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South Korea will forge a mobile radio-frequency identification network in metropolitan regions by the end of the year to promote mobile commerce, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Tuesday.
The technology allows users to pay for items by flashing RFID-imbedded mobile phones in front of wireless readers.
The RFID system has already been used in the country for transportation cards and wireless expressway electronic cards, widely known as “hi-pass.”
Yet its use has been expanding over the years as smart devices such as smartphones and tablet personal computers have become popular among Koreans.
The government’s latest move comes as the local mobile commerce market is expected to grow further in the near future, due to planned launch of multiple mobile phones that are equipped with RFID reader chips.
The network, the first of its kind in the country, will be established at major cinemas nationwide, the ministry said.
It would enable users to reserve and purchase movie tickets, as well as to pay at nearby restaurants and stores conveniently with mobile phones equipped with such chips.
The mobile RFID network is to be created by the ministry in collaboration with mobile carriers SK Telecom and KT, plus credit card firms including Shinhan Card and Samsung Card, the ministry said.
The system would function as a test-bed for setting the country’s mobile transaction standards, according to the ministry.
By Koh Young-aah (firstname.lastname@example.org


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Hard drive capacities could grow to 20TB by 2020, though hitting these drive sizes will require a rethink of the platter technology used in today’s 3.5-inch drives.
Seagate and Microsoft have teamed up to offer new storage options to match the Xbox One S’s style, with 1-2 months of free subscription time to Microsoft’s new Game Pass service to boot.
Western Digital is pushing its business and commercial storage array drives up to 10TB and offering them in helium-sealed flavors as well.
Seagate and DJI have partnered to create a drone-friendly hard drive. The well-named Fly Drive bakes in a microSD slot so you don’t need to worry about carrying a reader into the field.
While it’s generally known how long hard drives actually live for, it stands to reason that some manufacturers make drives that are more reliable than others. But whose?
Seagate has big plans for its storage divisions, with 16TB drives planned for mid-2018 and a 20TB push for 2020. Hard drive growth has plateaued somewhat of late; can helium and new drive recording methods put things back on track?
Intel could bring its 3D XPoint / Optane technology to the desktop as part of the Kaby Lake refresh, but it’s not clear how the tech would benefit enthusiasts.
Samsung wants to slash SSD prices by 2020, with a 512GB drive matching the price of a 1TB HDD today. Samsung will need to cut prices by nearly 70% if it wants to pull that off.
Backblaze has released an updated set of hard drive failure rates and other related statistics. 8TB drives are now in wide deployment and performing well thus far.
Seagate unveiled its new lineup of 10TB hard drives today — a 25% boost over current 8TB products and with multiple consumer and professional products.
Samsung’s new monster SSD is ready to ship, with a 16TB capacity, SAS support, and formally rated to perform one complete drive write per day for its entire life.
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domain: news


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People in the know said that from social and digital media campaign teams to communications specialists — all hands were on deck, and every possible post or campaign with the potential to intensify the crisis, was being tracked.
IMAGE: Jan Adhikar Party supporter climbs a JCB machine to blacken a banner of a Chinese mobile phone manufacturer as part of a protest against Chinese goods, in Patna. Photograph: PTI Photo.
Last week’s protests outside Oppo’s Greater Noida factory that sent shockwaves across the corridors of Chinese majors operating in India, could be the first among many such incidents.
Several right-wing groups, led by the Hindu Raksha Dal (HRD), are preparing to unleash more protest movements.
HRD is a conservative organisation, based in Ghaziabad, which draws inspiration from glories of a ‘Hindu society’. Its tagline is — Empowering the Hindu society and protecting the Hindu dharma.
With 450,000 registered members in its fold, the organisation boasts of an active presence in Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
Unlike its last showing on Saturday, the next wave will include all possible battlegrounds — from on-ground activities to social and digital media campaigns.
Volunteers are now gearing up for a public awareness campaign, which will involve door-to-door messaging and protest gatherings, said a Noida-based member of the group.
According to Sanket Katara, spokesperson and lawyer for HRD: “As the Chinese continue their aggression at the border, we will continue to protest against Chinese firms,” he told Business Standard.
The boycott movement gained steam after 20 soldiers of the Indian Army were killed in a deadly combat on June 15-16.
With the crisis spreading fast, Chinese companies are getting battle-ready. People in the know said that from social and digital media campaign teams to communications specialists — all hands were on deck, and every possible post or campaign with the potential to intensify the crisis, was being tracked.
Companies are initiating an awareness campaign of their own. From retail partners to factory workers, brands like Xiaomi, Vivo, OnePlus and Realme, among others, are engaging with stakeholders.
“The idea is to send across the message assertively that we are more of an Indian company than Chinese. Over 90 per cent of our employees and 100 per cent of our retailers are Indian, majority of our sourcing partners are from India, and we have made significant…


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Increasing availability of business to business payment structures would massively increase Blockchain adoption.
Bitcoin Booms in Evolving Markets as First World Countries Start Regulating Cryptocurrency.
The Ethereum hard fork Byzantium is about to take place on Oct. 16, and users are advised to upgrade their clients – upgrade links included!
The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, has posted a tweet thanking United States government officials and the financial institutions that refused services to Wikileaks for driving them to invest in bitcoin during 2010. Assange’s tweet indicates that Wikileaks’ bitcoin holdings have seen gains of over 50,000%. Also Read: Your Bitcoins Open to CIA and Criminals, Heed […]
Sullivan’s speech at the [email protected] forum suggested government, private industry “seriously study” integration of Blockchain
Check out why Blockchain-powered systems represent interest for governmental bodies in Asia and America.
Last year, bitcoin and security expert Andreas Antonopoulos stated that banks will reject bitcoin at first, try to compete with it using blockchain technology, then inevitably adopt bitcoin. Such trend is becoming more evident and realistic, with some …
Upon the legalization of bitcoin by the Japanese government earlier this year, some of the largest companies in Japan including the largest electronics retailer Bic Camera and airline Peach have integrated bitcoin and accepted the digital currency as a…
Sweden’s central bank, the Riksbank, is considering whether the country should introduce a purely digital form of government-backed money, perhaps using distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) similar to the blockchain technology underlying Bitcoin. …
At the same event where Steve Wozniak will be discussing AI, Blockchain Technology will be given a seat at the head table. Industry leaders on its potential at Money20/20
Dubai continues its love for Blockchain technology as it announces the creation of its own cryptocurrency, emCash.
US on the way to the Blockchain technology adoption? Confirmed by the Trump administration
Bic Camera, one of the largest electronics retailers in Japan with strong brand power across the country, has been accepting bitcoin as a payment method for months. Through its partnership with BitFlyer, the country’s largest bitcoin exchange, Bic Camera is continuing to accept bitcoin throughout its stores in Japan. The integration of bitcoin by Bic Camera […]
Exchanging the world’s oldest currency for its newest: respected London metals dealer accepts Bitcoin payments.
Today, at the Distributed: Health 2017 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Change Healthcare announced blockchain solutions on an enterprise scale. According to the company, which is one of the major independent healthcare technology providers in the U.S., the utilization of blockchain technology will help their clients in boosting revenue cycle efficiency, improving real-time analytics, cutting down […]


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Maybe in the Fall… Guys
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout was last Summer’s hot online game. It is still a really great time and really popular, but not everyone is in on the fun yet. Developer Mediatonic is planning to expand the supporting platforms with Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, hoping for a release this Summer. A couple of days ago unfortunately, it was announced that they would not be meeting this goal. As it stands, PC and PS4 will be the only platforms to play the game on for a few months.
It’s not all bad news though. The release date for the Xbox and Nintendo ports have been pushed back, but that also gives Mediatonic some more time to work on other features, namely crossplay. They say that when Fall Guys does come out on these new consoles, the game will be updated to support crossplay, regardless of what platform you play on. Hopefully, Fall Guys’ Squad Mode will also allow players to team up across platforms.
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is approaching the halfway point of Season 4, which will coming with a couple of new Rounds and more cosmetic. Mediatonic also joined the Epic Games family recently, so that means more resources and expanded functions similar to other Epic Games properties like Fortnite and Rocket League. Hopefully, Xbox and Switch users will be able to earn their crowns soon. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is available on PC and PS4, and will be coming to Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
Have you been playing Fall Guys or waiting for it? Let us know in the comments below.


