text:
Tri County meets Akris
Date of event: February 8, 2020 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Name of Charity: Tri County Animal Rescue
Location: Akris Palm Beach, Palm Beach
Phone #: 305778-2297
Cost of tickets: n/a
Akris Palm Beach Hosts Exclusive Event to Honor Tri-County Animal Rescue Co-Founder and Executive Director
On Saturday, February 8 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Akris Palm Beach, Andrea Stark, chair of Tri-County Animal Rescue, Deborah Robinson, honoree member, and Gregg Beletsky, boutique director of Akris Palm Beach, invite guests and their pets to an exclusive shopping event in honor of Suzi Goldsmith, co-founder and executive director of Tri-County Animal Rescue.
The Rescue, which celebrates its 25th-anniversary this year, is a 100% no-kill, and non-profit animal shelter that works to protect over 170,000 unwanted pets in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties each year. From its inception, Goldsmith has lead the team in saving over 55,000 domestic animals from being euthanized.
During the event, guests will enjoy brunch bites and a private Akris shopping experience, featuring special guest and fashion illustrator, Veronique Jacquart, who will be in attendance to illustrate guests and their pets from 12 p.m.- 3 p.m.
A percentage of sales will benefit the Tri-County Animal Rescue. More information about the rescue's mission statement can be found at https://tricountyanimalrescue.com/us/tri-county-animal-rescue-boca-raton/tri-county-animal-rescue/.
Event Chairs: Andrea Stark, chair of Tri-County Animal Rescue, Deborah Robinson, honoree member, and Gregg Beletsky, boutique director of Akris Palm Beach
Sponsors: Akris Palm Beach
How the proceeds will be used:
A percentage of sales will benefit Tri-County Animal Rescue in its 25th year of operation, as it continues to serve and protect animals in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.


text:
Malta-licensed B2B and B2C online casino business SkillOnNet has partnered Evolution Gaming to launch live dealer content for its customer-facing brands and white label partners.
The agreement will see Evolution content, including Live Three Card Poker and live roulette, go live on SkillOnNet’s online casino brands SlotsMagic (formerly Jackpot Party), MegaCasino and EUCasino next year, while mobile variants of each game are also set to go live in the coming months.
SkillOnNet B2B manager Andy Andrew commented that the partnership with Evolution would allow his company to offer a comprehensive portfolio of live games to its customers and clients.
“Unlike some casino operators and providers we really value live content and are determined to provide the best that is available - not only to our own players, but to the increasing number who are coming to us via our white label partners,” Andrew added.
Evolution head of account management Sebastian Johannisson said: “We are very proud that our live dealer games, including innovative solutions such as multi-camera immersive roulette, have been chosen by SkillOnNet to spearhead the next stage of their live casino strategy.
“We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership based not only on the quality of our live content on multiple devices, but also on the operational excellence of our platform and studios,” Johannission added.

domain: news


text:
Politech has been participating in the international ADF & PCD fair in Paris for only a few years, but every year we are convinced by this event even more. This year’s edition has been expanded to include companies from the luxury drinks packaging industry. This attracted an additional group of visitors and allowed them to exchange experiences with other exhibitors from related industries.
The fair was held in the last week of January, and Politech was represented by a team of a sales manager – Hanna Zielińska-Górny and a sales specialist – Joanna Szydzisz. The reviews of our representation, business partners and visitors of the fair showed that it was by far the best ADF & PCD edition ever.
This year, we went to Paris with an interesting message about the ecology. With a new stand with intriguing slogans, we showed the possibilities of taking care of ecology in a plastic processing company. Based on the example of the Politech, we indicated a lot of activities that have been functioning in our company for years for the good of the environment. Heat recovery, the use of HEPA and EPA filters, cooperation with proven and responsible suppliers, the use of solvent-free lacquers and many, many more…
As for the location of the fair, Paris is a great place to meet representatives of international cosmetics and perfumery companies. In the heart of France, we also had talks with numerous representatives of the Polish industry.
This year’s edition of PCD was visited by over 10,000 people and almost 650 exhibitors from around the world.Powrót do listy artykułów


text:
By Ryan Kennedy
RENOWNED Pop artist Steve Kaufman is to make his first Irish appearance.
Dubbed the Prince of Pop Art, Kaufman has recently confirmed his first Irish show in the Dame Street Gallery, Dublin on November 20. The date coincides with the 20th anniversary of the death of his mentor and one time boss Andy Warhol.
His artwork hangs on the walls of the White House and over 600 galleries across the United States, 16 galleries in Japan and 22 galleries in Europe.
He is also represented in 173 Warner Brothers stores and created a 1996 Olympics limited-edition portrait of Muhammad Ali for them.
In tribute to the famous soup can prints of Warhol; Kaufman created a series of Pop Art soup cans and jars for the Campbell Soup Companyâ€™s 100th anniversary.


text:
Google’s latest home assistant — the Home Mini — is a $49 smart speaker that is about the size of a donut. To celebrate its release, Google is setting up pop-up donut shops around the US and giving away Home Minis. Here’s what you need to know. Following is the text of the video.
Eyesight Technologies, a startup developing in-car driver and occupancy monitoring systems, today announced that its
Scientists have mapped the genome of the German shepherd, one of the world’s most
It started off as an ad-libbed joke for some friends in a football banter group
With Tonya Riley Note to readers: The Technology 202 will run on a limited schedule


text:
Wednesday’s trading didn’t just start badly for equities traders – orange juice futures also suffered a drop, as a bumper crop from Florida may arrive just as demand for juice falls.
Futures on the IntercontinentalExchange in New York fell 1.4 percent to $1.3705 per pound at 10:15 a.m. EST, reported Bloomberg News.
Today’s fall follows a 3.7 percent drop yesterday. Florida is projected to increase its output of oranges by as much as 25 million boxes in the next harvest, which could lead to a glut of supply in the markets.
Demand isn’t doing much better: James Cordier, a portfolio manager in Tampa, Florida, told Bloomberg News that “The dismal figures out of Washington are weighing on the market. The U.S. is not doing well in terms of demand for orange juice.”
Other soft commodities dropped as well – No. 11 sugar futures on the ICE lost 1.4 percent to 18.30 cents per pound, while cocoa futures lost 1.9 percent to $2,874 per metric ton.


text:
In this era of “Green is In” and corporations like Walmart ‘greenwashing’, you’d expect one of the biggest players in the tequila space to trumpet their environmental efforts on every bottle, package and press release.
But Patrón is actually quite understated when it comes to their landmark environmental efforts. In an industry where terms like ‘fair trade’ and ‘environmentally conscious’ aren’t thrown around a whole lot, Patrón is making some moves that could really change all that.
When you look at the numbers, the amount of waste generated from a single bottle of tequila is pretty staggering. For every liter of tequila made, there are 18 liters of liquid waste created. This doesn’t even begin to take into account all the bagasse (or fibrous waste) that comes from processing the agave plants. Currently there are a wide variety of disposal methods for this liquid waste from sewage to dispersion over land (which is injurious to the environment), but Patrón is taking a different approach with a new multi-million dollar water treatment facility in the Patrón distillery. Using reverse osmosis, Patrón is reclaiming 70% of their stillage waste into water that can be re-used in the manufacturing process.
In addition to the reverse osmosis water treatment plant, Patrón has built seven hectares of covered blacktop to compost the bagasse from the agave and remaining liquid waste into fertilizer. The capacity of what they can process is actually more than what Patrón produces and they’ve reached out to other tequila makers in Jalisco and offered to share that space to compost their waste.
Patrón is also lowering their footprint in their use of glass. Patrón has become the the largest consumer of recycled glass in Mexico. They’ve also made a commitment to only use 100% recycled papers in all their packaging and has made efforts to eliminate packing where they can.
The only real downside of Patrón’s environmental efforts is that they really haven’t been promoting them. Customers who look for more environmentally sensitive options probably aren’t aware of any of Patrón’s efforts and there isn’t a clear indication on the bottle of their green efforts.
Perhaps if Patrón championed these efforts more, their competition would be forced to follow suit. With explosive growth in the tequila category, there are a lot of companies gunning after Patrón and so if customers started to demand that their tequila be more green you’d see a huge change in the way in which tequila manufacturers approach this issue.


text:
SK Group, Korea’s second-largest conglomerate and leading energy and chemical company has committed to investing US$700 million in Malaysia in different sectors, including electronic vehicles (EV), digitization, and the environment.
SK Nexilis, as part of SK Group’s Electric Vehicle (EV) value chain, RM2.3 billion was announced as a proposed investmentMalaysia to establish its first overseas production base in January 2021.
SK Nexilis is building a copper foil manufacturing plant base at Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park, (KKIP), in Sabah.
The commercial operations will kickstart by 2023, and the new facility will increase SK Nexilis’ copper foil production capacity by three times its current global capacity to about 100,000 tonnes.
SoCar, a subsidiary by SK Group, to establish an EV platform on Malaysia
This is in line with the recent announcement by its Malaysian subsidiary SOCAR Malaysia Sdn Bd (SOCAR), that it has closed a $55million Series A round. EastBridge Partners, a leading private equity firm specializing in investments in Asia and the Pacific, led the deal. Sime Darby Berhad was also a strategic investor.
The company intends to set up an EV platform to deploy hundreds more EVs in the country over the next five years.
Tenaga Nasional Bhd and Socar (TNB) recently signed a memorandum-of-understanding (MoU). This MoU allows them to share data on EV usage in Malaysia, which is part of their efforts to accelerate the adoption.
The MoU outlines TNB’s plans to leverage Socar’s data on travel behavior and vehicle usage to identify locations along key travel routes to install charging infrastructure.
“TNB is set to take a leading role in driving EV adoption in Malaysia, especially among fleet management operators, and one of the key steps to achieving this is by establishing more EV charging zones that would be utilized optimally based on known travel routes,” said TNB chief retail officer Datuk Megat Jalaluddin Megat Hassan.
“This recent collaboration with Socar is more extensive, compared to our initial partnership back in December 2019 when TNB became the enabler for SoCar’s first two EV zones in Cyberjaya with the introduction of the first-ever EVs in their fleet”, he added.
BigPay Strategic Investments
Additionally, the company made a strategic capital investment of up $100m in BigPay, a Malaysia-based fintech company. The August 2021 investment into BigPay is SK Group’s first step in entering the fast-growing fintech sector outside Korea.
SK Group released a statement saying that BigPay was a testament not only to the potential of Malaysian fintech firms to grow but also regionally, and to their ability to be a major player in Southeast Asia.
SK Group said it was also joining the AirAsia Group Bhd’s e-wallet unit BigPay to apply for Malaysia’s upcoming digital banking license.
“The company intends to expand its product sets and grow the model to new markets with the funds”, said BigPay co-founder and chief executive officer Salim Dhanani.
Chief Representative of SK Malaysia, Jung Kyu Kim said, “We are confident that SK’s experience in financial tech services will contribute to successful digital bank ecosystem in Malaysia and further growth into the ASEAN region.”


