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Shoppers have inundated malls and shopping centres for Boxing Day sales, with people still queuing late in the afternoon.
A strong coffee, patience and slightly protruding elbows.
That appears to be the recipe to surviving the monstrous crowds that flocked to malls for Boxing Day sales.
Retailers and industry leaders are hopeful Thursday’s crowds will break records, with one of Melbourne’s busiest shopping centres full and queues surrounding Sydney’s shopping drawcards.
The enthusiastic crowds may produce the 5.6 per cent increase in Boxing Day spending predicted by the Australian National Retailer Association (ANRA).
In Sydney, police were called to control foot traffic in the inner city and barricades were erected.
Queues outside stores including adidas, Lacoste and Zara remained lengthy at 4pm.
While many people were happy to give up their time to wait in line to grab a bargain, shopper Marie Blandino was not convinced.
“It’s a bit of turn-off if you see the line,” she told AAP.
“I just keep going.”
The Guildford woman took a moment of reprieve in the shade, surrounded by her purchases, but admitted she was disappointed with the discounts.
“I thought it would be a bit more (discounted), to be honest,” she said.
At Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall, Penrith woman Alice, who did not want her surname published, said there was too much pushing and shoving.
“It’s been a bit of an overcrowded day,” she said.
“There is a bit of elbowing and nudging – you have to keep your elbows out.”
Department stores Myer and David Jones opened their flagship Sydney stores at 5am, with many forming queues before then.
It was a similar story for the smaller stores in the Queen Victoria Building.
“I have been here since 6am and there were quite a few people waiting outside stores,” QV Bar Cafe manager Nik Kalis said.
“A lot of people started the day with a strong coffee so they could shop harder.”
At Melbourne’s Chadstone Shopping Centre, general manager Anthony Rafaniello said he was pretty sure records would be set.
“Pre-Christmas was strong but this was far stronger,” he said.
“We probably couldn’t fit more people.”
ANRA chief executive Margy Osmond had on Thursday morning predicted a bumper Boxing Day.
“(It) probably makes it just about the best we have seen since the GFC,” she said.
Victorians were tipped to spend the most this Boxing Day, at $636.8 million.
In NSW, shoppers were expected to spend $545.4 million, followed by Queensland at $349.5 million.
Some stores took the unusual step of starting their Boxing Day sales online a day or two earlier, and many shoppers chose to bargain hunt from home, with 1.5 million people recorded on the David Jones website.
In comparison, a million people passed through David Jones’ flagship inner-city stores throughout the country on Boxing Day.
Cate Daniels, a David Jones operations manager, said more than 30,000 men’s business shirts, 75,000 towels, 90,000 pairs of shoes and 20,000 handbags were sold.
“Whilst we have had a strong start to clearance, it is early days, with only one day’s trading performance, so we need to trade through the entire clearance period to see if the early momentum is maintained,” she said in a statement.
Myer’s website was the source of frustrations vented on social media, with visitors being greeted by a colourful sign declaring technical difficulties.
Myer apologised on Twitter.


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Toyota models trail in crash-safety study; Honda, Subaru at Top
Toyota Motor Corp., whose vehicles earn top marks for buyer satisfaction, has more models than any other automaker ranked at the bottom of a crash-protection study.
ToyotaMotor Corp. and its Lexus division accounted for nine of 16 vehicles with “acceptable,” “marginal” or “poor” rear- impact protection, lowering their overall rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said today. Models included the Toyota Camry and the Lexus GS 350. Honda Motor Co., including its Acura division, and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd.'s Subaru each placed three vehicles among the 13 designated in the study as a “top safety pick.” Toyota's performance in the crash-safety study contrasts with its industry-leading ranking on the University of Michigan's American CustomerSatisfaction Index. The Toyota City, Japan- based company finished atop other automakers for the second year in a row in 2006. Vehicles earn the insurance institute's top safety ranking based on tests of front-, rear- and side-collision protection. Vehicles had to have electronic stability control as an optional or standard feature to be considered for the top spot this year. “The idea of tightening the criteria for the award is to encourage more vehicle safety improvements,” said Adrian Lund, president of the Arlington, Virginia-based institute. A “poor” grade predicts serious or possibly fatal injuries in front-end and side collision tests performed at 40 miles an hour, while a “good” rating predicts a lower risk of serious injury, said Russ Rader, an institute spokesman. Passengers in vehicles with “poor” rear-collision ratings are “much more likely” to sustain neck injuries compared with people riding in “good” vehicles, Rader said. (Bloomberg)
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Closed petition Extend grants immediately to small businesses outside of SBRR
The cash grants proposed by Government are only for businesses in receipt of the Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Relief, or for particular sectors. Many small businesses fall outside these reliefs desperately need cash grants and support now.
This needs to be made immediately available by every means possible.
Small businesses are dying by the day and jobs are being lost. We need fast, easy access to cash grants for small businesses enabling them to survive COVID-19.
Time is of the essence. Government needs to do more for small businesses, not just the current proposals.
Grant distribution can be done faster. We need to use all resources available.
This petition is closed All petitions run for 6 months
Parliament debated this topic
This topic was debated on 25 June 2020
This response was given on 29 May 2020
The business grants schemes are helping many thousands of small businesses and are just one part of the Government’s unprecedented package of support for business during the Covid-19 crisis.
Read the response in full
The Government recognises that this is a very challenging time for businesses in a wide variety of sectors. Small businesses facing high fixed property-related costs are in particular need of support because they are less likely than larger businesses to have sufficient cash reserves to see them through the Covid-19 crisis. The Small Business Grants Fund and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund are designed to help the smallest businesses, as well as small businesses in sectors which have been especially hard hit by the decline in customer footfall which has taken place since social distancing measures were introduced. The grants schemes are already helping thousands of small businesses in these situations: as of 11th May, over £9.1 billion worth of grants have been paid to over 742,000 business premises.
The Government is aware that some small businesses have found themselves excluded from the existing business grants schemes because of the way they interact with the business rates system. That is why the Government has allocated up to an additional £617 million to Local Authorities to enable them to give discretionary grants to businesses in this situation. The Government has published detailed guidance on how Local Authorities should administer the Discretionary Grants Fund. The Government’s intention is for Local Authorities to prioritise the following types of business when making discretionary grants: small businesses in shared offices or other flexible work spaces such as industrial parks, science parks, incubators etc, which do not have their own business rates assessment; regular market traders who do not have their own business rates assessment; B&Bs which pay Council Tax instead of business rates; and charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief.
Local Authorities may choose to focus payments on those priority groups which are most relevant to their local areas. Local Authorities may also choose to pay grants to businesses outside of these priority groups, according to local economic need, so long as the business was trading on 11th March, and has not received any other cash grant funded by central Government.
Businesses will need to apply to their Local Authority in order to receive grants. Each Local Authority will need to create their own process, and should look to do so as quickly as possible. We encourage businesses to look out for their Local Authority’s version of this scheme, and to contact their Local Authority for more information in due course.
The priority of all business grants schemes continues to be to help the smallest businesses, and small businesses which are facing significant property-related costs and operate in sectors which have been particularly hard hit by the steep decline in customer footfall.
Businesses which can’t receive business grants should be able to benefit from other measures in the Government’s generous package of support for business, including: a twelve-month business rate holiday for all retail, hospitality and leisure properties, regardless of their size; an option to defer VAT payments by up to twelve months; the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, which will ensure that small and micro businesses can quickly access loans of up to £50,000 which are 100% guaranteed by the Government; the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, now extended to cover all businesses including those which would be able to access commercial credit; the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, to support businesses with their wage bill; and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, to provide support to the self-employed.
Other parliamentary business
MPs investigate the economic impact of coronavirus
A group of MPs called the Treasury Committee is investigating the economic impact of coronavirus, including looking at support for businesses, employees and self-employed people.
The Committee launched the first stage of its inquiry on 18 March to look at the speed, effectiveness and reach of the Government’s and Bank of England’s immediate financial response to coronavirus.
During this stage, the Committee pushed the Government on the lack of support for the self-employed, on lenders requesting personal guarantees on business interruption loans, and on the issue of large firms struggling to get support, including in order to retain their employees.
On 24 April the Committee launched the next stage of its inquiry, in which it will examine the effectiveness, cost and sustainability of the Government’s and Bank of England’s support packages. The Committee will also examine the impact on the economy and different sectors, the implications for public finances, and how the Government can work towards a sustained recovery.
You can find out about the inquiry, including how to submit your views and details of meetings the Committee is holding, here: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/224/economic-impact-of-coronavirus/
The Treasury Committee is a cross-party group of MPs and is independent of the Government. The Committee looks at and questions the Government about matters relating to the spending of public money and economic policy.
You can find out more about the Treasury Committee on their website: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/158/treasury-committee
You can follow the Treasury Committee on Twitter: @CommonsTreasury
The Treasury Committee is a ‘select committee’. Find out how Select Committees work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_2RDuDs44c
Has coronavirus affected your business in Wales?
A group of MPs called the Welsh Affairs Committee is looking into the impact of coronavirus on the Welsh economy, and would like to hear your views.
If your business in Wales has been affected by coronavirus, complete this survey to tell the Welsh Affairs Committee how the coronavirus outbreak has affected you: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=nt3mHDeziEC-Xo277ASzSsdf6aRbb_hHi61kcnJ3-KJUNEpKUVQ3ODkxU0tTQUdVV05ZMFhYRFozRy4u
The survey should only take 10 minutes to complete, and closes at 5pm on 15 May.
The Welsh Affairs Committee is a cross-party group of MPs and is independent of the Government. The Committee looks at and questions the Government about matters that have an impact on Wales.
You can find out more about the Welsh Affairs Committee on their website: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/162/welsh-affairs-committee/
You can follow the Welsh Affairs Committee on Twitter: @CommonsWelshAff
The Welsh Affairs Committee is a ‘select committee’. Find out how Select Committees work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_2RDuDs44c
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/
Read letters from the Committee asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/192/the-governments-response-to-coronavirus/publications/
Visit our website to find news and information on other activity in relation to coronavirus and other issues: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
MPs to debate petitions calling for support for UK industries in response to Covid-19
The Petitions Committee, which is the group of MPs who oversee the petitions system, has agreed to schedule a debate in the House of Commons Chamber on Thursday 25 June on petitions calling for support for UK industries in response to Covid-19.
The debate is being held in response to the huge number of petitions, including the one you signed, that call for the Government to provide support for UK industries in response to Covid-19.
The start time of the debate will depend on other parliamentary business, but you can follow the Petitions Committee on Twitter @HoCpetitions, where we will post updates on when we expect the debate to start.
You will be able to watch the debate live here: https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/a7b6db44-6101-42c7-b2a0-32abd08b80ef
A transcript will be published the following day here: https://hansard.parliament.uk
MPs to debate support for SMEs during the Covid-19 pandemic
MPs will debate support for SMEs during the Covid-19 pandemic on Tuesday 10 November in Westminster Hall. The subject of the debate has been determined by the Backbench Business Committee.
This will be a general debate. General debates allow MPs to debate important issues, however they do not end in a vote nor can they change the law.
The debate will start at 2.30pm and last for 90 minutes.
Watch here this Thursday: https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/dcb5184d-e840-4550-a631-c5fc33aa901f
Find out more about how Parliamentary debates work: https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/business/debates/
Find out more about the Backbench Business Committee: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/202/backbench-business-committee/
MPs to debate support for small business during the covid-19 outbreak
MPs will debate support for small business during the covid-19 outbreak on Wednesday 13 January in the main House of Commons chamber. This is an Adjournment debate, determined by the Speaker.
Adjournment debates are half-hour debates at the end of each day's sitting. They are an opportunity for an individual backbench MP to raise an issue and receive a response from the relevant Minister, however they do not end in a vote nor can they change the law.
The debate will start at around 7.00pm after the conclusion of business relating to the Financial Services Bill.
Watch here on Wednesday: https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/6f53838e-5c17-4c59-b297-6eeb1087acc9
Find out more about how Adjournment debates work: https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/business/debates/adjournment/