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Apple is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Cupertino, California, that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software and personal computers.
iPhone XI may be one of those to do the same thing as a lot of flagships are doing right now, to move to 128GB base storage. At this moment, the models are having only 64GB storage, whereas... Read more
This week Niantic, the developer of Pokémon GO declared that from 1st July, 2019 it is not going to support its Apple Watch version of the game. When this date goes by, the players would not... Read more
Apple announced that it will kill the iTunes at the WDC- Worldwide Developers Conference event of this year so; you should appreciate it while it is still with us. This news has been touchin... Read more
At WWDC 2019 event, Apple is planning to present the latest iOS 13 and just now 11 2019 iPhones were spotted in EEC’s database, that is the Eurasian Economic Community. These phones are the... Read more
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Estars launched as a new interactive engagement platform for esports events worldwide. A fan-first destination for everything esports, Estars combines the best elements of competitive gaming with a social gaming platform to create an innovative and enhanced viewing experience designed to spur active engagement for the biggest esports competitions around the world.
The first product, Estars Outlast, is a free-to-play competition that allows fans to test their knowledge of various esports tournaments and predict the performance of their favorite competitors. To celebrate the announcement, fans who pre-register at Estars.com will receive information regarding the 25K Outlast Promotion, where users could win their share of $25,000 and 25,000 Stars, Estars’ exclusive virtual currency.
“Estars is a platform created with the esports fan in mind,” said Bart Barden, chief product and revenue officer at Estars and a 22-year veteran of the gaming industry. “We plan on providing an entirely new way for fans to play, compete, and win by offering exciting and engaging experiences, starting with prediction games that were designed with a gamer’s competitive spirit at their core. In addition, we look forward to providing a safe and secure environment while setting the industry standard for trust and integrity as a member of the Esports Integrity Coalition.”
Estarsprovides game developers the opportunity to directly connect and engage with their fans through social competitions that are complementary to their esports events. The platform also offers developers one-of-a-kind monetization and branded content opportunities. Other features include a unique in-game cash out system, innovative prizing through incentive-based ad viewing, a VIP program with custom integrations, comprehensive data analytics, and live contest tracking that can provide fans more value in real-time, and in return, drive more engagement and viewership of live events.
“We wanted to create a parallel esports experience that provides top game developers the opportunity to engage with the millions of people who watch their esports content in a very unique and active way,” said Jeff Liboon, president of
Outlast, the first product on Estars.com, allows fans to predict the results of various esports competitions. The goal of Outlast is to make the most correct predictions and be the sole survivor of multi-leg contests against other fans, spanning one day, weeks, or even a full season. Users are rewarded for correct predictions and compete to earn VIP status, virtual currency, real-world prizes, and other exclusive items every week. Outlast is now in beta and is scheduled for launch this fall on mobile and desktop. More information will be announced prior to its release later this year.
Based in Dublin, Estars is an affiliate company of ESP Gaming and was founded earlier this year by an experienced team of esports enthusiasts. Estars is also a proud member of the Esports Integrity Coalition (ESIC). For more information, visit www.estars.com.
Fandomfare Gaming Entertainment no.1 source in, Gaming news, Live Game Streaming , PC Gaming & related Events E3, Gamecon and more, eSports event news and releases gaming technologies.
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SFO has become the fifth US airport to offer Mobile Passport Control, which allows passengers to submit their customs declaration via their mobile device.
The new AirGrub app has been launched at San Francisco International Airport and allows travellers to pre-order F&B so they can skip the queues on the day.
Star Alliance, Dubai Airports, IATA, United and SITA discuss how airlines, airports and technology companies can together create more seamless travel apps.
The BizTweet-powered service enables passengers to opt in to receive bespoke flight and gate updates, which are delivered via Twitter.
Passengers can borrow the portable chargers to charge up their devices on the go while they wait for their flight at Helsinki Airport.
The all-new app includes one-touch check-in and simple seat selection, and taps into passengers’ previous behaviour to provide a more personalised experience.
The low-cost carrier has launched a new app for iPhone, which will help to simplify the pre-travel and day of travel experiences for its customers.
British Airways will soon allow its customers to pay for their flights using Apple Pay when they make a booking via the carrier’s app.


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EdgeConneX, a provider of Edge Data Centers, is partnering with Rackspace to deliver a combination of enterprise cloud solutions with the global EdgeConneX data center platform.
This partnership delivers edge-based cloud solutions to enterprises worldwide and facilitates cloud migrations with options ranging from dedicated bare metal environments to variable hybrid cloud and multi-cloud solutions from best of breed providers, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, OpenStack, VMware, Google Cloud Platform, Oracle, and more.
“Enterprises are running an increasing number of applications, across multiple locations, and those applications have become increasingly more complex and critical to their businesses success,” said Lisa McLin, Vice President of Channel Sales and Channel Chief at Rackspace. “As part of the growing digital transformation trend, enterprise customers are asking for hybrid solutions delivered as a service and as close to their end-user customers as possible to ensure the best possible experience. As a premier edge data center provider with a longstanding philosophy of bringing the edge to its customers, partnering with EdgeConneX was a natural fit.”
EdgeConneX and Rackspace customers can realize immediate benefits including:
- EdgeConneX Data Center Services
- Multi-Cloud Scalability
- Private Cloud Services
- Managed Hosting, Data and Applications
- 24x7 Visibility and Enhanced Security
“We are honored to partner with Rackspace combining our customer-centric philosophies to deliver integrated cloud solutions locally to businesses and tailored to each customer’s unique requirements,” said Phillip Marangella, chief marketing officer at EdgeConneX.
For more information about this partnership, visit www.edgeconnex.com.


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Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Pegatron has been awarded the contract to build Microsoft's Surface tablet, and sources suggest Redmond's got a twin strategy for tablets.
According to DigiTimes, Pegatron will be building both the Intel and ARM versions of the fondleslab, with the Ivy Bridge-powered slab going for around $799 (Intel's guide price for Ultrabooks) with a $599 alternative for the Tegra 3 system.
Microsoft didn’t give pricing details at its launch on Monday, but indicated the Ultrabook as a guide price, and sources said Microsoft isn't planning on making a massive margin on the tablets.
This would suggest Microsoft will aim the ARM fondleslabs at Apple, although it would have to take a loss to match the iPad on price. Redmond does this with other product lines it sells at a loss, and may judge this to be a reasonable price to pay in order to get established in the tablet market. And while Intel will welcome more Ultrabook players, companies like Samsung, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard won't.
"I think this is the major purpose of them doing a tablet, as it can enhance their ecosystem, to help them promote and get a lot of developers to make apps to share in their store," Charles Lin, chief financial officer for Pegatron told Bloomberg. "This kind of device may help them to promote their Win8 solutions and demonstrate the strengths and capabilities of the new Windows 8."
Pegatron, which is a spin-off of Asian giant Asus, said in its last financial statement that it expected its shipments of notebooks and tablets to rise 30 to 35 per cent in the second half of the year. It has got good capacity if demand for the Surface proves strong, and it has cash to burn if expansion is needed – revenues grew over 100 per cent to over $2bn in the last year. ®


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This is not investment advice. The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Wccftech.com has a disclosure and ethics policy.
Ride-hailing application Uber Technologies Inc's troubles seem to be getting worse day-by-day. The company's co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick has been dumping his Uber shares like they're on fire, and the company is battling authorities in London to let it resume operations in the city. Now, following a ruling by a court in Frankfurt, Germany, Uber (NYSE:UBER) will not be able to use local car-hire companies to provide rides to customers through its platform. Take a look below for more details.
Uber Will Have To Limit Its Operations In Germany Following New Ruling By Frankfurt Regional Court
In its decision, the Transport for London voided Uber's license to operate in the city due to the authority's concerns for passenger safety. The ban was enforced despite Uber choosing to introduce features that the company claimed will improve passenger safety and avoid any untoward incidents.
Now, a regional court in Frankfurt, Germany has limited Uber's operations in the country. The company was sued by Taxi Deutschland, who had claimed that Uber's business model of using cars from local car-hire companies to provide rides to customers violated competition rules. The court agrees with this opinion since while the companies that provide cars to Uber (NYSE:UBER) do have a rental car license, Uber does not.
As a result of this ruling, while Uber will still be able to use independent contractors to provide services to customers, the company will not be able to use private-hire-vehicles (PHVs) on its platform. A major component of Taxi Deutschland's suit against Uber is the fact that PHV vehicles do not return to their place of business after they've made the trip.
Additionally, the fact that PHV drivers need to receive trip orders either at the company's place of business to avoid road congestion is violated through them receiving new rides through the Uber's application, Taxi Deutschland had argued earlier. The ban against Uber is effective immediately, and the company is expected to appeal against it. Uber had come in the cross-hairs of German authorities a couple of years back when it was stopped from pairing riders with drivers who used their personal vehicles to provide services.
The Frankfurt court evaluated the claims brought against the company from the point of view of a customer, with the presiding judge stating that the customer is using a service provided by Uber. Therefore, the ride-hailing service provider is acting in an entrepreneurial role, and so it has to comply with laws that regulate the transport industry.
Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER) is trading at a per-share price of $29.86 at the time of writing, down by 0.88% over yesterday's closing. The stock dropped to a 52-week low of $25.99 in November.


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When WinCo’s employee owners say “no solicitors,” they mean it.
The Hazel Dell WinCo grocery store on Highway 99 has gone to court to keep signature-gatherers off its property, with a judge on June 30 approving a temporary restraining order.
On June 28, a “bearded man,” whose identity is not known, began to “harass and bother WinCo’s customers by seeking to stop such customers at the entrance …to get the customers to sign various petitions and initiatives,” according to a complaint filed in Clark County Superior Court last week. The court documents don’t say what causes the man was advocating.
“WinCo excludes from its property (both the store and parking lot) all petitioners, picketers or solicitors seeking to do business with or engage anyone other than WinCo itself,” wrote attorneys with Miller Nash Graham & Dunn LLP in the court filing.
The store manager asked the man to leave, but he stayed put. The manager then called the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, but deputies said they needed a court order to take action, according to filings. The bearded man came back with a second signature-gatherer the next day. The two refused to leave, and the sheriff’s office again said nothing could be done without a court order.
“WinCo has received numerous customer complaints about the defendants’ actions … and WinCo’s business has been damaged as a result,” according to the filing. The manager wrote there has been “aggressive behavior … annoying customers.”
A judge granted a temporary injunction to keep the signature-gatherers 100 feet from the entrance pending a July 15 hearing. However, “WinCo does not have any identification or contact information to give notice of this hearing.”
One of the men gathering signatures was reportedly gathering signatures last year and was given a cease-and-desist letter. The manager wrote in a filing the man “indicated that they were not going to be scared off by a cease-and-desist letter this year.”
WinCo is fighting a similar court battle at a Spokane Valley store and says it has a precedent to prevent political speech on its property.
“Any picketers or signature-gatherers who wish to voice their opinions in public can access the public sidewalk that borders WinCo’s parking lot and the public street,” reads the restraining order.