text:
2019 Auto Show preview
A look ahead at the best in automobiles
February 4, 2019
Hundreds of thousands of consumers young and old will converge on the McCormick Place Feb. 9 through Feb. 18 expecting to see the latest and greatest in automotive technology and trends.
2019 marks the 111th edition of the show, where nearly 1,000 different vehicles will be on display.
In the age where brick-and-mortar retail is crumbling, the consistent growth of the Auto Show is indicative of America’s love affair with the automobile.
Historically, Chicago’s Auto Show isn’t the first choice to debut new products like Paris or Detroit typically is, but it champions a reputation for being geared toward the enthusiastic consumer rather than the press.
With that said, this year’s show will feature an unveiling from Land Rover.
“Land Rover is revealing the new Evoque, and they’re doing about a 15,000 square foot test track on the show floor, so we’re excited about that,” said Dave Sloan, president of the Chicago Auto Trade Association.
The unveiling is accompanied by a visit from Jaguar Land Rover North America President and CEO Joachim Eberhardt.
Eberhardt will deliver the keynote at the Economic Club of Chicago luncheon. The event, held on Feb. 7, hosts members and aims to provide a platform to discuss economic, business and social issues. The ECC has had a decade-long partnership with the Chicago Auto Show.
“We look forward to a tremendous Chicago Auto Show this year as we debut the new Range Rover Evoque, an SUV built for consumers who live in great cities with often challenging weather conditions,” says Eberhardt in a Jan. 28 press release.
Prior to each Auto Show is the First Look for Charity black-tie-gala. The gala provides the chance to get a first glimpse at the newest cars and trucks the industry has to offer on Feb. 8. Now in its 28th year, the 2019 First Look for Charity is expected to raise $2.5 million for local charities. The fundraiser has generated more than $50 million for the city since its creation.
“Whether it’s providing programs to help our youth and seniors, supporting families of those lost in the line of duty, assisting those with special needs or life-threatening diseases, or helping fund much-needed medical research, First Look for Charity continues to stand as the city’s greatest single-day fundraiser,” said First Look for Charity Chairman JC Phelan in a statement. “Because of the financial assistance and support from First Look for Charity, these charitable organizations are able to make an amazing impact on so many throughout Chicagoland.”
The 2019 Auto Show includes beneficiaries such as: 100 Club of Chicago; Advocate Health Care; Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago; Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago; Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Joliet; Clearbrook; The Cradle; Franciscan Community Benefit Services; JDRF; Susan G. Komen Chicago; Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Lydia Home & Safe Families for Children; March of Dimes; Misericordia; New Star; Special Olympics Illinois; Turning Pointe Autism Foundation; and Jesse White Tumbling Team.
For the second year in a row, show attendees will have the opportunity to get behind the wheel of electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The Chicago Area Clean Cities Coalition, a nonprofit focused on clean-transportation solutions, is hosting the event made possible by the American Lung Association and Midwest EVOLVE program. Midwest EVOLVE stands for Electric Vehicle Opportunities: Learning, Events and Experience and has over 60 partners.
The goal is to get more consumers behind the wheel of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. To them, automotive consumers need education and exposure to the next generation of clean energy automobiles.
“In the Midwest, electric vehicles do not receive the kind of attention that they do on the west coast and east coast”, said Joe Koenig, public relations manager at the Chicago Area Clean Cities Coalition. “What we’re offering at the Auto Show is a chance for people to get behind the wheel of electric vehicles for test drives. We’ve had a lot of success with this last year and interestingly enough, more than 20 percent of the people who test drive an electric vehicle at one of our Midwest EVOLVE programs go on to purchase an electric vehicle within 6 months.”
Attendees who wish to test drive electric vehicles can do so by registering during show days at the Chicago Area Clean Cities tent in the South Building at Gate 2.


text:
No products in the cart.
Press Play to listen to this article
Three years ago, a group of EU consumer agencies launched a cross-border lawsuit against Facebook, accusing the social media giant of illegally harvesting data from millions of users.
More than 300,000 disgruntled Facebook users positioned themselves behind the class action lawsuit that promised to award them individual monetary damages if the company is found guilty of misconduct.
On Friday, those lawsuits quietly morphed into a brand new partnership with Facebook.
Euroconsumers, the umbrella organization behind the Spanish, Italian, Belgian and Portuguese lawsuits, announced that they are entering into a partnership with the company that will focus on the “security and privacy” of Facebook users.
The move comes after POLITICO reported that Euroconsumers settled its lawsuit with Facebook in late April – underscoring the fact that class actions rarely cross the finish line in Europe, protecting companies from the kind of lawsuits that can lead to crippling damage in US courts, while consumers have few remedies available.
Originally, Euroconsumers had told people who had joined the case that they would ask for € 200 in compensation for any Facebook user whose data was mishandled.
In the end, however, there will be no court ruling, no admission of wrongdoing by Facebook, and no direct payment from the company to consumers as a result of the settlement, according to Euroconsumers.
Instead, the consumer groups and Facebook said they are forming a joint committee that will focus on three priorities: sustainability, digital empowerment and fighting fraud. The issue of privacy – which was explicitly at the center of the lawsuit – is the “umbrella” under which the three priorities fall.
Consumers are promised a vague consolation prize.
The four consumer groups said they would commit to “rewarding” consumers who joined the original lawsuit with “a package” that will help consumers stay safe online – but not cash.
When asked whether Facebook paid money to euro consumers as part of the settlement, the group declined to comment. POLITICO reached out to Facebook, but the company did not provide an immediate response other than the press release.
Meanwhile, the committee is under no obligation to produce any concrete results.
“There are concrete initiatives, but there will also be a channel for consumer reporting. We will be able to report problems that arise, such as:
A spokesman for the group said, “The time is now to try to influence the arguments of companies that are run far away.”
Legally, however, the heat is off Facebook.
The consumer groups will evaluate their cooperation in three years.
“A one-year contract would be too short. Three years is long enough for an assessment to be made. Much will change in the digital world during this period, ”added the spokesman.
In the meantime, a change in the law could give more weight to future class actions in Europe: a directive passed late last year could lead to larger class actions across Europe.
Do you want more analysis of POLITICO? POLITICO Pro is our premium intelligence service for professionals. From financial services to commerce, technology, cybersecurity, and more, Pro offers the real-time intelligence, deep insights, and breakthrough insight you need to stay one step ahead. E-mail [email protected] to request a free trial.


text:
The trouble appears to occur only when default permission settings on a Windows directory have been changed, according to Microsoft. The software maker has received "limited reports" of problems from customers but is still investigating the issue, a representative said.
Even if users experience PC trouble after installing the patch, they will still be protected against any attack exploiting the Windows flaw, a Microsoft representative said. The patch was delivered with Microsoft security bulletin MS05-051.
Microsoft says that to overcome these problems, users should restore the default permissions for the Windows folder and the COM+ catalog. The company has produced a guide to help users do just that.


text:
A 6-foot fox in a hotel lobby. A tail on a luggage cart. The “Furries” are back.
Friday morning Heinz employees assembled more than 100,000 meals in an effort to stop hunger worldwide.
Is Pittsburgh ready for a men’s underwear store? Thomas West, the owner of “Trim,” says the answer is, “Yes.”
U.S. Steel Corp. is laying off an undisclosed number of Pittsburgh employees to cut costs.
Be prepared for a shock if you haven’t bought meat the grocery store lately. Beef prices are way up.
Margaret Schlass of Marshall is one of six young farmers, and the only woman, profiled in a new documentary called “Farmland.”
Nothing says Pittsburgh like HJ Heinz, but the company’s new Brazilian owners – 3G Capital — have replaced the company’s management team with primarily Brazilians.
For more than 75 years, Visit Pittsburgh has been charged with bringing lots of interesting people and groups to Allegheny County.
A Beaver County flower shop that was destroyed by fire on New Year’s Eve is reopening this weekend.
New information is coming out regarding a fire that damaged poplar Market Square restaurant NOLA and several other businesses.
In Homewood, on North Homewood Avenue, stands a small bakery store that has been serving the community for more than 35 years.
A wave of counterfeit money is showing up at some local businesses, and one community has been especially hard hit by the bogus bills.
U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Works has been belching smoke in Braddock for years.
Tired of overcrowded malls, big box chain stores and Black Friday hype?
Not long ago Black Friday was the kick-off to Christmas holiday shopping with a crush of people as stores opened at dawn.


