text:
Earlier this week, Jaguar held an event to celebrate its role in The British Design Exhibition dedicated to British design of the past and present at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London.
On display outside the entrance to the V&A were the C-, D- and E-type Jaguar Cars and within the exhibition itself is the original E-type that was in Geneva for the car’s launch in 1961. The E-type is a British icon that has long been acclaimed for its design credentials.
The Exhibition highlights examples of great UK design from 1948 to the present. Britain has been at the forefront of great post-war design in every field from T-shirts to transport, from ad campaigns to cameras, and from fashion to phones.
The timeframe coincides with the London Olympics, from the first post-war austerity games in 1948, which provided a platform for reconciliation and reconstruction, to the present London games set to start in just a few weeks. This period also directly coincides with a hugely significant time in Jaguar’s History and in particular the iconic sports cars for which Jaguar is known. In 1948 less than one mile from the V&A, the legendary XK120 was unveiled at the London Motor Show at Earls Court. Earlier this year, Jaguar confirmed production of its next two-seater roadster, the F-type – the latest in a long bloodline of exciting sports cars from the British marque.
In response to the exhibition, Ian Callum, Director of Design, Jaguar, commented: “It’s so stimulating to be surrounded by such brilliant, yet such diverse, British design. And it’s a reminder of what a rich heritage our rain swept little island has.”
Ian Callum then went on to add: “In the midst of this exhibition dedicated to brilliant British design of the past and present, we are very pleased to be celebrating Jaguar’s role. But, just as important, we want to anticipate and celebrate the future, and an upcoming generation of great Jaguar sports cars. The C, D and E-type Jaguars sum up truly great automotive design, and so in creating our next new sports car, the F-type, I have been acutely aware of these dramatic and beautiful entities.”


text:
Popular musician , Ex-Q’s hit single, Wakatemba featuring Tocky Vibes has been pulled down from YouTube allegedly over a copyright violation claim by the Zimdancehall star.
According to reports, the measure was taken by Tocky Vibes’s management after Ex-Q, backtracked on an agreement.
A notice on YouTube reads, “This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Tocky Vibes.”
The collaboration was released in 2020. The song’s visuals had garnered over 1.2 million YouTube views and the audio grand 1.7 million views.

domain: news


text:
Intermediaries and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) have rejected reports by the Consumers Association (CA) that avenues of complaint for mis-sold endowment mortgage products are insufficient.
The CA and Which? magazine said it had only found one in six consumers with an endowment mortgage who felt the FSA was doing enough to tackle their problems.
Sheila McKechnie, director for the Consumers’ Association, said: ‘The FSA has committed the worst crime of all, it is guilty of complacency and arrogance. It has clearly failed to listen, understand and communicate people’s rights to compensation. As a result, millions of consumers will be badly let down on this issue. The FSA can no longer afford sit on its hands over the issue of endowment mis-selling. It must take effective action now to enable victims of mis-selling to get more information and claim compensation.’
But intermediaries have questioned the amount of mis-selling involved and suggested falling markets may be behind the rash of complaints that have been seen.
Jim Gillespie, director for adviser Independent Financial Services, felt that nine out of 10 times products had been sold properly and the implications of the product and costs involved explained.
He said: ‘You have to take the rough with the smooth and that is explained to people when they take out the products.’
A spokeswoman for the FSA rejected the claim that consumers had no access to vehicles of complaint. She said when policy re-projection letters began to be sent out in April this year the FSA’s factsheet on making complaints was included.
She said 23 firms were actively compensating consumers and although it was unfair to say the market had played host to blanket mis-selling.


text:
Amazon’s surprise hardware reveal.
Connor James Ibbetson, Editor-at-large
All new hardware will be coming to Amazon’s Smart home range
On Thursday Amazon hosted its annual hardware reveal, featuring a host of new smart devices to make your home a smart home.
The show featured updates and second generations of the Echo dot of course, as well as the Echo show smart screen.
The line up included new smart speakers, new security devices, and even a microwave all linked to your Alexa-based home set up.
All new Echo Dot and Echo Plus
One of the main features of the show was the new Echo Dot and Echo Plus, the most popular products in the Echo range.
The new Echo Dot now features a 1.6-inch driver, and is apparently 70 percent louder than its predecessor, according to Amazon.
The updated smart speakers come with a new design and new fabric cover, with the smaller looking similar to the Google Home Mini.
The Echo Plus now also features a temperature sensor that allows you to ask Alexa what the temperature of the room is, and coordinate events to temperature changes.
Amazon also demoed offline local functionality of the new Echo Plus, which can still control basic local systems such as smart lights, without an internet connection.
The Echo Input
A new pebble-sized incarnation of the Echo Dot, this time minus the speaker.
The idea behind the Echo Input is that you can use it to add Alexa functionality to an existing stereo system.
The tiny device is just 12.5mm tall and could be tucked anywhere out-of-sight, using its far reaching microphone to add smart home functions to your speaker set up.
Second Generation Echo Show.
Amazon’s smart display has had its first rejuvenation, now boasting a ten-inch screen and better sound.
Like the Echo Plus, the Echo Show now also has the ability to act as the central hub for an Echo-based smart home system.
Skype is also coming to Echo, with Amazon announcing the Echo Show to make video calls directly.
The Echo Sub.
A new addition to the Echo speaker family, the Echo Sub does exactly what you think. It pairs with your existing Echo system to add increased bass – something the speakers like the Echo and Echo Dot tend to lack
The Echo Sub should be retailing for around £129.99 and preorders are starting soon.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Part of the new range of Alexa compatible devices that Amazon showed off included a microwave oven.
Thanks to Amazon’s new Alexa Connect Kit, many appliances can be converted to smart-enabled devices and controlled via an Alexa enabled Echo system.
According to Amazon the kit “includes a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE module that contains software — written and managed by Amazon — that automatically and securely connects to Amazon-managed cloud services.”
The kit doesn’t include a microphone, so don’t shout at your microwave. The microphone functionality comes from the Echo system.
The Echo Wall Clock
Another home device Amazon flashed was the new Echo wall clock, which connects via bluetooth to Echo devices, just like the microwave, to let you set timers and alarms.
Amazon can now not only make your home smart, but protect it as well.
Alexa Guard can be set to record and send unusual noises to you when you are away that might mean something is amiss at home – like the sound of breaking glass.
Using machine learning, Alexa is also able to turn your smart lights on and off in a pattern that replicates someone being home.
Multi-room audio with the Echo Link
Despite being partners with SONOS, Amazon have introduced a new addition to the Echo range that allows you to build an integrated multi room stereo system.
The new Echo Link can “connect to a receiver or amplifier, with multiple digital and analog inputs and outputs for compatibility with your existing stereo equipment.”
The Smart Plug
Does what it says on the tin – the smart plug allows Alexa to control anything connected to a wall power supply through the smart plug.
Subscribe to the Blog
Join for the latest tech, design and industry news straight to your inbox.
Our UX team designs customer experiences and digital products that your users will love.


text:
PSA Peugeot Citroen has its backs to the wall, and empty pockets. After casting around for the usual suspects in China, PSA is back to their American Friends at GM. PSA is ready to hand over the keys and control to GM, as long as the General keeps PSA from dying. Says Reuters: (Read More…)
Posts By: Bertel Schmitt
With luck- and hapless Susan Docherty cleaning out her desk in Europe, GM needs someone else to lead Chevrolet in Europe. They found Thomas Sedran, who will take the helm at Chevrolet’s EU HQ in Zurich, Switzerland. Sedran will start in July, says Reuters, while Docherty will be leaving GM in September. (Read More…)
Volkswagen’s R&D chief Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg is cautiously optimistic about the use of carbon fiber technologies in volume cars. Said Hackenberg today in Wolfsburg: (Read More…)
Volkswagen plans to use the 0.8 liter diesel hybrid drivetrain from its futuristic, ultra-efficient and ultra-expensive (no pricing announced) XL1 two-seater in a future regular small car, Volkswagen’s R&D Chief Ulrich Hackenberg said today in an interview in Wolfsburg’s Autostadt. Said Hackenberg: (Read More…)
“It is good for the future of diesel in the USA that a domestic producer also uses a diesel engine,” said Volkswagen’s R&D Chief Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg today. “If the volume of diesel engines is increasing, then it makes sense to produce diesel engines in the U.S.A. That would be great for us and the customer,” Hackenberg said. (Read More…)
This is day one of the Wolfsburg tour, where your BS returns to the scene of his former crimes. I came in on a 12 hours JAL flight from Tokyo. I was picked at Hannover Airport by an Iranian driver with a black Multivan. Imagine, this is the place where I was running through the parking garage in the olden days, looking for a Phaeton with the keys hidden in the exhaust pipe.
Johnny Lieberman of Motor Trend however … (Read More…)
Last week, I had a few very interesting discussions with a few very famous people, and I should not keep them to myself. The discussions were about one of my pet peeves, the supposedly closed Japanese car market, and the allegedly manipulated Japanese currency. Some very knowledgeable people I talked to were convinced it’s true. Other very knowledgeable folks said it’s utter baloney. In a rare display of balanced reporting, I will bring you both. And as they say, we purport, you decide.
Good news for a certain vociferous segment of TTAC’s readership: This coming week, you will read very little BS. On Sunday night, I will be on a flight from Tokyo to Hannover, graciously laid on by Vokswagen, and I will spend the better part of the week in Wolfsburg and Berlin, to hear the latest on MQB, to drive the Golf GTD, the Volkswagen XL-1 super saver, and to enjoy Volkswagen’s hospitality, which has come a long way since the days when hospitality consisted of slices of cold cuts between soggy buns, served on a piece of grey cardboard. (Read More…)
J.D. Power published its 2013 Initial Quality Study IQS, and a miracle happened: Chevrolet jumped 10 spots to number 5. The GMC brand even sits in #2. In the real world, that puts GMC and Chevrolet in Place 2, along with Lexus and Infiniti.
Susan Docherty, a life-long career woman at GM, suddenly wants to stay at home with her husband and 13 year old son, or so GM wants us to believe. According to Selim Bingol’s troops, Docherty “announced her intention to leave General Motors to spend time with her family, effective September 30.” Docherty is 49, that’s no retirement age.
Three years ago, Ed Niedermeyer and TTAC was “looking forward to her departure from General Motors.” Now his wish is fulfilled. In the tradition of Farago’s death watches, things always take a little longer than expected at GM, but eventually, they happen. Usually, they happen too late. (Read More…)
As we all know, the European car market is in bad shape. France, one of Europe’s volume markets, is especially hard hit. The month of May was no exception. The French market was down 10.3 percent. Red ink and nose blood was running just about everywhere. Everywhere except Fiat. Fiat, the Italian patient, looks amazingly alive in France. Their passenger vehicle sales were up a whopping 12.3 percent in May and 6 percent for the first five months. In a market that tanks, just staying afloat would be a big deal. Double digit is huge. It was, until the scrappy auto site 7pm-auto.fr started digging. They found that the growth was made by dealers buying their own cars. (Read More…)
Now that Better Place went belly-up, Tesla joined the battery-swapping lifestyle. As promised, Tesla unveiled a system to swap battery packs in its electric cars. According to Reuters, Tesla “will roll out the battery-swapping stations later this year, beginning along the heavily-traveled route between Los Angeles and San Francisco and then in the Washington-to-Boston corridor.” (Read More…)