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When supermarket owner Jakob Rozenshtayn made headlines in January, he had been arrested on arson charges, accused of trying to hire someone to burn down a competitor`s store.
On Thursday, Rozenshtayn, 61, pointed the finger at Martin Goldman, 27, owner of the Shop Rite discount drugstore, and accused him of stealing, repainting and redistributing shopping carts from Rozenshtayn`s Strictly Kosher supermarket.
The neighboring stores are in the Kings Point Shopping Center, west of Delray Beach.
Rozenshtayn claims in the suit that in 1985 and 1986 ``102 shopping carts were removed from (Rozenshtayn`s) supermarket by defendants, repainted by a person hired by defendants, and redistributed to other Shop Rite stores owned by defendants Martin Goldman and Shop Rite, in either defendant`s West Palm Beach store, Miami Beach store or Lauderdale Lakes store.``
The suit asks for a settlement of $8,160 to pay the cost of the carts, which are valued at $80 each.
``This has been going back and forth,`` said Rozenshtayn`s attorney, Robert Kogon. ``At one point (Goldman) admitted that he took the carts and then he said he didn`t. Then he agreed to pay for them and then he decided not to.``
Kogon said he had talked to a person who admitted taking the carts from Rozenshtayn`s client`s store and repainting them. Many of the carts bore the ``Tri-Kosher`` logo, the name of the store before it was brought by Rozenshtayn, Kogon said.
Kogon said Goldman planned to sell the Shop Rite store and that Rozenshtayn wanted to collect for the carts before the business changed hands.
The man who admitted painting the carts said he was told ``to redistribute them to other Shop Rite stores, in any store other than Delray,`` Kogon said.


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17 Oct 2017 The planned City Club Apartments CDB Detroit project is expected to cost approximately $70 million at or construction in Cincinnati, Detroit, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Louisville and along the East 12 Jun 2018 City Club Apartments broke ground on City Club Apartments – CBD Detroit in January and City Club Apartments – CBD Minneapolis in March of this year. The company hosted the grand-opening for its City Club Apartments 11 Jan 2018 But, this development — City Club Apartments CBD Detroit — is in the city he has known as a boy, and where his family He now has projects in Cincinnati, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Louisville, Pittsburgh, and Chicago. 25 Nov 2018 Developer Jonathan Holtzman is constructing the version of City Club Apartments in downtown Detroit, 20 miles Among those projects are a 17-floor building in Minneapolis and the $70 million City Club Apartments-CBD See Apartments for rent near The Art Institutes International Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN - Browse official photos, prices, floorplans and up-to-date City Club Apartments CBD Minneapolis Calhoun Beach Club Apartment Homes. 26 Apr 2015 Minneapolis-Saint Paul > CITY CLUB APARTMENTS | 176 ft | 16 stories The first floor is all walk up apartments. Marquette is smack dab in the middle of the CBD and they seem sort of awkward in there placement there. 17 Oct 2019 Ready to live like a minimalist? City Club Apartments CBD, the newest rental building in downtown, might be your kind of place. Many of the 307 units.
CBD oleje ze semen konopí mají mnoho možností využití při úlevě od mnoha zdravotních obtíží.
22 Mar 2018 City Club Apartments celebrated the groundbreaking Wednesday of a 17-story apartment building at 10th & Marquette in downtown Minneapolis. Developer Jonathan Holtzman said the 307 units of City Club Apartments CBD Find your new home at City Club Apartments CBD Minneapolis located at 95 S 10th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55406. Floor plans starting at $1280. Check availability now! July 2019 Occupancy! Minneapolis's Central Business District holds an incredible mix of people, places, and activities, and they're all within walking distance of City Club Apartments Minneapolis. Call our pre-leasing office to speak with one of See photos, floor plans and more details about City Club Apartments CBD Minneapolis in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Visit Rent.com now for rental rates and other information about this property. City Club Apartments has broken ground on two of its City Club–branded residences this year: City Club Apartments Central Business District (CBD) Detroit, in January, and City Club Apartments CBD Minneapolis, in March. The properties are 25 Feb 2019 Pre-leasing kicks off at City Club Apartments - Minneapolis, MN - With construction ahead of schedule, City Club Apartments has activated its waiting list and is processing pre-leases beginning today.
See Apartments for rent near The Art Institutes International Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN - Browse official photos, prices, floorplans and up-to-date City Club Apartments CBD Minneapolis Calhoun Beach Club Apartment Homes.
ミント ハウス CBD ミネアポリス. マイリストにミント ハウス CBD ミネアポリスを追加 ミネアポリスのダウンタウンに位置するこのアパートメント ビルは、ミル シティ博物館およびガスリー シアターから歩いてすぐです。US バンク…ミネアポリスのダウンタウンに位置 Minneapolis, Minnesota105 connections. Join to Connect · Report this City Club Apartments CBD Minneapolis ✨ Shared by Michael on American farms. Cannabidiol (CBD), a constituent that naturally occurs in industrial Hemp, is just. Check out this pet-friendly at City Club Apartments CBD Minneapolis located at 95 S 10th St, Minneapolis, MN 55403 that includes 0 - 2 bed, 1 - 2 bath, and 360 - 1092 Sq. Ft. 15 Oct 2019 A small way to save on rent. Martin Moylan. Minneapolis. October 15, 2019 2:00 a.m. At City Club Apartments CBD on South 10th Street in downtown Minneapolis, about a third of the building's 307 apartments are studios. Minneapolis Apartment Market Developers are on track to deliver a triple whammy to the downtown Minneapolis Top Floor Pour at CBD Minneapolis City Club Apartments announced today that it has topped off the 17th floor of City Club
City Club Apartments has broken ground on two of its City Club–branded residences this year: City Club Apartments Central Business District (CBD) Detroit, in January, and City Club Apartments CBD Minneapolis, in March. The properties are
17 Oct 2019 City Club Apartments CBD Minneapolis has added 307 apartments at 95 S. 10th St., which is a block off Nicollet Mall. Of the 307 units, almost half are studios of 407 square feet or less, according to building plans filed with the Minneapolis, Minnesota. In featuring the largest amount of nano and alcove units in the city (approximately 50 percent of the 300 units total), BKV Group with developer partner, City Club Apartments (CCA) CBD Minneapolis, pairs affordable


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It is a mixed bag on free trade. While agreements are being stalled in the US, across the other side of the globe the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are deep in free trade negotiations with Australia, New Zealand, the EU and India. They are also implementing a free trade agreement with Japan, which will make 90 percent of trade tariff-free inside of 10 years and have signed a deal with China to create the biggest free trade zone by 2010.
So while much of the East is opening up, the West is closing its doors. An article by Avi Salzman in Business Week considers the reality on the ground for businesses in the US wishing to export. For the company Caterpillar – which assembles trucks of behmothian proportions – without the Colombian free trade deal, they face a tariff of $180,000 on a $1.2 million truck. Doug Goudie, director of international trade policy for the National Association of Manufacturers, is concerned: “Every day that goes by, we lose the opportunity to export manufactured goods".
With the next round of world trade talks starting up, it is time for ministers to step up to the plate and liberalize global trade. As The Economist reports: “Yvan Decreux and Lionel Fontagné, of CEPII, a French economic research institute, have tried to measure the effect on global growth. They estimate that the world economy would eventually be $43 billion a year better off. Throw in some liberalisation of services too, and the sum rises by $30 billion."
In fact, as The Economist acknowledges, the financial gains would be much greater than this. All we need now is for the politicians throughout the world to sign up to free trade. I am not holding my breath...


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Yeah, that guy.
And Colonel Sanders is probably spinning violently somewhere on a spit.
It all started when Andrew Spooner, author of the “Footprint Thailand Handbook,” checked out a new chicken joint in Bangkok—and discovered der Fuhrer had usurped the good colonel on the restaurant's logo:
We'll let The Braiser tell the rest of the story:
The Huffington Post brought it to the attention of KFC’s parent company Yum! Brands, who stated that they were looking into taking legal action, because, y’know, Hitler. “We find it extremely distasteful and are considering legal action since it is an infringement of our brand trademark and has nothing to do with us,” a spokesman for Yum! said in a statement.
While the “Hitler chic” trend that seems to be sweeping Thailand, buoyed by a generation of young Thais who are “drawn to Hitler and his regime’s hallucinogenic visual propaganda” but know nothing about the human rights atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis, it begs the question: so, uh, how does Hitler Fried Chicken taste? Does it taste like genocide and megalomania and burnt Reichstag? As expat Alan Robertson told The Sun, it’s actually fairly — and guiltily – tasty:
“Nobody quite knows what to make of it. I went in for a bite last week and got some fried chicken, which was pretty good, and asked the guy behind the counter why it was called Hitler. He just shrugged his shoulders and said the owners had thought it was good image...The Thai people are an odd bunch sometimes.”
(H/T: The Braiser)


