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The next installment of the Yakuza franchise has set a month for launch. Yakuza: Like a Dragon will arrive in the West this November, and alongside its current-gen and PC offerings, both next-gen consoles will get an upgrade path as well.
In a press release today, Sega confirms that Yakuza: Like a Dragon will launch in November 2020 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam and Windows 10. As previously confirmed, the new Yakuza will be a day-one title for the Xbox Series X on the day that console launches, and it will be a part of Xbox's Smart Delivery next-gen upgrade program. But today Sega is also announcing that Yakuza: Like a Dragon will come to PlayStation 5 "at a later date," and it will have an upgrade path of its own as well.
Details on what that entails will come at a later date, but at least for console players, this means there will be a next-gen option for them on either side of the proverbial aisle. Yakuza: Like a Dragon will have a number of pre-order options available, including a steelbook edition and several different DLC packs, with one featuring costumes inspired by "Legends" like Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima.
Sega also announced the English voice cast for Yakuza: Like a Dragon today, and while that's normally not something that garners my attention-I don't think I've ever played a Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio game in English-one casting did catch my eye. Famous Star Trek actor George Takei will feature in the English cast for Yakuza: Like a Dragon as Masumi Arakawa, a major player in the game's story. Kaiji Tang will play protagonist Ichiban Kasuga, and the cast also features Andrew Morgado, Greg Chun, and Elizabeth Maxwell.
It looks like the recent rating of Yakuza: Like a Dragon was actually an indicator of the upcoming launch, as well as its content (I'm still wondering what an "Extreme Bondage Attack" even is). Though the Yakuza RPG has been out in Japan for a while now, it won't be long until Western players can finally dive into this new Yakuza experience.


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SAN FRANCISCO — May 19, 2016 — Apple® today revealed its new store on San Francisco’s Union Square, offering many new features and services rolling out to Apple retail stores worldwide. The new store will open its signature 42-foot tall sliding glass doors to customers on Saturday, May 21 at 10 a.m.
“Fifteen years ago today Apple opened its first two stores and we’re thrilled to mark the occasion with the opening of Apple Union Square in San Francisco,” said Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail and Online Stores. “We are not just evolving our store design, but its purpose and greater role in the community as we educate and entertain visitors and serve our network of local entrepreneurs."
Apple Union Square’s glass doors open the store to Post Street and Union Square. The building’s unique position connects San Francisco’s most famous square to a rejuvenated plaza to the north, creating a beautiful gathering place for the community. The art-filled plaza offers seating, public Wi-Fi, a 50-foot tall “green wall” and regular acoustic performances. The store is powered by 100 percent renewable energy, including power produced by photovoltaic panels integrated into the building’s roof.
"We have a deep commitment to the cities we work in, and are aware of the importance that architecture plays in the community,” said Jonathan Ive, Apple’s chief design officer. "It all starts with the storefront — taking transparency to a whole new level — where the building blends the inside and the outside, breaking down barriers and making it more egalitarian and accessible.”
Features in the new Apple Union Square design include:
“The Avenue,” inspired by the window displays along a boulevard that dynamically change with the season. Avenue walls are interactive themed “windows” where Apple’s products and services come to life, from music, to creativity, apps, photography and more. New “Creative Pros,” Apple experts in creative arts, offer advice and expertise at each of the displays. Customers will also find “Only at Apple” products on the Avenue, a curated collection of third-party accessories. “Genius Grove” invites customers to get support working side-by-side with Geniuses under the comfortable canopy of local trees in the heart of the store. “The Forum” is a vibrant gathering place, centered around a 6K Video Wall. It is home to “Today at Apple,” which brings to the community the world’s most talented artists, photographers, musicians, gamers, developers and entrepreneurs to inspire and educate our customers to go further with the things they are passionate about. Today at Apple includes year-round programs for kids, new monthly events for teachers, sessions for current and aspiring developers, Creative Sessions in partnership with local experts in creative arts, Game Night with editors from Apple’s App Store® and more. The Forum and Video Wall are a place of discovery, including events about the making of movies from iTunes®, or exclusive premieres of new music and music videos from Apple Music™. “The Plaza” will be found only at Apple’s most significant stores, including Apple Union Square. It’s open to the public 24 hours a day, features public Wi-Fi and seating, and takes Today at Apple outside, with a regular weekend series of well known local acoustic performances such as Travis Hayes and global talents like Escondido, who will then give exclusive interviews about their craft in the Forum. The Plaza at Apple Union Square features a fountain by well-known San Francisco sculptor Ruth Asawa, originally commissioned in 1969, and a new work, “Love” by local artist Laura Kimpton, commissioned by Hyatt Hotels. “The Boardroom” is an intimate space where the store’s Business Team offers hands-on advice and training to entrepreneurs, developers and other small and medium business customers.Apple’s original San Francisco store opened on Stockton Street in 2004 with about 100 employees. Having welcomed more than 20 million visitors, and seen the launch of iPhone®, iPad®, MacBook Air®, Apple TV®, Apple Watch® and more, the team moving to Apple Union Square has grown to more than 350.
While the store offers regular learning experiences in the Forum and Plaza, Apple is also committed to furthering creative arts education throughout San Francisco. Apple is working with the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts to build a visual arts lab with 45 workstations outfitted with the latest Apple products.
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.
Apple, the Apple logo, App Store, iTunes, Apple Music, iPhone, iPad, MacBook Air, Apple TV and Apple Watch are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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DTDC has been honoured with several awards and recognitions by the industry.
Some of the recent awards and recognitions include:
DTDC was awarded the Best Franchisor Award in the country for the 8th time by Franchise India.
DTDC was featured in Inc India 500 – The Honorees 2013 for the second time in a row. DTDC ranked 279 in a listing of top 500 Fastest Growing Mid-Sized Companies in India.
DTDC received the CIO 100 Award for the third consecutive time. Every year, the CIO 100 Awards honor 100 companies that demonstrate excellence and achievement in IT.
DTDC is the only Indian Logistics Company revered as Asia’s Most Promising Brand 2012-13in a consumer and product survey conducted by iBrands 360 (Iconic Brands 360), a World Consulting & Research Corporation enterprise that featured 200 brands across 50 industry categories. CMD, Shri Subhasish Chakraborty won the prestigious Leadership Award and was a part of Services Discussion Panel at the event held in Dubai.
DTDC was represented by ED, Mr. Abhishek Chakraborty alongwith other eminent personalities of the retail industry for a discussion on “Omni Channel vs Pure Play in Retail” at the Economic Times International Retail Leaders Summit by ET Edge.
CMD, Shri Subhasish Chakraborty was presented the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award by Franchisee India.
CMD, Shri. Subhasish Chakraborty was conferred the prestigious Inspirational Leader of New India at Power Brands GlamMe 2013 event by Planman Media Pvt. Ltd. held at Las Vegas, USA.
DTDC was named India’s Most Trusted Courier Service Brand by The Brand Trust Report TM – India Study 2013 published by Trust Research Advisory.
Earlier accolades for DTDC:
Mr. Subhasish Chakraborty was awarded The Arch of Excellence Award by AIAA (All India Achievers Association) in recognition of his significant achievement in the field of express industry.
DTDC was named Best CIO Company in India, 2012
DTDC was named Best CIO Company in Asia, 2012
DTDC was awarded the Golden Europe Global Award for Quality and Commercial Prestige 2012 by International Organization, “Otherways Management and Consultants”, Paris.
DTDC was honoured with the Rashtriya Udyog Rathna Award and Quality Brands 2012 – 14 Award by NEHRDO and Quality Brands for its successful and innovative business approach.
DTDC was represented by its Executive Director as eRetail Congress 2012 Summit as a “Special Guest and Guest Speaker”· DTDC was named in the Inc India 500 list of top 500 influential Indian companies in 2012
DTDC was named an Indian Power Brand as chosen by consumers based on a detailed study conducted by Planman Marcom Pvt. Ltd., 2011.
Mr. Subhasish Chakraborty was presented with the Entrepreneur of the Year (Consumer Services) Award for 2011 by Franchise India Holdings Ltd. and Bloomberg/UTV for in recognition of his continuous contribution in the field of Consumer Service.
Mr. Subhasish Chakraborty received the Global Golden Indian Award and Gold Medal for the year 2011by Institute of Economic Studies recognizing his contribution to the Trade, Industry and Economical Development of the country.
DTDC was represented by its Chairman as a panelist for the Entrepreneur India Summit 2011 , along with Cabinet Minister Shri Virbhadra Singh, Hon’ble Minister, MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise) Ministry and other top executives on the topic “Entrepreneurial Opportunities in India”, organized by Franchise India in 2011
DTDC received an award at the Top 100 CIO Awards 2011, organized by the internationally renowned CIO India Chapter, part of International Data Group (IDG), for implementing and mentoring open source platforms and knowledge contribution towards open source community.
DTDC was recognized in the Small Business Awards 2011 – ‘Transport & Logistics Business with an award from Franchise India and Zee Business
DTDC won the first prize at CSI 2011 awards for excellence in IT
DTDC was conferred with Best Express Distribution Service Award for the year 2011 by the IIMM (Indian Institute of Materials Management) in collaboration with Union Ministry of Transport & Highways. DTDC was selected among the industry giants for being the most competitive, and bringing quality service and values to express distribution in India.
Udyog Rattan Award by Institute of Economic Studies for outstanding performance in industrial development in the country for the year 2009.
Excellent Achievers Award for the year 2009 from The Bengalee Association for Mr. Subhasish Chakraborty’s contribution in the Business Field
Sushil Dhar Memorial Award for the year 2009 presented to CMD, Mr. Subhasish Chakrabory by Rotary Club of Bangalore in recognition of his business excellency and innovation in the Express industry.
DTDC was represented by its Chairman in the Business Delegate Team headed by the Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh for India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) visit in September 2006.
DTDC was represented at the CII Human Resources Management Mission by its Chairman and delivered a presentation on “Best HR Practices” in the year 2005.