text:
Davis Vision Brings New Leadership for Expected Market Growth for the West Territory
Chris Childs joins Davis Sales Leadership Team as Regional Vice President of Sales
SAN ANTONIO (June 17, 2013) – Davis Vision, a leader in providing comprehensive vision benefit solutions announced that Chris Childs has joined the Sales Leadership Team as Regional Vice President of Sales for the Western division.
Childs joins Davis Vision with over 20 years of experience in the health and welfare space excelling in leading teams of sales professionals throughout the western half of the country. His team approach to sales leadership has consistently earned him numerous awards both in sales and sales leadership with many carriers, including Cigna, Humana, Ameritas and most recently Sterling where he served as Regional Vice President of the South and Midwest.
“We believe Chris’ strategic thinking and abilities to effectively manage and motivate people to consistently exceed expectations will result in the long-term success of the region,” said Mike Ehrle, Chief Sales Officer of Davis Vision.
Based in Dallas, Chris will be responsible for leading his team to effectively execute sales and profitable growth of our vision care solutions to new clients and partner relationships. Davis Vision’s fully integrated business model drives affordable vision coverage by providing members with access to quality independent eye care providers, thousands of retail optical stores and innovative eyewear choices to achieve economies of scale.
About Davis Vision, Inc.
Davis Vision is part of the HVHC Inc. group of companies, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, which also includes Visionworks of America and Viva International Group. Davis Vision has been providing comprehensive vision benefits for nearly 50 years, and currently serves more than 55 million vision care consumers with vision care programs nationwide through a provider network of ophthalmologists, optometrists and dispensing locations at more than 40,000 points of access, in both private and retail settings. For more information, visit www.davisvision.com.


text:
After launch of OnePlus 6 in India on 17th May, OnePlus has announced today that pop-up events will take place across 8 Indian cities, between 21-22 May. Prospective buyers will be able to experience and purchase the OnePlus 6 at these pop-up stores over two days, on a first-come-first-serve basis.
In India, the OnePlus 6 pop-ups will take place between 3:30PM-8PM on 21st May, and between 11AM-7PM on 22nd May at following locations:
Mumbai-High Street Phoenix
Chennai-The Forum Vijaya
Hyderabad-The Forum Sujana
Delhi-DLF Place Saket
Kolkata-South City Mall
Ahmedabad-Gulmohar Park Mall
Bangalore-OnePlus Experience Store, Brigade Road
OnePlus 6 will be launched in India on 17th May in Mumbai. The entry vouchers to attend the launch event will be available via oneplus.in from 10:00 IST on Tuesday, 8th May 2018. The OnePlus Community at the event will be the first ones to try out the OnePlus 6 at the experience zone at the launch venue. In addition, all fans who attend the launch event will get a gift hamper full of super add-ons and exclusive Marvel Avengers merchandise.
The OnePlus 6 is very powerful smartphone and comes equipped with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 paired with up to 8GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. It will be waterproof and dustproof device and has Notch design.
OnePlus 6 will go on sale in India exclusively on Amazon.in from 17th May.
Stay tuned for more details on 17th May!


text:
Trade surplus hits $75M from deficit, StatsCan reports.
Canada's trade balance with the world hit a $75M in surplus October, up from a $303M deficit in September, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
|Report an Error|
Share via Email
OTTAWA—Statistics Canada says the country’s merchandise imports declined 1.2 per cent and exports decreased 0.3 per cent in October.
That pushed the trade balance with the world to a $75 million surplus from a $303 million deficit in September, the agency said Wednesday.
Imports declined to $40.4 billion as lower imports of energy products and motor vehicles and parts were partially offset by higher imports of basic and industrial chemical, plastic and rubber products.
Exports decreased to $40.5 billion with lower shipments of motor vehicles and parts, metal and non-metallic mineral products and aircraft and other transportation equipment and parts.
Imports from the United States grew 1 per cent to $26.5 billion and exports rose 0.2 per cent to $30.4 billion, reducing that trade surplus to $3.9 billion from $4.1 billion in September.
Imports from countries other than the United States fell 5.1 per cent to $13.9 billion and exports to those countries slipped 1.7 per cent to $10.1 billion, shrinking that trade deficit to $3.9 billion from $4.4 billion in September.
- Egypt calls for Gaza cease-fire, asks both sides to resume talks
- Rail safety better since Lac-Mégantic train derailment
- Toronto police investigating after condo deal falls apart
- What you need to know for Saturday in Toronto: News, weather and events
- Luka Magnotta documentary pulled from Montreal film festival
- Ottawa U sex assault scandal highlights campus rape culture
- Deadly stalemate awaits the West in showdown with Islamist State
- U.K. phone-hacking scandal offers cautionary tale: Burman
Ontario health bureaucrats question whether federal officials should meddle with distributing protective pills in a nuclear disaster


text:
Main content | back to top
Shell South Africa
News and Highlights
Shell South Africa is saddened by the passing away of former South African President Nelson Mandela.
On Friday 29 November, Shell launches its upgraded Shell Ultra City in Middleburg, Mpumalanga. The upgrade will see the first location in the Shell Ultra City network achieving new heights of success in the motorway market segment, introducing European and American style multi-branded food-courts such as Fego Caffe, Giramundo’s, Steers, Ocean Basket. Furthermore, a coffee offer in partnership with vida e caffe has been added to the Shell Select Store. Other features include state of the art stylish ablution facilities.
On 15 November Shell launches a new promotion in collaboration with Ferrari and the LEGO Group. South Africa will for the first time, see the introduction of a range of limited edition, buildable collectible Ferrari models made from bricks. The unique LEGO models and LEGO Minifigures are available at all Shell participating service stations.
Shell South Africa and SPAR South Africa, today, Wednesday 14 August, launched an exciting and exclusive retail partnership in the forecourt convenience market.
Shell South Africa today announced its continued sponsorship of the Top Gear Festival at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Running from 15 to 16 June 2013, Shell is building on the success of last year’s event to make sure that visitors to the Top Gear Festival experience the premium Shell V-Power fuel’s performance promise in action.
Shell is pleased to hear from the Minister in the presidency, Collins Chabane this morning that Cabinet endorsed a recommendation for the lifting of the moratorium on shale gas exploration in SA.


text:
The consumer healthcare market is a multi-trillion dollar industry worldwide that could double by 2028, according to Verified Market Research, which means there are opportunities to be had for patient investors. The company recently reported third-quarter 2021 results that showcased a 31% year-over-year increase in monthly active users and a 68% increase in subscription plans.
InMode Ltd. (INMD) stock has fallen, losing -23.3% this year. The specialty medical device maker pulled back with the weakness in growth stocks. But another likely reason is Big Money dropping the stock.
Shares of medical company InMode (NASDAQ: INMD) were up 197.3% in 2021, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. InMode makes medical devices that emit radio frequencies, a minimally and (in some cases) non-invasive way to perform types of plastic surgery and skin care, among other things. In 2020, InMode generated record revenue of $206 million, which was up 32% from 2019 despite challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.


text:
Audi is preparing to alter the ‘city car’ bandwagon with increased bandwidth! The Audi city car concept claims to exceed 200 miles per gallon, which is not unprecedented (VW), unless the claim of 282+ proves true.
The information was dropped by Wolfgang Durheimer himself (Audi’s new research & development chief) during an interview with What Car?. This news comes on the heels of official confirmation of several diesel Audi models coming out, which are set to debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Audi is steering in a decidedly green direction, but do not panic: we still have the Audi R8 to quench the power thirst.


text:
Feb 17, 2022
Paris, London, Tokyo and now Atlanta: Kering eyes U.S. expansion
Feb 17, 2022
French luxury group Kering is eyeing second- and third-tier cities for possible store expansion in the United States, where its sales are booming, Chairman and CEO Francois-Henri Pinault said on Thursday.
The Gucci owner said on Thursday it was on the hunt for possible acquisitions and might expand in more U.S. cities, after a sales surge showed resilience in demand for luxury goods even as inflation soars.
Pinault said the group was considering cities like Atlanta, Charlotte and Austin, adding there was room for the group to operate its own stores in places where it had previously sold through wholesale channels.
He said the quality of shopping malls was lacking for luxury players.
"We are revisiting our geographic coverage of stores to cover these zones that are new for us," he said, adding that new stores include a Gucci store in Austin, Texas.
The luxury industry has fast recovered from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, with sales for most groups now exceeding their pre-crisis levels, and thanks to strong demand has room to further increase prices in the face of rising costs.
© Thomson Reuters 2022 All rights reserved.


text:
Zarraffa’s Coffee celebrated the remarkable achievements of a number of franchisees last week at Port Douglas, as part of the specialty coffee company’s 2023 National Franchise Conference.
The 2023 Franchisee of the Year Award went to ‘dynamic duo’ franchisees, Ashley Byers and Jordan Wyborn, owners of five stores across southeast Queensland located in Greenslopes, Redbank Plains, Pacific Pines, Toowoomba North, and the company’s first drive thru only store in Beaudesert.
“A first-time win for Mr Byers and Mr Wyborn, their unwavering commitment to both brand and operational excellence set them apart as this year’s winners.”
Zarraffa’s Coffee CEO Marnie Sheldon commended the efforts of Mr Byers, Mr Wyborn, their store teams, and all that they have achieved.
“The boys have come a long way from operating one store in Toowoomba back in 2017, to today directing a team of over 100 while servicing a huge geographical area in the heart of our brand’s footprint in Queensland,” says Ms Sheldon.
“It is through the support and investment of franchisees like Ash and Jordan that we are shaping the future of our brand; operators who are ready to tackle opportunities head on, while still keeping our customer service and experience front of mind.
“Whether it’s taking over existing stores in a short space of time, or opening a brand-new store, including pioneering the very first ever drive thru only store concept in March this year, the boys have managed things exceptionally well and deserve this recognition.”
Held in the tropical climate of Far North Queensland at the picturesque Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas, the 2023 Gala dinner and Awards also recognised the following achievements of Franchisees and stores.
Rookie of the Year Award
Cosi and Jarrod McKenzie – Zarraffa’s Coffee Ballina
CEO Encouragement Award
Elissa and Chris Hutton, and Bruce Fullerton – Zarraffa’s Coffee Riverlakes | Pimpama | Upper Coomera
Store of the Year
Zarraffa’s Coffee Morayfield Road – Ben Old
Brand Ambassador Award (joint win)
Robbie Hicks – Zarraffa’s Coffee Capalaba | Cleveland | Victoria Point
Candice Fioretti – Zarraffa’s Coffee Lawnton.
Other accolades included 2021 Franchisee of the Year winner from Zarraffa’s Coffee Cairns Showground and Edmonton, Paul Brierley, who took out the Franchisee – People’s Choice Award.
The brand also celebrated significant service milestones, including:
- Kelly Daswani, Zarraffa’s Coffee Eagleby – 11 years
- Brett Kochner Zarraffa’s Coffee Richlands, Heathwood and Booval – 10 years
- Terry Fleming Zarraffa’s Coffee Richlands, Heathwood and Booval – 10 years
- Melissa Willet, Zarraffa’s Coffee Acacia Ridge – Five years
- Kelly Batty, Zarraffa’s Coffee Morayfield – 15 years
- Hiren Patel, Zarraffa’s Coffee Grovely, and Boondall – 10 years
- Dylan Zack Zarraffa’s Coffee Head Office – 15 years.
With a new operating model and serious momentum to grow the brand in new locations over the next 12-24 months, the Aussie-owned specialty coffee company is looking at long-term growth.
“We are ready to expand in a measured way to establish Zarraffa’s nationally as we head toward the Brisbane 2032 Olympics,” Ms Sheldon said.
“With our store operations top of mind, it will be in how we treat our customers – through memorable service, exceptional product and enhanced convenience – that will really distinguish us over time from our competitors and ensure that we continually add value to our customers’ day.”


