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- The KRA, which suspended the implementation of the notice from August 12 for two months to give adequate time for importers to clear such goods in the warehouses, maintains the grace period is over and the rule will start applying.
- The policy will prevent importers of certain consumer goods from using bonded warehouses for storage and now they will be required to pay duty upon arrival of goods into the country.
- The policy changes will remove the advantages that bonded warehouses have provided importers in the past, and smaller businesses are expected to be hardest hit.
Players in the logistics and manufacturing sector have warned that the implementation of the cessation of bonded warehousing of 17 goods by the government which took effect on Monday will directly affect the economy and supply chain in particular.
The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), Container Freight Stations (CFS) owners and players in the clearing and forwarding sector said the gazette notice issued by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) on May 13 this year is likely to have the undesired effect of making the country uncompetitive and less attractive to investors.
The KRA, which suspended the implementation of the notice from August 12 for two months to give adequate time for importers to clear such goods in the warehouses, maintains the grace period is over and the rule will start applying.
The policy will prevent importers of certain consumer goods from using bonded warehouses for storage and now they will be required to pay duty upon arrival of goods into the country.
According to the directive, wines and spirits, second-hand motor vehicles, clothing and textiles, office supplies, foodstuffs of any form including bulk commodities, cigarettes, toiletries and spare parts will all attract full customs duties to be paid on arrival. Construction materials, electrical parts, cameras, phones, tyres, lubricants, used footwear and furniture will also fall under the new rules.
The policy changes will remove the advantages that bonded warehouses have provided importers in the past, and smaller businesses are expected to be hardest hit. In addition to the delayed payment of taxes that helps manage cash flow, the use of bonded warehouses provides storage facilities for goods while planning onwards export, and for assisting in stock management.
KAM CEO Phyllis Wakiaga said the changes will lead to challenges in time management, caused by inconsistencies and logistical challenges since customs bonded facilities assist in stock and logistics management.
“We shall also see intermittent out of stock (goods), leading to inherent shopping logistics challenges from various sources, consolidation processes, unpredictable weather patterns and port inefficiencies among others,” said Ms Wakiaga.
She said with the focus being put on meeting tax obligations on current stock in bond and future orders based on demand, the directive will lead to cut back on manufacturing operations in order to remain afloat. The bond facility assists in managing stock from a national perspective since some firms have operations across other counties outside Nairobi and in the neighbouring countries.
“Some firms may consider closing their export businesses due to inability to provide a wide range of finished products in bonded facilities. Our current list of export customers come from DR Congo, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan, and they source for their goods in the country,” she said.
There is need, Ms Wakiga noted, for a functional customs bond facility to facilitate this critical trade in the region as the closure of export businesses might affect local industry’s competitiveness, profitability and operations.
The Kenya International Freight Forwarders Warehousing Association (KIFWA) National Chairman Roy Mwanthi said the policy will directly affect cargo throughput at the Port of Mombasa as traders will only import what they can be able to pay taxes at the port entry.
“Businesses world over rely on bonded warehousing to manage cashflow and secure global supply chains. Bonded warehousing is one of the most effective tools in the hands of customs to enable it carry out its core mandate of trade facilitation,” said Mr Mwanthi.
Wilfred Oluga. CEO of Regional Logistics Centre, one of the CFSs in Mombasa, said the move by KRA in its bid to stop tax cheats, hoarding of goods and importation of illicit goods was ill advised since it would kill CFSs business.
“We urge KRA to improve on surveillance rather than taking such action to a struggling logistics sector. Warehouse business employ thousands of people and this will also affect traders from our neighbouring countries who use Port of Mombasa to do business,” said Mr Oluga.
Professional services firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) warned that the new regulation, intended to speed up revenue collection amid the Covid-19 pandemic, could result in some small businesses ceasing operations.
“The new rules are expected to potentially have a negative impact on multinational and local businesses that are involved in international trade activities, both in Kenya and in the wider Eastern Africa region, as well as on potential new investors,” the company stated in a report.
The PwC argues that the restrictions are likely to have the undesired effect of making the country uncompetitive and less attractive to investors.
“The new regulation is counterproductive to the government’s agenda of developing infrastructure to make Kenya a global and regional logistics hub,” it said.
Experts say the new policy is against the East African Community Customs Management Act, 2004 (EACCMA) which provides that imported goods liable to import duty may be warehoused without payment of the requisite duties. Such goods may be warehoused in a government warehouse or a bonded warehouse (whether general or private), commonly referred to as Customs bonded warehouses.
Goods which are warehoused may subsequently be cleared for inter alia home consumption, exportation, or for use as stores for aircrafts or vessels. Customs bonded warehouses are operated under the supervision of customs and bond security is executed to guarantee the deferred duties on the goods stored therein.


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Business confidence bounces back strongly in September after Brexit vote lull, optimism index reveals
Business confidence across the UK bounced back strongly last month after suffering a post-Brexit vote lull.
An index representing optimism among UK firms rose to 112.4 in September, after dropping to 105.0 in July and 109.7 in August - with a reading above 100 indicating positive business sentiment.
The survey of more than 500 business leaders by YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research also showed that 44 per cent of businesses were now optimistic about the UK's economic prospects over the next 12 months, compared with 35 per cent in August.
Sunny outlook: The YouGov/CEBR business confidence index rose to 112.4 in September, after dropping to 105.0 in July and 109.7 in August.
That left only 35 per cent of businesses pessimistic about the British economy, compared with 45 per cent a month earlier.
Scott Corfe, a director at the CEBR, said: 'The panic that gripped businesses in the aftermath of the referendum has subsided and they are now much more level-headed and optimistic about the future of both their own organisations and the UK's economy in general.'
The figures echo positive data in the latest Markit/CIPS services purchasing managers' indices released this week, which largely showed a better than expected recovery after the Brexit vote.
YouGov and CEBR figures released last week also showed a continued recovery in consumer confidence, rising to 111.1, up one point from August. Consumer confidence is still two points shy of the pre-referendum reading.
But Mr Corfe cautioned that recent comments from the Conservative Party could have a notable impact on business sentiment.
He said: 'It should be noted that this research was carried out before the Conservative Party conference and all the talk of "hard Brexit" implying that the UK would prioritise immigration restrictions over access to the European single market.
'Once the shape of our economic relationship with the EU becomes clearer, these figures could shift notably.'
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Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Li Auto has released its first monthly sales figures following its IPO in the US.
Li Auto delivered a total of 2,516 Li ONE units in July, up 33 percent from the previous month. From January to July this year, Li ONE sales totaled 12,182 units, data released on Monday showed.
In June this year, Li Auto sold 1,891 units, down from 2,148 in May and 2,793 in April.
At the time, some analysts believe that the medium- and large-sized SUV market in which the Li ONE is located is not large. Even if the Li ONE in most areas of the country can enjoy new energy policy incentives, that still can not support such a wide audience of the market.
They believe that with the gradual digestion of orders accumulated in the early stages, Li ONE sales may decline.
And with the release of July sales figures, at least for now, the Li ONE has not been affected by these factors.
At present, the Li ONE is still the only medium and large SUV market to achieve more than 100 km of pure electric range of new energy products, but also relatively speaking, the most intelligent models.
After its IPO in the United States on the night of July 30, Li Auto's stock price has been on the rise. As of Monday's close, Li Auto was quoting $16.42 per share, up 42.7 percent from the offering price of $11.50 per share.
As of August 10, Li Auto has 25 retail centers in 21 cities across the country, and its after-sales service network covers 39 cities nationwide.


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According to latest rumors, the upcoming Sony APS-C E-mount mirrorless camera will be named Sony ZV-E10. It will be a vlogging camera. The US price for ZV-E10 will be $899.
Below are rumored specs of Sony ZV-E10:
- 24MP sensor
- fully articulating screen
- Sony A5xxx body with no EVF
- Price around $899


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GOVERNORS ISLAND — Starting this weekend, the quick ferry trip to Governors Island will also transport visitors to a whimsical Parisian street fair that’s more than 100 years old.
Fete Paradiso, a festival of vintage Parisian carousel and carnival rides, is making its American debut on Governors Island starting July 13 — just in time for Bastille Day, a celebration of French culture, on July 14.
The historic rides, all from the late 19th or early 20th centuries, are being rebuilt on the island by a group of French artisans who specialize in constructing museum-quality carousels, Fete Parasido organizers said during a tour of the charming fair Wednesday.
Among the classic attractions is a “bicycle carousel” from the late 1800s, one of only two in the world that were created in Paris to encourage the use of what was then the new mode of transportation — the bicycle. The only other bicycle carousel can be seen in the popular Woody Allen movie “Midnight in Paris,” according to Fete Paradiso.
"These incredible attractions embody everything that is Governors Island — a series of delight and play that can be enjoyed by visitors of all ages," said Leslie Koch, president of The Trust for Governors Island, during the tour. "It's really a way to truly experience and be a part of a living art."
The festival is also turning a vintage bumper car pavilion into a beer garden and special event space that will sell classic French food, prepared by popular New York French bistro Le Gamin.
Items on the menu include croque monsieur, french fries, salads and grilled veggies, as well as grilled steak, rotisserie chicken and mussels — and sweet crepes. Prices range from about $5 to $15 for food. Le Gamin owner Robert Arbor said Tuesday that he would also have weekly specials, like pig or lamb slow-roasted on their outdoor pit on the island.
Beer, wine and cocktails will also be sold in the 1900 bumper car pavilion.
A 1930 children's carousel has also been repurposed into a music kiosk, where performers will entertain with period music and sideshow performances — including fire-eaters — to heighten what organizers called a “Fellini-inspired environment.”
This is the first time the attractions are being recreated in such a grand festival. The vintage pieces are owned by two collectors. One of them, Regis Masclet, has been working, alongside his sons, to reconstruct the pieces, which are usually housed in France.
"This is like a dream come true," Masclet said through a translator. "It's how I envisioned this, since I was child."
Fete Paradiso runs every weekend from July 13 to September 29, from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Governors Island. Admission is free, and rides and games cost $3 each.