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O2 has confirmed that it will exclusively launch the hotly-anticipated Palm Pre in the UK on 16 October.
The Palm Pre smartphone was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this year and launched in the US this June. O2 has now confirmed a UK launch date of 16 October, and several tariff prices – including a free option on a 24-month contract, and £44.05 or £73.41 options on 18-month contracts.
Palm Pre, exclusive to O2
The Palm Pre has a 3.1-inch touchscreen and a full Qwerty keyboard, but it’s the Palm webOS – the mobile phone’s operating system – and its wireless charging ability that impressed us most when we saw the device at the CES show in Las Vegas.
Wireless charging is available for users who buy the Touchstone charging pad, which O2 will be selling at around £45. If a call is received when the Palm Pre is wirelessly charging, then it will automatically activate the speakerphone function.
The Palm webOS has several interesting features including the ‘Cards’ feature: a feature that splays the active applications out on the bottom of the screen like a hand of cards. The user can then pick a card, or application, that they want to access.
On the hardware side of things, the Palm Pre has a 3Mp camera, 8GB of on-board memory and a 3.5mm headphone socket.
Mobile phone reviews
Jon Barrow, Which? mobile phone expert, said: ‘It’s exciting that this eagerly awaited phone is finally due to arrive in the UK, as it will serve as a major rival to the Apple iPhone and smartphones from BlackBerry and HTC. Palm has put all it can into the Palm Pre and we expect it to fare well in our lab-based tests’.
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Focus: Mergers & Acquisitions
(Crain's) — Health care brings in the biggest bucks for the state agency, which has issued billions in bonds to help hospitals finance a wave of construction and acquisition.
In the blockbuster buyout of the year, Sam Zell agreed to sell his office-building empire to Blackstone Group, a private-equity firm that has been snapping up publicly traded real estate investment trusts (REITs) at a startling pace. Mr. Zell, a child of Polish immigrants, is positioned to walk away with more than $700 million for giving up his title as the nation's biggest office landlord a decent payout for the self-made real estate mogul Forbes magazine says is worth $4.5 billion. Still, the deal faces several hurdles, not least among them a higher bid from a group led by Vornado Realty Trust. The group is offering $52 a share, compared with $48.50 a share from Blackstone, which has the backing of Equity Office management. At the higher price, and including debt, the deal would be worth more than $39 billion. Blackstone's offer totals about $36 billion. The Blackstone bid has faced opposition from the outset. Shortly after the deal's announcement on Nov. 19, Equity Office shareholders filed a class-action lawsuit claiming they could have gotten a higher price and were deprived of "the opportunity to realize fully the benefits of their investment." Equity Office, which
Boeing Co. may be one of the world's largest commercial plane makers, but it's a small player in the airline maintenance and service business. CEO W. James McNerney Jr. is looking to change that. In May, Boeing bought Aviall Inc., the world's largest independent provider of aviation parts and services, which distributes 650,000 catalog items such as batteries, wheels, brakes, paint and pumps from 220 manufacturers. Boeing has only 10% of the $25-billion market for aviation spare parts, dealing exclusively in the company's own planes. But its $1.6-billion all-cash purchase of Aviall Mr. McNerney's first big deal since becoming CEO in July 2005 is expected to boost Boeing's Integrated Materials Management program, a service in which Boeing and selected suppliers maintain an airline's spare parts inventory. "Aviall had a well-perfected model for doing the spare parts business that Boeing undoubtedly will tap into," says Paul Nisbet, an analyst with JSA Research in Newport, R.I. Aviall had revenues of $1.3 billion in 2005. Combined, the two firms will have about 15% of the market, which Boeing estimates is growing at 4.5% a year. 10Buyer: Boeing Co., ChicagoSeller: Aviall Inc., DallasDeal size: $1.6 billionChange
After a three-year shopping center spree, Inland Retail sold out. But that was always the plan. Inland Retail, one of four non-listed REITs managed by Inland Real Estate Group of Cos., was set up in 1998 to buy strip malls throughout the Southeast and return the cash to investors through a public offering or third-party sale. The shopping centers, which are 95% occupied, are anchored by tenants like Target Corp., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Home Depot Inc. Most are located in fast-growing areas like Miami, Atlanta, Tampa, Orlando and Charlotte, N.C. The REIT's portfolio represented $4.4 billion of the $18 billion in assets managed by the entities that make up the Inland Real Estate Group, one of the nation's largest shopping center owners. Selling to Developers Diversified Realty Corp. gave its investors a 40% return on their investment, not including dividends. This real estate sellout is part of a trend that BMO Capital Markets Corp. analyst Paul Adornato says he expects to pick up. "There are a relatively few number of private or unlisted REITs in existence," he says. "These REITs have finite lives to them, which means we might see more activity among them."
Becoming one of the largest office landlords in North America, Brookfield Properties Corp. acquired Trizec Properties Inc. and its Canadian arm in a cash deal that closed in October. Brookfield paid $2.8 billion for the U.S. segment and $1.6 billion for its sister company, Trizec Canada. Blackstone Group provided part of the funding for the U.S. purchase. Before the deal, Brookfield had 67 office towers in downtown New York, Boston and Washington, D.C. Trizec was nearly as large, with 61 high-rises in seven U.S. markets. When the acquisition was announced, Trizec CEO Tim Callahan said his company had agreed to the deal because the stock market had undervalued what the directors believed its portfolio was worth. Prior to the closing, Trizec sold 13 towers in Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Dallas, and Minneapolis to Blackstone affiliates and other third parties for $1.8 billion. Brookfield acquired what was left: 48 office buildings in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Houston and San Diego. The acquisition fit with its strategy to invest in properties occupied by financial services, government and energy sector tenants. 8Buyer: Brookfield Properties Corp., TorontoSeller: Trizec Properties Inc., ChicagoDeal size: $2.8 billionOf note: Brookfield's origins are
To become less dependent on drugs, Abbott Laboratories bought Guidant Corp.'s vascular devices unit for $4.3 billion a big price tag for tiny, mesh cylinders. But stents, used to prop open clogged arteries and prevent heart attacks, represent a $5-billion market. And drug-coated stents, which release medication to reduce re-blockage, have taken over 80% of that market in recent years, making them one of the fastest-growing medical devices in history. As part of the deal, Abbott will pay $4.3 billion to Boston Scientific, which is acquiring the rest of medical-device maker Guidant for $27 billion. Boston Scientific won a bidding war against Johnson & Johnson for Guidant by providing much-needed cash and eliminating potential antitrust issues. It's all part of Abbott CEO Miles White's strategy to become less reliant on drugs, which account for 60% of revenues. Unlike medical devices, drugs require more time and money to win regulatory approval and can be an uncertain revenue stream because of their susceptibility to generic competition. Guidant's stent and vascular business generates about $1 billion a year in sales. Abbott's heart business was a fraction of that last year, accounting for about 1% of its $22.33 billion
Last year was another record-setter for mergers and acquisitions. Proceeds from global transactions reached $3.8 trillion in 2006, topping the previous record of $3.4 trillion set in 2000, according to Thomson Financial. Private-equity firms were again big players, making offers for Chicago-based Equity Office Properties Trust among other top businesses. Crain's asked Steven Bernard, 40, director of M&A market analysis for Robert W. Baird & Co. in Chicago, what happened and what's ahead. How did the buying landscape change in 2006?It didn't change much, but accelerated what it's been doing the last three or four years. The driving factors have been a stable economy and low interest rates. That's allowed the private-equity firms and corporate buyers to borrow a lot of money. What were the year's major trends?One of them was the increase in the amount of private equity. The other is the tremendous amount of leverage being used. If we see a sharper decline in the economy, we could see the higher-leverage deals falter and possibly go into bankruptcy. Why has there been an upswing in private-equity deals?Historically, private equity has outperformed private markets. As the economy has done well, investors have more money to put
In October, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange announced its takeover of the Chicago Board of Trade a long-anticipated marriage and the business equivalent of a Hatfield-McCoy truce. If approved by federal regulators, the merger would create the world's largest market for financial derivatives contracts, worth more than $25 billion. The stock and cash combination buyout would also cement Chicago's claim as a center of global finance nearly 90% of U.S. futures and options-on-futures would be traded here. The Merc will run the combined exchange and plans to move its trading pits to CBOT's Art Deco building overlooking LaSalle Street after the merger is completed in mid-2007. The two exchanges, which now operate six blocks apart, had been divided by decades of jealousy and animosity. Both were founded in the 19th century to provide risk management for agriculture producers but took divergent paths in recent years. CBOT pioneered the concept of a futures contract the delivery of a specific commodity by a certain date at a certain price in the 1860s. A century later, the Merc led the push into financial futures. In the past 10 years, the Merc has been quicker to switch
Hospira has a new mate down under. In September, it bought Mayne Pharma, an Australian company that dominates the generic injectable drug market at home and in Europe. Hospira is the No. 1 maker of generic injectable drugs in the U.S., offering approximately 130 injectable drugs in 600 dosages. But its international expansion has been slow since being spun off from parent Abbott Laboratories in 2004. For the first two years, Hospira relied on Abbott's sales staff and distribution network for its overseas efforts. But since going solo this spring, it has been plagued with lost orders and unexpected high costs that dragged down its second-quarter gross margin to 34% from 37% in the previous quarter. "These are two pieces of a puzzle that are perfectly matched," said Rick Wise, an analyst with Bear Stearns & Co. in New York. "Mayne has the ability to leverage Hospira's products internationally and Hospira has the ability to leverage Mayne's products in the United States." The $2-billion, all-cash deal will double Hospira's international revenues to 30% of total sales and expand its fledgling distribution network. About 75% of Mayne's $600 million in annual sales come from outside the U.S.,


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Sony confirms MWC 2020 event expected to bring us a new high-end Xperia phone
Well, that didn't take long. The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas closed its doors less than a week ago, and we already have the first confirmation from a major mobile tech company of a presumably important announcement happening at the year's second big industry exhibition in chronological order.
Unsurprisingly, Sony is headed for Barcelona to unveil the tech giant's next big phone at MWC 2020 on February 24. That's actually day one (at least officially) of this year's Mobile World Congress, and the company will be up bright and early that Monday morning to kick off its press conference at 8:30am CET. That's 2:30am Eastern and 11:30pm (Sunday, February 23) Pacific Time, so clearly, whatever Sony has in store here is not primarily targeted at a US audience.
Based on recent history, as well as even more recent rumors and leaks, we can predict with a relatively high degree of confidence that Sony will bring a new premium handset to the 2020 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. This is expected to follow in the footsteps of the Xperia 1 and Xperia 5, which saw daylight in February and September 2019 respectively, and may well carry the Xperia 5 Plus branding.
Sony's next high-end phone could be called Xperia 5 Plus
Leaked in all its glory just last week, the Sony Xperia 5 Plus has no notch or holes drilled into its massive 6.6-inch display, instead opting for a clean and sleek look with the same extra-tall 21:9 aspect ratio as its forerunners, as well as crazy thin bezels that are nonetheless thick enough to house front-firing stereo speakers.
Of course, it might be a little too late for a premium flagship design with just the right number of bells and whistles to straighten a ship that's been slowly sinking for several years now. But perhaps this could be the timid beginning of a beautiful resurgence.
Let's wait and see exactly what Sony has in the pipeline for its February 24 event, as the mid-range Xperia 10 and 10 Plus joined the high-end Xperia 1 in Barcelona for MWC 2019. Curiously enough, a device believed to be the Xperia 20 was first leaked all the way back in May, with a bunch of key specs rumored in July and complete silence on the gossip front since then.
Things that are NOT allowed:


