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Tourism Spending in the US
I noticed via a recent Mtrip newsletter, that the US Department of Commerce recently released 1st quarter travel and tourism spending numbers and they have some “interesting” numbers to look at. To me, the most impressive data is this chart:
This is a pretty amazing way of showing that in terms of constant dollar spend, the US tourism economy has definitely not recovered and that the uphill movement that we saw through 2010 appears to be plateauing in the first quarter of this year. While that isn’t too amazing, considering rising oil prices and the fact that winters often are slower travel months, what is impressive is that in 2005 dollars, the spend in the first quarter of 2011 has not yet recovered to 2004 levels – yikes!
Also impressive is data found in the detailed report (PDF) in which “recreation and entertainment” spend/quarter can be compared from 2007 to 2011 and it moves from 89,622 to 77,051 (in millions of chained 2005 dollars), which certainly shows that ski resorts and other tourism recreation businesses should still have some serious concerns about the consumer’s pocketbook.
Obviously this report is looking at actual numbers and isn’t forward looking, but among prognosticators there’s some talk of a double-dip recession, and if that were to happen, one has to wonder how much lower the ski jump chart of tourism spending can go.


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The guys over ThatRacingChannel wanted to see if two European supercar — the McLaren MP4-12C — can take on some of the most modern muscle America has to offer in the 2014 SRT Viper. Why on earth you would want to put two cars that aren’t exactly competitors in a head-to-head competition? Well, the answer is simple: because it’s a whole hell of a lot of fun! And if you have the cars at your disposal, why not?
The SRT Viper is powered by a 8.4-liter, V-10 engine that delivers 640 horsepower at 6,150 rpm and 600 pound-feet of torque at 4,950 rpm. It goes from 0 to 60 mph in about 3.3 seconds and up to a top speed of 206 mph. On the other hand, the MP4-12C is powered by a 3.8-liter, twin-turbo V8 with an output of 616 horsepower that allows it to sprint to 60 mph in 3.1 seconds and up to 207 mph.
Check out the video to see which car won the race.

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Smart Card Alliance Creates Mobile and NFC Council
PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J. -- The Smart Card Alliance has formed the Mobile and NFC Council in an effort to raise awareness and accelerate the adoption of the several applications possible with Near Field Communications (NFC) technology.
According to the non-profit group, there are an estimated 100 million smartphones containing NFC today. The council will take a broad industry view and bring together its members in different vertical markets that can benefit from mobile and NFC applications, including payments, loyalty, marketing, coupons, identity access control and more.
The council already has attracted 60 organizations and 120 individuals to date, the Smart Card Alliance said.
More specifically, the council will provide educational resources for companies implementing NFC applications; provide a business-focused organization where members can collaborate, network and share new mobile and NFC applications; and identify and collaborate with other industry organizations to discuss, define and promote standards for NFC application implementations.
"Many think of payments when they hear NFC, but the technology opens the door to many industries for innovative applications, such as ticketing, digital content exchange, secure identification, social networking, and communication between electronic devices," said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. "The Mobile and NFC Council will provide a bridge between NFC technologies and the industries who want to adopt NFC-enabled mobile devices to discuss and promote common standards and best practices." The Mobile and NFC Council is managed by a newly formed cross-industry steering committee. Elected to the council were:
- Trusted service managers: Amol Deshmukh, Gemalto; Sridher Swaminathan, First Data Corp.
- NFC chip and secure element manufacturers: Scott Allan, NXP Semiconductors; Brent Bowen, INSIDE Secure
- NFC tag suppliers: Rob Zivney, Identive
- NFC security/testing/certification labs: Berend van Geffen, Collis
- Consultants/consulting firms/mobile solutions evangelists: Deborah Baxley, Capgemini; Nick Norman, Consult Hyperion
- Systems integrators: Doug Morgan, C-SAM
- Financial institutions: Peter Ho, Wells Fargo; Scott Rau, Chase Payment brands: Josh Kessler, MasterCard Worldwide; Chandra Srivastava,
- POS equipment supplier: JC Raynon, VeriFone; Gerald Schoenecker, Ingenico
- And Value-added service providers: Javed Chaudry, ViVOtech; David deKozan, Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc.


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LIV-EX (London International Wine Exchange), a leading international wine exchange, reports that secondary market trading of Italian wines, in terms of both volume and value, has reached historic levels this year, with the value of transactions this year already exceeding that of all of 2019.
Image courtesy of: Italian Wine Channel
On the morning of August 25 local time, Liv-ex said that so far this year, Italian wines have surpassed 2019 in terms of trading volume, and that the volume will soon surpass last year"s figures as well.
At the forefront of an increasingly widespread market for collectible fine wines, Italian wines have been on a steady rise for some time now, with Liv-ex reporting last year that the number of fine Italian wines traded on its platform had increased by 1,500 percent over the past decade. At that time, the value of Italian wines traded on the secondary market was growing at a compound annual growth rate of 9%.
And the number is still on the rise. From January to July this year, the number of Italian wines with the LWIN11 identifier (LWIN11 is an 11-digit code representing wines and vintages) increased by 153.6%, and the value of Italian wine traded in the first seven months of 2020 also increased by 70%.
Demand for Barolo Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino Brunello and Chianti Classico Classic Schoenstatt has been by far the highest, and they have all grown by more than 300% so far this year. In addition, for the first time, the combined trade value of Barolo Barolo and Barbaresco Barbaresco surpassed that of Super Tuscans Super Tuscans, which had previously dominated the Italian trade.
Giacomo Conterno, Barolo Riserva Monfortino 2013 - The 2013 vintage of Produttori Conterno Barolo Riserva Monfortino (pictured below, far left) was the leader in the first seven months of the year, well ahead of Sassicaia 2017 2017 vintage Sisigia in second place. The most traded wine was Produttori Barbaresco, Barbaresco 2016 2016 vintage Produttori Barbaresco dry red wine. This is the first time that two Piedmont Piedmont wines have received these accolades.
The home of super Tuscan wines, Bolgheri Bulgari and Toscana Toscana have not yet completely fallen out of fashion. It's just that after several years of sustained growth, their progress is no longer explosive. For example, the Italy 100 is up 2.3% year to date and 4.2% for the one-year period, which is the second best performing index on Liv-ex over the two periods. To date, Super Tuscany is up 4.2% year to date, with a full-year estimate of 8.8% growth.
As Liv-ex points out, thanks to the 25% tariff exemption in the U.S. on EU wines containing less than 14% alcohol; the better value for money of Italian wines compared to Bordeaux and Burgundy; and the recent series of excellent vintage performances in 2015, 2016 and 2017, all contributed significantly to the development. There are few signs of headwinds for Italy, and the country is sure to continue to be in the world spotlight as the years go by.


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Entain plc, the parent company of Ladbrokes Coral and formerly known as VGC Holdings, reported on August 12 that the Euro 2020 football competition, which took place from June 11 to July 11 of this year, led to an increase in the firm’s earnings for the first half of the year. This FTSE 100 wagering behemoth revealed to its shareholders that its net gaming revenues climbed by 28%, tying twenty-two quarters of double-digit growth on the internet.
Despite a 43 percent decline in retail numbers as a result of government-imposed lockdowns that stopped betting shops in the United Kingdom from opening until April, overall sales grew by 11 percent. The company’s underlying earnings climbed by 12% to 400 million pounds, while revenues increased by 8% to 1.8 billion pounds.
Entertain, as previously stated, is the owner of Ladbrokes Coral. Furthermore, the corporation owns the brands Eurobet and Bwin, and it recently bought the European companies Enlabs AB and Bet. pt. Einstein had an annual operating income of 450 million pounds in 2020, while the firm made sales of 3.6 billion pounds, which was somewhat lower than its total in 2019. Etain’s online revenues climbed by 27 percent year on year in the previous year due to the success of this company’s gaming brands, which were able to expand their sales by 40 percent.
Entrain will profit from the Tokyo Olympics and Euro 2020 spillover for 10 days in the second half of 2021. These activities will take place at the same time. Its stock price increased by more than 74% this year, but it fell by 0.7% due to the turbulent market. Despite this, many individuals believe Entain and its subsidiaries will be able to turn a profit by the end of the year. This is because sports leagues all over the world should resume operations at their normal speed and in a manner that is reasonably akin to what it was like before the outbreak.
Furthermore, internet gaming is more popular than ever. Furthermore, the company made it very clear that it will shortly spend one hundred million pounds on immersive technologies and betting platforms in regions where Entain’s brands do not dominate.
Entrain is making inroads into the American market
When Danish business mogul Jette Nygaard-Andersen took over as Chief Executive Officer of Entain from Shay Segev in January 2021, the globe was already in the grip of a pandemic. The corporation was operating in twenty-seven regulated locations at the time, but Nygaard-Andersen states that it now seeks to expand into fifty additional districts.
It revealed earlier this month that it has signed an agreement with the Seattle-based start-up Unikrn to buy this Esports wagering platform, which is well-known for being financed by celebrities like Ashton Kutcher and Mark Cuban. This move took this goal one step closer to realization. Both Nygaard-Andersen and Entain believe that the addressable market share for social gaming and esports betting will easily expand by $20 billion over time.
The corporation’s acquisition of Unikrn is only one of several recent initiatives the business has taken in North America. The corporation is well aware that the market for online gaming in the United States is about to explode. According to forecasts, the market in this country will continue to grow at a compound annual rate of 17.3 percent through 2026. More than twenty states in the United States have enacted legislation to legalize mobile sports betting, and many more, like New York and Ohio, are now looking into the potential. Entrain is a partner of MGM Resorts International, the largest casino operator in Las Vegas.
There is renewed talk that MGM may purchase Entain
MGM Resorts made a £7.9 billion buyout offer for Entain in January of this year. MGM Resorts owns and operates several casino brands in the United States. Including the Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, Park MGM, and MGM Grand in Las Vegas, seeks to emulate its long-time rival Caesars Entertainment, which paid £2.9 billion in September 2020 to purchase sports betting giant William Hill. This choice was taken because of the fast-increasing number of online sportsbooks in the United States, as well as the fact that William Hill already has the ambition and technology required to enter this section of the American market. As a result, rather than building their product, Caesars Entertainment chose to buy one that had already been established. MGM Resorts was similarly impacted. Entain, on the other hand, declined the offer at the start of the year.
Rumors have begun to circulate that MGM Resorts is preparing to boost the original bid it made by several hundred million dollars. This rumor began to circulate when MGM Resorts announced that they had sold a piece of its real estate holdings to VICI Properties for the cash equivalent of £3.2 billion. MGM Resorts currently has £8.4 billion in operating domestic liquidity as a result of this acquisition. The statement caused the share price of Entain to rise by 6.1 percent, as everyone now expects MGM Resorts to suffer another purchase fee in their quest to become the world’s leading gaming and entertainment firm.


