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The New York Auto Show is considered the oldest and first-ever automotive exhibition in North America. It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors, as well as media and foreign guests. The show has just released their 2013 poster art work depicting the iconic Statue of Liberty as a surreal hood ornament on a car while a shower of ticker-tape falls down from above.
The New York City show will be held, as usual, at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan. The public dates are March 29 – April 7, 2013. The media-press days are March 27-28th. The dealer preview will be held Thursday evening, March 28th. The media-press days attendance is by pre-approved credentials only. The dealer preview and reception is by invitation only.
This year's poster artwork serves a lot of purposes, most of which is to promote and advertise the New York City auto show. The poster artwork traditionally sets the tone for the show. This year, the graphic is very attention-grabbing due to the central focus being Lady Liberty. She is supposedly featured in a “triumphant drive around the city as ticker-tape rains down.” This is according to the Show Chairman John LaSorsa.
LaSorsa went on to say, “We love the idea of incorporating other iconic New York city elements into the poster design. The 113-year old New York Auto Show is an historic part of the fabric of the City. The poster art is a fun and imaginative way of celebrating our love of the car and this great City.”
The New York Auto Show, as do most other major car shows, combines new ideas, automotive technology, concept cars, and hundreds of current 2013 and 2013 vehicles. The show is owned and operated by the Great New York automobile Dealers Association. The official opening will be a ribbon cutting and ceremonies on Saturday, March 30th at 8:30 am with the doors opening at 10;00 am.
For more information, go to the official show website; www.autohowNY.com


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By Lee Mielke
A study by a British dairy consulting firm, Landell-Mills, predicts global economic and population growth will result in increased demand for dairy products by more than one million tons by 2010.
Marc Beck, senior vice president of marketing at the U.S. Dairy Export Council, reported in Monday’s “DMI Update” that the increased demand spells opportunity for U.S. producers because the projected increase will “strain the ability of the world’s major dairy suppliers to meet demand.”
For example, the European Union’s ability to export more will be limited due to production quotas, according to the study, and New Zealand will be “pinched to increase its production,” Beck said, because of competing, more profitable land uses, and Australia farmers face increasing water shortages.
Landell Mills says supply increases from these countries would only be able to cover a half to three-quarters of the demand increase and that will leave a large deficit of about 600,000 tons.
“Even if New Zealand, Australia and others could provide a 50 percent greater supply, Landell Mills still projects a 320,000 ton shortfall,” Beck said.
“With its ample capacity and infrastructure,” the forecasting firm says. “The United States is best positioned to increase its dairy exports to meet the projected gap.”
The U.S. would only need to increase production by .5 to .7 percent per year for the next five years to fill the gap, Beck concluded. “So this could translate into a significant business opportunity for the U.S. dairy industry,” he said.
Export demand has kept domestic nonfat dry milk prices strong the last two years, according to Al Levitt, editor of the CME’s Daily Dairy Report. Speaking in Tuesday’s DairyLine, Levitt said people are starting to pay more attention to the powder market, a market that characteristically doesn’t get a lot of attention and hasn’t received much credit for boosting farm income.
“It’s (the powder market) actually had a huge affect on milk prices even though it doesn’t plug directly into the Class III price which is what a lot of people focus on,” Levitt said. Every penny movement in the nonfat price means 8.6 cents on the Class II and Class IV milk price, according to Levitt, and those two classes make up about a quarter of milk utilization in the U.S.
Nonfat prices are currently about 20 cents higher than they were two years ago, he explained, “Which means you could reasonably say that Class II and Class IV prices are $1.72 higher than they would have been if nonfat prices were still close to the support price of 80 cents per pound.”
The windfall is not evenly distributed, Levitt admitted, because order utilizations are different. Only about 15 percent Upper Midwest order milk goes into Class II and Class IV, he said, while it’s close to only 10 percent in the Florida order.
Class II and IV utilization is over 40 percent in the Pacific Northwest and over 30 percent in the Southwest. The Boston order averages around 30 percent, according to Levitt, and while California is not part of the Federal order program, its Class II and IV utilization runs 30-40 percent.
“It makes a big difference to farmer’s milk checks,” Levitt said, but current powder prices are showing some weakness. A lot of people are wondering if export demand will continue, he concluded, “Or is there a little bit of a crack there?”
Market analyst Jerry Dryer said he’s optimistic on powder prices. Speaking in Wednes-day’s broadcast, Dryer said powder has been moving higher for two years after hovering close to the government support price of 80 cents.
“They marched steadily higher to a dollar,” he said, “And didn’t really start to waffle until we got into that $1.00 range.” He admits that there may be some softness right now but he doesn’t see prices falling back to support and he expects them to continue to make good contributions to farm milk prices.
He based his prediction on strong international demand for skim milk powder, which he said is what helped move the prices higher in the first place. The U.S price has tended to lag behind the world price, he explained, but “It finally caught up so prices are now at parity and are high enough to temper demand a bit.”
Mexico, which has been a steady U.S. customer, is “temporarily messing around with tariffs between the two countries,” according to Dryer, and “The dollar has flexed its muscle and has strengthened but it’s been a modest strength, so there are some glitches along the way.”
“The nonfat dry milk price is being dictated by supply and demand instead of a government edict,” Dryer said, just as whey, butter, and cheese prices have been for a long time. Nonfat dry milk is “finally playing in the real world,” he said.
The underlying fundamentals do not dictate a collapse, according to Dryer. World demand is strong, economies around the world are picking up steam, and the kind of dairy proteins the U.S. is producing is not just nonfat dry milk, but includes skim milk powder and milk protein concentrate and “They’re in good demand and the world supply just isn’t that abundant. We are one of the reservoirs for dry dairy proteins,” he concluded.
There’s little concern that the U.S. will run out of milk. The USDA’s latest preliminary estimate on production is for December and came in at 13.6 billion pounds, up 4.2 percent from a year ago. December output per cow averaged 1,665 pounds, up 55 from a year ago. Cow numbers totaled 8.16 million, up 4,000 from November and 67,000 above a year ago.
The CME’s Daily Dairy Report says cow numbers for the 50 states were revised lower for October and November likely reflecting the CWT herd removals.
The CWT however reported removals of 64,069 head, while the USDA reports a net decline of just 11,000 in October and November and an increase of 8,000 in December. The DDR says 2005 cow numbers were up 41,000 from 2004 despite the two CWT slaughter programs. Keep in mind, the USDA’s data is an estimate and revisions in next month’s report may change the picture.
California’s December production was up 2.8 percent, thanks to 29,000 more cows and 20 pounds more per cow. Wisconsin was up 4.6 percent with output per cow up 65 pounds.
New Mexico had the biggest increase, up 13.8 percent, with 18,000 more cows and output per cow up 130 pounds. The biggest decrease was in Florida, down 4.5 percent.
Meanwhile, cash cheese prices showed little reaction to the Milk Production report. Things seem to be in equalibrium, said Al Levitt, editor of the CME’s Daily Dairy Report, in Tuesday’s broadcast, although the butter market remains weak as inventories climb.
Published in the January 25, 2006 issue of Farm World.

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Renault Megane RS news - Shadow warrior - 2009
This is the new Renaultsport Megane. Well, it isn’t. It’s a rather grainy, shadowy teaser of the new Renaultsport Megane, artfully cribbed from the microsite, counting down to the launch of Renault’s new hot hatch.
From what we can see of it, we’re impressed. The subtler, curvier lines of the new Megane have been bolstered by a big bodykit reminiscent of the Megane Trophy we saw back in Paris last year – that dipping splitter has been taken near-wholesale from the track-only Trophy. We’d be delighted if they carry over a few more styling cues from the Trophy. All of them, in fact.
Renault hasn’t released any technical details on the hot new Megane, but expect it to be powered by a pumped-up version of the two-litre turbo petrol engine putting out something in the region of 250bhp. The current RenaultSport R26 puts out just short of 230bhp, so the Renault engineers will be looking for a sizeable jump over that.
The new Megane RS (as Renault seems to be calling it, though we’re sure they told us they’d never stoop to the ‘RS’ designation…) should be lighter than the outgoing model too, which is good news for handling and acceleration – you could well be looking at a hot hatch that’ll hit 60mph in under six seconds… more than enough to keep the new Focus RS true.
Like the Focus, the Megane will need some clever tech to keep it from torque steering like, er, a Saab Viggen. We could see a limited slip diff on the front wheels, along with some of RenaultSport’s legendary traction control trickery.
As the countdown asserts, all will be revealed at Geneva in less than a fortnight. We can’t wait.