text:
Bridging the Gap: Apple Music’s Next India Chapter
The music streaming giant aims to bring artists and listeners closer with the launch of several new features on the upcoming iOS 12
It’s possible that Apple’s biggest strength is the trust its earned from its customers. Even as I’m sitting on a plane to New Delhi on my way to their headquarters with very little information on what I’m going to be briefed on, it’s easy to keep calm and trust in a brand that has been a significant part of my life since my early teens. It’s a sentiment echoed by most of the musicians also at the briefing later that day–”It seemed natural,” says singer-songwriter Kavya TrehanÂ [also frontwoman of alt rockers Mosko]Â about launching her solo music exclusively via a brand that had been a steady presence in her life as an artist and listener.
Launched just three years ago in 2015, Apple Music may be relatively new to the streaming game (when compared to similar brands in the market), but it’s already changed the relationship between music and mobile devices. With over 45 million songs and 50 million subscribers around the world, the platform has made accessibility a breeze, its presence in India lending an additional jump over Spotify and Pandora: neither of which have managed a launch in the country yet.
Building a connect
Last year, Apple Music aimed to cement its relationship with different audiences across India. In addition to the attention Bollywood was already getting, there was a shift in gears to promote Indian indie artists. The platform pushed out some of the best talent in the country on national marketing campaigns; billboards with Bollywood rapper Badshah, New Delhi singer-songwriter Prateek Kuhad, Mumbai rapper Divine, film composer and singer Anirudh Ravichander, Mumbai-based electro-swing duo Madboy/Mink and Trehan’s faces were plastered across the country while the introduction of the Apple Music Student Membership (priced at INR 60) around the same time ensured the music was reaching the right listeners. The more recent launch of music videos on the platform satisfied customers who prefer a visual experience, while the introduction of Apple Music on Android (thus eliminating the ”˜iPhone only’ factor that alienated a vast majority of users) made it available to almost every smartphone in India.
Connecting each artist to the right audience for them was a game-changing move when it comes to understanding India as a market. Madboy/Mink’s Saba Azad had told us at the time, “[Apple Music’s] portfolio is very different from, say, other apps because in India, it’s a lot of Bollywood and they [Apple] are trying to reach out to the younger people who want to listen to independent music that’s homegrown.”
That’s not to say Bollywood and regional film industries have been left behind; global branded playlists like ”˜A-List’ and ”˜Today’s Hits’ were customized with with Indian content in mind– ”˜A-List Bollywood,’ ”˜A-List Tamil’ and ”˜A-List Punjabi’ were created to cater to the local market while the ”˜Today’s Hits’ playlists are a combination of international and Indian music. The brand also launched 14 radio stations that are combination of local languages like Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi and Bengali and stations for different eras or genres of music like Nineties Bollywood, Telugu Romance and Hindustani Classical. It also has more international variety than many of its homegrown counterparts, drawing in more urban crowds seeking global mainstream staples.Â Â
Apple Music’s internationally established platforms like ”˜Hear it Here. First.’ have exclusive Indian releases on a monthly basis like with “Taarefaan” from the 2018 Bollywood film Veere Di Wedding while their ”˜New Artist Spotlight’ launches at least one new indie artist every month. Examples include Punjabi rapper Prabh Deep, Chennai-based electronica artist MADM, Solan alt-rock instrumentalist Sutej Singh, singer-songwriter Tejas and, most recently, Trehan.
In October last year, Apple Music announced an association with celebrated Bollywood composer A.R. Rahman’s music school KM Music Conservatory to set up a Mac OS Lab at their Chennai and (upcoming) Mumbai campuses. The brand also took the initiative to support budding music talent in the country, contributing to fund 10 full-time musical scholarships for students from underprivileged backgrounds.
Artists front and centre
With the upcoming iOS12, Apple Music’s focus will be on making it a better experience for artists and giving them greater control over their image on the platform. With ”˜Artists Pages,’ which highlight each individual artist with a little information about them and their work, and the ”˜Apple Music for Artists’ program launched earlier this year, musicians will have the ability to control both their image and their career.
Seasoned singer-songwriter Ankur Tewari says, “Since I’ve been in the industry for so long, I appreciate the human curation that Apple Music brings. There’s a personal touch when an editor writes a note [about the album or track.] They’ve heard the music. There’s a personal element to working with Apple and everyone is just a call away.”Â The singer-songwriter is one of the five artists present at the Apple Music briefing in New Delhi, along with Hindi rock band The Local Train’s frontman Raman Negi, guitarist-songwriter Dhruv Visvanath, Singh and Trehan. Tewari’s words have everyone else in the room nodding in agreement. He goes on to explain that an artist’s partnership with Apple Music is one of transparency, equal ground and complete creative control, but also one that encourages taking a risk. “You discover new things,” he says. “It gets you to step out of your comfort zone.”
Trehan, who released her solo debut single “Underscore” exclusively via Apple Music last month, chimes in: “I’m hands-on with everything. I know what I’m doing and I need their support””which I had.” According to Trehan, there was no creative burden, no one interfering with her vision for her own artistry and it was the right platform to present herself as she truly is. Indeed as we get a preview of the track and its accompanying music video, Trehan’s bright personality is splashed everywhere. In addition there are Artist Analytics which give each musician an idea of how their music is performing and who their listeners are.
For Negi, it’s the idea of a level playing field that holds the most appeal. “Apple Music charts and playlists give the same space to big Indian established artists as they do for upcoming artists,” he says. “And it’s not only about Bollywood. They give focus to upcoming artists across different genres. We never took streaming services seriously, but when our second album came out, we saw the real time charts”” we got the same space as other artists.” Tewari agrees, recalling his (pleasant) surprise at being featured right next to Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber on Apple Music’s charts.
When it comes to his experience as a listener, Negi points out Apple Music puts the focus on the music itself through simple but creative and interactive features. There are tools that draw you in and prove helpful in discovering new artists that suit your particular taste. “Such as ”˜Song Lyrics,’ ”˜Browse’ [a homepage of sorts which features several new playlists and artists] –which makes discovery of new songs so easy,” he says. “What’s more, it’s a clean user interface and ad free, so no distraction.”
The streaming platform will also introduce ”˜Top 100’– a chart that lists the top 100 songs from all over the world and automatically updates each day. It can be added to a user’s Apple Music Library like a playlist and delivers new content daily. The ”˜For You’ section (which pushed Apple Music closer into social media network territory with its introduction on iOS 11) will also see enhancements. As of now ‘For You’ lets users create profiles and follow their friends to share music, playlists and make recommendations. With the iOS 12 update, the brand will introduce ”˜Friend’s Mix’ a playlist that will custom-recommend tracks from the ones a user’s friends are listening to.Â
With rumors of Spotify hitting the Indian market sometime next year and homegrown services like Saavn building their own libraries and collections of exclusive releases, Apple seems to be betting on its relationship with its artists and listeners–a bet that might just pay off.Â “We feel respected,” Visvanath says at one point, after a long moment of contemplation.Â “I wanted my music to be available in a place where it’s easily accessible to listeners, and on a platform that believes in us.Â Here, our music speaks the loudest.”


text:
After tackling the US imposed barriers, the Chinese giant has finally come up with its own said Operating System. Though touted to be HongMeng OS to date, it turned out to be called “Harmony OS“. And is capable of powering industrial, IoT devices and smartphones soon.
Huawei Launched It’s Homemade Harmony OS & Two New Smart TVs Under Its Subsidiary Honor
In its developer’s conference held today, the company has announced its homemade OS and said it’s been working on it since 10years ago, as a backup plan and to reduce the dependency on American sources. Though launched, it will be using Android for its smartphones and shall keep HarmonyOS as a backup.
As Android’s been acquired by Google and is given away with its apps embedded in, it does have it’s own made OS called Fuchsia! Which it plans to launch later in the future. And HarmonyOS is said to be more powerful and secured than fuchsia, as said by Richard Yu (CEO of Huawei’s Consumer Division). Further says, the IPC (Inter processing communication) of HarmonyOS’s is of five times of Google’s Fuchsia and also claims “HarmonyOS’s Microkernel has one-thousandth the amount of code in the Linux kernel.”
Further said, “A modularized HarmonyOS can be nested to adapt flexibly to any device to create a seamless cross-device experience. Developed via the distributed capability kit, it builds the foundation of a shared developer ecosystem.“
Launch with an example!
Named as Honor Vision and Vision Pro, these have a 55″ (3840×2160) 4K UHD displays with 400nits of brightness, 16:9 aspect ratio, 7mm thickness, and three side thin bezels. They’re are powered by Honghu 818 (Quad-core) CPU and Mali G51 GPU. With 2GB RAM, the standard Vision variant has 16GB ROM and the Pro variant has a 32GB variant.
With HarmonyOS 1.0 and new CPU, the TV has seven advanced image-processing technologies like High Dynamic Range Imaging (HDR), Super-Resolution (SR), Motion Estimate and Motion Compensation (MEMC), Dynamic Contrast Improvement (DCI), Auto Color Management (ACM) and Local Dimming (LD) and Noise Reduction (NR).
With 4 speakers (Vision) and 6 speakers (Vision Pro), they have ports of one USB, three HDMI, one Ethernet and has Bluetooth 5 and WiFi. The Pro variant has a pop-up camera that’s capable of recording 1080p@30fps and lets the customer do video calling along with distant microphones embedded in.
These are priced as ¥3,799 (Vision) and ¥4,799 (Vision) and will go on sale from August 15 onwards in China.