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- people on the move
Items Tagged with 'Walmart'
Technology will help retailers find source of E. coli on produce within seconds.
(As seen on WZZM TV 13) The spread of E. coli has forced major retailers to reconsider the way they track their produce. Read More
Commitment from Walmart prompts Kentwood manufacturer to expand.
Ranir, a Kentwood-based manufacturer of store-brand consumer oral and personal health care products, is hosting a major event here Tuesday that reflects its new investment — one that was strongly encouraged by Walmart. Read More
The largest retailer in the world recently announced its intentions to put a new Walmart store in Whitehall Township near Muskegon — a move some locals are supporting, saying it could attract and spur more business and others are opposing, saying it could kill economic growth in the area for local businesses. Read More


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Federated Co-operatives Limited, or FCL, one of Canada’s 50-largest companies, has partnered with blockchain-based supply chain middleware platform, Morpheus.Network.
FCL plans to integrate distributed ledger technology, or DLT, based tracking. This will be deployed across its diverse supply chain, encompassing 1,400 businesses across Western Canada and employs over 23,000 workers.
Major Canadian co-operative embraces blockchain
The firms have inked a three-year deal that will see Morpheus.Network provide optical character recognition, machine learning, and blockchain technologies to streamline FCL’s complex supply chain.
FCL is a wholesaling, manufacturing, marketing, and administrative co-operative opened by more than 170 independent retail associations. The entity operates primarily across four sectors; agriculture, food, energy, and home and building solutions — including bars, convenience stores, agricultural centers, and propane plants among other businesses.
The co-operative generated $9.2 billion during 2019.
Compliance processes automated through DLT
Morpheus’ system will provide automated tracking and compliance management solutions that will supplant FCL’s existing manual processes:
“This system replaces a largely manual process where thousands of regulatory certification and documents from more than 150 suppliers are collected and managed by FCL which all need to be scanned, validated, processed and tracked.”
FCL’s Supply Chain Manager, Raymond Gareau, highlighted the increased efficiency “supplier document management and validation processes” resulting from the DLT integration, adding:
“Next up we are looking at the overall visibility of our supply chain from suppliers to FCL warehouses”
BMW to roll out proprietary DLT supply chain platform
At the end of March, BMW announced that it will roll out its blockchain-based supply chain solution among 10 suppliers during 2020.
The platform, PartChain, was piloted during 2019 at two of BMW’s 31 plants and three locations of its supplier, Automotive Lightning.
BMW will also provide the platform to members of its Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative — which was co-founded by car manufacturers BMW, GM, Ford, and Renault, alongside tech firms Bosch, Hyperledger, IBM, and Iota.


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The BBC reports that the Mario Monti, the EU’s Competition Commissioner, is willing to allow Sony-Music and BMG to merge. The merger of the two music companies, whose artists include Aerosmith, Beyonce, Britney Spears, and George Michael, would leave 80% of the world’s music market in the hands of 4 companies. However, independent record labels have objected, claiming that it will lead to the space available to them in music shops being limited and ultimately, a narrower range of music being available to consumers. The merger still has to be approved by the US competition authorities though.
The IPKat hopes that the combined company will utilise the copyright that it holds wisely. He notes that BMG is behind Napster and hopes that the merged company won’t be tempted to restrict access to its portfolio to other online music providers.
EU Competition Commission here
More about the music business here, here and here
Sunday, 20 June 2004
Posted by Unknown at 00:29:00


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NEW YORK — The Rockport Co. is rethinking its women’s offerings for spring ’14 with the help of industry veteran Roberta Rossi.
The brand said earlier this year it would push the segment, which accounts for just 30 percent of its overall business, and it recently kicked the plan into high gear with the opening of Rockport Design Studio in Italy, located in the country’s Veneto region.
Rossi worked closely alongside her husband, Luigino Rossi, at Rossimoda SpA and now serves as creative director of Stella Italia — a joint venture between the Rossis and Hong Kong-based footwear producer Stella International. She joins Rockport Design Studio as artistic director, and her duties include managing a stable of talent and developing the new offerings.
Both the aesthetic and the branding of the designed-in-Italy shoes, set to hit retail by the end of February 2014, will emphasize a relaxed, American sensibility blended with a European flair, according to Rockport’s chief marketing officer, Daniel Tschuemperlin.
Like the label’s previous women’s offering, the footwear will be manufactured in China and integrate comfort features based on technology from parent company Adidas.
“Even as a comfort [label], you have to be part of the trends and you have to be part of the fashion industry,” Tschuemperlin said, noting that Rockport’s goal is for women’s and men’s to each represent half of the business.
“Without this, you can’t be a global player of the size you want to be. That’s why we wanted to take this next step in the evolution of the brand,” he added.
Maintaining Rockport’s core DNA and retail prices of $110 to $150, while stepping up the fashion factor, has been a challenge, according to Rossi, whose extensive background includes creating footwear for luxury labels such as Marc Jacobs, Céline and Donna Karan during her stint at Rossimoda. (LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton completed its acquisition of the firm two years ago and Rossi is no longer involved with the company.)
“[Prior to the Rockport partnership], I always worked with very edgy shoes — stilettos and shoes that really pushed the limit of walkability,” she said. “Now I am working with the same head, but in a different way — shoes for traveling, for walking, shoes for a woman with an active life.”
As for controlling costs, key tactics have included extensive material research and keeping production primarily in China.
“It seems like [maintaining price points] would be [difficult], but in the end it is all about getting the lines right,” Rossi added.
“I know how to develop lasts from scratch and I know that makes the difference in the shoes,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if the leather is the most expensive or maybe more affordable, the most important thing is the [Italian] eye and taste.”
Tschuemperlin noted that buyers are just beginning to look at the spring ’14 product, but the early response has been favorable.
He added that Rockport will continue to tweak the women’s offerings over the next several seasons, but he is optimistic about the label’s prospects in the category.
“[The opening of Rockport Design Studio in Italy] is quite a visible step into the brand positioning that we want for our [women’s] product, and we know we have a lot of potential,” he said. “With the resources we have in Italy, combined with our American style, it will progress quickly.”


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Iridium’s CloudConnect Solution for IOT Is Live
Iridium Communications has deployed the service Iridium CloudConnect, calling it “the first and only satellite cloud-based solution offering global coverage for Internet of Things (IoT) applications.” The service combines Iridium IoT capabilities with Amazon Web Services (AWS) IoT and cloud services, with capabilities to extend customers’ IoT reach to the more than 80 percent of the Earth that lacks terrestrial coverage.
Iridium said that combining the attributes of its network with AWS’ supporting infrastructure and services will give its customers reduced engineering time, lower fixed operating costs, and faster development and deployment of new IoT products and applications.
Iridium announced CloudConnect in September 2018, and at the time projected deployment in 2019. Bryan Hartin, Iridium executive vice president of sales and marketing said that the service has been greatly anticipated since it was announced.
“We’ve built a direct, private connection between our gateway and AWS, making it secure and redundant. This is now a premier satellite cloud-based IoT service,” Hartin said.
Iridium reports that its IoT services are experiencing subscriber growth. The company said commercial IoT data subscribers grew 25% from the third quarter of 2018 through the third quarter of 2019, to 767,000 customers.