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Metroland Media begins Local Matters campaign
Metroland Media Group of Toronto has begun a new advertising campaign called "Local Matters" focusing on its coverage of local news. The campaign, developed by The Garden, uses recent stories from Metroland properties to illustrate the effectiveness of local print and digital media. The initiative also draws on research conducted by BrandSpark which found that community newspapers were the most trusted source of advertising among 88% of respondents. The effort is aimed at marketing and business decision-makers. It consists of print and digital advertising in trade and mainstream publications, as well as radio advertising in Ontario. This is the first campaign The Garden has developed for Metroland since being hired earlier this year.
"It's not a surprise that community media has reach," said Michelle Digulla, vicepresident of marketing at Metroland Media. "Our papers are delivered to more than 76% of households in Ontario. But the BrandSpark research demonstrates the degree to which community media is trusted, engaging and motivating. The intention with this new campaign is to creatively use this data to help marketers look again at the role community media can play in their marketing plans."
In related news, Craft Public Relations has been retained by the Metroland as its PR agency of record. The firm will provide support for this campaign.


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- Angela Gonzalez-Rodriguez |
The luxury e-tailer revealed Tuesday how heavily it has invested in new technology and attracting new talent as they advanced with their float plans. Despite the promising reported 5 billion dollar initial public offering of shares (IPO), the company’s results have revealed a swelling loss.
New accounts show how
A reported 5 billion dollars float in New York, to blame for Farfetch’s larger loss
Part of this larger loss is to be linked to the 5 billion dollars float in the U.S. the company is tipped for “imminently.” CEO and founder Jose Neves said in August that an IPO is the "next logical stage for the company.”
Commenting the news, founder and CEO Jose Neves said: "Our trajectory of rapid growth and substantial investment continued in 2016, and we are pleased to have seen 81 percent growth in gross merchandise value, as well as strong growth, of 74 percent, in revenues."
Neves said: "Our programme of investment is designed to support the company’s ambitious growth plans, and over the year we focused our investments on technology, as well as customer acquisition and hiring to support our growth. We have very strong foundations in place and will continue to invest and grow our business as we build the definitive technology platform for the luxury industry."
Its home market, the UK, accounted for 12 million pounds of Farfetch's revenue, while another 40 million pounds came from Europe, and the remaining 98 million pounds came from the rest of the world.
Founded in 2008, Farfetch was valued at 1.1 billion pounds in a funding round last year, making it one of Britain's few "unicorns", recalls ‘Market Insider’. Earlier this year, in June, Farfetch raised 313 million pounds from online Chinese mall JD.com. The same month, Farfetch acquired Style.com from Vogue publisher Conde Naste. Accounts show that Farfetch made a share payment worth 12.5 million dollars to acquire the shopping website.
Photo credits:Farfetch Web, UK


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China trade slumps as coronavirus controls close factories
BEIJING — China’s exports fell by double digits in January and February as anti-virus controls closed factories, while imports sank by a smaller margin.
Exports tumbled 17.2% from a year earlier to $292.4 billion, a sharp reverse from December’s 7.8% rise, customs data showed Saturday. Imports declined 4% to $299.5 billion, down from the previous month’s 16.3% gain.
Trade was poised for a boost after Beijing and Washington removed punitive tariffs on some of each other’s goods in a trade truce signed in January. But that was offset by Chinese anti-virus controls that shut down much of the world’s second-largest economy in late January.
In this March 5, 2020 drone photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a mobile crane moves a container at a logistic station of Shenyang East Railway Station in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province. (Pan Yulong/Xinhua via AP)
Exports to the United States plunged 27.7% in January and February to $43 billion, worsening from December’s 12.5% decline. Imports of American goods crept up 2.5% to $17.6 billion, but China still recorded a $25.4 billion trade surplus with the United States.
China’s global trade balance fell to a $7.1 billion deficit for the first two months of the year.
Manufacturers that make the world’s smartphones, toys and other consumer goods are reopening but say the pace will be dictated by how quickly supply chains start functioning again. Forecasters say industries are unlikely to be back to normal production before at least April.
Until the virus outbreak, Chinese trade had been unexpectedly resilient despite Beijing’s tariff war with President Donald Trump over its technology ambitions and trade surplus. Last year’s exports rose 0.5% over 2018.
A courier wears a face mask as he sorts packages outside of a residential neighborhood in Beijing, Saturday, March 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Beijing told exporters to pursue other markets in Asia, Europe and Africa after Trump slapped punitive duties on their goods starting in 2018. China retaliated by raising tariffs on American soybeans and other goods.
Some of those penalties were rolled back after the two sides signed a “Phase 1” agreement in January. Washington canceled additional planned tariff hikes and Beijing promised to buy more American farm exports.
Economists warn the truce fails to address contentious U.S.-Chinese disputes that might take years to resolve.
China’s customs agency began reporting January and February trade figures together this year to screen out the impact of the Lunar New Year holiday, which comes at different times each year during the two-month period.
Factories traditionally usually shut down for two weeks or longer while their employees visit their hometowns.
Imports usually surge after the holiday as factories restock. But this year’s rebound was postponed after the holiday was extended by at least one week — more in some places — to keep factories and offices closed as authorities tried to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
A deliveryman carries a food order as he walks through a mostly empty shopping mall in Beijing, Saturday, March 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Chinese leaders are trying to limit economic damage by ordering local officials in areas deemed at low disease risk to help factories reopen. But many say they have trouble getting raw materials and employees because controls on travel still are in place in many areas.
The Chinese shutdown sent shockwaves through Asian economies that supply components and raw materials to Chinese factories that assemble the world’s smartphones, toys, home appliances and other consumer goods.
Shopping malls, restaurants and other retail businesses also were closed. Demand for online grocery vendors surged but sales of other goods slumped.


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Travel sector anticipates decline in int’l arrivals
Vietnam's travel industry foresees a decline of international arrivals in the rest of this year due to rising costs, and the course is unchangeable unless strong publicity efforts are taken, according to a seminar over the weekend.
Signs of slowdown have surfaced, despite a modest growth in the first half, said participants to a seminar on Friday, citing feedback from their overseas travel agents and partners. The seminar was convened in HCMC by the Travel Department under the Vietnam National Administration for Tourism.
While figures show an increase in international arrivals in the firs six months, the coming time will be tough, said an executive of the country's leading travel firm Saigontourist.
"We've got a good result in international arrivals in the first half. However, feedback from overseas partners is that the coming situation would be difficult," said Vu Duy Vu, deputy director of Saigontourist Travel Service Company.
Like Vu, others pointed to a series of negative factors, especially a combination of rising costs, a strong increase of fuel surcharge, and inflation. The Travel Department itself also showed its concerns at the seminar attended by representatives of 40 travel firms.
The number visitors from important markets of the country's inbound sector have fallen, such as that from China decreasing 7.6%, Japan down 3.6%, South Korea down 6.6%, and the U.S. down 3.5%, according to the department.
"This is a serious problem because the four markets are contributing around 40% of total foreign arrivals in the country," according to the department's report.
Participants estimated that the sector's growth for the whole year will be lower than expected.
Nguyen Van Tran, general director of APEX-Vietnam Co., Ltd., agreed to the reasons, adding poor tourism products and the lack of effective promotion campaigns giving more woes to the sector.
"The number of Japanese visitors to Vietnam has decreased as the current fuel surcharge for Vietnam-Japan flight is US$200, while hotel room rates are high coupled with rising consumer costs due to inflation," he said, adding poor tourism product quality was also a reason.
A report from the travel department showed that the total number of foreign visitors to the country in the first half this year is nearly 2.29 million, an increase of 8.1% year-on-year compared to the department's expected growth of 12-17%. Especially, the number of international arrivals last month has decreased.
Meanwhile, the government website has quoted a report from the Ministry of Planning and Investment to put the total number of international arrivals in the first half at 2.5 million, higher than the tourism sector's figure.
This is the first time since the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2003 that the tourism sector is taking about a decline in arrivals.
At the seminar, the travel department suggested solutions to help the travel sector to cope with difficulties. Some of them included reorganizing promotional activities, developing products, and expanding the China market and cruise passengers among others.
However, entrepreneurs proposed that the tourism authority take more efforts in promoting the country's tourism image.
"I think that the tourism authority should change publicity by making international events at home to get better results to promotion," said Le Dinh Tuan, director of Tan Hong tourism company.
Nguyen Van Tan, chairman of the JTB-TNT Co., said that the tourism authority should establish strong relationship with big international tourism companies in foreign countries for attracting more international visitors to Vietnam.
The inbound sector contributes a big part to the country's tourism revenue. The sector generated VND27 trillion in total revenue of VND39 trillion of the country's tourism in the first half, says the travel department's report.
(Source: SGT, URL: http://english.vietnamnet.vn/travel/2008/07/793753/)
Other news posted:


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Tens of thousands of gadgets, including the new wave of high-definition televisions, are on display in Las Vegas at the biggest tech show in the industry. This year's show is missing two of the biggest tech giants - Google and Apple. CBS News' Bigad Shaban has a first look at what's hot at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show.
If you're having trouble watching this video, try downloading the latest version of Flash Player or contacting your IT department.
Have any comments or questions about our video editions of IMPO? Or do you have a video you'd like to see featured in one of our deployments? Email me at [email protected].