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Motorola is preparing for the launch of its new smartphone, Moto X4. Recently, the company has unveiled its much awaited Moto G5S and Moto G5S Plus in the market. We have even received a few leaks about the Moto X4 smartphone with its actual pricing. The same phone was also spotted on a benchmarking website, Geekbench. Today, a latest Moto X4 press renders got leaks with a sheet of its specifications. As per the latest FCC listing, Moto X4’s live prototype images leaks and offers detailed image of the phone.
The recent press renders of the Moto X4 smartphone found by Android Authority and made headlines on various popular tech blogs. The new Moto X4 hints to be launched in a few weeks or next month as per the leaked specifications and some fresh reports. Since latest smartphones are coming up with a bunch of extraordinary features, this upcoming Moto X4 will also offer the same set of specifications to explore the web world well.
According to latest reports and leaked specifications, the Moto X4 will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 SoC. The phone will be sold out with different RAM size and memory storage. As per the renders, the 3GB RAM and 32GB Memory Storage variant will be available for the North American, European and Latin American markets and 4GB RAM and 64GB Memory Storage will be available for the Asia Pacific markets. The phone would sport a 5.2 Inch full HD display with 1080 pixels of screen resolution.
Also see : Motorola Moto Z gets Android 7.1.1 update
Apart from this, the new Moto X4 is said to come with two color variants with Sterling Blue and Super Black. The Moto X4 would sport a dual rear camera which is a trend now. The phone would sport a 12 Megapixel + 8 Megapixel sensors to take the sharp digital photos within the phone. There will be a dual tone LED flash light also available beside the camera at the back panel of the phone. The phone would also sport a 16 Megapixel of front facing camera to capture the selfies and to make HD video calls to their loved ones. The Secondary camera also allows you to record full HD videos.
Additionally, the upcoming Moto X4 smartphone would come with IP68 certification making the device dust and water resistant. The phone has a 3,000 mAh of battery capacity as well. The Moto X4 will offer TurboCharge option to charge the device super faster in no time. Moto X4 will bring plenty of additional features as the technology world has becoming more competitive and for this reason, one has to come with extraordinary features to explore the world well within the hands.
We would see a number of devices from the Motorola in the coming months. If you are tech enthusiasts and love to know more about the smartphones and latest technology movements, stay tuned with us as we are offering daily tech updates here. If you have anything to share or have feedback about this phone, put the feedback as comment below this post into the comments section. We’d like to interact with you.


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An Oshawa man is facing multiple theft charges after police caught him stealing items from retail stories and re-selling them at pawn shops.
Police say that between December 2016 and September 2017, the accused male stole several items from Canadian Tire stores in Whitby, Oshawa and Clarington, along with two Shopper’s Drug Mart locations in Whitby. The stolen products included tools, computer equipment and hunting items. The male sold some of the stolen items at pawn shops in Oshawa.
He was eventually identified through surveillance photos and arrested.
The 42-year-old of Conant Street in Oshawa faces 16 theft related charges including theft under $5,000 and property obtained by crime. He was released on a promise to appear.
Anyone with additional information is asked to contact D/Cst. VanBelleghem of the Central West Division Criminal Investigations Bureau at 1-888-579-1520 ext. 1854.


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SEATTLE, 2016-Sep-22 — /EPR Retail News/ — Seattle-based Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) announced today (Sept. 21, 2016) plans to open a Nordstrom Rack at IDS Center’s Crystal Court on Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis, Minn. The approximately 39,000-square-foot store is scheduled to open in fall 2017.
“We’ve been eager to find a home for Nordstrom Rack in downtown Minneapolis and we’re thrilled to announce the location at Crystal Court,” said Geevy Thomas, president of Nordstrom Rack. “Our new store will offer greater convenience for those who live and work in the heart of the city, and we look forward to bringing customers the brands they love at great Rack prices.”
This will be the fifth Rack store in Minnesota following the announcement of a new store at nearby City Place, opening in spring 2017. The company also operates two full-line stores at Mall of America and Ridgedale Shopping Center.
“We are delighted to have Nordstrom Rack, one of the nation’s most successful off-price retailers, join the IDS Center community,” said Deb Kolar, general manager. “The Rack will be in good company and will be joined by 26 other prominent retailers, restaurants, banks in the Crystal Court, which is the centerpiece of one of the world’s most extensive skyway systems and attracts some 50,000 business people and shoppers daily,” added Kolar.
Nordstrom Rack is the off-price retail division of Nordstrom, Inc., offering customers a wide selection of on-trend apparel, accessories and shoes at an everyday savings of 30-70 percent off regular prices.Nordstrom Rack merchandise, available at Rack stores and at Nordstromrack.com, comes from Nordstrom stores, Nordstrom.com as well as specially purchased items from many of the top brands available at Nordstrom. The Rack is designed to provide the ultimate treasure hunt to style-savvy customers.
Nordstrom, Inc. is a leading fashion specialty retailer based in the U.S. Founded in 1901 as a shoe store in Seattle, today Nordstrom operates 334 stores in 39 states, including 121 full-line stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico; 205 Nordstrom Rack stores; two Jeffrey boutiques; and one clearance store. Additionally, customers are served online through Nordstrom.com, Nordstromrack.com and HauteLook. The company also owns Trunk Club, a personalized clothing service serving customers online at TrunkClub.com and its five clubhouses. Nordstrom, Inc.’s common stock is publicly traded on the NYSEunder the symbol JWN.
ABOUT IDS CENTER
Heralded by the New York Times as “one for the finest skyscrapers built in any American city,” the IDS Center, is than a landmark—it is the centerpiece of the downtown Minneapolis skyline. Owned by Accesso Partners, LLC of Hallandale Beach, FL and managed by its subsidiary, Accesso Services, LLC, the two million square foot complex occupies a full city block on Minneapolis’s Nicollet Mall.
Designed by world renowned architect Philip Johnson, the IDS Center’s mixed-use, post-modern design is comprised of a 57-story office tower with an 8-story annex, 2-story retail center and 19-story, four diamond Marquette Hotel, all surrounding the distinctive, enclosed 8-story Crystal Court.
Expertly managed and environmentally conscious, IDS Center received the Four Green Globes certification for continual improvement of existing buildings as well as being Energy Star and BOMA 360 certified.
SOURCE: Nordstrom, Inc.


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Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, has highlighted reasons why automobile industries collapsed in Nigeria.
He made this disclosure when he received the Managing Director of Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) Ibrahim Bovi in Abuja.
Dr. Onu said the collapse of the automobile industries in Nigeria was due to lack of continuous investment in research and developmental programmes from the early 80s into the 90s.
The minister announced that the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology intends to support industries in the area of job creation, retain existing one, create wealth and economic diversification.
He admonished companies to source for their components locally instead of going abroad, as he says would bring many small scale industries that would supply the component and also build capacity.
“We have the largest market in Africa, we have the largest economy on the continent” the minister said.
The Managing Director of PAN, Boyi PAN said that the company was set up in 1972 through joint venture between the Federal Government of Nigeria and Peugeot Automobile of France as part of government deliberate policy to boost industrialization.
He stated that Peugeot is the only local automobile company in Nigeria that is consistent in its operation up till today.
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Bovi announced that the company is soliciting for active government policy for its continued survival in the Nigerian economy.
The Chief Executive of PAN disclosed that the company will not only create employment and entrepreneurs by training youths in the society but will embark on community social responsibility programme and will reduce purchasing cost for their customers.


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- Buses remain least among 90,000 vehicles registered
- Korean firm to conduct feasibility study on water supplying projects in Yangon
- Credit Information Bureau to be formed
- ASEAN Economic Community Workshop held in Myanmar
- Vietnam-Myanmar economic seminar in Yangon
- Investment commission approves 33 companies in first quarter
- Gold price slumps in Myanmar
- US Dollar hikes but temporarily, Central Bank says
- Myanmar hardwoods to be exported to EU only in 2015
- Thai cement imported via Myawady Border
Published on Monday, 26 November 2012 06:42
Workers are preparing plastic bags to be put into the paper box. (Photo-EMG)
Lucky Bag plastic enterprise of Myanmar will start exporting HDPE kind of thin, soft plastic to Japan at the end of this month, managing director Hla Win said.
The polyethylene will be exported to Japan, which will be used in making kitchen wares. Only the product, without the logo, will be exported to Japan.
The move came after an agreement between the Myanmar company and some Japanese companies a few months ago. Some Japanese companies discussed plastic exports with the Myanmar company about a year ago.
“Three to four Japanese companies had held discussions with us. Shopping bags and large bags will be exported to Japan later. We have sent samples three times and they liked it and agreed for it to be sent at the end of this month. Only plastic bags without logo will be sent and then Japan will stick its logo on them and they will be locally sold,” the managing director said.
The Lucky Bag company will start exporting 13 tonnes of plastic. Malaysia, China and Vietnam are now exporting plastic to Japan. Therefore, Myanmar’s plastic is likely to be competing with these countries.
“We aim to explore the export market. If plastic export is convenient, it can do good things for plastic businessmen and provide employment as well. We hope we will achieve success in our enterprise, but we have problems with regular power supply. The plastic quality depends a lot on power,” the managing director added.
The plastic will have to be exported to Japan and will not be permitted for local sales.