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It’s no surprise that superheroes were big at this year’s New York Comic Con, which ended Sunday. Superheroes have been making their mark on the movie industry lately. The trend has reached video games, too, with a plethora of video game news coming out of New York Comic Con.
Among the announcements:
- Activision and Marvel said “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” will be released in the spring, along with Sony Pictures’ movie of the same name.
- Updates for “Marvel Heroes,” the free-to-play massively multiplayer online game that’s been out for a couple months, are on their way. One new feature will be a survival mode based on the “Star Trek” series’ unwinnable Kobayashi Maru scenario. Players will be scored based on how long they survive unending waves of villains. Another will coincide with the November release of the movie “Thor: The Dark World.”
- “Thor: The Dark World” will also get its own mobile device video game, to be released with the movie in November.
- “Marvel Run Jump Smash,” which was an immediate hit in Korea, will be coming to North America on iOS, Android and Windows.
- “Lego Marvel Superheroes” is slated for an Oct. 22 release for current-generation consoles and in November for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Augmented Pixels, based in Odessa, Ukraine, has created WarBot, an iPad app that uses augmented reality to turn holiday shopping into a game. You point the device at the package of a toy you (or your child) is interested in. The device recognizes the packaging and triggers a first-person shooter game. Win the game, and you’ll earn a discount on that toy.
“It’s getting more and more challenging for brands to stand out from the competition to attract and keep customers’ attention and love,” Vitaliy Goncharuk, CEO of Augmented Pixels, said in a statement. “Augmented reality has proved to be one of the most effective ways to engage customers at the point of sale.”
Speaking of augmented reality, check out the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology’s new exhibit, Out There: Exploring Space through Augmented Reality, to see it in action.
Bits & Pieces
- Russian leaders are annoyed that video game bad guys are often portrayed as Russian, so the government plans to release its own patriotic games and might ban games that “distort history.”
- Crittercism researchers report that iPhone 5S devices aren’t as dependable as the iPhone 5C and earlier models. Apps on the 5S crash 2 percent of the time, twice as much as the 5C and earlier models.
- The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon is planning to release a set-top box that plays movies and video games by the end of the year.
- Heading to New York City? Download “Cover,” an app that lets you pay for food at 16 restaurants (so far) without having to see the bill. The app is iPhone-only, but an Android version is in the works.
- The growth of the video game industry has led to growth in another industry: music. SoundCon LLC reported that an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the increase in mobile, casual and social gaming was the primary cause of a surge in employment for composers and music directors.
- The latest conScore report shows that market share of mobile platforms Android and BlackBerry have fallen, and Apple has picked up what they’ve left behind. Apple also maintains its lead as the No. 1 device manufacturer, building 40 percent of all smartphones sold in the U.S.
- Surgeons at Florida Hospital Celebration Health performed better if they played Nintendo’s “Super Monkey Ball” for six minutes as a warm-up before surgery, according to a recent study.
Maria Welych, who was technology editor at The Post-Standard for five years, is director of marketing and public relations at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology. She can be reached at [email protected].[fbcomments url="" width="100%" count="on"]


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A Japanese government spokesman said authorities are investigating the abrupt closure of Mt. Gox, which was the world’s biggest exchange for bitcoin virtual currency.
A George Mason University professor hopes a shoe with GPS tracking that he designed for Alzheimer’s patients can bring peace of mind to their families and cut costs of searching for patients who wander off.
As more U.S. schools turn to online educational services, some parents and legislators are concerned about personal information online educational services collect to understand how students learn, and whether it is federally protected from being shared or sold.
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) authentication wasn’t working in either iOS or OS X. Software running on iDevices and Macs believed encrypted connections were connecting to the right place. Key SSL tests simply weren’t being done. While Apple fixed the problem, it still has some serious questions to answer.


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Friday, February 10th was a momentous day for New York business: the first thirteen Benefit Corporations (or B Corps) were officially recognized by the state when the New York benefit corporation law took effect. According to the official B Corp website, these corporations vary from traditional business models for three reasons. They must:
- “Meet comprehensive and transparent social and environmental performance standards;”
- “Meet higher legal accountability standards;”
- “Build business constituency for public policies that support sustainable business.”
The social and environmental impact of these companies is held to a strict test known as the B Impact Assessment, ensuring that their ventures remain socially and environmentally responsible. For the first time, profits do not have to be the main drive behind a company’s decision-making. Instead, the company’s effect on the public good becomes a guiding force.
Although Benefit Corporations already exist in six other states (including Maryland, Vermont, and New Jersey), and have been on the radar in New York for several months, the law officially allowing their formation in New York did not actually go into effect until last week. The bill had originally passed in both houses in Albany back in July. On Friday, thirteen New York companies became certified B Corps, including Greyston Bakery in Yonkers, Call2Action, and Singlebrook Technology.
The passage of this legislation is important for the future of sustainable business and for the future of New York. Hopefully this is just the beginning, and we will soon see a wave of new benefit corporations enter the New York business scene.


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LONDON (AP) -- British retailers reported a modest 1.8 percent rise in sales in November compared with a year earlier, when the financial crisis was in its most acute phase, the British Retail Consortium said Tuesday.
The rise is much smaller than the 3.8 percent sales increase seen in October, and the report's authors said the results were weaker than expected.
The group's director, Stephen Robertson, said "consumer confidence is fragile and has taken a turn for the worse."
The report said consumers were still cautious about spending, but shops were at least confident that sales would not be as bad as some expected earlier this year.
The figures do not account for new stores opened over the past 12 months. Including additional floor space, total sales were up 4.1 percent.
Helen Dickinson, head of retail at KPMG, which cooperated in preparing the report, said lower food prices had prevented a stronger rise in sales value.
"Once the fact that food sales growth slowed further is factored in, largely reflecting lower food price inflation, it represents a solid start to Christmas trading," she said.


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In the Sweetest News Ever, Microbes Might Be Able to Create Even Better Chocolate
Microbes can help bring out subtle, enhanced flavors in chocolate.
Chocolate is already the best — so when we heard that it might get even better, we were skeptical.
Researchers in Belgium (of course) have discovered that microbes can hugely impact chocolate’s aroma and flavor. One of the vital parts of chocolate production lays in the fermentation process, and microbes that make their way into the unprocessed cocoa can make all the difference. It turns out that the yeast used in the cocoa fermentation can be specially selected so it creates an aroma and taste in chocolate that’s similar to how the flavors of wine, coffee, and tea are engineered.
In a study just published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, researchers from University of Leuven and Flanders Institute for Biotechnology developed a new Saccharomyces cerevisiae hybrid microbe starter culture that they used early on in the chocolate-making process to alter the flavor of the soon-to-be-sweet treat. They also worked with one of the largest cocoa manufacturers in the world, Barry Callebaut, to develop various hybrids.
There are industries in which microbial starter cultures are streamlined to promote consistency — however, the choco-industry isn’t one of them. Chocolate fermentation relies on a spontaneous process with natural microbiota at the cocoa farms.
Once cocoa beans are harvested, they’re heaped into large plastic vats where they are surrounded by a mushy pulp containing both yeast and bacteria. Since the fermentation process is taking place on the cocoa farms, there’s a high chance of just about any type of microbes getting into the pulp. However, the research team found that their “robust” hybrid microbe was able to outlast all the other microbes.
The S. cerevisiae microbes they developed combined thermotolerance and efficient cocoa pulp fermentation to create chocolate that didn’t actually taste that great. However, when the researchers tried different strains of that same yeasty microbe, they found that the flavors from batch to batch were wildly different. While the chocolate-making methods were exactly the same from batch to batch, they determined that the one changing variable (the new, hybrid microbes) were the reason each chocolate’s taste varied so much.
Eventually, they were able to create yeast strain hybrids that had the ability to dominate cocoa fermentations and to produce specific flavors.
“This means that for the first time, chocolate makers have a broad portfolio of different yeast strains that are all producing different flavors,” says Jan Steensels, one of the study’s lead researchers.
We’ve already got countless fine wines, endless craft beers, and a whole mess of coffee types. It’s about time we cultivated some hyper-engineered chocolate.


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Web reporter for The Independent
03 October 2014 04:05 PM
Antitrust watchdog rules consumers will continue to have "wide range" of messaging options after takeover is completed
03 October 2014 11:55 AM
Turns out Wall Street doesn't like unexpected charity work.
01 October 2014 06:07 PM
Pepsi True has 30% less calories than normal Pepsi and follows the release of Coca-Cola Life, also made using stevia
30 September 2014 05:35 PM
The combined wealth of Forbes 400 list rose 13% to $2.29 trillion
30 September 2014 02:11 PM
Judge Griesa says Buenos Aires taking deliberate steps to evade his ruling
30 September 2014 10:15 AM
Apple's iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will hit store shelves on 17 October
29 September 2014 11:54 AM
Technology giant facing fine from Brussels watchdog
29 September 2014 09:16 AM
Total of 29 branches temporarily closed in tense stand-off between police and pro-democracy protesters
26 September 2014 05:32 PM
Bill Gross, the legendary manager and co-founder of PIMCO, has announced he is leaving the fund to join rival Janus Capital.
26 September 2014 02:53 PM
Former Microsoft chief executive still hates Apple
Cameron is warned 'no possibility' of UK reducing immigration and that bid to bring in quota on migrant workers would be illegal
Sorry Judy Finnigan – Ched Evans is no less sickening than an alleyway rapist
Residents should throw a street party and mix with immigrant neighbours, councils told
Workers 'could be forced to pay £5 a week' to get benefits
Russell Brand threatened with arrest after filming outside Fox News headquarters
Amal Alamuddin calls for the return of the Elgin Marbles from Britain: 'Injustice has persisted for too long'
- 1 Indian footballer Peter Biaksangzuala dies after injuring spine doing somersault celebration
- 2 Jack the Ripper: Scientist who claims to have identified notorious killer has 'made serious DNA error'
- 3 Drink alcohol and eat meat to improve male fertility - but cut down on coffee, studies suggest
- 4 Kentucky gang rape: 15-year-old boy left in critical condition after sexual attack by group at party
- 5 Lynda Bellingham dead: Loose Women presenter dies after battle with colon cancer


