.74%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. analysts anticipate that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 8.53 EPS for the current year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Constellation Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.66%.
Constellation Brands announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, January 5th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.
In other news, VP Thomas J. Mullin sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.45, for a total value of $10,472,500.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas J. Mullin sold 18,227 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.01, for a total transaction of $3,955,441.27. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 72,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,825,237.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 50.3% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $153,000. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $157,000. Acrospire Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Acrospire Investment Management LLC now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, BB&T Investment Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $179,000. 74.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
TRADEMARK VIOLATION NOTICE: “Traders Buy Constellation Brands (STZ) on Weakness” was originally posted by Dispatch Tribunal and is owned by of Dispatch Tribunal. If you are viewing this article on another publication, it was illegally stolen and republished in violation of United States and international copyright and trademark legislation. The correct version of this article can be read at https://www.dispatchtribunal.com/2018/01/14/traders-buy-constellation-brands-stz-on-weakness.html.
Constellation Brands Company Profile
Constellation Brands, Inc is an international beverage alcohol company. The Company is a producer and marketer of beer, wine and spirits with operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and Italy. Its segments include Beer, Wine and Spirits, and Corporate Operations and Other. It is a multi-category supplier (beer, wine and spirits) of beverage alcohol in the United States.
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The Ultimate Walmart Black Friday 2018 Online Deals, In-Store Sales Guide, Store Maps Start Times, More.
Calling all holiday savvy shoppers: Walmart has recently unveiled its full Black Friday 2018 deals ad and it’s jam-packed with a deep price cuts on TVs, laptops, tablets and more.
Walmart will rollout select online Black Friday deals at Walmart.com beginning at 10PM ET on Wednesday, Nov. 21, but a number of exciting bargains are already available November 1st.
Walmart’s in-store Black Friday sales, on the other hand, will commence at six o’clock (local time) on Thanksgiving night.
The Bentonville, Arkansas-headquartered company will also be launches new game changing initiatives to make in-store shopping experience hassle-free and much easier. By just opening the Walmart mobile app, walk-in customers will have color-coded Black Friday store maps, with illustrations and information showing where the top 8 Black Friday deals are located in each and every local store.
Walmart associates wearing yellow sashes that will be assigned in the most thronged areas on Thanksgiving and Black Friday will also be able to check out shoppers using a handheld devices.
Also first time in Walmart’s Black Friday history, stores will also throw a “Light Up Black Friday” coffee and cookie party from 4PM to 6PM on Thanksgiving Day, Nov 22.
Some of Walmart’s Black Friday deals and doorbusters available now:
- Sky Rider Pro Quadcopter Drone with Wi-Fi Camera – $26.97
- GPX Laser Tag Blaster Set – $28.88
- Fingerlings Sloths Value Bundle 2 Pack – $14.84
- Lifetime Adjustable Youth Portable Basketball Hoop – $58.99
- Hamilton Beach HomeBaker Automatic Breadmaker – $39.99
- Hamilton Beach 28-Lb. Turkey Roaster Oven – $34.99
- SKLZ Fitness Bundle — $19.47
- Bounce Pro 14-foot Trampoline with Enclosure – $179.99 (Save $150)
- Samsung Galaxy Tab E Lite 7-inch 8GB Tablet – $69.99 (Save $50)
- Samsung 50-inch 4K (2160P) Ultra HD Smart LED TV – $327.99 (Save $272)
- Lenovo ideapad 320 15.6-inch Laptop – $299 (Save $100)
- Dell G3 Gaming Laptop 15.6-inch Full HD – $599 (Save $200)
- Razor MX350 24-Volt Dirt Rocket Electric Motocross Bike – $239 (Save $60)
Walmart’s Black Friday deals and doorbusters starting on Nov. 21
- Samsung UN55NU6900 55-inch 4K Smart Ultra HD LED TV – $398 (Save $230)
- Samsung UN32M4500A 32-inch HD LED TV – $178 (Save $51)
- TCL 65S4 65-inch 4K Roku Smart TV – $398 (save $402)
- Apple iPhone 6 on Straight Talk or Total Wireless – $99 (Save $50)
- Sony PS4 1TB Slim Spider-Man Bundle – $199 (Save $100)
- Google Home Hub – $99 (Save $50)
- Samsung 38-inch 4.1 200W Soundbar – $169 (Save $70)
- VIZIO 60-inch Class 4K Smart TV – $498 (Save $100)
- Roku Ultra with JBL Headphones – $48 (Save $51)
- Netgear Nighthawk AC2600 Wi-Fi Router – $99 (Save $100)
- HP Pavillion x360 Notebook – $499 (Special value)
- Vivitar Aero-View Video Drone – $69 (Save $60)
- Fitbit Versa – $149 (Save $50)
- Instant Pot 8-Qt. Pressure Cooker – $59 (Save $40)
- $5, $10, $15, $20, $30 and $40 toys
See the full Walmart Black Friday 2018 deals and sales ads at walmart.com.