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All new contract customers to get contactless tech, regardless of device.
The confusion over who has control of the secure element in an NFC chip, and where it resides, keeps rumbling on.
Handset companies put it in their devices, some OTT firms are trying to put it in a sticker or SD card, while operators want to keep it on the SIM.
This move by Orange, with tech firm Gemalto, is a big play by a major operator to seize the initiative.
We shouldn't be surprised it's Orange, given the fact that the firm was first into NFC payments in the UK with its QuickTap service, and has a major project under way around the tech called CityZi in Nice.
Of course, Orange's SIMs will only work in phones that are NFC-enabled. At present that includes some BlackBerrys and newer Android devices. But not iPhone. Orange has sold 500,000 NFC devices to date.
So now Orange has to convince third parties like banks, retailers and transport operators for create apps that will reside on the SIM. They can then dynamically manage their own security domain in the card and load, personalise and update NFC apps remotely over time.
Orange describes the launch as the 'implementation of a NFC infrastructure on a national level that enables service providers to come onboard and massively deploy mobile contactless services.'
Orange has opcos in 33 countries across Europe and Africa, and will look to roll out this functionality in the future.


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Zetes industrial voice solution has been successfully deployed on thousands of Windows-based devices throughout Europe. ZetesMedea Voice relies on the MCL-Voice engine – which is now certified on Zebra’s MC40 enterprise mobile computer and will soon support all Zebra Android-based voice-capable mobile computers.
By supporting Android-based devices, ZetesMedea Voice can be ported from Windows devices and run additional proven software solutions on the latest hardware platforms.
The ZetesMedea Voice solution integrates the enterprise cloud-based MCL™ Mobility Platform offering unified and centralized management of Windows and Android environments.
Alain Wirtz, CEO of Zetes says, “We are pleased to be the first to offer this technological advancement which proves that innovation is at the heart of our strategy. We are committed to remain at the forefront of industrial voice solutions and provide our customers a seamless transition to next generation hardware platforms.”
“We’re pleased that our relationship with Zetes will provide customers with the first truly multi-modal voice solution for enterprise-class Android mobile computers,” said Joe White, vice president, Enterprise Mobile Computing, Zebra Technologies.


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Audi it seems is running final tests on the upcoming generation of the A8. The flagship luxury sedan will be unveiled in an all-new avatar next year to take on the latest-gen BMW 7 Series and the Mercedes S-Class.
The new A8 will be based on Audi’s MLB Evo platform which is an evolution of the MLB platform. The latter underpins the current A8 and several other Volkswagen Group models. The MLB Evo was first showcased in 2013 in Audi’s Sport quattro concept, and made its production debut in the new Q7.
The new A8, as a result, will have a lighter curb weight. Another key area of focus is the powertrain; the engine lineup should be similar to the current A8. That said, we should see a plug-in hybrid option and possibly even an all-electric A8.
Being the flagship offering, the new A8 is expected to feature a host of advanced infotainment features as well as new autonomous driving tech. Look for the new A8 to be revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2017.


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Chain Store Age reported news that the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) staff were prepared to recommend that the agency file a lawsuit to stop the deal. A source said that FTC staff has asked companies and groups concerned about the deal for depositions and affidavits that could be used in a lawsuit to stop it.
Walgreens and Rite Aid have been waiting for FTC approval of the acquisition since Walgreens made its initial offer in October 2015. Rite Aid’s share price dropped as much as 16.7 percent after the report, while Walgreen’s shares saw little change.
While Walgreens has 8,175 stores and Rite Aid has about 4,600, CVS Health Corp is the nation’s largest drugstore chain with more than 9,600 stores. Walgreens has indicated it may sell as many as 1,200 stores to smaller chain Fred’s as a way to resolve antitrust problems under the proposed merger. The deal would help Walgreens widen its U.S. footprint and negotiate for lower drug costs.
David Balto, a former FTC official, said the agency would have a “compelling case” if it sued to stop the deal and noted that the agency had stopped other big transactions, including a bid by Staples, Inc. to buy Office Depot, Inc., which was scrapped last year.
Walgreens, Rite Aid and the FTC all declined comment.


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Published on: Sep. 22, 2020
Visit Savannah Hosts New State Tourism Director
Last week, Visit Savannah hosted Georgia’s new Deputy Commissioner of Tourism for Explore Georgia, Mark Jaronski. Mr. Jaronski met with the sales and marketing staff, enjoyed dinner with a variety of local tourism leaders, including Mayor Van Johnson and had breakfast with some of Visit Savannah Board of Directors before speaking at the Tourism Leadership Council Luncheon. It was his first trip to Savannah since taking on the new role about seven weeks ago. The breakfast also included Pat Wilson, Commissioner of Economic Development and Bert Brantley, Chief Operating Officer for the GDEcD.
CATEGORY:Visit Savannah News


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Two of Europe’s leading national postal operators have formed an important alliance to combine their respective cross-border mail activities, in order to take on the major players in the international market. France’s La Poste and Swiss Post signed an agreement this evening in Paris, both their boards of directors already having approved the plan to set up a joint venture, which could be operational at some point in 2012.
The joint venture would be equally owned by the two posts, bringing together La Poste Global Mail and Swiss Post International.
The companies said their existing international operations each had a “solid” international presence in key markets including the US, UK, continental Europe and Asia. But, they suggested their operations were largely complementary, both in terms of their geographic spread and their product offerings.
The new venture would be in a better position to attract new customers seeking to expand internationally, in a mail market the posts estimated to be worth around $13bn USD a year.
Jean-Paul Bailly, president of La Poste Group, said: “La Poste and Swiss Post confirm their intention of becoming a leader in the international mail market in order to accompany their clients and partners in their development around the world.”
Jürg Bucher, the Swiss Post chief executive, added: “Both partners are complementary from both a geographic and a market-offering point of view. The new company will thus provide the best available value-added mailing solutions for their international clients.”
In alliance, La Poste and Swiss Post believe they will be better able to attract new customers pursuing international expansion
The joint venture, which remains subject to the required regulatory approvals in both countries, will be headquartered in both Paris and Bern.
A new name and brand for the company will be created soon, “which will acknowledge the strengths and values of each of the shareholders’ existing brands”, a spokesman for Swiss Post told Post&Parcel .
The new company will combine all the cross-border mail activities of La Poste and Swiss Post except for inbound and outbound services in France and Switzerland.
The regulated universal service obligations of La Poste in France and Swiss Post in Switzerland will not be included within the joint venture.
La Poste spokesman David Drujon told Post&Parcel today that the companies believed their operations would overlap “only marginally”, but that they would review all activities regularly to ensure service efficiency.
He said: “The partnership is about joining together to combine our strengths and build a stronger presence on the international mail market, to grow the business and generate stronger profits for our shareholders. The partnership is not about rationalizing structures, but rather optimizing solutions and processes for clients, by combining the two partners’ resources and knowledge.”
Swiss Post International is already going through a restructuring that is expected to see some reduction in the workforce.
Swiss Post’s board of directors has decided to reassign responsibility for Swiss Post International’s activities, with its parcel and express business allocated to the company’s PostLogistics division as of the start of next month, while other areas including SPI’s letter business will “initially” fall under the responsibility of the PostMail division.
Operational management of the SPU units will remain the responsibility of former manager Jean-Pierre Streich until 30 June 2012, the company said.
“The establishment of new synergies may result in job cuts in the medium term. Swiss Post is committed, as always, to its social responsibility as an employer, and will do everything it can to avoid redundancies. This realignment of SPI will not impact its customers,” said Swiss Post.


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Leading fitness developer and muscle therapy provider to offer exclusive content for customers
ATLANTA (September 30, 2021) – MOSSA®, developers of group fitness programs that have inspired millions to move, and NIMBL, a provider of elite percussion muscle therapy tools, today announce their partnership to bring NIMBL products to MOSSA’s movement enthusiasts.
Through this partnership, health club instructors and MOSSA On Demand subscribers will gain access to exclusive content from NIMBL and MOSSA, including guided sessions for key use cases of percussion therapy – pre-workout for priming the muscles, post-workout and “trouble spots” to tackle onset muscle soreness. NIMBL devices also will be available for purchase from the MOSSA store.
“We’re very excited to partner with our friends at NIMBL and make percussion therapy more accessible to our club partners and MOSSA On Demand subscribers,” said Cathy Spencer-Browning, VP of Programming & Training at MOSSA. “In addition to our mission to get people moving, we also want to help everyone up their recovery game. Percussion therapy is part of what we call a WORK-IN, which helps the body regulate the autonomic nervous system and drive the internal recovery needed so they feel and perform better in their body.”
Recovery is just as important as exercise and movement, as it produces better results and prevents overtraining, which can affect up to 30 percent of non-endurance athletes and lead to physical side effects and injury. Percussion therapy is a simple but effective way to keep the body ready to move.
Guided percussion therapy sessions will be available exclusively to instructors through MOSSA Go and to MOSSA On Demand subscribers. Each session is led by NIMBL co-founder and fitness educator Jeremy Strom. Strom has led the FreeMotion Fitness global education team and worked with researchers to study the effects and benefits of vibration on the body’s performance.
Fitness industry veteran and NIMBL co-founder Josh Brand noted the synergies in both companies’ mission to improve movement. “Our team is honored to be partnering with the inspiring group of people at MOSSA,” said Brand. “We admire their mission to get people moving and on the path to living a longer, more active life. Through our sessions with MOSSA, we’ll teach users how to properly use the NIMBL percussion therapy device to gain maximum benefits pre- and post-workout and to ease tension from onset muscle soreness.”
Guided percussion therapy sessions from MOSSA and NIMBL are available now through MOSSA Go for instructors or with a subscription to MOSSA On Demand, which is just $9.99 per month.
MOSSA is the most respected and inclusive developer of M4 Programming, a proprietary formula of Movement, Music, Momentum and Metrics, designed for the home and club markets. MOSSA has a history that spans five decades of inspiring millions of people to Move as its business has touched every part of the fitness industry. From early roots in successful health club ownership to pioneering the step fitness movement, MOSSA naturally evolved into one of the world’s preeminent developers of professional group fitness programs for health clubs, gyms, and YMCAs. With its latest release of MOSSA On Demand, the fitness pioneer offers club quality workouts for the home or wherever consumers have room to move. More information is available at www.mossa.net.
NIMBL, Inc. (www.joinnimbl.com), the muscle wellness company, packages percussion therapy products and personalized education programs into cost-effective subscription programs. The company serves fitness organizations, sports teams, physical therapists, corporate wellness programs and individuals worldwide. Founded in 2020, NIMBL is privately held with headquarters in Holmdel, New Jersey.