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Austin, Texas February2, 2024. High Density Packaging User Group (HDP) is pleased to announce that Shikoku Chemicals Corporation (Shikoku) has become a member.
“Shikoku Chemicals has been developing distinctive copper surface treatment chemicals for PWBs and semiconductors by applying our unique organic synthesis technology, like OSP (Organic Solderability Preservative) and new chemical adhesion process between smooth copper and resin focus on the high frequency field. We look forward to working together with HDP members and hope to support cutting-edge technologies from around the world in various fields,” said Kazuhiko Yokoe, General Manager, Fine Chemicals Sale Dept. Sale & Marketing Division.
“I am pleased to welcome Shikoku to HDP, joining the outstanding companies working on HDP User Group projects. Their expertise and capability in surface treatment chemicals for high performance PWBs, especially those focused on next-generation servers and networking products, will contribute significantly to several of our emerging technology projects”, said Larry Marcanti, Executive Director of HDP User Group.
Shikoku Chemicals Corporation is a Japan-based company engaged in the research and development, production, and sale of industrial chemicals and pharmaceuticals, housing, landscape, and store-related products. Shikoku also operates an environmental business related to sterilization, water treatment, and information system businesses. The portfolio includes inorganic chemical products, organic chemical products, wastewater treatment agents, water-soluble rust inhibitors for printed wiring boards, and fine chemicals, including imidazoles.
Visit Shikoku at https://kagaku.shikoku.co.jp/eng/


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Sales projection boosted to 3 million for HTC Touch Diamond
High Tech Computer, HTC has apparently received so much feedback on their HTC Touch Diamond, successor to the HTC Touch that they have upgraded their shipment projections to a whopping three million handsets.
Commercial Times, a Chinese language technical newspaper quotes Peter Chou HTC CEO as saying High Tech Computer’s original projection of shifting two million newly announced HTC Touch Diamond mobile phones has been upgraded to three million.
Chou stated that it took High Tech Computer eleven months to hit the two million handsets target for the first generation HTC Touch, and now expects to move the same number of the HTC Touch Diamond mobile phone in only seven months, thus leading to the raising of shipment projections.
HTC launched the HTC Touch Diamond earlier this month, and it will be interesting just to see how this all pans out, to see if HTC actually get their projections right, or even if the HTC Touch Diamond can out do this updated projection.
It seems HTC have high hopes for The HTC Touch Diamond, and rightly so based of the history of the HTC Touch; it’s quite capable of standing up against the Apple iPhone, and definitely has an appearance that will attract, and looking at it 3 million units isn’t really that unobtainable. The only downside I can see that may trip up the 3 million mark is the price.
Source — digitimes


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Update: UltraFlix owners NTEK have posted on their site official details and plans to be added to the Fire TV. You can find out more about this breaking news by clicking HERE.
Today Cord Cutters News was contacted by a source close to NanoTek, the owners of Ultraflix streaming service, who stated that on August 22nd a NanoTek shareholders meeting was held announcing the company had struck a partnership with Roku to bring Ultraflix to the Roku 4 making it one of Roku 4’s main apps at launch. They also stated that the partnership would include “Roku Retail Video Promo’s”.
We can confirm that NTEK did hold a shareholders meeting in August and that they are the owners of Ultraflix. At this time Ultraflix dose not have a Roku Channel on their 4K TVs. At this time Cord Cutters News feels very confident in the information from the source is credible.
At this point it looks to be confirmed that the new Rokus will have 4K with Ultraflix leading the way.


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Brandless, a company which can best be described as an online hybrid of Trader Joe’s and Ikea’s kitchen section, just raised a $35m Series B to be the “Procter & Gamble for millennials.”
Their site launched yesterday, and is already selling everything from colanders to quinoa puffs — all for a flat fee of $3 per item.
And they’re doing it all without a “brand”…or are they?
Fighting the “false narrative” of consumption
Created in 2016 by entrepreneur Ido Leffler and Sherpa Capital partner, Tina Sharkey, Brandless has raised almost $50m thus far on the bet that younger consumers don’t care as much about brands as big CPG companies would like investors to believe.
Instead, they want to let people “define themselves as who they are, and not what a brand or society is projecting onto them.”
How does macaroni fit into this mission of reclaimed identity?
Well, rather than a prominent brand name, each product’s name and “values” are listed front-and-center on the package (Re: “MAPLE SYRUP. Organic. 100% pure. Amber color. Rich taste”).
So bold. So liberating…
And so cheap
The founders have theorized that the fixed pricing will put consumers at ease — AKA, reduce the amount of thinking/comparing a buyer does before making a purchase. We’ll call it “the dollar store hypothesis.”
They’ve essentially streamlined the buying process down to 2 choices: what do you want, and how much of it?
Unfortunately, a $3 ceiling limits what they can sell (we’re already skeptical of their kitchen knives), so they’ll be rolling out different product lines at various fixed prices to expand their offerings, all while supposedly saving customers a “40% “brand tax.”
Except according to Sharkey, they’re still “unapologetically a brand”
While Brandless may not have a logo, they’re definitely capitalizing on their identity.
Brandless has literally trademarked the blank, white rectangle on which all of their product labels are printed. That’s right: “a white rectangle with rounded edges.”
So maybe they don’t want you to define yourself by your brand choice. They just want you to define yourself by your brandless choice.


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We launched cars without airbags to meet all customers’ needs, says GB Auto
Latest by Yara El-ganiny
The Kia Sportage comes with a drive system consisting of a four-cylinder 1.6 engine, a strength of 140 hp at 6300 rpm, and a top speed of 180 km/h for the first three categories. The fourth category boasts 170 hp and 201 km/h with an all-wheel drive system.
Negotiations take place with vehicle manufacturing companies to enforce vehicle warranties following conversion to gas
Group’s factory has produced several notable models assembled in Egypt, at the forefront of which are the BMW X categories
New BMW X6 model has become available on local market for EGP 2m
New platform offers 70 government services, including food rations and vehicle licensing
Egypt’s long-term auto strategy focuses on local manufacture of electric vehicles, says Karim Naggar
Source debunked social media rumours on alleged changes to traffic violation fines
Gap between supply and demand caused increase in prices of some models: El Sabaa
Company introduces some modifications to new version of Urvan
New car models like Opel Ingenia, and Peugeot 301 and 3008 to be delivered in July, says Ahmed Ghorab
Now is the time to buy new cars despite uncertainties surrounding the future, says GB Auto’s Drive
Automotive companies must switch from traditional to digital marketing to deal with social, economic changes due to COVID-19, says El Naggar
Used car sector dealers generally positive despite global pandemic
Local assembly does not face global supply chains disruption problems
The pandemic has stymied the global automotive sector, causing disruption to production in factories and reducing the workforce. This has in turn seen global sales slashed by a whopping 51.8% during March.
Temporary commercial plates are currently best replacement for car licences
Reducing production and cutting out certain markets can offset losses: Kayan
The CBE has set a daily limit for cash deposits and withdrawals at bank branches for a temporary period at EGP 10,000 for individuals and EGP 50,000 for companies. The latter are exempt from these limits in case of paying salaries or other obligations.
Drive securitises EGP 425m bonds, and will resume collecting postponed instalments from September
Shift to digital payments boosts car sales
Auto dealers ask CBE to exempt them from decision to disburse car loans
Egypt has capacity to produce all parts of vehicles except engine and gearbox: EAMA
Sales to increase by 15% in the coming period: El Saba
Saad said there is a need to encourage small and large factories alike in order to promote a synergy that could cover the state’s target production volume, calling for grants and manufacturing incentives for companies and investors.
Company to introduce new models of Scala, Kamiq in 2Q, 4Q2020, respectively
Group to launch three to four new products in 2020, including the MG5 that launched at December end
Saad ruled out the presence of any obstacles that might hinder the entry of Chinese industrial products shipped from customs outlets, as medical checks and health security measures are carried out on agricultural products that are likely to be carriers of the virus.
Withdrawing controls of various cars, anticipation dominates consumers’ behaviour
GB Auto’s subsidiary, Drive, plans to increase its market share in factoring


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RUNNEMEDE, N.J. (AP) — A Honus Wagner baseball card has sold for more than $1.4 million.
The price was a record for the rare T-206 card of the Pittsburgh Pirates great, the highlight of the Goldin Auctions October Legends Auction.READ MORE: Pittsburgh Connections Abound At 2021 Golden Globe Awards
Also fetching a record price was the basketball rookie card of Michael Jordan, which sold for more than $124,000.READ MORE: COVID-19 In Ohio: Fraudulent Claims Overwhelm Pandemic-Related Unemployment Programs
Other notable sales included a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle baseball card that sold for more than $584,000 and a 1958 Pele card that topped $295,000, a record for a soccer card.
Several items from Cal Ripken Jr.’s personal collection netted $1.2 million, with the money going to the family foundationMORE NEWS: Mon Wharf To Be Closed After Flood Advisory Issued
(© Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