text:
Surfing for the latest info about Apple.com?. We posted it for you.
Keynote introducing iPhone 5S, 5C now playing on Apple.com, Apple TV
10 September 2013 | 10:28 pm The video of this morning's Cupertino presentation of the iPhone 5s and 5c has been made available, along with the videos shown within the presentation, on Apple's website and through Apple TV. The 85 minute talk showcases the new Stanford Apple Store, the introduction of iOS 7, making the iOS iLife and iWork apps free with new purchases, the debut of the iPhone 5c and high-end 5s, an overview … http://electronista.feedsportal.com/c/34342/f/625515/s/311068a5/sc/15/l/0L0Smacnn0N0Carticles0C130C0A90C10A0Cpresentation0Bcovers0Bupdates0Bios0B70Biphones0Biwork0Band0Bilife0Bin0B850Bminutes0C/story01.htm
10 September 2013 | 11:45 am CAMBERLEY, England, September 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Download "Candy Madness" on the App Stores Today: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/candy-madness/id701940897?mt=8&uo=4 Also on Google Play: … http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/candy-madness-114500811.html
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 'White Walls' Video Drops As Latest Single From 'The Heist'
9 September 2013 | 7:20 pm Macklemore & Ryan Lewis released the new music video to their single "White Walls" on Monday. The visuals to the duo's latest track off of their hit 2012 album "The Heist" show Cadillac cars, footage of Macklemore at a pool party with older women, and a few gratuitous makeout scenes. The music video was shot in Macklemore's hometown of Seattle , with the duo performing on the roof of a famed … http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/09/macklemore-ryan-lewis-white-walls-video-the-heist_n_3893825.html?utm_hp_ref=uk&ir=UK
Apple's Touch ID Is A 500ppi Fingerprint Sensor Built Into The …
10 September 2013 | 5:59 pm Remember those persistent rumors of a fingerprint sensor that would be baked into the iPhone 5S? Well, it's not a rumor any longer — Apple has just conf.. http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/10/apples-touch-id-a-500ppi-fingerprint-sensor-built-into-iphone-5s-home-button/
Have Apple Questions? Ask Them Here – NYTimes.com
10 September 2013 | 5:57 pm The New York Times wants to answer your questions about Apple's newest product announcements. Read more http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/10/have-apple-questions-ask-them-here/
WATCH Apple Announce iPhone 5S 5C Keynote LIVE COVERAGE …
10 September 2013 | 3:54 pm Apple, Inc., is expected to announce a new string of products this afternoon, including the iPhone 5C and 5S. The 5C is expected to be a cheaper version of the smartphone available in multiple colors, alongside the 5S, which … http://www.mediaite.com/online/live-coverage-apple-announces-iphone-5c-and-5s-at-keynote-event/


text:
Big changes are afoot for British carmaker Aston Martin. On Friday, the automaker announced a $240 million investment from Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, and his consortium will now own 16.7% of the company.
As a result, Aston is reshuffling its priorities. With the investment and incoming leadership changes, it will pause all further investments into electric vehicles. The freeze on all associated EV investments, which includes the, will be in place "beyond 2025," according to the company.
This will free up cash to pour into its current vehicles, which are more likely to return a profit. EVs are an expensive segment to compete in at the moment and for Aston Martin, which has struggled recently financially, it's likely the smartest move to ensure survival.
The automaker declined to comment further beyond the announcement surrounding its recalculated electric car strategy.
The news puts recent events into perspective. Aston Martin previously said its upcomingwould feature an electric version, though the company canned plans years ago. The automaker also earlier this month, having been slated for limited production.
Now, the upcoming range of mid-engined sports cars will be the main focus. The will begin deliveries later this year, and its little brother, the , will launch in 2022. Beyond that, a reborn will arrive with a new V6 engine. Aston Martin will pour resources into the V6, which will support hybrid technologies, and affirmed all of its models will support a hybrid option by the middle of this decade.
In the grander picture, Stroll's investment paves the way for Aston Martin to make a proper return to Formula One. The company will operate a works team as Racing Point rebrands as the Aston Martin F1 team. Stroll, who made his fortune in fashion, rescued Racing Point from collapse and currently owns the team, where his son serves as a driver. The news will see Aston Martin pull its backing from Red Bull Racing after the 2020 season.


text:
FLORENCE, Italy — Massimiliano Giornetti is stepping down from his position as creative director of Salvatore Ferragamo. The Florence-based fashion house made the announcement late on Thursday, after the closure of the Milan Stock Exchange on which the company is publicly listed. Giornetti is expected to be replaced by the brand’s in-house design team.
Giornetti first joined Ferragamo in 2000, when he took over the design and development of the brand’s menswear before being appointed overall creative director of the house in 2011.
Earlier this month, Ferragamo reported a larger-than-expected 11 percent rise in core profit for 2015, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation reaching 324 million euros (almost $362 million), beating analysts' estimates of 314 million euros. However, despite growth being larger than expected, the brand expressed caution in its 2016 outlook. "The start of the year has not been particularly good," chief executive Michele Norsa told analysts, pointing to a double-digit drop in sales in Hong Kong.
Updated 11:00pm GMT on 24 March, 2016:
Massimiliano Giornetti resigned from Salvatore Ferragamo for what a statement provided by a spokesperson for the designer refers to as "just cause." The complete statement reads:
On March 1st, 2016 Massimiliano Giornetti has resigned as creative director of Salvatore Ferragamo for just cause. Massimiliano Giornetti started working at Ferragamo in 2000, spending the last 6 years as the brand’s creative director. Under his creative leadership, Salvatore Ferragamo has seen constant growth in revenue and in the brand image. “I wish to thank still the Ferragamo family for the invaluable professional opportunity given to me in these years of mutual collaboration,” said Massimiliano Giornetti.


text:
Several small businesses operating in the taxi park in Nyarugenge District are crying foul after the authorities closed down their stalls and confiscated their merchandise.
However, Charles Vuguziga, the Nyarugenge District executive secretary, said the 25 traders were working from verandahs, which is illegal according to trade laws.
The official said operating from verandahs and street vending obstructs authorised trade, promotes sale of substandard products besides affecting city hygiene. Vuguziga said the affected traders were given notice to vacate the area, but ignored it.
He added that only traders that agree to relocate to gazetted city markets will access their impounded products.
He also advised affected businesses to sort out any other issues with the park administration.
However, Deus Gahiga, the park’s business manager, said the affected businesses were advised to relocate earlier to a different area identified by the management, but refused.
“City rules do not allow street vending. So, we identified another area for them but they have been adamant to relocate,” he said. The affected businesses were operating stalls and booths on verandahs of buildings around the park, he added.
He noted that the city action seeks to create order and reduce congestion in the area.
Jean Damascene Ngendahimana, one of the affected vendors, claimed they had paid rent of up to six months for the stands, saying closing them down and seizing their items could sink them into debt and poverty.
“We call on the park administration and district authorities to give us more time before we can relocate.”


text:
by Axios | Updated on 12.5.18
The Nebraska Farm Bureau said this week that the tariffs triggered by President Trump's ongoing trade war have cost the state's agricultural sector more than $1 billion in revenue, specifically affecting soybeans, corn and pork, the Omaha World-Herald reports.
"To put a $1.2 billion loss into perspective, every person in the state of Nebraska would need to contribute $632 to cover that volume of lost dollars. That’s a significant hit to our state’s economy."
Jay Rempe, a Nebraska Farm Bureau senior economist, to the Omaha World-Herald
Why it matters: The effects of Trump's trade war with China on farmers have been an ongoing story over the last few months, especially regarding issues with the soybean market. Farmers have been forced to store mass quantities of their crops until prices improve after demand in China, the biggest market for American soybeans, has dropped nearly 90%.
Written by Axios
Follow this Action Center to stay updated on new posts
Well...they overwhelmingly voted for him. Guess they need to start a healthy soy rich diet. Fortunately it will be cheap which is great because they’re broke.
China is a Kleptocracy. Theft and deception is institutionalized and incentivized. Without the theft of technology and manufacturing capacity from other nations, not to mention the hourly manipulation of their currency.... China would still be a Third World nation. Playing hardball with trade tariffs is the only way you’re going to get China to deal honestly.
I don't support a trade war. I do support trade reform with partners such as China, but only with fact-based evidence behind it. Trump's continual mantra about a trade deficit is misleading: a trade deficit is not inherently bad, and he rarely quotes the real numbers. If we're going to reform trade, then we should do it based on facts and policies that will work, not lies and exaggerations. I also think Trump's war against the WTO is pointless and destructive, and should be stopped. I think the intellectual property abuses that China engages in are bad for America, and I would support efforts to stop those. I don't think tariffs are the solution, but if that's the way to bring China to the table, then maybe they are a tool.
Trade war is not good and a no win. Here is what economist wrote and I agree A number of US-based firms have voiced concerns over supply chain disruptions from trade wars. Harley Davidson stated that it would be shifting production aimed at the EU market outside the US to avoid the additional tariff burden, exemplifying the unintended consequences of this approach.
Trade wars are easy to win. DJT Time to declare victory.
It may cost us now but in the long run it will benefit our country.
You voted for moron. You still support moron so deal with it!
So farmers like being F’ed up the ass by other countries! I sure do not it is bad enough when you go to any stores and read the country were thing are made China is the top and I am sure getting tired of that. We need to expand and pull away from China trash and start opening new doors.
Why should the country pay for 45 having an uninformed tantrum?
Hurting the American people with these trade wars. He doesn’t know what he is doing
I would like to say I feel badly, NOT. You are the ones who voted for him so don’t cry to to us how bad it is. You made your bed know you lay in it. I don’t care if they loose their shirts. They still support the idiot. No empathy here. He’s your pile of shit! Live with it
You vote for a jackass, you get what you deserve. Sadly the rest of us have to get what you deserve as well.
While we should be as self-sustaining as possible we shouldn’t let a good thing go to waste. China wants our soybeans and we want their cheap labor for making textiles and electronics. While I would prefer that China treats their workers better it only hurts us to tariff their goods because they’ll just tariff us back! Tariffs are de facto taxes for both US citizens and Chinese citizens and these trade wars must stop now.
More winning! for the MAGAts. Better start finding a way to blame democrats, or they may catch on that republicans are screwing them. Again.
Because there is something wrong with a country who send all its good to other countries and imports all the food we eat. We need to be self sufficient. Grow our own food. Eat our own food. When the SHTF, we better be able to take care of ourselves. All the gold, Security, confidence, will mean Nothing then.
We have been lacking in the trade war. It is about time someone stood up for us.
Give Our President a Chance to make this work. You Let Obama hurt Our country without any action, and very little complaint. President Trump was duly elected. Make the best of His Presidency.
Yes they should continue the trade war until all the idiots that voted for tromp realize what they did.
I'm against trumps trade war it's hurting farmers and stores
Absolutely. Keep on the pressure!