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Boris Johnson urged to increase business support to prevent ‘economic catastrophe’
Business have called for more support (Picture: PA/AFP)
The current economic support packages will not be enough to prevent mass redundancies and business closures during the Covid-19 crisis, bosses have warned the Prime Minister.
The British Chambers of Commerce told Boris Johnson any new lockdown restrictions must come with ‘truly commensurate’ financial support or risk ‘catastrophic economic consequences’.
In a letter to Johnson, they raised particular concern about the tier two restrictions imposed on London and other areas on Saturday because they said they ‘dramatically’ hamper businesses without extra support.
The chambers added the Job Support Scheme, which sees the Treasury pay two-thirds of workers’ wages in businesses told to shut in tier three, will ‘assist some firms’ but companies they represent said it will not be enough and called for ‘enhanced support’.
Visit our live blog for the latest updates Coronavirus news live
‘Chambers are clear that any new restrictions must go hand in hand with truly commensurate financial support for wages and day-to-day running costs,’ it said.
Shuttered shops in Ancoats, northern Manchester (Picture: Getty)
The chambers set five tests to prevent economic disaster, including restrictions being evidence-based, and ensuring firms have time to prepare and have adequate compensation.……
UK Business News International
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Nielsen has announced it has acquired Landsberry & James (L&J), a leading media analysis and software company based in Sydney, Australia.
L&J designs, develops and markets software across the entire media analytics, planning, buying and post analysis process for television, digital, radio, advertising expenditure and advertising creatives.
Nielsen’s investment in L&J enables an unparalleled and powerful offering – combining Nielsen’s media measurement with L&J’s technology, to create a complete view on media analytics, advertising spend and campaign planning.
Toni Petra, Nielsen’s international watch executive vice president, said, “The acquisition provides the opportunity to combine the best of our two organisations from a measurement and software perspective. The result will be our ability to provide the media and advertising industry around the world with the most robust advertising information available and using the most advanced reporting tools.
Nielsen Australia’s media managing director, Monique Perry (main photo), added, “Landsberry & James has long- standing relationships with Nielsen clients in Australia for software that drives powerful insights into our advertising intelligence and digital data sets. We have worked closely with Landsberry & James for many years and we warmly welcome their incredibly innovative and agile team to the Nielsen family.”
Justin Sargent, Nielsen’s Pacific CEO, added, “We regularly review our product portfolio to ensure we have the right mix of capabilities and services to address the needs of our clients today and in the future. Other recent acquisitions, such as Gracenote and Repucom (now called Nielsen Sports and Entertainment), demonstrate our ability to successfully bring across new businesses, bolster our great teams and ultimately offer our clients powerful benefits.”
David Landsberry, Landsberry & James CEO, added, “For over 25 years, the Landsberry & James Group has been driven by an unwavering focus and big-picture vision; to bring our clients the very latest in technology combined with the most responsive service the industry has to offer. Now, as we stride forward into the future with Nielsen, this is the dawn of an exciting new era in which we will deliver our clients an unparalleled edge in products and services, worldwide.”
“We look forward to welcoming the L&J team into the Nielsen business and working closely together to enhance, enrich and cohesively deliver our media solutions to clients,” added Petra.
L&J is headquartered in Sydney, Australia and holds a client base of 80-plus customers including major media agencies, advertisers and broadcasters all throughout the world.
Freedom Foods and 72andSunny Sydney have launched the first advertising campaign for Australia’s Own range of plant-based beverages. The campaign introduces a new visual world and identity for the brand and captures the healthy, positive feeling you get when spending time in nature and when consuming Australia’s Own certified-organic, plant-based beverages. As well as featuring […]
Nine creatives from APAC are among the 94 finalists from 27 countries in The One Club for Creativity’s prestigious Young Guns 19 competition, celebrating international creative professionals age 30 or younger. The finalists from APAC are: Hiu Ching Kung, graphic designer, Hong Kong Lam Ieong Kun, graphic designer, illustrator, indego design, Macau Raxenne Maniquiz, graphic designer, illustrator, Santa Maria (Philippines) Kiyotaka […]
OOH transit company Adflow has announced the success of the first phase of its regional expansion program. Adflow’s regional footprint has increased by 60 per cent to now include 65 regional locations. With 9.1 million people living regionally in Australia (growth of 1.1 per cent experienced in the 19/20 Financial year) and most regional centres […]
Freshworks, a leading software company, has started trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, marking an important milestone for the company. The company priced its IPO at US$36 per share (AU$49.76), raising about US$1 billion (AU$1.4B), resulting in a total market capitalisation of AU$13.7 billion (US$10B). Freshworks, which was founded in India, has strong roots […]
Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) is the biggest player in the holiday shopping game and Google’s most recent research suggests consumer interest for the peak sales season starts much earlier than retailers may realise. The pandemic has fundamentally changed buyer behaviour over peak sales season, with Google suggesting that global consumer interest in Black Friday […]


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Sainsbury’s has blamed the ongoing price supermarket war for another drop in sales and signalled it will continue to slash the costs of its everyday goods to compete with its food retail rivals.
Mike Coupe, Sainsbury’s chief executive, said he was confident his strategy would help the company to "outperform" his major peers, amid pressure from German discount food chains Aldi and Lidl and a recovering Tesco and Morrisons.
Sainsbury's, which is the country's second biggest grocer by market share, posted a 1.1pc fall in like-for-like sales in the second quarter. Like-for-like sales strip out stores opened in the last year to give a more accurate comparison.
Total sales fell 0.4pc during the 16...
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Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India have opened their first traffic park in Maharashtra. This is the company’s sixth traffic park in the country to promote road safety.
The traffic park has been set up at Yeola in Nashik, near the MIDC area.
As a part of their CSR activity, HMSI plans to make safe riding a habit for all two-wheeler users in the country. Honda is looking forward to set up more such traffic parks across the country.
Honda will provide lifetime safety education for all age groups, special focus on women interested in independent mobility etc.
Looking at the number of road accidents involving two-wheelers due to bad traffic sense, this move by Honda will surely help improve the situation slowly, but definitely.
Source – ET Auto


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A study published this month involving Eugene grade school students supports what every chocolate lover already knows: Don’t take away the chocolate milk.
In 2011, 11 4J elementary schools participated in a study that evaluated the effects of removing chocolate milk as a beverage choice from school lunches. After two months of chocolate milk-bereft lunches, total daily milk sales went down about 10 percent, and children threw away 29.4 percent more milk, meaning that more kids picked up the regular milk but decided not to drink it.
“That is a hot debate,” says Andrew Hanks, a postdoctoral associate at Cornell University and lead author of the paper published in the online journal PLoS One. “There has been this push to remove chocolate milk because of recommendations to limit sugar consumption.” Hanks says the USDA already limits flavored milk in schools by requiring it to be fat-free, but some parents around the country want a complete removal to help combat childhood obesity.
The 4J district lifted its ban on chocolate milk last school year, and it is now offering chocolate milk from Spring Valley Dairy twice a week, featuring a formula that has no high fructose corn syrup and less sugar than a comparable serving of apple juice, according to Keith Fiedler, director of nutrition services at 4J. He says the decision to switch back to chocolate milk stems from the dietary importance of calcium and the difficulty in attaining it through sources other than milk.
Hanks says that offering both chocolate and regular milk but placing the regular milk in a more prominent, easier-to-reach spot in the cafeteria line could help children make the transition to regular milk without feeling shortchanged. “Consumers crave convenience,” he says. “The kids who really want chocolate milk are still going to take it, but for some kids, they’ll take whatever milk is more convenient.”
Fiedler says that while the results of the study influenced the decision to bring back chocolate milk a few times a week, there are currently no plans to make regular milk easier to grab from the cafeteria cooler. — Amy Schneider