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With Windows 8 on the horizon and the PC-veteran announcing its intention to enter the lucrative tablet market with the Surface, 2012 was already a big year for Microsoft. To top that off, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gathered the international media in San Francisco last month to unveil Office 13 – completing the set that Microsoft hopes will allow it to lead the impending redefinition of personal computing.
Whilst most of the buzz surrounding Microsoft this year has been Windows 8 and Microsoft Surface, it seems some people forgot that an update of Microsoft’s flagship product, Office, was on the cards.
Although it is perhaps the case that operating systems and tablets are a little more exciting in technology circles these days, it remains that Office is Microsoft’s biggest revenue maker.
With Apple continue to gain market share with Mac OS and its massively popular iPads, Microsoft’s widely adopted suite of applications remain its jewel in the crown in hoping to steal back some of that personal computing share.
During a media event in San Francisco on July 16, Steve Ballmer, CEO at Microsoft, showed off the new suite, which is designed heavily to suit the upcoming Windows 8, as well as to embrace the increasingly dominating world of touch tablets.
Ballmer dubbed the new Office as ”the most ambitious release of Microsoft Office that we’ve ever done” and “the most vibrant and exciting new release of Office in years.”
He frequently referred to it as “modern Office” and “Office-as-a-Service”, with a big emphasis on its cloud capabilities.
“This is a new generation of Office where Office is a service first. We’ll continue to make Office available as an application in traditional ways, but it’s the first round of Office that’s been designed from the get-go for Office to be a service. Your modern Office thinks cloud first,” Ballmer said.
“You can just click and start running Office immediately from the service. Office uses the cloud to remember what you were doing, where you were, what your preferences and favourites are, your documents and how you’re working together with other people to collaborate on those things. We need to support that for people in their individual lives and private lives, in addition to supporting enterprises in their business personas,” he added.
Microsoft’s recent acquisition of Yammer was also attributed as a core basis of the new suite’s focus on social integration and collaboration.
“We’ve made social a first class part of modern Office. One of the things that is certainly true is the way people work today is dramatically different to the way people worked when I started at Microsoft. One of the things we did that was big and to differentiate ourselves in 1980 was to give everybody a private office. I think that’s a great concept but it’s not a uniform concept and people today work in much more social and collaborative ways,” Ballmer said.
“You see that reflected in this wave of Office – the embrace of Skype, the ability to work on projects and to collaborate together. We need to let individuals in an organisation band together and then work together where appropriate under the administrative control of the enterprise,” he added.
The big question
With the Microsoft Surface set to go directly up against the iPad, the big question on everybody’s mind was whether the new Office will be offered on the iPad, or indeed other tablet operating devices.
Though Microsoft deciding not to let users download the new Office on iPad could shift more of its own tablets, it would also mean sacrificing significant sales in a market that Apple dominates.
Perhaps it was to no surprise that Microsoft dodged this double edged sword for the time being by refraining from answering this vital question, or indeed the exact release date of the product.
However, PJ Hough, corporate VP of Microsoft’s Office division, did provide some insight when questioned on the subject.
“We have not announced any changes for our support for Office mobile,” he said. “It’s not just about Surface. We think that Office is going to work great on a very wide array of devices.”
He said that Microsoft has “unparalleled investment” in productivity and collaboration scenarios on personal devices. Disregarding the fact that Microsoft is quite late on the tablet scene, he said that Microsoft are actually the people thinking most about productivity on tablet devices.
“We think that this is a transition time for personal computing and enterprise computing. We have a strong point of view at Microsoft that expands the work we’re doing in Windows, the work we’re doing in our hardware, the work we’re doing in search with Bing, the work we’re doing in Office and the work we’re doing on the phone,” Hough said.
“All these things are coming together to tell a story how people work, communicate and collaborate in a brand new way. Office is a very large part of that and I’m very excited about the work we’re doing in this field,” he added.
Asides from these talking points, Ballmer spoke with a lot of excitement about the new Office, Windows 8 and Microsoft Surface. He slated 2012 as one of Microsoft’s most important years ever.
“It is an amazing time to be at Microsoft. The Windows 8 launch is right around the corner with availability coming in October. In a sense, it feels a lot to us like 1995. While individually I think the new Office and Windows 8 are quite remarkable, together I think they’re quite magical. In this case we took the extra step,” Ballmer said.
“We said we need a piece of hardware that really shows off this uncompromised experience between work and play, and so with the Microsoft Surface and the full range of Office productivity available on that device, and on the full range of Windows 8 devices from our partners, I think you almost go beyond magical to something that is just incredibly exciting,” he added.


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Prodways, the French additive manufacturing (AM) original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and service bureau, announced that it has acquired Auditech Innovations. The latter company, also based in France, specializes in producing custom hearing protection devices, especially for individuals working in environments noisy enough to create health risks.
According to Prodways’ press release, the third leading form of occupational illness in France is deafness. In turn, nearly 300,000 individuals in France purchase custom-made ear protection devices per year.
Although the cost of the acquisition was undisclosed, Prodways notes that it used its available cash to purchase the company, and that amount totaled €17 million at the end of 2021 (or $17.316 million). Auditech Innovations’ sales numbers totaled about €3 million in 2021. Prodways own sales numbers were €71 million last year, and the company’s revenue was up 37 percent in the first quarter of 2022, compared to Q1 of last year. Combined with the slowing global economic growth, all of these factors likely made the present an ideal time for Prodways to buy.
Prodways, founded in 2013, started making its entry into the audiology market via its 2017 acquisition of French hearing aid and hearing protection company Interson-Protac. This seems to have been a successful strategy for Prodways, as, prior to its latest purchase, the company acquired another hearing aid manufacturer, in 2019. Its hearing division accounted for nearly €10 million last year, so the addition of Auditech Innovations should increase the division’s sales by at least 30 percent.
Prodways has been expanding its dental division this year, as well, with its announcement last month of a distribution partnership with Dental Axess, a Swiss digital dental manufacturing software provider. In the post about that announcement, I noted, “Aside from hearing aids…[dental devices] are probably the most commercially prevalent application of 3D printers, at least at this point in the industry’s history. …As such, developments in the dental sector can be viewed as potential leading indicators for other sectors in the overall 3D printing industry.” The same can be said, and probably even more so, about hearing devices.
Moreover, it’s notable that Prodways has been having such a successful year, at the same time that confidence in the global economy, overall, has turned so dour. Obviously, against such a volatile backdrop, things could change at any moment. On the other hand, it is also possible, as I said, that Prodways is a leading indicator of the AM sector’s financial health, in which case the sector as a whole may have hit a bottom.
If that’s the case, there are reasons to believe that it could start to turn around slowly throughout the second half of this year. Certainly, the problems plaguing the rest of the economy are problems AM has solutions to. Even more crucially, they’re solutions that could likely be implemented without much short-term disruption to existing industries.
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Louisville, Ky. (WHAS11) - An iPhone with a 4.7 inch screen could hit shelves this August, a month earlier than expected.
Reports speculate a 5.5 inch model will be released in September. There is no word on which market would get the phone first.
Reports also attribute the expanding iPhone screen as a way to compete with rivals such as Samsung.
Apple has not responded to these reports.


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Amazon is offering free unlimited photo storage to Amazon Prime members, the company announced Tuesday, sweetening the deal for a subscription service that already includes free shipping and streaming movies and music for $99 a year.
By extending the perk to Amazon Prime’s membership, the e-commerce giant stands to widen the exposure of its cloud-based storage service to tens of millions of customers (Amazon has always been cagey about the exact size of its Prime membership). The move comes as rival cloud services, such as Google Drive, slash prices and lure first-time customers into using the service with limited offers of free storage.
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Amazon becomes the Google Trend again as it threatens workers to stop discussing about company’s policy about Climate change publicly if they do not want to lose their job.
Amazon employees accused Amazon in a Press release to use intimidate tactics and threatening them for discussing climate change company’s policy in social media. One of the employee said that the company warned her with termination due to her comments.
“This is not the time to shoot the messengers and silence them for speaking out” said by Maren Costa in a Press Release.
This is not the first Amazon did something fishy like this one. On October 10, Amazon was criticized for a post that was published in the Washington Post and asking “Profit margin in businesses that are contributing to the climate catastrophe.” Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was the one who post it.
Contrary to this, Amazon said the company is making its public-comment policies friendlier for their employees but the reality is far different. Amazon Spokesperson said in an email,” We recently updated our policies so that our employees participate in external activities such as speeches and media interviews without any hesitation. The employee will receive a warning from the HR Team if anyone does not follow the company’s rule.
Following this, about 8700 employees have signed a petition urging Jeff Bezos, owner of Amazon, to change these unethical policies and more than 1000 workers walked out as part of the Global Climate Strike.