text:
Man appears in court over break-in at Tesco in Camelon
Police have confirmed a 30-year-old man was remanded in custody after appearing at Hamilton Sheriff Court on August 13 following the theft of a quantity of cash from the Glasgow Road store on August 6.
On the same day, Tesco stores in Falkirk’s Central Retail Park and in Bathgate were also targeted and had money stolen, with all three supermarkets broken into between 12.15am and 2am.
No other arrests have yet been made but officers’ investigations remain ongoing.
Sergeant Andy Angus, of Falkirk Police Station, said: “Extensive inquiries are continuing to identify others responsible.”


text:
FRIDAY RAVE 2 – No joke, the WEF want you to eat bugs
Updated: Sep 29
Are those who support the World Economic Forum (WEF) man made climate change catastrophe hoax also going to follow the WEF’s push, to help save the World, by eating bugs, just like Nicole Kidman?
With his WEF zero emissions climate change agenda, I imagine globalist Labor Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese and former globalist Liberal Prime Ministers, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison, will enjoy their plate of bugs tonight. Possibly chocolate-coated scorpions, using a recipe given to them from the WEF’s founder and executive chairman, Klaus Schwab.
Clarissa Bye from the daily Telegraph wrote
“Speaking of creepy. The woke and thoroughly Marxist World Economic Forum (WEF) guys with their much-ridiculed comic villain boss Klaus Schwab have also escalated their edible insect propaganda, telling us we need to try chocolate-coated scorpions.
The Geneva-based lobbying organisation’s latest pro-bug talking points tell us we need to eat insects because they have a smaller carbon footprint as they need much less land, water and resources than regular farms”.
The second argument from the WEF is that the world is “running out of protein”. With an estimated 10 billion worldwide population by 2050, they claim “the demand for protein will exceed our ability to procure it”.”
If eating bugs doesn’t make you want to vomit, surely another globalist Marxist fear campaign “the demand for protein will exceed our ability to procure it” must almost bring your food up.
Hopefully more and more Australians will get the picture that they must ignore the fear campaigns and resist the political agenda of the globalist elite WEF. Lobbying politicians and boycotting businesses that want to push us down the globalist path, is a good course of action.
What we are seeing being played out can be traced back to the globalist elite 1968 Club of Rome, to which the recently deceased Mikhail Gorbachev (last leader of the Soviet Union) and former US President George Bush senior were members. The Club of Rome had 4 key focus areas– global warming to be used as a tool towards achieving global governance, open borders, depopulation and reduce meat consumption. Do you still think it’s all just a conspiracy theory, the globalist elite agenda of one world government?
Edible insect industry in food chain poses unacceptable health risks writes Clarissa Bye
Nicole Kidman might enjoy eating a bowl of live bugs but there’s no way I’m going to eat any, writes Clarissa Bye.
They’re selling the bugs at Dan Murphy’s now. The bugs that the World Economic Forum is trying to foist on us.
It’s not a conspiracy theory.
The liquor outlet sells Cricket Corn Chips for $50 for a box of 10.
The party chips contain “cricket flour” — mashed up crickets pounded into flour and baked in with other ingredients. Apparently, you can’t tell the difference.
Over in Sydney’s trendy eastern suburbs, glamorous personal trainer duo Suji Yoo and Alessandro Ranieri offer a “cricket patties” ragu meal option in their fancy health food deliveries.
There’s now at least 14 active edible insect farms across Australia.
Actor Nicole Kidman recently released a surreal video of herself eating live insects.
It was repulsive.
She used chopsticks to scoop up the wiggling hornworms, mealworms, crickets and “exquisite” grasshoppers and theatrically swallowed and giggled and made sounds more appropriate for a bedroom.
Then told us the creatures were “still alive”, “very moist” and “chewy” with the flavour of a “hairy nut”.
It was part of a Vanity Fair interview, with no other explanation — was it a sponsorship? A new product launch? Who knows.
What is clear is the concerted worldwide effort to get us to eat these creepy-crawlies. And there’s going to be big money in it.
But no one is talking about the potential pathogenic health hazards.
Speaking of creepy. The woke and thoroughly Marxist World Economic Forum (WEF) guys with their much-ridiculed comic villain boss Klaus Schwab have also escalated their edible insect propaganda, telling us we need to try chocolate-coated scorpions.
The Geneva-based lobbying organisation’s latest pro-bug talking points tell us we need to eat insects because they have a smaller carbon footprint as they need much less land, water and resources than regular farms.
Oh yes, your bug farms are tiny and compact — so dainty to be squashing a million squillion little squirming creatures in there. That’s so wonderful, I think I’ll eat them now.
Can you imagine doing the sums in your head at the Woolies fridge door about bug density per hectare just like we do with hen eggs?
The second argument from the WEF is that the world is “running out of protein”. With an estimated 10 billion worldwide population by 2050, they claim “the demand for protein will exceed our ability to procure it”.
To that I say go join those other 1970s population bomb experts who bombed out with their stats. Agricultural innovations have come up with marvellous solutions to creating enough quality food.
The WEF made the claim that “insects are part of a virtuous eco-cycle”.
Virtuous? Those buzzing, annoying biting creatures that give us rashes, skin blotches and itchy bites?
Anything dressed up as “eco” these days is given this moral label and it’s laughable.
Last year, the CSIRO put together a “road map” full of bureaucratic talking points about how Australia can catch a slice of this buzzing, multi-billion dollar global industry.
“We have only finite land and water resources and climate change, environmentally harmful practises and emerging diseases threaten supply chains,” it stated. “One way to deal with this is to turn to our insect friends.”
Yes, like eating a bowl of bugs will change the weather.
And in a hint of what’s to come with their marketing plans, they also trotted out how we can leverage our “First Nations” history of traditional fare like Witchetty grubs and bogong moths and will need to “recognise traditional ownership of culturally-eaten insect species”.
The CSIRO has previously acknowledged “most people are a bit hesitant to put a full or whole insect in their mouths”. But, as its entomologist Dr Bryan Lessard helpfully explained, “when you turn them into powders and use them to enrich foods like muffins and pastas, they’re much more willing to eat them.”.
That’s the clue.
Giant industrial food companies who are already so good at creating pretend meat and other ultra processed industrial foods will be able to incorporate them easily into their supermarket products.
Nobody will be any the wiser.
The argument goes that humans have eaten bugs around the world for thousands of years. But a few insects here and there are not the same as the refined and concentrated flours being planned for our food systems.
People are pushing back. There’s a move on social media to collect all the medical research that’s already out there and provide links to the studies.
One 2019 study looking at mealworm, cockroach and cricket farms in Central Europe found that edible insects are often infected by pathogens.
Parasites were detected in 81 per cent of edible bugs and 30 per cent of these were potentially harmful to humans.
My lime spider milkshake could come with a side of cryptosporidium.
Even the NSW Food Authority cautions that eating insects “could pose a risk of microbiological and/or chemical contamination and cause an allergic reaction”.
“Insects may contain pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses or fungi,” it states. Heat treatment will kill these but cooking bugs can’t eradicate heavy metals, mycotoxins and pesticides.
I’m breaking out in hives just thinking of it.
Buzz off to all those flea-in-the-ear organisations who want to change our food systems. The health risks, apart from anything else, are just unacceptable.
I’ll be reading those food labels very carefully in the years to come — and avoiding chocolate scorpions.
Senior Reporter of the Daily Telegraph


text:
In the midst of protests against racial inequality, there are a lot of changes going on. Statues of Confederate leaders are being taken down. Films are being removed from streaming services. Some products like Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben’s are getting name changes as well. This is due to the insensitive nature of the name origin.
Recently, a UK-based streaming service called Sky has decided to place ‘outdated attitude’ warnings on their films. This warns the viewer that they may be viewing insensitive content before watching.
‘Outdated attitudes’ warnings on several beloved and timeless films
“This film has outdated attitudes, language and cultural depictions which may cause offence today.” This is a sample of the warning that viewers could come across for some films. This includes The Jungle Book, Aladdin, and more. Even the recent 2019 live-action Aladdin has a warning featured in the description.
“Sky is committed to supporting anti-racism and improving diversity and inclusion both on and off screen,” a spokesperson from Sky tells Variety. “We constantly review all content on Sky’s owned channels and will take action where necessary including adding additional information for our customer to allow them to make an informed decision when deciding what films and TV shows to watch.”
We could see many more streaming services follow suit
The streaming service Disney+ has already done this on a slew of their films as well. With the change of pace that many streaming services are taking, could we potentially see this happen with Hulu or Netflix? HBO Max started the trend with removing the classic film Gone With the Wind from their service. Hulu and Netflix are the two top streaming platforms. As a result, we could very well see this trend continue in the near future.
The Sky streaming platform has committed 10 million British pounds ($12 million) in support of anti-racism and inclusion efforts in their company.