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PBS KIDS has released The Electric Company Prankster Planet for the iPad. The 2D side-scrolling game includes eight quests with math curriculum woven throughout, an avatar creator and collectible rewards. The game was designed to meet U.S. Department of Education guidelines and aims to teach kids math, graphs, charts and data analysis. The Electric Company Prankster Planet is available for free on the App Store.
There's been a real lack of iPad-only apps being released to the App Store the last few weeks, but some developers are still porting physical board games to Apple's tablet. Eagle-Gryphon Games recently brought its futuristic card game Baseball Highlights 2045 to the iPad, and today Button Mash Games has released Forbidden Desert to the App Store. Forbidden Desert is based on the best selling adventure game by Matt Leacock. It is a follow-up to Forbidden Island which is also available on the App Store.
Telltale Games today announced The Walking Dead: Michonne will launch for PC/Mac, Steam and other digital platforms on February 23rd. The PC/Mac release will then be followed by a mobile release on February 25th. The first episode of the three episode miniseries will be titled "In Too Deep," and the second episode, launching in March, will be called "Give No Shelter," followed by "What We Deserve" in April. All three episodes will be available for $14.99 when the game is released.
Square Enix has followed up its release of Adventures of Mana to the Apple App Store with the launch of Final Fantasy IX for iOS and Android devices. The ninth-game in the Final Fantasy series follows Princess Garnet, who is captured by Zidane and the Tantalus Theater Troupe. Garnet and her personal guard, Steiner, team up with Zidane and other characters as they embark on an adventure to stop a malevolent force that threatens to destroy their world.
Apple's next generation 9.7-inch tablet will be available in Rose Gold when it is released next month, according to 9to5Mac. The Apple blog reports that there are already "Rose Gold variations of the upcoming iPad Air 3 floating around Apple’s campus." Apple is also allegedly considering bringing the Rose Gold color to the next-generation 12-inch MacBook and the iPad mini.
It was another nonexistent week for iPad games and apps. As we discussed last week, it seems like developers are opting to make more universal titles as the size of iPhones have increased and interest in tablets has decreased. Recent rumors have suggested that Apple is preparing to launch its third-generation 9.7-inch iPad on March 15. Hopefully a new iPad Air will help boost some interest in iOS-powered tablets once again and encourage developers to make more high quality titles for the iPad.
Marvel Avengers Academy has officially landed on the App Store for iOS devices. The game re-imagines Earth's Mightiest Heroes as young students in S.H.I.E.L.D. director, Nick Fury's new school. Players must recruit and train new heroes while trying to solve a mysterious "timefog" affecting the academy.
The game offers an interesting twist on Marvel's most popular characters by forcing them to deal with the dangerous task of navigating campus life. Players must not only develop their students' powers but help them go on dates and deal with rival cliques.
Up until recently it wasn't even clear if Apple would refresh its 9.7-inch iPad lineup, but numerous leaks, analysts predictions and a recent report by 9to5Mac all seem to indicate that the iPhone-maker will announce an iPad Air 3 in March. According to Mark Gurman, Apple is set to announce two new devices plus new Apple Watch bands during a keynote tentatively scheduled for March 15.
A leaked image of a case posted to Macotakara shows that the rumored iPad Air 3 will resemble its larger counterpart the iPad Pro. The image of the case seems to reveal a port for a Smart Connector and four speaker cutouts. The Smart Connector was introduced with the iPad Pro so it could easily connect and share data with Apple's Smart Keyboard. The iPad Pro was also Apple's first tablet to feature four speakers for improved audio.
The amount of iPad-only apps released to the App Store has steadily been on a decline. More and more developers seem to be opting for universal releases as the demand for tablets slows and the size and power of the iPhone increases. Even Big Fish Games has started making its weekly hidden object games available on both the iPod touch and iPhone. Big Fish was one of the last developers who regularly made and released games solely for the iPad.


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Mobile Shopping Activities During Holiday Increase Year Over Year
We are so far past the “Year of Mobile” thinking that it’s time to consider how various pieces and parts of the mobile lifestyle are creating a stronger foothold in specific areas of the consumer buying habits. Holiday shopping is one area to be very cognizant of this since many retailers depend on the holiday season to either ‘make or break’ their year.
Overall, there are reports that this holiday season was a disappointment to retailers as a whole. Mobile shopping habits may not create more sales, but if it is becoming the way that more shoppers are buying, no matter how much or how little that might be, it is a key element for marketers to be looking at as the plans start for the 2013 holiday shopping season and beyond.
So just how are consumers using mobile to shop during the holiday push? A study reported by eMarketer that was performed by GfK Roper for SapientNitro shows that consumers are doing more with their mobile devices as they shop.
Interesting numbers but I would have to wonder what the makeup of the respondents was when nearly 3/4 of them said they bought something using their mobile device. Seems a bit high.
A Motorola Solutions study gives some other data which is more vague in definition of the activity but sounds a bit more reasonable.
Without getting into the details and picking apart what may or may not be true, it is safe to say that mobile devices and shopping are more bound together than at any other time and that is likely to be a trend that will only continue to grow.
As a marketer are you ready to take advantage of this trend? Are you prepared to help consumers buy from you when they are using their mobile devices? Are you starting now to prepare for the holiday shopping push for 2013 as it seems to start earlier and earlier each year?
Now is not the time to ‘take a break’. Now is the time to put your foot on the gas to make sure that no matter how good or bad the holiday shopping season of 2013 is you are giving consumers the chance to buy the way that they want to buy and not the way that you WANT or NEED them to buy.
Are you ready?


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Global retailers will open more, and larger, stores as they combine digital and physical retailing in new multi-channel sales strategies.
At least that is the view of global real estate group CBRE after a survey of 50 leading international retailers.
“Digital technology is now an integral part of the retailers armoury," wrote CBRE in The Physical Store in the Digital World.
But 80 per cent of retailers reported their digital strategies led to more customers in the physical stores.
Many are using technology to boost customers in the stores, including through geo-localisation under which retailers can map customer locations and adjust their pricing.
Most have, or will, change store design to integrate iPads for ordering and digital screens for better display.
Forty per cent think their digital strategy will lead to more and bigger stores. CBRE’s head of research in Australia, Stephen McNabb, said whilst some retailers were looking at larger, more experiential stores, digital technology could lead some retailers to focus on smaller stores that would operate more as showrooms.
“This, would have an impact on the logistics market, with the survey highlighting that some 40 per cent of retailers anticipated having a heightened demand for warehouse space," he said.
The Australian Financial Review


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Sprint reportedly has plans to bring back the previously shutdown Nextel brand in 2014, and in addition has plans to merge its Boost and Virgin Mobile prepaid brands under one new umbrella called “Sprint Freedom.”
According to a source close to the company, Sprint wants to introduce Nextel again — as a brand for business services. The source tells TechCrunch that this is part of a larger branding overhaul coming in Q1 in which Sprint plans to launch a new prepaid brand called “Sprint Freedom” — merging Boost and Virgin Mobile.
Sprint has declined comment on the report, but if accurate the information points to Sprint upping it’s efforts in gaining more business customers, and streamlining its consumer services.
Sprint – majority owned by Japan’s SoftBank – may be looking to present a more competitive face against bigger rivals Verizon and AT&T. The Number 3 wireless company was recenly reported to be looking at acquiring T-Mobile USA. Sprint acquired Clear and purchased a piece of U.S. Cellular earlier this year.
TechCrunch’s source says the Nextel service will be but a piece of a bigger push to attract more business customers. Nextel has great brand recognition with the business segment of the market.
The new Nextel brand will feature a “premium” offering consisting of the 4G fixed and mobile broadband services that were originally offered by Clear.
Another big move by Sprint will be the new way of offering Sprint’s two prepaid services, Virgin Mobile and Boost, to the public. The services will be offered under the “Sprint Freedom” moniker. TechCrunch’s source couldn’t confirm that the two existing brands would be completely scrapped. The source did say that Assurance Wireless, the free mobile phone service offered by Virgin Mobile under the Universal Service Fund, will not be affected by any of the moves.
It is also unclear what effect, if any, that Sprint’s new “Freedom” service would have on Sprint’s current “Freedom” offerings, such as their international calling plans, and the Freedom Pop “free” wireless service that is a wholesale customer that rides on the Sprint network.


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Woolworths-owned media company Cartology is to install a network of 228 digital screens at Dan Murphy’s stores across the country.
With the digital screens, liquor brands at Dan Murphy’s now have an immediate channel to engage with customers. Diageo is the first brand to advertise on them.
“With the introduction of our Dan Murphy’s screen network, we have a unique opportunity to reach 9.3 million customers,” said Mike Tyquin, MD at Cartology.
Prior to Dan Murphy’s, Cartology already launched its digital screen network across Woolworth supermarkets.
“We’re looking to replicate the successful model we’ve established across Woolworths stores to achieve significant campaign results for our drinks partners, as we have already for many of our supermarket brands,” Tyquin said.
According to the company, the digital screen will be introduced over the coming months with the final rollout to be completed in Victoria as Covid-19 restrictions ease.


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Разработчики Hearthstone работают над игрой для Marvel
Разработчики Hearthstone работают над игрой для Marvel ⚡⚡⚡ Игровые и киберспортивные новости, аналитика, обзоры, репортажи на WePlay! Самые актуальные новости!
Five former members of Blizzard, each of whom worked on Hearthstone game, created their own studio and announced a contract with Marvel Entertainment. From the video blog on the official Youtube channel, it became known that Second Dinner is currently working on an unannounced game with the financial support of the Chinese Internet company NetEase.
Ben Brode, a former game director, and Hamilton Chu, the executive producer for Hearthstone are the Second Dinner’s founders. After leaving Blizzard in 2018, the team of five people including Yong Woo, Mike Schweitzer, and Jomar Kindred, is currently creating a prototype of the Marvel's game.
“We think there’s a huge opportunity to make deep, satisfying games that are optimized for mobile, and we’re currently working on a game that we’re really excited about.”
Developers are planning to increase the number of people involved in the studio’s work with the resulting $30 millions of investment from the NetEase company in the next coming years. NetEase manages local versions of Blizzard games in China. Former Blizzard employees plan to use this investment to hire additional developers for their newly created office in Irvine, California.
It is already known that the project plan to optimize for mobile devices. There is no more specifics at the moment, it remains only to expect future announcements.


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What: Dunkin’ Donuts has appointed DigitasLBi former CEO Tony Weisman as U.S. Chief Marketing Officer.
Why it matters: As Dunkin’ Donuts U.S. CMO, Weisman will lead marketing, product innovation, field marketing, consumer insights, and advertising. At DigitasLBi, he will be replaced by Alan Wexler who will serve in an interim role.
Dunkin’ Donuts announced the appointment of marketing veteran Tony Weisman, 57, to the position of U.S. Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Weisman, formerly the North American CEO of DigitasLBi, a global digital agency network, will officially join the company in late September. Weisman will report directly to David Hoffmann, President, Dunkin’ Donuts U.S., and will serve on the Dunkin’ Brands Leadership Team.
As Dunkin’ Donuts U.S. CMO, Weisman will lead marketing, product innovation, field marketing, consumer insights, and advertising as well as the brand’s digital and consumer packaged goods (CPG) initiatives. He will be responsible for developing and executing strategies that build Dunkin’ Donuts’ position as a leading coffee and beverage brand for today’s time-strapped, on-the-go consumer and will partner closely with the operations team to drive sales.
Weisman brings nearly three decades of advertising and marketing experience to Dunkin’ Donuts. Since 2007, he helped guide the digital transformation of leading global companies through his senior management positions at DigitasLBi, where he most recently served as the Chief Executive Officer of North America and was a member of the Digitas Global Executive Board. Prior to DigitasLBi, Weisman served as Chief Marketing Officer at Draft Worldwide. He also spent 19 years at Leo Burnett in various management and other related positions leading global consumer accounts.
“Tony is a highly-experienced, much-admired business leader with a proven track record of building global brands. Very importantly, he also has a deep understanding of working with franchised organizations, including Dunkin’ Donuts, having led the work on our account at Digitas for the past six years,” said David Hoffmann. “With his transformative, data-driven approach to marketing, extensive digital acumen and ability to build and inspire teams, we’re confident that he is the right leader to take our brand to the next level.”
“I have been a passionate Dunkin’ Donuts consumer for my entire life, and I couldn’t pass up the incredible opportunity to join the brand,” said Tony Weisman. “It was a tremendous honor to be part of the Digitas and Publicis teams for the last decade, but at this stage in my career I wanted the chance to build a brand on the client side, especially a brand I know and love. This is an exciting and important time in the Dunkin’ Donuts journey, and I look forward to working with the entire Dunkin’ Donuts team and franchise community to make this terrific brand even stronger.”
“I would like to deeply thank Tony for his invaluable contribution to Publicis Groupe’s success in the U.S. over the years. We will definitely miss him but we look forward to continuing to work together in new ways as he takes on his exciting new role at Dunkin’ Donuts,” said Arthur Sadoun, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe. “I am convinced that Tony’s vision and considerable experience will be a fantastic asset to Dunkin’ Donuts, and we look forward to our continued partnership.”
Publicis.Sapient co-CEO Alan Wexler will serve in an interim role while working with the agency’s leadership team to determine Weisman’s sucessor.
Join us at PORTADA Mexico!