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"I see how much people's cameras mean to them. So when it stops working or it breaks it's a pretty emotional thing for them — they're worried that they'll have to buy a new camera and that's usually not the case."
Cameras are deeply personal items — whether they are capturing memories across generations or helping to build a business — so when one breaks it can feel like it’s the end of the world.
But Garrett Fisher, co-owner of Paramount Camera Repair, is here to pick up the pieces.
“I see how much people’s cameras mean to them,” Fisher said. “So when it stops working or it breaks it’s a pretty emotional thing for them — they’re worried that they’ll have to buy a new camera and that’s usually not the case.”
Fisher has been fixing cameras in the city for more than a decade. It started as a small part time gig out of his home, but demand for his expertise was so high it quickly became his full time job.
With demand never slowing down, Fisher and his wife Amanda Dalglish — who is also his business partner and a professional photographer — decided it was time to expand into a retail location allowing him the opportunity to take on more repairs thanks to the much larger space.
“It was overwhelmingly busy,” Fisher explained, adding that the move also simplified the dropping off and picking up process.
From vintage film cameras to the newest digital options, Fisher fixes them all. He says usually what he deals with most is damage — whether it was caused by water, clumsiness or improper care.
And with some lenses along costing upwards of $1,000 it makes a lot more sense to bring it in for a fix that may only cost a few hundred instead of shelling out your hard earned money on a replacement.
“They’re definitely worth putting a few hundred dollars into repairing because some lens repairs are only a hundred and some bucks, so that’s even worth it on a $300 lens,” he explained.
The additional space also opened up more opportunities, including the addition of a retail section — the only one of its kind in Canada — that specializes in selling used cameras and lenses. So rather than buying a used camera that may already need repairs you can leave Fisher’s shop with one that is already cleaned, inspected and guaranteed to work — with a three month warranty to solidify the customer’s peace of mind.
As the only on-site camera repair shop in the province, Fisher says it makes a lot more sense to bring repairs to him rather than sending them off to a large, faceless corporation.
“I like that we only usually take under a week, unless we have to order parts, to fix something — sometimes only a day or two,” he said. “Sending it away to the manufacturer usually takes six to 10 weeks. It’s just a horrifying wait, and they cost more than us too.”
Another bonus is the knowledge that if you pick up your camera and something still isn’t quite right you can talk directly to Fisher — something that would be impossible when sending something away to a manufacturer.
And with the secretive nature of the camera repair industry — due to the fact that all knowledge is self taught and closely guarded — Saskatoon is lucky to be home to a reputable, reliable camera repairman like Fisher.
“We have a pretty good reputation,” he finished. “For the most part we have five star reviews pretty much everywhere and I am trying to keep it that way, even if sometimes that means I have to take a bit of a hit.”
Paramount Camera Repair
Owners: Garrett Fisher and Amanda Dalglish
Address: #205-135 Robin Crescent
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Check Facebook and Instagram
Erin Petrow is a reporter at The StarPhoenix. If you have started or moved a small business in Saskatoon within the last year, contact her at firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Store brand foods vs. name brand: How does the quality, taste stack up?
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Saving money at the supermarket is no easy feat, but buying store brands can help.
"Buying store brands can save you a small fortune. Anywhere from 15 to 30 percent on average, depending on the category," Tod Marks with Consumer Reports said.
In the grocery store, you'll find more store brands than ever these days. In fact one in four products on the shelf is a store brand. Consumer Reports just taste-tested 57 store-brand foods from five major retailers -- Costco, Sam's Club, Walmart, Kmart and Target, plus Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.
It turns out 33 of the 57 store brands proved as high quality as the national brands, though they're not necessarily identical.
"When we evaluate a store brand and say it's as good as a national brand, that doesn't mean it's a dead ringer in terms of the flavor. The fact is products can be equally high in quality but maybe the store brand has different seasonings or spices," Marks said.
However, Target's Market Pantry ketchup tasted similar to Heinz.
The mayo from Whole Foods, Target, Costco and Walmart, while different from Hellmann's, was just as good quality.
And listen up, Breyer's ice cream fans:
"Walmart's Great Value vanilla ice cream came pretty close to Breyer's. And not only that, it costs a third less," Marks said.
And when it comes to nuts, store brands are the way to go. Consumer Reports' taste tests of cashews showed all seven of the store brands were actually better than the national brand, Emerald.
Considering many stores will refund your money if you don't like a store brand, what do you have to lose? And you could save plenty.
But there's something we should point out: store brands are not always a bargain. Consumer Reports found five out of the 10 store brands from Whole Foods actually cost more than the national brand.
action13, patricia lopez
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It’s June 2030 and a decade since ‘the virus’ (as the pandemic came to be known) brought the world to a standstill.
Supply chains creaked as they struggled to adapt to the changes that were so rapidly forced upon them and many growers were left with produce no one wanted to move off the farm. Even where it had been produced under a contract, farmers were left to carry the loss. Consumers were a lot quicker to adapt and sourced their food more locally, a move which led many of them to forfeit their weekly trip to the supermarket (which had been the norm) for good.
As the farming community continued to function normally in the face of the public health crisis, the forces of nature were doing their utmost to hamper their efforts. 2020 became the write-off year and many farmers began to wonder how they could continue to grow crops and whether they even wanted to anymore. It was a hard year and the one that the impact of climate change finally hit home.
It was that same year that the UK left the EU and trade talks were underway in spite of the pandemic. It was the year when it became crystal clear that the UK’s leaders were intent on becoming ‘little America’ and opening the doors to the import of cheap food produced in ways that weren’t palatable to most British farmers or consumers.
As it turned out, 2020 became a pivotal year for UK agriculture as these three major forces came together. UK farmers began to rally together and ‘take back control’ of food production and create a brand for British agriculture which imported food struggled to compete with.
Potato farmers made some of the biggest changes, perhaps because they’d been the hardest hit by the pandemic and climate change events. Many were beginning to feel they were on a treadmill as far as potato blight was concerned. The sprayer was going through potato crops religiously every week – even when the weather was dry because the risk of the ever-more aggressive strains of blight running rampant was just too high. They were just about unstoppable once they got going and, as a result, blight programmes were becoming increasingly complex and expensive.
2020 was the year that potato growers first began to wonder why they were still being asked to grow ware potato varieties without any blight resistance. They began to question if the consumer was really insisting on Maris Piper or King Edwards because consumer taste panels seemed to indicate there were newer varieties that tasted as good, if not better, with the cooking characteristics to boot. To the vast majority of consumers a potato was a potato, the biggest differentials being size and skin colour. Varieties were becoming almost irrelevant.
The potato trade remained stubborn at first to change their preferences, but potato growing was quickly becoming unsustainable. Growers collectively made their case that supermarkets were demanding them to grow varieties which meant they were being forced to ignore IPM almost completely, because the market was forcing them to ignore varieties with better genetics that were becoming increasingly available. That meant they weren’t able to fulfil their obligations under the EU’s Sustainable Use Directive, which still applied post-Brexit.
It was a watershed moment. After a steep learning curve during the 2020s, potato growers have now adopted a high level of technology and the sprayer, though not entirely redundant, is used strategically to support genetic resistance when blight monitoring systems dictate and towards the end of the season when the in-built variety resistance responds a little slower.
Evolution of the blight pathogen has changed and their ‘aggressiveness’ has become a measure of the past. Nowadays 2030 blight populations are monitored for their virulence, in much the same way as yellow rust was monitored in cereals a decade before. Changes in virulence during the season mean some varieties sometimes have a partial breakdown but because genes were stacked, this is rarely a disaster. As the market has moved away from being variety led, potato breeders have been able to advance their breeding programmes more quickly and respond to pathogen virulence changes by recommending varieties with a different genetic package.
On reflection, it seems impossible that potato production was ever solely dependent on a chemical arms race, which was ultimately destined to fail. So much has changed so quickly.
Based in Ludlow, Shrops, CPM technical editor Lucy de la Pasture has worked as an agronomist. @Lucy_delaP


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The holidays are fast approaching, with many consumers still on the hunt for gifts. A University of Minnesota expert who has a word of caution for harried shoppers is:
Joel Waldfogel, Frederick R. Kappel Chair in Applied Economics, University of
Minnesota's Carlson School of Management
Based on years of research, Waldfogel concludes Americans will vaporize $14 billion worth of value this holiday season by purchasing gifts that have less value to their recipient than they cost. He says increasing awareness of this problem has propelled spending on gift cards, which will reach $80 billion this year. While purchasing a gift card for Aunt Sally may be better than buying her perfume, gift cards are not without their own pitfalls, as 10 percent of card balances will never be redeemed.
To view or embed a video of Waldfogel discussing the waste of traditional holiday shopping, visit http://youtu.be/euyw3YZJL8A.
Waldfogel has some simple advice to reduce the $8 billion annually that goes unused and to help consumers get the most from their cards. He also has tips on purchasing cards that can increase the likelihood they'll return the highest value and get used.
Waldfogel is the author of "Scroogenomics: Why You Shouldn't Buy Presents for the Holidays" (Princeton University Press, 2009), has written on economics for Slate.com and his research has been featured in national and international media, including CNN, BBC, Financial Times, The Economist, Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.
To interview Waldfogel, contact Steve Rudolph at (612) 624-8770 or firstname.lastname@example.org; or Preston Smith at (612) 625-0552 or email@example.com.