text:
Brits, Dominicans fight illicit liquors, cigarettes jointly
London.- The Intellectual Property Office of the United Kingdom and the Scotch Whiskey Association are willing to help Dominican authorities fight the smuggling of alcohol and cigarettes in the country.
Representatives of both institutions, Bill Russel and Adam Bowie respectively, met Mon. as part of the annual Dominican Week in the UK, with Dominican liquor and cigarette sector representatives as well as with directors of the British Chamber of Commerce (BRITCHAM) ), where the latter expressed concern with the growing illegal trade in those products in the Caribbean country.
It was learned that smuggling accounts for 65% of illegal trade,15% to incomplete declaration and 12% to counterfeit products in the Dominican Republic, which leads to over US$260.0 million in lost revenue per year .
British Chamber of Commerce president Leonel Melo and Dominican Wines and Spirits Importers Association director Manuel Cabral said they’ll bring the authorities of the two countries closer together to work on the issue.
“The public-private partnership is key to combating this problem and the government of the United Kingdom can share the best practices with the Dominican government on how they have worked in other markets and have fought against unregulated production and the illegal trade of liquors and cigarettes,” Melo said after the meeting


text:
You might not have known it, but BlackBerry’s instant-messaging service, BlackBerry Messenger, was down in many parts of the world over the weekend. The effects were perhaps felt most keenly in Indonesia, BlackBerry’s biggest market outside the US and Britain. The company apologized, but not before Tifatul Sembiring, Indonesia’s minister of communications, weighed in. “Mr. Sembiring said he is disappointed that the company did not notify its users sooner about the setback, and he added that BlackBerry sales have decreased by 70% in Indonesia,” reported TechinAsia, a blog, citing an article in an Indonesian-language newspaper.
That’s a pretty staggering claim, which neither TechinAsia nor Quartz could confirm. Other news reports from Indonesia however show that the ailing smartphone maker is indeed losing its shine in the one market it could count on.
Though BlackBerry accounted for a little under half of all smartphones sold in Indonesia last year—making it the clear leader in terms of devices—Android had already overtaken it as the most popular smartphone operating system by the second quarter of the year, and had nearly two-thirds of the market by the end of the third quarter. Samsung said it accounted for 80% of those devices. Now other manufacturers, like HTC, want a piece of the action. And with four out of five Indonesians still using feature phones, there is a lot to play for.
BlackBerry’s new Z10 phone was to be its great savior. Analysts at Macquarie Equity Research forecast sales of 100,000 units in the first six months after the phone’s launch in the middle of March. But with Indonesians expected to buy a total of about 8.5 million smartphones this year, in a smartphone market that is growing at 15% a year, 100,000 units is a drop in the ocean. Indeed, Blackberry is redoubling its efforts with the launch this afternoon of a new range of mid-market phones.
Moreover, one of the biggest advantages of having a BlackBerry used to be its free messaging service—the one that was offline this weekend. But the rise of other free messaging apps and the sheer number of such apps pouring into Indonesia means that BlackBerry Messenger is no longer essential. Today, in a last ditch attempt at keeping its messaging service relevant, BlackBerry announced it would offer it as an app, free, on Android and iOS.
So where does that leave BlackBerry in Indonesia? One hint may come from Batam, an Indonesian free-trade zone, near Singapore, which is popular with shoppers looking for a bargain. According to the Jakarta Post, prices for the Z10 at Lucky Plaza, the island’s biggest electronics mall, have been consistently dropping by at least 20,000 rupiah ($2) a day. Indeed, unhappy customers have been bringing the phone back.


text:
Small businesses in Le Sueur County may apply for its recovery fund program meant to assist businesses adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and they will have less than two weeks to apply.
Grants up to $10,000 are offered to small businesses in the county that have a physical location in Le Sueur County. The application period opens Monday, Sept. 14 and closes Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 12 p.m. Business owners may use the funds for expenses such as payroll, rent or mortgage payments, utilities and payments to suppliers.
Le Sueur County’s Board of Commissioners is offering the recovery fund program. The board urges eligible businesses to apply for these state funds.
To be eligible, a small business must demonstrate its operations have been directly and adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the State of Minnesota Executive Orders.


text:
Apple Car: a former employee faces 10 years in prison and a fine of 250,000 euros for industrial espionage
Xiaolang Zhang, a former Apple employee who worked on the firm’s electric car, pleaded guilty to industrial espionage on Monday, August 22. The latter stole several confidential documents in order to deliver them to a Chinese competitor. He now faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 250,000 euros.
The Apple Car is the worst-kept open secret in the industry today. If the Cupertino company has still not officially confirmed the existence of its first 100% autonomous electric car, the numerous reports and leaks concerning it leave little room for doubt. While some employees reveal this confidential information directly to leakers, others try to resell it to competitors instead.
This is what Xiaolang Zhang’s plan was probably before he was arrested. In 2018, this former Google employee took paternity leave, which he took advantage of to travel to China. Upon his return, the suspicions already present against him are reinforced by his sudden decision to resign. He then explained to his superiors that he intended to work for Xmotors, a major company in China in the electric automobile sector.
Related: Apple Car Won’t Have Windows, But Will Be Equipped With VR Headsets
He is arrested before transmitting confidential documents from Apple to the competition
Apple decides to investigate, and then discovers that Xiaolang Zhang took advantage of his privileged access to the project’s database to download a 25-page document detailing the diagrams of the internal circuits of the Apple Car. Security cameras also filmed him recovering prototype hardware and a Linux server. Xiaolang Zhang was arrested by police in July 2018 at San José airport as he was flying to China.
This Monday, August 22, the former Apple employee pleaded guilty to industrial espionage in court in San José. He now faces a 10-year prison sentence and a fine of around 250,000 euros. The verdict of justice will be rendered next November. A new proof if needed, that Apple does not take leaks of confidential information lightly.


text:
Yoox-Net-A-Porter appoints new general manager for Japan
Yoox-Net-A-Porter has appointed Philippe Larrieu as regional general manager for Japan.
Larrieu has joined the online luxury fashion retailer from Clarins where he was president and representative director for the country. He began his career in the Asia Pacific region 30 years ago and subsequently held management roles at a number of household names, including Chanel and L’Oréal.
Yoox-Net-A-Porter said Larrieu’s 15 years’ experience of working in Japan gives him deep knowledge of the local customer, trends and culture which will be key to driving its localised approach.
In his new position, he will oversee the business operations for Net-A-Porter, Mr Porter, The Outnet and Yoox in Japan whilst reporting to chief regional officer, Paolo Mascio.
Mascio said: “His extensive experience in luxury and fashion retail management, marketing and ecommerce in the region will bring great value to Yoox-Net-Porter. We look forward to seeing Philippe play a key role in driving growth and value creation in the market.”


text:
Pharmacies arm users with safety
Australian pharmacies have started selling pill testing kits over the counter.
In the wake of recent deaths and overdoses at music festivals, the Choice Pharmacy chain in in Western Sydney, Darwin and Vincentia is now offering kits that let users test the strength and potential contaminants of their drugs.
The kits have previously only been sold online or through tobacconists.
Hasan Moutasallem, general manager of the Choice Pharmacy chain, said people who are going to use the pills should do it safely.
“In terms of this pill test, it's just kind of an added safety thing,” he told the ABC.
“If they are going to take the drug, there is a service available to test it.
“So we are not condoning the use of drugs or anything, just saying there is a service to test it.”
The kits work like a pool PH tester – changing colour upon contact with drug samples.
“Depending on the kit it will give you a colour, and if it's the colour representing what you are testing then you know that's what's inside the pill. If it's not, then you know, okay, this is what it's meant to be, but it's not showing the correct colour,” he said.
The Australian Medical Association has urged caution, suggesting drug users should not be left to test their own supplies.
The NSW Government remains opposed to any pill testing.
Some of questioned the legality of selling the kits over the counter, given that the Drugs Use and Traffic Act deems it an offence to be in the possession of equipment for the use and administration of an illegal drug.
Legal experts say the sale of pill testing kits could be considered illegal under a particularly wide interpretation of the law.


text:
Covid-19 Loan: Nirsal Set New Date for Disbursement See Details
The Federal Government through the Nirsal microfinance bank (NMFB) has announced the disbursement date for SME and Household Loan for all the applicants that applied from March to April 2021.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has made a Disbursement of 300 billion nairas to Nirsal Microfinance Bank for payment of remaining applicants of 2020 and 2021 new applicants on Targeted Credit Facility (TCF) as a stimulus package to support households and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
The disbursement date has been announced.
NMFB Disbursement date will commence from August – September 2021.
The Nirmal Microfinance Bank (NMFB) Loan amount to Household is 100,000.00 to 500,000.00 naira, and the Loan amount for SME will be from 1,000,000.00 to 3,000,000.00 naira.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently announced the addition of NGN 50 billion (USD 120 million) to its Targeted Credit Facility, a stimulus program for micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) as well as households affected by the pandemic.
The funding will be disbursed through NIRSAL Microfinance Bank, which is minority-owned by CBN’s Nigerian Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL). Each retail loan will carry an annual interest rate of 9 percent, with a term of up to one year.
The maximum loan size is NGN 25 million (USD 61,000) for MSMEs and NGN 3 million (USD 7,300) for households. The government previously allocated NGN 2.3 trillion (USD 6 billion) to pandemic relief efforts, including microfinance and other programs.
NIRSAL Microfinance Bank was launched in 2019 and has lent NGN 309 billion (USD 811 million) to 540,000 household and business customers as of 2021. Its products include a savings account that requires NGN 1,000 (USD 2.60) to open and a loan program for agriculture that charges 5 percent per year and offers loan sizes up to NGN 10 million (USD 26,000).
The Central Bank of Nigeria was established by law in 1958. Its mandates are as follows: “to issue legal tender currency; to maintain external reserves; to safeguard the international value of the legal tender currency; to promote monetary stability and a sound financial system in Nigeria; and to act as banker and financial adviser to the Federal Government.” As of December 2019, CBN reported total assets of NGN 302 billion (USD 79.4 billion).
NIRSAL Microfinance Bank -NMFB Shortlisted Candidate Loan Status from across the 36 States of the country and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory