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Homegrown electric vehicle (EV) charging operator Charge+ announced yesterday (15 Jan) its partnership with OCBC Bank to accelerate the ‘greening’ of Singapore’s land transport sector.
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to boost Charge+’s plans to install 10,000 EV charging points islandwide by 2030.
This is in line with the government’s goal of rolling out 60,000 charging points — initial target was 28,000 — by 2030.
Supporting this move, Charge+ said that it will “scale accordingly to contribute to the new national target.”
Getting The Real Estate Sector Onboard
Under the MOU, OCBC Bank will leverage its extensive coverage of the real estate sector to encourage its property developer and property owner customers to install charging points at their premises.
Additionally, the two firms plan to develop incentives to encourage OCBC Bank customers to purchase electric vehicles and charge them at Charge+’s charging points.
OCBC Bank will implement digital payment solutions for the charging service, and look into the financing for the infrastructure.
In light of the Bank’s ambition of building a S$25 billion sustainable finance portfolio by 2025, clean transportation had been identified as a sector of strategic importance given its high growth potential for sustainable financing.
“We are delighted to collaborate with OCBC Bank, a partner that shares our corporate vision to green the mobility sector and catalyse the electric vehicle transition,” said Ong Tze Boon, Chairman of Charge+.
“By harnessing OCBC’s deep expertise in financing solutions, digital payments and real estate, Charge+ will be able to accelerate its roll-out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, which will be key to spurring electric vehicle adoption in Singapore.”
Elaine Lam, head of global corporate banking at OCBC Bank said that for EV adoption to pick up, the supporting charging infrastructure has to be in place and “Charge+ has very quickly become a leader in this space.”
However, the infrastructure alone is not enough. There must be public adoption to enable a clean energy transportation system too, she noted.
“OCBC can therefore play the role as a meaningful financial services enabler in the electric vehicle ecosystem. This is just the first step for the both of us,” said Lim.
“We are excited to support the broader vision to bring others onboard the ecosystem, including property developers and owners, electric vehicle distributors and manufacturers, and utilities companies. The collaboration with Charge+ also marks our efforts to offer beyond banking solutions through partnerships and co-creating innovative ideas with our corporate clients.”
Featured Image Credit: Charge+


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PROMET International (Shoreview, MN) has introduced the FiBO® Variable Angle Tilt Stage (VATS) with Bare Fiber (BF) Adapter for efficient bare fiber endface geometry testing. When used with the FiBO® 300 Interferometer, the VATS quickly verifies the nominal cleave angle of bare fiber. Reports are generated with a single click. The VATS has a high-precision kinematic interface, quick-release mechanism, and an easy-to-read Vernier degree scale.
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This week's Question: The Korea Herald reported last week that Samsung is developing a "fold-in" phone. The device's flexible display folds open into a 7-inch tablet. According to the article, the team is expected to ship more than 100,000 units...
Subscribe today to receive the INSIDER, a FREE e-mail newsletter from NASA Tech Briefs featuring exclusive previews of upcoming articles, late breaking NASA and industry news, hot products and design ideas, links to online resources, and much more.


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Harvest Montana conference to discuss grain expansion
Montana Farmers Union will host the first Harvest Montana Grain Conference at the Heritage Inn in Great Falls on Nov. 20 and 21.
The conference will bring together folks from all sectors of the grain industry to discuss how to expand Montana’s grain, pulse and oilseed economy through collaboration and business development, with the goal of growing the regional grain economy to increase profit retention and job creation in communities across the state.
The conference includes one day of tours of Great Falls-area grain-related businesses and a second day with 12 sessions in four topic tracks led by industry leaders.
Ken Meter, president of Crossroads Resource Center in Minneapolis, will give the keynote speech at 4 p.m. Thursday. He is a leading food system analyst and advocate of the local food movement. His pioneering study of the farm and food economy of Southeast Minnesota helped strengthen a collaborative of food producers and led to the creation of the Hiawatha Fund, a regional investment fund. Meter, who conducted a series of studies on Montana’s regional food economy, will talk about the economic opportunities Montana has to further develop the state's grain economy.
Conference participants will be given the option of three different tours the first day to get a firsthand look at different grain and pulse crop activities.
The first option is to visit Bob Quinn’s farm near Big Sandy where he produces Kamut brand Khorasan wheat, an ancient variety. Another option involves visiting Timeless Seeds in Ulm, which produces and markets organic grains and pulse crops across the U.S. under the Timeless Foods brand. A third group can tour three of Montana’s largest grain processing facilities in Great Falls: General Mills, Montana Milling and Malteurop.
Friday will feature three sets of breakout discussion sessions that will go from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Each set will include agriculture and business leaders talking about different aspects of farm diversification, promotion of Montana in the market, adding value on-farm and value-added business opportunities.
The conference will culminate in a brew fest that will feature local food and numerous craft brewers from across the state benefiting Rural Dynamics Inc. of Great Falls, a nonprofit that helps working-class Montanans achieve financial security and pursue economic opportunities. It will be from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday.
If you go
The Montana Harvest conference is open to producers, processors, consumers, students and anyone who wishes to attend. To register or learn more about the conference, visit the Montana Farmers Union website at www.montanafarmersunion.org.
For more information on Harvest Montana, please contact conference coordinators Laura Ginsburg or Shay Farmer with Lake County Development at 406-676-5901 in Ronan.


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Bell’s Brewery Announces LoSun and Exciting 2022 News
(COMSTOCK, MI) – Bell’s Brewery has an amazing lineup planned for 2022 that includes new beers, new packaging and returning favorites. It all begins with a brand-new offering shipping this week.
LoSun, a low-calorie Wheat Ale has already started to land on store shelves and in coolers. It will continue shipping into early January, just in time for New Year’s resolutions. It is the latest release in Bell’s Rotational Wheat Series which includes Bright White (also currently available), Rind Over Matter and the ever-popular, summer staple, Oberon Ale.
This new wheat offering will be available in bottles, cans and on draft across Bell’s distribution footprint.
“We’re known for iconic IPAs and wheat beers. Building upon the success of beers like Light Hearted and Oberon, we saw an incredible opportunity to introduce a lo-cal option to our Wheat Series,” Carrie Yunker, Bell’s Executive Vice President said.
LoSun is refreshing and packed with fruity, dry-hopped aromas and flavors like citrus and pineapple. It has all the qualities of an IPA combined with the smooth mouthfeel of a wheat beer. It’s a great choice for a variety of craft beer drinkers coming in at 4% Alc. By Vol. and only 110 calories (per 12 oz. serving).
“But that’s just the beginning. There will, of course, be a few unannounced additions that will pop up from time to time,” Yunker hinted. “We’re not going to steer away from that tradition.”
The brewery has been sharing some hints about its other plans for 2022 on social media. They include:
- Taller Hopslam:Bell’s eagerly awaited Double IPA will not only return to 12 oz. cans, but also debut in a taller option (16 oz. cans packaged in 4-packs) when it returns in early January.
- More variety packs:In addition to a third round for Jingle Bell’s, a brand-new variety pack will start shipping in mid-January just in time for Valentine’s Day featuring Two Hearted, Light Hearted, Black Hearted and Cold Hearted. Bell’s Box of Hearts will include three 12 oz. bottles of each variation. This is the first time Black Hearted and Cold Hearted will see wide distribution. Both Two Hearted and Light Hearted are available year-round.
- Additional variety pack releases, which include four new Flamingo Fruit Fights flavors, will be announced later in 2022.
- Not sorry at all:Distribution of No, Yeah will expand to six additional states in the New Year: Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. Michigan will also start to see 12-packs of this award-winning easy-drinking beer in January. No, Yeah is available year-round (in states where this beer is distributed).
- Even more sunshine:Tropical Oberon will return for a second year in mid-April.
- More 16 oz. cans:Hopslam isn’t the only Double IPA to get the taller can treatment. The double version of Bell’s iconic IPA, Two Hearted, will also debut in this popular packaging option for the first time. Double Two Hearted will return in August.
Close to home In Kalamazoo, two new series of beers will debut at Bell’s General Store and pub, the Eccentric Cafe.
- Eccentric Exclusives:Formerly known as the Bell’s General Store Exclusive Series, these small batches of special releases won’t be available anywhere else. Bell’s has a long tradition of brewing small batches just for those who visit its original location and live in the area. More of them will now be bottled and sold exclusively at the brewery’s General Store and on tap at the adjacent Cafe.
- That’s The Idea:Have you ever wanted to be a beer taste tester? That’s the idea behind this series of small-batch brews. Take a sip of what’s on our brewers’ minds, share your thoughts via QR codes on the six-pack carriers and be part of Bell’s Inspired Brewing tradition.
Returning favorites include Two Hearted, Light Hearted, Amber Ale, Lager of the Lakes, Official Hazy IPA, Oberon Ale, Rind Over Matter, Kalamazoo Stout, Porter, Hopsoulution Ale, Octoberfest, Special Double Cream Stout, Christmas Ale and many others.
ABOUT BELL’S BREWERY
Bell’s Brewery began in 1985 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with Larry Bell, a quest for better beer and a 15-gallon soup kettle. Since then, Bell’s has grown into one of the largest craft breweries in America, distributing to 43 states, in addition to Puerto Rico and Washington DC. The dedication to brewing flavorful, unfiltered, quality craft beers that started when Larry was a homebrewer continues today with iconic brands such as Oberon Ale and Two Hearted Ale, as well as Light Hearted Ale and Official Hazy IPA. Bell’s currently brews more than 20 beers for distribution out of its Comstock brewery as well as many small-batch beers that are served at the Eccentric Cafe in Kalamazoo. Over the years, Bell’s has become an industry leader in safety, quality, and human resources, paving the way for the hundreds of craft breweries across Michigan. Bell’s ongoing goal is to brew thoughtful, creative, and artistic ales, and strives to make craft beer welcoming and open to all. For more information, please visit BellsBeer.com.


