text:
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 26/12
SHB to sell 100 million shares
Sai Gon-Ha Noi Bank (SHB) will issue 100 million shares worth VND1 trillion (US$ 43.8 million) to shareholders under its merger plan with Vinaconex-Viettel Finance JSC (VVF), the bank announced in a statement on Monday.
The sale aims to convert all VVF shares into SHB shares at a 1:1 ratio and at a price of VND10,000 per share. SHB will restructure VVF to turn it into SHB Consumer Finance Co Ltd, operating in consumer credit.
According to SHB, the date on record for VFF’s shareholders to register to make the share swap is January 12, 2017. Following the merger, SHB’s chartered capital will be raised to nearly VND10.5 trillion.
SHB Consumer Finance Co Ltd will begin operations in early 2017, adding that several international partners have expressed interest in co-operating with SHB to promote the operation of the consumer finance company.
SHB Finance will initially provide consumer credit services to individual customers that have annual income from VND150 million to VND200 million, later easing the market share to other individual customers with lower income.
Once SHB Finance is established, SHB will also transfer all its lists of individual borrowers with annual income of less than VND200 million to SHB Finance.
The share swap plan was passed by SHB and VVF shareholders at their annual general shareholders’ meeting last year.
Last week, the State Bank of Viet Nam officially approved the merger plan of the two bodies.
Quang Ngai Sugar JSC’s capitalisation reaches $925 million on debut day
More than 187 million shares of Quang Ngai Sugar Joint Stock Company began trading on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) with code QNS on December 20.
The company’s share price jumped 40 per cent to close at VND112,000 (nearly US$5) at the end of the session, bringing the sugar producer’s market capitalisation to VND21 trillion.
QNS ended yesterday’s session at a price level that was lower than expected from HCM Securities Corp (HSC).
The company’s shares are valued at VND127,185 per share, an upside premium of 60 per cent over the reference price of VND80,000 per share, HSC said in a note, adding that QNS was initiated with a “buy” rating.
That evaluation came from the positive review of HSC on the prospective growth of Quang Ngai Sugar JSC as it owns the largest market share in soymilk (80 per cent) and is currently the third-largest sugar producer in Viet Nam.
QNS could be an alternative option besides two other large-cap companies in the food and beverage sector, which are dairy producer Vinamilk and brewer Sabeco.
QNS will have “plenty of scope for growth as the unbranded market shrinks with branded products taking over,” HSC said, noting that QNS is now dominant in the soymilk market – a branded market only.
HSC remained positive on the future growth of QNS and forecast that the sugar producer could record a yearly average growth rate of 11.1 per cent in net sales and 8.6 per cent in net profit in the next four years though QNS recorded lower performance in 2016 compared to the average number between 2011 and 2015.
QNS enjoyed strong business development from 2011 to 2015, according to HSC. Quang Ngai Sugar JSC recorded an average growth rate of 18.3 per cent in revenue and 20.8 per cent in net profit during this period.
Business performance slowed down in 2016 compared to years before as revenue from soymilk sales – spearhead product of QNS – was slower in 2016 due to “overall weak demand given rising competition from dairy products.”
In the first nine months of this year, Quang Ngai Sugar JSC received total VND5.3 trillion in revenue and VND807 billion in post-tax profit, a year-on-year decrease of 12 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively.
HSC also forecast that the third-largest sugar producer will move its listing to the HCM Stock Exchange from UPCoM in 12 to 18 months as “the authorities view UpCOM as a springboard to the main market” and “QNS is a large and very profitable company and will look a little out of place in UPCoM.”
Ministry boosting econ zones
The Ministry of Planning and Investment is developing a decree aimed at boosting the development of industrial zones (IZs) and economic zones (EZs).
The ministry on its website said the issuance of the new decree was pressing as new models of IZs were already making an appearance, such as industrial-urban-service zones, and for the support of IZs and eco-industrial zones.
These new models of IZs would help enhance the competitiveness of IZs through diversifying investments, reducing production costs and promoting efficient use of resources but they needed mechanism for development.
The new decree was expected to wipe out inconsistencies in recently-issued legal documents, such as the Law on Investment and Decree 118/2015/ND-CP, which changed the procedure of investing in industrial and economic zones, and to improve competitiveness in attracting investment.
According to Tran Duy Dong, director of the ministry’s Economic Zone Management Department, the decree would introduce more attractive incentives to draw investment and simplify procedures.
Dong said the duration for the incentive of 10 per cent corporate tax rate on projects in EZs was proposed to increase from the current 15 years to 30 years.
The incentive would be provided to projects of a large scale, investing in technical infrastructure or using high technology, Dong said.
The department’s statistics showed that as of the end of November, there were 324 IZs and 16 EZs nationwide, with areas of 91,800ha and 815,000ha, respectively.
The figures excluded two EZs -- Thai Binh EZ in northern Thai Binh Province and Ninh Co EZ in northern Nam Dinh Province -- which were still in the planning stage.
Of them, 220 IZs were operational, with occupancy rate of 73 per cent.
Regarding investment attraction, IZs attracted more than 730 foreign-invested projects this year, with total registered capital of $11.2 billion. So far, IZs nationwide attracted nearly 7,000 foreign-invested projects, worth $110.2 billion, more than 60 per cent of which was disbursed.
Domestic investments in IZs totalled VND705.6 trillion in nearly 6,500 projects, so far.
The department said there were 36 IZs and non-tariff areas founded in 16 EZs.
As of November, EZs attracted VND155 trillion (US$6.9 billion) worth of investments in developing the technical infrastructure system, of which foreign investments accounted for some 16 per cent.
EZs have attracted 354 foreign-invested projects up till November, with total registered capital of $42 billion, plus more than 1,070 domestic projects worth VND347.9 trillion.
Central province vows to facilitate coffee exporters
The Central Highlands province of Dak Lak will continue supporting coffee exporters in seeking and expanding their export outlets and co-operating with domestic and foreign partners.
According to Dak Lak People‘s Committee, the province’s coffee bean is being shipped to 75 countries and territories world-wide, with Japan, Switzerland and Germany being the largest importers.
In the 2016-17 crop, the province plans to export 230,000 tonnes of coffee beans, the committee said.
Meanwhile, Dak Lak also aims to double the ratio of processed products in its coffee exports, which currently account for only 7-10 per cent of its total coffee bean output in a year, following the province’s coffee development plan to 2020.
It also strives to increase the proportion of powder and instant coffee in coffee sales in both domestic and foreign markets to 14-15 per cent of each year’s crop, raising added value and improving farmers’ income.