text:
These varieties of onion were free for export till now.
“Rates have increased and there is shortage of onion in the domestic market. While this shortage is seasonal, a huge amount of exports were done in the last few months during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said an official aware of the development.
India exported $198 million of onions in the April-June period of FY21 and $440 million in the entire 2019-20.
Bangladesh, Malaysia, UAE and Sri Lanka are the top importers of Indian onions.
India had last year banned the exports of the key kitchen staple in the wake of its rising prices in the country and set the minimum export price (MEP) of onion at $850 a tonne to curb its shipments and help bring down soaring prices in the domestic market due to floods in parts of major growing states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. The MEP was lifted in March this year and onions were made free for export.
Read More News on
Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
4 Comments on this Story
Mohan Tvm210 days ago
The Big Thief from Maharashtra has his finger in every pie and has been known to make a neat margin for himself in every commodity trade deal. During the last Jharkhand election the prices of onion soared. During the 2015 Bihar election campaign, in october, the prices of pulses and dal increased 3 times the normal value. The price wars has been started as a step towards the Bihar election campaign. If the prices increase again then the central government must import onion.
Govt has increased the petrol price as a proactive measure considering the sino-indian standoff in mind. But price of essential commodities is an issue in any election
Sreenivasa Rao211 days ago
The government would do well to assess the export potential and suitably advise the growers or make sure the required quantity is available for export so that the importing countries can trust us to honour our commitments. Otherwise, they will look elsewhere and if it clicks may ignore us.
Dinesh Jain211 days ago
The person who exports any item while they are aware that the same item is consumed in his country also and is in short supply which would result in its price rising to very high level in his own country, should be announced a traitor or anti national and be punished accordingly.
ETPrime stories of the day
8 mins read
13 mins read
9 mins read


text:
PARIS (Reuters) - French group L‘Oreal (OREP.PA) is to spend about 500 million euros ($669 million), or a third of its cash, buying back shares, it said when reporting quarterly like-for-like sales growth accelerated to 5.3 percent.
The world’s biggest cosmetics group spent about 500 million euros last year buying back shares after a break since 2008, signaling it was not looking at a large acquisition.
Several analysts had expected L‘Oreal to buy back more shares. UBS said on Monday the size of the program was “unlikely to excite the markets”.
L‘Oreal had 1.575 billion euros net cash at the end of 2012, up from 504 million a year earlier, after dividend payments and settling the acquisitions of Urban Decay make-up and Cadum soap.
It also posted a full-year operating profit of 3.7 billion euros, against a forecast for 3.66 billion in a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S poll. Full-year revenue of 22.5 billion euros, compared with a forecast for 22.3 billion. Its operating margin rose to 16.5 percent from 16.2 percent in 2011.
“The results are quite good and margins have improved but not in the luxury division,” a Paris-based analyst said, declining to be named.
The maker of Lancome creams and Garnier shampoo said turnover in the three months to December was helped by strong demand in North America and solid growth in the Asia-Pacific region.
It did not give a specific forecast for 2013 other than it aimed to outperform the market and increase profit and sales.
L‘Oreal’s fourth-quarter sales compared with 4.6 percent in the prior quarter, 5.7 percent in the second quarter and 6.4 percent in the first.
The results pointed to a continued slowdown at its luxury arm which makes Kiehl’s and Biotherm creams.
The luxury unit saw revenue growth slow to 6.2 percent from 6.6 percent in the third quarter, 8.7 percent in the second and 12.2 percent in the first quarter.
Last week, U.S. rival Estee Lauder (EL.N) raised its full-year profit forecast on the back of expectations that strong demand at home and in China would help make up for weaker markets in southern Europe and South Korea.
L‘Oreal raised its dividend 15 percent to 2.30 euros.
It said it also planned to renew the board membership of Françoise Bettencourt Meyers - daughter of L‘Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt - and propose the appointment of Virginie Morgon, chief investment officer at investment firm Eurazeo (EURA.PA).
Reporting by Astrid Wendlandt; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford and Dan Lalor


text:
Securing the Nation’s Rice Supply
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Department of Agriculture (DA) sought to allay public concerns by assuring the ample and affordable supply of rice in the market. This reassurance comes as the country nears the completion of the wet season harvest, marking a pivotal moment in addressing rice availability.
Strong Harvest Figures and Affordable Prices
According to Arnel de Mesa, Assistant Secretary and Spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, approximately 90 percent of palay nationwide has been harvested, acquired at a competitive PHP22.00 per kilogram. The current market rate for the harvested volume ranges from PHP23 to PHP25 per kilo at the farmgate.
However, he acknowledged a potential price adjustment due to the limited harvestable areas remaining from the current wet season.
Market Prices and Yield Expectations
De Mesa highlighted the prevailing market prices, indicating an average retail price of PHP42.80 per kilo for regular well-milled rice and PHP45 per kilo for the well-milled variant.
Anticipating a total yield of 3.063 million metric tons (MMT) for November and December, he expressed optimism about the harvest season, affirming that Filipino rice farmers are experiencing a favorable year based on data from the Philippine Rice Information System.
“Be RICEponsible” Campaign and National Rice Awareness Month
Earlier this month, the Department of Agriculture launched the “Be RICEponsible” campaign, coinciding with National Rice Awareness Month. This long-term initiative, scheduled to run until 2028, aims to educate the public on the intricacies of rice production and emphasizes the significance of every grain.
Effective Policies Under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
Underlining the effectiveness of programs and policies implemented during President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s leadership, the Department of Agriculture affirmed their positive impact on rice production and the enhanced competitiveness of local rice farmers. This commitment reflects a broader strategy to ensure sustainable agricultural practices and meet the nation’s rice demands.


text:
SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Computer Inc. said Monday it had begun a thorough audit of a Chinese manufacturing plant operated by Foxconn that makes its iPod digital music players after a newspaper report alleged Foxconn treated workers unfairly.
"Apple has begun a thorough audit of the manufacturing plant operated by Foxconn in Longhua, China," said Apple spokesman Steve Dowling.
The audit will look at "employee working and living conditions, interviews of employees and managers, compliance with overtime and wage regulations, and other areas as necessary to insure adherence to Apple's supplier code of conduct," Dowling said.
On June 11, a report in the London newspaper Mail on Sunday said that workers had to endure shifts of 15 hours per day for about $50 per month. Last week, Apple said that it was investigating the claims.
Monday was the first time Apple disclosed the details of the investigation that it had said last week was underway.
Apple has sold more than 50 million iPods since their introduction in October 2001 and they now account for nearly 50 percent of Apple's quarterly revenue.
For its part, Foxconn has denied any wrongdoing.
"Foxconn's employment practices are completely in accordance with the requirements of Shenzhen labor supervision departments and the Shenzhen Labor Supervision Bureau can come to our factory to carry out inspections," Foxconn spokeswoman Miss He was quoted on the Beijing Times' Web site June 16 as
Foxconn is the trade name for Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd., which counts among its customers Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and others.
Shares of Apple fell 36 cents, or less than 1 percent, to close at $57.20 on Nasdaq.
Copyright 2006 Reuters. Click for Restrictions
Apple starts audit on iPod factory claims
By Staff Writers on Jun 21, 2006 11:50AM
Apple Computer said Monday it has begun a thorough audit of a Chinese manufacturing plant operated by Foxconn that makes its iPod digital music players, after a newspaper report alleged Foxconn treated workers unfairly.
Got a news tip for our journalists? Share it with us anonymously here.


text:
With global markets hungering for shares of sky-high grain prices, it's safe to bet that tight supplies of fertilizer and crop protectant products are sure to come. And price hikes are sure to follow.
If you're fortunate enough to be banking cash overflows, consider pre-emptive tax-reducing action. Some manufacturers are already offering substantial discounts.
For example, growers have until Aug. 15, 2011 to receive $50 per gallon on purchases of Headline fungicide from authorized BASF retailers. Headline Advantage helps growers strengthen their opportunity to improve ROI with Headline fungicide," suggests Jason Ward, BASF's fungicides market manager.
Fertilizer is poised for price rises, according to the International Fertilizer Industry Association's outlook for 2011-14. The markets for the main nutrients – nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium – have fully recovered from the 2008-09 financial downturn, report Patrick Heffer, director of IFA's ag committee, and Michel Prud'homme, director of IFA's production and international trade committee.
The analysts expect new production sites to respond to an anticipated 11% growth in total demand by 2015. Strong crop prices are boosting fertilizer demand for all nutrients. World fertilizer demand is surpassing 2007-08 levels.
"In response to strong market fundamentals, world fertilizer demand is forecast to reach 191 million tons of nutrients in 2015-16," says Heffer. South Asia, East Asia and, to a lesser extent, Latin America would contribute to about 75% of anticipated growth in demand. The contribution of China to the increase in world N and P fertilizer demand is, however, declining in comparison to the previous decade.
So if you're planning to purchase fertilizer for 2012, plug tightening supplies of nitrogen and phosphorus into your projections. Again, locking in price and/or supply this fall may be worthy of consideration.