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By Richard Johnson
- College dorm and apartment furniture spending is up 25% to $422 in 2021
- 75% of households are in similar or better financial situations than they were in 2020
College pays off, but not before you pay first. Student’s returning to campus will be accompanied by heftier expenses than years prior, with dorm and apartment furniture spending up 25% from $315 in 2020, to $422 in 2021, according to Deloitte’s Back-to-College survey. Middle-income families are at least optimistic about the economy and plan to spend at record levels to keep their college kids in school.
Why This Matters: Deloitte’s survey also found that 75% of households are in similar or better financial situations than they were in 2020, with 34% of parents expected to spend more this year on college-related expenses compared to 23% in 2020. Despite tech being a part of daily college life for decades, computers and hardware spending are up 13% from $696 in 2020, to $800 in 2021.
Fortunately, student loan debt forgiveness at many HBCUs freed-up the pockets for many Black families who were financially struggling before, especially during the pandemic. With more money readily available for direct investments in their children’s education, both current and future, this allows the Black community to have more discretionary income to put towards back to school expenses, while chipping away at the racial wealth gap.
Additionally, in 2020, personal savings rates spiked up 33% across the U.S. as a result of business closures, and stay-at-home mandates, causing people to stuff larger amounts of cash in the back, or under their mattresses. Now, in 2021 general optimism remains as the economy continues its recovery and the eagerness to get the kids out of the house has largely driven the uptick in college-related spending.
Situational Awareness: Now I know there’s a little more money to go around, but best-believe that those college t-shirts better still be free, or we are going to have to have an intervention. A medium please. As a matter of fact, make that two. One for me and one for my mama.
CBx Vibe: “ATM” J. Cole


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Barbara Calò succeeds Stefano Biondo as CEO of Marni
There is a change at the very top for Marni. CEO Stefano Biondo, who joined the Italian ready-to-wear label in May 2018, after working for 15 years at eyewear manufacturer Safilo, has left the company after a tenure of less than two years. His departure was announced in a brief press release, which provided no further explanation, by Renzo Rosso’s fashion group OTB, the owner of Marni.
Biondo is going to be replaced by Barbara Calò, who will be promoted to the post of CEO. She joined Marni in early 2016 as global omni-channel retail director.
Calò, according to her LinkedIn profile, has so far enjoyed a remarkable career in the world of fashion and retail distribution, working for labels like Prada, Jil Sander, Escada and Giorgio Armani, chiefly as retail director. As CEO of Marni, she will report to OTB’s group CEO Ubaldo Minelli.
Marni’s collections have been designed by Francesco Risso ever since the label’s founder Consuelo Castiglioni left in October 2016. Marni has an annual revenue of €170 million, over 60% of which is generated online and by its 76 directly run monobrand stores. As OTB underlined in the press release, the handbag and footwear categories are growing strongly for Marni, and account for 55% of its total sales.
Copyright © 2023 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.


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An online survey indicates significant support for economic incentives to reduce the use of plastic packaging.
More than half of consumers in the UK and a third in the US are in favour of a tax on all plastic packaging on food products, new research has shown. The survey of 1,000 consumers, commissioned by specialist PR consultancy Ingredient Communications, also found that many people are more likely to shop in supermarkets that offer fruit and vegetables without plastic packaging.
The online survey, carried out by research specialists Surveygoo, indicated significant support for economic incentives to reduce the use of elastic food packaging. Over half of 500 consumers in the UK (52 per cent) said they were in favour of a tax on all plastic packaging of food products. In the US, support was lower but still significant, with 33 per cent of American consumers favouring such a tax.
In the UK, 41 per cent of consumers said they would be more likely to buy produce from supermarkets that sold fruit and vegetables without plastic packaging, with only 3 per cent saying this would make them less likely to shop there. In the US, 38 per cent of consumers said they would be more likely to shop in stores selling fruit and vegetables without plastic packaging, although the number saying they were less likely to do so was higher than in the UK (13 per cent).
Richard Clarke, Founder & Managing Director of Ingredient Communications, says, “Our research makes clear that there is high demand for food manufacturers to use more elastic-free wrapping, and for supermarkets to introduce plastic-free features into their stores. However, the benefits of plastic packaging for food and beverage products are often overlooked. It helps protect goods from damage, extends shelf-life and creates a brand identity, which undoubtedly influences consumers’ purchasing decisions. A key challenge for both manufacturers and retailers of food products is to find alternatives to plastic packaging that maintain these benefits for the supply chain and consumers.”
In the UK, companies creating wrapping waste are currently obliged to buy a ‘packaging recovery note’ (PRN), which effectively constitutes a tax. As part of its 25-year environmental plan, the UK government is reported to be considering an increase in the cost of PRNs for businesses that package their goods in unrecyclable plastic.


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Digital TV News: Sony Network Entertainment
PlayStation Vue expands to cover the entire U.S. market
Mar 14, 2016 – PlayStation Vue is expanding, extending the service to an additional 203 TV designated market areas (DMAs) to cover the entire U.S. Consumers in the newly launched TV markets will have access to PlayStation Vue's Slim multi-channel plans starting at $29.99 per month.
News categories: Playstation, PlayStation Vue, Eric Lempel, Digital TV, Games Console, OTT, USA
PlayStation Vue announces a-la-carte offerings
Jun 16, 2015 – Sony has announced that it will begin offering PS4 and PS3 owners in the U.S. the option to subscribe to individual channels through a-la-carte offerings, beginning with SHOWTIME, FOX Soccer Plus and an exclusive service from Machinima.
News categories: Sony Network Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment, Dwayne Benefield, Digital TV, Games Console, OTT, USA
Showtime partners with Roku and PlayStation Vue for streaming
Jun 8, 2015 – On the heels of announcing the SHOWTIME stand-alone streaming service, Showtime has partnered with Roku’s Roku players and Roku TV models and Sony Network Entertainment’s PlayStation Vue for the launch in early July.
News categories: Showtime, Roku, Sony Network Entertainment, Matthew C. Blank, Steve Shannon, Dwayne Benefield, Digital TV, OTT, Set Top Box, USA
PlayStation Vue launches on PS3 and PS4 consoles
Mar 18, 2015 – Sony Network Entertainment International (SNEI) and Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) have announced that PlayStation Vue, their cloud-based TV service, has launched on PlayStation 4 (PS4) and PlayStation 3 (PS3) computer entertainment systems.
News categories: Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Entertainment Network, Andrew House, Digital TV, Games Console, OTT, USA
Playstation Network to become premium entertainment service brand
Jan 28, 2015 – Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) and Sony Network Entertainment International (SNEI) have announced that PlayStation™Network (PSN) will be the premium entertainment service brand which encompasses games, TV, video and music services.
News categories: Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Network Entertainment International, Andrew House, Digital TV, Games Console, OTT, Worldwide
Sony unveils PlayStation Vue cloud-based TV Service
Nov 13, 2014 – Sony has unveiled PlayStation Vue. PlayStation Vue leverages the power of the cloud to combine live, on-demand, and catch-up TV content with a user interface that delivers personalization and simplicity.
News categories: PlayStation, Sony Network Entertainment, Apps, Digital TV, Games Console, OTT, Tablet, USA
- Disney+ available directly on VIZIO SmartCast TVs
- Comscore announces renewal with CBS TV stations
- TVSquared releases pan-European TV advertising performance analysis
- Imagine Communications agrees ad insertion deal with the NCTC
- DISH Network pay TV subscribers down 194,000 in 4Q 2019
- One third of Taiwanese online consumers have accessed TV piracy sites
- Redbox launch Redbox Free Live TV across the U.S.
- Cisco releases Annual Internet Report
- Pixelworks and Qualcomm integrate Live Local TV with 5G broadband
- Kantar to measure TV audiences for MINTIC in Colombia
- NCTC to offer discounted Amazon Fire TV devices to members
- Viu reaches 41.4 million monthly active users
- Roku ends 2019 with 36.9 million active accounts
- Online viewing continues to gain ground on traditional broadcast TV
- Vianeos provides revamped UX for Batelco TV in Bahrain
- VUALTO partners with ATEME for automated encoder integration
- STV selects Arqiva Hybrid TV Service for HD restart feature
- AfricaXP adds DTH capacity from Eutelsat for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Altice USA residential video RGUs down 44k in 4Q 2019
- 'Tapering subscriber acquisitions' for Dish TV India in 4Q 2019