The province has issued policies to encourage enterprises to invest in coffee processing factories with a capacity from 700 tonnes per year. Dak Lak is now home to 204,000ha of coffee farm, with an output of 450,000 tonnes of coffee beans each year.
Milk price management reviewed before new rules take effect
Many provinces have reviewed the price management activities for milk and other supplementary dietary products for children under six years of age, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has said.
The reviews were done ahead of the deadline to implement the Government’s Decree 149 on regulations for managing the price for milk and other supplementary dietary products of children under six, which comes into effect on January 1, 2017.
The People’s Committee of Bac Ninh Province has assigned the provincial department of industry and trade and the finance department to review the production and trading of these products. This will mean that organisations and individuals producing and trading milk and supplementary dietary products have to list and register the prices of the products.
The departments will review the price listing and registration forms, and Bac Ninh’s department of industry and trade will manage the rates based on Decree 149, reported Zing News.
Ha Tinh and several other provinces said they would also conduct similar activities to implement Decree 149.
On November 11, 2016, the government issued Decree 149, amending some articles of Decree 177, adding some articles to it and providing specific guidance on implementing some articles under the price law.
Until now, the finance ministry has managed the prices of milk products meant for children under six years of age. But from January 1, the ministry of industry and trade will take over the responsibility.
Milk products are included in the list for price stabilisation and have a ceiling price since June 2014. As per the ceiling price mechanism, the retail price can be maximum at 115 per cent of the wholesale price.
At present, 877 milk products for children under six have been listed and their registered prices released on the websites of the finance ministry and local finance departments across the nation.
PM calls for stable Tet prices
The Prime Minister has called on ministries and government agencies to tighten controls and take steps to ensure stable markets and social security during the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday.
In a directive sent last week, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to closely monitor market demand and supply, especially necessary goods and services, to timely take measures to ensure a supply source and reasonable prices nationwide during Tet, which falls in late January 2017.
The ministry was instructed to prevent counterfeit and low-quality goods without clear origins from being sold in the market and strictly punish those who speculate on products and cheat customers to earn illegal profits.
Besides preventing smuggling, fraud and counterfeit goods, the Ministry of Finance, was also asked to control market prices so that they remain stable before and after Tet.
Under the directive, the PM requested the State Bank of Viet Nam to ensure cash supply is sufficient for the economy during the holiday, ATM machines work properly and workers get paid before the festival.
The central bank was also instructed to take effective measures to ensure stability of monetary, foreign exchange and gold markets.
It was told to increase inspections and monitoring on operation of credit institutions and foreign banks’ branches to ensure the banking system’s safety and liquidity.
The directive requires the Ministry of Transport to ensure that there are sufficient vehicles for people to travel during the Tet holiday with their families, especially those in remote and disadvantaged areas, including those inhabited by ethnic minority communities.
It should also implement plans to keep unsafe and substandard vehicles off the roads, ask transport companies to publicise their rates and deliver tickets directly to passengers.
It asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to ensure that the agriculture sector continues production to meet market demand during the Tet holiday.
EU-Mutrap provides workshop on Vietnam-EU free trade agreement
The European Trade Policy and Investment Support Programme (EU-Mutrap) is a key ongoing project promoting economic development, inclusive growth and poverty reduction in Vietnam.
It is currently engaged in a US$17 million funded program for the period running August 27, 2012 to June 30, 2017.
At a workshop on December 20, the EU-Mutrap provided training for Vietnamese local businesses to learn about the trade opportunities accorded them by the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement.
The specific purpose of the workshop was to support the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade in facilitating sustainable international trade and investment through improved capacity for local businesses.
It is hoped this training will better help these companies further integrate into the global, ASEAN and sub-regional trade systems as well as improve their policymaking, policy consultation and the implementation of related commitments, particularly vis-à-vis the Vietnam-EU trade pact.
This trade pact is a modern and comprehensive deal. It will remove nearly all tariffs on goods traded between the two economies. It shows the shared conviction of the EU and Vietnam that trade is essential to growth, the creation of jobs and sustainable development.
Besides eliminating tariffs, Vietnam will also remove almost all its export duties. The agreement will equally create for both economies new market access opportunities in services and investment.
Vietnam has agreed to liberalize trade in financial services, telecommunications, transport, and postal and courier services. On investment, Vietnam will open its market to the EU by removing or easing limitations on certain segments such as manufacturing of food and beverages and of ceramics or plastic products.
In June 2016, the EU Delegation to Vietnam published a Guide to the Vietnam-EU trade agreement that provides first-hand information about the FTA as well as about the economic relations between EU and Vietnam.
This workshop is an extension of the guide aiming to ensure local businesses have adequate training and enhanced capacity to be able to benefit from the trade deal when it comes into full force by 2018.
Imported meat forecast to flood Vietnamese market
Imported meat has been forecast to prevail in the Vietnamese market, posing challenges for domestic products and businesses.
Vietnam’s husbandry sector is expected to face myriad difficulties in the near future when trade barriers are removed following the ratification of free trade agreements.
Along with Australian beef, meat imported from Europe, Japan, and Indonesia is anticipated to steal the heart of Vietnamese customers thanks to attractive quality and affordable prices, while domestic food is still offered at a rather high quote.
During the 14th Vietnam International Trade Fair recently held in Ho Chi Minh City, many visitors were intrigued by the presentation of a type of premium beef from Indonesia’s PT Santosa Agrindo company.
Safuan Kasno Soewondo, vice-president of the firm, was advertising his product to the Vietnamese consumers and seeking partners in the country.
Earlier in November, 42 businesses from member nations of the European Union had conducted a survey on the Vietnamese market.
According to Phil Hogan, EU’s commissioner of agriculture and rural development, the companies hoped to push forward their export of beef and pork to the Southeast Asian country once the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement takes effect.
Meat imports are still in high demand from local restaurants and hotels despite the currently high tax rate, between 14% and 30%, experts said, asserting that the products would flood the market if tariffs are removed.
While Indonesian and European businesses are aiming at the high-end segment in Vietnam, Australian beef is dominating the lower end of the spectrum.
According to the Animal Husbandry Association of Vietnam (AHAV), cost of domestic meat is high due to a limited source of animal feed and technology, making it difficult for Vietnamese meat to compete against its foreign equivalent.
Local businesses will grapple with more challenges when tax and other trade barriers are counted in as the result of free trade agreements.