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Gardens, gossip, and so much more.
Secret is trying to avoid the name-calling that crops up with anonymous posting.
The startup may have to pay a hefty fine, but the real threat is to its marketing strategy.
A mystery banker proves willing to reveal himself—for the right price, of course.
Careful what you say behind someone's back.
Fox says her comparison of Lindsay Lohan and Marilyn Monroe in an Esquire interview was meant to be more flattering than it sounded.


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Fears Melbourne crowds, businesses flouting contact tracing rules could spark new cases
Crowds have swamped big shopping centres and the Melbourne CBD after being set free from lockdown but the rush is sparking worry.
Melburnians have celebrated the long awaited return to life as they knew it before lockdown, but there are concerns about the ability to stay safe in a COVID-normal world.
Pictures of large crowds in the CBD and at large shopping centres show people wasted no time getting reacquainted with shopping and dining – things they could not do for more than three long months as the virus kept them locked inside their homes and their 5km bubbles.
Warm weather has also drawn people outdoors since Monday when Premier Daniel Andrews announced: “Now is the time to open up.”
Foot traffic in the CBD has return to around 80 per cent of what it was pre-pandemic as cafes and restaurants reopen and city workers head back to the office.
But long lines at retail outlets — and a mad rush at Kmart — has people concerned it might be a bit much too soon.
That is coupled with the very real worry that Melbourne just isn’t ready to track and trace visitors at restaurants and bars and pubs in the same was others states and territories are, including NSW which has set the standard nationally.
Melbourne is relying, in part, on a pen and paper system to ensure visitors check-in when visiting hairdressers and beauty salons and hospitality venues.
It is an issue that has caused some contention as other states have opted instead to use the more sophisticated QR code approach – where a visitor scans themselves in electronically.
“How long do you think it’ll be until we get this set up?” the Premier was asked at his press conference on Wednesday. He could not give a definitive answer.
“Oh, I couldn’t give you a date on when I’ll make that announcement but there’s a lot of work going on and we’re close and we’ll have more to say about that soon,” he said.
Question on when Vic will have a QR code for local businesses to help contact tracing. ðð» itâs soon. pic.twitter.com/3mOxnAwdsp— Dave Hughes (@DHughesy) October 28, 2020
pen and paper should always be a backup— Anthony Macali ð (@migga) October 28, 2020
pen and paper should always be a backup
pen and paper should always be a backup
The benefits of a #COVID19Vic QR system— Anthony Macali ð (@migga) October 28, 2020
â patron information immediately available to query and report (if cases occur)
â data is stored in the same format, single feed into Salesforce
â uniform training and rollout
â most efficient check-in (pre-popped)
â avoid physical pens
Love this. More and more questions from Journos about how we can prevent a 3rd wave. QR codes/hospital outbreaks/contact tracing CRM. I know they are being adversarial, but this is the stuff to focus on. #covid19vic #thisisjournalism.— Dr Vyom Sharma (@drvyom) October 26, 2020
Melburnians who were out and about on Wednesday told The Age that a number of businesses – including hairdressers, nail salons and cafes – were not bothering to take the details of those who came in and out.
Spot checks are being conducted by Victoria Police and on-the-spot fines will be issued to individuals and businesses who flout the new rules – fines include $1652 for individuals and $9913 for businesses.
“Industry bodies, Victoria Police, WorkSafe, and Authorised Officers will work together to inform Victorians about the directions, as well as undertake enforcement and compliance activities as needed,” the Andrews Government’s DHHS website reads.
Businesses who spoke to news.com.au said they spent the day on Tuesday madly scrambling to get across the new rules for businesses, including density limits and what rules apply to mask-wearing when eating and drinking.
Different rules apply to different businesses, too. Most retail outlets are not required to check customers in, but Kmart has introduced a booking system to ensure only a certain number of people are in the store at the same time.
For hospitality venues, patrons are only required to hand over personal information if they stay for more than 15 minutes.
Eager shoppers wasted no time heading to Kmart when it opened at 11.59pm on Tuesday.
Kmart’s Burwood, Campbellfield, Fountain Gate, Belmont and Werribee stores opened at midnight as soon as restrictions eased, with videos shared on social media showing customers queuing for hundreds of metres just to get inside.
At the Campbellfield store in Melbourne’s north, a video showed a huge line of dozens of shoppers waiting for the registers with trolleys stacked with discounted items.
The footage showed people rushing to purchase bedding, pillows and pet items, while others went for electrical appliances about 1am on Wednesday.