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Following the launch of OVO's $100 for 100GB mobile broadband plan earlier this month, the tiny telco has slashed its price to $69.95 citing high demand. OVO says the plan's popularity has allowed it to drop the price. Customers who have already paid for their first month will receive a $30 credit.
The $100GB plan is offered as a 30-day recharge, and customers who require a 4G mode have the option of paying $59 extra when signing up for a Huawei E5573s. This will attract a $12 delivery fee.
OVO CEO Matt Jones says the company is pitching the plan as a response to the frustrations around NBN.
"Despite the billions being spent on upgrading Australia's fixed broadband infrastructure, it remains slow and expensive by international standards," said Jones. "I speak as one of the many, many Australians who are sick of hearing about why that is and who's to blame − we just want it to work, where and when we want it."
When compared to the rest of the market, OVO's 100GB is up there with the best of them. Optus is currently the only provider to match OVO in value when it comes to a month-to-month mobile broadband plan, offering 100GB for $70. You can however 140GB per month for the same price if you're happy to sign a 12-month contract with Optus.
At time of writing, every higher mobile broadband plan with a higher cost per month includes less data, but given how quickly the market moves, we'd expect this to change soon.


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US medical device maker Thermo Fisher Scientific has set up a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Bengaluru to produce COVID-19 testing kits and diagnostic solutions. The 'made in India, for use in India' products will be shipped from today onwards and be competitively priced, a company spokesperson said. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in diagnostic technology, with annual revenue exceeding $30 billion.
CoviPath COVID-19 RT-PCR Kit contains the assays and controls for Thermo Fisher's gold standard RT-PCR test, intended for the qualitative detection of nucleic acid from SARS-CoV-2 in individuals suspected of COVID-19 infection.
The CoviPath COVID-19 RT-PCR Kit has been approved under MDR 2017 rules for in vitro diagnostic use by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) in all authorised laboratories. Testing with the kit can be done on Applied Biosystems real-time PCR instruments with FAM dye, VIC dye, and JUN dye or any RT-PCR platform with 3 dye channels in molecular biology laboratories approved for testing. Samples are collected from nasopharyngeal swab, nasopharyngeal aspirate and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens.
"Thermo Fisher has been playing a central role in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. The introduction of this kit and the new facility strengthens our commitment towards the COVID-19 response in India. The new facility is equipped with the capacity to manufacture up to 10 million tests every month. This facility will be instrumental in ensuring access to affordable testing kits while maintaining global quality standards," said Amit Chopra, Managing Director, India and South Asia, Thermo Fisher Scientific.
The CoviPath COVID-19 RT-PCR Kit is designed to detect viral targets with low mutations and offers more than 99.5 per cent sensitivity and 99.5 per cent specificity. The kit is packaged in a user-friendly and convenient pack size of 200 reactions. The company will make these kits available across the country leveraging its strong distribution network.
"As the country is racing to normalcy, it is imperative to have reliable, affordable and quick-to deliver testing kits. Thermo Fisher's local production facility will augment accessibility of testing kits across the country. We are thankful to all our stakeholders and customers in extending their support," said Kapil Sood, Senior Director-Life Sciences Solutions, Thermo Fisher Scientific, India.
The Applied Biosystems CoviPath COVID-19 RT-PCR Kit is for use in India only. The company has not disclosed the size of its India investment.


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Politicians, business leaders, commentators and academics gathered in London in early April to discuss what we can expect from Brexit, now that the UK has triggered Article 50. Here are seven things we learnt at the summit:
- Business wants to sort questions around workforce as a top priority
Safeguarding the rights of EU citizens in the UK – and vice versa – was a recurring theme throughout the summit. Most companies not only want to secure their current EU workforce, but to continue, if possible, to have access to a large pool of talent right on the doorstep. There’s plenty of practical action they themselves can take, as we argued in a recent Brexit Column.
- The window for negotiations is surprisingly small
There are likely to be fewer than 100 days of direct face-to-face talks due to elections in the UK and Europe at the start, and a significant ratification window at the end. In that period, the two sides have to discuss up to 20 negotiation areas, ranging from citizens’ rights to sector-by-sector deals. Companies need to start planning immediately, using something like the KPMG Brexit Navigator.
- Business wants an early deal but also needs to make its voice heard
Businesses are eager to see an early agreement on a transition phase, giving them the certainty they and their investors need to plan ahead. Yet, companies will not sit by and wait for a political settlement: the longer it takes for the direction of talks to become clear, the greater the risk that the UK loses out on jobs and investment.
Business also has a responsibility, however: companies need to be actively lobbying policymakers on both sides of negotiations – directly and via national and pan-European groupings – to spell out the dangers of a cliff-edge Brexit and the importance of an orderly transition. Now that Article 50 has been triggered, European governments may be more open to discussing Brexit-related issues.
- The fragmentation of financial markets will ramp up costs and inefficiencies
No one European country would emerge as the winner if financial services provision had to leave London, agreed panellists from across the Continent. KPMG’s partner, Brexit banking and capital markets lead Joe Cassidy, pointed out fragmentation would only increase costs and inefficiencies, although more competitively-priced countries could benefit from a larger slice of back-office work. Any new system should reflect the needs of corporate clients, for example, whether euro-denominated trades can continue to be processed in the UK.
- There are plenty of new growth opportunities for pragmatic, nimble businesses
Brexit represents an exciting platform for businesses to rethink and recast their futures. Those who get themselves BrextFit at the earliest opportunity will emerge as the winners in the new landscape: companies with a practical mindset, who engage early with the challenges Brexit poses and who discover creative solutions will be the most successful. No-regrets planning to mitigate any negative effects will provide long-term stability and offer a boost if the UK and EU conclude a free trade agreement.
- Britain has untapped potential as a trading nation
Only 11% of UK businesses currently export goods or services and, cumulatively, they generate just 28% of GDP - the lowest rate of any EU member state. The UK will only achieve its goal to have an extra 100,000 businesses exporting by 2020 if companies focus on the intrinsic appeal of their products and services, rather than competing just on transitory factors such as exchange rates.
- “You can’t marry again while you’re getting divorced, but you can have ‘friends’ ”
Why wait, asks Dr Kegang Wu of the China Guangdong Economic and Trade Office. The UK has every incentive to start informally scoping out free trade deals right now with China, the US, India and other markets, he pointed out. He added his prediction that China would sign a free trade agreement with the UK within five years. The earlier companies prepare for the possibility of doing business with those markets, the better!


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It's official. HTC is definitely not doing well. They've just reported that their revenue has declined to only $384 million in February, this year. That's a 44% drop compared to only 4 months ago. So it's pretty obvious they are going downhill here, and it's happening fast.
This makes their sales as low as they've been early 2010, about the time they released the first Nexus device ever, the Nexus One. This announcement comes after last month they experienced the lowest profit since 2004 – only $34 million – which was a drop of 91% compared to a year before. There's no doubt something is terribly wrong at HTC, but the real question is how do they fix it, and how do they get their mojo back, and start making everyone love HTC phones again?
I think there are two main ways they can do that: building a Nexus phone again, or the next best thing: starting to make stock Android devices with guaranteed 2 year upgrade periods.
New HTC Nexus
I've talked before about how a HTC Nexus would not only help HTC gain a lot of sales (a lot more than Nexus 4 did, especially if Google/HTC don't experience the same supply issues again) but it would also greatly improve their image in the smartphone market. Even if HTC has made some high quality devices lately, all the poor sales reports haven't given consumers a lot of confidence in HTC and their devices.
People like choosing a winner. That's why even if people may initially have disliked the Galaxy S3, after hearing that so many people have gotten it and are happy with it, they then seriously started to consider it. HTC needs that kind of "winning" halo effect.
Making a Nexus device would get every single tech site to write about it, and if nothing goes terribly wrong, they would do it in a very positive way, too. That's free marketing that money can hardly buy, and it's not like HTC has a lot of that now, anyway. A new Nexus device made by HTC could be critical for the surviving of the company.
HTC Stock Android Devices
In the past HTC used to be the company that always "got it" first. They "got" Android, and were the first to make devices with it, and that helped them grow larger than ever before, to the point where they thought nothing could go wrong. So why does it seem that HTC isn't "getting" it anymore? Why aren't they the first company to push for stock Android? Considering nobody really does that, it would be a strong advantage for them over other companies. And it's pretty obvious most people don't like their Sense skin anyway.
If for whatever reason Google isn't letting them build the next Nexus (which I still think should be their #1 priority for the free publicity alone), then they should start building their own Nexus-like devices. And by that I mean more than just stock Android. Because with Nexus, stock Android is only half the story. The other is 18 months of upgrades as soon as the new version comes out.
HTC may not be able to release the new version of Android as soon as Google themselves do it for Nexus, but with the PDK and considering they don't need to put their skins on top anymore, they should be able to shave months from the typical upgrade cycles. Plus, they can do one better than Google. They can guarantee 24 months of upgrades. That means one extra upgrade compared to Nexus devices.
So for example a Nexus device from this fall would come out with Android 5.0, then get upgraded to Android 5.1, then 6.0 a year after the launch, and then 6.1, as the final upgrade. A Stock Android device that was launched with Android 5.0 would be upgraded up to Android 7.0. I could see that as a pretty luring proposition, even compared to Nexus devices.
I don't think this is all HTC needs to do to get back in the game, but they are definitely the "magic bullets" that can give them a huge boost in sales and image almost immediately. But other things would include continuing to make high quality devices, both in build material and design, but even more importantly, continuing to add new innovations to their devices, such as the "ultra-pixel" camera, that can set them apart the others. Just incrementing the specs from one model to another gets boring quickly, and it's not really something that gets people talking about your devices.
If they can make a Nexus device, and then other stock Android devices with guaranteed upgrades, and keep adding new innovations, HTC may be able to stop this death spiral they are in right now, and get back on track.