“The poultry industry in the country has been heavily affected by cheap imported chicken. The beef and pork sectors could suffer as well,” said Nguyen Van Ngoc, an official from the AHAV.
The Vietnamese husbandry sector is still sluggish compared to other nations, Ngoc remarked, adding that it was not due to the lack of technology but how local businesses run their operations.
HCM City guarantees loans for SMEs
The HCM City Credit Guarantee Fund provided guarantees to eight projects of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 2016 so they could get loans worth a total of 360 billion VND (16.07 million USD).
The total investment of these eight projects is 813 billion USD.
More than 200 SMEs received support from the HCM City Credit Guarantee Fund this year, which includes financial consultancy.
Credit guarantee for SMEs to procure bank loans was not as efficient as expected because of the requirement to mortgage assets, which SMEs found difficult to meet.
However, the situation is expected to improve as policies are to be amended and loans sanctioned based on the evaluation of a project’s efficiency rather than the mortgage of assets.
There are more than 120,000 SMEs in HCM City, which account for 96 percent of the total number of firms in the city.
Since it was formed in 2007, the HCM City Credit Guarantee Fund has provided loan guarantees to 121 SMEs, helping them procure loans worth 871 billion VND.
Statistics with the Finance Ministry show that there are 27 credit guarantee funds nation-wide with total charter capital of nearly 1.5 trillion VND. The outstanding loans that they have guaranteed total 361 billion VND.
At a conference on December 13, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue urged that a mechanism be put in place to improve the efficiency of credit guarantee funds so they can better support SMEs, in line with Government Resolution 35 about developing businesses.
Da Nang, Japanese bank ink agreement
The Da Nang Investment Support and Promotion Board and Japan’s Gifu Shinkin bank have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation, investment promotion for small- and medium-sized enterprises from Japan in Da Nang city.
Gifu Shinkin, the largest bank in Gifu, Japan, has more than 156,000 customers, of which seven are Japanese enterprises in Da Nang.
Director of the city’s Investment Support and Promotion Board Le Canh Duong said this was the first MoU that the board had signed with a Japanese bank.
Japan is the biggest investor in Da Nang, with 113 projects worth 397.5 million USD – 10.78 percent of the accumulated foreign direct investment projects in the city – creating 32,000 jobs.
Eighty-four percent of Japanese investment is focused on manufacturing, food processing, construction and information technology, while healthcare, real estate, tourism and education have merged as new investment fields among Japanese investors in recent years.
Khanh Hoa: International arrivals surpass one-million mark
The number of international tourists to the south central province of Khanh Hoa in 2016 is estimated to reach 1.115 million, a 21-percent increase from 2015 and the first time meeting the 1-million mark.
According to the Khanh Hoa People’s Committee, along with the record number, the average duration of stay of international tourists in Khanh Hoa is 3.2 days, up 26 percent from 2015.
Chinese top the list of foreign tourists in Khanh Hoa, numbering more than 444,000 as of the end of October, a 3.3-fold increase against the same period last year.
Russia ranks second with over 200,000 visitors, representing a growth of 114 percent.
The number of holiday makers from India and Thailand also increased, but those from European Union, America and Oceania and many Asian countries plunged 25 percent.
At the same time, Khanh Hoa also welcomes 22.5 million domestic tourists.
Khanh Hoa attracts visitors for its beautiful sea and islands and temperate climate, with Nha Trang City being the main magnet.
HCGF cooperates with Saigon Bank to support SMEs
The HCMC Credit Guarantee Fund (HCGF) last Friday signed an agreement with Saigon Bank for Industry and Trade (SaigonBank) to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) gain access to bank loans to fund their operations.
HCGF and SaigonBank will cooperate to provide consultancy on feasible business and production plans, financial management and technology besides provision of capital for SMEs.
Vu Quang Lam, chairman of HCFG, said the fund’s credit guarantees for enterprises have shown signs of declining lately. Enterprises often approach HCGF to ask for credit guarantees when their projects are ineligible for bank loans.
However, under the prevailing rules, enterprises would have difficulty applying for credit guarantees as they are required to have assets as collateral.
Thanks to the new agreement with SaigonBank, HCGF will support enterprises in preparing feasible business plans and completing procedures so that they can gain easier access to bank loans as the time needed for the bank’s appraisal process is shortened. However, HCGF still has to ensure transparency and the bank will still decide which enterprises can borrow.
The Government plans to revise the regulations on credit guarantees in a way that allows SMEs to take out unsecured loans from banks. Therefore, HCGF will closely coordinate with SaigonBank in all steps, from appraising to handling arising risks in preparing themselves for the amendments in the coming time, Lam added.
Currently, there are more than 12,000 SMEs active in HCMC, accounting for 96% of the total number of enterprises in the city. SMEs play an increasingly important role in the country’s economy, especially in creating jobs.
Due to poor corproate governance, outdated technology and lack of premises, SMEs face stricter conditions for credit guarantees.
HCFG, established in March 2007, is the financial organization under the HCMC government. The fund is mandated to support SMEs to gain access to bank loans. As of the end of last year, HCGF had total chartered capital of VND232.36 billion. Of which, VND227.9 billion came from the city’s budget, or 98.1% of the fund’s chartered capital.
After ten years of operation, HCGF has signed 121 credit guarantee contracts worth VND871.2 billion, creating favorable conditions for SMEs to borrow a total of VND1.45 trillion.
Hoang Dinh Thang, director of HCGF, said the fund’s performance was dismal in the 2014-2015 period as most SMEs failed to meet the collateral requirement.
Currently, the role of the credit guarantee fund is to provide consulting for enterprises to complete legal procedures so that their projects are eligible for bank loans.
This year HCGF has worked with 200 SMEs, and provided financial consultancy for 29 projects with total investment of nearly VND4.2 trillion and total loans of VND2.2 trillion. Of this number, eight projects have got the nod from banks or investors with total investment of VND813 billion and total loans of over VND360 billion.
Facebook touted as business development tool
Huynh Kim Tuoc, director of Asia-Pacific Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) Energy Markets at Facebook, insisted at a seminar last week that local enterprises should attend more to Facebook as a tool for business development.
Speaking at the seminar called “Updates and business model innovations for SMEs” in Can Tho City last week, Tuoc raised two questions: why enterprises should be interested in Facebook and what they should do to grow stronger on this platform.
To answer the first question, Tuoc said the number of Facebook users in Vietnam was huge, with over 45 million people accessing the social networking site at least once a month (as of September 2016). For daily use, there are about 28 million people, he said.