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Seegrid Partners With Applied Intuition For AMR Simulations
Autonomous Mobile Robot Provider to Leverage Best-in-Class Simulation Tools to Accelerate Delivery of Next Generation Material Handling Automation Solutions
Seegrid Corporation, the leader in autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for material handling, and Applied Intuition, a best-in-class simulation and software tools provider for autonomous vehicle development, announced an agreement to collaborate on creating 3D virtual warehouses, factories, and distribution centers in support of accelerating advancements in autonomous technology for the material handling industry. The partnership involves a significant investment by Seegrid and will enable Seegrid to quickly validate product innovations in more environments and use cases across the supply chain than feasible with manual testing.
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Seegrid, recently named 1 for all mobile robots in the United States and #1 in market share worldwide for automated tow tractors, launched several new robot models in 2021 including the company’s newest AMR, Palion Lift, the only autonomous lift truck in the market with industry-leading 3D perception. Applied Intuition is generally considered best-in-class for simulation tools that deliver high-fidelity simulation modeling to comprehensively test and rapidly accelerate autonomous vehicle development and deployment.
“Applied Intuition’s platform simulates a wide range of environments, layering in different conditions to safely pressure test next generation ideas in autonomous vehicle technology,” said Peter Ludwig, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder of Applied Intuition. “Manufacturing and distribution facilities are a complex, highly dynamic operational design domain—we’re thrilled to collaborate with industry leader Seegrid to help enable the rapid acceleration of the growing AMR market.”
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“Consumer demand and a shrinking labor force are putting pressure on nearly every industry, and in turn, putting pressure on AMRs to effectively and consistently interpret and respond to ever-changing situations,” said Jim Rock, Seegrid’s Chief Executive Officer. “Our customers rely on Seegrid to deliver industry leading automation solutions that can safely ensure productivity—highly advanced simulation during ideation, test, and development speeds up our ability to deliver next generation AMRs best equipped to address the unpredictable events in facility workflows.”
The two companies, heavily focused on and recognized for creating safe and efficient autonomy solutions, will also co-develop advanced simulation features and environments to support use cases unique to supply chain mobile automation. The collaboration is a development effort from Seegrid’s Blue Labs, the company’s research and development team dedicated to quickly identifying new automation technologies for their leading global brand customers in logistics, ecommerce, and manufacturing.
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Equities research analysts expect Mohawk Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MHK) to post $2.45 billion in sales for the current quarter, Zacks reports. Seven analysts have provided estimates for Mohawk Industries’ earnings. The highest sales estimate is $2.49 billion and the lowest is $2.41 billion. Mohawk Industries posted sales of $2.37 billion in the same quarter last year, which would indicate a positive year-over-year growth rate of 3.4%. The company is expected to report its next quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 14th.
According to Zacks, analysts expect that Mohawk Industries will report full-year sales of $9.98 billion for the current financial year, with estimates ranging from $9.91 billion to $10.02 billion. For the next financial year, analysts anticipate that the company will post sales of $10.41 billion, with estimates ranging from $10.17 billion to $10.67 billion. Zacks Investment Research’s sales calculations are an average based on a survey of research firms that cover Mohawk Industries.
Mohawk Industries (NYSE:MHK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 25th. The company reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.58 by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. Mohawk Industries had a return on equity of 13.49% and a net margin of 8.81%.
In other Mohawk Industries news, Chairman Jeffrey S. Lorberbaum sold 13,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.74, for a total value of $2,502,316.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 45,187 shares in the company, valued at $8,438,220.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bernard Thiers sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $950,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 40,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,629,640. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 16.80% of the company’s stock.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mohawk Industries by 2.2% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,257,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,340,786,000 after buying an additional 134,039 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Mohawk Industries by 20.6% during the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 1,959,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $419,760,000 after buying an additional 334,869 shares during the period. First Pacific Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Mohawk Industries during the third quarter worth about $277,086,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Mohawk Industries by 16.2% during the third quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,273,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,315,000 after buying an additional 177,109 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Mohawk Industries by 0.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,199,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,651,000 after buying an additional 3,493 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.91% of the company’s stock.
Shares of MHK stock traded up $2.32 on Friday, reaching $123.73. 1,221,067 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,019,032. The company has a current ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $9.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.09, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.62. Mohawk Industries has a twelve month low of $113.45 and a twelve month high of $286.85.
Mohawk Industries declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 25th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 4.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
About Mohawk Industries
Mohawk Industries, Inc designs, manufactures, sources, distributes, and markets flooring products for remodeling and new constructions of residential and commercial spaces worldwide. It operates through three segments: Global Ceramic, Flooring North America (Flooring NA), and Flooring Rest of the World (Flooring ROW).
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FedEx Chairman, President and CEO urges WTO to complete trade facilitation agreement
FedEx Chairman, President and CEO Frederick W. Smith joined with the International Chamber of Commerce and business leaders of multinational companies from 30 countries to strongly urge the World Trade Organization to finalize the trade facilitation agreement at the ministerial meeting in Bali this week. The WTO trade facilitation agreement would promote global trade by reducing administrative costs and delays at the border, and is estimated to add over $1 trillion to the global economy.
The letter is available at: http://www.iccwbo.org/News/Articles/2013/Business-leaders-call-for-new-global-trade-deal/
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November 17, 2019
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It looks like LG and Qaunta's ongoing patent squabble is headed for the big time, with Reuters now reporting that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to step in and sort things out. This is not, however, the DVD-related LG vs. Quanta case
that was filed back in July, but rather an entirely different LG vs. Quanta case that ultimately found the U.S. District Court for Northern California ruling against LG, only to have that ruling later overturned by a federal appeals court in July of 2006. According to Reuters, this particular case centers on the touchy issue of whether patent-holders can demand royalties from multiple companies during the manufacturing process -- a patent trail that's also caused a range of other manufacturers including Bizcom, Compal and Scepter to be roped into the case. If all goes as planned, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case "early next year," with a decision "likely" by the end of June.