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bilateralism & multilateralism
Many WTO members have expressed support for a China-Taiwan Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement and would be happy to see it happen, says Taiwan’s permanent representative to WTO.
The European Union and Vietnam announced the start of free-trade negotiations Tuesday, signaling a major effort to move ahead in the race to secure new markets despite the failure of the Doha Round of global trade talks.
Brazil mentions the possibility of putting aside the subject of agriculture for the moment, since “the central problem of eliminating agricultural subsidies can only be resolved with a global plan” at the World Trade Organization.
Those who favour a big push for regional integration in Asia now have their day in the sun. They say that the global economic crisis has accelerated the decline of America and the rise of China, India and other emerging powers. Power is shifting inexorably from the West to Asia.
Members of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO’s) trade policy review committee raised its concern last week over the relatively extensive use of antidumping and other tariff measures by SA on behalf of the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu).
Businesses are becoming less interested in the World Trade Organization’s attempts to forge a global deal as long-standing talks have yet to yield results, a private sector group affiliated with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation warned late last week.
South Africa and the European Union on Friday signed an amended trade, development and co-operation agreement and also pledged to intensify work to bridge gaps preventing conclusion of Doha trade talks.
When the Rubber Bill (intended to amend the Rubber Act, 1947) was presented in Parliament on August 7, the Opposition did not let it through. The reason was, it was presented by Prithviraj Chavan, minister of state for parliamentary affairs, and not any minister of commerce and industry, which is the ministry concerned.
The global crisis has one positive and liberating aspect—policymakers and even once-arrogant neoliberal economists are now openly questioning the wisdom of untrammeled liberalization. The present global recession has abundantly shown that liberalizing the financial and other economic sectors wholesale sans rules is a formula for disaster, be it applied in a developed market economy like the United States or in a small developing economy like Haiti.
Regional trade deals are no substitute for a Doha agreement. Indeed, they are its enemy, writes The Economist
Despite ongoing efforts to blow some life into the comatose Doha Round of WTO talks, it is the bilateral agreements that have emerged as the new messiah for world trade. The past few years have seen every major economy scrambling to sign a raft of free trade agreements, negotiations for which reached a fever-pitch this summer.
The negotiation of a free trade agreement between MERCOSUR and the UE has
become, for Brazil, a greater priority than the trade liberalization
debates at the World Trade Organization (WTO)
Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said his country won’t keep negotiating a commercial agreement with the European Union until the trade bloc complies with World Trade orders to cut duties on Ecuadorean bananas.
A new TWN report finds that North-South free trade agreements, bilateral investment treaties and World Trade Organization commitments often contain a number of provisions that can increase the likelihood of a financial crisis and make it more difficult to take the necessary measures to deal with one once it occurs.
South Korea is pushing for the G20 countries to support a moratorium on new import tariffs at next month’s meeting, according to President Lee Myung-bak.
The proposed EU-Asean free trade policy on intellectual property rights protection is too sweeping, says a consumer group.
A consumers’ group on Saturday urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to turn down the EU-Asean free trade policy on intellectual property rights protection which, if ratified, could affect the Asean agriculture, biodiversity and public health access.
Background paper on the ASEAN free trade agreements with special focus on the ASEAN-Australia and New Zealand FTA. Soon to be published in the Philippine Natural Resources Journal of the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center-Philippines
It was a dizzying roller coaster-year for trade. As the multilateral trade talks faltered, bilateral and regional free trade and economic partnership agreements on the other hand surged, fueled mainly by the aggressive push by the most powerful economies - the US, EU, Japan and China - of their respective brands of commercial diplomacy.
The WTO has launched a new database on regional trade agreements (RTAs). This contains all the relevant documentation received by the WTO following notification by a WTO member that an RTA has been established.


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Prof. Mary Jo Hatch from the University of Virginia in United States of America has said that developing countries have the potential to create world class and successful business company brands.
She made the remarks at the National university of Rwanda (NUR) during a public lecture under the theme: “Building corporate brands in developing countries.”
According to Hatch, Corporate branding is the practice of using a company’s name as a product brand name.
“It is an attempt to use corporate brand equity to create product brand recognition. Corporate branding is not limited to a specific mark or name; it can incorporate multiple touch points.
These touch points include; logo, customer service, treatment and training of employees, packaging, advertising, stationery, and quality of products and services,” she said.
She explained the role of corporate brand in business visa vis her experience at Carlsberg Group which started as local company in Denmark, but is now a world renowned brewery group.
She elucidated how Carlsberg started working locally in Denmark then afterwards became successful to be ranked among top five largest brewery groups in the world.
The success of corporate brand is based on answers to the questions like who we are. What others think of us. Where are we coming from what do we stand for, etc…?”
“In developing countries especially in Africa and Asia, there are business ideas and education is growing. This is a great opportunity for entrepreneurship which may help to create global corporate brands.”
Reacting to the lecture, participants focused on connecting theoretical knowledge on entrepreneurship with practice. Prof. Mary Jo Hatch replied that the connection of theories with practice is a global problem but the role of researchers is to help others to find a way of connecting theories with practice.
Prof. Rama Rao, Dean of the faculty of Economics and Management which hosted public lecture stated that this faculty is committed to produce entrepreneurial leaders who are able to link theories with practice.
He gave an example of how NUR assisted Coffee farmers of Maraba to produce a global brand of coffee.
This public lecture was attended by NUR students, academic and administrative staff, a representative of Huye district, Private Sector Federation and a Care International in Southern Province.


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Bookmarks (1) clear filters
An Apple whistleblower has publicly decried the company for 'violating fundamental rights' after Siri recorded users' intimate moments without consent
A former Apple contractor has decried the company in a letter to European privacy regulators. Thomas...A former Apple contractor has decried the company in a letter to European privacy regulators. Thomas le Bonniec revealed to The Guardian last year that working for Apple he overheard Siri users' private moments including medical discussions, drug deals, and couples having sex. Although Apple apologized and suspended the program last year, le Bonniec is calling on privacy regulators to punish the tech giant....


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The Creator behind Indeterminate Design has documented his works via his Youtube Channel, a well-scaled 3D printed Formula 1-style gearbox with intricate details. It’s important to note that the design printed is not an exact design of any particular F1 gearbox but a mix of different designs.
So far, Indeterminate Design has released five videos detailing the process of engineering and building the gearbox. It all started with a detailed virtual model of the transmission designed with Fusion 360. It’s important to note that the design is not an exact copy of any particular F1 gearbox but a mix of different designs.
Check out the videos here to understand how 3D printing can impact a change in the automotive industry, even for supercars.
Click here to read the full article.


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After concluding the beta program last week, Samsung announced that it would roll out the stable Android 7.0 Nougat update to the Galaxy S7 and the S7 edge later this month. The company is now kicking off its rollout, with the update making its way initially to those enrolled in the Galaxy Beta Programme.
Those that have best tested the Nougat update will be transitioned to the stable build via a forced OTA update that is rolling out gradually. If you're a beta user and see the system update message, you'll have 30 seconds until the phone reboots and starts installing the update.
The changelog for the update details several UX and performance fixes, including improvements to notifications, multi-window mode, always-on display, and enhancements to the system upgrade and app installation process. If you're using the Gear IconX earbuds, you should update their firmware to the latest version before installing the Nougat update.
With the stable OTA rollout now officially underway, it shouldn't be too long until carrier-specific variants receive the update. We'll keep you posted as and when the update makes its way to S7 and S7 edge units around the world.


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On June 3, a new lawsuit was filed alleging C.R. England, a refrigerated truckload carrier based in Salt Lake City, Utah, is liable for a data breach that occurred in October 2021. Jim Vansickle is the plaintiff, represented by Marshall Olson & Hull PC and Turke & Strauss LLP, who filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Utah. Judge Dustin B. Pead is presiding over the case, which cites 28 U.S.C. § 1332, Diversity-Breach of Contract as the Cause of Action.
Vansickle claims he would not have given C.R. England his personally identifiable information, or PII, (any data that could potentially identify a specific individual) if he had known it would “be easily stolen.” According to his lawyers, Vansickle now fears being a victim of further cybercrimes, like fraudulent credit card and loan applications, at any time.
The suit accuses C.R. England of negligence, negligence per se, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, invasion of privacy, and violations of the California Consumer Privacy Act, Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.150, and the state’s unfair competition law, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200. The suit seeks damages, attorneys’ fees and costs.
How did this breach occur?
On October 30, 2021, C. R. England discovered it had been a victim of a data breach in which PII had been stolen. The PII, which could include names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and home addresses, was subjected to “unauthorized access.” On legal website JPSupra.com, Richard Console, of the law firm of Console & Associates, said approximately 224,572 individuals were affected.
It took investigators until April 20, 2022, to identify what actually was stolen, and until May 23 to send out official letters regarding the incident. C. R. England provided a single year of identity protection by IDX, listed as a “leading identity theft and credit monitoring service” as compensation to the victims. The company also notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation.


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Growers Citrus Packing, which grows and ships navel oranges and other citrus, is joining Sunkist Growers Inc.
Terra Bella, Calif.-based Growers Citrus Packing is projected to pack 1.6 million cartons annually as part of the Sunkist packinghouse network. It plans to begin shipping fruit under the Sunkist label starting with the 2013-14 season.
Growers’ Citrus is the latest packer to join Sunkist in recent years, a list that includes Bravante Produce and Cal Citrus Packing Co.
“We are pleased with the momentum we have had over the past few years,” Kevin Fiori, Sunkist vice president of sales and marketing, said in a news release.
“We are pleased to be joining Sunkist, where we will benefit from their broad worldwide customer reach and marketing expertise,” David Evans, chief executive officer of Growers Citrus Packing, said in the release.
“Quality is central to the Sunkist brand, and delivering premium fruit to our customers requires working with first-class growers and shippers,” Sunkist president and chief executive officer Russ Hanlin said in the release. “Growers Citrus shares our commitment to excellence.”