text:
Parke over at US Food Policy has an interesting post about the Submarine Sandwich franchised chain Quiznos. In the post, he draws attention to an item that has intrigued me.
The federal government in December approved a massive campaign of television advertisements and other marketing to promote …
… the Quiznos Prime Rib Sub.
The advertising campaign, which runs from February through May this year, is a partnership between Quiznos and the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, a semi-governmental program to promote beef demand. The Beef Board is established by Congress, overseen by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, and funded through $46 million per year in mandatory assessments — taxes — collected from beef producers under federal government authority. The Beef Board is one of several meat and dairy commodity “checkoff” programs, which dwarf federal support promoting fruits, vegetables, or the Dietary Guidelines.
Long time readers of Accidental Hedonist should not be surprised at any of this. The USDA is clearly more interested in promoting various agribusinesses rather than family farms or even consumer rights. As Agribusiness Accountability Initiative has written – Agribusiness has hijacked regulatory policy at the US Department of Agriculture (.pdf file).
But I digress…
There are two questions here:
- Should the US government make it their habit to endorse fast food chains and their products simply because they develop an agribusiness-friendly product of dubious (and currently non forthcoming) nutritional content?
- How is Quiznos getting so much Prime Rib at such a low cost?
I’m only slightly kidding on the second question…I don’t think that there’s any conspiracy here, but as Jack had pointed out to me, Prime Rib isn’t exactly a cheap cut of meat…y’know, being labeled a “Prime” cut and all.
Technorati Tags: Food, Fast Food, USDA


text:
Vegemite has today launched ‘Mitey Aussie Care Packages’ just in time for Christmas.
You can now ship Vegemite online store items, including personalised Vegemite jars to friends and loved ones in the United Kingdom, United States and Canada.
Vegemite senior marketing manager, Matt Gray said: “We know that our VEGE-Mates living overseas are missing the taste of Australia, especially around Christmas time, and we’re delighted to now ship Vegemite internationally.
“Throughout the year, we’ve heard from fans of our Mitey spread who have been looking to personalise their Vegemite jars, so we’re excited to add this capability to our online store,” said Gray.
This is the first time that Vegemite online store customers have been able to ship items to an address outside of Australia and New Zealand, as Vegemite moves to make its products – and the taste of Australia – more accessible to its Vege-Mates located around the world.
You can personalise your Vegemite jar online by heading here.
The personalised Vegemite jars will be on sale from today until midnight (AEDT) Friday 13 December 2019, or until sold out.
Mitey Aussie Care PackagesVegemite will be launching a range of Mitey Aussie Care Packages for those who love the Mitey spread.
The items will be available for purchase via the Vegemite online store.


text:
Technology revolutionizes the way businesses operate, but implementing change within a company is often challenging and company-wide support is vital to successfully undergoing a transformation. At Experian, we’re using technology and innovation to modernize an industry, and satisfy the real-time data demands of consumers and businesses. The success of this transformation is one of the reasons why we’re proud that our Global CIO, Barry Libenson, has been named the CIO of the Year.
The 2019 Dive Awards recognize the industry’s top disruptors and innovators. These executives, companies, trends, and breakthroughs are transforming the industry. Winners were chosen by the editors of CIO Dive based on thorough and independent research, reporting, and analysis. Other award winners include Google Cloud and VMware.
In 2015, Experian began the daunting task of moving from a traditional computing architecture to the cloud. Specifically, we put in motion a cloud strategy centered on flexibility and the ability to operate in any cloud. Such transformations often start by centralizing data and implementing new processes that minimize overhead and speed time to market, like cloud and mobile computing. This is a monumental job with our massive digital infrastructure and significant global reach, but it enables us to provide customers with real-time access to data.
To do this we pioneered the use of Hadoop to store massive quantities of data for consumer credit scoring. Today, we maintain Ascend, a platform of 250 million redacted consumer records that enables our clients do real time queries on consumer credit data rather than batch processing. This has worked to digitally transform Experian from a traditional credit bureau to a technology and software provider.
For us to further evolve we began working on APIs for internal use rather than going straight to customer-facing features. Today, we use APIs to help our clients and consumers access and make use of key data insights. For example, Experian Boost, which has helped millions of people raise their credit scores, is a result of information being accessed through API calls.
As a result of our digital transformation, our API hub is processing more than 100 million transactions a month and Ascend is now one of our most successful cloud computing architectures. This all represents business opportunities that wouldn’t have been possible with a traditional digital infrastructure.
Success for the technology team at Experian is found in the financial performance of the company. “What I tell my team is the biggest sign of us being successful is praise,” said Libenson. “When the businesses at Experian tell us we’re helping them or we’re doing the right things, that’s the best measurement I can think of, in terms of success.”
As one of the world’s most innovative companies, Experian’s business continues to evolve to deliver faster, better services for our clients and consumers. “The people and organizations that win the Dive Awards are trailblazers and leaders in their markets,” said Davide Savenije, editor-in-chief of CIO Dive’s publisher Industry Dive. “Their achievements in 2019 are shaping the future of where the latest strategies and trends are going.”
While industry accolades like CIO of the Year are important, the truth is that any transformation isn’t an endpoint, but a journey. To succeed, we are in it for the long haul to use technology to help deliver results for our clients.
Read the full article on CIODive to learn more about Experian’s digital transformation.


text:
Apple is hoping to dismiss a set of class-action lawsuits accusing it of falsely advertising Siri.
The initial lawsuit was filed in March by a iPhone 4S owner who claimed the iPhone 4S’s voice activated assistant feature doesn’t work as advertised. A second lawsuit accuses the company of misrepresenting the iPhone 4S’s voice assistant feature in its advertising campaign.
Apple claims that the case should be dismissed because the plaintiffs have not specified that the claims about Siri led them to purchase the device. Apple says: “When [plaintiffs] were exposed to the purportedly misleading advertisements, which ones they found material, how and why they were false, or which they relied upon in purchasing their iPhones.”
Apple also notes that the plaintiffs didn’t provide “the requisite pre-suit notice of an alleged breach of warranty” and: “Tellingly, although Plaintiffs claim they became dissatisfied with Siri’s performance “soon after” purchasing their iPhones, they made no attempt to avail themselves of Apple’s 30-day return policy or one-year warranty – which remains in effect.”
You can read Apple’s complete response to the lawsuit, at Electronista.
The second complaint, which was filed by California resident David Jones stated that: “Through its nationwide multimedia marketing campaign, Apple disseminates false and deceptive representations regarding the functionality of the Siri feature.”
“Defendant’s misrepresentations regarding the Siri Feature are misleading, false, reasonably likely to deceive and have deceived Plaintiff and members of the putative Class,” says that complaint.
“Soon after purchasing his iPhone 4S, Plaintiff [Jones] discovered that the Siri Function did not work as advertised. For example, Plaintiff would ask Siri for directions to a certain location, or to pinpoint a business, and Siri either would not understand what the Plaintiff askes, or, after a long wait, provided the wrong answer,” reads the complaint.
When Apple announced Siri with the iPhone 4S it was clear that the service is still in beta. As the company says on the marketing page for the service, “Siri is currently in beta and we’ll continue to improve it over time”.
Todays Top Stories iPad mini will up Apple’s sales to schools and gamers – analyst Apple speaks up in Siri ‘false advertising’ lawsuit Apple wins patent for steering wheel remote control Ex-Microsoft exec: ‘We shouldn’t have taken on Apple with Zune’ HTC phones banned in US after Apple patent win Apple to ditch AMD for Nvidia graphics in MacBook Pro Apple’s Tim Cook heads to US House of Representatives


text:
The Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) season this year seems to be jinxed. The IPL 2020 which is currently ‘indefinitely suspended’ is already struggling to put the season together because of the Covid19 crisis. Now the mandarins in the Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) has another issue at their hands. As the India-China border skirmishes are growing by the day, calls to ‘ban and boycott Chinese products’ is also growing louder. Under such environment, IPL’S deal with VIVO as title sponsor is also under the lens. One of the BCCI official has informed InsideSport that the board is getting concerned about these growing voices against the Chinese products.
“Yes we are concerned, we are also planning to discuss this soon. We will go as per the government’s directive. If government passes any directive against the Chinese companies, we will abide by the same”, said the BCCI source on the condition of anonymity.
IPL’s title sponsorship deal with VIVO worth 440 crore per year
BCCI has 2,199 crore, 5 year deal with Chinese handset maker VIVO for the title sponsorship of IPL. The deal is in its 3rd year and VIVO pays 440 Cr per season. Now the association with the Chinese brand is being questioned from various quarters. Ladakh-based engineer Sonam Wangchuk, who was the inspiration behind Aamir Khan’s character in the 2009 film 3 Idiots was the first to call for the boycott of Chinese products. He had started the slogans: ‘Boycott China’, ‘Boycott Made in China’, ‘Anywhere but China’ which is now finding an echo all across the country including some of the top cricket starts joining the chorus.
Chennai Super Kings spinner Harbhajan Singh also has called for ban on the Chinese products, ‘Ban all Chinese products’ – Harbhajan Singh reacts as 20 soldiers attain martyrdom in face-off with China’, said Bhajji.
Already Indian Railways has terminated contracts with a Chinese engineering major and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has conveyed to state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) not to use Chinese-made equipment in its up-gradation, top sources in both sectors said on Thursday.
BCCI has other Chinese connect too
It is not the only Chinese connect BCCI has on board. Some of the other board sponsors like PayTM (Title Sponsor of Indian Cricket), DreamXI (Associate Sponsor) has Chinese investors on board.
Other than this Indian team captain Virat Kohli also has a Chinese connect. Kohli is the brand ambassador of Chinese smartphone company iQOO.
Harish Bijoor, brand strategy specialist and founder, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc. said that BCCI and stars will get under pressure from their followers who would wish them to stop endorsing Chinese brands.
“We live in the era of social media and therefore a hashtag boycott of a celebrity because he or she endorses a Chinese brand is a possibility. If consumers start getting upset to see their Bollywood stars plugging a China made brand then the equity of the star will also be lost,” he noted.