He noted that although television is a popular medium, its growth over the past 20 years has remained flat. “There are a lot of TV users, but strong growth has been seen in digital and mobile platforms,” he said.
Another reason why enterprises should care about Facebook is Vietnam is one of the leading countries on the high level of interaction between users and Facebook pages. In other words, when consumers are interested in a product or service, they tend to interact with businesses on Facebook, and Facebook measures such activities, Tuoc said.
“This is a sign that business growth on Facebook is very strong,” he said.
He believed Vietnam had the opportunity for healthy business development on a digital media platform thanks to the golden population and the technology that helps such population takeoff. “We have the chance, and should not let it fly,” he noted.
To further develop on the digital media platform, Tuoc said businesses should immediately set up their own Facebook pages, where they could advertise their products without any charge and conveniently interact with many different communities.
Enterprises can learn of their target customers thanks to the measurement tool on Facebook. Since all Facebook users have an identity, it is possible to figure out if they are young, old, male or female.
Meanwhile, Brandon Lim, commercial director of childcare at P&G Vietnam, brought up data on the marketing of diapers in 1976 and 2016 and asked: “What has changed and what remains the same over the past time?”
The love of a mother for her child has not changed, and so has the demand for childcare, but changes in the world have led to changes in the way of marketing, Lim said. “However, you should understand your target customers and that they are very knowledgeable about the value of your products, so you have to take note of this,” he suggested.
Construction ministry warns against resort real estate glut
Investors should be cautious in resort real estate projects as the strong growth of resort real estate this year may lead to an oversupply in the future, the Ministry of Construction advised.
Resort real estate has developed strongly since 2015 with many projects mainly in Danang, Khanh Hoa and Phu Quoc opened for sale, said Pham Van Truong, head of the real estate market management office under the ministry’s Department of House and Real Estate Market Management at a review conference on the real estate market in 2016 and market trends in 2017 held by the Vietnam Association of Property Brokers last Friday.
Many resort projects have been licensed in the coastal provinces. Particularly, there were 46 licensed projects covering more than 3,000 hectares in Khanh Hoa Province and 75 licensed projects occupying more than 2,000 hectares in Vung Tau.
If all of these projects are completed, there will be hundreds of thousands of villas, leading to an oversupply in the market, Truong said.
Nguyen Quoc Khanh, board chairman of DTJ Investment and Distribution Joint Stock Co., said at the conference that resort properties have boomed this year. The number of projects opened for sale has increased sharply this year while last year saw only one to two projects put up for sale.
There have been only two projects opened for sale in Danang and Lao Cai in the fourth quarter this year, the lowest quarterly number in 2016, but in the third quarter, there were as many as 11 projects opened up for sale in Khanh Hoa, Danang and Quang Ninh.
This year has witnessed the recovery of the resort real estate market and a boom in the sector in three major destinations namely Danang, Nha Trang, and Phu Quoc. Some 35 projects with 12,000 apartments and 2,000 villas have been offered for sale, Khanh said.
Thailand may slap anti-dumping tax on Vietnam steel sheets
Thailand may impose anti-dumping tariffs of up to 60.26% on color-coated steel sheets imports from Vietnam, according to the Vietnam Competition Authority under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The Department of Foreign Trade (DFT) under the Thai Ministry of Commerce on December 12 released preliminary results of an anti-dumping probe into Vietnam’s color-coated steel sheets, including painted hot-dip galvanized cold rolled steel, or aluminum zinc alloy-coated cold rolled steel, with dumping margins expected to range from 4.51% to 60.26%.
DFT will give relevant businesses and agencies from Vietnam a chance to respond to the investigation results and send evidence to the department by January 6 before a hearing is organized on January 16.
The Thai agency said it had got a dumping investigation petition from NS BlueScope Company for an alleged dumping margin of up to 89.58% in September last year.
Statistics of the Vietnam Competition Authority show that the country’s exported steel products are subject to most anti-dumping lawsuits. As of May 2016, there had been 25 trade cases against Vietnam’s steel products, of which 18 were anti-dumping ones initiated by ASEAN nations like Thailand and Malaysia.
Earlier, the Vietnam Steel Association had requested producers of metallic-coated and color-coated steel sheets to reduce their export shipments and control selling prices to the Malaysian and Thai markets for risks of anti-dumping measures.
Steel firms of these two nations have repeatedly complained about huge volumes of Vietnam’s steel products imported into their countries at low prices, adversely affecting their production.
New Land VJ inaugurates modern warehouse in Binh Duong
New Land Vietnam Japan Joint Stock Company (New Land VJ) has put into operation a large modern warehouse worth a total of nearly US$10 million to meet cargo storage needs of manufacturers.
The facility of the joint venture between local firm New Land and two Japanese partners, Sojitz and Kokubu, covers 20,000 square meters at Binh An Textile Industrial Park in the southern province of Binh Duong.
Nguyen Minh Thong, managing director of New Land VJ, said the warehouse has enough room for a total of 15,500 pallets and serves customers in sectors like processed food, dairy goods, farm produce, poultry, meat, beverages and medical material.
Taku Imai from Sojitz said his company had got involved in this warehousing service venture because it had strong growth potential in Vietnam as a fast growing economy.
Kokubu is a leading distributor of food and alcoholic beverages in Japan with annual revenue of US$15 billion. It has business links with nearly 10,000 producers and 35,000 retailers.
Sojitz was the first foreign firm to be licensed to open a representative office in Hanoi. It has got involved in many projects, including those in power generation, fertilizer production and industrial park infrastructure development sectors.
Growers of bizarre fruits worry over fickle weather as Tet draws near
Fruit farmers specializing in unique and bizarre fruits typically grown for exclusive use during the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, or Tet, are under constant worry that the unpredictable weather hitting Vietnam over the past few weeks may affect their crops.
The upcoming Tet holiday will fall on January 28, and farmers are hurriedly preparing special fruit to supply Vietnamese religious offering and ornamental needs during the celebration.
With local consumers willing to open their wallets for bizarre and unique gift ideas, local farmers have been trying to cash in by growing fruit in unique shapes.
Though their success has led them to increase supplies and develop new products for the upcoming holidays, recent foul weather has had a significant impact on their business.
In the southern city of Can Tho, Tran Thanh Liem, known for growing watermelons in the shape of gold bullion, is pessimistic about his yield for Tet. After planting over 4,000 seeds this year, Liem expects a meager 1,000 crop harvest.
Liem said he received several large orders for the fruit, but only signed contracts to supply 100 pairs to two businesses out of fear that his final supply will fall below expectations.