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Senast Snapchat appar news - breaking appar nyheter, läckor
ET Well, it was only a matter of time before Snapchat pulled an Instagram Reels and added music in order to compete with TikTok. At this point, it has become pretty clear that TikTok is the one setting the bar when it comes to … 2021-04-13 2 days ago Snapchat New Update April 2021#Snap #snapchat #snapchattricks #deletesnaps #notification So, Please Like👍🏻 this video, Share it to your family and 2021-04-12 2021-02-09 Get latest News Information, Articles on Snapchat Update Updated on March 17, 2021 09:33 with exclusive Pictures, photos & videos on Snapchat Update at Latestly.com Snapchat crosses 60 million users milestone in India, clocks over 150% growth in DAUs. Globally, Snapchat had 265 million daily active users in the December 2020 quarter. Over 5 billion 'snaps' were created daily on average by users on the platform.
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As you can see, Snapchat releases a ton of updates every month. While most of these updates are bug fixes, it goes to show that the company believes in continually improving the experience.
If it's in the list then select Snapchat and hit Update. Sideload the latest version to Android. 24 Jan 2021 According to multiple reports, Snapchat is testing dark mode on iOS with a small percentage of users.
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Snapchat Demographic Today, Snapchat has more than 265 million daily active users around the globe. Financial Here's an overview of what you'll learn about Snapchat in 2021: Snapchat 4 Feb 2021 Snap and Unity Software, which reported fourth quarter earnings by approximately $30 million, or 3% of revenue, in 2021," the company wrote. Apple is currently testing the privacy update in a beta version of iO 5 січ. 2021 en ru.
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9 Feb 2021 Snapchat will launch a new feature that prompts users to review their friends lists The update will start rolling out for Android devices in the coming weeks, and for iOS devices in the coming months. (c)2021 U.S. T
25 Jan 2021 A little behind, but Snapchat is also going to enter the “Dark Mode” contest.
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The venture players at Apple Tree Partners have in-licensed a late-stage opioid addiction therapy from Titan Pharmaceuticals in a $305 million deal that's short on upfront cash and long on a new strategy to build up a portfolio of life sciences companies with the help of a pair of industry veterans.
Committing a little more than $15 million in a down payment, Apple Tree is gaining the U.S. and Canadian rights to Probuphine, Titan's implant designed to eke out a steady dose of buprenorphine for addicts over a six-month period. Titan also agreed to pay $50 million on an approval of the NDA, which was accepted by the FDA in October, plus $130 million in sales milestones, $35 million in regulatory milestones for related indications, with $75 million budgeted for commercialization and development work.
The deal is being inked by Braeburn Pharmaceuticals, which is being slipped under the umbrella of Apple Tree Consolidated, a holding company which is using all of the proceeds of Apple Tree's latest venture fund to build up a collection of companies that will develop and market biotech and med device companies. Rose Crane, former company group chair OTC, specialty and nutritionals at Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ), and president, primary care at Bristol-Myers Squibb ($BMY), and Garry Neil, M.D., former group president pharmaceutical R&D at Johnson & Johnson--as well as the inspiration behind the recently launched TransCelerate, a noncompetitive industry collaboration that has gained widespread attention--will manage Braeburn.
Titan, a small biotech company with an $83 million market cap ($TTNP) and stock price of $1.11 at the close on Friday, was clearly in a weak position to negotiate a deal. A $15 million upfront for an NDA-stage drug is lunch money in the biopharma industry. So Apple Tree clearly had little competition at the bargaining table. If it gets an approval, it will also have no easy task in building sales for Probuphine. But after touting its success building other biotechs like Aileron Therapeutics, Gloucester Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Celgene), HeartWare International and Tokai Pharmaceuticals, the partners at Apple Tree clearly believe they are on to something with real potential.
"The leadership team of Braeburn Pharmaceuticals combines the entrepreneurial success of Apple Tree Partners with a proven track record in pharmaceutical development and commercialization," Crane said in a statement. "We are excited by the Probuphine opportunity and look forward to working with the Titan team to drive the successful commercial launch following FDA approval."
- here's the press release
Related conversation on Twitter:


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Facebook is giving businesses a wider range of advertising options – here’s an overview of the changes.
Apple’s iOS 9 is giving users the ability to block ads, forcing marketers to find new ways to get their brand’s message across.
Mobile app management is becoming a vital functionality for social media platforms, here’s how Facebook and Twitter have made it happen.
As a follow-up to our first 2015 Cannes Lions Festival post, here is an end-of-week roundup examining several important takeaways from the festival where marketers and advertisers converged to discuss new trends.
The Cannes Lions festival is a place for marketers and new media advertisers to converge and discuss industry trends. Here are some noteworthy takeaways.
Online dating companies like Tinder are increasing their efforts to sell ad space. These are strategies for both them and the brands they are selling to.
Programmatic advertising is being discussed more and more frequently these days, here’s a general look into what it is and how it works.
To celebrate Mother’s Day (and marketing), we gathered some recent examples of companies who understood exactly how to tap into consumers’ emotions and best market their brand for Mother’s Day.
Within this post, you’ll learn why social media visuals are so important, plus the dos and don’ts of creating visuals that compel your audience to actually click, share, like, tweet, comment, etc.!
We’ve rallied up everything we could find about who is advertising this year, so consider this your ultimate marketing guide to Super Bowl XLIX.
Spotify has managed to do what others failed at: to bring advertisement to online streaming. Here are the latest developments in Spotify’s ad options for brands.
The Google-volution that has taken on the Internet is once again taking on the world of marketing. The beat? +Post Ads.
Beginning last April, Google+ began a new campaign: get 1,000 followers on your Google+ page, and you can advertise your company’s content through a +Post Ad. The Ad, which has already reportedly brought on 50% more engagement from customers than traditional advertising, allows you to engage your Plus content with multiple sources across the Internet.


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BEER SALES FALLING
Sales of beer in Britain’s pubs suffered a worrying 3.6% drop in the third quarter of 2017, the worst performance for five years.
The 3.6% drop in on-trade sales from July to September, represents an astonishing 35 million fewer pints sold in Britain’s pubs and bars when compared to the same period in 2016. Beer sales had been hit hard by a substantial 3.9% tax rise in the March budget, therefore the freeze on further increases in the November budget was warmly welcomed.
Coupled with pressure from sky-high business rates, the move would see many more pubs closing, said Brigid Simmonds, Chief Executive of the British Beer & Pub Association.
“When the Government was cutting or freezing beer duty from 2013-15, the sales of British beer stabilised, after years of a steep decline.”
We need fair taxes for British beer, so that brewers and pub operators can invest in thriving pubs, and take advantage of new opportunities to export more beer around the world as we leave the EU.
Beer sales are already under pressure with worldwide drop in sales of 1.8% reported earlier last year, after peaking in 2013.
This is not just limited to beer, with the market for all alcoholic drinks reducing by 1.3% in 2016.
It is in no doubt that Pubs and social clubs which play a very important part in peoples social life and generating tax for the government are in need of a helping hand. whether this is in the form of business rates relief or lower beer tax, it is needed sooner or later. At Comrie we are still seeing pubs and clubs closing down and many struggling to keep there head above water. This has a knock on impact to many other business who also rely on pubs and clubs to get there living.


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The past year has proven decidedly more down than up for digital radio innovator Pandora Media (NYSE:P).
After the firm's bruising post-earnings sell-off in late October, Pandora's stock has trended steadily down. These clear and continued struggles led to rumors earlier this year that Pandora might be looking to sell itself. And even more recently, the firm once-again reshuffled its leadership, which will unfortunately do little to reverse the course of a company dealing with more fundamental problems than its C-suite.
Back to its roots
The most important news in this week's press release about Pandora's management team reshuffle was that it brought back founder and former CEO Tim Westergren to re-assume the CEO position. In the characteristically optimistic, "ra ra" nature of such announcements, Westergren is quoted as saying:
I am incredibly excited about the future of Pandora. We're on the cusp of realizing an extraordinary vision. ... We are pursuing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a massive, vibrant music marketplace. We have the audience, the technology infrastructure, the monetization engine and most importantly the right team with the passion and commitment to do it.
CFO Mike Herring also added the role of president to his responsibilities, which includes revenue, music licensing, finance, legal, and IT functions. Chief Strategy Officer Sara Clemens will now assume the role of chief operating officer, with an emphasis on implementation and scaling Pandora's current and future business initiatives. Lastly, Chris Phillips will serve as chief product officer. Former CEO Brian McAndrews has left Pandora.
All of this sounds great on paper. However, Pandora's new executive team has its work cut out for it to reverse the firm's money-losing ways.
A more fundamental flaw
Pandora's problem isn't a leadership issue. The company's core ad-based online radio product simply doesn't scale. Not only has the company never turned a profit in its 16 cumulative years of existence, but it has failed to do so even as sales have skyrocketed.
Worse yet, the firm's average per-song royalty rates will increase in 2016 from $0.00153 to $0.00176, creating an additional headwind for a company working diligently to optimize its average revenue per user.
Worse yet, Pandora's efforts to launch an on-demand product this year could prove too little too late. Apple Music continues to steam ahead with its exclusive content strategy. SoundCloud has launched its own subscription service . And perhaps most importantly, Spotify recently raised $1 billion in new financing to invest in growth and conversion initiatives, which lays the groundwork for a Spotify IPO in the not-too-distant future. Presumably, when Pandora launches its new on-demand service, it will be doing so into an increasingly crowded space.
There's also the potential acquisition angle to consider. As mentioned earlier in this article, The New York Times reported in February that Pandora has retained Morgan Stanley to explore a possible sale of the company. However, given the rapid evolution of the digital music space and Pandora's profitless history, I find myself questioning what value a strategic buyer might gain by spending more than $2 billion on Pandora. The numbers simply don't add up.
To be fair, Westergren is something of a visionary in the music industry. He founded Pandora and its Music Genome Project in 2000, at a time when the Internet remained largely a novelty to many investors and music fans. Westergren could conceivably have concocted an equally prescient rescue plan to help steer his company toward calmer, more profitable waters. However, as far as bankable scenarios go, this one doesn't seem to have much in the way of evidence to support it. As such, I'm skeptical that new management alone can right Pandora's ship.