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In a report released by PropEquity, India’s leading real estate data, research and analytics firm, sales or absorption of housing units rose by 21% across top 7 cities in India in the first quarter of 2021 to 1,05,183 units versus 87,236 units in Q1 2020.
However, the new supply or launches of housing units decreased by 40% in the same period to 59,737 units from Q1 2020 at 1,00,343 units.
Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, MMR, NCR and Pune are the cities where home sales witnessed a growth in Q1 2021 versus Q1 2020 at 13%, 29%, 16%, 26% and 6% respectively. Only Kolkata witnessed downfall of 20% in home sales during the same period.
““Beginning of Q1 was relatively better for the Indian realty as several projects which were rightly priced were finding decent demand, especially for the projects which were nearing completion. However, the second wave of COVID has dented this demand and we expect now sales to again to grow from Q3 onwards, provided the daily COVID case count is in check and there is no lockdown in place,”Mr. Samir Jasuja, founder and managing director at PropEquity said.
|Media Indicators (Top 7 regions)|
|City||Q1 20||Q1 21||Q1 20VS Q1 21|
The current COVID wave has hit the sector when Indian real estate housing demand was on the growth trajectory in Q1 of 2021,” said Ankush Kaul, President (Sales & Marketing) Ambience Group. He believes that once the current COVID spread in India stabilises, the demand will again grow.
India’s IT capital saw a rise of 13% in home sales in Q1 2021 at 12,263. New Launches decreased by 40% at 8,492 units.
Chennai saw a 29% increase in home sales in Q1 2021 and new launches decreased by 8% to 4044 units.
Home sales witnessed an increase of 16% in Q1 2021 at 10,964 units with new launches fell by 44% to 8,826 units.
Surprisingly, Kolkata saw a decrease of 20% in home sales in Q1 2021 at 3,682 units with new launches falling by 57% to 1,427 units.
The City of Dreams saw an increase of 26% in home sales in the first quarter at 41,323 units, whereas new launches fell by 48% to 20,269 units.
Only NCR witnessed an increase in both home sales and new launches by 6% and 136% respectively in Q1 2021.
Pune witnessed a rise of 31% in sales or absorption and downfall of 41% in new launches at 12,872 units in Q1 2021.


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Stadia goes out of business, Windows 11 update 22H2 causes a blue screen of death, the Samsung Galaxy S22 is already taking advantage of the October 2022 security update, this is the recap.
This is probably the most striking news this weekend: Stadia will soon stop. If Google has decided to end its streaming video game service, the Mountain View company does not forget those who have opted for a yearly subscription or who have purchased a compatible controller. They will be refunded. For its part, Microsoft has a few minor issues to resolve with the latest Windows 11 update, while Samsung has already released the Android security update for the Galaxy S22. Come on, let’s go for a summary of the news of the day before.
Stadia will close in January 2023
Thunderbolt for players: Stadia, Google’s streaming game platform, will stop. Launched 3 years ago, Stadia is already bowing out. Users have until January 18, 2023 to complete their current games. Don’t panic, however, if you are a subscriber and/or if you have purchased a compatible controller. Google promises to refund all players.
To read: Stadia will close, Google is already saying goodbye to its streaming video game service
Galaxy S22 already gets Android’s October update
Like every month, Google releases a security update for Android smartphones and tablets. But it’s not a Pixel that will benefit from it first in October: Samsung is already starting to deploy the Android security update on its Galaxy S22.
Read also: Galaxy S22 is the first Android smartphone to receive the October 2022 security update
A bug in Windows 11 causes a blue screen of death
Deployed a little over a week ago, the 22H2 update for Windows 11 suffered from a few bugs. Among the problems encountered, there is one that concerns configurations based on the Intel Rocket Lake processor (11th generation). The bug causes a blue screen of death, the famous BSOD that Windows users have always known, or almost. Fortunately, there is a little trick that we reveal in our article linked below.
Read also: Windows 11 22H2 causes blue screens of death, here’s how to fix the problem


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The operator of Saga Hibachi Steakhouse and Sushi Bar is coming to the SouthSide Works with a new restaurant concept.
A liquor license is posted in the window in the empty restaurant that was formerly occupied by Tusca Mediterranean Tapas on Sidney Street in the building that also houses the SouthSide Works Cinema.
Jared Imperatore, a retail manager for downtown-based Grant Street Associates, who represents Saga, said the restaurant recently had its liquor license approved and is working to open in the next 60 days.
Instead of the established Saga Hibachi Steakhouse & Sushi Bar that operates locations in five locations through the region, the restaurant at SouthSide Works will be Saga Cuisine and Sushi Bar, which will feature a menu of "Chinese, Thai, and Sushi as well as a full bar.”
The new location will be open for both lunch and dinner.
Imperatore, who represents Saga with partner JR Yocco, expects there’s a “strong demand” at SouthSide Works for such a restaurant, given its office workers and foot traffic. “Many of the office tenants would like to see Saga to open tomorrow,” added Imperatore.
Saga plans to open opening three more restaurants for its new concept in the next year, seeking locations of 3,500 to 4,500 square feet.


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Microsoft has announced that it is bringing Skype to the web in an open beta for anyone who lives in the US or the UK; you can try out the service now by logging into Skype.com.
...of Windows devices with tiny prices, iCortana, and an amazing little Pi
LG 65" 4K OLED Curved TV review
First Look: LG V10
Hands-on and first impressions of Microsoft's Lumia 950 flagship
As general release nears, what do you think of Windows 10 Mobile?
Hands-on and first impressions of Microsoft's Lumia 950 XL flagship
lumia 950 xl
Microsoft has announced that the Xbox One version of its game development tools "Project Spark" is now in open beta, meaning that users no longer need a code to try it out.
Ubisoft has now launched the open beta test for Ghost Recon Online, the long awaited PC based free-to-play version of the near future military shooter game series.
Blizzard has announced it will hold an open beta test for Diablo III starting today at 12:01 pm Pacific time and ending on Monday, April 23rd at 10 am Pacific time.


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After two months of online balloting and tens of thousands of votes cast, we present to you your favorites in dozens of categories in our fifth annual Best of Atlanta awards. Many people like to say these aw...
Whether you prefer gala dinners, singing around a campfire, tipping back margaritas or traveling back in time, Atlanta's packed LGBT schedule has something for you this weekend.
Sure, Atlanta's queer calendar is brimming almost every day. But this weekend is especially filled with major events.
Here are just a few of the biggest you can choose from this weekend. Click on the links for full stories about each.
From fundraisers to festivals, Atlanta LGBT calendar overflows Friday through Sunday
Some 15 pets are currently vying for the title of 2012 PALS Spokespet at the annual Pet Cotillion, the spring fundraiser for Pets Are Loving Support, this year set for May 6 at Piedmont Bark.
Last year, Pet Cotillion raised about $14,000, according to PALS Executive Director Kevin Bryant. The money, Bryant says, goes to veterinary care, like heartworm medication, spay and neutering services and flea medication.
Pets competing in the Pet Cotillion have profiles listed on the PALS website (palsatlanta.org) and can be voted on ($1 per vote) leading up to the event. The pet that raises the most money will be crowned this year’s winner.
Pet Cotillion returns to Piedmont Bark to benefit PALS


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SIA backs Biden assist for US$50bn chip funding | Automotive Trade Information
SIA has lent its assist to White Home backing for US$50bn of semiconductor funding
America’s Semiconductor Trade Affiliation (SIA) has counseled President Biden’s backing of US$50bn funding for chip manufacturing and analysis, following a gathering between Administration officers and people within the provide chain business.
The discussions coated the worldwide chip scarcity, Biden’s infrastructure plan and different points within the semiconductor provide chain.
Assembly contributors included SIA board members Tom Caulfield, CEO of GlobalFoundries, Pat Gelsinger, CEO of Intel and Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO of Micron Expertise, together with senior executives from SIA member corporations, NXP, Samsung and TSMC.
“We respect the White Home assembly with business leaders concerning the significance of making certain a robust and resilient semiconductor provide chain and we commend President Biden’s assist for US$50bn in semiconductor manufacturing and analysis investments to realize this aim,” stated SIA president and CEO, John Neuffer.
“Semiconductors are on the coronary heart of America’s job creation, pandemic response, nationwide safety, training system and development and innovation throughout a variety of sectors, together with aerospace, automotive, cloud computing, medical gadgets, telecommunications and plenty of others.
“Funding the chip manufacturing incentives and analysis investments referred to as for within the CHIPS for America Act, as President Biden’s infrastructure plan would do, will strengthen US semiconductor manufacturing and innovation throughout the board so all sectors of our economic system have the chips they want.
“[The] assembly marks the continuation of a robust partnership between the Biden Administration and business to strengthen America’s semiconductor provide chain by enacting Federal investments in home chip manufacturing and analysis.”
In January, the US Congress enacted the CHIPS for America Act as a part of the FY 2021 Nationwide Protection Authorization Act (NDAA). The brand new legislation requires incentives for home semiconductor manufacturing and investments in chip analysis.
Earlier this week (15 April), the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Firm (TSMC) warned the worldwide chip scarcity affecting industries together with automotive and shopper electronics might proceed into 2022.
The world’s largest semiconductor firm stated it was constructing new factories and hiring hundreds of individuals to match the hovering demand for silicon.
Throughout the subsequent three years it plans to speculate US$100bn in increasing capability.