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Posts Tagged «Google Play»
Nikon’s Android-powered camera isn’t as cool as you think August 9, 2012 at 6:20 am
Android isn’t going to change the way you use cameras, refrigerators, and TVs. Even if it was, Nikon isn’t the company to do it.
Nexus Q: Google’s attempt to capture your living room June 27, 2012 at 6:06 pm
Following the trend of cloud storage of media, Google is launching the stylish and spherical Nexus Q — a device that will allow you and your friends to share and playback all your music, movies, and TV shows on Google Play. Will it be enough to take on Sonos?
How to reclaim your Android UI from OEM skins like TouchWiz, Sense, and Blur May 8, 2012 at 9:00 am
Five apps that can cover up that unsightly manufacturer skin.
How to spot Android scam and malware apps April 5, 2012 at 11:58 am
With a quick 60-second check of an app’s Play Store listing, you can avoid almost all Android malware and scam apps.
RIP Android Market, long live Google Play March 7, 2012 at 5:16 am
The Android Market branding will be wiped from the Google ecosystem in a matter of days.


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The UK supermarket, Sainsbury’s, is rather red-faced at the moment. For the past 24 hours it has been unable to operate it’s online store, costing it around £1m in lost revenue. That’s bad enough, but the company has also had to face several media stories about its failure, such as this in the Daily Telegraph or this at the BBC. No doubt Sainsbury’s will get its act together soon. In the grand scheme of things online sales only represent a small amount of income for the company; they have never achieved the giddy heights of superstore rival, Tesco.
Even so, Sainsbury’s will ride the storm of its Internet problem. The company’s future is not threatened by the failure of its web site. However, it does raise the issue of whether most businesses could survive some kind of Internet catastrophe. What would Google do if it’s servers all failed and we were unable to use their services? How would Facebook cope? What would all those home-based Internet entrepreneurs do?
Many businesses have put all their eggs in the Internet basket – and that could spell financial disaster for them. For Sainsbury’s, the Internet is only part of their supply mix, which means they can cope. But for Google, or for those millionaire entrepreneurs, any Internet problem would be a disaster.
And that situation may not be that far off. Already some senior people, such as engineers within phone giant AT&T, are suggesting potential “gridlock” for the Internet. We have already seen millions of Internet users affected by complete collapses – and that has had a knock-on effect for local businesses.
What would your business do if the Internet went on a go-slow or if it ground to a complete halt? What would you do if rationing came in to force as the only means of controlling the traffic flow? Would your business survive?
You can’t avoid having a plan in place for the potential disaster of not having a web site, or the Internet collapsing. If you have a plan, your business will survive. To shut your eyes to this kind of planning means there is a real chance your business will collapse.
Sainsbury’s will obviously survive their “technical glitch”, but would a company whose entire business depends on the Internet? Make sure yours doesn’t.


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Amazon has closed its $8.5 billion acquisition of Hollywood studio MGM, two days after European regulators said the deal “would not significantly reduce competition” in European markets. MGM is one of the oldest studios in Hollywood. The retail giant said in a blog post Thursday MGM has more than 4,000 film titles, 17,000 TV episodes and awards that will complement Prime Video and Amazon Studios’ work. Amazon plans to draw on the vast MGM library, with famous characters such as Rocky, RoboCop and Pink Panther, to create new movies and shows.
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Written by: Editor


text: Negative World writes: "Not since 1996 has Nintendo released a new console with a Super Mario game at launch. So it was quite a surprise when they announced that despite New Super Mario Bros. 2 was coming to the 3DS, there was going to be a fourth installment of the “New” series launching on the Wii U. This put a lot of speculation and debate as to which one would be better. Later it was learned that the two titles would have different angles to them. The 3DS title was of course very coin heavy. Then what did that make the Wii U installment? Many suggested that it was Super Mario World incarnate. After having many weeks with the game, and having beaten it entirely, the answer is quite clear."