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New research has revealed that sellers may not be valuing their cars very well and buyers are haggling particularly successfully.
The study, which was carried out by Auto Trader, discovered that buyers are now managing to barter so well that they get an average of £939 knocked off the price of each vehicle.
The 3,000-strong survey also found that as many as 60% of motorists paid less than the asking price for a new or used car between July and September 2012 and Auto Trader group director Nathan Coe thinks that sellers are probably getting their valuations wrong.
"With so many sellers getting less than they were expecting for their cars it raises the question of whether this is people not valuing their cars appropriately or whether it's buyers taking advantage of a weak market," he said.
"Everyone knows buyers look at the state of the market before they purchase, but consumers have a lack of understanding about accurate pricing when it comes to selling. Sellers should do research through online valuation sites to prevent disappointment."
Over half of sellers (51%) opted for the most convenient selling method as opposed to the way that could achieve the best price and men apparently haggle better than women as they manage to get an average discount of £1,029 compared to £706.
Copyright Press Association 2012


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CoinBurp said last week it had raised $6 million to build a platform for buying and selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs), digital assets that are attracting interest from some investors but also scrutiny from regulators worried about the risks.
“The firm does not yet hold full FCA registration under the money laundering, terrorist financing and transfer of funds (information on the payer) regulations … but has submitted an application for the FCA for registration,” the FCA said in a statement.
Although CoinBurp is listed on the FCA’s temporary registration register, this does not allow any firm to claim to be registered or authorised by the FCA, the watchdog said.
“Whilst firms with this status can continue to trade, such firms and their personnel have not yet been assessed as fit and proper, and we have not yet determined their application for the purposes of the money laundering regulations,” the FCA said.
CoinBurp, which could not be immediately reached for comment, says on its website that “$BURP is coming! Be the first to know when we launch our very own utility and governance token.”
“Building this product means that CoinBurp – as a regulated broker – will have NFTs listed on the market and can be made available for investors in large and small quantities,” it said in a press statement on Friday.
The FCA statement is the latest in the watchdog’s warnings to consumers they could lose all money in crypto assets.
In June, the FCA said that Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, cannot conduct any regulated activity and issued a warning to consumers about the platform, which has since come under growing regulatory scrutiny globally.


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According to The Financial Times, Spotify is rumoured to be releasing a voice-controlled in-car music player this year.
Spotify’s first piece of hardware will be for your car https://t.co/knPD8VOM1Z
— Digital Trends (@Social_Media_cy) January 21, 2019
Rumours of the device began in April, when certain Spotify users claimed they received offers within the application to upgrade their accounts to a car-specific streaming package that included the device. Now, the Financial Times have claimed that the device will cost about $100, and it will use the company’s “Spotify Voice” system that has already been introduced in the app.
Spotify’s new hardware, which allegedly will be created by Flex, will be similar to Google’s Assistant, Apple’s CarPlay, Amazon’s Echo Auto with Alexa, and Android Auto offerings. Essentially, it will connect to car stereos through Bluetooth and use buttons that let users program in their favourite playlists according to The Verge.


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Villiger Cigars is about to unveil a new line of handmade cigars made entirely from Brazilian tobacco. Dubbed Villiger do Brasil, the new brand comes in two varieties, Claro and …
Cuban Trinidad Esmeraldas are shipping to retailers around the world.
Fuente has just upped its support for the PCA trade show. This afternoon, the company announced that it would release a series of rare cigars that will only be available at the …
Ashton Distributors Inc. is shipping out reblended, repackaged and stronger versions of La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial, a line extension of the Aroma de Cuba brand.
A box of Cigar Aficionado’s 2019 Cigar of the Year can be yours, and all you have to do is enter our Top 25 Cigar Giveaway.
Altadis U.S.A. has once again called on the talents of cigarmakers A.J. Fernandez and Rafael Nodal to create a new version of Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real.
As part of a series of sanctions against Cuba, the Trump administration has suspended U.S. charter flights to all parts of the island except Havana, making it more difficult for …
The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly voted to denounce the 57-year-old U.S. trade embargo against Cuba.
In a significant escalation of President Trump’s economic pressure on Cuba, the U.S. government is drastically curtailing U.S. commercial airline flights to the island.
The United States Department of Transportation announced tonight that it was banning scheduled flights between the United States and all Cuban cities, except for Havana.
Romeo y Julieta, which is celebrating its 145th anniversary, will be the featured cigar at the gala dinner concluding the 22nd annual Festival del Habano.
American Airlines has become the first U.S. air carrier to be sued under the revived Helms Burton Act that allows legal action against companies that do business in Cuba involving …
Rep. Anthony Sabatini (R-32) introduced a memorial bill yesterday in the Florida House that encourages his fellow lawmakers to support two federal bills that would protect premium …
With the stroke of a pen, the legal age to buy tobacco anywhere in the U.S. became 21 immediately after President Donald Trump signed the bill into law on December 20—and …
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a new guidance last week citing handmade cigars as the agency’s “lowest priority,” indicating that a bit of regulatory relief could be …
The legal age to purchase tobacco products, including handmade cigars, in the United States will be raised to 21 years old.
The Senate today confirmed by a vote of 72 to 18 that Dr. Stephen Hahn will be the new commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Originally set to end today, the FDA says it will continue accepting public feedback until December 16.
Kretek International Inc., owners of Phillips & King and Ventura Cigar Co., announced today that it won’t be attending the next PCA cigar convention.
Since the announcement that four big cigar companies were pulling out of the annual Premium Cigar Association trade show, several cigar companies and organizations have come …
Four of the biggest companies in the premium cigar business will not be attending the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) trade show this summer.
Cigar Aficionado is seeking an assistant editor/assistant web manager with web and magazine experience to join its New York City staff.
Scandinavian Tobacco Group has completed the acquisition of Royal Agio Cigars for 210 million euros (about $235 million).
The year 2020 will be a busy one for cigar events. Many are open to consumers, while some are restricted to the trade.


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Summary: store manager at the local Dunkin' Donuts coffeehouse chain in College Park, Maryland who had reportedly shot and killed two store employees identified as 21-year-old Brianna Benlolo and 25-year-old Tyler Johnson inside the skateboard apparel shop Zumiez located on the second-floor building of The Mall central shopping mall in Columbia, Maryland when he allegedly opened fire at least a dozen times with a 12-gauge shotgun for unknown reasons during a fatal shooting rampage that also critically wounded five other people at a busy shopping center earlier this week becoming the latest instance of gun violence or threats in ordinary places across the country that ended a violent week which saw shootings or gun scares at American schools or shopping centers, in which authorities said the lone gunman had no prior criminal record and purchased the shotgun legally in December 2013 but police have offered no motive for the shooting incident and said there was still no known relationship between the shooter and his victims.
Cause of Death: Suicide by self-inflicted gunshot wound
Born: January 4, 1995
Died: January 25, 2014
Location: Columbia, Maryland


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TL;DR: Thank you for visiting In cases where your Missed It (ICYMI), a crypto news update that is daily. Earnings software will allow consumers to get stimulation costs straight. PayPal to provide you coronavirus financing. Starbucks Bakkt cash payment that is testing integration. Chinese technical leaders reigned over patent processing rates a year ago. Bitcoin earnings in addition to shopping expenses latest thirty days around Australian Continent, and The country of Spain seems introducing a long-term common standard earnings regimen when you look at the not too distant future.
Earnings Application Will Allow People to Obtain Stimulus Costs Right
Profit application, the rectangular driven payment that is mobile, not too long ago launched it’s going to let people to get stimulation costs straight to their own profit account. Inside a PR report profit application revealed they today supply routing and“account figures which you can use to put your own stimulation repayment directly to your money software stability.” Finances App is just one of the earliest fintech enterprises assisting aided by the circulation of coronavirus stimulation money after Square’s Chief Executive Officer, Jack Dorsey, proposed they via their Twitter accounts.
PayPal to provide US Coronavirus Relating Debts
PayPal launched final monday it’ll promote coronavirus linked financial loans to small company through the U.S. small company management (SBA) salary safeguards plan, becoming the most important fintech establishment promoting these types of services. Dan Schulman, Chief Executive Officer of PayPal reported that “small companies have now been hit specially difficult by the coronavirus crisis. There clearly was a need that is urgent help every skilled company accessibility the investment required,” and in addition thanked Congress when it comes to possibility at circulating these resources easily one of the needy.
Starbucks Debuts Bakkt Repayment Integration
As international marketplace lose trillions of bucks, empowering customers with brand-new paying energy most significant than ever before
Starbucks has become screening Bakkt, the Bitcoin to its payment integration derivatives change, with its cellular application. A choice of having to pay with “Bakkt Cash” is actually becoming introduced into the customers of Starbucks cellular software since well. Nonetheless, a Starbucks payday loans Hawaii representative stated spending with Bakkt money continues to be at the beginning of phases of tests. Starbucks happens to be connected with Bakkt since her very very very early statement just last year, promoting themselves because the simplest way of getting Starbucks coffees with crypto in the foreseeable future.
Chinese Technical Leaders Dominated Blockchain Patent Profile In 2019
Chinese tech monster companies like Tencent and Alibaba comprise the top management within the blockchain patent land year that is last based on investigation because of the Block. Tencent and Alibaba released 20% associated with the blockchain-related patents just last year, showing a lot more than 1,200 programs. Chinese providers registered nearly all blockchain patents year that is last. The united states tracks in next room with vital businesses like Walmart and IBM.
Bitcoin Finances Surfaces Crypto Shopping Expenses around Australia
Bitcoin BCH revealed the Australian Continent cryptocurrency that is retail report related to March 2020, revealing that Bitcoin profit nevertheless brings in amount and wide range of transactions. The document says Bitcoin finances accounted for 97.6percent of physical shop product sales throughout the thirty days, incorporating a large number of newer stores like Otto’s industry, while different cryptocurrencies’ usage dropped dramatically 24% set alongside the past month’s figures. The second many used cryptocurrency was actually BTC, having a cost amount of not as much as $1,000.
The country of The Country Of The Country Of Spain to Introduction Universal Fundamental Earnings Plan
The country of Spain are getting ready to accept A worldwide Simple money system to assist their unique low income residents bring through the coronavirus pandemic. The minister for economic affairs, Nadia Calviсo, stated that although this strategy will be geared to assist residents with this set that is particular of, it will likely be built to feel long lasting. “We’re planning to take action as quickly as possible. That it remains forever,” Calviсo stressed to La Sexta so it can be useful, not just for this extraordinary situation, and.
LAST THE SPRUCE to check out all of our piping hot VIDEO. Our very own podcast, The CoinSpice Podcast, enjoys remarkable friends. Heed CoinSpice on Twitter. Join all of our Telegram feed to ensure that you never ever skip a blog post. Decrease some BCH during the merch store — we’ve had gotten some hot t-shirts for males and ladies. Don’t disregard to assist distribute the keyword about CoinSpice on social media marketing.