A pair of 1.5kg gold bullion-shaped watermelons fetches VND2.5 million (US$112), and VND3 million (US$134) for those weighing 2kg each.
Similarly, growers of special grapefruits shaped like bottle gourds in An Giang Province also expect to see their yields drop compared to last Tet. Many said they will only be able to supply the market with 2,400 fruits compared to 10,000 last year.
To make up for the dwindling supply, farmers will introduce new products with calligraphic texts reading ‘fortune’ and ‘luck’ besides the bottle gourd shape.
‘Phoenix pineapple’ growers are facing the same struggle. As the name suggests, the ‘phoenix pineapple’ has red inflorescence, making it look like the mythical bird.
Many Vietnamese believe that displaying this kind of fruit during Tet will bring them peace and luck.
However, Luu Van Luom, who is waiting to harvest his 1,000 phoenix pineapples, said bad weather will greatly affect his yield. He expects only 60 to 70% of his crop to meet acceptable standards for sale.
Huynh Thanh Tam, a farmer in Ben Tre Province known creating coconut with text imprints, is also unhappy with the recent weather.
Tam was able to sell 300 of his coconuts during last year’s Tet holiday and chose to increase this year’s crop to 2,000.
However, Tam is worried that the bad weather may reduce his final yield.
“The unusual rain at this time of year may cause the young coconuts to crack when put into moulds to have the text pressed onto their shells,” Tam said.
Still, many farmers do not appear shaken by the unsettled weather.
Huynh Thanh Khoa, the ‘father’ of special mangos with skins bearing calligraphic texts such as ‘luck’, ‘longevity’ and ‘fortune’ decided to increase his supply by 5,000 fruits from 1,200 last year.
The Dong Thap-based farmer said he will introduce a new product this year - mangos that bear the Vietnamese map on their skins.
“Some partners in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have placed orders for more than 1,000 mangos,” he said.
Conference talks AEC’s influence on young workers
The impact of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) on the lives of students and young workers in HCM City was the main focus of a conference in HCM City on December 25.
The event aimed to help improve understanding among local young people and labourers of job opportunities and required skills in the regional integration.
It drew 133 young scientists who presented 79 reports, focusing on opportunities and challenges facing students and young workers when the the AEC is officially formed, measures to improve their skills and integration capacity.
Participants shared the view that the city has seen an increase in the number of skilled and educated workers. However, the quality is still yet to meet socio-economic development and integration requirements.
They suggested joint efforts made by local authorities, enterprises and training institutions to improve local human resources quality.
Delegates called on young workers to keep learning new technologies and necessary skills, particularly foreign languages.
More attention should be paid to job placement to ensure market-oriented training.
Thai Nguyen: Master plan on Nui Coc lake development announced
Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has lauded the northern mountainous province of Thai Nguyen’s optimal conditions for tourism development, particularly Nui Coc lake and tea culture.
He made the praise during a local ceremony on December 25 to announce a master plan on developing the Nui Coc lake national tourist area to 2025 with orientations to 2030.
The Deputy PM suggested attention should also be paid to the maintenance and preservation of ecological environment within and around the lake, given that the lake also helps with irrigation, aquaculture and flood prevention.
Hue revealed that the government will devise an action plan to materialise the government’s resolution on Vietnam’s tourism restructuring for 2016-2020, which focuses on tourism infrastructure, environment and products imbued with traditional cultural characteristics.
Apart from calling on strategic investors, the province was advised to develop community-based tourism, considering the people a crucial factor during the process.
According to the Deputy PM, the government has directed ministries and agencies to refine policies regarding investment, taxation, fees, electricity and e-visa while strengthening State management in tourism.
As part of the capital zone master plan and the country’s third largest hub of human resources development, Thai Nguyen must become economically and militarily strong, he stated.
At the event, he also witnessed the signing of 10 investment projects in the fields of electricity, tourism, infrastructure and telecommunications worth over 45 trillion VND (1.95 billion USD) in total, and a ceremony to begin the construction of Nui Coc lake road, one of the first works in the master plan.
According to the Nui Coc lake master plan, 1,200ha, exclusive of water surface, will be earmarked for the development of a national tourist area, which will offer sightseeing and resort, water sports and community-based ecological services in association with Tam Dao national park in Quan Chu commune.
The lake is expected to be recognised as a national tourist area before 2025. By 2030, it looks to be a major ecological and resort centre of the country and serves 4 million tourists, earning nearly 2 trillion VND (86.9 million USD).
In the morning the same day, the official attended a ceremony announcing the PM’s decision on approving adjustments to the Thai Nguyen master plan by 2035 and beginning the construction of a flood-proof system on Cau River and completing urban infrastructure on two banks of the river.
The project, costing over 18 trillion VND (780 million USD), comprises nine components invested by a joint venture between Phuc Loc Group and the Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CIENCO) No.8 in the public-private partnership and build-transfer model.
The Deputy PM emphasised that the adjustments aim to develop Thai Nguyen into an economic, cultural, education, health care, tourism and service centre in the northern mountainous and midland region, and in the development quadrangular of the northern key economic region.
On the occasion, he presented the PM’s decision to the provincial authorities.
Sellers get creative for lucrative Xmas season
As Vietnamese tend to spend more money during the Christmas season, many local enterprises tried all possible ways to satisfy there “God’s” demands.
Alongside other popular Christmas gifts and ornaments, the Christmas market this year offered more exclusive and unique options.
HCM City-based enterpriseimported about 200 real pine trees by sea from Oregon, United States.
According to Diep Nguyen, the owner of the enterprise, the company decided to import such a large number of real trees after the first two attracted a great deal of attention from customers last Christmas.
“The import procedure is quite complicated, so we had to place our orders in August and received the support from the US National Christmas Tree Association”, she told Tuoi Tre daily.
Even before these Christmas trees docked at the port in HCM City, half of them were booked online with costs ranging from 3 – 8 million VND (130-150 USD), depending on the height of the tree (from 1.8 m to 2.7m). The buyers were mostly foreign expatriates or wealthy local families.
While the real trees seem to be for a group of limited customers, the plastic ones – in different height, colours and eye-catching decorations, were available in every supermarket and shopping mall across the city.
All the Christmas shops located on Luong Nhu Hoc and Hai Thuong Lan Ong Streets in District 5 started their high business season from mid-October.
Ho Thi Minh Tam, the owner of a shop on Luong Nhu Hoc Street, District 5, said all 20 plastic trees and nearly 1,000 ball ornaments that she imported from Thailand for the first time had been sold out within a week.