text:
???DFAS Info2Go??? app available in the Apple App Store and the Android Market
'DFAS Info2Go' app available in the Apple App Store and the Android Market
The DFAS Info2Go mobile app provides pay-related information and links for DFAS military and civilian pay customers.
Military mobile users can use Info2Go for a variety of pay topics.
“We look to meet our customers where they are,” said David McDermott, DFAS deputy director of operations. “Making financial information available to customers at their fingertips is a top priority.”
“This is our first sojourn into providing tools for our customers who are using mobile devices more than their home computers,” McDermott said. “I’m particularly interested the reading the feedback from those who use Info2Go so we can improve the app to meet customer needs.”
McDermott emphasized that Info2go is the only DFAS approved app currently available.
“We know there are a number of third-party apps being advertised offering to connect to DFAS on our customer’s behalf to access their myPay accounts. These apps are not sponsored by the Department of Defense (DOD) or DFAS. They present a serious risk of compromising account information and could lead to a theft of funds,” he said. “Using these third-party apps places you at greater risk for compromise of your myPay account information.”
Using Info2Go, users are able to quickly get copies of important forms, find information about the Thrift Savings plan and send DFAS a question in a secure environment. Army users can locate nearby Defense Military Pay Offices for assistance with pay-related issues.
The DFAS app was developed by DFAS and the U.S. Army’s Technology Integration Team/Sustainment Center of Excellence (SCoE) Mobile Team as a customer service tool for all DFAS military customers.Updated Dec. 31, 2013


text:
OneThird, an AI-powered food tech company created with the goal of reducing the global annual loss of one-third of all food produced due to spoilage, has completed a late-seed funding round raising $3M (2.75M euros). This financing brings its total amount of funds raised to $6.1M (5.75M euros), featuring Dutch-based impact investor Pymwymic (an acronym for "Put Your Money Where Your Meaning Is Community") as lead investor, with Halma Ventures, SHIFT Invest, and Oost NL also participating in the round. OneThird will use the new money to extend its technology and operations into North American and European markets to support fresh produce supply chains further and tackle the estimated $1 trillion wasted each year on food gone bad.
Launched in 2019, OneThird has developed its technology and chosen early customers from the fresh produce supply chain. Its AI-powered, near-infrared scanning technology provides growers, food distributors, retailers, and consumers the ability to predict shelf life and reduce waste in tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, and avocados - with plans to expand their coverage to ten types of produce, including grapes, bananas, mangoes and raspberries by the end of 2023.
The United Nations has identified food waste as a significant global issue. Up to one-third of all food purchased yearly, an estimated $1 trillion, goes to waste, with fresh produce accounting for 40% of the total. With varying shelf lives and transportation often spanning long distances, the potential for spoilage is high — yet OneThird's technology offers a solution, giving supply chain actors in the produce industry real-time insights to help them make informed decisions that cut back on waste by 25%. This technology allows produce nearing its expiration date to be redirected into things like smoothies, dry, frozen products, or soups rather than going straight to landfill.
“Global food waste has an enormous environmental impact; reducing global food waste can help to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and embolden global food security. One-third of global food produced annually is lost or wasted, which is an astronomical volume given the number of people worldwide who go to bed hungry. Global food waste is both inefficient and a major social justice issue — one that is compounded across multiple touchpoints in the supply chain — from agricultural production all the way to the landfill,” said Marco Snikkers, CEO and founder of OneThird. “The latest seed funding we’ve received will allow us to accelerate the implementation of OneThird’s technology beyond our initial customer base, expand internationally and increase the impact we can create for our customers to help them generate higher ROI, and also meet their sustainability and ESG goals.”
“Increasing food security is key to supporting a growing global population,” said Sophie Pickering, Investment Manager at Pymwymic. “We’re excited by the possibilities OneThird’s technology presents in tackling the alarming quantities of global food loss across the supply chain.”


text:
AFP – G20 economy and trade ministers will meet next week in Mexico to seek a boost in trade as part of efforts to tackle Europe's debt crisis. The meeting immediately follows the World Economic Forum on Latin America in Puerto Vallarta.
Bloomberg - Relations with Canada and Mexico on trade in telecommunications equipment and services improved in the past year, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in releasing a review of global commercial barriers.
Reuters - Mexican President Felipe Calderon, set to leave office this year, pressed on Monday for a swift decision on his country's bid to join free-trade talks with the United States and eight other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
AAP - Mexico and China have signed an agreement aimed at preventing cheap Asian-made footwear from flooding the Mexican market, Economy Secretary Bruno Ferrari says. The agreement, which will take effect on May 1 and run until December 31, 2014.
Dow Jones - Mexico registered a trade surplus in February, its second in three months, as exports rose sharply from a year earlier and from the previous month, backed by strong manufacturing exports and high crude oil prices.
Truckinginfo - Surface transportation trade between the U.S. and its North American Free Trade Agreement partners, Canada and Mexico, in 2011 is valued at $904 billion, a 14.3 percent increase compared to 2010.
Reuters - Argentina will ask Mexico to renegotiate a bilateral trade accord on the automobile industry, following Brazil's lead as it seeks to improve its trade balance, the government said on Tuesday.
Reuters - The United States on Monday ordered final duties on bottom-mount refrigerators from South Korea and Mexico in a case brought by U.S. manufacturer Whirlpool against foreign rivals, including LG and Samsung.
Reuters - Planned free trade negotiations between Latin America's two biggest economies are in jeopardy as a result of the dispute over auto exports, Mexico's economy minister said.
Latin American Herald Tribune - Mexico’s imports of Chinese-made shoes climbed 151 percent in January, a month after compensatory quotas on those consumer goods expired. Mexican shoe manufacturers have asked for an analysis of "possible safeguards."


text:
The release of new iPhone models is always met with anticipation and excitement from Apple enthusiasts worldwide. However, with the unveiling of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15, some users have raised concerns about the lack of distinguishing features between the two iterations. In this article, we will explore the opinion that the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 are essentially the same phone with minor variations, questioning whether Apple’s latest offerings truly bring significant advancements to the table. One of the primary areas where the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 appear to be indistinguishable is in their design. Both models showcase the iconic iPhone aesthetic that we have become familiar with over the years, featuring glass backs, aluminum frames, and a notch at the top of the display for Face ID technology. While minor tweaks might be present, such as variations in color options or slight alterations to the camera module, it’s easy to argue that the overall design language remains virtually unchanged.
When it comes to the internal hardware, the similarities between the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 become more apparent. Both iterations are likely to feature Apple’s latest A-series processors, ensuring top-notch performance and efficient power management. While there might be incremental improvements in processing power and energy efficiency, it is questionable whether these enhancements would be noticeable in day-to-day usage. Additionally, the RAM and storage options are expected to be similar, further blurring the line between the two models. Camera capabilities have always been a significant selling point for iPhones. However, when comparing the rumored specifications of the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15, it seems that the camera systems are also strikingly similar. Both models are expected to feature high-resolution sensors, multiple lenses for various photography modes, and advanced image processing algorithms. While there might be slight variations in the number of lenses or megapixel counts, it remains to be seen whether these differences will translate into significantly improved photography experiences.
The software experience on the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 is likely to be identical. Both devices are expected to run on Apple’s latest iOS version, offering the same user interface and access to the same ecosystem of apps and services. While software updates and optimizations are expected, it is unlikely that these updates will be exclusive to either model, further blurring the line between the two iterations. While Apple has always been known for its incremental approach to iPhone upgrades, the similarities between the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 raise questions about the extent of innovation being brought to the table. With minimal variations in design, internal hardware, camera systems, and software experience, it is hard to argue that these two models are significantly different from one another. While they may offer minor enhancements over their predecessors, it is crucial for Apple to provide users with substantial improvements and new features that truly differentiate the iPhone 15 from the iPhone 14. As consumers, we eagerly await Apple’s official announcements to see if they can dispel the notion that the iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 are simply iterations of the same phone.


text:
Forza 3 moves 1 million units worldwide in one month [Update]
Update: Aaron Greenberg has tweeted the following additional stats: "$18.7 billion was spent LTD on Storefront, there's been over 4 million auction bids, and 1.5 million items for sale". Nifty.
Original: Microsoft has announced that Forza Motorsport 3 moved one million units worldwide with only a month at retail.
Also, the Forza community on Xbox Live has logged over 6.6 million hours of online play with more than 64 million sessions, and has driven over 590 million miles (952 million kilometers) in-game.
"That’s equal to more than three trips from the Earth to the Sun and back," said MS.
To help these numbers grow, kiddos, you should totally get the Hot Holidays Car Pack which is available today on XBL for 400 MS Points.
It has the Ferrari 458 Italia, ya know.