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All the due-diligence in the world could not stop the ironclad iOS App store from falling prey to malware. Today, it was announced that several trusted app developers were conned into using counterfeit versions of Xcodes, dubbed XcodesGhost, in application construction. The result, according to initial reports, was approximately 40 apps being infected with malware.
In more recent developments, as reported by WIRED, Apple has removed more than 300 infected apps from the App store. What’s more, the company has found that the bad apples might be more harmful to customers than previously thought.
Initial reports indicated that Palo Alto Networks managed to single out 40 applications that were infected, including banking apps, mobile carrier apps, stock trading apps, messaging services—one of which was WeChat—among others. According to WIRED, the infection was thought to be able to pilfer minute snippets of information, “such as a device’s ID, and the current time.”
However, updates to the findings of Palo Alto—among other researchers—suggest the apps are also capable of receiving commands from the attacker, making it possible for bad actors to read and write data to a user’s clipboard, prompt fraudulent alerts on a user’s display, and open certain URLS—some of these tactics make it possible to phish data, for example, by stealing passwords. While many of the 300-plus apps were for the Chinese market, some such as ‘CamCard’ are used in the United States.
Xcodes is an authentic software development tool from Apple that allows for the creation of iOS and Mac apps. In this case, cyber criminals were able to leverage Chinese developers’ limited access to Internet-downloaded software. Scammers created a counterfeit version of Xcodes, and made it more immediately available to legitimate app developers, who subsequently embedded their iOS applications with the malware. Apple, despite its draconian approval process, was blindsided.
At last report, Apple told the Guardian that the company had removed all infected apps from the App store, and was ensuring that the developers were employing the correct version of Xcodes.
The Cupertino computer makers’ App store has long been regarded as a safer environment than Android’s Google Play, but even Apple has chinks in its armor. At present, the take away seems to be a rehash of the old refrain, “you can never be too careful,” especially when it comes to cybersecurity in today’s digital landscape of threats.
More updates and expert analysis may follow.
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In today's heavily digital economy, data represents one of a company's most valuable assets and a key competitive advantage. But maximising the potent…
Businesses today retain a lot of data about both internal operations and their customers. This information is one of your strongest assets, but that a…
Cyber attacks and Data breaches are pretty common these days. In the first half of 2022, businesses lost an average of $4.35 million. At the same time…
The internet plays a huge part in our daily lives. We use it to find information, book tickets, pay bills and collaborate on work projects. Cybersecur…


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It is not uncommon that every now and then there is a story about human rights violations of workers in some part of the world, which is why we at Insider Monkey, recognizing the gravity of the issue, decided to draft the list of 11 countries with the worst labor laws, working conditions in the world.
The human rights violations of workers perfectly illustrate social class differences generated by capitalism, where those who are at the bottom of the social pyramid are subjected to abuse and dehumanization. More often than not the stories of workers’ human rights abuses remain untold, which testifies even more to the marginalization experienced by workers. I guess it is the very silence on the issue that speaks the loudest. Not that long ago, the story of unpaid Zara workers went viral. It was yet another controversy associated with the retailer. Zara clothing that was on sale had hidden notes in it, which discussed unsafe working conditions, unfair working hours and unfair pay. One of the items read, “I made this item you are going to buy, but I didn’t get paid for it.” While the majority of us, myself included, go shopping without putting much thought into how the actual product got to the shelves of stores, this story definitely calls for thinking. In such context, consumerism becomes subject to moral debate. The very act of sharing the story of what happened to the workers of Zara on social networks is a small step towards solving the problem. The next step would be boycotting their products. While it might appear insignificant, it is astounding what an army of strong-willed people can accomplish. Raise awareness and take action!
When writing about countries with the lowest unemployment rates in the world in 2017, I illustrated what it is like living in countries where getting a job is as easy as getting up in the morning. It takes some effort, but it is certainly not that difficult. These countries have strong economies that are always in demand for workers. Some of them have also made it to the list of countries with the highest minimum wage in the world in 2017. These countries obviously make it their priority to ensure the best working conditions for their workers. At the other end of the spectrum, there are countries with the worst labor laws, working conditions in the world which I will focus on in this article.
When discussing countries with the worst labor laws, we should definitely turn to reports published by the International Trade Union Confederation, which is also known as the ITUC ranking. It is based on the ITUC Global Rights Index. There are five groups of rankings: 1st group implies not regular violations of rights, 2nd group indicates repeated violations of rights, 3rd group encompasses countries where there are regular violations of rights, 4th group points to countries with systematic violations of rights, 5th group involves countries where there is no guarantee of rights and 5+ group are countries where there is no guarantee of rights due to the breakdown of the rule of law. Each of their reports elaborates on working conditions by country, offering an insight into the best countries for workers and the worst countries for workers. A special section in 2017 ITUC report provides an overview of what countries have the worst working conditions. Qatar, Egypt, Colombia, Republic of Korea, and Bangladesh are some of the countries that are considered to be the worst for workers in 2017. According to the same report, the Middle East and especially the North Africa is the world’s worst region when it comes to workers’ rights – its ranking in 2017 (4.53) is even worse than in 2016 (4.26). Countries with poor working conditions in this region, as the report indicates, “are beset with conflict and a breakdown of the rule of law so that no guarantee of fundamental labour rights is possible.” On the other hand, countries with the best labor laws are all located in Europe, which is the leading region when it comes to workers’ rights. Speaking of poor working conditions, it is important to mention some of the companies which are known for the maltreatment they subject their workers to. According to the article published by money inc, top 5 worst working conditions companies are Tyson Foods, Apple, Sears, Walmart, and Family Dollar. You better avoid these if you are looking for a job.
When drafting the list of top 11 countries with the worst labor laws, working conditions in the world, I referred to the data contained in ITUC reports. I have taken into account the reports published in 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013 and combined results from these surveys. That is five years worth of data with regards to the respect, or lack of workers’ rights, which allowed me to list 11 countries with the worst working conditions.


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Research In Motion on Friday announced that it has have signed a definitive licensing and settlement agreement with patent firm NTP to end a never-ending legal battle that threatened to shut down BlackBerry service in the United States. All terms of the agreement have been finalized and the litigation against RIM has been dismissed by a court order. RIM will pay NTP $612.5 million in a “full and final settlement of all claims.”
The agreement eliminates the need for any further court proceedings or decisions relating to damages or injunctive relief.
The licensing and settlement agreement relates to all patents owned and controlled by NTP and covers all of RIM’s products, services and technologies. NTP grants RIM an unregulated right to continue its business, including its BlackBerry related business.
RIM CEO Jim Balsillie said the settlement did not leave him with “a good feeling,” but disputed the company had few options.
“It’s a lot of money for patents that will not survive for sure,” Balsillie said. “We are caught in an ambiguous time in the patent laws and the courts. No one feels good about this, but we are happy to put it behind us.”
The decision allows RIM and its partners to sell RIM products and services completely free and clear of any claim by NTP, including any claims that NTP may have against wireless carriers, channel partners, suppliers or customers in relation to RIM products or services, (including BlackBerry Connect and built-in technology), or in relation to third party products and services, to the extent they are used in connection with RIM products and services.
With respect to the accounting treatment of the settlement amount of $612.5 million, RIM said it had previously accrued $450 million and the additional amount of $162.5 million would be recorded in the fourth quarter.
In deciding not to enforce an order that would halt BlackBerry service last Friday, U.S. District Judge James Spencer reprimanded the two sides for not making more effort to settle the matter out of court. Spencer said he hoped to have a decision on the injunction “as soon as reasonably possible.”
However, the judge reminded RIM that it had already been found guilty of patent infringement. Spencer said, “The simple truth, the reality of the jury verdict has not changed.” RIM was found guilty in July 2002 of infringing on NTP’s wireless patents.
The comment from Spencer led to public statements being issued last week by both companies saying they were willing to sit down and settle matters amicable once again.