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Blackberry stock price could rise 50% more from here
The Blackberry share price could be the next beneficiary of the meme share rally. After the recent Gamestop and AMC rallies, BB could be next in line.
Blackberry (BB) was last trading at $ 11.56 + 14.80%.
In January, Blackberry was one of the most notable artists. The stock gained 300% in the second half of the month, as retail traders jumped into the traditional tech action. The popular WallStreetBets Reddit forum had named the struggling stocks ripe for a comeback.
Like Gamestop (GME), AMC Entertainment Group (AMC), and a host of other downtrodden stocks, Blackberry had gained traction on the infamous investment forum.
The surge in retail buying had pushed the stock price from $ 6.52 to $ 28.77 in the first four weeks of trading in 2021.
There had been positive developments for the company. The favorable outcome of an ongoing legal battle with Apple (AAPL) was followed by the announcement that Amazon would work with the company to develop a new cloud-connected smart vehicle platform.
In addition, the company has also monetized its intellectual property portfolio and sold a deluge of patents to Chinese phone maker Huawei.
However, the rise in Blackberry stock prices was unsustainable and quickly came back to earth.
After parabolic rises in a handful of memes stocks, brokers and exchanges implemented policies aimed at limiting prices. Several large hedge funds had found themselves on the wrong side of Gamestop’s business and suffered multibillion dollar losses.
This led to the collapse of GME, forcing the liquidation of many other popular WallStreetBets titles.
Between late January and May 13, Blackberry fell -70% to $ 7.71. However, the latest revival of Gamestop and AMC has brought Blackberry back to the forefront.
Blackberry Stock Price Outlook
Recent price action has been very encouraging for Blackberry investors. We can see from the daily chart that the 200-day moving average at $ 7.72 has reversed the recent sell-off.
Since then, the title has gained just under 60%. This took the Blackberry stock price above the 100 DMA to $ 10.36. Another positive sign for the price.
On the bright side, the next level to watch is the mid-March high of $ 12.52. If the price can reach that level, I see a good chance of an extension above $ 18.00, around + 55% more than last night’s close.
Nonetheless, volatility will be high and prices will be under the microscope of regulators. With that in mind, if the market closes below the DMA 100 at $ 10.36, it would negate my immediate bullish outlook.
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BB daily chart
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May 02, 2013 : Global Professional Services Provider Grows European Business, Sees Customers Using Multiple Cloud Solutions to Transform Their Business
London, UK – May 2, 2013 – Appirio, a global cloud services provider, today announced multiple customer wins in the European market including Kaplan, Sportingbet and Wood Mackenzie. Appirio is helping these organisations, and global brands including McGraw-Hill, transition to a more agile technology infrastructure, improving core business processes using cloud platforms.
Appirio established its European presence in 2011 and has spent the last two years building a strong customer base in the region. It has seen demand for its services increase rapidly in both its existing Salesforce business, as well as within the HCM and talent management space with Workday and Cornerstone OnDemand. In particular, growth is being fuelled by customer acquisitions in the retail, finance and media sectors.
"We are starting to see increased adoption of cloud, mobile and social technologies in Europe, as organisations look for new ways to engage customers and improve businesses processes. Speed is of the essence when implementing these new platforms. Organisations want to see business impact in months rather than years so they can respond to challenges in a timely manner," said Lori Williams, general manager, Europe at Appirio. "We are focused on helping businesses become more agile, developing cloud strategies that can be rolled out quickly to help our clients out-maneuver the competition. Agility really is becoming the currency of the new economy."
Appirio is committed to expanding its European presence with a focus on growing its core capabilities in human capital management, customer relationship management and collaboration. To better serve its local market, Appirio recently opened a new office in London located at Stratford Place.
The company is also increasing investment in its Appirio Services Platform, Cloud Management and CloudSpokes crowdsourcing community.
Appirio is a global services provider who uses crowdsourcing and cloud, social and mobile technology to help enterprises reimagine their business and become more agile. Appirio brings together technology expertise with a deep understanding of the way people work, and the nearly limitless skills of a crowdsourcing community of 70,000+ developers, to help enterprises transform relationships with their customers, partners and workforce. Appirio has worked with more than 500 enterprises, including organizations like Facebook, Intuit, Japan Post Network, L'Oreal, McGraw-Hill, NetApp, The Four Seasons, and Virgin America. The company is backed by Sequoia Capital, GGV Capital and General Atlantic.


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A few weeks ago retailers on the high street hosted end of summer sales on clothing, but now supermarket Iceland is also joining in on the fun.
The frozen food specialist is launching a 50 per cent off grocery sale, so shoppers can make savings on their food shop.
Reduced items include Ben & Jerry's ice cream, ready meals and frozen pizzas.
The new 50 per cent off price tags will be available both online and in store, although Iceland does note that stock may not be replenished when items sell out, which means once it's gone, it's gone, the Mirror reports .
Iceland offer £15 off your weekly shop throughout September
Iceland have this incredible deal available for shoppers at the moment- where customers can bag a hefty £15 off your weekly shop.
The deal is available until September 29.
Alls customers need to do is do their weekly shop online through cashback website Topcashback and follow the simple step by steps to earn the handy £15 back on your shop.
See the full T&C's here.
- Iceland Thin & Crispy Chicken Fajita Pizza, 50p (was £1)
- Iceland Crispy Potato Slices, 50p (was £1)
- Iceland Luxury 2pk Chicken & Ham Pies, £1.25 (was £2)
- Iceland Avocado Halves, £1.50 (was £3)
- Iceland Gin & Tonic Popsicles 4pk, £1 (was £2)
- Iceland Classic Chicken, Bacon & Leek with Potatoes, £1 (was £2)
- Iceland Stonebaked Four Cheese Pizza, 79p (was £1.59)
- Ben & Jerry's Moo-phoria Salted Caramel Brownie, £2 (was £4.20)
The huge half price sale also coincides with the supermarket's new Gino D'Acampo range, which launched in stores and online earlier this week.


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According to the US Labor Department, the unemployment rate for the month of September 2019 fell to only 3.5% from 3.7% the previous month. An additional 136,000 jobs were added to the economy.
There was also additional retroactive good news as August’s figures for job growth was updated to 168,000 instead of what had been reported to be 130,000. Some manufacturing jobs last month while wage growth held steady.
The increase in jobs in September was below what has been the monthly average of about 161,000 for the year, but it was still above the number the economy requires every month to stay in line with the growth of the working age population, which is 100,000. The manufacturing sector lost 2,000 jobs in September, after employing an additional 2,000 workers in August.
Manufacturing has been doing poorly across the globe, but it is less a factor in employment than it has been in the past, since modern economies have been transferring away from reliance on this sector.
Despite the positive news on jobs, however, will probably not relieve the pressure on Federal Reserve head Jerome Powell to cut interest rates. The US Federal Reserve Bank cut interest rates for the first time since 2008 in July, and then did it again in September. The bank would like to keep what is so far the longest economic expansion in US history–11 years—moving forward.
As a result of high-level trade talks a week ago, China has agreed to purchase 600,000 tons of soybeans grown in the USA. As a result of the purchase, the price of soybean futures in the US climbed by more than 1 percentage point on the Chicago Board of Trade.
The deal will result in the shipment of about 10 boatloads of soybeans, which will be spaced over the time period between October and December, all heading off to Chinese shores.
The announcement about the soybean purchase came on the heels of the bad news that Chinese trade officials had cancelled a scheduled visit to US farm states. Except for this one decision, trade talks had proceeded positively. More negotiations between the US and China are scheduled for October has the trade war between the two powerful global economies continues.
In early September this year a Chinese state news agency reported that some farm products, pork and soybeans, were no longer subject to additional tariff increases. The announcement helped to reduce tensions between the trading partners and make way for the recent soybean deal.
Business travelers spend lots of money during their peregrinations for their companies. Global business travelers spent more than US$1.3 trillion in 2017, with China and US businesses the top two spenders. Expedia, the on-line travel agency looked its annual data and discovered that out of a total of 405 million trips made for business by Americans, about 60% extended their stays for fun.
The following three cities were found be the best US cities in which adding a few days to your business stay is the most fun according to small business solutions marketplace Fundera.
In first place was Los Angeles. Strategically situated in one of the sunniest US cities, a visitor can count on great weather, but there is a lot more to LA than sunshine. Gorgeous beaches, fantastic restaurants, non-stop entertainment opportunities and world-class museums are just the beginning of what makes LA such a great place to chill.
What must have been a close second is of course New York City. One of the great cities of the world, despite cold winters and hot/humid summers, the Big Apple is unquestionably the go-to place for an exciting vacation chock-full of an almost endless variety of activities suitable to every taste. From Broadway shows to lovely parks, the city that never sleeps is good choice for an after-work break.
In third place comes Dallas; but it ranks first in US cities not along any coast. This city is a wonderful compromise in its size, convenience and culture. Since it is not a mega metropolis like LA or NY, it might have less by way of choices for restaurants and hotels, but it makes up for that in the calm, cool atmosphere created by a smaller, friendlier and easier to get-around in environment. Not to mention the Dallas airport is a hub for just about anywhere else you might want to travel to in the US.
Fundera says that an average stay in a Dallas hotel is just under $190 per night, lower than in less-populated cities such as San Francisco or Miami. The Dallas Fort-Worth Airport is 20 miles from downtown, but even during rush hour it will only take 40 minutes to arrive.
Many people dream of becoming their own bosses, having their own
businesses and not having to answer to an employer. Recent figures have shown that in the States
99.7 percent of all-American businesses are actually small ones. this indicates that people are increasingly
moving toward working for themselves and away from the corporate world.
While that statistic is very positive, unfortunately, when you
look a few years down the line, the numbers of those businesses that were successful
and even remained afloat is not as encouraging. indeed, around 70 percent of small businesses
end up closing within two years.
We took this opportunity to ask two individuals who have
successfully been running their own business for 5+ years for tips.
Photographer Mozes Victor Konig works in both the US and
in Israel. He opened his company in 2011
and has never looked back.
“I did work for an agency when I first started out. And I liked it on some levels. I didn’t have to worry about getting clients and I had regular work. But after a decade of giving more than 60% of my hourly rate to the agency I started thinking about how I could open my own business. I have to say – maybe I’ve been lucky – but I’ve never looked back. I think the most important piece of advice I got that perhaps resulted in this success was from a fellow SME owner who said find your niche. now that I focus on events like museum openings, new restaurants and charity events, I feel like I have more respect from consumers who know that I have a talent in that particular area. don’t try to bite off more than you can chew. make sure you are 100% proficient in a few areas and offer those services. The fact that I travel between Israel and America (also for personal reasons) is helpful for me personally since I never tire of what I’m doing; I love it actually.”
Genevieve Marcella opened a florist store in Battery Park City in 2015. She has lived in the neighborhood her whole life and – similar to Mozes Victor Konig – really enjoys what she does. She said:
“I think that the fact that I’ve lived in Battery Park City all my life really helped when starting a new business. I know many of the locals – my mother taught half of my clients – and I understand their needs. I offer flowers for many different events and occasions but in particular for weddings. Weddings by the Hudson River are fantastic; there are many different options and I like to help clients with that as well. I suppose the advice I would give to someone starting out is get to know your client base. The personal touch – especially in the service industry and with local businesses – is so important and can really set you apart from the competition.”
Unburdening itself from its somewhat risky liquified natural gas venture, Toshiba Corp. completed the sale of Toshiba LNG Corp to oil and gas powerhouse Total SA of France for $15 million. The sale is part of the Japanese firm’s restructuring process.
The sale was announced in June when Toshiba realized it would have a hard time profiting from US-produced LNG for Japanese utilities due to the fall of the price of LNG. As it is, the sale to Total SA will still result in a loss for Toshiba of about $847 million for the fiscal year ending in March. Toshiba plans to pay Total about $815 million to take the contracts Toshiba is already committed.
Toshiba’s deal with the US firm to have the rights to process U.S.-produced gas into 2.2 million tons of LNG each year for 20 years beginning in 2019 was brokered back in 2013. Toshiba’s restructuring comes in the wake of a fraud scandal that came to light in 2015, and after Westinghouse Electric Company, a nuclear power subsidiary, went bankrupt in 2017.