text:
Lenovo Outlines Company Transformation Strategy - From Devices To Solutions Company
Today, during its annual global employee kickoff event broadcast to 63,000 employees, Lenovo unveiled its plans to drive transformation from a global devices company to a technology leader in global devices + solutions, services, and software. Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing and other executive leaders outlined the company’s strategy, structure, and goals that will fuel Lenovo’s next decade of growth and position it as one of the world’s most trusted and iconic technology leaders, delivering smarter technology for all.
“Last year at this time, none of us knew how things would turn out for Lenovo,” said Lenovo CEO Yuanqing Yang. “But we did know this: we would support each other in an unpredictable journey ahead; we would fight for the best possible outcome in an uncertain world; and we would use our technology to connect and heal a wounded society.”
During the past year the COVID pandemic drove many businesses and consumers around the world to adopt and use technology innovations in new ways, from remote learning to treating patients to pivoting their business models. They counted on Lenovo’s unique ability to provide the devices and solutions they needed to survive and thrive in this challenging environment. Lenovo’s committed, diverse global workforce ensured the company met the global need for technology solutions being the first to resume manufacturing after facilities closed early on in the pandemic, building a new factory in 47 days, and launching an impactful charitable donation effort.
Unparalleled Growth for Company’s Fourth Transformation
Lenovo’s operational and workforce resilience has led to significant growth across all areas of the business, the doubling of the company’s share price year over year, and has positioned Lenovo for its fourth transformation during its 35 year history into a broader technology leader that combines devices + services + software + solutions.
“Our share price has doubled,” Yang said. “This not only shows our outstanding execution, but also that the market views Lenovo as a resilient, winning company. We were a strong team before the pandemic, and an even stronger team after.”
Recent performance highlights include:
- For the first three quarters of FY2020, revenue grew 12% and pre-tax profit increased 48% year over year.
- Lenovo remains the undisputed number one globally in PC and tablet market share, hitting historic highs.
- Mobile achieved double-digit revenue growth year-over-year in FYQ3.
- Revenue in the data center business grew by double digits year-over-year, significantly outperforming the market for four consecutive quarters.
- Services, software, and solutions grew almost 38% year-over-year in FYQ3, now accounting for ~8% of the company’s total revenue.
- Lenovo Capital Investment Group contributed financially and strategically through seven IPOs and reached record high investment gains.
Further, Lenovo plans an additional listing on the Shanghai stock exchange, broadening investor access and unlocking greater value. This growth happens in tandem with Lenovo’s strong commitment to sustainability, as seen through a 92 percent reduction in scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions. Lenovo also remains committed to environmentally sound transformation, with ambitious science-based targets and identifying what it will take to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
Unveiling New Strategy for Next Decade
Lenovo’s strategy for the next decade of growth leverages all of the strong “building blocks” the company has today and combines them into end to end solutions that align to the tech market trends and solve customer business problems in three ways:
- Device Proliferation: Whether it’s “one PC, tablet, or other device per person” more people need dedicated devices. Lenovo will offer a full range of devices for each segment, develop new form factors, incorporate 5G connectivity, explore extended reality, and offer new collaboration tools.
- End to End Infrastructure: Today customers want integrated solutions combining hardware with software, support, and expertise. Lenovo will continue to expand its offering of a broad range of infrastructure portfolios, from on-premises datacenters to private and public clouds, and edge to cloud solutions.
- AI-Supported Intelligent Transformation: Lenovo offers the foundational technology for emerging trends, including IoT, big data, algorithms, and Edge computing. Lenovo will combine hardware with services to create intelligent solutions in smart manufacturing, smart education, smart retail, and smart cities.
Effective April 1, 2021 Lenovo aligned its business groups around a new organizational structure focused on Smart IoT, Smart Infrastructure and Smart Verticals:
- Intelligent Devices Group (IDG), focused on Smart IoT
- Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG), focused on Smart Infrastructure
- Solutions & Services Group (SSG), focused on Smart Verticals & Services
Announcing Ambitious Goals for a New Fiscal Year
Speaking to employees around the world, company Chairman and CEO Yang outlined ambitious goals to accelerate the company’s transformation over the next fiscal year, including:
- Become #1 in PC market share across large enterprise, small to medium business, and consumers
- Achieve mobile profitability in expanded markets fueled by 5G innovations
- Grow twice as fast as the company across the new Solutions and Services Group
- Achieve double-digit growth in the Infrastructure Solutions Group
“We have an exciting future, but it takes solid steps to get there on our intelligent transformation journey,” Yang said. “Be proud but not complacent. Be optimistic but stay resilient. Aim high but stay grounded.”
Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (PINK SHEETS: LNVGY) is a US$50 billion Fortune Global 500 company, with 63,000 employees and operating in 180 markets around the world. Focused on a bold vision to deliver smarter technology for all, we are developing world-changing technologies that create a more inclusive, trustworthy, and sustainable digital society. By designing, engineering, and building the world’s most complete portfolio of smart devices and infrastructure, we are also leading an Intelligent Transformation – to create better experiences and opportunities for millions of customers around the world. To find out more visit https://www.lenovo.com, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Weibo and read about the latest news via our StoryHub.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
About Business Wire
(c) 2018 Business Wire, Inc., All rights reserved.
Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is the global leader in multiplatform press release distribution.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Lattice Automate Solution Stack Accelerates Development of Industrial Automation Systems11.5.2021 20:00:00 CEST | Press release
Lattice Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: LSCC), the low power programmable leader, today extended its portfolio of comprehensive low power FPGA-based solution stacks with the introduction of Lattice Automate™. The stack includes software tools, industrial IP cores, modular hardware development boards, and software-programmable reference designs and demos that simplify and accelerate implementation of applications like robotics, scalable multi-channel motor control with predictive maintenance, and real-time industrial networking. Intelligent industrial systems made possible by Automate will play a vital role in automating future smart factories, warehouses, and commercial buildings. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210511005309/en/ Introducing the Lattice Automate solution stack for the accelerated development of industrial automation applications. (Graphic: Business Wire) Technology trends like the IoT and Ed
Esri and IBM Team Up to Take on Climate Change with Call for Code11.5.2021 19:23:00 CEST | Press release
Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, today announced it is joining the fourth annual Call for Code Global Challenge. Created by David Clark Cause and launched in partnership with IBM, United Nations Human Rights, and the Linux Foundation, Call for Code is designed to make an immediate and lasting global impact on humanitarian issues, using open-source-powered technology. In this year’s competition, software developers and innovators around the world will take on climate change with open-source software, including Red Hat OpenShift, IBM Cloud, IBM Watson, IBM Blockchain, and data from The Weather Company. Since Call for Code was launched in 2018, more than 400,000 developers and problem solvers across 179 nations have participated, creating more than 15,000 applications. This year’s competition focuses on three sub-themes related to combating climate change: water availability and consumption, food production and delivery, and economic production and consumption. The winnin
Experian Announces New Commitment to a Flexible Working Culture11.5.2021 18:26:00 CEST | Press release
Experian, the global information services company, has today announced a new global approach to work. The aim is to take the learnings from the experience of Covid-19 lockdown and create a working environment which suits everyone’s situation. Experian is committing to promote more individual choice by creating a new hybrid model, where employees will be encouraged to ‘work your way’. Through the lockdown, Experian moved its global operations to remote working with very limited disruption. Most employees will be offered increased flexibility, with the majority moving to a hybrid model, some working fully remotely, and some in the office. Experian – which operates in 45 countries around the world – believes this will continue to boost productivity and improve the work / life balance options for its 17,800 global employee base. What the Covid-19 crisis has reminded us, beyond everything else, is that we are all individuals living very different lives. That’s prompted Experian to go down t
SentinelOne is the Only Vendor to Score Highest Across All Three Gartner Critical Capabilities Use Cases11.5.2021 17:40:00 CEST | Press release
SentinelOne, the autonomous cybersecurity platform company, today announced that Gartner has positioned SentinelOne with the highest scores in all three use cases; Type A, B, & C in Gartner’s 2021 Critical Capabilities for Endpoint Protection Platforms report1. Out of the 19 vendors included in the report, SentinelOne is the only vendor that received the highest score across all three Critical Capabilities use cases: Customer use case Type A is focused on “lean forward” organizations that adopt new technologies very early in the adoption cycle. Customer use case Type B is focused on “overall value” by weighing the risks of the early use of new technology against the benefits. Customer use case Type C represents organizations that typically view technology as an expense or operational necessity and use it as a means to reduce costs. “We believe receiving the highest product score across all three customer use cases in the 2021 Critical Capabilities for Endpoint Protection Platforms vali
1E Challenges DEM Market to Deliver More, Launching New Unified eXperience Management Category11.5.2021 16:35:00 CEST | Press release
1E, innovators in endpoint management, today announced Unified eXperience Management (UXM), a new category that seeks to address the siloed approach inherent in tools in the Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM) space. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210511005842/en/ 1E Tachyon Platform: Unified eXperience Management to improve the Digital Experience of all employees (Graphic: Business Wire) Due to the relative immaturity of the Digital Experience Management category, most tooling is focused on identifying and reporting on the scale of the problem, scoring, and issue identification. These tools create analytics silos that give insight, but are uncoupled from the automation technology that can actually improve end-user experience at an enterprise scale. Meanwhile, employees are becoming increasingly more frustrated, with 56% feeling dissatisfied with their IT experience. Organizations looking to improve the digit
Biorasi Receives ISO 9001:2015 Certification for Quality Management11.5.2021 16:30:00 CEST | Press release
Biorasi, a leading global full-service contract research organization (CRO), is proud to announce the achievement of ISO 9001:2015 certification. By earning this ISO accreditation, Biorasi has demonstrated dedication to the practice of quality assurance within the clinical trials industry and commitment to quality excellence for individual clinical studies. “ISO 9001:2015 certification is a big deal for Biorasi,” said Chris O’Brien, CEO at Biorasi. “It is a powerful, independent validation of the quality of our processes. It sends a message to potential sponsors across the globe that Biorasi cares deeply about quality. It tells them they can trust us.” Biorasi was presented with their ISO 9001:2015 certification on May 5, 2021, joining the ranks of other quality-focused organizations, including our preferred vendor, IBM Watson Health. “Our Quality Policy is driven by the fundamental understanding that patients and their families are affected by the decisions we make,” said Todd Brill,
Alvotech Seeks to End AbbVie’s Wrongful Monopoly on Humira and Bring Affordable Arthritis Treatment to U.S.11.5.2021 16:23:00 CEST | Press release
Alvotech today filed a federal lawsuit (Case 1:21-cv-00589) seeking to end the monopoly that pharmaceutical giant AbbVie has long-maintained on the adalimumab market, sold as Humira. Humira is the highest grossing prescription drug in the United States with over $16 billion in sales in 2020 (nearly $20Bn globally). Alvotech has developed a biosimilar (analogous to a generic) of Humira called AVT02, the first-filed biosimilar drug equal in strength to Humira’s latest formulation, which AbbVie markets as a high-concentration, pain-free drug. The company is also developing AVT02 as an interchangeable product and it expects results from its ongoing interchangeability study in Q2 of this year. AVT02 could save U.S. taxpayers and the overall healthcare system $8-10 billion annually. “Our new product will be a gamechanger that will provide consumers who are suffering from chronic pain with significant savings, and we look forward to bringing this drug onto the market as soon as possible,” sai