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Feb. 7, 2024 - The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Heidi Brock and American Wood Council (AWC) President and CEO Jackson Morrill responded to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) announcement of an updated National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM2.5), which lowers the standard to 9 µg/m3.
"EPA's rule delivers a devastating blow to U.S. manufacturing and the economy while doing nothing to address the largest sources of particulate matter, including wildfire smoke. This unworkable air rule undermines President Biden's promise to grow and reshore manufacturing jobs. We are very concerned that many of the modernization projects in the paper and wood products industry and across U.S. manufacturing will no longer be able to move forward.
"The new rule defies common sense. This Administration has set the PM2.5 NAAQS at near background levels, ensuring permit gridlock for most manufacturing sectors around the country, while failing to address 84% of overall PM2.5 emissions. Essential projects that would reduce greenhouse gas and other emissions, create high-paying jobs and allow us to compete in the global economy are now severely at risk. Our industry has demonstrated a continued commitment to be a good steward and community partner. We need sustainable regulation to make environmental progress and keep vital manufacturing jobs in America.
"AF&PA and AWC joined leaders from over 70 other U.S. manufacturing and trade groups urging the Administration to maintain the existing standard. We also delivered a joint CEO letter to White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients signed by 44 of our members from the paper and wood products industry. These letters reflect the importance of this issue not only for our industry but for the economic prosperity of America.
"The EPA must immediately reconsider the PM NAAQS and set a 3-year effective date. We want to work with the Biden Administration on a practical implementation plan that avoids some of the worst impacts of this unsustainable rule."
The American Wood Council (AWC) is the voice of North American wood products manufacturing, an industry that provides over 450,000 men and women in the United States with family-wage jobs. AWC represents 86 percent of the structural wood products industry, and members make products that are essential to everyday life from a renewable resource that absorbs and sequesters carbon.
The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) serves to advance U.S. paper and wood products manufacturers through fact-based public policy and marketplace advocacy. The forest products industry is circular by nature. AF&PA member companies make essential products from renewable and recycle resources, generate renewable bioenergy and are committed to continuous improvement through the industry's sustainability initiative — Better Practices, Better Planet 2030: Sustainable Products for a Sustainable Future.
The forest products industry accounts for approximately 5% of the total U.S. manufacturing GDP, manufactures about $350 billion in products annually and employs about 925,000 people. The industry meets a payroll of about $65 billion annually and is among the top 10 manufacturing sector employers in 43 states.
Read a related article: Industry CEOs Warn of Dire Economic Consequences from Proposed NAAQS Standards - Nov. 2, 2023.
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Airbnb hires Apple legend Sir Jony Ive for redesign ahead of a £23bn float later this year
Airbnb has hired famed former Apple designer Sir Jony Ive to lead a redesign of the company ahead of a £23billion float later this year.
The home rental site has hired Ive's company, LoveFrom, to revamp its app and website, as well as create new products in a 'special collaboration' that will last for several years.
Ive, who is British and was knighted in 2012, was lauded for overseeing the creation of the iPhone.
Airbnb has hired Sir Jony Ive's company, LoveFrom, to revamp its app and website, as well as create new products in a 'special collaboration' that will last for several years
The 53-year-old was a close colleague of Apple founder Steve Jobs and was head of the company's design from the 1990s until June 2019, and Apple is one of LoveFrom's major clients.
Airbnb has rebounded from the Covid pandemic, which at its peak wiped out 80 per cent of its bookings.
It cut a quarter of its workforce, raised £1.5billion of debt and cancelled all marketing in a bid to stay afloat.
Since June, analysts believe bookings in some areas have surpassed 2019 levels.
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With another Brexit deadline looming, Rick Smith, managing director of business rescue and recovery consultants Forbes Burton, dives into how the break from the EU is likely to affect both British businesses and his own operation
This article is the view of the author and not necessarily of Ready for Brexit
Brexit has the potential to have a massive impact on almost every industry – we’ve already seen some businesses failing because of Brexit uncertainty, and until Brexit is done and dusted or scrapped altogether, British businesses are going to continue to suffer.
Even after the UK has formally exited the EU, the effect of Brexit could have a big impact on many businesses because of the trade deals that have been struck. Some changes will have a drastic impact on the way British firms work with those inside the European Union, such as import and export tariffs, changes to immigration and workers rights.
There is also the likelihood of increased staffing costs, as access to cheaper EU labour is restricted, this will reduce the margins of already pretty close to line companies even more – it could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
A lot depends on whether planning for exit has been done and what safeguards are in place for workers and businesses.
A lot of Forbes Burton’s clients come from the construction, manufacturing, retail and leisure sectors and all of these have seen increases in numbers in financial distress creeping ever upwards since the EU referendum. One thing in common with these is they use EU nationals as a large part of their workforces and these sectors could definitely feel the effect of Brexit.
In more niche areas, the UK is well placed when it comes to tech innovation and medical science, key areas where the rest of the world is still catching up. By concentrating on niche areas of growth, UK businesses should be more than prepared for the lean period we may be entering.
Businesses need to avoid risks, cut controllable costs and keep an eye on the competition. Brexit isn’t going away in a hurry and it will have an impact on business. To bury your head in the sand just as things look to be changing in such sweeping ways could be disastrous. Planning is key!
Brexit is unlikely to have an impact on how Forbes Burton trades, we deal with UK companies and have little to no dealing with international businesses at the moment. If the businesses and industries we work in find themselves in trouble, however, we’ll always be there.
In any event, we can all agree that Brexit has brought some misery on the UK’s economy and high street especially. Regardless of if we eventually leave the EU, the damage is done and we are likely to still be feeling it in years to come. The best thing for British businesses to do now is to prepare for a difficult few years by slimming down and ensuring that all processes are as efficient as they can be.
On a more positive note, there could be more inward investment into our own workforce and we may well see more apprenticeships or similar schemes launched to build the skills needed to replace the loss of EU workers. There will also be the freedom to renegotiate new trade deals, which could be beneficial moving forward. It’s all up in the air, and not entirely in the UK’s control. It all really depends on whether you’re an optimist or a pessimist!
Unfortunately, even though there has been time for planning, many businesses have been unable or unwilling to do it. This will have a large knock-on effect, even affecting those businesses that have planned and put the necessary work in because problems in the supply chain can affect everyone in it. It’s an unfortunate reality, but if Brexit causes even half of the problems that it could, without proper preparation by UK businesses, and indeed the UK economy, they could be in big trouble.


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SUV was one of the hot selling segment in the year 2019. We saw two new entrants MG Hector and Kia Seltos and both seemed to do well. We expect 2020 to be good for all the SUV lovers as some new manufacturers have already announced their entry in India, at the upcoming Auto expo 2020.
Watch the video to know about the top 10 best selling SUVs in India in the month of December 2019. Know how many units did your favourite SUV sell in December.