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„Spare parts logistics are one of our key competences.“
— Peter Christian Küspert, Vice President Sales & Aftersales Opel Group
The spare parts distribution center:
Area: 95,000 m2
Completion Date: 2017
Capacity: More than 100,000 different part items will be stored in the new distribution.
Investition: €60 million
Opel is building in Bochum: The company will erect a new building complex on the Opel site in Bochum-Langendreer. 700 employees will look after European spare parts supply from 2017. The groundbreaking ceremony for the project, which represents General Motors’ biggest single investment worldwide in spare parts logistics, took place in February 4th. Peter Christian Küspert, Vice President Sales & Aftersales Opel Group, Murat Yaman, Chairman of the Bochum employee’s representation, Prof. Dr. Rolf Heyer, Managing Director of “Bochum Perspektive 2022” and two high-ranking political guests: the Minister of Economics of North Rhine-Westphalia Garrelt Duin and Bochum’s Lory Mayor Thomas Eiskirch.
“Spare parts logistics are one of our key competences,” emphasized Peter Christian Küspert. “Ensuring fast and smooth parts supply for Opel drivers is an important component of customer satisfaction.”
An area of 10 hectares, which is equivalent to the size of a dozen football pitches, needs to be cleared to make way for the new building. In the next step, the site will then be filled in with 190,000 m3 of earth. Finally, shelving systems with a total length of 13,500 meters will be installed.
Last update February 2016


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Fintech poses risks to regulators and consumers, says Central Bank
Bernard Sheridan says the rise of fintech must not lead to lower compliance standards
Bernard Sheridan of the Central Bank speaking at the opening of the FinCoNet conference, in Jakarta.
The rise of “fintech” brings new risks and challenges for consumer protection, and supervisory authorities need to ensure compliance standards are not lowered as a result, the Central Bank warned today.
Bernard Sheridan, director of consumer protection at the Central Bank, said that supervisory authorities face significant challenges keeping up with the pace and scale of technological innovation – and so too do consumers.
The rise of fintech, evidenced by the emergence of crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending online platforms, is likely to pose specific challenges for regulators and consumers alike, given that many products and services – such as peer-to-peer lending – exist outside of traditional, regulated activities.
“Boards and senior management of firms have primary responsibility for ensuring they are acting in their customers’ best interests. Innovation and the use of technology cannot be an excuse for lowering standards or for not focussing on consumer outcomes. It is also important that there is close monitoring and oversight of firms’ activities and that supervisory and enforcement actions are taken when necessary,” he said.
Mr Sheridan was speaking at the opening of the International Financial Consumer Protection Organisation (FinCoNet), which he chairs, in Jakarta, Indonesia today.
While Mr Sheridan highlighted the positive impacts of fintech on society in helping to make products and services more accessible, improving service delivery and providing greater convenience for consumers and increasing choice, he warned that innovators need to take existing consumer protection standards into account.
Mr Sheridan further added that “there is a growing recognition among supervisors of the need to focus more on product development, oversight and governance in order to seek to pre-empt problems. This is particularly timely as fintech increases in importance. By developing standards on how products and services should be developed, tested, rolled out and monitored, supervisory authorities are providing the framework within which consumer-focussed innovation can happen”.


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It was a busy first day for staff at the new McDonald’s in Bourne.
Customers were queueing outside the doors of the restaurant in South Road when it opened on Wednesday.
Business manager Russell Simpson said: “We were all really excited to open and it was great to see so many customers enjoying the look and feel of the new restaurant.”
Mr Simpson added: “We’re also really pleased to say that the new restaurant has provided a significant number of new jobs for the local area.”
The restaurant could create up to 65 jobs.


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Buyer of Banksy’s Self-Destructing ‘Girl With Balloon’ Still Wants Shredded Painting
“When the hammer came down last week and the work was shredded, I was at first shocked, but gradually I began to realize that I would end up with my own piece of art history,” said the woman, according to The Guardian.
Banksy, an elusive street artist known for creating unique, anti-establishment works, apparently built a shredder into the frame of “Girl With Balloon,” just “in case it was ever put up for auction” according to the artist’s own Instagram post.
When the piece was sold at Sotheby’s, an art dealership in London, earlier this month, the image began shredding through the bottom of the frame. The video posted by Banksy shows a shocked crowd murmuring before attendants carried off the artwork.
In a statement by Sotheby’s, the establishment’s director said the event caught them by surprise, or in other words: “we just got Banksy-ed.”
Now the piece, originally purchased for $1.37 million, could be worth double that amount, thanks to the additional Banksy touch. The woman who purchased the artwork is a European collector and a long time customer of Sotheby’s, according to The Guardian.
“Girl With Balloon” first appeared as street art in London in 2002, but was eventually removed in 2014. The gallery work was created in 2006 with spray paint and acrylic on canvas, mounted to a board.
Since its shredding, The Guardian reports the piece has been given a new title and a certificate of authenticity by Pest Control, Banksy’s handling service. The art is now known as “Love Is in the Bin.”


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Despite a number of improvements to the hardware within the upcoming iPhone 4S, it's looking like one component that will remain the same is the amount of built-in memory.
MacRumors this morning points to a report from China-based AppVV.com, which seems to have gotten its hands on an iPhone 4S ahead of Friday's launch. The site has posted photos and videos of the device in action, including the new Siri voice assistant.
In a post over the weekend, the person with the device also notes that the device is packing 512MB of RAM versus the 1GB some had been expecting. That adds to comments made last week by the developer of the upcoming iPhone 4S-centric game Infinity Blade 2, who in an interview with Eurogamer floated the 512MB number as well.… Read more


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On this day 11 years ago, the tedious Hal Finney made the first tweet about Bitcoin after he got the first Bitcoin transaction from its anonymous creator “Satoshi Nakamoto”. This, amongst assorted causes, led folk to imagine he became the person in the abet of the pseudonym.
Bitcoin has since grown in reputation and at this time, it’s trending on Twitter because after what became if fact be told a rocket traipse on its attain past $40ok/BTC, the coin has dipped and hit a low of $32ok – which is aloof stunning high interested by that as of November 1, 2020, it became procuring and selling at about $14ok.
This novel dip is the bottom it has been because it hit $29ok on the 4th of January. With dips admire this, there’s assuredly a script to how issues play out on social media and that’s what’s going down now.
First, the later adopters of the coin – assuredly those that purchased when they heard of its jump to bigger than $38ok – will open to fear and beauty if they one blueprint or the opposite made a mistake. With this fear comes conversations – and that’s how issues style.
Then there are the those that hold had bitcoin for a whereas and hold watched it dip ahead of and their accepted attitude for the length of those times is assuredly:
On the unreal hand, with this explicit dip, some early adopters are no longer as confident in the coin, likening the situation to the fracture that adopted the height of 2017.
Whereas you are uncommon about cryptocurrency, here’s a FactSheet printed tedious closing yr by our hold Alex, he says of bitcoin technology “…what a consumer must know is that no central authority controls its waft. Every cryptocurrency has a decentralised ledger that recordsdata each transaction.”
Nigerian startup Buycoins also provides a reasonably easy direction that helps a novel adopter trace the workings of the crypto world.
As effectively as to Bitcoin, there are several assorted cryptocurrencies that exist in the market and are currently procuring and selling at assorted ranges*. Indispensable amongst them; Ethereum at $1k/ETH, Litecoin at $130/LTC, and Ripple at $0.27/XRP.
A most accepted resolution by the US authorities allowing banks to make payments with stable coins capabilities to a rising believe amongst governments and may perchance presumably glance cryptocurrency procure extra footing as correct gentle in several international locations in the coming years.
So on this anniversary of the first crypto transaction and standing on the precipice of what would be a huge bitcoin fall, we behold to the future in hopes that we are going to aloof be ‘running bitcoin’ decades from now.
*The numbers on this article are on the time of publishing
Accumulate the most entire roundup of technology info on the continent, dropped at your inbox every weekday at 7am WAT
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It’s the terminate of a management generation at Cellulant, the Kenya-basically based completely fintech firm, as co-founder Ken Njoroge says he’ll transition from his CEO role by June this yr. In a observation on the firm’s web space, the 45-yr outmoded self-styled evangelist of mobile commerce says his resolution partly stems a desire to use extra […]
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Purchasing and selling below Africa’s flagship free trade agreement went into build on January 1 and to this level, Ghana leads a reasonable, if underwhelming, highlight reel after per week. The African Continental Free Alternate Settlement (AfCFTA) became established to make a seamless atmosphere for trade all one of many most life like ways throughout the Africa Union’s member nations. It’s the preferrred free trade […]
In at this time’s edition of our newsletter, TC Day after day, we reported on Fb shutting down several accounts belonging to Ugandan officials for “the exercise of loads of Fb or Instagram assets, working in live efficiency to comprehend in inauthentic behaviour where the exercise of pretend accounts is central to the operation.” In response, Don Wanyama, Senior Press Secretary […]
Just a few hours ago I downloaded Signal. The WhatsApp rival that has been endorsed by Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey, and a lot of others. You can too call it the bandwagon build, but I factual desired to behold what the hype became about. I didn’t demand to behold many assorted customers I knew but to my surprise, I […]
Followers of crime dramas are in for a treat as Showmax pronounces that they’ve started work on their first Kenyan long-established crime sequence titled “Crime & Justice”