text:
Latest Packaging News
The WorldStar Competition is one of the pre-eminent international awards in packaging. Organised by the World Packaging Organisation (WPO) to advance packaging design and technology, the 2015 awards were recently handed over at the IPACK-IMA expo in Milan, Italy.
More Articles ...
- PepsiCo's transformative R&D and its impact on food-bev packaging
- Plastic bag levy adds R1.1bn to govt coffers
- New wood-effect plastic crate set to transform fresh produce aisles
- Dairypack Tubs launches retortable barrier tub
- An ingenious tactile bio-reactive food label
- US: The 2014 DuPont Packaging Awards
- Mpact’s R10m investment offers dairy industry new cost-effective packaging
- UK: Plastic packaging a cracking solution for Tesco
- Smart labelling: heralding the new-era barcode
- UK: Artisan butter pack disrupts category norms


text:
Federal-Mogul Motorparts’ Moog brand has introduced 708 additional part numbers representing more than 130 million potential vehicle service opportunities. The brand also launched a new website – www.MOOGParts.com – for automotive service professionals and others seeking in-depth diagnostic tips and the latest product information related to steering and suspension parts, driveline components and wheel hub assemblies.
Included among the latest Moog parts are 270 R-Series control arms, expanding Moog’s total control arm portfolio to 2,359 parts. In addition, 411 chassis parts and 27 replacement hub assemblies were unveiled, covering hundreds of domestic and foreign nameplate vehicle applications up to and including the 2016 model year. Nearly 40 of the new parts were the first to be introduced by an aftermarket manufacturer for their corresponding applications. Among these “first to market” parts are:


text:
- Subscribe NowLimited Time Offer
$300M deal for fast-acting Viagra competitor
Send this story to a friend
A new fast-acting erectile dysfunction drug has the potential to change the market. Now its rights have been sold for a price tag that could climb as high as $300 million.
Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc. obtained the exclusive rights to market Stendra, a fast-acting Vivus Inc. product. The company advertises that the product works just 30 minutes after being taken, but it hopes that testing will prove that it works within 15 minutes. (By contrast, Viagra takes 30-60 minutes.)
Under the terms of the deal Auxilium (NASDAQ: AUXL) of Malvern, Pa., will pay Vivus (NASDAQ: VVUS) a one-time, $30 million license fee. In addition, Auxilium may make a $15 million regulatory milestone payment to Vivus if the Food and Drug Administration approves an update to the Stendra label to reflect a 15-minute-or-less onset of action efficacy claim, and up to $255 million in potential milestone payments if the drug achieves certain sales targets.
Vivus of Mountain View, Calif., will also receive royalties on product sales.
Stendra was approved by the FDA last year, but Vivus has been looking for a commercial partner to market the product.
Erectile dysfunction afflicts — to some degree — an estimated 50 percent of men over the age of 40, according to health officials. Sales of drugs to treat the condition topped $2.9 billion last year.
Adrian Adams, president and CEO of Auxilium, said Stendra will complement the Chester County biopharmaceutical company's portfolio of testosterone replacement therapy and ED products, further broadening its men’s health care franchise “in a very large market segment consisting of patients that tend to switch among products.”
Adams said the unique features of Stendra, which include its dosing interval of 30 minutes prior to sexual activity and its ability to be taken with or without food, “make it an exciting entrant into the category.”
Auxilium expects to begin its commercial launch of Stendra by the end of 2013 and begin promotional activities in early January 2014.
John George covers health care, biotech/pharmaceuticals and sports business.
- Most popular
- Diner en Blanc organizers respond to neighbor concerns
- Former Abington Hospital employee files whistleblower suit
- Diner en Blanc attracts 3,500 to Avenue of the Arts
- Xerox adds 500 jobs in Cherry Hill
- Philadelphia has the worst drivers in the U.S., says report.
- Spruce Street Harbor Park gets extension due to popular demand
- Louis Freeh hospitalized after car crash
- Flyers shake up broadcast team
- AmeriSource Bergen to add 185 jobs, expand into
- Zahav owners to debut eatery of Jewish food NOT from Israel
Sign up to receive Philadelphia Business Journal's Morning Edition and Afternoon Edition newsletters and breaking news alerts.
Business Development Manager Quality Builders Warranty Corporation | Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia
Director, MassMutual Center for Special Needs Planning & Assistant Professor of Special Needs The American College of Financial Planning | Bryn Mawr, PA
Licensed Banker RBS Citizens Financial Group, Inc | Philadelphia, PA
Budget Manager Robert Half Finance & Accounting U.S | Philadelphia, PA
Occupational Therapist / OT- Part Time with Full Time Potential in the Future Job HCR ManorCare | Camp Hill, PA


text:
All Greater Lafayette theaters accept MoviePass, see unlimited movies for $10 a month
LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Netflix of movie theaters is finally here.
Actually, it's been here for a while but now at a much more affordable rate. Even better, MoviePass is accepted by all movie theaters in Greater Lafayette.
The concept is pretty simple. Sign up for MoviePass on the website, pay a monthly flat fee of $9.95 and gain admittance to one movie a day at all participating theaters. MoviePass members can either use a physical card or a smart phone app to gain admittance theaters.
MoviePass made headlines recently because it dropped the price of a pass to $9.95. Prior to this, a pass could run users as much as $50 a month.
Kelly Nash, marketing director for Goodrich Quality Theaters, said all three Goodrich theaters in Lafayette and West Lafayette are participating members.
Nash said MoviePass alerted Goodrich a few days before news of the price drop broke.
"It caught us a little off guard. ... But I think it could be a good thing and could make people that haven't gone to the movies in a while go," she continued.
Nash said to use MoviePass at Goodrich theaters members won't even need a card, just the smart phone app.
At $9.50 for an adult, evening movie ticket at Goodrich it wouldn't take long to get one's money worth using MoviePass.
MoviePass guarantees that, like Netflix and other streaming sites, the subscription can be easily canceled with no penalties.
Nash said it's not only great for customers but great for theaters as well.
"Hopefully we'll see an uptick in ticket sales," Nash said.
Reach Journal & Courier reporter Emma Ea Ambrose at email@example.com or 765-431-1192.


text:
Huge news in the noodle realm today. Toki Underground announced in its fall newsletter that it will begin serving lunch for the first time ever at its H street location, beginning November 4. The ramen will be available Monday-Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Additionally, Toki will pop-up at Union Market during lunch hours from Oct. 23-November 3 from Wednesdays through Saturdays. There, customers can have the shoyu ramen for $12, with most of the ingredient sourcing coming from local purveyors within the market. Only counter seating will be available.
· All Previous Toki Underground Coverage [-EDC-]
· All Previous Union Market Coverage [-EDC-]


text:
Overlords of Outland arrives as Blizzard seems to easy up its lifestyle each in-sport and out withinside the wake of a country of California lawsuit accusing Activision Blizzard of fostering a lifestyle of harassment and discrimination toward ladies. Following the lawsuit’s allegations, Blizzard has pledged to take away beside the point content material from WoTLK Gold classic, on the way to consist of the elimination of more than one references to former Blizzard builders like Jesse McCree in the imminent 9.1.five patch for Shadowlands.
WoW Achievements Referencing Hos And Giant Sacks Will Be Renamed
In the wake of a country of California lawsuit alleging a lifestyle of harassment and discrimination toward ladies at Activision Blizzard, the organisation has all started making adjustments to a number of its video games so one can take away sure content material.
Part of that attempt has been a vow to take away “now no longer suitable” references in WOTLK classic. Following the lawsuit’s allegations, Blizzard eliminated severa in-sport references to former WoW sport director Alex Afrasiabi. That attempt will hold with WoW’s upcoming 9.1.five patch, that’s presently stay on the sport’s public check realm. It’s there that gamers have determined (thru Icy-Veins) that antique success names which have now no longer elderly specially properly had been renamed.
One, previously titled “My Sack Is Gigantique,” has been renamed to “My Storage Is Gigantique.” The success is earned from buying and equipping a Gigantique bag from a Burning Crusade-technology Blood Elf NPC named Haris Pilton, a riff on superstar Paris Hilton who asks gamers if their “sack is Gigantique?!” The person and her “catchphrase” even have become a card withinside the WoW Trading Card Game (you realize, the only that existed earlier than WOW WoTLK Classic Gold turned into a aspect).


text:
Wall Street's new issues bonanza
WALL Street will be looking for signs of revival in the new issues market this week, not to mention confirmation of a rise in earnings and promises of bright prospects from brand-name retailers.
Several businesses from bioscience to human resources are scheduled to begin trading in what could be the busiest week for niche initial public offerings in months. Investment banks are scheduled to raise more than $800m (£550m) for the likes of Eon Labs, Hewitt Associates, Altiris and Liposcience.
Investors hope these firms do as well as Krispy Kreme Doughnut, the antidote to the hi-tech IPO and one of the best new-issue performers of the past year.
Later this week, KK is expected to post earnings of 14 cents a share, a 40% rise from a year earlier. On Tuesday, star retailers Home Depot and Target are expected to show healthy profit increases, with Home Depot rising more than 20% to 33 cents a share and Target jumping to 36 cents a share from 28 cents a year ago.
A thriving retail sector is critical to America's recovery prospects because consumers drive two-thirds of economic growth. It will be a light week for economic statistics, which is just as well as recent data have sown confusion about the state of the economy. Today, leading indicators are expected to post a drop of 0.2% for April, ending a string of increases in the forward-looking gauge.
• Data supplied by Thomson Global Markets
Most watched Money videos
- Renault 5 EV prototype will look like the 1980s rally car
- 1972 Bentley Corniche showcased in auction promo
- Can Scottish Mortgage keep climbing? Tom Slater interview
- Porsche's eFuel could dramatically cut CO2 emissions of cars
- Mercedes announces smart home system to control home from your car
- Land Rover Defender pulls transporter carrying seven SUVs
- 1972 Lamborghini Miura SV sold for 11% above market value
- Nick Train interview: There's plenty to be optimistic about
- Chinese Nio ET7 electric family car costing £60,000
- All-New Dacia Sandero supermini will hit UK market later this year
- Promo shows ability of Land Rover Defender to travel rough terrain
- Land Rover unveils the fastest and most powerful Defender V8 yet


text:
Etsy may have lost its founder-CEO, but it hasn’t lost its drive. The startup is heavy on data and metrics and it has a history of turning its users into guinea pigs and slashing features that aren’t popular. Today Etsy announced three initiatives in one: Prototypes, an opt-in sandbox where users can “kick the tires” on new features; and the two inaugural prototypes, an HTML5 non-Flash version of the Color Browser and Seller Opportunity Tools, which allow sellers to see voids in the marketplace by displaying what people are searching for.
Similar to Google Labs, Prototypes are strictly opt-in. But that doesn’t save the rest of the Etsy userbase from being tested on. Says Etsy, on its blog: “Prototypes are different from experiments, as you have to opt in to join Prototypes, while experiments are temporary changes to your experience that are not pre-announced.”
Other prototypes available now include Shop Stats, a recommendation engine and Etsy in German.
At six years old, 80 employees and $400 million in sales, the Dumbo startup is at the phase where it must start actively striving to preserve the startup state of mind.
“My beta-tester heart is bouncing with joy,” one user wrote in the Etsy forum.