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A DIY chain with 150 stores has revealed the exact date that it will close another branch as shoppers cry "what's next?".
Homebase has announced the closure of a popular store within weeks.
The DIY chain will bring the shutters down on its store in Marsh Mills Retail Park, Plymouth, on December 3.
Customers will have to travel 30-miles east to get to the next closest store in Newton Abbot after the Plymouth store shuts.
Shoppers have been left stunned by the decision, with many taking to social media to share their opinions.
Commenting on Facebook, one shopper said: "Soo sad to see yet another good store leave Plymouth.
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"I always go there for my paint and accessories. They have such a good choice which I have not seen anywhere else."
Another wrote: "So very sad to see another one going, What's next?"
And a third added: "Another shop to go, just like all the rest."
Homebase, which has 152 stores, has also announced that its branch in Banbury, Oxford on Southam Road, will also close on December 3.
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The store now has a closing down sale, with posters in and outside the store that state “all stock is reduced” and that “everything must go”
The retailer is also set to pull the plug on its shop at the O2 Centre on Finchley Road in London on December 10.
It comes after the retailer shut its Newport store in South Wales on September 8.
Homebase has closed 93 stores since it was taken over by Hilco Capital in 2018.
Hilco bought the hardware store chain for £1 from Australian firm Wesfarmers, which paid £340million for what has been dubbed one of the "most disastrous takeovers ever seen".
Wesfarmers is known for its Bunnings chain in Australia. It attempted to transform Homebase into its own DIY brand.
Prior to the Hilco takeover, Homebase had 250 stores at its peak and 12,000 staff.
But Homebase soon returned to profit after it entered a CVA agreement and restructured its business.
The retailer recently launched a huge gardening sale with some items up to 50% off.
Why are retailers closing stores?
Retailers have been feeling the pinch since the pandemic while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to soaring inflation.
High energy costs and a shift to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
Brands like Frasers have been moving and relocating profitable stores and brands within department stores but other brands have been shutting stores for good.
The inability to renegotiate rents and agreements with landlords is also putting pressure on some retailers to pull out of some locations.
A number of well-known retailers including Argos, M&S and Poundstretcher have closed stores in recent months.
But others have been hit so hard they've been left on the brink of administration.
However, some big brands are expanding the number of stores they operate.
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Marks and Spencer is set to open nine new shops this month and some are throwing their doors open for the first time within days.
B&M is also opening more than a dozen new branches across the UK by the end of 2023.
You can also join our new Sun Money Facebook group to share stories and tips and engage with the consumer team and other group members.
Source: Read Full Article


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Mitsubishi Motors UK
Manufacturer 7 Sep
New Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV now available from £34,255
Mitsubishi Motors UK is taking orders for the new Outlander PHEV plug-in hybrid SUV, starting at £34,255 (including the Government's £2,500 plug-in car grant).
Car Dealer News 5 Jun
Hepworth Motor Group switches Honda for Mitsubishi in Halifax
Hepworth Motor Group has completed the switch from Honda to Mitsubishi at its Halifax dealership as part of a re-franchising exercise hoping to generate growth in market share and profitability.
Used Cars 25 May
Diesel fuels UK’s fastest-selling used cars as Mitsubishi Outlander tops Auto Trader list
Diesel was the fastest-selling fuel type during April as the Mitsubishi Outlander topped Auto Trader’s monthly list of successful sellers during April.
Manufacturer 24 May
Mitsubishi's first shopping centre store prepares to open at Intu Lakeside
The first Mitsubishi new car sales store in the UK is due to open next month at Intu Lakeside shopping centre.
Manufacturer 11 May
Mitsubishi targets tradespeople in partnering Screwfix’s search for Britain’s Top Tradesperson
Mitsubishi Motors UK will support Screwfix’s 2018 Britain’s Top Tradesperson competition, by rewarding the winner with a brand new vehicle.
Digital Marketing 8 May
Mitsubishi launches 'absorbing' Channel 4 advertising campaign
Mitsubishi Motors in the UK has launched the latest phase of its long-standing sponsorship of Channel 4’s Documentaries on 4 television programmes with a series of new adverts.
Manufacturer 20 Apr
Mitsubishi to open '12 car retail stores' in high-footfall shopping destinations
Mitsubishi Motors in the UK will open “12 car retail stores” in high-footfall shopping locations as it pushes towards a new omni-channel car sales strategy in partnership with Rockar.
People News 22 Feb
Mitsubishi Motors UK appoints Rob Lindley as new managing director
Mitsubishi Motors in the UK appointed Rob Lindley as managing director following the departure of Lance Bradley.
Car Dealer News 23 Jan
Luscombe Motors gets 'celebrity service' masterclass from marketing expert Geoff Ramm
High-profile marketing speaker Geoff Ramm got the team at Luscombe Motors to take part in a 120-second exercise to spark inspiration about how they could get inventive with their service to car buying customers.
Manufacturer 22 Jan
Mitsubishi Motors in the UK discounts diesel in extended scrappage scheme
Mitsubishi Motors in the UK has extended its scrappage scheme with the offer of discounts of up to £5,000 available from new cars bought within its dealer network.
People News 10 Jan
SsangYong UK hires former Mitsubishi finance boss amid plan for contract hire push
Former Mitsubishi exec John Chisholm will run financial services at SsangYong Motor UK's parent Bassadone Automotive Group, as it plans a contract hire push
Manufacturer 8 Jan
Mitsubishi’s Shogun Sport to cost from £36,905
Mitsubishi will add another SUV to its line-up this year, the Shogun Sport will go on sale in the spring priced from £36,905.
Manufacturer 11 Dec
Mitsubishi Buy Online delivers first car
Mitsubishi has delivered the first car bought using its Buy Online service, three weeks after the order was placed.
Manufacturer 28 Nov
New pastures: Mitsubishi UK boss wants to leave growing network 'in good shape'
Mitsubishi Motors in the UK will follow-up the launch of its Buy Online retail offering with a new focus on city centre car stores and pop-up shops as its network expands in the New Year.
Car Dealer News 27 Nov
EMG Motor Group completes brace of acquisitions
EMG Motor Group has continued its recent expansion with the acquisition of Marriott’s Mazda for an undisclosed fee.
Manufacturer 17 Nov
Mitsubishi reveals Eclipse Cross PCP offers
Mitsubishi will make its new Eclipse Cross available to PCP customers from £199 per month at it starts 2018 with a brace of SUV launches.
Car Dealer News 14 Nov
Luscombe Motors records 24.5% profit increase in annual results
Luscombe Motors recorded a 24.5% rise in profit before tax and a 5.3% increase in turnover following a restructure which made the business “less reliant on the managing director”.
Manufacturer 13 Nov
Mitsubishi Shogun Sport to reach UK showrooms in Q1 2018
Mitsubishi Motors in the UK will make its Shogun Sport its second new SUV launch of 2018 when it reaches showrooms early in the new year.
Digital Marketing 7 Nov
Mitsubishi Buy Online ushers in Rockar's 'next generation omni-channel car buying experience'
Mitsubishi Motors in the UK has teamed up with Rockar to launch a 'next generation omni-channel car buying experience' in the form of Mitsubishi Buy Online.
People News 19 Oct
Mitsubishi Motors UK managing director to stand down in 2018
Mitsubishi Motors UK managing director Lance Bradley has announced that he will stand down in 2018 after deciding that the time was right to “to seek a new challenge” elsewhere.


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A new study by the Design Council has found that over half (54 per cent) of manufacturers plan to proactively pave their own way through the current economic plight by turning to innovative design. An online resource has been made available to help.
The Design council is a government funded national strategic body for design. “Our mission is to inspire and enable the best use of design to make the UK a more competitive, creative and sustainable nation,” it says.
From its National Survey of Firms 2008 the Council also revealed that almost a third of firms consider innovative design “integral” to their business. This is double what it was three years ago.
In response, the Design Council has created a new online resource to help businesses discover how design can help them in a downturn. It includes a free practical guide to finding and working with a designer, and case studies covering a host of small and large companies from different sectors who have bucked the recessionary trend through the strategic use of design.
This is available at www.designcouncil.org.uk/designinadownturn.
Design Council Chief Executive David Kester said:
“Recession is no time to be battening down the hatches. It’s the moment when design becomes absolutely critical to survival, growth and success – and it’s great to see that there’s a growing recognition of this within the business community.”
Design Council member Designing Demand helped a garden accessories firm set up product development processes and build a brand – Yorkshire Flowerpots. Historically, Naylor Industries had primarily focussed its efforts on its guttering products as its high-quality plant pots were commanding very little market-share against cheaper, imported items.
The results were impressive: two years down the line Yorkshire Flowerpots sales have more than doubled and nearly 70 per cent of Naylor’s total sales now come from products they didn’t make five years ago. Earlier this year, the company won the best SME at the Manufacturing Excellence Awards.
Edward Naylor, now running the 100 year-old family business, said: “Designing Demand gave us the competitive edge we needed. It made me understand that design is fundamental, creating brands, products and an environment for businesses to move forward, not just sit back and wait to be attacked by cheaper competition.”