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If you were off at the beach this week, we're jealous. Also, here's what you missed.
Some major changes are hitting the e-sports scene when it comes to Call of Duty. Some of you may have known about Activision joining forces with Sony when it comes to releasing DLC early on the PS4, but this partnership extends beyond just DLC.
The 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider introduced a new level of open-world exploration to the series. However, Rise of the Tomb Raider will take player freedom to a whole new level.
Bungie will be making some huge changes to weapon balance in an upcoming patch. Some of your favorite Exotic weapons will be weakened significantly.
GTA Online has decided to make this random weekend into a special one. They're upping the rewards for several multiplayer activities.
Sonic Generations is considered one of the last great Sonic games ever made. It combines all the greatest stages from Sonic's history into one giant, celebratory compilation pack. I loved it and so did a lot of other gamers. Imagine the surprise of fans when Sega seemed to be hinting at some new DLC for the game... except, it's fake DLC and it features Transformers alum Shia LaBeouf.
Randy Pitchford has been caught in a crossfire on social media. The president of Gearbox Software was supposed to be taking part in a Q&A session hosted by Develop: Brighton, the premier game developers conference from out of Brighton, U.K. However, the session was hijacked by angry fans.
Konami has made one major change to the box art for Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. The box no longer mentions director Hideo Kojima or his studio Kojima Productions.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 will be making some big changes to the series' usual multiplayer. Today developer Robomodo explained how online play will work in the skateboarding game.
Reports have come in indicating that Microsoft will not be attending this year's Tokyo Game Show. This shouldn't come as much of a shock to most people who know the storied history of Microsoft's game consoles and their poor reception in Japan, but for those of you expecting Microsoft to carry their E3 momentum into Japan need to temper those expectations.
Destiny will continue to evolve once The Taken King expansion launches on Sept. 15, adding more to the game than just new gear, Strikes and the like. One of the big cosmetic changes will be to the way quests are handed out and managed, which comes as welcome news for folks who like to keep up with their Guardians’ progress on the fly.
Activision and Treyarch announced that the new zombie mode for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 will star a handful of recognizable movie stars, including Hell Boy's own Ron Perlman and Jurassic Park's Jeff Goldblum.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, like so many COD games before it, will have a Collector's Edition. The centerpiece of this Collector's Edition bundle is awfully unusual, though.
One of the members of the notorious DDoS scripting crew known as the Lizard Squad has been convicted of 50,000 counts of cyber-crimes. The Finland native, Julius Kivimaki, was convicted in a court of law but will not serve any prison time.
What’s the point of robbing banks and pulling off heists if you don’t have some big, flashy swag to spend all of that loot on? Thankfully, Grand Theft Auto V has got you covered, releasing its second batch of big ticket customization items with the launch of the “Ill-Gotten Gains Update Part 2.”


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LIVERPOOL - “Days of Christmas now are here, everyone is full of cheer, it’s the very best time of the year.”
Those words rang out at Sobeys in Liverpool Nov. 25.
A number of people – big and small – donned festive hats and gathered for the video taping of the song Star of Christmas. The popular jingle, part of a commercial originally created by Sobeys in the 1980s, has been a fan favourite for many Nova Scotians and returned by popular demand last year.
Jonathan Gee, store manager, invited people to gather by the big tree inside near the deli counter.
Those who came to sing got lyrics, and there was music accompaniment.
Once completed, Gee planned to upload the video to a website, and the store whose video gets the most likes will get $5,000 to donate to a community charity or non-profit group.
After the event, there was hot chocolate, hot apple cider and children go to decorate cookies.


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* Q1 EPS ex-items $1.41 vs Street's $1.12
* Price increases boost profit; demand weak in Europe, U.S.
* CEO sees little help from U.S. economy this year
* No comment on Whirlpool interest in bidding for Daewoo
* Sees full year EPS of $6.50 to $7 vs analysts' $6.21
(Adds CEO comments from interview)
By Dhanya Skariachan
April 26 (Reuters) - Whirlpool Corp warned investors
on Thursday it expects raw material costs to be at the higher
end of its forecast, forcing the world's largest appliance maker
into another round of price increases.
The maker of Maytag and KitchenAid appliances also said it
did not see a huge improvement in global demand for appliances
this year. Its shares fell about 4 percent afternoon trading.
Whirlpool, which now sees raw material costs at the higher
end of a $300 million to $350 million range, said the price
increases will take effect in July and will be smaller than the
increases it made in April last year.
In an interview, Whirlpool Chief Executive Jeff Fettig said
that "the retailers who are doing well are embracing the price
increases" because the trend boosted their profit as well.
The news came on the same day Whirlpool reported a
higher-than-expected quarterly profit as price increases and
cost cuts helped counter weak demand for appliances in Europe
and North America.
The results echoed those of smaller rival Electrolux AB
of Sweden, which also counted on price rises and
sales in Latin America to fight weak demand in mature
Both manufacturers raised prices last year to pass soaring
raw material costs on to customers. The move triggered analysts'
concerns the higher prices could hurt their market shares,
especially as South Korean rivals such as LG Electronics Inc
and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd kept
At the time, Fettig said it was not "economically feasible"
for Whirlpool to avoid raising prices to woo shoppers.
The results from Whirlpool and Electrolux this week show
that the appliance makers are finally having some luck in making
price increases stick, said Brian Sozzi, chief equities analyst
at NBG Productions. Whirlpool's previous attempt to raise
prices, in 2010, did not pass muster with bargain-hungry
"It looks like their shipment guidance hasn't changed much,
despite them raising prices significantly throughout 2011. So
that's also a positive sign," Sozzi said.
But there was some skepticism it could make the price
increases stick. Standard & Poor's maintained its "sell" opinion
on Whirlpool shares, saying it doubted the company could
maintain its price increases, given the weak demand and
increased competition from less expensive imports


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Google will be introducing their new pair of Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 smartphones on October 5 according to the reputed leakster Evan Blass (@evleaks). He also revealed that the upcoming smartphone will boast a new Qualcomm Snapdragon 836.
Earlier it was rumored that the Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 will be powered Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 but recent leaks suggests otherwise. This will not be the first time that Google pixel series introduced with a new processor, last year Snapdragon 821 first appeared in the Google Pixel. The Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 836 hasn’t been spotted in any of the benchmarking platforms like Geekbench, Antutu etc., but rumors suggest that the processor will not only have a higher clock speed but will also have a better battery life.
Moving onto the leaked specs, The Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 are expected to feature a 4.95-inch full-HD and 5.99-inch QHD (1440×2560) displays that will be manufactured by LG. The Pixel 2 will come in two variants 64GB and 128GB of built-in storage options and will support NFC, Bluetooth, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi. The smartphone will also have 4GB of RAM and the handsets have a new ‘Always On’ display mode feature.


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Slack has kicked off 2016 by promoting head of platform April Underwood to VP of product.
Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield told Techcrunch: "April made a huge impact as Head of Platform. We’re excited to see that influence expand as she takes on a larger role."
Before joining the popular business messaging app, Underwood was at Twitter, where she worked on a variety of high profile products, including being the product manager of the first Tweet and Follow buttons.
She was also the director of the business development team. She left in June as director of product, after nearly five years at the social media giant.
At Slack, she has led in building an ecosystem for developers, including the launch of an $80m development fund in December, which is seen as giving the firm a serious advantage over competitors.
Away from Slack, Underwood was one of the founders of the #Angels fund.
Slack had 20,000 users when it publicly launched in September 2013, and had over 2 million active users by December 2015. Butterfield said that on average users spend 10 hours a day connected to the service i.e. their working day, and are actively using it for 2 hours a day.
The firm has been eyeing a potential $2bn valuation.


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This story appears in the June 14, 2015 issue of Forbes. Subscribe
In 1998 the venerable jewelry house Harry Winston hired a 31-year-old Jaeger-LeCoultre product manager to head the company's struggling watch division. Within seven years Maximilian Büsser had boosted revenue from $8 million to $80 million and garnered industry respect by partnering with Switzerland's top independent watchmakers to produce the Opus series of ultracomplicated timepieces. To reward the young CEO, Winston offered Büsser a generous new contract – and he responded by quitting.
The trouble was a noncompete clause in the offer, which conflicted with Büsser's dream of launching his own brand. With just 900,000 Swiss francs (about $700,000 ) in his bank account, he didn't yet have enough money saved. But the new contract forced his hand, so Büsser left. On July 25, 2005 he incorporated MB&F – Maximilian Büsser & Friends – gambling his savings to produce his first watch.
From the start Büsser had explicit goals creatively and financially, both of which he has achieved in time for his company's tenth anniversary. Creatively, the idea was to "deconstruct traditional watchmaking and to reconstruct it as kinetic art that happens to give the time." Financially, he set out to make 300 watches a year – steampunk timepieces that often riff off his boyhood sci-fi fantasies – generating $16.8 million in revenue with a team of 15 people.
The number of employees – which he recently capped at 20 – has been the most important factor for Büsser, the figure that has decided his revenue and production goals. In 2014 MB&F sold 279 watches, with $16 million in revenue. The company, which he says broke even in year three and reinvests profits, has gross margins approaching 35%.
"With a team this small, you don't need middle management," he observes. "I believe middle management is one of the biggest enemies of creativity, because their role is to take risk out of the equation."
Instead of middle managers, Büsser has "friends," and those friends are responsible for taking up the watches he conceives, realizing his horological dreams. Two friends he made at Harry Winston – watchmaker Laurent Besse and designer Eric Giroud – agreed to help him produce his first "Horological Machine," the HM1, without payment up front. (He and Giroud invested 300 hours on design alone.) His friendships with retailers also proved crucial; five of them committed to buying the first 25 timepieces based only on a hand-painted plastic mock-up, each advancing 35% of the $150,000 retail price. (Retailers did so despite their belief that his radical watch – which looked like the love child of an owl and a pair of binoculars – was "unsellable.") The cash advance pulled Büsser through, and by year three MB&F had $2 million in revenue.
For its tenth anniversary the company created the HM6 Space Pirate, a biomorphic timepiece with four domed dials and a flying tourbillon in the center. Büsser says the $230,000 watch is the most outrageous of his career, but tame compared with the concepts he has planned out to 2022. "Our clients expect to be amazed," he says. "Our biggest risk now is not to shock."
Follow me on Twitter, find my latest book, Forged: Why Fakes Are The Great Art Of Our Age, on Amazon, and read this Boston Globe review of his new deep time photography exhibition at the Mead Art Museum.