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Boosting Buying Power Through Networking
A decade ago, Ron Reichen earned double-digit profits. These days, laments the president of Precision Body & Paint in Beaverton, Ore., just breaking even feels lucky.
Overhead costs constantly increase and reimbursements are nearly impossible to come by, Reichen says. His cost on paint materials, for instance, jumped 6.5 percent in February. Reichen sent letters to insurance partners to let them know, asking for a 6.5 percent increase in compensation. Not surprisingly, he had no takers. “Insurers say that’s a cost of doing business, and won’t allow us to pass that cost along,” Reichen says.
Because you can’t build more profit into the actual repair, your net profit has to come by lowering overhead, Reichen says. So it’s critical to purchase materials and other services at reduced rates.
Sounds good in theory, right? Turns out, it’s a practice that is possible: Teaming up with other repair operations in a shop network to make purchases can decrease your costs. Reichen saves about 3 percent annually on shop materials.
—Scott Biggs, CEO, Assured Performance Network
As a member of the Assured Performance Network, Reichen is able to buy parts, materials, equipment and even office supplies at discounted rates. Some purchases earn financial rebates, too. The network responsible for such deals is a not-for-profit cooperative buying group of roughly 3,500 shops across the country.
With the savings generated from rebates and discounts, Reichen has been able to invest in equipment and training for his shop—and add a few dollars to his profit margin. “This allows us to keep our doors open,” he says, “and continue to be competitive in the market.”
The collision industry’s multiple shop operations (MSOs)—like CARSTAR, Fix Auto and ABRA Auto Body & Glass—continue to increase their reach across the country. The buying power generated by their huge networks of shops is one element that makes their growth possible.
“Volume has always been critically important to purchasing,” says Scott Biggs, CEO of the Assured Performance Network. “Consolidators get huge price breaks and even investments from vendors, which helps fund their growth.”
That can be a big disadvantage to independent shop operators since most of them don’t have any way of obtaining that competitive edge.
In today’s market, independent shops have to be able to leverage that buying power to be competitive, Biggs says. Joining a larger conglomerate of shops provides that benefit—without requiring your shop to become part of a franchise.
How It Works
Through a buying group like the Assured Performance Network, shops have access to the lowest possible prices on many of the same products they already buy, Biggs says.
—Ron Reichen, president, Precision Body & Paint
Vendors offer discounted deals through the network because the organization leverages $20 million to $40 million worth of additional sales for the vendor annually in any given market and hundreds of millions collectively on a nationwide basis.
Joining the Assured Performance Network is free. No fees or royalties are required for membership. But shops do have to meet strict criteria and operational standards to become a member. The Assured Performance Network looks for operations that have been in business for at least five years, and that have the proper tools, permits, licensing and training. “We’re looking for the ‘best in class’ shops,” Biggs says.
For shops that make the cut, the benefits are great:
• Discounts. On occasional purchases—like equipment—shops get discounts of 20 to 30 percent more than what they can do on their own, Biggs says. When shops purchase repetitively consumed products—like parts, materials or paint—the discount is roughly 5 percent.
• Rebates. Through some vendor agreements, such as those with General Motors, shops get monetary rebates on top of the discounted rates they get from their jobber or dealer.
For example, the Assured Performance Network has a partnership with Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Through it, member shops receive a $1 rebate for every rental vehicle they put on the road, and for every day the car is being used, Reichen says. So if you have 20 rental vehicles on the road, your shop earns a $20 rebate that day.
Shop rebates are deposited into co-op account. Shop operators can request those funds as cash payouts, or use the money for marketing, equipment purchases, training or other business development purposes, Biggs says.
Reichen accumulates about $25,000 a year in purchase rebates. He most recently used the money to buy an $18,000 air compressor for his shop.
“I look at this as an equipment savings plan,” he says. “It’s kind of like getting some business improvements for free because the materials we purchase are things we would have to buy anyway.”
The Assured Performance Network website, assuredperformance.net, includes a list of vendors that have partnered with the network.
Details about membership criteria and application process are also available.
For shops on their way up, but not quite established enough for the Assured Performance Network, there’s a new group on the scene that offers similar buying power. OEM Brands Online launched in January 2011. The organization has partnerships with manufacturers of consumables such as paint and materials.
David Coffey, executive vice president of OEM Brands Online, says member shops save roughly 40 percent on every purchase made through the network because shops buy directly from the manufacturer.
Most shops spend about 10 percent of revenue on paint materials, Coffey explains. So if your shop does $1 million in sales, roughly $50,000 would be spent on paint and $50,000 on materials. Coffey says the network focuses on materials that are known commodities with multiple distribution channels. A shop can save 10 to 25 percent on paint and materials, he says.
OEM Brands Online also has partnerships with companies that reduce shop costs on health care, insurance, energy and waste management.
For example, the cooperative has a partnership with a waste management company that assists member repair facilities with implementing recycling programs, Coffey says.
That partnership helps shops get paid for recapturing aluminum, steel and plastics.
“We help shops find ways to cut costs of goods sold and to manage their expenses,” Coffey says.
Visit oembrandsonline.com to find out more information about becoming a member. You can also contact the company for more information about the products that can be purchased, and for a free cost analysis to assess how much money you may save on purchases.
Drop Costs, Derive Profit
Profit isn’t always just about your total sales volume. Yes, more work is a good thing, but there’s not always a direct correlation between the number of jobs you do and your bottom line.
Coffey says he recently met with a shop owner who increased annual revenue by 28 percent in 2010. But the shop’s overhead and costs of goods also increased. The result? Net profit stayed flat compared to the previous year.
“The shop did more work for less money,” Coffey says, noting the owner could have made a lot more money had he been able to control cost increases. Shop operators have to change their philosophy in the way they work, and the strategies they use to make a profit.
Many in the industry talk about raising profits by acquiring more jobs or charging more, Coffey says. But the top businesses in the industry raise profit by reducing overhead.
Bottom line: If your costs are too high, you are never going to make any money.
“It’s about doing business in a better way,” Reichen says.


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Nearly 18.2% of total funding raised by Indian startups went into fintech firms across 131 deals
WhatsApp Payments may have received the regulatory nod, will it be able to catch up to its competitors?
Like demonetisation pushed users to try out financial services like digital payments, the pandemic has made users more comfortable with it
Covid-19 has accelerated the digitisation of everything from education to grocery shopping and with retail visits dropping drastically, cash also went out of the equation for a while. The fintech industry is playing a critical role in reducing the touchpoints and risks associated with cash exchange. It is safe to say that Covid-19 has been a huge turning point for fintech adoption in terms of lending, insurance, micro-services and more.
“Despite this challenging backdrop, fintechs have proven resilient and adaptable: contributing to pandemic relief efforts, adjusting operations and offerings to serve vulnerable market segments, like micro, small and medium-sized businesses, while posting year-over-year growth across most regions,” Matthew Blake, head of financial and monetary systems, World Economic Forum said.
But will the segment continue to grow in 2021 or will cash and the traditional financial services industry come roaring back? We spoke to several stakeholders, fintech entrepreneurs and investors well-versed with the domain to understand the fintech trends and challenges in 2021.
Several stakeholders believe that users will continue to adapt to virtual financial services like digital payments, online trading, robo-advisories, lending and more, even if the situation goes back to normal.
“If 2020 the year of the pandemics was all about edtech and healthtech, 2021 will be the year of Fintech in India. Consumers and businesses alike have made substantial changes to the way they lead their lives and businesses and set new goals and practices for saving, investing and spending,” said Anup Jain, managing partner of Orios Venture Partners.
Meanwhile, Vaibhav Tamrakar of PGA Labs, believes that fintech solutions for niche areas like education, urban housing, student housing and other use-cases will be potential innovation points once again as the vaccine transforms the market once again in 2021.
According to a study, The Global Covid-19 FinTech Market Rapid Assessment Study, jointly conducted by Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance and the World Bank, most types of fintech firms reported strong growth for the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in the previous year. The report was based on 1,428 fintech firms across 169 countries.
As per Inc42+ estimates, about $11.5 Bn was invested in Indian startups in 2020. Of this, nearly 18.2% of the capital went into fintech firms that raised about $2.1 Bn across 131 deals. Fintech also emerged as the top-funded sector in 2020, followed closely by enterprise tech with $1.7 Bn across 128 deals and consumer services with $1.68 Bn across 95 deals.
Consolidated Platforms To Become Key Fintech Players
Among all the fintech offerings, holistic financial services over mobile devices are expected to gain more prominence. From Google Pay to WhatsApp Payments and PhonePe, all major fintech companies are looking to diversify their service offerings and pile on more features. Paytm has invested heavily in its wealth management and investments portfolio and is gunning for a small finance bank licence. These developments mean that in the future, fintech companies will become wide platforms for all financial services and not just payments or lending.
According to BlackSoil cofounder and director Ankur Bansal, “New-age fintech platforms are already offering such solutions, wherein users can carry out a range of activities such as spending, lending, investing, fund transfer, etc.”
The consolidating activities of fintech players has witnessed a quick uptake over the past year, which was accelerated during the lockdown
The platforms have expanded their offering to credit, insurance and even stockbroking in some cases, among many others. In many ways, the Indian government’s policy of zero MDR (merchant discount rate) charges on Rupay or UPI transactions has forced the hands of the big fintech players to look beyond payments and venture into other microservices.
Will Big Tech Be Able To Take Over Fintech?
The consolidation trend has led to the entry of some of the biggest tech giants like Google, Facebook and Amazon in the Indian fintech scene across segments, including lending. This does raise the question, whether the smaller local players will be able to fend off competition from these market leaders. There is no simple answer to this question.
Lightspeed India’s vice president Shuvi Shrivastava believes that “Google, Facebook and Amazon clearly have a distribution advantage in India and this is important because acquisition costs are still one of the largest drivers of burn for consumer-focused startups, thereby limiting competition across spaces.”
“However, most fintech products require considerable on-ground expertise and execution in terms of banking and regulatory relationships, associated technology infrastructure, and local consumer understanding,” she said, further adding, “Consequently, we foresee local vertical-focused fintech product manufacturers and biz model innovators actually partnering with and leveraging big tech distribution versus competing head-on.”
Meanwhile, Orios’ Jain added that local solutions like Mobikwik and BharatPe are posing tough competition for the bigger tech companies. It is important to note that BharatPe overtook Google Pay to become the third-largest player in the merchant UPI payments in December 2020.
WhatsApp’s Aggressive Fintech Expansion In India
While talking about the fintech segment, it is hard to miss out on WhatsApp, which finally received the regulatory go-ahead to start its digital payments platforms in India after two years of delay. With more than 400 Mn users in India, WhatsApp has a big base to start with.
There is no doubt that WhatsApp’s fintech platform is going to have greater accessibility to users than competitors like Google Pay, PhonePe, AmazonPay and Paytm. But there is no denying that these platforms have already grown exponentially in India, creating a network of loyal customers as well as financial services.
The year 2021 is going to be the year of growth for WhatsApp Pay, but to what extent? Will it be able to overtake all the other platforms that already have well-stacked solutions in place. Regardless, all these major fintech platforms will be in the race to become super fintech apps.
Neobanking On The Verge Of Boom
With traditional banking behemoths struggling to cope with technology-first operations, neobanks will be one of the biggest trends of 2021.
Today, fintech products and services are redefining the core of banking and as consolidation happens across service offerings, fintech startups will start resembling banks in many ways. And as India gets more tech savvy, neobanks are bound to become a norm in India and emerge as one of the key areas of innovation. Even traditional banks are bound to take more notice of this and invest heavily in technology, but startups will have the edge when it comes to innovation and digital-first plays.
“Neobanks are emerging as an alternative to the traditional branch model of banks where retail outlets are being converted into mini-ATMs for cash deposits and withdrawals” Bansal said. Startups such as Razorpay X, NiYo, Open, InstantPay, InstaDApp, Forex Kart, PayZello, Yelo, Walrus are leading the charge in the Indian market.
BlackSoil’s Bansal added products and businesses targeting blue-collar workers will see greater traction since this audience is usually left out of the ambit of traditional banking services. Beyond this, neobanking insurance products will be a new favourite.