text:
The Dutch bank, which specialises in food and agribusiness, has released a report which examines the drying out of India’s soymeal exports and the impact of this on world markets. It warns that Southeast Asia will become increasingly reliant on Latin America for imports as India dwindles.
The region currently depends on the subcontinent to meet a growing need for soymeal as Southeast Asia’s poultry, livestock and aquaculture industries thrive on the back of rising consumer demand for these products.
At the same time, India’s available soymeal for export is now negligible while prices continue to rise.
Traditional supply major
Traditionally, India has been the largest supplier of soymeal to Southeast Asia, providing 36% of imports as recently as 2008. However, as its own domestic demand has increased, driven by the animal protein and dairy industries, production has been constrained to the point exports could dry out by 2020, says Rabobank.
In parallel, over the past decade Southeast Asia’s soymeal imports have more than doubled from 6m tonnes in 2003/4 to 13.7m tonnes in last year. At the current growth rate, it could reach 23m tonnes by 2020 as the region’s consumers boost the protein in their diets.
A lack of additional crop-producing land and water in Southeast Asia is preventing domestic production from meeting this growth in demand, as is is poor infrastructure and logistics in large parts of the region.
Latin America to the rescue
Pawan Kumar, head of food and agribusiness research at Rabobank, said soymeal was a vital feed commodity for the animal protein industry.
“The reducing role of India in soymeal trade along with higher prices is already impacting trade flows globally, increasing Southeast Asia’s reliance on Latin America, and accelerating growth of the south-south corridor faster.
“In particular, imports from Argentina and Brazil will further increase, giving bargaining power to suppliers in these countries in the absence of any other sustainable alternatives. This important balance shift will prompt players in South East Asia to seek strategic options to secure supplies.”
Given the prospect for growth in the domestic corn supply, which grew by three times between 2007 and 2013, India will continue to play a key role in future feed trade to Southeast Asia, Rabobank predicts.
“However, at the current rate India’s soymeal exports will be negligible in the next five years, and a consolidation in the Indian oilseed crushing industry can also be expected,” Kumar added.
In 2013/14 South East Asia’s top soymeal importers were Indonesia (4m tonnes), Vietnam (3.3), Thailand (2.7), Philippines (2.5) and Malaysia (1.6). Overall, the region produced 2.4m tonnes of soymeal domestically, and imported 13.7m tonnes from overseas.


text:
You can tell a lot about someone by what they throw away. And that's particularly true for small business owners--especially considering that hack attacks are on the rise for all those pieces of hardware you may be throwing in the garbage, or reselling on Ebay.
Just deleting your data won't do, as hackers can still recover information you think you've zapped. You have to go heavy duty on this one--we're talking industrial magnets or sledge hammers. Data protection considerations are particularly important as smart devices and Bring Your Own Device policies at work proliferate. Additionally, a whole suite of office products like fax machines and digital photocopiers are now capable of storing data, and you may not even know it.
"This has become a bigger issue as hard drives have become cheaper and more data can be stored on devices like thumbdrives," says Adnan Baykal, vice president of services at the Center for Internet Security, a non-profit that helps state and local government agencies coordinate and respond to cyber threats.
In the U.S. we dump about 400 million electronic units in the trash every year, according to the Electronics TakeBack Coalition. Not only is that an enviromental problem, but it's a data nightmare. More specifically, nearly a trillion records, and 44 million records of businesses, have been invovled in data breaches since 2005, when data breach laws started to go into effect, says the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
Part of the problem, before things even get to the trash, is that most people using the hardware at the heart of your business are unaware of how open they are to intrusion. Half of the people surveyed by security firm Norton in its 2013 report say they use their devices interchangeably at work and for personal use. Half of those surveyed don't even secure their device with passwords. And more than a third of those surveyed said their company has no policy regarding use of personal devices at work.
So controlling data can be like trying to gather up pieces of confetti once they've been strewn about at a party.
Here are some things to consider:
- Never, ever dump a device that can store data in the trash without taken some precautionary measures. That should include wiping out all data, preferably using something called a degausser. That's a machine that uses a strong magnetic field to wipe out data left on the hard drive. It's unlikely you'll invest the hundreds to thousands of dollars necessary for your own, but plenty of services exist that will do this for you.
- Take a hammer or drill to your hard drive. Protect your eyes when doing this, but yes, go ahead and physically destroy it.
- Encrypt all data on your hard drive. Certain brands, like Apple, come with built in encryption software. But off-the-shelf software is widely available that will let you encrypt on other OS's.
- Don't forget about the cloud. These days, something you own is probably backing up automatically to it. Make sure your provider has a clear policy, in writing, about destroying data if you decide to leave.
- Create a written policy about use of personal devices at work. It won't be easy, but when an employee leaves, his or her devices have to be wiped of all information, including personal information, says Baykal.
"Employees can use the device, but control and security of the device needs to be controlled by the organization," Baykal says.


text:
Mothersbond, a leading mother and childcare online platform, has cautioned breastfeeding mothers to be wary of taking slimming tea and slimming tablets while breastfeeding, warning that such products may be harmful to the babies they are nursing.
Mothersbond Director of Customer Experience, Michael Osuji, in a statement explained that slimming tea and herbs should be used appropriately based on prescription .
As promoters of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of baby’s life, he noted that mothers, according to Mothersbond findings, complained that their babies were underweight despite exclusively breastfeeding them.
He said: “A close look at the diet of some of our moms showed that in order to lose weight gained during pregnancy they opt for slimming teas and pills. What they don’t realise is that their baby is also taking the slimming tea through the breast milk.
“Do not take slimming tea while breast feeding. We have researched this topic and have seen that there is significant relationship between infant weight loss and maternal diet.”


text:
Prada has announced plans to set up an advisory council on diversity issues after it was embroiled in racism accusations.
The accusations derived from the luxury fashion label and retailer’s use of monkey-like keychain figurines for its Pradamalia collection.
The product was met with criticism for being racially insensitive and blasted by the public for its “blackface imagery”.
Prada initially defended itself, saying the “Pradamalia” range were “fantasy charms composed of elements of the Prada oeuvre”.
It added: “They are imaginary creatures not intended to have any reference to the real world and certainly not blackface.”
Prada has since apologised and issued a statement on Twitter, in which it also announced plans to set up an internal diversity panel to avoid racist incidents in the future.
“We would like to convey our deep regret and sincere apologies for the Pradamalia products that were offensive,” the Italian fashion house said.
“They have been removed from the market and will not be sold.
“Going forward, we pledge to improve our diversity training and will immediately form an advisory council to guide our efforts on diversity, inclusion and culture.”
The controversy started after a lawyer spotted the figurines from outside a New York store display and posted an image on Facebook.
Prada said it would donate any proceeds from Pradamalia already sold to a “New York-based organisation committed to fighting for racial justice, which is a value that we strongly believe in”.