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“It’s such a thrill to be working with Surge again, the visionaries who brought the ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ to Playmates Toys a generation ago,” says Karl Aaronian, senior vice president, marketing, Playmates. “With Chad and Vy’s ‘Spy Ninjas,’ we’ve finally found a worthy follow-up that goes far beyond the typical YouTube influencer experience. Featuring serialized narrative-based adventures that are truly engaging, a cool combination of spy adventures, problem solving and ninja action – a natural for amazing Playmates role play toys.”
The episodes consist of Chad Wild Clay, Vy Qwaint and their team who set out to spoil the plans of the hacking group Project Zorgo,
through detective work and martial arts.
“Spy Ninjas” generates more than 400 million monthly views and more than 29 million subscribers on YouTube, but with
“The partnership between Playmates and the unique licensors in Chad and Vy allow us to execute an innovative strategy in brand building and brand merchandising,” says Elan Freedman, vice president, Surge Licensing. “With daily episodes being uploaded, a collaborative relationship between the content creators and toy partner and an engaged massive YouTube audience, we’ve created a delivery and feedback loop to offer fans product directly from the series as it unfolds.”
Playmates Toys will launch its “Spy Ninjas” line beginning in October, with its first wave of spy gadgets that will include secret spy ninja gear, decoders, ninja weapons, a new Project Zorgo mask and other spy kits from the series. The second wave will include a deeper assortment of spy gadgets, action figures and accessories.
As a major component of the master toy program, Chad Wild Clay and Vy Qwaint are working with Playmates to design the in-show spy gadgets, gear and non-lethal weaponry, which all have dual purposes. Fans will be able to role play as their favorite heroes or villains using the exact same gear, directly seen in the series.
Additionally, Surge has signed a number of content licenses that will bring “Spy Ninjas” episodes to Amazon, Apple TV, Roku and Comcasts Xfinity, launching immediately.
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Welcome to Codebook, the only cybersecurity newsletter that guarantees a plot twist at the end. Tips? Comments? Reply to this email address.
1 big thing: Why EU privacy rules keep security pros up at night
May 25 is a date long-circled in the calendars of information security and privacy officers worldwide because it marks the advent of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Why it matters: The new rules impose strict penalties for improperly collecting or storing user's personal information. But the devil is in virtually every detail, from what actually constitutes personal information to how to define "collect" and "store" — and the resulting confusion could impact everything from criminal investigations to the blockchain industry.
What GDPR is trying to do: GDPR requires global businesses to receive explicit consent to store the personal data of any European citizen and provide a mechanism for users to delete any stored information. It also tightens security practices, including encouraging encryption.
- In the worst case, the EU will fine businesses 4% of global revenue, or a minimum of €20 million.
Where the problems begin: Personal information can be anything from the obvious (names, addresses, credit card information) to some more obscure pieces of data (users' internet addresses). But the law didn't foresee many of the instances where the public interest might be served by technology that doesn't follow its privacy rules.
- Blockchain is one. The WHOIS database, the internet's long-running public record of who owns which web site domain, is another — and is facing a likely shutdown as a result of GDPR.
- Smaller firms are less prepared for GDPR than larger ones, so they'll be in for some rude surprises.
2. Inventive scammers already using GDPR in new phishing schemes
Researchers at Redscan (reported by ZDNet here) are already picking up phishing scams disguised as common websites asking for GDPR-required consent forms to store personal data.
Why it matters: Since all websites must now double-check whether customers are comfortable storing their information under the new EU privacy laws, users are going to be inundated with these requests — and will likely let their guard down.
The details: The scam caught by Redscan looks like an Airbnb notification about complying with GDPR rules. Anyone who clicks through will be asked for personal data, account credentials and credit card info.
3. Schneider patches critical infrastructure bugs
Tenable announced Wednesday it had discovered a security vulnerability in two applications used by Schneider Electric, a global maker of industrial control systems for power plants and factories with $30 billion in revenue. Schneider has released a patch.
Why it matters: This sort of news is a call for firms that run industrial systems like Schneider's to keep them up to date.
Hacking critical infrastructure is tough, and the threats are often inflated by the media. This problem wasn't the one thing preventing Russian hackers from blacking out the U.S. But it was, potentially, one link in a chain of events that could lead to a plant shutdown. Those things are important to fix, too.
4. ZooPark is ZooSpying on Mideastern ZooDevices
Kaspersky Lab has detailed a new advanced cyberespionage campaign — dubbed "ZooPark" — that targets Android devices in the Middle East.
The details: In a report released Thursday, Kaspersky said ZooPark is targeting devices in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Lebanon and Iran and has been active since at least 2015.
- The intended victims appear to have an interest in Kurdish elections and voting.
The capabilities: The latest of four ZooPark versions, released in 2017, offers the ability to perform several kinds of surveillance, including recording calls, logging key entry and taking screen grabs. It can also send texts and place calls.
In 2016, in a brief departure, ZooPark built a version based on commercial spyware known as Spymaster Pro — but has since switched back to its inhouse version.
How to be infected with ZooPark: The attackers install malware through Telegram channels and through malware embedded on legitimate websites, what is known as a watering hole attack.
- The watering hole attacks used two news sites, one popular in Egypt and one popular in Jordan and Lebanon. These attacks used the 2016 Spymastye Pro version.
- Several of the Telegram attacks were meant to appear to be apps related to Kurdish elections and referenda.
5. China is even worse at email protection
We've had some fun at the expense of the U.S. government and federal contractors that have yet to adopt the email fraud blocking protocol DMARC (here, and here, and probably some other places too). But Chinese adoption of DMARC is even spottier.
The details: According to the firm 250ok, only 2% of the top 100 Chinese firms use DMARC. In a study last year, around a third of the Fortune 500 used DMARC — and that was before a rapid increase in adoption over the last year.
Why it matters: Clever phishing attempts will make scam emails appear to come from trusted firms — say, asking for your Gmail account details in an email that appears to come from "[email protected]" Using DMARC, Google prevents those emails from ever showing up in a user's inbox. China's low adoption makes Chinese citizens — and firms doing business with Chinese entities —prime targets for scammers.
6. Odds and ends
- Australia's Commonwealth Bank lost track of tape backups with details on 20 million accounts. (Reuters)
- Cambridge Analytica and its parent company suddenly closed operations, possibly to rebrand as a different company. (Wall Street Journal)
- Dutch researchers adapted Rowhammer for Android devices. Rowhammer is an attack that uses electric currents to manipulate memory. (Wired)
- Facebook has fired a bunch of employees over the years for stalking using their access to the service's data, including one this week. (Motherboard)
- A group of companies once accused of collaborating with the U.S. on surveillance — including Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Facebook — now wants to thwart encryption backdoors. (Reform Government Surveillance)
Codebook will return Tuesday. Bruce Willis was dead the whole time.


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Search Winsight Grocery Business
Shoppers continue to seek immune-boosting products.
Educating consumers about the truths about meat can help increase consumption and sales, author says.
Three in 4 consumers fear getting COVID-19 while grocery shopping, according to a poll by Charleston|Orwig and Menu Matters.
September’s Family Meals Month stresses meals together as more meals than ever are being enjoyed together in the home, a trend expected to outlast the pandemic.
The Lempert Report: One in 4 Americans avoid buying foods containing the top nine food allergens, a new study finds.
The Lempert Report: The role of the supermarket retail dietitian should be expanded to helping consumers understand their DNA and how it affects their health and nutrition.
North Market, developed by the organization Pillsbury United Communities, is focused on creating a one-stop shop for its neighborhood when it comes to healthy living.
The service is now available by appointment across nine states.
The Lempert Report: Survey finds parents are snacking and skipping meals more as they juggle work responsibilities with child care.
The retailer is offering contactless prescription delivery amid COVID-19 and implementing processes to help combat the ongoing opioid crisis.
Retailer recognized for progress against audacious sustainability goals in difficult circumstances
It was almost too close to call, but Publix Super Markets has nosed out last year's Most Trusted American grocer—H-E-B—to take the top honor in WGB and BrandSpark's fourth annual report on the supermarkets winning the consumer confidence race.
Listen in to WGB’s flagship podcast, 10 Items or Less, featuring insights from retailers and industry professionals.
Exclusive industry info and insights straight to your inbox
Your go-to resource for all things grocery
Take a peek at the latest issue of the magazine