According to Tam, those products attracted customers because their prices are the same or even slightly cheaper than other similar Made in Vietnam products.
Over the past two years, Christmas gifts and ornaments from Thailand have increased their presence in the Vietnam market.
Ho Kim Cuc, who runs a Christmas shop on Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street, said her shop had rented 15 large-size Christmas trees out to different offices with prices ranging from 2-4 million VND (87-175USD), which were just one-third the purchase price.
This year, the Christmas market witnessed significant participation of many local producers.
According to a representative of the Kim Lap Christmas shop on Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street, two thirds of the 6,000 products that his shop sold in the first 10 days of this month are products that are made in Vietnam.
The increase in Vietnamese Christmas products was thanks to the increasing awareness of local enterprises of the potential market. That was why they hadpaid attention to improving both quality and design of products.
Owner of the Phuong Thao shop on Luong Nhu Hoc Street, Nguyen Phuong Thai, said she stored 6,000 Christmas costumes created by local producers.
“With 20 different designs the price was 10 percent to 20 percent cheaper than other imported costumes. That was why the ones made by local producers have magnetised customers. At the moment, thousands of Christmas costumes that we stored are almost sold out”, she said.
Vo Hong Tan, director of Doma Vina – a company specialisng on paper quilling products said his company introduced to the market more than 2,000 products in this festive season, of which the best sellers were Santa Claus, X’Mas tree and bell.
Like any other previous years, the seasonal service – Santa Claus delivers gifts to children – was still a flourishing business, as the demand from customers has increased year after year.
Ngo Thi Phuong Loan, owner of the Beyeume gift shop on 3 Thang 2 Street in District 10, said that her shop had to recruit a “Santa Claus” a month before Christmas.
According to her, the service fee this year has increased between 15 percent and 20 percent compared to last year, when it was between 90,000 VND and 100,000 VND to between 120,000 VND and 130,000 VND.
“However, that price was for the service offered a few days before Christmas. A day before Christmas Eve, the price was more, at 160,000 VND, and at 200,000 VND on Christmas Eve”, Loan said.
Most of the recruited “Santa Claus” were students.


text:
Fastsigns is poised for growth and is looking to expand into the Middle East and North Africa to add to its 545 locations in eight countries. CEO Catherine Monson said the company is committed to helping franchisees expand through its “more than brand positioning,” co-branding with existing companies and moving into digital technology. “One of […]
Tag: "how to build your business"
Page 1 of 11

domain: news


text:
A Nottingham pub-and former home of a ‘sausage society’-is set to introduce a 100 per cent vegan menu from next month.
The Peacock on Mansfield Road is currently undergoing refurbishment and will re-open in September.
The Victorian pub has been asking its customers for menu suggestions. So far these include vegan cheesecake, mushroom burgers, macaroni cheese, and tofu Thai curry.
The previous menu featured a combination of meat and plant-based dishes.
Landlord of 17 years, Michael Scholes told the Nottingham Post he made the decision because of the growing trend for vegan food.
He said: “Vegan food has come on leaps and bounds. I eat it a lot with friends. I don’t feel we’re excluding anyone.
“I am thrilled with the response. I thought am I doing the right thing? But this has made me a lot more confident.”
According to the Nottingham Post vegan Adrian Bhagat, who runs Bluebird Wholefoods, further up Mansfield Road, in Sherwood, said the move was ‘brilliant news’.
He added: “The last year or two there have been a lot of new places serving vegan food. The provision for vegans has exploded.”


text:
ProtectaBull.com for Construction
Securing the Safety of the construction sector is now even easier with the launch of Bull Products’ new e-commerce site www.protectabull.com
The new one-stop-shop for all PPE, safety and cleaning needs enables site managers and purchasers to ensure the workforce is protected to usual industry standards, and also to operate to the new requirements of post-lockdown working.
“Our core customers will have the reassurance of the Bull Products range of protective equipment including PPE, spill control, and Fall Arrest with the convenience of buying from an e-commerce platform,” said Managing Director Ross Markham.
“The site is the result of the support we were able to continue to provide to our core customers through lockdown, and also of the new customers who came to us as we remained opened – and subsequently very busy.
“Many of our familiar lines of signage and first aid kits will now be available to buy on-line as well as the newer range of cleaning and hygiene products, PPE, and lighting and cabling specifically for the construction sector.”
Protect Workers with ProtectaBull Face Masks
When it comes to food processing, quality, efficiency and reduction of contamination are key. Now more than ever, it’s important that we continue to protect workers from COVID-19 including supplying a variety of face masks in the workplace. ProtectaBull.com by Bull Products is your one-stop e-shop to protect workers, bringing you all the essentials for […]
Food Production One-Stop-Eshop for Work-Safety
Protectabull.com by Bull Products is the new one-stop-eshop for all PPE, cleaning, and safety needs in the food and drink production and processing industry. ProtectaBull is the result of the Bull Products’ mission ‘Securing Your Safety’, which now extends into the food processing and manufacturing sector, as well as other, commercial, industrial, retail and hospitality […]


text:
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted license to three companies to exclusively import sugar into the country.
The companies are Dangote, BUA and Golden Sugar, which is owned by Flour Mills.
The license restricts all dealers from accessing foreign exchange for sugar importation.
The three companies also possess capability to refine sugar.
The apex bank, in a statement published on Friday on its website, O. S. Nnaji, CBN’s Director of Trade & Exchange, said the approval of the import license which he said is in line with the Federal Government National Sugar Master Plan, to encourage and incentivize sugar refining companies in their backward integration programme for local sugar production, followed a review of the three companies’ achievement of reasonable progress on the policy in the sector.
The CBN further said all authorized dealers “shall not open Form M or access foreign exchange in the Nigerian foreign exchange market for any company, including the three companies,” for the importation of sugar into the country without prior and express approval from it.


text:
Samsung has recently posted a Galaxy S4 teaser video in YouTube. The video is to hype the approaching unveiling event of the company in New York City which is dubbed as the “Samsung Unpacked 2013”.
The YouTube video posted by the smartphone giant centers on a boy named Jeremy who was tasked to become the company’s “secret messenger” for the NYC Unpacked event. He was allowed to take a peek inside the box that contains the device and doing so left him mesmerized. He went home with it and the video finished as he was about to open the package. The Galaxy S4 teaser ended up with a message saying, “to be continued”.