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This past Friday a New York judge unsealed previously redacted documents in the lawsuit against Google led by the State of Texas. One of the main allegations of the antitrust lawsuit is that Google and Facebook colluded to rig ad prices and “kill header bidding” (the attempt by competitors to make the ad market less Google-centric).
“The lawsuit claims that when Facebook began to gain traction as a rival advertiser, Google made an agreement with Facebook to reduce competition in exchange for giving the social media company an advantage in Google-run ad auctions. The project was called ‘Jedi Blue,’” we wrote in April of this year.
The newly unredacted information shows just how deep the alleged agreement went between Facebook and the search engine giant.
Jedi Blue and Facebook/Google ad exchanges. Code-named “Jedi Blue,” the arrangement between Facebook and Google meant that Google would “charge Facebook lower fees and give Facebook information, speed and other advantages in header bidding auctions in exchange for Facebook’s support of Open Bidding, Google’s header bidding alternative,” wrote Allison Schiff for AdExchanger.
Some suspect that Facebook initially backed header bidding in order to force Google’s hand in the arrangement and force a mutually beneficial deal. “Partnerships like this are common in the industry, and we have similar agreements with several other companies. Facebook continues to invest in these partnerships, and create new ones, which help increase competition in ad auctions to create the best outcomes for advertisers and publishers. Any suggestion that these types of agreements harm competition is baseless,” Facebook said in a statement.
The internal documents at Facebook reveal that the company had “four options: to ‘invest hundreds more engineers’ and spend billions of dollars to lock up inventory to compete, exit the business, or do the deal with Google.”
Meanwhile, Google’s main goal was to figure out any way to stop header bidding from gaining steam in the industry.
What is header bidding? “Header bidding helped website publishers circumvent Google’s exchange for buying and selling ads across the web. The exchange auctions ad space to the highest bidder during the split second it takes a webpage to load. Header bidding allowed the publishers to directly solicit bids from multiple ad exchanges at once, leading to more favorable prices for publishers,” explained Ryan Tracy and Jeff Horwitz for the Wall Street Journal.
Google worried, according to court documents, that having a large ad rival (like Facebook) embracing header bidding would disrupt what was essentially their monopoly on the ad market. “Header bidding was bad because it allowed publishers to bypass fees which we now learn ranged between 19-22% of revenues,” said Jason Kint in a tweet thread analysis of the court docs.
How Project Jedi worked. In order to win in the exchange, Google created the Open Bidding program. This program, in theory, let publishers display their inventory to multiple ad exchanges at once. This was presented as a competitor to header bidding. However, the lawsuit alleges that Google manipulated Open Bidding to give Facebook’s Ad Network (FAN) an unfair advantage. “Jedi’s success was measured not by financial targets or output increases, but by how much it stopped publishers from using header bidding,” said Janice Tan with Marketing Interactive after an assessment of the documents.
From there, the partnership with Facebook meant the social media giant also threw its weight behind Open Bidding over header bidding. In exchange for backing Google’s open bidding over header bidding, Facebook received “information, speed and other advantages in the auction it runs in the US,” added Tan.
“Both companies also had an illegal advertising deal that allowed the social media company to appear more in Google Ads. Google did this by fixing bids in ad auctions to Facebook’s favor,” alleges Nalin Rawat for FossBytes.
Why we care. Well, firstly, it’s a lot to digest. There is potential that publishers and advertisers have been overpaying and missing out on placements due to Google’s alleged collusion with Facebook to essentially rig the ad market. According to the unredacted documents, Jedi “generates suboptimal yields for publishers and serious risks of negative media coverage if exposed externally.” Also with Google promoting FLoC, FLEDGE, and the rest of their sandbox as a privacy solution for the open web, these revelations call into question their motives (especially if the company is sharing sensitive data with other firms that have agreed to terms with them for ads). Many advertisers complain about the lack of reach with other competitive ad networks and the revelations in the unredacted Google lawsuit show that the tech giant’s leadership worked diligently to ensure that competition was squashed.


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just the Round-Up - The week in drinks
The week in drinks
The top ten stories published on just-drinks last week:
AG Barr has increased sales by both value and volume in its first-half results, but saw rising costs bite into profits.
The Champagne sector stands at a 'crossroads', with some producers backing newer markets to bring growth and others maintaining Champagne's traditional markets remain more critical for its future, a new report has suggested.
The Coca-Cola Co has completed its US$980m deal to buy half of the soft drinks business of Aujan Industries.
Diageo and the UB Group have confirmed that they are in talks over taking a stake in United Spirits.
The Czech unit of Pernod Ricard remains closed as the prospect of a partial lift of the the ban on sales of spirits over 20% abv in the country looms.
Wells and Young's has lined up the sale of its Kestrel beer brand to its MD, ahead of his departure from the UK brewer.
South Africa’s wine trade is attracting foreign investment at a significant rate and the trend shows little sign of declining, according to an industry expert.
Premium beer production in the US is to increase at twice the rate of the overall industry over the next four years, according to a new just-drinks report.
French wine grape growers have applauded a European Commission decision to postpone a ruling that will allow US wineries to use the label “château” or “clos” in the EU.
The shareholders of Fraser & Neave have voted in favour of Heineken's proposed takeover of their Asia Pacific Breweries joint venture.
- Focus - Edrington's FY Performance by Brand
- Pernod relies on Indian whiskey to crack Africa
- Hail Marie Brizard: But, For How Long?
- Analysis - Storm clouds lift over Diageo Towers
- 5 reasons why Constellation's Meiomi buy works
- Comment - Diageo CFO to North America? Do the Math
- Diageo CFO Mahlan to head up N America
- Diageo sells "non-core" Gleneagles
- Former Bacardi exec takes De Kuyper CEO role
- Diageo lining up Gleneagles sale - report
- Global liqueurs insights - market forecasts, product innovation and consumer trends research
- Edrington Group in Spirits (World)
- Diageo plc (DGE) - Financial and Strategic SWOT Analysis Review
- The IWSR Company Profile 2014 – Remy Cointreau
- Global Tequila insights - market forecasts, product innovation and consumer trends research


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Kenya Airways Marketing Director, Chris Diaz has handed his resignation letter and will leave the Airline in Mid March.
“I recently received the resignation of Chris Diaz, our marketing director. Over the last four years with KQ, Chriz has led important change projects in the company’s marketing strategy and successfully positioned KQ as the “Pride Of Africa”. Read a memo sent to KQ staff from CEO Mbuvi Ngunze.
“Chris is leaving to take up a new opportunity outside KQ but he will stay with us till Mid-march to ensure a smooth transition.” He announced.
The Airline also reorganised its Marketing Department in two parts: Corporate Communication, CSR, Events and Sponsoring all to be combined with Government and Industry Affairs(Currently in Commercial) and will be led by a Head of External Affairs, Regulatory and Communication.
Corporate Brand, Advertising and Field Marketing, as well as CRM and customer relations will now report to Vincent Coste, the firm’s Commercial Director. Jacquie Muhati will be the Head of Marketing while Julia Mandu will hold the position of Manager – CRM and Customer Relations both reporting to Vincent.
Chris Diaz Resignation comes less than a week after KLM’s Pieter Elbers resigned from the airline’s board citing heavy responsibilities and additional commitments as the President and CEO of KLM.


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Birla Corporation Q4 net profit falls 2.23pc to Rs 128.19cr
Birla Corporation on Friday reported a 2.23-per cent on-year fall in net profit to Rs 128.19 crore during the quarter to March.
Revenue from operations of the flagship company of the M P Birla group rose to Rs 1,872.76 crore in the three months ended March from Rs 1,650.81 crore in the corresponding period a year ago, the company said in a statement.
However, Birla Corp's bottomline for the quarter "grew 11 per cent year-on-year after adjusting for one-off deferred tax credit of Rs 16 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal", it said.
Cement sales during January-March stood at 3.85 million tonne, up 13.2 per cent from 3.4 million tonne in the corresponding quarter a year ago.
EBIDTA for the quarter under review grew 15 per cent to Rs 333.95 crore on the back of better sales and realisation, while the operating profit for the full fiscal was at Rs 1,027 crore.
The company's production units are now operating at more than 90 per cent of their installed capacity, the statement said.
The board declared a dividend of Rs 7.50 per share.
(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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Just ahead of the big Xbox reveal, Microsoft has subtly changed the console’s iconic logo. Have a look below.
As you can see, the new logo sports a deeper green and a bolder ‘X” in the middle of the ball. Nothing too distinct, but a change nonetheless.
The new logo also accompanied the invite Microsoft sent out a while back, however no one noticed, as said changes are really minimal.
In just a few hours, the next Xbox will be revealed. Expect up-to-the-minute coverage on Gamesthirst.