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by Charmaine Leong
No matter what you hear about the longevity of luxury timepieces, fine watchmaking still relies on resource-consuming manufacturing practices. Thankfully, many brands are now trying their best to be more responsible.
Those like A. Lange & Sohne, Tag Heuer and IWC have made their manufacturing sites more eco-friendly through sustainable architecture, solar panels and geothermal power plants. Many others, including Chopard, Omega and Harry Winston are also proudly declaring various certifications from institutions like Fairmined and the Responsible Jewellery Council. Even educators are raising awareness by partnering with organisations in the way Omega has done with the GoodPlanet Foundation and Blancpain with its Blancpain Ocean Commitment.
While many such efforts have been ongoing for years, watchmakers are now realising that the final products make far better ambassadors than the announcements about them.
SALVAGE KING: GIVING USED MATERIALS A SECOND LIFE
Panerai made good on its promise two years ago to produce a watch that was almost completely made out of recycled materials. The limited-edition Submersible Mike Horn, with a case made from the brand’s EcoTitanium (a titanium alloy produced from aerospace-grade scrap metal) and strap from recycled PET bottles, was the teaser for this year’s Submersible eLAB-ID PAM01225. Besides an EcoTitanium case, it also features an EcoTitanium sandwich dial and bridges, and a recycled fabric strap. It is also the first watch ever to use 100 per cent recycled SuperLuminova as well as reprocessed silicon for the escapement.
Panerai claims that most of the major components – including the sapphire crystal and gold hands – “contain recyclable materials” that make up 98.6 per cent of the watch’s weight.
It also launched the Luminor Marina eSteel that gets its name from a recycled steel alloy used in the case and dial. Compared to the eLAB-ID, only 58.4 per cent of this watch’s weight comes from recycled materials.
Its dial colours, on the other hand, have Italian names that evoke the ocean: Blu Profondo (dark blue), Verde Smeraldo (green) and Grigio Roccia (grey).
SUN WORSHIPPERS: POWERING UP WITH SOLAR ENERGY
When the quartz crisis hit the industry in the 1970s, Cartier responded by launching the Tank Must de Cartier, its first industrially produced, non-precious Tank. Now the collection is introducing versions offering the new SolarBeat photovoltaic movement with a lifetime of 16 years. Perforations in the Roman numerals let through sunlight to power it up.
The new-generation Must collection also offers straps made from 40 per cent waste matter collected from apple orchards. The carbon footprint and amount of energy and water used are considerably less than what it takes to make a calfskin strap.
Antwerp watchmaker Ressence had a more avant-garde take on the use of solar power when it unveiled its patented e-Crown technology in the Type 2 e-Crown Concept watch in 2018. The invisible “crown” is actually an electro-mechanical module powered by photovoltaic cells that works alongside the (fully mechanical) movement to automatically set the time. The Type 2, however, is no longer just a concept. Ressence recently released its third addition to the line-up: the Type 2N Night Blue.
TWISTS TO THE WRISTS: ENGAGING WITH ECO-FRIENDLY STRAPS
Why limit yourself to rubber or fabric straps when looking for recycled, cruelty- free options? IWC’s new TimberTex straps might look like soft, matte leather but they are composed of 80 per cent natural plant fibres and crafted with traditional papermaking techniques. In blue, brown or black, the straps are also padded with recycled microfibre for extra comfort and currently complement the Portugieser Chronograph, Portugieser Automatic 40, Portofino Automatic and Portofino Chronograph.
If you must have the real deal, you can always count on Chopard to ensure that its straps at least come from a reputable source. The maison works closely with strap suppliers to map supply chains and ensure full traceability and visibility from the tanneries, slaughterhouses and breeding farms it works with. So you can trust that the leather straps of this year’s L.U.C QF Jubilee have been acquired from a supplier that guarantees responsible practices.


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Blacksmith has released its new upcoming electric bike B2’s pictures. It will launch in first quarter in 2020. The price is not revealed yet, but it is expected that it will be around 2 lakh. B2 has a 72V Li-ion battery, mounted with a 5 kW asynchronous motor, which gives a range of 120km in a single charge and max speed of 120kmph. It will have new fully digital instrument cluster with different ride modes, and uniquely it is placed on the tank board. It will also have smart apps like GPS, Artificial Intelligence system, alarm and circuit closing system. Headlamp is a LED with projector. Battery charges its 80% in 4 hours. It has a good loading capacity of 200kgs.
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Milan Fashion Week, almost wholly digital, will run until March 1. Italy’s top labels will all take part, except Versace, alongside many debut names like Del Core, a new entry premiering with a real show.
Brunello Cucinelli, who opened the famed Florentine trade fair Pitti on Tuesday, is fashion's resident philanthropic designer entrepreneur. One of fashion's busiest men discusses his idea for a new social contract.
In an exclusive interview, Agostino Poletto, general manager of trade show Pitti Immagine, gives FashionNetwork.com an initial assessment of Pitti Connect. The site, launched in July, hosts three virtual exhibitions.
Pitti Immagine has unveiled the website hosting all its trade shows until the end of October, featuring exhibitors’ collections and plenty of content and events, like ‘Sustainable Style’, headlined by Y/Project.
Brunello Cucinelli expects to limit its drop in sales this year caused by the coronavirus crisis to 10% and said it would writedown 30 million euros of unsold garments, which would be donated to humanitarian causes.
Due to lack of participation, the Florence menswear show, whose June session had initially been postponed to September, will not take place. Organiser Pitti Immagine’s other summer shows will not be staged either.
As previously announced, Brunello Cucinelli is stepping down from his label's day-to-day running: he remains executive president and creative director, while Luca Lisandroni and Riccardo Stefanelli are the new co-CEOs.
In Q1 2020, the Italian label recorded a 2.3% slump in revenue, down to €156.7 million, especially felt in its monobrand stores in Italy, the rest of Europe and China, while the wholesale channel helped stem losses.


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The fintech era advances in a way to new technologies and sectors that only increase its potential, countries try to overcome trends to get more out of the imminent economic future of companies and Hong Kong is one of them and tries to cover All the strong technicians and their monetary authority plan to continue encouraging this practice by financing research in this area.
The CDI is a consent-based financial infrastructure that would enable a more secure and efficient flow of data between banks and commercial data sources. It has the potential to solve long-standing problems in SME financing by allowing small business owners to use their own data to improve their access to financial services, Yue says.
To study the technical feasibility of the CDI, HKMA is conducting an initial proof-of-concept (PoC) study on the use of trade-related data to facilitate trade finance applications in collaboration with banks. The next phase of the study will begin in 2021 to cover other sources of business data that could facilitate alternative credit scoring by banks.
Buy your tickets for the virtual event at https://lnkd.in/eJTC6hS


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Shoppers reaped the benefits of Big Bazaar's 'GST Muharat bonanza, offering up to 22 percent savings and cashback offers, in lieu of the rollout of the much-awaited Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Customers thronged to the retail chain's outlets across the country, including Mumbai and Delhi, to avail the benefits of the exclusive GST discount spree.
A shopper, Pramod, who hailed the offer to be a very beneficial one said the discounts provided by the retail chain have given shoppers a chance to save on provisions and other commodities.
Another shopper, Afreen, told ANI that although the GST may not be entirely beneficial to common man, the offer has eased the pressure on shoppers.
Two days ago, through their official twitter account, Big Bazaar announced their 'GST Muhurat shopping' scheme, whereby customers could avail cashback of Rs. 300 on every Rs. 1,000 spent. Additionally, the company also advertised a cut in the prices of various commodities, thus enabling shoppers to save more.
The offer was announced by Future Group Founder Kishore Biyani, who said the 'once in a lifetime event should be celebrated'.
The company, who had also partnered with Ola Cabs, offered a discount of Rs. 50 on all journeys booked between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. on 30 June/ 1 July 2017, in lieu of the launch of India's biggest taxation regime.
In a historic moment for the Indian economy, the much-awaited Goods and Services Tax (GST) was rolled out in a special midnight session of the Parliament, in the presence of President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, among other dignitaries.
Ending more than 11 years of hectic argument among the Centre and the states, the GST will implement from July 1 to completely transform the indirect taxation landscape in the country involving both the Central and State levies.
The biggest tax reform since independence - GST - will pave the way for realisation of the goal of One Nation - One Tax - One Market.
It will benefit all the stakeholders namely industry, government and consumer as it will lower the cost of goods and services give a boost to the economy and make the products and services globally competitive, giving a major boost to 'Make in India' initiative.
Under the GST regime, exports will be zero-rated in entirety unlike the present system where refund of some of the taxes does not take place due to fragmented nature of indirect taxes between the Centre and the States.
However, GST will make India a common market with common tax rates and procedures and remove economic barriers.
GST is largely technology driven and will reduce the human interface to a great extent. GST is expected to improve ease of doing business in India.
In majority of supplies of goods, the tax incidence approved by the GST Council is much lower than the present combined indirect tax rates levied [on account of central excise duty rates / embedded central excise duty rates / service tax post-clearance embedding, VAT rates or weighted average VAT rates, cascading of VAT over excise duty and tax incidence on account of CST, Octroi, Entry Tax, etc.] by the Centre and State(s).
The GST Council has decided the final structure of GST as follows:
• The threshold limit for exemption from levy of GST is Rs. 20 lakh for the States except for the Special Category, where it is Rs 10 Lakh.
• A four slab tax rate structure of 5 percent, 12 percent, 18 percent and 28 percent has been adopted for GST.
• A cess would be levied on certain goods such as luxury cars, aerated drinks, and pan masala and tobacco products, over and above the GST rate of 28 percent for payment of compensation to the states.
• The threshold for availing the Composition scheme is Rs. 75 lakhexcept for special category States where it is Rs. 50 lakh and they are required to file quarterly returns only. Certain categories of manufacturers, service providers (except restaurants) are out of the Composition Scheme.
Other important Features of GST are:-
• GST envisages all transactions and processes to be done only through electronic mode, to achieve non-intrusive administration. This will minimise tax payer's physical interaction with the tax officials.
• GST provides for the facility of auto-populated monthly returns and annual return.
• It also facilitates the taxpayers by prescribing grant of refund within 60 days, and provisional release of 90 percent refund to exporters within 7 days.
Further facilitation measures include interest payment if refund is not sanctioned in time, and refund to be directly credited to bank accounts.
• Comprehensive transitional provisions for ensuring smooth transition of existing taxpayers to GST regime, credit for available stocks, etc.
• Other provisions include system of GST Compliance Rating, etc.
• Anti-profiteering provisions for protection of consumer rights.