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News Archive 'boxster'
The third generation Porsche Boxster has exited speedART's garage after it received a mild makeover and and a small power boost. Their program for this latest generation cabrio is called the SP81-R and starting with the body kit we are talking about enhancements such as ...
The new Porsche Boxster is going on sale in the UK so the Stuttgart based automaker has announced its price. The base model which extracts power from a 2.7-litre flat-six unit rated at 265 HP and 280 Nm of torque starts at 37,589 GBP while the Boxster S version which comes ...
This is not one of those times when we tell you that you need to follow the jump and hit play in order to find out which car crossed the finish line first. We will get straight to the point and tell you that in comparison test created by EVO involving the Audi R8 Spyder ...
The first promo video featuring the new 2013 Porsche Boxster has also been published today, with the footage underlining the fact that the open-top two-seater is now faster due to its more powerful engines and reduced weight. The engines are a 2.7-litre flat-six producing ...
Porsche has revealed the third generation Boxter, a model which features comprehensive improvements over the outgoing model. Infact every major aspect about the new open-top two-seater has been improved, as Porsche claims that the new Boxster weights less, packs more power ...
The German automaker has discreetly introduced the Porsche Boxster E, an electric prototype which will begin testing in mid 2011, in order to accumulate data as far as practicality and electric infrastructure. The Porsche Boxster E uses two electric motors which develop ...
Porsche is now offering the Black Edition treatment for the Boxter S, which will be limited to 987 units across the world, and which will go on sale in around two months. The Porsche Boxster S Black Edition features an uprated 3.4-litre flat-six engine which packs 320 HP ...
We are not sure if this comparison video done by Fifth Gear's Vicki Henderson and Tiff Needell which involves a Renault Megane RS vs a Porsche Boxster was done for the sake of performance or just for fun. We say that because there are to many variables that come into play, ...
The Porsche Boxster Spyder review video was taken by Vicki Butler-Henderson from Fifth Gear who wanted to see how does the lightest car in the German automaker's lineup perform. The Porsche Boxter Spyder was taken for a spin on a regular country road as well as on the track ...
This following video reveals the next-gen 2012 Porsche Boxter as it has been spied during winter testing in Sweden. Even though the reshaped elements are still under camouflage, it is clear that the 2012 Porsche Boxter will retain most of its current visual aspect. ...
The German sports car manufacturer has just released info with the new 2010 Porsche Boxster Spyder lightweight version. With a total curb weight of only 1,275 Kg this new version 2010 Porsche Boxster Spyder is the lightest model from the company's lineup and as you can ...
Latest Car News
Hennessey Performance (HPE) is building a limited run of World’s Fastest Edition Venom GTs to celebrate the company’s recent top speed run of 270.4 ...
Volkswagen has brought the New Midsize Coupe concept car to Beijing for its world premiere during Auto China 2014. ...
Donald and Joe Wales, the grandson and great grandson of pioneer record-breaker Sir Malcolm Campbell, have given their seal of approval to the first of ...
The further refined BMW Concept X5 eDrive being exhibited at the New York Auto Show demonstrates the lengths that BMW is going to in an effort to reduce ...
Infiniti is pressing ahead with the evaluation of the Q50 Eau Rouge high-performance vehicle and will show footage of the testing of a prototype version, ...
The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand closed 2012 with a new record, delivering 5.74 million vehicles to customers, +12.7 per cent comparing with 2011 results. ...
Audi is ready to add a little oil to the wheels of the daily grind with advanced traffic light recognition technology which could make driving through ...
General Motors is hoping the new 2014 Cadillac ELR, a plug-in luxury coupe that goes on sale in January for $75,995. The starting price includes a $995 ...
Porsche unveiled today a promotional video for the newly introduced Boxster GTS, shot in a desert in the US. The most powerful version of the Boxster ...
The all-new Range Rover Sport has been confirmed as the official Pace Car for this Sunday's 91st running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Known ...
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Best of Deaf-Friendly Businesses in 2020: The Year of The Pandemic
Posted by: Staff Writer on Jan. 1, 2021
This month, deaffriendly faces a tough task: Highlighting the best businesses in one of the worst years ever, the year of the pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic raised the bar for deaf-friendly customer service: Behind masks, Zoom screens, and from six feet away. So this year, we’re switching up our “Best of 2020” and focused on categories that have had a major impact on a deaf consumer base: masked communication, no-contact service (curbside), and access to pandemic press briefings.
While we can’t list every business, we want to acknowledge the following fields: Small businesses, which suffered enormous financial losses. Front-line healthcare professionals, our superheroes in scrubs and PPE. And educators, teaching their hearts out through Zoom boxes.
Let’s give the following services and businesses a round of Zoom applause:
NO-CONTACT SERVICE AND CURBSIDE
For errands that can’t be done by VRS or online shopping, deaf and hard of hearing customers usually end up needing to interact with masked people. Many businesses launched a curbside pickup in 2020 - and it’s especially beneficial to deaf customers.
This year, reviewers have increasingly begun crediting businesses with curbside, delivery and takeout options, such as Lowe’s Hardware, Fred Meyer and LemonGrass bistro. Even better: businesses that don’t require a curbside phone call, such as Applebee’s “I’m here” app button for parking lot pickups.
MASKS: CLEAR, GESTURING, OR OFF
One of the biggest weapons against COVID - a face mask - is also one of the biggest communication barriers for deaf and hard of hearing customers.
Some can speechread from six feet away. But with a mask? Impossible.
This summer, the deaffriendly team had the opportunity to try out ClearMask, co-founded by a deaf person who had gone through the “dehumanizing” experience of being prepped for surgery without communication access.
For businesses without clear masks, some take a step back to lower their masks: Fat Sal’s Deli associates do this when talking to one deaf reviewer (and handle table arrangements for deaf groups). Encino Pet Grooming also is aware of how important it is to speechread: “In this time of the mask, the owner knows I'm deaf, so as soon as I walked in he took off his mask without me saying a word.”
(Note: Deaffriendly recognizes deaf and hard of hearing customers have different preferences for whether employees remove their mask to make reading lips easier, depending on circumstances such as distance and plexiglass)
PROVIDING SAFE AND ACCESSIBLE COVID PRESS BRIEFINGS
When COVID-19 hit, VRS call volumes surged. Choosing the right provider allows us to do a telehealth appointment with a doctor or call to order takeout. Convo Relay already has a reputation as “ethically excellent,” the “only VRS provider that works on ANY operating system,” and for nonexistent wait times.
Then this year, Convo stepped up their game even more by partnering with other organizations to provide ASL interpretation and captions for presidential press briefings. It also kept its interpreters safe by implementing the @home interpreting service and petitioning FCC for a waiver to allow contract terps.
Joining Convo as a partner (along with RID and CSD) is DPAN.TV: When the current administration skimped out on providing on-air interpreters for deaf viewers, DPAN’s streaming platform became a way for us to get critical pandemic information - such as the White House Coronavirus Task Force Briefing - in our native language. As one reviewer put in, “DPAN.TV deserves a big fat payday from the president.”
(Note: in October, the White House itself finally began providing interpreters).
COVID responses differ from state to state, so deaf and hard of hearing Americans also look to their state governors’ leadership.
After having no reviews until early this year, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee’s office was flooded with four 5-star reviews from appreciative deaf Washingtonians. “Having a choice to read either the captions OR watch our Deaf interpreters has made the entire process painless,” one wrote.
Others love that Inslee’s press briefings use a Deaf Interpreter and the reduced anxiety in getting information in their native language. In Minnesota, the office of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Lt Governor Peggy Flanagan also provides Deaf Interpreters and real-time captions for press briefings.
ACCESSIBLE MEDIA AND LOCAL COVID-19 BRIEFINGS
Aside from federal and state governments, municipal and local-level organizations also stepped up to make their pandemic communications accessible to the deaf Community.
Atlanta-based WSB TV Transmit employed a Deaf Interpreter and took steps to make it a comfortable workspace, including providing a dark blue fabric to minimize "visual noise.” Los Angeles City Hall earned kudos for having ASL interpreters for COVID TV briefings (with a request to consider Mexican Sign Language interpreters for LA’s heavily Spanish-fluent base). The City of Seattle provides interpreters and captions through the pandemic. “It really saves our lives,” one reviewer said.
LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST
The pandemic has led to intense stress and “skin hunger,” a term for touch deprivation. So we’d be remiss to not mention the perennial winner of our “Best Of” year-end nods: Julia Cameron's Magical Mystical Massage Tour has received 60 reviews to date.
One reviewer recently went in for a lymph massage based on doctor’s orders. A mask proved to be no deterrence: “Julia's communication skills are perfect for both deaf and hearing clients; she signs and speaks perfectly, even with a mask!"
LOOKING TOWARDS 2021...
The year 2021 is arriving with the promise of a COVID vaccine distribution (in varying stages). But that doesn’t mean Zoom meetings, masking, distancing, and curbside delivery will vanish overnight. If anything, many of these things will still be around - especially virtual meetings. Businesses that adapt quickly will be in the position to serve a demographic of 466 million deaf and hard of hearing customers - in the best of times, and in the worst of times.
And it all comes down to continuous feedback and education from you, deaf consumers! Write a review today, to help businesses re-learn how best to serve you in 2021.
- hard of hearing
- hearing loss
- curbside pick-up
- no-contact service
- clear masks
- deaf interpreter


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South African value retailer Ackermans opened its 500th store, in Adderley Street, Cape Town, on 23 September 2015. The shop is located in the basement of the Union Castle Building, Adderley Street in Cape Town, which is clearly visible from the street.
Issued by Ackermans 30 Sep 2015 11:14
Packaging can be an incredibly powerful tool for making an impact at the point of purchase. This is especially true in the luxury brand space, where consumers are looking to treat themselves or a loved one to something out of the ordinary.
Issued by Pyrotec 29 Sep 2015 12:14
Fat is back, ethical eats, food porn is the new norm, and cannabis connoisseurs on the rise
Issued by JWT 29 Sep 2015 11:58
South Africa's retail display industry encompasses an enormous scope of elements, product variations and applications with all major brands fiercely competing for the hotly contested retail space to grow their sales revenues.
Issued by Rocket Creative 28 Sep 2015 10:16
You are invited to the first CX Day event in Africa! Be part of this global phenomenon that will feature a morning conference in Sandton and as the sun moves around the globe, you will have the opportunity to engage with CX professionals in nearly every country around the world!
Issued by Global CX Day 23 Sep 2015 11:33
Celebrated in many cultures as the Spring Equinox, 21 September marks the turning of the seasons in the southern hemisphere. Today it also marks new beginnings for Bizcommunity's navigation interface.
Issued by Bizcommunity.com 21 Sep 2015 10:38
The manufacturing sector in South Africa is under intense pressure with increasing headwinds placing the long-term viability of industry under threat. While it is government's responsibility to create an enabling environment, manufacturers must look to their own operations and decide what efficiencies they can unlock to create value, CEO of Nampak, Andre de Ruyter, told a Forum at GIBS.
Issued by Gordon Institute of Business Science 21 Sep 2015 10:06
Over 80% of South Africans between the ages of 16 and 24 are transacting online. This dramatic move away from traditional shopping behaviour into "clicks-and-mortar" (online shopping) was uncovered by the online survey, "SA Shopper Survey 2015", conducted in June this year by the research company WhyFive in collaboration with Student Brands.
Issued by Student Brands 17 Sep 2015 10:57
What was once a predominately online event has manifested into a night of glitz and glamour at RoomFive in Rivonia, where the who's who and the up-and-coming entrepreneurs of the e-commerce industry celebrate the 10th year of the prestigious South African E-commerce Awards.
Issued by E-commerce Awards 17 Sep 2015 10:12
In today's manufacturing environment, the latest equipment with its cutting-edge features ensures seamless production and fast turnaround times. But what happens when these machines fail? For end-of-line packaging operations, efficient coding and labelling equipment is essential - no code means no product.
Issued by Pyrotec 16 Sep 2015 10:57
One of the key elements to a successful e-commerce business is ensuring that your logistics are handled professionally and efficiently. While the logistics infrastructure is being addressed in this sector through substantial improvements for deliveries originating from the e-commerce stores, there are still common mistakes being made in this area.
Issued by E-commerce Awards 16 Sep 2015 10:33
Moving Tactics were employed to develop a unique installation for Sunglass Hut, the leading global sunglass retailer, to enhance the effectiveness of its in-store promotions strategy.
Issued by Moving Tactics 14 Sep 2015 10:55
Moving Tactics has secured the rights to resell the internationally acclaimed X2O Media software for the South African and Africa markets.
Issued by Moving Tactics 11 Sep 2015 11:31
ID Logistics SA, part of global contract logistics company, is officially launching its Atlas facility in Boksburg on the 1st October 2015 with a late afternoon event to showcase their capabilities and network to all stakeholders.
Issued by ID Logistics 9 Sep 2015 10:07
There are several factors to consider in ensuring that your products get noticed in stores. Combining the following four tips with the use of Do-It®'s Hang Tabs and Display Strips from Pyrotec PackMedia will assist you in giving your brand the best possible chance of attracting the attention of your customers.
Issued by Pyrotec 8 Sep 2015 11:40
Despite South African confidence levels remaining unchanged from the first quarter of 2015 at 87 points according to the latest Nielsen's Consumer Confidence Index Report for Q2 of 2015; recessionary sentiment increased by 3 percentage points, with 73% of respondents of the belief that the country is in an economic slump at present. (Consumer Confidence levels of above and below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism and pessimism, respectively)
Issued by Nielsen 8 Sep 2015 09:49
uAfrica.com to announce full SA E-commerce survey results at 2015 E-commerce Awards
Issued by E-commerce Awards 7 Sep 2015 10:36
On 24 September South Africans will celebrate the diversity and richness of their personal as well as their shared heritage. Heritage Day isn't just another public holiday; it's a South African tradition that encourages us to celebrate our differences as well as the ties that bind us.
Issued by Tiger Wheel & Tyre 3 Sep 2015 10:41
Choosing the right coding solution for your business is no small task. There are so many factors to take into consideration, from total cost of ownership to whether the machine's environmental credentials are in line with your company values.
Issued by Pyrotec 2 Sep 2015 09:40