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The Lawyer Asia Pacific 150 is the only research report to provide a ranking of the top 100 independent local firms and top 50 global firms in the region. The report offers critical review of some of the fastest growing firms and their strategies, a country-by-country guide to leading legal advisers and legal services market trends, plus exclusive insight into the current business development opportunities in the Asia Pacific. Read more
This year, The Lawyer’s annual ranking of the largest UK law firms by turnover is available as an interactive, digital benchmarking tool. For the first time this will allow you to manipulate each data set against the metrics of your choice.
Liverpool-based firm DWF has bagged a lead role advising Kwik Save on its £30m refinancing and expansion, acting opposite Linklaters, which retains Somerfield as a client despite the loss of its relationship partner.
Supermarket chain Kwik Save is in the process of purchasing 40 further stores from Somerfield. The move follows the investment of £30m from private investors in a last-minute deal to secure jobs for 3,000 employees.
DWF head of corporate in Liverpool Paula Park is heading the firm's team. She previously advised acquisition vehicle Back to the Future, launched by a consortium led by chairman of the Peacock Group Richard Kirk, on its purchase of the Kwik Save brand and 184 stores from Somerfield in February.
Park said DWF was now Kwik Save's leading outside counsel.
Linklaters also advised Somerfield on the original sale of Kwik Save, led by former relationship partner Raymond McKeeve. However, McKeeve left for US rival Kirkland & Ellis a month later.
As reported by The Lawyer (23 October), Linklaters has retained Somerfield as a client and is advising on its current sale. Corporate associate Aisling Walsh, property partner Mark Burgess-Smith and banking partner Jeremy Stokeld led the firm's team.


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DIY and wallpaper are most searched Google terms
‘Wallpaper’ and ‘DIY’ were the most searched terms on Google UK during the month of August, within the category of furniture, garden products, decorating products and homewares.
On average 17 million searches of the keywords were made on Google between the months of May and August, according to a report published by leading independent digital marketing agency, Greenlight. Each of the terms was searched over 246,000 times, and accounted for two per cent of all searches to do with garden and home improvement.
It is not hard to see why these searches have become so popular with a total of 68,200 people buying their first house in the second quarter of the year, consumerelectronics.net reports.
A YouGov survey also showed that three quarters of homeowners in Britain have gone about making home improvements, with the average person spending £13,000 to create a home they’re happy with.
Neil Saunders, managing director of research agency and consulting firm Conlumino told diyweek.net that the housing market is key for all home retail sectors and the outlook for the next five years, whilst not as impressive as pre-recession, is much better than it was after the economic downturn in 2008.
Mr Saunders said: “As the housing market improves and strengthens, all of these sectors will grow more strongly and they will pick up in terms of the number of consumers looking to make purchases.”


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CONSTRUCTION ON BRONSON’S MARKETPLACE NOW UNDERWAY
DBS Group designed and is now building a new Bronson’s Marketplace grocery store in Bowman, North Dakota. Design began in April and construction in July. A ground-breaking was held on Tuesday, July 26, 2016 at the project site.
The Bronson’s Marketplace project consists of a 28,000 square feet of new, ground-up grocery store as well as site improvements associated with the approximate five-acre site. Energy efficient building features have been incorporated into this project such as a high-efficiency building envelope, high-efficiency HVAC equipment, LED lighting, high-efficiency refrigeration equipment and polished concrete floors.
The Bowman, ND store will be the second Bronson’s Marketplace store location for Kelly and Kim Kessler, who are wholesaled by SUPERVALU.
The new store is scheduled to open in February 2017.


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Italy: earthquake brings Carpi textile district to its knees
The earthquake the struck last Tuesday in Emilia Romagna in Italy’s north central region, home to several industrial districts including that of Carpi, which specializes in knitwear, has left 17 people dead and has had extensive repercussions on the local economy. The textile and clothing sector was particularly hard hit, especially in Carpi, located not far from Modena and home to many Made in Italy brands, including Twin-Set, Liu Jo, Denny Rose, Gaudi, Champion and Blumarine . Like many others, Blumarine, which owns the Blumarine and Blugirl brands, closed its doors for two days.
The debris of a factory. Photo Marco Vasin/AFP
"The false ceiling collapsed and there’s quite a bit of damage," said a spokesman for the company. “This is a disaster because the company is in full production mode for the winter collections which must be delivered shortly and the pre-collections, which represent 70% of sales and whose marketing campaign unrolls in late June-July. The situation is all the more critical because this earthquake is the second to hit the area in ten days. Most personnel have been camping and sleeping in their cars since the first earthquake of May 20. Many are afraid to return to work," the spokesman said. At Liu-Jo, the enterprise was also evacuated, but just as a safety precaution. Built two years ago, the new headquarters of the fashion brand, that produces nothing there, suffered no damage and the facility should reopen tomorrow.
The Carpi district consists of a dense network of Medium Businesses that span the entire industry, from subcontractors to trademarks, which was able to reposition itself in recent years as medium high-end and high-end by investing in research and product distribution. Nearly 1,280 companies operate there, employing 14,000 people, according to 2010 data from the Observatoire du district de la mode de Carpi. Nearly 693 of them are registered trademarks and well-known brands that account for 54% of the total revenues. For the just the garment and textile sector, revenues amounted to 1.4 billion euros in 2010.
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2020 Bmw X3 Edrive Hybrid has long presented the title of the most impressive autos available on the market, and their remodel delivers a sharp and also modern look to cause it more desirable. Nevertheless the show is worn-out, and at the moment it’s its time to remodel the others. Hopefully 2020 Bmw X3 Edrive Hybrid presents a fresh look, powertrain, etc.
Visually, there is not any finish details available, however there exist impressive spy pictures. Hopefully to see the manufacturers replace the old fascia thick style and deliver a rounded 2020 Bmw X3 Edrive Hybrid fascia which includes changed headlights and a shorter hood. Spying photos also present more screen right behind the A-pillar, created to help boost visibility going forward, will continue. We also anticipate the taillights to take a horizontal orientation, cutting out the used vertical taillights.
Despite the fact there is nothing approved from the Manufacturers regarding 2020 Bmw X3 Edrive Hybrid powertrain, hopefully to feel major changes. The big replace will eliminate the older powerplant that supports a 1 liter turbocharged powerplant. In its old type, this engine creates good hp, still this can change before the 2020 Bmw X3 Edrive Hybrid introduction.
While this car in a similar type sometimes competes in crash tests. Today, this car has done well in most checking IIHS has finished four accident tests and front crash reduction tests, and this car is actually obtaining the highest level for all. We never presume 2020 Bmw X3 Edrive Hybrid to accept a step back in safety tools or ratings.
The corporation has not confirmed details about 2020 Bmw X3 Edrive Hybrid, so there is absolutely no specifics of when it could possibly be released. With the future year’s design available quickly, we don’t have to wait long for official reports concerning this.
Although we hope that everything is going to be new for next year, we do not assume a major fee change from the used price range such as destination prices.


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According to online sources, this week, Google is testing ways to run games on cloud services directly from search results. Today, the feature is available to a limited number of users.
Some Google users have noticed the new feature. If you search for a game by title, the search engine will show a «Play» button under the description, and you can immediately launch the game on the available cloud service. Users choose between Google Stadia, Amazon Luna, Xbox Cloud Gaming and NVIDIA GeForce Now platforms.
After clicking «Play» in the search results, the user is prompted to sign in or register for the selected service. The new feature simplifies the transition to gameplay, as clicking on the«Play» button replaces going to the cloud service page, finding the game you want and launching it.
It’s still unclear when the company will make the new feature publicly available. Online sources report that the «Play» button can periodically appear and disappear for the same users. This means that the search giant is testing the feature and evaluating the reaction of users. Official representatives have not yet commented on this topic.
Side note: Google Play Games is now available for Windows users