– With Jack Paynter


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I shared this link on Facebook, but I thought it was interesting enough to note here as well… Louisiana Bans Using Cash In Sales Of Second-hand Goods:
In a new law that could put every trading post, Goodwill, flea market, garage sale and Craigslist merchant in the state of Louisiana out of business, a bipartisan group of elected representatives has opted to ban all cash payments for the buying and selling of used goods.
Though House Bill 195 was intended to make it easier to track the sales of stolen goods by giving police a paper trail to follow, the unintended consequences could be much more widespread. Namely, the law requires second-hand sales be made paid for with credit cards, paper checks, electronic transfer or money orders. Cash is prohibited.
It was signed into law on July 1, but flew so far under the radar that practically nobody in the media noticed until this week, when Louisiana’s KLFY Eyewitness News 10 put a spotlight on the new rules and their likely impacts on local business.
The law also requires second-hand sellers to obtain personal information about each buyer — information like names, addresses, driver’s license number and even, if applicable, their license plate number — and turn it over to state officials.
The prohibition on cash sales is confusing on its face, and appears to contradict the very text on each Federal Reserve note in circulation. “This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private,” U.S. dollars plainly state.
My concerns are that this idea will travel to other states and be used to further sales tax collections, reporting, etc. as well. Thoughts, anyone?
Image Credits: Wikipedia.


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HOT TAKE: Mercedes-Benz recent EQ madness
Why it's happening with such a rapid pace and why we should be excited
Some positives from the new emissions regulations
New emissions regulations are pushing all manufacturers towards alternative methods of propulsion. Not everyone likes or agrees with that, but these regulations are driving innovations and development at an unprecedented levels. Mercedes-Benz is one of the world's most popular and recognisable brands with their success in luxury road cars, sports cars and an amazing streak of Formula 1 domination. They have the technological expertise, the engineering heritage and the financial resources to pull off whatever they want, however they want it. This doesn't make them unique in the motoring world, but their recent electric change of hearts makes them more attractive than any Tesla ever built! Let's dig a little deeper to find out why.
Mercedes EQC - Credit: Mercedes-Benz
Would you trust a Mercedes to be as good of a car as it can possibly be? Most people will and that's not an overstatement. A recently conducted by my employer (yes, I have a day job) marketing research among ~34 000 people around the globe asked this simple question:
"If you were to win a prize - a car of your own choosing, which brand would you choose?"
An incredible 61% chose Mercedes-Benz! Now that doesn't sound like 99%, but you have to remember the sheer number of car companies in existence. More than half of the participant voted on a single brand, which is stunning. The research was conducted among owners of cheap, second hand cars, owners of brand new cars and people who currently don't own a vehicle. Just to clarify, the researched was ordered and payed for by another, non-German car brand. And they were not happy with the results! With diversity of the study out of any doubt, let's dive deeper. Picking a brand can be tricky, unless you're a super fan. Putting your trust, basically your life and the life of your loved ones in a car brand is not something that people will take lightly.
Mercedes EQV - Credit: Mercedes-Benz
In different cultures Mercedes-Benz has been put in the position of a traditional manufacturer, the benchmark, if you like. I don't necessarily agree with that, mostly because Rolls Royce exists and Bentley is there, more or less. Yet those two brands are often beyond the reach of the mere mortals. Even second-hand Rolls and Bentleys are above the psychological barriers of most buyers and it's natural, because they are more exclusive and with a potential to be future classics. Mercedes on the other hand are often in reach, with the reputation of being reliable and not too expensive to maintain. Most of that trust is well deserved over the years with Mercedes legendary designs, "bulletproof" engines and a good safety record. Of course, not all models were diamonds or gems, but the ratio between good and bad cars is well above average so you can see why people would easily put their faith in a Mercedes. The key takeaway is that Mercedes-Benz is a popular manufacturer today because of their internal combustion models from the past and the present. Their power was to innovate in that department and it's still going strong with their successful F1 team and the AMG's A45S little monster under the bonnet. So why is Mercedes-Benz turning in a full-on electric craze with a rapid push of new models, seemingly one for every month?
Mercedes EQA - Credit: Mercedes-Benz
Securing the future
Excluding the new emissions regulations for a moment, the future of Mercedes EQ platform is deeply tied to their own past. As far back as 1906 there were electrically powered Mercedes-Benz passenger cars, trucks, busses and fire-service vehicles. But also their clever approach towards manufacturing. After the new EQB was presented, more detailed descriptions surfaced about where things were built. As it turns out, Mercedes is going "all in" with their batteries (apart from the raw materials). The factories in Kamenz, Germany and Jawor, Poland are manufacturing those batteries, meaning that Mercedes is building the most important part of an EV in-house. Breaking reliance as much as possible from other manufacturers can be critical to insure the future of the brand. And the EQ is turning into a proper brand now, thanks to the strong F1 advertising campaign and the second generation of EQ building platform on which the EQS owes his existence. Mercedes has chosen not to take the cheaper road ahead of solely electrifying existing models, but decided to seriously invest and develop a separate platform for the EQ, knowing where the future might lead them.