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Esports data and analytics company Shikenso Analytics has announced a partnership with North American esports organisation M80.
The deal will help M80 better understand the performance of its partnerships by using Shikenso’s custom-built AI partnership analysis tool. This will, in turn, be beneficial to both the organisation and its roster of partners and sponsors.
The partnership is the latest in a string of high-profile new deals for M80, a young esports organisation founded just under a year ago in North America by Marco Mereu, the Co-founder of gaming and lifestyle brand XSET. The company has since partnered with the likes of Zowie, Secret Lab and Forge, and brought tennis player Daniil Medvedev on board as a part of its ownership group.
The organisation fields teams in VALORANT, Street Fighter, Rainbow Six: Siege and CS2. Its VALORANT roster has been successful in its home region, placing second at VCT Ascension in 2023. Moreover, its Rainbow Six team has also shown promise by placing second at the Gamers8 tournament in Riyadh this year.
Shikenso Analytics is well-known in the esports space for being the provider of AI-based anaylitics tools that monitor broadcasts and provide information about audiences and partnership metrics. This allows esports brands to make better sense of fanbases and adapt partnership strategies and pricing. Shikenso has partnered with the likes of Fnatic, Ninjas in Pyjamas, BLAST and other high-profile esports brands in 2023, with M80 being the latest to join.
Marco Mereu, CEO and Co-Founder of M80, commented on the deal: “Now more than ever, esports organisations need to show the tangible value of their audience. By partnering with Shikenso, M80 is able to more fully understand its fanbase and demonstrate why esports is the best way to reach young, highly engaged consumers.”


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A new study ranking the nutrition commitments of 25 of New Zealand’s largest food companies has found large variations with some companies leading the way, but many are not doing nearly enough to reduce the biggest cause of ill health in New Zealand, unhealthy diets.
The study, launched today by researchers at the University of Auckland, assessed the obesity prevention and nutrition related policies and commitments of 15 packaged food manufacturers, two beverage manufacturers, two supermarkets, and six quick-service restaurants.
It assessed company policies and commitments across six key domains related to obesity prevention and nutrition: corporate nutrition strategy, product formulation, product labelling, product and brand promotion, product accessibility, and relationships with other organisations.
The research project was conducted by 5th year medical student Apurva Kasture, as part of her medical studies.
She was encouraged by the engagement of many companies in the research and that some companies are making positive steps, but the results show that much more needs to be done.
“Some companies have taken positive steps in response to pressure from society to improve their products with Nestlé, Fonterra, Coca-Cola, Mars and Unilever the top performers, but companies could play a much greater role. There was a large variation in the scores from 0 to 75 out of 100 with eight companies scoring less than 20.”
Professor Boyd Swinburn, who supervised the study, said that many companies had committed to comply with the Advertising Standards Authority’s Children and Young People’s Advertising Code but stronger action is needed to protect children from marketing of unhealthy food.
“Companies really could go beyond the existing weak Code and include children up to the age of 18 years in marketing policies and stop using promotions like cartoon characters and interactive games for marketing unhealthy food products to children.”
Companies performed relatively well on product labelling with many committing to implement the Health Star Ratings and providing nutrition information on their foods and meals online. Countdown and FoodStuffs have committed to implement the Health Star Ratings across all their own-brand products. Unilever use a publically available nutrient-profiling system to determine the type of nutrition or health claims that are acceptable for products to carry. Although quick service restaurants provided nutrition information online, few provided calorie labelling on meals on-site.
Many food and beverage manufacturers and supermarkets are reformulating products to reduce levels of sodium and have targets to reduce sugar but this is highly variable and rarely measureable. Nestlé has a target for lowering sodium, sugar and saturated content. Frucor Suntory commits to have one in three products sold to be low or no sugar by 2030. More companies could develop targets to reduce sodium, sugar, saturated fat, trans fat and portion sizes.
Companies had few commitments to restrict accessibility of less healthy foods and improve accessibility of healthy foods. Recommended actions are to limit price promotions on less healthy products, make all checkouts free of junk food and for quick-service restaurants to not provide free refills for soft drinks.
A positive step would be to see population nutrition become a priority focus within the corporate strategy and to have specific nutrition targets and objectives as key performance indicators for senior managers. Nestlé and Fonterra are leading the way by recognising national and international nutrition priorities. Some companies were transparent about relationships with other organisations by publishing funding for external research and publically committing to not make political donations, with Coca-Cola, Arnott’s and Restaurant Brands the top performers.
The report was funded by the Health Research Council and was based on publically available information (up to the end of 2017) with half the companies providing additional information. It was assessed using the BIA-Obesity tool (Business Impact Assessment – Obesity and population nutrition) developed by INFORMAS, a global network of public health researchers that monitors food environments worldwide, co-ordinated by the University of Auckland. The study measured commitments and transparency but did not assess the actual performance of companies in meeting those commitments or the overall healthiness of their product profiles. These will be the focus of future research. Tackling the unhealthy food environment requires a comprehensive response from government, the food industry, the health sector, and the community.


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PORTLAND, Ore. (CBS.MW) -- Willamette Industries surged more than 17 percent after forest products company Weyerhaeuser appeared to have tendered a successful bid for its rival.
Shares of Willamette rallied $8.01 to $55.11 in midday action while Weyerhaeuser gained $2.89 to $54.40
Under the terms of the all-cash deal that follows 14 months of negotiations, Weyerhaeuser
"This is a preliminary agreement that's subject to a definitive merger agreement," Willamette spokesperson Jackie Lang said Monday evening.
"It's a pivotal point."
The companies must still reach a definitive merger agreement, and the deal has to be approved by Willamette's WLL board at a meeting before the end of the month, the companies said.
Willamette also said it has ended negotiations with another would-be merger partner, Georgia-Pacific
Weyerhaeuser first made overtures to Willamette in November of 2000.
The stumbling block for the two companies had been their inability to agree on the value of the potential synergies that would grow out of a merger.
Willamette argued that such synergies were worth at least $400 million and got Weyerhaeuser to boost its bid to $55 a share from $50 in December.
Then on Jan. 4, Willamette rejected that offer as inadequate and urged its shareholders to do the same, steering them back to Georgia-Pacific.
Weyerhaeuser closed at $51.51 Friday, up 18 cents.