The tagline of the event which says, “Be ready 4 the next Galaxy” is very visible in the background of the conference room where Jeremy received the package. Then, based on the description of the video, the event will take place in the New York Times Square on March 14, 2013 at 7PM EST. The event can be watched through live-streaming in Samsung Mobile’s official YouTube page.
According to CNET, the plan to release the new smartphone in the public was initially scheduled February this year. The tech site based its presumption on the report of Korea Times on September 2012. Then, in the first month of 2013, more rumors surfaced about the gadget and April 15 was forecasted as its release date. On the next month, CNET predicted that the event is likely to take place on March 14.
The February prediction of CNET proved to be very accurate because Samsung confirmed the same date during the conduct of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. By the 25th of that month, Samsung’s invitations were already floated in social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook with the tagline, “Ready 4 the show, come and meet the next galaxy.”


text:
Class generates potential new products for specialty farmers.
The market for grass fed beef is growing quickly, and the future looks promising.
High forage value covers make more of grazing acres.
The latest test for soil quality involves men’s unmentionables.
Disease pressure is forcing farmers to stretch out their rotations.
Raising Belted Galloway cattle fills a niche.
Potato genetics are protected in Wisconsin gene bank.


text:
This week’s (March 6, 2023) guests and more on all-new episodes of ABC’s “Good Morning America” (GMA)
“Good Morning America” (GMA) airs Monday thru Saturday on ABC. You can watch previous episodes on-demand and Hulu. Follow the show on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. All of the talk shows we post are updated weekly. Bookmark our site and search for “GMA” or whichever series to see the latest guests.
Check out this week’s guests and more.
- Monday, March 6 — Author Cole Kazdin(“What’s Eating Us”); actress Hayden Panettiere (“Scream 6”); fashion stylist Erica Wark; fashion journalist Maggie Bullock (“The Kingdom of Prep”)
- Tuesday, March 7 —Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York (“A Most Intriguing Lady”); former BET CEO and author Debra Lee (“I Am Debra Lee”); “GMA” Book Club March pick reveal
- Wednesday, March 8 — Lifestyle influencer Babs Costello withOscar® party inspiration; ABC News correspondent Eva Pilgrim on quit lit; Deals and Steals: Oscars® Edition with ABC e-commerce editor Tory Johnson
- Thursday, March 9 — Oscars® host Jimmy Kimmel; lifestyle expert Tiffany Reid on Oscars fashion; actor Damson Idris (“Snowfall”); actor Robert Downey, Jr.; a performance by Zara Larsson;Deals and Steals: Oscars Edition with ABC e-commerce editor Tory Johnson
- Friday, March 10 — Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck; Binge This: Oscars flashback performance; celebrity stylist Ade Samuel with Oscars fashion forecast
- Saturday, March 11 — Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences CEO Bill Kramer; “GMA” March Book Club author
Listings are subject to change.
Check out more ABC
You can watch thousands of TV shows and movies with Hulu!
Start your FREE 30 day trial today!
Hulu is the leading premium streaming service offering live and on-demand TV and movies, with and without commercials, both in and outside the home. Launched in 2008, Hulu is the only service that gives viewers instant access to current shows from every major U.S. broadcast network; libraries of hit TV series and films; and acclaimed Hulu Originals.


text:
These are all the posts that have been tagged with Flavours.
Just in time for the summer, Starbucks is making it easy for consumers to enjoy premium cold coffee at home and on the go, with three new coffee beverages available in the grocery aisle.
Just ahead of summer, Dunkin’ Donuts is now serving the taste of its signature coffee, frozen.
Out of the legendary coffee fields of Costa Rica, Colombia, Sumatra, and Ethiopia comes Alumbre, a new, premium hand-crafted coffee line.
The new Hoogly Tea brand has been established with a mission of providing consumers with a feeling of comfort and well-being.
Once only found in enchanted forests, unicorns have been popping up in social media with shimmering unicorn-themed food and drinks.
Heartland Food Products Group has been in the business of making coffee taste better for decades and is now bringing 100% authentic cold brew coffee to the masses.
Celebrating its 51st anniversary, Peet’s Coffee announced the launch of its annual, limited release Anniversary Blend, which celebrates its founding by giving back to origin via the company’s program Drink a Great Cup, Do a Good Thing.
High Brew Coffee, a ready-to-drink cold-brew coffee product, announced three major initiatives during Expo West in Anaheim, California (9-12 March).
Timed with the arrival of spring, Starbucks has introduced a variety of new Teavana teas at Starbucks stores that includes new Shaken Iced White Tea, Lightly Sweet Chai Tea Latte, and a regional roll-out of ready-to-drink Teavana Craft Iced Teas to Starbucks stores in the Northeast US.
Designed to create new buying occasions, Clipper Teas has introduced a stylish new gift box –the first of several to come – that features teas from the brand’s Organic Infusions range.
The centuries-old craft of barrel aging has long been a source of culinary inspiration, influencing everything from sugars and chocolates to sauces and ciders, and now green coffee.
Consumers have a craftier new way to enjoy ready-to-drink teas. Starbucks, in partnership with Anheuser-Busch, began shipping new ready-to-drink premium Teavana Craft Iced Teas to select grocery and convenience retailers in New Hampshire, New York, Vermont and Missouri earlier this month.
For the first time in over 40 years Starbucks now offers customers a second choice in espresso. Starbucks Canada has introduced Blonde Espresso Roast, a lighter roasted blend that has a balanced and sweet flavour profile, and a smooth, creamy mouthfeel that is differentiated from Starbucks Signature Espresso Roast.
Keurig, the company behind America’s favourite single serve coffee brewer has teamed up with British brand Twinings to offer tea lovers in the UK a new selection of hot fruit and herbal drinks.


text:
Earlier this week, The Drum kicked off the launch of its US magazine and its online dedicated B2B hub with a breakfast panel at AOL’s headquarters in New York City.
Panelists included managing director of Stein IAS San Francisco Ted Kohnen, chief marketing officer of Mercer Steven Faigen, AOL's vice president of business and consumer marketing Michele Morelli, and chief marketing officer of HCL Technologies Matt Preschern.
During the panel, the speakers discussed how B2B brands can best leverage social media to achieve their business goals and what challenges marketers in the space are currently facing with it comes to effectively using platforms like Snapchat and LinkedIn.
See five takeaways below:
Define what real-time means for your brand
Oreo’s ‘Dunk in the Dark’ tweet has become the quintessential example of a brand successfully executing a real-time social media strategy, but B2B marketers are often dealing with much more complicated subject matter than a cookie maker trying to jump on the Super Bowl bandwagon.