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Sunday, 22nd January 2012
Tim Buckley Owen
It was clearly only a matter of time before tablets started ousting the erstwhile near-ubiquitous PC. But, given the speed with which it seems to be happening, anyone responsible for workplace data security will need to be ready.
Dominant for around 30 years, the PC is at last being seriously challenged, according to a graphic from blogger Horace Dediu of Asymco. While sales of Macs have climbed steadily over the period, narrowing the gap, the rise of the mobile devices – iPhone, Android and latterly iPad – has been meteoric by comparison.
In the case of the iPad the climb is almost vertical, reflecting the fact, perhaps, that people are expecting to be able to do ever more complex things while on the move. Indeed, that observation is borne out by new research from technology analyst NPD In-Stat.
Top uses for tablets tend to be interactive activities like web browsing, email, and downloading and using applications, In-Stat reports. Portable media players may be able to do nearly as much but, with their slightly smaller screens, they’re more likely to be used for entertainment.
Given these findings, it’s pretty much inevitable that the iPad is fast becoming a critical business device. And that is exactly what another piece of new research, from analyst IDG Direct, shows.
In its iPad for Business Survey 2012, IDG finds over half of IT decision-makers saying they “always” use their iPad at work, while most of the rest do so “sometimes” – and almost four fifths “always” use their iPads when on the move. Over half also use them at home, but most of the time that seems to be for work too; fewer than a third say they always use them for entertainment and well under half use them for personal communication.
These are hardened technology users, of course – so what about the rest of us? Well, if last Christmas is anything to go by, plenty more people now have tablets to play with.
According to yet another survey, from online business specialist eDigitalResearch and United Kingdom retail industry association IMRG, tablet use on Christmas Day and Boxing Day 2011 doubled compared with 2010 as people tried out their new toys. Sure, still fewer than one in 10 consumers currently use tablets as their main means of getting online – but as Asymco’s graphic suggests, that can only grow.
Already, Britain’s official Connecting for Health website has warned health service staff not to use their tablets “out of the box” without decent security technology – and certainly not to store patient data on them (Guardian newspaper coverage here). Where workplace data security is concerned, this kind of tablet is more likely to cause headaches than cure them.
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24 October 2014Star slips into the red
The specialized reefer owner/operator’s Q3 performance was negatively affected by the writedown of US$1.1m on the sale of the Ecuador Star.
24 October 2014Chiquita shareholders brace for banana drama
With the Chiquita Board yet to endorse the latest definitive updated bid from Cutrale/Safra, shareholders will today determine the multinational’s future.
24 October 2014Environmentalists delay TCM
Costa Rica’s National Environmental Technical Secretariat has until March to answer the 110 objections to the megaport filed by the National Conservation Federation.
24 October 2014Spain achieves record mango production
Approximately 20K MT of mangoes, the country’s second largest sub tropical fruit crop after avocadoes, were harvested this year in Málaga.
24 October 2014E-Mart withdraws ‘pesticide-tainted’ bananas
South Korea's largest discount store chain revealed it had sold bananas imported from the Philippines tainted with high levels of pesticide.
23 October 2014Further delay to The Kiwifruit Claim
Approximately 30% of gold kiwifruit growers by volume are now pledged to participate in The Kiwifruit Claim according to its Chairman, John Cameron.
23 October 2014Police intervene in Costa Rican port protest
Less than 12 hours after a strike called by Sintrajap paralysed operations in Moín, police re-opened the ports and detained a number of protesters.
23 October 2014MFC admits China struggle
Australia's largest packer and exporter of citrus fruit will keep sending fruit to China, despite a difficult season for navel oranges.
23 October 2014Philadelphia Port welcomes more reefer capacity
Hamburg Süd’s 5,500 TEU Monte Rosa with 1,356 reefer slots is first in a new series to begin service between the east coasts of North and South America.
23 October 2014Hail hits Brazilian apples
Virtually all the orchards in the production region of Palmas, south of Paraná have been hit, with some being totally destroyed.
23 October 2014Cutrale-Safra ups bid for Chiquita
The Brazilian coalition has increased its offer by US$0.50c per share as Chiquita’s shareholders prepare to vote on its proposed tie-up with Irish multinational Fyffes.
22 October 2014Russia suspends fresh imports from Ukraine
Russia has placed a ban on the import and transit of all fruit and vegetables from Ukraine with immediate effect, for fear they may originate from the EU.
22 October 2014Seeka bullish over prospects
New Zealand's largest kiwifruit grower is forecasting annual profit growth of up to 11% and plans to expand its capacity in coming years.
22 October 2014CDC seeks partners for Tiko bananas
The Cameroon Development Corporation is seeking offers for 20K MT of lower-grade bananas unsuitable for sale in Europe.
22 October 2014MSC launches ‘Central America Express’
The container line says the service will provide a broader range of faster services between the major fruit-loading ports of Central America and the United States.


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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates demand in 2022 to exceed 2019 levels by 13%.
Against the backdrop of the headwinds faced by the global economic growth, Raya Airways, however, is venturing into new markets and making new inroads in existing ones to be key drivers of its future growth in line with the rapidly evolving customer requirements and growth prospects for the air cargo industry. The company has increased the average weekly load to its latest destination of Nanning, China to 120 tonnes, a three-fold growth compared to when it started plying this route in June 2021, giving it a huge competitive edge, especially in the ecommerce sector.
The carrier provides air freight solutions for businesses in Southeast Asia including transportation of cargo by air, aircraft charter services, ground handling maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), and aircraft commercial cargo space selling.
Currently, Raya has an average weekly combined load and capacity for all flights plus all destinations of between 1,700 and 1,900 tonnes, made possible with its three Boeing 767-200F and one Boeing 737-400F. Specifically, on the Nanning route, Raya serves this route thrice a week utilising its Boeing 767-200F aircraft’ This route carries all shipments that include e-commerce products, industrial goods as well as perishable items. in a nutshell, this paints a rather rosy and promising future in the air cargo transportation industry.
“We are extremely rigorous in our selection of routes to ensure hyper connectivity for our customers and multiplicative growth potential for Raya. In the months ahead, we will be announcing exciting destinations across Asia-Pacific, including within China and other countries. Wherever there are business hubs with robust future prospects, we aim to be there,” Raya’s Chief Commercial Officer, Muhamad Hidayat Rahim said


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Montana's ad agency's social media manager manages to offer a "F this job" post on the state's tourism Facebook page, as opposed to her personal one.
Technically Incorrect: A study shows that 70 percent of people admit to engaging in some phone activity at the wheel: 28 percent surf the Web, 30 percent send tweets "all the time," and it doesn't stop there.
When the undead threaten to turn your cerebrum to caviar, where do you run? A new study confirms what you might already suspect, and even offers a specific destination.
Looking to get away for a "Lord of the Rings"-themed vacation? These properties will take you to J.R.R. Tolkien's whimsical world and transform you into a hobbit.
Available in the US since fall 2014, Apple Pay will now roll out to the UK in July. Here are all the banks, apps and businesses that currently accept Apple Pay.
If we were to believe what suggested Yahoo searches say about the United States, there'd only be 48 instead of 50, or didn't you hear that Wyoming and North Dakota aren't real?
An absolutely breathtaking timelapse comprises several months worth of stormchasing severe weather across the Great Plains of America.
A spoof video about an overhyped tech product called "MyBook" aims to get tech companies to donate books and resources to San Francisco public schools.
A gadget for text messaging without cell service sees a spike in interest from the pro-privacy crypto and Bitcoin communities -- even though that wasn't its creators' intention.
The HBO comedian wonders why the hardware and software guarding the United States' nuclear warheads are so out of date.


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ASHEVILLE — As the leaves change color in western North Carolina, green is the big color for most businesses.
October is one of the biggest months for businesses as tourists flock to the area to view the reds, oranges and yellows of the fall.
Western Carolina University economist Steve Morse told the Asheville Citizen-Times that October is like Black Friday in mountains of western North Carolina.
A recent economic impact study from Tourism Economics found that Buncombe County attracted nearly 11 million visitors last year. Those visitors spent nearly $2 billion.
Marla Tambellini with the Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau said the fall foliage season is estimated to be responsible for about 12 percent of hotel occupancy for the year. She said demand is running ahead of last year's pace.
Information from: The Asheville Citizen-Times, http://www.citizen-times.com


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The limited edition bar will go on sale from next week (17 September) and will be supported by outdoor promotions and in-store activity.
It first went on sale in February as part of Kit Kat’s ‘Choose a Chunky Champion’ campaign which asked fans to vote for the next permanent flavour of its Kit Kat Chunky range. The ‘Chunky Peanut Butter’ variant won the contest but the white chocolate edition was the “fastest-selling” of the four bars in some retailers, according to Nestlé.
It is hoped the launch which will capitalise on a strong year for the Kit Kat brand, which reported a 12.7 per cent hike in sales in the 12 months to 31 August.
Nestlé is ramping up its focus on product development and marketing this year in a bid to offset a slump in demand in its key European and North American markets.


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Akshay Kumar star Sooryavanshi has been making headlines since the unofficial announcement of the film’s release date. It’s now slated for release on April 2. Yesterday we told you that the manufacturers asked for 70% revenue share from multiplexers with the OTT window shortening from 8 weeks to 4 weeks. But, now the manufacturers have yet another demand.
Conversely, producers used to get a 50% share during the pre-COVID era arrangement. But, now it looks like the new demand hasn’t gone well with the exhibitors. Read on to understand what the manufacturers demanded and how exhibitors react to the same.
According to reports from Bollywood Hungama, the exhibition industry has not yet agreed to these conditions. According to them, the revenue sharing model is not financially feasible for theaters. Many theater owners are also concerned that if the films reach digital in just 4 weeks, it could reduce the number of visitors. But with the arrival of Tamil blockbuster Master (2021) on Amazon Prime in 16 days, a precedent has already been set. So does that mean Sooryavanshi will be in a profitable situation?
When the exhibitors were asked about the request to shorten the OTT window for Akshay star Kumar Sooryavanshi, Raj Bansal, the owner of Entertainment Paradise in Jaipur, said: “(OTT window) 8 weeks ka hi rehna chahiye. Anything less than this is unfair to exhibitors and distributors. For a small film, a four week window between cinema and digital is acceptable. But big budget movies last 6-8 weeks and releasing them within 4 weeks is absolutely pointless. If I can figure out that I can watch a movie online after a few weeks, I will try to avoid going to the movies. This will seriously hamper our activities. “
Film operator and distributor Akshaye Rathi added, “There should be some flexibility. Ideally, it should take at least 4 weeks to start. This is not quite normal yet and it is important that producers and exhibitors watch each other rather than limit themselves to their individual interests.
He added: “We would be delighted if the producers gave us a chance to function optimally with Sooryavanshi’s business and God forbid if it underperforms, so I think it is fair that the producers should. expect exhibitors to allow them out on OTT earlier than the normal 8 week old school window. So that kind of flexibility and compromise is important, at least for a few months or so for the first big-price Hindi movie releases that come out.
Must read: Antim: Salman Khan and Aayush Sharma perform for song ‘Bhai Ka Birthday’ on the lines of ‘Ararara Khatarnak’ by Mulshi Pattern