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The Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the most talked about trends in the IT industry. It is touted as a way to make companies more efficient and streamlined, and is at the centre of big data use.
But getting involved in the IoT can be daunting as there are major hurdles to overcome and no clear way to get started.
To help solve these problems, V3 has gathered eight tips from analysts and industry experts that should guide forward-thinking IT and digital leaders in embracing the IoT with success.
8. Join the IT dots
Building an IoT environment stuffed full of sensors is one thing. Ensuring that they can all be controlled easily by a central system is another.
Tim Ensor, head of connected devices at Cambridge Consultants, explained that this is often overlooked.
“It’s assumed to be easy because we’re all so used to smartphones, WiFi, Bluetooth and so on, but in a lot of applications that we get involved with it's far more challenging than people realise,” he told V3.
Ensor advised businesses to acknowledge this difficulty and set up a robust central control system from the outset.
An example of this can be seen in Cambridge Consultants’ recent work with Ocado to create a wireless network in a new fulfilment centre to allow 1,000 robots to 'talk' to each other and a central system as they move around the environment (above).
There are also ‘out-of-the-box’ products, such as Microsoft’s cloud-powered Azure IoT Hub, that act as middleware to connect IoT devices to back-end systems.
And, yep, it'll run Android rather than RiscOS
US engineering giant's cost-cutting outsourcing plan is on the rocks, according to insiders
HP Envy X2 laptop only affordable if you've got loadsamoney
Counterfeit code-signing certificates enabling hackers to hide malware being sold by cyber criminals
Certificates can be used as part of layered obfuscation to evade detection by anti-virus software


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Stores in battle with big bargains
RECORD summer sales are being launched, with stores offering huge discounts. The aim is to win back shoppers who are nervous about rising interest rates, warnings of a house-price crash and soaring personal debt.
In the next few weeks, dozens of major London stores will kick off what is expected to be one of the most competitive summer sales seasons ever.
Analysts believe trading will be buoyant as bargain-hunters take advantage of easy credit.
A spokesman for the British Retail Consortium said: 'The recent hot weather has created a feelgood factor and people are spending on themselves, which bodes well for the summer sales.
'Big-ticket items like furniture and electrical goods will be heavily discounted. It's unlikely that the recent interest rate rise will dampen shoppers' mood as it can take between three and six months for rates to have an impact on spending.'
A spokesman for the London Chamber of Commerce said: 'We are anticipating a robust and healthy sales period. Shoppers are shrugging off the recent interest rate rise and continuing to spend freely. Even so, they are being quite selective and shops will have to work hard to draw them in by offering well-priced, well-targeted products.'
Trading this year is already better than last when the Central Line closure and war in Iraq took their toll. But stores say the congestion charge continues to present them with a challenge.
According to the Regent Street Association, customer numbers are down - but those who do come into central London are 'serious shoppers rather than browsers'.
At the Lakeside shopping centre in Kent, special offers linked to Euro 2004 have increased trade. 'This will give a good boost to the start of the sales,' said a spokesman. 'We're not expecting much impact from the recent interest rate rise. It hasn't fed through yet.'
Those seeking the biggest bargains should head for fashion shops and specialist furniture retailers.
Reductions will be available at furniture stores including Aram Design, Chaplins, Geoffrey Drayton and Purves & Purves, where it is possible to save more than £1,000 on selected designs.
Other specialist shops and department stores are knocking 50% off many lines.
Allders will sell half-price duvets from next Thursday. At Harrods, bargains include a Royal Doulton Royal Crown Derby 55-piece dinner and tea service reduced from £4,694 to £469. Up to 75% will come off labels such as Alice Temperley and Marc by Marc Jacobs, with 50% off Dolce & Gabbana, when the sale starts on 28 June.
Some sales are already under way, but many more start next week. A comprehensive sales guide will be published with the Evening Standard on 29 June.
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McDonald's black franchisees are fighting to earn as much as their white counterparts, as dozens leave the company they once considered family
Over the past decade, black franchisees have seen the disparities between them and the rest of McDonald's franchisees grow.
The McDonald's CEO fired for his relationship with a subordinate has now resigned as director of an organization promoting women in the workplace
Catalyst told Business Insider that Steve Easterbrook's resignation was "the right thing to do" because its industry partners must lead by example.
McDonald's franchisees call leadership 'a privilege' and a respectful workplace a 'societal expectation' in leaked internal memo after CEO was fired for relationship with employee
McDonald's National Franchisee Leadership Alliance is rallying around the company's new leadership in a leaked memo obtained by Business Insider.
McDonald's fired its CEO for having a relationship with an employee. Research shows that banning even consensual office relationships protects everyone from an abuse of power.
Even consensual relationships have blind spots. Bosses don't know their influence, and employees tend to not acknowledge an abuse of power.
Walmart announced Monday that former McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook would be stepping down from its board of directors.
Chrissy Teigen called out the Daily Mail for using a photo of her with McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook in a story about his firing for a relationship with an employee
Chrissy Teigen has found herself becoming an unexpected character in the news around the firing of McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook.
McDonald's announced Monday that its chief people officer, David Fairhurst, has "departed," Bloomberg reported.
McDonald's CEO will get at least $675,000 in severance pay after being fired for having a relationship with an employee
McDonald's former CEO is set to get more than half a million dollars in severance, as well as health benefits and the potential for a bonus.
Here's what 5 Wall Street firms are saying about the shocking departure of McDonald's CEO — and what it means for the company's future
The fast-food giant fired CEO Steve Easterbrook over the weekend for violating a company policy by having a relationship with an employee.
McDonald's is set to lose $3.4 billion in value after the CEO was fired over a relationship with a subordinate
Chris Kempczinski, who was previously serving as president, took over from ousted CEO Steve Easterbrook effective immediately.
The company said he "violated company policy and demonstrated poor judgment involving a recent consensual relationship with an employee."


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Adnan Adams Mohammed
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, has told parliament that, the total cost of doing business at the ports has reduced by 75 percent after the introduction of the Paperless Clearing System at the various sea ports in the country.
According to him, his outfit, in collaboration with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) and the Ghana Freight Forwarders Association, conducted comparative analysis on the cost of doing business in a pre and post paperless regime at the ports and it was established empirically that the cost of doing business has reduced by 75 percent, Thus, pegging the cost now at GH¢320 from GH¢1,280 before the implementation of the system.
The Paperless System, which was introduced on September 1, 2017, was to help speed up the process of clearing goods at the ports from two weeks to four hours and also ensure order at the ports to block loopholes in revenue mobilization. It is also to ensure that Ghana’s ports compete favourably with other ports in the sub-region and help reduce cost of doing business in the private sector to generate adequate revenue to support the developmental agenda of the government.
“The new system had improved clearance process since importers and agents are able to receive Customs Classification Valuation Reports (CCVR) within 24 hours compared to the previous time frame of three days”, leadership of Clearing Agents Association have said, showing satisfaction of the new system.
Answering a question as to whether the introduction of the paperless port has increased the cost of doing business at the ports in parliament last week, the Minister of Finance said the system has rather reduced cost of doing business at the ports drastically.
He said the findings of the research also showed that cost components of doing business at the ports had also reduced from seven to three.
“Before the paperless regime doing business at the ports included cost of obtaining CCVR, compliance, regulatory agencies, shipping line demurrage, GHPA Rent or overstayed, printing of declarations and miscellaneous but after the implementation one needed to deal with the cost of obtaining CCVR, regulatory agencies and miscellaneous,” he said.
He, however, said that there have been reports of some difficulties and the ministry was going round all the regions to solicit views to how to resolve the concerns raised by members of the public.