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Xiaomi forayed into the laptop segment in India with the launch of its Mi Notebook 14 series on June 11. The series consists of two laptops: Mi Notebook 14 and Mi Notebook 14 Horizon Edition. The duo is all set to go on sale in the country today.
Mi Notebook 14 price in India starts at Rs 41,999 (~550) for the 256GB storage variant. The 512GB storage model is priced at Rs 44,999 (~590) while the 512GB storage + NVIDIA GeForce MX250 version costs Rs 47,999.
On the other hand, the Horizon Edition is priced at Rs. 54,999 for the Core i5 variant, while the Core i7 edition will set you back by Rs. 59,999. Moreover, these are promotional prices for the two laptops and will go up after July 16.
Those who purchase the device over the next month will get an additional Rs. 2,000 discount by using an HDFC Bank credit or debit card. The duo will be made available starting today at 12 noon through Amazon and Mi.com. Here’s what is different between the two models.


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Our primary research team communicates immediately with people involved in offers to validate data and validate onerous-to-find particulars. Our high quality assurance team uses preventative validations, corrective validations and manual evaluations to relentlessly vet each piece of information. Our specialized data groups gather, calculate and verify key figures to build in-depth datasets with data you can‘t find anywhere else. More than 650,000 internet crawlers scan the web—capturing related financial data from news articles, regulatory filings, websites, press releases and more.
Automobile Leasing Corporations On The Rise: A Growing Pattern To Difficult ..
Better perceive an investor’s experience and observe report with perception into earlier offers, fund performance and extra. The CTA ended pandemic capability limits on buses and trains as Chicago lifted many COVID-19 restrictions Friday. Former Chicago information anchor Rob Johnson and his spouse, Stacey, on Tuesday sold their 5,four hundred-square-foot French Provincial-type home in Hinsdale for $1.925 million. As COVID-19 transfixed the nation, the drug disaster spread to largely untouched components of the nation. Now businesses are confronting a workforce extra addicted than ever to opioids and other drugs. The Chicago Bears lately submitted a bid to buy the property at Arlington International Racecourse, news staff president and CEO Ted Phillips publicly announced.
The recall was initiated after the corporate turned conscious of specific models and many Jelco insulin syringes which will exhibit skewed odd number line graduation markings. UK retail sales dropped in May because the reopening of all retail sectors and the easing of hospitality restrictions … Read MoreRead More


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China's Internet giants Alibaba and Tencent on Thursday announced they would invest in a China Media Capital (CMC) Internet-TV startup.
Whaley Technology, which was founded by CMC chairman Li Ruigang in April, now has four partners -- CMC, Alibaba, Tencent and China National Radio. China National Radio is the holder of an Internet-TV license.
CMC is China's leading media and entertainment investment fund. Established in 2010, CMC's prominent partners include China Development Bank, one of the nation's largest financial institutions.
Whaley did not reveal how much each partner invested, but said it had raised startup capital of 2 billion yuan (313 million U.S. dollars).
Whaley Technology on Thursday evening unveiled a 55-inch, 4K resolution smart TV, with a price tag of 3,799 yuan.
It will start accepting preorders on its website and Alibaba's Tmall online marketplace as of 10 a.m. Friday. Customers can also make purchases starting Aug. 18.
Li said Whaley will focus on hardware as well as content, while Alibaba and Tencent could provide content.
Local rivals, like Xiaomi and LeTV, also have lunched smart TVs, betting on the fast-growing segment.


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While Revlon posted a slight increase in sales for the second quarter, income dropped because of foreign currency effects on inter-company loans.
Revlon released sales figures earlier in July, posting a 1.3 percent year-over-year net increase. Net sales for the three months ended June 30 were $488.9 million, up from $482.4 million in the year-ago period. Adjusted for currency effects, net sales gained 3.5 percent. Revlon shares closed up 6.7 percent at $35.49 on Friday.
Net income for the quarter was down 68 percent, to $8.3 million, which the company said was because of a $14.3 million decrease driven by foreign currency losses on intercompany loans in the second quarter. Revlon has intercompany loans denominated in U.S. dollars from the Colomer Group and other recent acquisitions, the company said. Earnings per diluted share totaled 16 cents, down from 50 cents in the prior-year period.
For the first half, Revlon posted net sales of $928.5 million, up from $920.9 million in the prior-year half. Net income for the first half was $19.3 million, down from $25.1 million in the first half of 2015.
“We ended the quarter on a strong trajectory with net sales growth up 3.5 percent, adjusted for foreign currency,” said Revlon chief executive officer Fabian Garcia. “Growth was driven by product innovation and strong performance by established brands in both the consumer and professional segments and in international territories. Among other growth drivers, we are delighted by the continued strength of Revlon’s flagship brand which has posted year-to-date consumption growth of 3.9 percent, outperforming the color cosmetic mass category.”
Revlon called out Kylie Sinful Shine, Mitchum deodorant and Cutex nail products as solid performers.
For the quarter, Revlon brought in $359.5 million in net sales from its consumer segment, a 1.4 percent increase. Profit for the consumer segment decreased 3.3 percent to $81 million, which Revlon said was because of “unfavorable impact of product mix and the impact of FX transaction within cost of sales.” Losses were driven by lower sales of Almay color cosmetics and Revlon ColorSilk hair color, and partially offset by higher net sales of Cutex nail products and Revlon beauty tools.
“We are working to make Almay more relevant to younger consumers,” Garcia said. Plans are also under way to build up ColorSilk, which has been hurt by new competitors in its space. “We have plans to launch several innovations in the hair color segment to revitalize that segment starting in the third quarter,” Garcia said.
The Revlon brand just achieved its first full year of growth, according to Garcia. “The Revlon brand continues to grow share and has done so for the past 52 weeks,” he said on the company’s earnings call. “We feel very good about the innovation that is coming in the second half.”
The professional segment had a 0.1 percent decrease in sales for the quarter, posting $123.3 million in net sales from $123.4 million in net sales year-over-year. Profit for that unit dropped 0.8 percent, to $24.1 million from $24.3 million. Revlon noted that in the professional segment, higher sales of Revlon Professional hair products and American Crew were offset by lower sales in CND products, especially in Russia, because of macroeconomic conditions, Garcia said.
Garcia continued, “During the second quarter of 2016 we also announced that Revlon signed an agreement to acquire Elizabeth Arden Inc. and our current growth trajectory will continue to provide a strong platform for a successful acquisition and integration. The combined company would enable us to enter or expand into faster growing categories, channels and territories, making us a more diversified and stronger global player.”
Revlon unveiled an $870 million deal for Arden back in June. The beauty firm received about $2.7 billion in financing for the transaction — an increase from the $2.6 billion it had originally planned — which will be used to refinance its own debt as well as extinguish Arden’s.
Arden chairman and ceo E. Scott Beattie, who was also on the call, shared a preview to the company’s earnings, saying that adjusted for currency effects, for the fiscal year ended June 30, Arden’s North America business was up 3 percent, international increased 4.5 percent and the Arden brand experienced its sixth consecutive quarter of growth.
Garcia said Revlon had just been on the road and feedback from investors on the deal was “overwhelmingly positive.”
“Last week we completed the road show for senior unsecured notes, [and] given the significant demand, we upsized the offering to $450 million,” said Revlon chief financial officer Juan Figuereo on the call. The extra capital should give the business more “cushion,” according to Moody’s analyst Brian Weddington.
“In the past two weeks we kicked off integration planning,” Garcia said. The companies are working on synergy captures as well as plotting the combined company’s future operating model, he said. “The aim is to hit the ground running on day one,” he said.


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Verizon’s announcement that it would offer Apple’s iPhone was met with cheers by many consumers because its network is considered more reliable than AT&T’s. But on Tuesday, Verizon suffered its own slowdown.
No, it was not its mobile phone network. Rather it was the Verizon Wireless Web site.
It slowed noticeably just as Verizon executives said at a press conference in New York that they would begin offering the iPhone next month. Hordes of people apparently tried to access the site to get details.
The site, which usually downloads in around 3.5 seconds, took nearly twice as long to appear, according to Keynote Systems, a mobile and Internet monitoring firm. The slowdown lasted up to 30 minutes, starting at around 12:05 p.m.
Another spike in traffic slowed the site for around 15 minutes starting at 2:30 p.m., Keynote said.
“There wasn’t any significant outage; it just slowed down,” said Shawn White, senior director of external operations for Keynote.
Many people are waiting to see if Verizon’s mobile network suffers the same problems as AT&T’s has after it introduces the iPhone. Who knows whether Verizon’s Web site slowdown is a precursor of things to come?


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If you were as excited about Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors as we were earlier this month when they soft-launched, then today’s news will come as a shock (especially if you already bought one of the second-gen Core i5 or Core i7 desktop processors available online; Core i3 still isn’t selling).
In essence, Intel identified a problem with the SATA 3 Gb/s on its Cougar Point chipsets last week. SATA 6 Gb/s ports are unaffected. The issue is hardware-related and requires a silicon-based fix at the metal layer, which of course means that all of the currently-shipping P67- and H67 –based motherboards are affected. It’s severe enough, especially for the enthusiast community most likely to be populating multiple SATA ports and pushing heavier I/O workloads that we’d want to recommend holding off on Sandy Bridge-based builds until boards with a fixed version of the chipset ships out. This will happen within “weeks,” according to Intel, as motherboard vendors will start getting updated core logic in late February for a full volume recovery in April.
Intel’s Steve Smith, vice president and director of PC client operations and enabling at Intel, says that the specific problem occurs over time, and is affected by temperature and voltage. It’s more likely to manifest in configurations with lots of data being moved across the SATA 3 Gb/s ports—that’s why OEMs are encountering a problem now. The company says it would have expected roughly 5% of systems to be affected over a three-year period. That's a serious enough figure to compel Intel to halt shipments and incur a total cost to replace/repair existing systems of $700 million.
If you’re already a P67/H67 owner, the problem relates to connectivity between the SATA ports and hard drives. That link can degrade over time and, in a worst-case scenario, you’ll boot your machine to find attached storage simply isn’t identified at all. None of your data is at risk—anything on the drive already can’t be affected by the link degrading and ultimately failing, after all.
Why wasn’t the issue identified during validation, before Sandy Bridge launched? Intel says Cougar Point did in fact satisfy its validation procedure, and was only caught after more strenuous OEM testing. Should OEMs be the ones to catch problems like this? No. But that’s what happened here. That'll likely have ramifications for the way Intel tests its products in the future.
Unfortunately, motherboard vendors, first, and early adopters, second, are the ones to be most seriously affected here. The motherboard manufacturers are going to have to stop production and wait a month for updated Cougar Point. They’re only getting the news today. Enthusiasts won’t be as immediately affected. Boards that shipped out already, in most cases, carry a three-year warranty, offering some form of protection. Sandy Bridge notebooks haven’t shipped out in volume. And Z68 won’t be delayed, Intel says. Everyone else: you’ll want to wait until “fixed” boards start shipping in March/April.