text:
For those of you whose task it is to build, market or sell vehicles to the mainstream consumer, there is little doubt that buyers differ by geographic location. What's hot in trendy Orange County may hardly register as a faint blip on the Midwest's radar.
In recognition of differing tastes and needs, regional press groups bestow awards upon vehicles that appeal to and best serve their local readers. The New England Motor Press Association* (NEMPA) is one such group, and recently announced its 2012 best-in-class winners, as well as top models for the Northeast's foul winters and those offering the greatest value.
*The author is a member of NEMPA.
Best-In-Class All-Weather Sedan/Wagon Under $25,000
© Photo courtesy of Subaru
In naming the 2012 Subaru Legacy
the Best-In-Class All-Weather Sedan/Wagon with a base price of less than $25,000, NEMPA members lauded the traction-friendly four-door for being "frugal, comfortable and highly functional." A standard all-wheel-drive system helps, too.
Best-In-Class All-Weather Sedan/Wagon $25,000-$35,000
© Photo courtesy of Dodge
Talk about a turnaround. It wasn't long ago that the thought of any Chrysler
product earning a best-in-class award would've been greeted with a chuckle and a look of disbelief. However, Sergio Marchionne
has raised a sinking ship with products like the recently updated Dodge Charger
. Though last winter was one of the warmest and dryest on record in the Northeast, NEMPA has recognized the all-wheel-drive 2012 Charger variant for its four-season suitability.
Best-In-Class Premium All-Weather Sedan/Wagon
© Photo courtesy of Lexus
For the Best-In-Class Premium All-Weather Sedan/Wagon Award, NEMPA members' votes resulted in a tie between the 2012 Audi A6
and the redesigned 2013 Lexus GS 350
all-wheel-drive models. Accolades for the German four-door focused on its sure-footed and luxurious ride, as well as its MMI central command system with Google Earth technology
. Japan's Lexus
contender earned praise for its aggressive new styling, powerful engine and expansive LCD screen.
Best Luxury Winter Vehicle
© Photo courtesy of Mercedes-Benz
According to NEMPA, the ideal luxury vehicle for winter driving is the 2012 Mercedes-Benz
S-Class, specifically the S350 BlueTEC
sedan with 4MATIC all-wheel drive. In addition to its foul-weather capability, the big Benz was applauded for its efficient diesel and hybrid
powertrains and a bounty of safety features.
Favorite Fun Entry-Level Convertible
© Photo courtesy of Mazda
For cheap drop-top fun, NEMPA has deemed the 2012 Mazda MX-5 Miata
to be the best choice among a rather small field. New England's automotive scribes were impressed by the roadster's affordability, durability and entertaining driving dynamics.
Favorite Convertible $35,000-$50,000
© Photo courtesy of Chevrolet
General Motors scored two spots on NEMPA's annual awards list, with the first being the 2012 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible
. The Bowtie brand's retro ragtop earned props for its modern interpretation of old-school styling, its generous horsepower, and what the group determined to be excellent handling.
Favorite Luxury Convertible
© Photo courtesy of BMW
Described as a "tour de force of technology, luxury and performance," the 2012 BMW
650i Convertible clearly won the favor of NEMPA's voting members. They also recognized the soft-top 6 Series for its high level of luxury, as well as the side- and top-view cameras included in the Drive Assistance Package.
Best-In-Class Compact SUV/Crossover
© Photo courtesy of Honda
Thanks in large part to numerous enhancements that accompanied its recent redesign, the 2012 Honda CR-V
has been named the Best-In-Class Compact SUV/Crossover by NEMPA. Members were particularly impressed by the cargo area's low liftover height, the vehicle's refined four-cylinder engine, and a functional interior.
Best-In-Class SUV/Crossover Over $25,000
© Photo courtesy of Jeep
With a starting price of about $22,000, it seems a bit odd to hear that the 2012 Jeep Wrangler
was named the Best-In-Class SUV/Crossover Over $25,000. The confusion lies in the fact that NEMPA evaluated several Wranglers, including Rubicons and Unlimiteds, all of which carried as-tested prices well above $22,000. Well equipped or not, the venerable Jeep drew praise for its off-roading capabilities, solid resale value and updated powertrain.
Best-In-Class SUV/Crossover Over $35,000
© Photo courtesy of Range Rover
Marking a significant departure from previous downsized vehicles from the brand, such as the Land Rover LR2
, the 2012 Range Rover Evoque
has been named this year's Best-In-Class SUV/Crossover Over $35,000 based on its "striking style" and a turbocharged four-cylinder engine that "feels more like a six."


text:
American multinational financial services company Mastercard has announced its decision to buy digital identity verification company Ekata in a deal valued at $850 million, as the former bets on a boom in demand for companies in the digital security space.
The products of US-based Ekata allows businesses to separate fraudsters from legitimate customers during digital interactions like opening an online account or making digital payments. It operates in three industries including eCommerce, payments and financial services, according to its website.
“The acceleration of online transactions has thrust global digital identity verification to the forefront as one of the biggest opportunities to build digital trust and combat global fraud,” said Rob Eleveld, chief executive officer of Ekata, in a statement.
According to the company website, Ekata boasts of more than 2,000 companies as its partners, including credit reporting company Equifax and software firm Intuit. Its products, which include Ekata Identity Graph and Ekata Identity Network, allow companies to combat online fraud, it said.
In February this year, Ekata said its revenue had surged in 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of eCommerce, boosting demand for services to safeguard against cyber fraud. Ekata added 300 new customers last year, including food and grocery-delivery startup Postmates, which was acquired by Uber Technologies last year.
The payments processor said the deal is expected to close in the next six months, adding that it does not expect the deal to be a drag on its business for more than two years.
Recently, Mastercard had revealed its plans to offer support for some cryptocurrencies on its network this year, joining a group of large firms that have pledged similar support as popularity for the digital currency boomed across the world.


text:
Wessanen has appointed David Caré as international sales director, as the Whole Earth maker looks to build greater global awareness of its portfolio of brands.
With more than 15 years of international sales and marketing experience, Caré joins from Nando’s, where he was director of international business development for 18 months. Prior to the South African restaurant chain, he spent eight years with Associated British Foods, specialising in hot beverages including Twinings and Ovaltine.
At Wessanen, Caré will be based at the Clipper Teas owner’s UK head office in Camberley, Surrey. He will support strategic growth in key markets including North America and Latin America – with particular focus on Brazil – the Nordics and the Middle East.
Wessanen was “a company that really goes the extra mile to do the right thing” he said. “Everything the business does is centred on a core mission of healthier food, healthier people and healthier planet. This really resonates with me.”
International sales were “essential to Wessanen’s brands” including Kallø, Mrs Crimble’s and dairy alternative Isola Bio, said the company’s HR director, Ann Chambers.
“David’s appointment will allow us to unlock the potential in various markets overseas and drive further growth. His extensive background and knowledge of the tea industry are particularly invaluable,” she added.


text:
TOKYO, Feb. 26 ─ Japan’s frozen vegetable imports broke the 1 million ton barrier last year for the first time, driven by rising prices in domestically-produced vegetables.
Frozen vegetable import volume rose 7% to 1,009,000 tons in 2017 from a year earlier, with stem vegetables such as broccoli and spinach being the biggest increase, data from the finance ministry showed.
The majority of frozen vegetable imports come from China and the U.S.
Frozen potato, which account for about 40 percent of total frozen vegetable imports, increased 8% to 378,000 tons due to a poor harvest in the northern island of Hokkaido after heavy rains last year.
“Demands from businesses, as well as households, have been growing due to rising prices of domestic vegetables,” said the Japan Frozen Food Association.
“Japanese retailers vigorously promote frozen vegetables as an alternative with more affordable prices,” it added.
Indeed, Japanese convenience store chains have seen a surge in frozen vegetable sales.
Lawson Store 100 reported its frozen vegetable sales climbed 20% in January from the same month a year ago. Broccoli and spinach sales each soared 50%. The Japanese company sells a frozen vegetable package at 100 yen.
“Fresh vegetable prices are volatile, but frozen vegetables can offer a more affordable range,” a Lawson official said.
The trend has prompted worries among vegetable producers that the rise of cheap frozen imports could have damaging effects on locally-produced vegetables.


text:
I've just recently seen off the story of The Witcher 3's main game, and have been looking towards getting into the two, supposedly fantastic DLCs for the game.
If you are yet to jump into the world yet, maybe hold off for a little bit. Reports of a listing for the Game of the Year edition of the title hit today, and now GameSpot have gotten confirmation from CD Projekt Red that it ss indeed incoming. The collection will include the two pieces of DLC with the base game.
No further details have been laid out yet, and a release date will remain a secret for now. A Fall release would be my guess, but we will have to see.


text:
Online shopping in Poland increased by 23-25 percent in 2012 according to a new study.
The research by web site Nokaut.pl also estimates that the overall value of Poland’s e-commerce market is now close to 21.5 billion zloty (5.2 billion euro) (source: thenews.pl).
In the figure you see similar data in USD for Western European countries. If you compare with other Western European EU countries the the eCommerce in Poland is growing faster but the total sales is rather low.
“The prognosis for 2013 anticipates that the market in Poland will grow once again by more than 20 percent,” said Stefan Nowak, a management consultant for Nokaut.pl, as cited by the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
Meanwhile, analysts are predicting that the largest growth of the coming years will be in mobile commerce (m-commerce), which covers online shopping made with mobile phones or tablets. (source: thenews.pl)
In the report made by internet research firm Gemiusz, it was found that 42 percent of respondents who shop online believe that the process is risky, even though they continue to do it.
Generally, respondents stated that they found e-commerce to be cheaper and quicker than traditional shopping (source: thenews.pl).
In Poznan (Poland) my experience of the last months, is that the shops with a physical presence, are getting more and more competitive prices. I am mainly talking about electronics. The shops were adding their products to price compare websites like Ceneo.pl. Often there is not a big difference in price between this shops and shipping, as you need to pay for shipping too.
Even a shop as Media Markt seems to be more competitive in price now. A year ago they were far more expensive then the small Internet shops without physical presence in the big cities in Poland.
It can be that the shops with a physical presence find their way to compete, or maybe some of the small Internet shops disappeared as they could not exist with their (too) low pricing. Or it is the other way around and the the shops with a physical presence running on their last breath. It seems that the only way to sell, is to be competitive on price. The future will show it.
Going back to the article from thenews.pl:
Overall, some 72 percent of internet-users said that they had made online purchases, but 60 percent of these say that they buy products online just a few times a year. Only 20 percent of online-shoppers said that they bought products over the internet a few times a month or more. According to the report, the best-selling products bought online are books, CDs, DVDs, clothing, jewelry and accessories, as well as as electronic goods (source: thenews.pl).
In the figure you see similar data for Western European countries. If you compare with other European countries the percentage of Internet users that buy online is much lower then in Western European EU countries.
Summarized we can make the conclusion that Poland is an attractive market of 40 million people who’s incomes will grow much faster then in the rest of the EU.


text:
Launched by Hasnaa Guessous, a young Moroccan fashion enthusiast based in Paris, this curated marketplace offers unprecedented visibility to more than 50 designers and 400 references in fashion, beauty, accessories and lifestyle designers of the region.
Hasnaa Guessous chose to represent some of the prominent brands in the MENA region like Okhtein, Nour Najem, Farah Asmar, Ulili or New Tangier …
“We also respond to a genuine desire to consume unique products, which not only offer exclusive and original creations, but are also socially invested” says the founder to Huffpost Morocco.
The majority of brand proposed by the website work in collaboration with foundations, cooperatives and social organizations in their country. “We also aim to democratize the creation of the Maghreb and the Middle East and accompany some of them in the development of their brand strategy and business plan,” adds Hasnaa Guessous to the same outlet.Hasnaa Guessous had previously perfected her skills at Marc Jacobs in New York, before she managed to make her platform a concentrate of style and Eastern fashion.