Mercedes EQS - Credit: Mercedes-Benz
A slew of EQ down the road
Seems to me like the EQA and the EQS (a.k.a. THE SCREEN) were introduced just yesterday and the introduction of the EQB caught me off guard. And I'm not far off by any means, they were introduced so recently that one just hit the markets while the other hasn't even done so yet. It almost looks like Taylor Swift is their marketing director, kicking one hit after another. And they will be hits, make no mistake about it. As we've discussed above, Mercedes-Benz has the global name, motorsport heritage, credentials and reputation already. Add to that their recent performances, improving form and some notable wins in the Formula E - a series in which they've debuted not so long ago. What better trampoline to kick the sales than victories in the fully electric series?! And what better way to innovate and develop new technologies than racing an EV?! We all know how much of the technological advances in our vehicles today were first attempted in motorsports, before going mainstream. That's a spark of optimism.
Now consider the ambitious plans of the Mercedes EQ branch to introduce 10 new models before the end of 2022, despite the global pandemics. So don't be surprised if tomorrow you wake up and discover that there's a new Mercedes EQ-something out there and you've slept through it. It will happen more often . . and it's a good thing. Mercedes invested north of 10 billion Euro to set an example for the other traditional manufacturers. EVs are nothing to be afraid of and there's no point of running away from them or delaying the inevitable. As of today their electric range consists of: EQA, EQB, EQC, EQS, EQV, Smart EQ Fortwo and Smart EQ Forfour. Tomorrow is mystery, but if Taylor Swift gets a new album out, be sure that Mercedes-Benz will follow with a new EV shortly after. That's the most reliable prediction I could make.
The 2021 Mercedes-EQ Formula E car - Credit: Mercedes-Benz


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Residents in Ocean Beach, California are working to protect their unique sense of place from corporate logos. Here’s a report on their efforts to keep out the ticky-tack retailers: “In March we placed a Formula Retail Ban proposition on the local Planning Board ballot and won with 77.3%. of the vote. We elected 5 activist candidates to our board, and another 5 to our neighboring Planning Board. We have also been running a boycott Starbuck$ campaign, and are having a protest on Sunday, March 24th. Here is the wording of the voter’s petition that passed overwhelmingly in Ocean Beach: Recognizing that the town of Ocean Beach is unique in character, that the small individualized retail businesses and restaurants play a large role in maintaining that character, and that the unique character of Ocean Beach is being threatened by the influx of formula restaurants and retail establishments, the undersigned citizens of Ocean Beach direct the Ocean Beach Planning Board to advise the City Council within 60 days of voter approval to modify the Ocean Beach Precise Plan to permanently ban any new formula restaurants and formula retail establishments in Ocean Beach and permanently ban the expansion of any existing formula restaurants and formula retail establishments. Formula restaurants and formula retail establishments should be defined as businesses that are required by contractual or other arrangements to be virtually identical to businesses in other communities including, but not limited to, businesses with standardized architecture, signs, decor, menus, food preparation policies, uniforms or products.
The community of Solvang, California has had a ban on “formula” retailers for years, and other communities have done the same (search this database by “formula”) For more info on the Ocean Beach effort, visit www.obgo.org.


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Microsoft and a global non-profit, Generation, have partnered with Digital Industry Singapore (DSIG), Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) to upskill and boost employment for 1,000 Singaporeans as part of the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package. The national skills initiative has been titled #GetReadySG.
The initiative was launched by Mr. S Iswaran, Minister for Communications and Information, and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, at Microsoft’s 30th-anniversary celebrations in Singapore. The initiative aims to be the bridge between a leading tech company and partner companies to help hire skilled manpower.
Microsoft on its blog wrote: “Targeted at fresh graduates and mid-career Singaporeans, #GetReadySG – which will run over a two year period – aims to equip participants with in-demand tech skills such as Java and Python programming language – all of which are top trending skills identified in LinkedIn’s Economic Graph.”
This unique partnership model will scale to more tech ecosystems by leveraging Generation. This will encourage similar efforts and improve the chances for employment and opportunities for people in Singapore. The collaboration will provide tech jobseekers greater diversity of career choices with different hirers and ensure that they are well-equipped for employment.
Zoom Is Expanding Its Presence in Singapore
Qualtrics Announces Singapore Data Center
Alibaba Invests To Boost Its Stake in Sun Art Retail Group
Apple, Samsung along with 14 other companies to boost local electronics manufacturing
Google Is Improving and Expanding the Google Pay App in Singapore
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