text:
Search result for shares
On the back of record-breaking Q2 sales, PI Industries shares have risen by 8%, reaching an all-time high
After reporting robust 31 percent year-on-year (YoY) sales growth at Rs 17,700 crore for the quarter ended September 2022, PI Industries' shares rose 8 percent on the BSE during Wednesday's intra-day trade, setting a new all-time high of Rs 3,554.25. (Q2FY23). The CSM (exports) division p...
The oil and gas sector of the United States has bounced back after the pandemic with a much better performance owing to the energy crisis around the rest of the world.
The shortage of gas supplies across the world has sent prices to new heights. This has motivated US producers eve...
- Crisis-hit Chinese real estate giant Evergrande and suspends trade in its shares
- Contract sales as they struggled to repay creditors.
The Evergrande Group in China is the second largest property developer in China. It ranks...
The Toshiba Corp, is planning to break up into three listed companies which will focus on memory chips, infrastructure and devices. This new plan is being carried out to improve the shareholder value and also encourage activist shareholders to exit.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla has sold about 930,000 shares of his electric car company. This cost approximately $1.1billion, this sell was put in motion on September 14. Musk is the richest man in the world, and has sold about 930,000 of his shares in the company.
Evergrande shares fell as much as 14% in Hong Kong as they resumed trading after a 17-days on Thursday. The Chinese property giant had stopped its shares from trading. There were reports suggesting that real estate firm Hopson Development was set to buy a 51% stake in Evergrande’s property ...
Apple might slash production of iPhone 13, due to global chip shortage. The company is likely to slash the production of 10 million units, as per a news report.
- Apple shares fall up to 1.2% after trading hours
- Shortage of chips ha...
- Evergrande's share trading halted
- They are struggling to pay its suppliers and lenders.
Trading in shares of China's Evergrande was suspended on October 4. This is done because the company missed a payment of...
- RRVL is taking control of Justdial from 1 September
- V.S.S Mani will continue to be the Managing Director and CEO
Reliance Retail Ventures Limited has taken sole control of Justdial Limited, with effect from September 1, 20...
- Shares of Zoom tumbled nearly 17%
- As people return to office the company faces a drop down in shares
On Tuesday, Zoom Video Communications Inc shares tumbled nearly 17%, after the video conferencing company signaled ...
• Airtel is India’s second largest carrier network
• Ambani is backed up by huge names like Facebook, Intel and Q...
• Talking at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting, Hirai said "I was careless. I would like to apologize."
Over the purchase of shares of an information technology (IT) company when had served as a parliamentary vice minister, Japan's Digital...
- Toyota shares hit high with $91 mark over rising auto demand.
- The company shares rose at such a mark for the first time since its listing on the TSE in 1949.
- The company shares have been recording highs since May 28. ...
- The South Korean stock market is moving between positive and negative finishes for the last four trading days.
- In the last three-day losing streak, the market has lost 130 points which is equivalent to 4.2 percent. ...
- S. Korea SK Telecom to cancel 8.69 million treasury shares.
- The company plans to cancel the shares in a move to boost shareholder value.
- The cancellation reduces its total issued stocks from 80.75 million to 72.06 million...
- SK Innovation sees net loss of $325.3 million in Q1 2021.
- The company’s operating profit was recorded 502.6 billion won.
- The company’s sales fell 16.4 percent on-year to 9.2 trillion won.
- On the Seo...
- S. Korean Lotte Shopping Co. sees net loss of $36.5 million in Q1.
- The company’s Q1 net losses narrowed from a year earlier on recovering sales.
- The company’s operating income rose 18.5 percent to 61.8 billion...
• Shares of Pfizer slumped 3.24 percent to Rs 5,268.55 as compared to Wednesday's closing of Rs 5,444.95 on the BSE
• The US decided to support a proposal to waive intellectual-property protections for Covid-19 vaccines
• The USTR Tai ha...
- JTB Corp. to boost its capital through Development BOJ funding.
- JTB’s capital adequacy ratio stood at 11.4 percent.
- JTB is expected to record a net loss of 100 billion yen in FY 2020.
- Preferred shares are...
- LG Electronics saw net profit of $1.05 billion in Q1 2021.
- Its operating profit also rose 39.1 percent to 1.51 trillion won in Q1.
- On Thursday, shares in LG fell 1.22 percent to 162,000 won on the Seoul bourse.


text:
Amount of non-financial
direct investment by Chinese companies in 2015
of the cases, Chinese companies’ overseas investments are between $100 million and $1 billion.
“But the number of smaller outbound investments (below $100 million) is growing fastest, as private companies and SMEs are playing a bigger role,” he said, adding that in 2014, private companies’ outbound investments grew 295 percent year-on-year, and they made up 69 percent of the total number of cases.
Xiao Qiang, director of the China Small and Medium-Size Enterprise Institute, said most SMEs that the institute has helped go global have annual revenue of between 50 million yuan and 400 million yuan and an employee headcount below 2,000.
Of the total, SMEs’ outbound investments account for 30 percent of the value and 80 percent by number of cases, he said.
Long Yongtu, former viceminister of commerce, said the trend of Chinese companies going global is irreversible. China’s corporate and private bank deposits amount to more than 138 trillion yuan, and the abundance of capital makes it easier for Chinese companies to invest overseas.
“Globalization is to allocate resources globally.” he said. “If Chinese’ restructuring is conducted with a global scope, its economic transformation would be less painful and is more likely to succeed.”
Wang Chaoyong, founder and CEO of ChinaEquity Group, a venture capital institution, said there are three ways for Chinese companies to go global: products going global; industrial capacity going global; and capital going global.
“I have observed huge changes in all these three. In the products I have seen quality, added value and brands have improved greatly. In capacity going global, a big feature is that, be it a stated-owned company or SME, they cooperate and form clusters to explore overseas markets.”
For capital going global, Chinese investors in the past would typically buy US treasuries, European government bonds or some blue chips, but now private equity and venture capital have become the main avenues for capital going global.
“The number of overseas mergers and acquisitions is also increasing rapidly, through which many companies are able to get overseas products, technology, sales channels, design and so on,” he said.
A recent example is Shenzhen Ellassay Fashion Co Ltd, a highend clothing company, which bought a Hong Kong company that owned the German fashion brand Laurel for 11.18 million euros ($12.22 million) as part of its global expansion. The takeover


text:
Fashion statement: British Baron dresses up India via Koovs
Waheed Alli doesn’t like it when Koovs, the company he chairs, is compared with other online fashion sellers like Myntra and Jabong. “They design the clothes here in India. We design it in London — that is the capital of fashion. We go to fashion runways in Milan, New York and Paris, and bring global fashion to India,” he says.
Alli is no common startup founder. He is a Baron — and at 33, was the youngest member of England’s House of Lords. He was co-founder of TV production house Planet 24, managing director of Carlton Television Productions, and the chairman of British online fashion giant ASOS.com. Under Alli’s chairmanship, ASOS’s market cap grew 60-fold.
Koovs is listed on the London Stock Exhange, but Alli is not its founder. He invested in the company just over three years back, before which it was run by Anant Nahata, son of Mahendra Nahata, of Infotel Broadband, the company that sold 95% of its stake to Reliance Industries to form Reliance Jio. The Nahatas still own 51% in Koovs.
But there is no denial that the company is run by Alli and his team. He got Robert Bready, ASOS’ chief designer to head Koovs design vertical. Bready and Alli have formed a team of 20-odd designers in London. “We don’t make clothing, we make fashion. We are a shopkeeper and we sell dresses,” says Mary Turner, CEO of Koovs.
Koovs is betting big on private labels. It is adding 400-500 private label designs every month, and already has a catalogue of 7,000 designs. “That is the jewel in Koovs’ crown. More than 40% of our revenue comes from private labels,” says Anant. In the first six months of 2015-16, Koovs had a gross merchandise value (GMV) of Rs 36.5 crore, a 208% rise over last year. GMV is the total value of goods sold.
Apart from private labels, Koovs has tie-ups with a host of London-based designers, including Mawi Keivom, Patrick Cox, Melissa Odabash and Henry Holland. “They want to be exposed to India, so they design especially for India,” says Turner.
When the Nahatas invested in Koovs, it sold everything from mobiles to clothes, but lifestyle by default was selling more. There were no private labels. Then one day Anant met Alli through a common friend. He wanted to build an ASOS out of India.
The multi-millionaire Baron doesn’t bother about profits neither do the Nahatas. Koovs reported losses of Rs 57 crore. But, “we have a roadmap towards profitability sometime in the future, which being a listed company, we can’t share,” says Anant.


text:
Priceline.com Inc. (Nasdaq: PCLN) posted a smaller-than-expected loss in its third quarter Thursday, losing $11.9 million, or 8 cents a share, on sales of $152.2 million.
First Call consensus expected the online travel company to lose 10 cents a share in the quarter.
Its shares closed up 1 1/8 to 67 7/8 ahead of the earnings report.
The $152.2 million in sales represents a staggering 1,551 percent improvement versus the year-ago quarter when it lost $19.8 million on sales of only $9.2 million.
In the quarter, Priceline.com's added 908,000 new customers in the quarter, up 21 percent from the 748,000 it added in the second quarter.
"Revenues grew as we built a strong base of first-time and repeat customers through customer satisfaction, advertising and word-of-mouth," said CEO Richard Braddock in a prepared release., Priceline.com's chairman and CEO. ``In addition to attracting 908,000 new customers in the third quarter, repeat users during the quarter made up 31% of all net unique offers."
Priceline.com shares rallied up to a 52-week high of 165 before sliding to a low of 53 1/2 in September.
Nine of the 10 analysts following the stock rate it either a "buy" or "strong buy."
First Call consensus expects it to lose 41 cents a share in the fiscal year.


text:
Allison and Chris Wallace, travel and wine writers who author the AdVINEtures blog, recently posted a video recap of...
Tag Archive for: Chris Wallace
, Feature Stories & Reviews, Reviews, 2019 Candide, 2019 Firebird, 2019 Firebird Syrah, 2019 Titan, 2019 Titan Pinot Noir, 2020 Jupiter, 2020 Jupiter Estate Pinot Noir, 2020 New World Cab, 2020 New World Cabernet Sauvignon, 2021 Helios, 2021 Helios Estate Seyval Blanc, 2021 Prelude Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir, 2021 Rhapsody, AdVINEtures, Allison and Chris Wallace, Allison Wallace, Bells Up Story, Bells Up Vineyard, Bells Up Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, Candide, Candide Reserve Pinot Noir, Chris Wallace, Estate Rosé, Estate Seyval Blanc, Feature Article, feature story, Firebird, Firebird Syrah, Helios, Helios Seyval Blanc, Jupiter, Jupiter Pinot NOir, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, Prelude, Prelude Estate Rosé, Rhapsody, Rhapsody Pinot Blanc, Rose, Rosé of Pinot Noir, Seyval Blanc, Summit View Vineyard, Syrah, Titan, Wine Blog, Wine Blogger, Wine Review, Wine Reviewer, Wine Reviews, Wine Writer, 0
AdVINEture’s Allison and Chris Wallace paid us a visit during their recent trip to the Willamette Valley from their...
Subscribe to our mailing list
- 2020 Jupiter Estate Pinot Noir Scores 94 Points From Drink The Bottles
- Bells Up’s Prelude Estate Rosé Featured By A Blonde Vintage
- 91 Points for 2021 Rhapsody Pinot Blanc From Drink The Bottles
- Winery Reflections Declares 2021 Prelude Rosé “Expressive and Irresistible”
- Oregon Wine Press Interviews Winemaker Dave for Feature on 2020 Wildfires