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iOS VPN App
Dell has announced a new concept that could revolutionize the future of laptops. Known as “Concept Luna,” this project will focus on sustainability and repairability. Although Dell laptops are easier to repair than the likes of the Apple MacBook, the company feels it can do even more in this field.
Since laptop components tend to have a high carbon footprint, Concept Luna will utilize a 75% smaller motherboard at just 5,580 square millimeters. Moreover, Dell claims this concept will have 20% fewer components onboard. According to the manufacturer, these changes will reduce the carbon footprint of the motherboard by up to 50% (via).
In addition to size reductions for key components, Luna will also see the motherboard going inside the lid. This allows the motherboard to remain cool as it has a larger surface area surrounding it. This, in turn, reduces power consumption while also increasing the component’s lifespan.
Concept Luna uses 10x fewer screws than a conventional laptop
Repairability is another crucial facet of Dell’s Concept Luna. The company claims that almost everything inside the laptop can be easily repaired or replaced. This is thanks to a 10x reduction in screws. Dell claims this brings down repair time by up to 1.5 hours. Critical components like the battery, display, and even the keyboard are fairly easy to remove.
Dell will showcase Concept Luna in further detail at CES 2022, which begins on January 5, 2022. In the meantime, the company has shared some images of Concept Luna in action. The manufacturer claims that the carbon footprint of a product could dip by as much as 50% if the aforementioned guidelines are followed.
This comes amid corporations and nations laying out plans to reach net-zero emissions over the next decade and beyond. Chipmaker Qualcomm said last month that it would bring a 50% reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The company said it would reach net-zero by 2040. Meanwhile, Verizon has pledged to reach net-zero by 2035.
Similarly, Google did its bit by announcing a few sustainability-related measures across its apps and services in October. An update to Google Maps introduced a feature that displays fuel-efficient…


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In recent years, the motoring industry has introduced a series of technological breakthroughs to provide more effective and automated driving experiences for the modern traveler….
CarCharging Resumes Sale of the Blink HQ, Level II Residential Electric Vehicle Charging Station (via PR Newswire) Blink HQ Provides EV Drivers with Convenient…
A research firm rates the Nissan Leaf to be the cleanest car in America based upon a variety of different factors.
Rinspeed, ahead of the Geneva Motor Show, takes a Model S and dresses it up to answer the question of what you’ll do in the car as robots drive you around.
ABB and new Chinese automotive brand Denza team up on a long term agreement to bring many new EV fast chargers to China.
Volkswagen has begun sales of its e-Golf compact electric car in Germany, bringing to market a new mass production EV.
Kia Motors, in developing the Soul EV, looks to address HVAC energy efficiency via new technologies that are being tested near the Arctic Circle.
The Nissan Leaf in Europe has become one of the top selling electric cars, and in the case of one nation, the top selling vehicle overall.
NASA turns its research ability towards studying how commuting in electric vehicles can help directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Some people claim electric vehicles (EVs) emit more pollution than conventional vehicles, but based on what? Certainly not based on published literature.
Kia Motors formally gets into the electric car race in the United States with the world debut of the Soul EV and its up to 100 miles of driving range.


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It’s the end of an era that started two decades ago with two-way messaging pagers…Blackberry has announced they are leaving the money-losing hardware business.
One would think though this affects, and has affected, fewer and fewer people with dwindling demand for their devices barring the keyboard loyalists, who have become fewer and further between.
A promise from CEO John Chen to shareholders a little over a year ago, that unless he could make the hardware division profitable, the company would no longer focus on making the device internally.
It played out exactly as many could have anticipated.
For the company that’s got its name from the once iconic smart phone, it’ll mean a focus on their software and services business.
In recent years it has been announced partnership with tech giants like Samsung that have garnered optimism in their longevity, and unfortunately not the unveiling of the BB10.


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Turnover in dairy farming sector up
|Turnover dairy farming sector (x billion euros)||Revenues from milk (x billion euros)|
Total turnover by dairy farms increased by 40 percent in Q3 2017 relative to the same quarter one year previously. The two preceding quarters showed turnover growth as well. In Q2 2017, dairy farming turnover rose by 28 percent, versus a year-on-year increase of 22 percent in Q1.
Abolition of milk quota, plunging milk prices
On 1 April 2015, the milk quota system for dairy farms was abolished. This led to a substantial increase in milk production and number of kilograms of milk delivered to dairy plants. At the same time, the world price for milk dropped in the face of stagnating demand while the supply of milk (products) on the global market went up, especially from New Zealand. On average in 2015, the price of milk fell 22 percent below the level one year previously.
Milk production rose by nearly 7 percent in 2015 while the overall revenue from milk sales declined. As a result of lower milk prices, annual turnover in the dairy farming sector declined by 14 percent over this period.
Further increase in milk production
The production of milk continued to grow in 2016, when a record amount of 14.3 billion kg was delivered to the dairy factories. As prices continued their decline throughout 2016 (by on average 7 percent relative to 2015), total annual turnover in the dairy farming sector remained virtually unchanged (a 0.5 percent decrease). Over the course of 2016, the price of milk picked up again and it continued to recover in 2017.
Decrease in dairy herd due to Phosphate Reduction Plan
The sharp growth in dairy herd numbers following the abolition of the milk quota system led to phosphate limits being exceeded. In 2017, the Phosphate Reduction Plan came into force in the Dutch dairy farming sector. This should put a halt to further dairy herd growth and dairy farmers will need to reduce the size of their herds. Preliminary figures taken from the Agricultural census of 1 April 2017 show that the number of dairy cows has dropped by over 50 thousand; female young cattle have been reduced by approximately 120 thousand head. In 2017, milk production decreased by on average 0.7 percent up to the third quarter. Due to rising milk prices, the dairy farming sector saw an increase in turnover of 30 percent on average in this period, compared to the year before.
|< 70 mature dairy cattle (%)||70 - 120 mature dairy cattle (%)||>= 120 mature dairy cattle (%)|
2017: fewer large dairy farms due to reduced size of herds
Due to dairy farm expansion, the share of farms with 120 dairy cows or more in total dairy farming turnover has increased further. This share of large dairy farms rose from 38 percent in Q3 2014 to 49 percent in the same quarter of 2016. In Q3 2017, the share subsided again as a result of farmers reducing their herd numbers: to 47 percent.


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The Aporsor Gangstar, Kofi mole has released his new EP which have five strong songs on it . Download the full EP below.
Kofi mole- your Love
Kofi mole – Obi pe MP3
Kofi mole – me Me woa MP3
Kofi Mole – Bestie mp3
Kofi mole – Don’t Be Late mp3
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- July 22, 2014
The UK flower growing industry may be still considering the best tactics for an assault on the market but one company is even now leading that charge.
The Butters Group already provides a series of products for Waitrose and proudly boasts that 75% of the flowers are UK grown.
But the Spalding-based company isn’t prepared to draw the battle line there – and have plans to extend the number and variety of UK grown flowers it supplies.
Butters Flowers, a division of the company, is currently working with a grower in Boston to produce locally grown tanacetum parthenium (a variety of chrysanthemum) to use in bouquets for Waitrose – a bloom which is normally imported from Holland.
Next year they hope to extend trials to extend the UK growing season for agapanthus so UK flowers can be used for a longer period of the year rather than relying on imports from Columbia or Kenya.
Both projects are being spearheaded by Butters technical manager Tracey Thomas – who has also been running trials for the Cut Flower Centre to help product development.
And it is this joint working that Butters believes lies at the heart of the solution for reinvigorating the UK growing sector.
Jo Pearson, the group’s business development manager, is passionate about UK flowers but understands growers cannot invest in their operations until they get commitment from buyers.
“The solution lies in retailers giving long-term commitments to selling UK flowers because without that growers cannot invest in their crops or their business,” she said.
“At Butters we are passionate about getting more products from UK sources on the shelves. Anything we can do to advance the UK growing sector we will. We want to work with growers to create new and alternative products and improve the quality.
“The support from Waitrose has been instrumental in helping us to do that. They are committed to selling UK flowers and that has helped enormously.”
And the company – which packages and distributes nearly 3,500 bouquets a day from its centre in Lincolnshire – is hopeful that commitment to British blooms can extend to other customers.
The products it distributes on behalf of Interflora, Flying Flowers and Moon Pig still top many competitors for the amount of UK sourced flowers – topping 20% on average – but the company accepts there is room for improvement.
However it may be consumers, rather than suppliers, who hold the key. To win that battle the current campaign to encourage people to buy British – with the inclusion of the Union Jack on the labels of UK grown flowers – has made some gains.
Jo believes the campaign needs to increase its bombardment on the public consciousness to have any chance of victory.
She points to the positive work done within the UK food industry to raise the profile of individual suppliers, farmers and producers as an example of what can be achieved.
Interflora and Waitrose have already made strides in this direction, she says, but more can be done by the industry as a whole.
“The concept of the Union Jack labelling is right but the execution needs to be stronger. The more we can do to promote the flag the better. We want to be waving it as proudly and as visibly as possible,” she said.
But, however the campaign progresses, Butters is determined to be a staunch ally for UK growers.