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Added: January 04, 2011
If you have 1989 Freightliner trucks, maybe this Steering Wheel will make you vehicle look different. 4 Spokes. Cherry Wood Grain. Center is a Horn.
Due to the sales of Avalanche that continue drop recently, finally Chevrolet has confirmed will stop production of this variants of Chevrolet pickup double cab and crew cab Avalanche. The latest version of Avalanche will be launched in 2013. The last variants of Avalanche in 2013 is Black Diamond, this as well as the form [...]
The 2013 Ford Shelby GT500. Image: Ford Motor Company Last November we told you that Ford would launch a revised Shelby GT500 for 2013, complete with a 650-horsepower supercharged V-8. It turns out we were a bit wrong about the Shelbys horsepower; according to the latest information from Ford, the new Shelby GT500 will actually [...]
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According to a well-known analyst, Sony Interactive Entertainment could respond with a real declaration of war on the price of the Xbox Series X. It is said that the price of the PlayStation 5 could be below that of the Microsoft console.
After a leak, Microsoft officially announced the price of the Xbox Series X last week and confirmed that the console will be available for $499 US dollars.
According to unconfirmed rumors, Sony Interactive Entertainment could use the PS5 games showcase taking place on Wednesday evening to go a little closer to the market launch of the PlayStation 5. Most recently, the information from a retailer suggested that the price of the classic PS5 model could amount to $499 US dollars, while the digital-only edition will be priced at $399 US dollars.
The Bloomberg analyst Masahiro Wakasugi, who is particularly well known in Asia, is causing fresh speculation. As he indicated in a recent report, he expects Sony Interactive Entertainment to position the PlayStation 5 on the market at a real competitive price. With the classic version of the console, he expects a price of $449 US dollars.
Thus the PS5 would be a little cheaper than its direct competitor in the form of the Xbox Series X. The price of the PS5 digital edition will be under $400 US dollars, according to Wakasugi. The Bloomberg analyst left it open whether he was referring to a price of $399 or even $349 US dollars. We may soon find out whether the analyst’s information is correct or not.
As already mentioned at the beginning, the next big games showcase for the PS5 will take place tomorrow, Wednesday evening. So far Sony Interactive Entertainment has only talked about the presentation of new first and third-party titles, but the final surprise at the end of the event would be the official unveiling of the launch date and the prices of the PlayStation 5.


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With talk of the death of cash, PayPal president Scott Thompson painted a rosy future for payments delivered through mobile devices.
PayPal plans to open its electronic payments platform to third-party developers, company president Scott Thompson said at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco on Tuesday afternoon.
"We'll offer hooks into the PayPal system that will allow anyone in any industry to develop new ways to pay," he said.
The platform will be called PayPal X. PayPal first announced its platform plans on June 23rd.
Thompson provided little in the way of details, which will be revealed on November 3rd at PayPal X Innovate 09, the first PayPal developer conference.
The company has been working in private with a select group of developers and providing them with information about PayPal's forthcoming payment platform APIs, which are expected to be made available outside the beta testing group sometimes next year.
PayPal faces plenty of competition both in terms of its payment platform and its mobile payment service. Amazon began testing its Flexible Payment System for developers in 2007 and just recently introduced its Mobile Payment Service for mobile phones. Nokia made a major investment in mobile payment service Obopay in March and plans to roll out a mobile payment system called Nokia Money next year. Google has made its Google Checkout service available for mobile devices.
Thompson nonetheless expressed confidence that the future will be full of electronic transactions between various devices.
Citing a July 2009 Wired article listing "100 things your kids may never know about," he suggested that electronic payments might even replace cash, without acknowledging the privacy implications of a world without anonymous transactions.
Register for Interop New York and see the full range of IT solutions to position your organization for growth. At the Jacob Javits Center, Nov. 16-20, 2009. Find out more and register.
Top IT Trends to Watch in Financial ServicesIT pros at banks, investment houses, insurance companies, and other financial services organizations are focused on a range of issues, from peer-to-peer lending to cybersecurity to performance, agility, and compliance. It all matters.
Join us for a roundup of the top stories on InformationWeek.com for the week of September 18, 2016. We'll be talking with the InformationWeek.com editors and correspondents who brought you the top stories of the week to get the "story behind the story."


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After more than 100 years
Nissan finally says goodbye to the Datsun brand
Datsun has a history of more than 100 years in Japan. But now the parent company Nissan has finally announced the end of the car brand.
Less than ten years after the resurrection, the Japanese car manufacturer Nissan is finally burying the Datsun brand. Production of the Datsun redi-GO at the Chennai plant in India will end, Nissan announced on Monday. Datsun production in Indonesia and Russia had already been stopped in 2020.
In 2021, only around 7,000 Datsun cars rolled off the assembly line, a Nissan spokesman told the AFP news agency. The sale runs until no more Datsun cars are in stock; the services for Datsun models would continue to be offered.
End of the Nissan marque first announced in 1981
Nissan first announced the demise of Datsun in 1981. In 2013, the then head of the company, Carlos Ghosn, decided to offer Datsun again as a cheap brand in developing countries – following the example of the Renault brand Dacia. After Ghosn’s fall at the end of 2018 and his flight to Lebanon in 2019, the new Nissan leadership decided on the new strategy of concentrating on a few brands.
Datsun’s origins date back to 1910; the first model was offered in 1931. Two years later, the brand was bought by what would later become Nissan. The Datsun brand had its heyday in the 50s and 60s. By 1981, 20 million copies had been sold in more than 190 countries.


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Having now hit $48m in crowdfunder backing, PC space sim Star Citizen can rightly claim to be rivalling console’s biggest triple-A spenders.
In fact, creator Chris Roberts reckons his title will lag behind only Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto when it comes to raw dollar investment.
Normally developers ‘sell out’ to a console platform (Bungie or Epic going Xbox exclusive for instance) because the platform holder is funding the budget,” he said in a blog post.
Thanks to everyone that has backed Star Citizen we have no need to sell out to anyone! You’ve funded a triple-A PC game that will compete with the biggest and best. By the time the game is officially ‘done’, I’m pretty sure that the final funding will be larger than most triple-A console games outside the very biggest like GTA or COD – and our money goes much further as we don’t have any corporate overhead or fancy marketing budgets.”
Roberts also stated that the possibility of a release on PS4 and Xbox One remains on the table, although conditions would need to be met before such an undertaking is greenlit.
Star Citizen will never be on the PS3 or Xbox 360. As for the next gen consoles, PS4 and Xbox One, we have NO CURRENT PLANS, but my stance remains open,” he added.
IF the platform holders (Sony & Microsoft) allow us to update the code and data without restrictions and odious time consuming QC procedures, IF they allow our community to openly interact with each other across platforms then I would CONSIDER supporting them.
Who wouldn’t want a bigger community of Star Citizens? If Sony or Microsoft are willing to let their platform be open, then I see no real difference between them or Valve’s Steambox, a Mac or a PC running Linux, all of which are platforms that I don’t think this community would mind supporting as they are all viewed as ‘PCs’.
But this is a big IF as it’s asking a lot. To their credit Sony seems to be the most eager to embrace indie games and the idea of openness, and they chased us down to give us some dev kits to play with but we’ve been very clear on what it would take to get Star Citizen onto PS4.”
Space simulator rival Elite Dangerous was recently more or less confirmed for PS4 and Xbox One.


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As supply chains continue to show signs of stress, procurement software has moved to center stage. The Spend Futures Almanac has released its Future Five list of startups to watch. The list includes:
Carbmee an enterprise solution that measures carbon and manages emissions reductions for their customers’ net-zero goals.
Focal Point a procurement platform to track and optimize process, self-service and to measure results.
OpenEnvoy, a real-time AP automation technology that identifies discrepancies between invoices, contracts, and supporting documentation.
ProcureWise, an AI-powered total talent solution to automate management of extended workforces.
Relish, a B2B app platform that maximizes cloud software solutions with custom extensions.
The value of influencer marketing may be greater than previously acknowledged. According to new research published in the Journal of Marketing from the University of Washinton, if companies spent 1% more on influencer marketing, they would see a nearly 0.5% increase in engagement. Reallocating spending based on their study’s insights, they hold, could result in a 16.6% increase in engagement.
“I predict that in the future, a lot of marketing is going to be crowd sourced,” said Robert Palmatier, co-author of the study and professor of marketing at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business. “As a marketing manager, you’re going to manage a portfolio of influencers, just like Nike manages a portfolio celebrities.”
Researchers tested data d from Weibo, a microblogging website platform in China. The data consisted of 5,835 posts written by 2,412 influencers related to 1,256 campaigns for 861 brands in October 2018. Researchers found that influencer originality, follower size and sponsor salience all enhanced the effectiveness of a message, while posts that announce new products diminish it.
Dorsett Controls, an industrial technology company that manufactures advanced supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems has acquired Sunapsys, Inc. Sunapsys is a system integrator who specializes in the design and implementation of controls and information systems in the water and wastewater market for municipalities, manufacturers, and OEMs.


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According to Gigya, Facebook gained 15 percentage points in mobile logins in Q4. It now holds a 61% share of the overall market. Second-place Google slipped to 22%.
The post With A Mobile Surge, Facebook Extends Dominance In Social Logins appeared first on Marketing Land.
Please visit Marketing Land for the full article.


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One hundred and fifty jobs will be created at a cheese processing plant in northern Victoria.
Bega Cheese will takeover and expand the Kraft factory in Strathmerton, north of Shepparton.
Production is expected to more than double in the next five years, with the potential to make it Australia's largest processed cheese plant.
The takeover secures the jobs of the 195 current employees and will create jobs for another 150 people.
The Moira Shire Mayor, David McKenzie says there has been some uncertainty recently.
"It's now going to put a lot of confidence back in the whole area," he said.
It is the second time Bega Cheese has invested in a Northern Victorian dairy company.
Last year it acquired 70 per cent of Tatura Milk.