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FIFA 20 EA Access release date: When is EA Access release date? When is Web App out?
FIFA 20 gamers will see the FIFA 20 EA Access trial and FIFA 20 Web App all launch within the space of a few days this week.
Last week EA dropped the FIFA 20 demo ahead of the game’s highly anticipated release date of September 27 on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PCs.
And ahead of the FIFA 20 release date fans have got to put a few important dates in the diary this week.
First up will be the launch of the FIFA 20 Web App, which has a release date of Wednesday September 18.
The FIFA 20 Web App will let FIFA fans get a head start buying and selling players on the transfer market before the game’s official release.
FUT fans will be able to start building their Ultimate Team squad via the Web App before the FIFA 20 release date on September 27.
The FIFA 20 Web App can also be used by FUT players to complete Squad Building Challenges and keep track of daily and weekly objectives.
A release time for the FIFA 20 Web App hasn’t been confirmed, but previously EA has launched it after 6pm UK time.
The FIFA 20 Web App release will be followed swiftly by the launch of the FIFA 20 EA Access and Origin Access trial.
This will let EA Access and Origin Access members play 10 hours worth of FIFA 20 ahead of its launch.
During this time it will be possible to play, trade, sell, buy cards and FIFA points.
And progress earned while connected to EA Servers during FIFA 20 early access will carry over to full versions of the game.
The FIFA 20 EA Access release date is Thursday September 19, which is the same day as the Origin Access trial launches.
During the FIFA 20 EA Access trial fans will be able to get to grips with the new Volta Football mode.
This is a brand new street football mode for FIFA 20 which will have its own story mode.
Besides the early access launches this week, on Wednesday September 18 the first FIFA 20 TOTW squad is expected to be released by EA.
And then next week on Tuesday September 24 early access for those that pre-ordered begins.
• Stay tuned to Express.co.uk for more FIFA 20 news
Source: Read Full Article


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Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals on Tuesday announced that Somatuline Depot (lanreotide) Injection 120 mg (referred to as Somatuline) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.
Specialty Pharmacy News
Diplomat Pharmacy announced Wednesday that it has been selected to Pfizer's limited-distribution panel for Xalkori, Bosulif, Inlyta and Sutent.
Ranbaxy Laboratories on Monday announced the launch of Infimab (BOW015), the first Remicade (Infliximab) biosimilar in India. The product was launched at the Indian Rheumatology Association Conference in Chandigarh.
Just 30% of Americans with HIV had the virus under control in 2011, and approximately two-thirds of those whose virus was out of control had been diagnosed but were no longer in care.
Omnicare and McKesson on Monday announced the signing of an expanded agreement to include the sourcing and distribution of branded, specialty and generic pharmaceuticals.
Decision Resources Group found that sales of biosimilar versions of the granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (G-CSFs) filgrastim and pegfilgrastim could reach $1.8 billion in the United States by 2023.
More specialty drug innovation, greater patient access to medicines and reduced impact from patent expiries will be the primary drivers of an increase in global medicine spending of up to 30% by 2018.
Pharmaceutical sales through HDMA-member traditional primary distributors reached nearly $305 billion in 2013.
Genzyme, a Sanofi company, on Friday announced that the Food and Drug Administration approved Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) for the treatment of patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis.
Walgreens earlier this week opened its first Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy in the Omaha, Neb. market.


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You are here
After SGX exit, OSIM heads for HK listing as V3 Group
LESS than eight months after OSIM International officially delisted from Singapore Exchange (SGX), founder Ron Sim is relisting it in Hong Kong under the name of V3 Group.
Proceeds from the initial public offering (IPO) will go towards acquiring homegrown store fixtures maker Futuristic, and to repay a S$321.9 million loan used to finance last year's privatisation.
Money raised will also finance acquisitions, new store openings, store upgrades, and branding and marketing activities.
While the IPO pricing is not yet out, an analyst that has covered the company told The Business Times that V3 Group will likely command a better valuation than what OSIM International delisted for, due to its listing location in Hong Kong.
Jamie Allen, a former member of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Listing Committee and the Hong Kong-based secretary-general of the Asian Corporate Governance Association, said: "Hong Kong is a deeper market with more liquidity, so perhaps V3 also believes it will get more trading in Hong Kong and more investor support."
Others said OSIM jumped ship due to its business strategy. Eddie Wong, partner of capital markets services at PwC in Hong Kong, said companies which want to focus on China tend to choose to list in Hong Kong.
However, Chew Sutat, SGX's executive vice-president of equities and fixed income, said SGX still remains relevant for consumer listings.
He said OSIM has grown successfully from its listing in 2000 to its delisting in 2016, and consumer stocks in the region continue to see investor interest.
"Food and beverage stocks on SGX are trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 23, while the retail and agri-commodity segments trade at around 20 times," he said.
"Over the past 10 years, Singapore's largest consumer sector stocks have also generated similar gains to their peers in the region, with highly competitive valuations."
According to a preliminary prospectus filed with the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong on Wednesday, V3 Group, a Cayman Islands holding company, was incorporated in March.
It holds OSIM International's old massage chair, luxury tea and nutritional supplements businesses. V3 will also own 69 per cent of Futuristic, a Singapore-headquartered business that made S$68 million in revenue in 2016.
Futuristic's customers include brands such as Ralph Lauren, Victoria's Secret and Banana Republic. Temasek fund Vanda 1 Investments owns 21 per cent of Futuristic.
Mr Sim, 58, will be V3's executive chairman and chief executive officer. His daughter Rachel, 27, has been appointed a non-executive director. Ms Sim joined OSIM unit TWG Tea as a sales executive in 2012 and became an assistant marketing manager in 2016.
Another key executive is executive director Teo Chay Lee, 58, who joined OSIM in 1989 as a salesman and rose to hold various positions such as chief operating officer and director of operations.
The Hong Kong listing will mark the latest chapter in the storied history of OSIM and its founder Mr Sim.
Leaving school after his O Levels, Mr Sim was first a household appliance salesman before venturing in the 1980s into retailing household goods like knives, hand-held massagers and foot reflexology rollers.
He expanded to Hong Kong in 1986 after he was hit hard by the 1985 recession in Singapore. Expansion to Taiwan, Malaysia and China followed. OSIM was formed in 1994, with a globe added to Mr Sim's surname symbolising his global ambitions.
The company survived the Asian financial crisis, listed on SGX in 2000, and acquired the GNC franchise that sells nutritional supplements. After share prices bottomed in the global financial crisis, OSIM rode China's economic boom, picking up luxury tea unit TWG Tea along the way.
But China's slowdown from 2014 hit OSIM hard. Seizing an opportunity after share prices plunged in 2015-16, Mr Sim launched his takeover offer for OSIM in March 2016, citing the need to reorganise his company without compliance burdens.
Since then, the two biggest revenue contributors to OSIM - the core massage chair business and GNC - continued to slide. OSIM's net profit slid from an adjusted S$67 million in 2015 to S$52 million in 2016. During 2016, it launched luxury massage chair uLove, upper body massager uJolly and shoulder massager uMoby, among other products. It also closed a net 68 OSIM own stores and 17 franchised stores, with store closures mainly in China. At end-2016, it had 346 OSIM own stores and 103 franchised stores.
As part of preparing for the IPO, OSIM will transfer its 8.75 per cent interest in tech business Trek 2000 International to Mr Sim.
Looking ahead, V3 plans to open 60 OSIM stores, 45 TWG Tea locations, and 30 GNC stores net of closings in the next three years.
Contacted on Thursday evening, Mr Sim told The Business Times that he could not comment, citing advice from his lawyers.
Credit Suisse, Bank of China International (BOCI) and Jefferies are the joint listing sponsors. All three declined to comment.
READ MORE: What might the new OSIM be worth?


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Here’s a great way to celebrate the summer… Beyblade action racer toys have arrived at a Burger King near you! The Kid’s Meal premium promotion comes with your choice of beef burger, chicken burger or chicken nuggets, some chips and a drink, but most importantly a cool Beyblade collector’s toy! 3,300 restaurants are taking part in the promotion which includes the UK, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.
Three Beyblade action racers have been created, so you will get one at random, but over the summer it’s well worth trying to collect the whole set – the promotion runs from 18 June through to 29 July. When you’re done munching on your Burger King meal, you can catch up with the latest Beyblade cartoon episodes on Nickelodeon. More than 300 million Beyblade toys have been sold since the series started back in 1998 – and this new promotion is sure to push that figure even higher!


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In Pictures: Google's most innovative projects
Google unveiled two new products at its I/O developer conference: the Nexus 7 tablet and Project Glass. Here's a look at how some of Google's other famous projects got their start.
- AusCERT 2013: Users, cats more likely hack culprits than cyber-espionage: Trustwave
- AusCERT 2013: Home-electronics gear’s UPnP as insecure in Australia as rest of world: Metasploit
- AusCERT 2013: Big data skills help beat the bad guys, says HP
- In pictures: AusCERT 2013 Day One
- Dell targets ANZ security opportunities as SecureWorks debuts locally


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For most of us, flying to our destinations isn’t always the most enjoyable experience. There is turbulence, food that doesn’t always taste great, inconsiderate seatmates, and so on. However, it seems that a bunch of folks who took a Southwest Airlines flight just got the surprise of their life when Nintendo gifted each and everyone of them a free Switch console.
In addition to the free console, Nintendo also gave them a copy of Super Mario Maker 2, giving passengers a ton of things to do while they flew to their destination. Southwest Airlines has since confirmed the giveaway as being authentic as part of a partnership with Nintendo for the promotion.
It is unclear how this particular flight was chosen and if there are plans to do it again, but either way, it seems like these group of passengers sure got lucky! That being said, this isn’t the first time both companies have collaborated with each other. Previously, they had also given away Wii U consoles with the original Super Mario Maker.
In recent news, Nintendo announced a couple of new consoles in the form of the Switch Lite, a smaller and more portable version of the Switch, and also an upgraded version of the Switch with an improved battery life.


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While Asian and American huge companies are in a stiff competition to show who’s got the more impressive and with high-end specs smartphones, it’s time for other technological beauties to get in front line news: tablets, and not just because we will talk about one created by Apple. It’s true that most people would prefer a smartphone instead of a tablet, but tablet fans don’t have to be left aside. The real deal is the camera, which is actually consisting of three primary cameras!
You are probably all familiar with smartphones packing 3 or 4 lenses for their primary camera, but it’s now time for tablets to shine in the same way. And also even literally, considering the triggering of LED flash when you take a picture. Sonny Dickson published a photo of iPad Pro tablet with its cameras, proving what has been said by unofficial sources that Apple’s new tablet will have 3 cameras.
The three primary cameras on iPad Pro (2019) look very similar to those on iPhone 11 models
Some of you may blame Apple for lack of originality, but it shouldn’t be the case here as long as both devices are created by them. Nothing is wrong with applying the same recipe for more than one pot of soup, so that’s kind of what Apple did now. And perhaps fans will fall in love with the design of the triple camera, the 3 lenses and the flash being contained in a housing. And let’s be fair, there is one difference between the cameras from iPhone and this one from iPad Pro: the housings have different shapes.
Unfortunately, we don’t know much about the iPad Pro (2019), but we can expect more new rumors and maybe even official news in the near future. The guys from Apple look very motivated to bring new stuff to the public to buy since iPhone 11 has been launched and the American companies are as well very active on the market.


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Having invented a method for creating cultured pearls in 1893, Meiji Era entrepreneur Kokichi Mikimoto set about selling them to the world. Apparently not one for understatement, he once announced he hoped to “adorn the necks of all women around the world with pearls.”
But how to achieve such a grand objective from the island nation of Japan — especially back at the turn of the 19th century, without telephones, planes, faxes or the Internet?
The Japan Times, of course! One of Mikimoto’s first forays into marketing his wares to the world involved purchasing advertising space in these very pages. His company’s elegant Art Nouveau-inspired ads first appeared in 1905 — almost simultaneously with Japan’s victory over Russia in the war that had been raging since the previous year — and they have continued on and off ever since. Now, an exhibition of Mikimoto advertisements, dating back to that early Japan Times artwork, is being held at Mikimoto’s flagship building in Tokyo’s Ginza district.
Celebrating 120 years since Kokichi’s pearl-culturing breakthrough, the show is also a good opportunity to venture back to a time when it was newspapers who were the disruptive media, revolutionizing the way companies did business.
“Pearls and Jewels,” proclaims a Mikimoto advertisement from the May 27, 1905, issue of The Japan Times. The text radiates dynamically from a pearl pendant at the advertisement’s right, while an oyster shell is placed at the left, no doubt intended as a reminder of Kokichi’s then-recent pearl-culturing discovery.
Mikimoto spokesperson Ai Niihori explained that from this early stage in the business, Kokichi was very keen to sell his pearls to foreigners and the diplomatic community, so they would spread the word about his achievement overseas.
Later ads are more specifically directed at temporary visitors to these shores. “Culture Pearls. A new and unrivaled invention,” states one, before noting that “Tourists are cordially invited to visit and to inspect how perfectly those pearls are produced.”
The appearance of these ads coincides with a turning point in Japanese advertising history.
Yoshiyuki Sakaguchi, curator at the Advertising Museum Tokyo, explains that “during the Meiji Era (1868-1912), newspapers gradually became a favored means of advertising for many Japanese companies.
“It was toward the end of the Meiji Era that many companies began establishing their own advertising sections, usually within or in close proximity to their founder or president’s office, so that his visions could be reflected accurately in the ads.”
A noticeable shift in advertising design appears to have occurred as a result.
“Prior to this time, early newspaper advertisements generally consisted of just text — as much text as the advertiser could fit into his or her allotted space,” Sakaguchi says. “But from around the late Meiji Era, it is clear that many ads, like these early Mikimoto ones, were made with more thought. For example, they started to make use of white space to make their message — such as ‘Pearls and Jewels’ — stand out.”
Given the elegance of Mikimoto’s advertisements in The Japan Times, it would seem likely that the company had created its own advertising section. However, Niihori says it’s no longer possible to verify whether that was in fact the case. She also notes that many of the early Mikimoto ads include drawings of the products themselves, and these may well have been the work of the industrial designers charged with actually creating the products.
One of the key people who helped shift the attention of fledgling Japanese companies such as Mikimoto toward newspapers as an advertising medium was Yukichi Fukuzawa, the prominent educator, writer and entrepreneur who currently adorns Japan’s ¥10,000 note.
In 1882, Fukuzawa had established his own Japanese-language newspaper, Jiji Shimpo, and he wasted no time trying to convince nascent Japan Inc. to splash out on ads.
In a now-famous essay, published in his own newspaper in 1883, he explained that, “More than leaflets, newspapers are seen from the palaces of royalty to the hovels of the poor; east, west, south and north, in cities and the country, near and far, there is nowhere that newspapers don’t reach.”
He went on to argue that because newspapers were purchased by readers — unlike leaflets — readers were inclined to “read every editorial, report or advertisement, lest they don’t get their money’s worth.” Next he turned his attention to appropriate levels of expenditure:
“In the West, it is said that advertising is the secret to sales and that the amount of money expended on advertising by merchants is gigantic — far greater than any old-fashioned Japanese merchant could imagine,” he wrote. “In America there are several people who spend $80,000 on advertising a year!”
While Fukuzawa obviously had a direct financial interest in pushing this new medium, his message was nevertheless picked up and echoed across the country. As Sakaguchi explains: “Once one company began taking out ads in newspapers, then others felt they had to follow; once one company established a division for creating ads, others had to follow.”
Sure enough, alongside Mikimoto’s May, 1905 ad is one for Yebisu Beer (“Come Gents, and have a glass of our delicious and sparkling beer”). Other issues from this period include ads for Kirin, Lion, Shiseido, Mitsubishi (as a bank) and many more still-prominent companies.
It’s also worth noting that Fukuzawa was an early investor in The Japan Times company, which was established in 1897 by his step-nephew Sueji Yamada and others. Hence it seems likely that The Japan Times advertising staff who sold space to Mikimoto were well-versed in Fukuzawa’s theory of the advertising potential of a medium that was then just beginning to gather steam.
“A World of Beauty Seen in Mikimoto Advertising” runs till Jan. 13 at Mikimoto Hall in the Mikimoto Building, 4-5-5 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo. For further information, call Mikimoto Customer Service Center on 03-5550-5678. www.mikimoto.com
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The Rockland Astronomy Club (RAC) has announced the NEAF Telescope Expo will again be offered virtually. “NEAF: The Virtual Experience” will be held on April 10. Livestream starts 10am – 8pm EST (7am – 5pm PST).
Attendees to the virtual online event will experience product demonstrations, door prizes, and amazing speakers that have made the Northeast Astronomy Forum legendary. Among the featured guests are Charlie Duke, Apollo Moonwalker; Tom Stafford; Apollo 10, Gemini 6, Gemini 9; Apollo Mission Control members Gerry Griffin, Jerry Bostic, John Aaron & Ed Fendell; and Alan Stern of New Horizons and Beyond.
The Rockland Astronomy Club is working on scheduling dates for NEAF 2022 which will again be an in-person event.


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Google’s parent firm Alphabet announced quarterly profits Tuesday that beat expectations and nearly doubled in 2021 — after a booming holiday season for the online ads giant facing anti-trust regulation scrutiny.
The tech giant had net income of $20.6 billion on revenue that grew 32 percent to $75 billion in the final quarter of 2021, ending the year with a total of $76 billion in profit.
That was nearly double the $40 billion annual profit reported for 2020, as the pandemic had already accelerated a shift to online shopping, working and learning that also benefited fellow giants like Amazon and Facebook.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai cited “strong growth in our advertising business… a quarterly sales record for our Pixel phones despite supply constraints, and our cloud business continuing to grow strongly” for the success.
In all, Google earned more than $61 billion in advertising revenue, mostly from online search and its video platform, while its cloud business grew by…
Source: Guardian Newspaper