Determining what exactly “real-time” means can be a bit murkier for B2B brands since they tend to operate within highly regulated and complex fields like pharmaceuticals or financial services. Approval processes aside, these brands must be careful when it comes to what they can and cannot say on social, which can sometimes hinder how swiftly they can respond to events in the news.
“We’re very careful not to be real-time on the most critical issues,” said Preschern. “I always tell my team, ‘look, if it’s a really hot issue, we better step back. We don’t have to respond in five minutes’”.
Faigen said that he defines real-time as “within the legitimate confines of the daily news cycle, so not five minutes but not tomorrow either,” adding that sometimes the best real-time strategy is preparing for what is yet to come.
“A lot of our ability to act quickly has to do with the work we do well in advance,” he said, adding that preparing reactions related to an upcoming court decision, change in law or economic event can help B2B brands make the most of their time.
Set social media guidelines
It might sound contradictory, but having guidelines and a structure for your social media team can actually help it operate more nimbly.
For example, Morelli said AOL’s parent company Verizon has set out guidelines for the publisher so her team knows what they can and cannot respond to on social.
“This allows us to have freedom and [Verizon] knows that we can respond to things in real-time because they know that we know the guidelines and where the boundaries are. That way, you don’t have to get every tweet approved,” she said.
Kohnen echoed Morelli’s sentiment, stating that “to really have a social media operation that allows you to be agile and nimble, you actually need to have a foundation in place first, particularly in highly regulated markets.”
Invest in paid social to rise above the noise
It’s no surprise that today’s social environment is becoming increasingly crowded. With an abundance of both platforms and content, it’s easy for a post to become buried within a matter of minutes.
That’s why Kohnen said many of his clients are shifting their budgets from print and digital display to paid social and paid search.
“Every client that I have has increased their paid media spend in social and there’s a very simple reason for that. It’s because there’s a lot of noise. Even in the B2B market, even in the most niche sectors, there’s a lot of noise and honestly there’s a lot of junk content out there but it still creates a lot of noise.”
Preschern added that there are many circumstances where a B2B brand could benefit from investing in paid social and paid search marketing. Whether your brand is trying to enter a new market space or is launching a new product, putting some money behind your content can help get the message out.
“Unless you spend some money on the paid side, you simply won’t show up,” he said.
…but make sure your content is worth the money
While paying for social posts is a good way to rise above the noise, it won’t mean much if nobody is interested in the content you’re pushing out.
“If you throw money at something and your content isn’t good, it really doesn’t make a difference,” said Preschern.
Creating eye-catching B2B content is no easy feat, but the panelists all agreed that at the end of the day, it’s important to remember that they are marketing to human beings just like B2C brands do.
“The emotional connection that you build as a B2B brand is super important,” Preschern added.
From a corporate standpoint, Morelli said AOL doesn’t see a difference between B2B and B2C – and because of that, she expects her social media team to create content “that is interesting and actually useful instead of checking a box.”
She said that she tells her team to avoid writing or creating content that they wouldn’t be interested in reading or looking at themselves.
“I ask them to start from the premise that no one cares. Just pretend like you’re going to write something and no one cares, and try to make them care,” she said.
Be a thought leader
Executives and specialists from B2B brands often have a wealth of knowledge about not only their company but their respective industries as well.
Because of this, Kohnen said it’s important to take advantage of any event that “shines a spotlight on your industry” since people will likely go to their social channels to seek out information and opinions from trusted sources.
“For our clients in the technology space, anytime there’s a cybersecurity issue, we know that there’s going to be an intense focus on that issue and that gives our brands an opportunity to capitalize on that that issue and to be out there from a thought leader perspective with a provocative position,” he said.


text:
- Tap Fantasy is a blockchain-powered mobile game that features a community-driven governance structure and NFT rewards
- The Tap Fantasy team aims to raise $300,000 in the public sale of 7.5 million TAP tokens
- Bybit will begin recording users BIT balances on February 17 at 00:00 UTC
- Monster Galaxy, the last project to be featured on Bybit Launchpad is currently trading more than 8,300% above its IEO price
Bybit, one of the leading digital assets trading platforms, has announced its tenth Launchpad project, roughly a month after the Monster Galaxy Play 2 Earn IEO ended. Bybit users will be able to participate in the initial exchange offering (IEO) of Tap Fantasy (TAP) with their BitDAO (BIT) funds. The Tap Fantasy team aims to raise $300,000 in the public sale of 7.5 million TAP tokens, at an initial IEO price of $0.04.
Tap Fantasy is the tenth token sale on Bybit’s launchpad; the last project, Monster Galaxy, is currently trading at 8x its IEO price
Tap Fantasy is an MMORPG video game featuring Play-to-Earn (P2E) elements and non-fungible token (NFT) use cases. The game was initially launched on Facebook as TapTap Fantasy. It quickly amassed a huge following of loyal players and by the end of last September, the game boasted over 20 million registered users.
The game’s native TAP token fulfills a governance role and allows its holders to participate in the decision-making process of the gaming platform’s DAO (decentralized autonomous organization). The ownership of in-game NFTs grants holders special membership perks, such as the ability to access VIP in-game areas and the ability to purchase digital collectibles designed by the community.
The Tap Fantasy team has allocated less than of percent of the total TAP supply of 1 billion tokens for the upcoming IEO, and is aiming to raise $300,000 million through public sale. Bybit has set a hard cap per user to 8,750 TAP ($350) to avoid potential price manipulation from wealthy investors, and to ensure each participant has a fair chance at obtaining the gaming token.
Bybit will start recording user BIT balances on February 17 at 00:00 UTC. During the 5-day snapshot period, Bybit will be snapshots of user BIT balances on an hourly basis to determine the maximum amount of funds each user can commit during the subscription period that commences on February 22 at 03:30 UTC. Users who will have a recorded daily average amount of at least 50 BIT in their account will be eligible to participate in the upcoming IEO.
Bybit is rapidly increasing the pace at which new Launhcapd projects are getting featured on the site. Additionally, virtually all previous projects have turned out to be highly lucrative investments for Bybit Launchpad participants.
Case in point, Monster Galaxy was the last token sale on Bybit, with its final distribution period ending on January 18. GGM debuted on Bybit with huge success – the token is currently changing hands more than 8,300% above its initial IEO price of 0.025 USD.
Here are the returns of the last five projects launched on Bybit’s launchpad platform:
|Launchpad Project||ROI (expressed in USD)|
David is a crypto enthusiast and an expert in personal finance. He has created numerous publications for different platforms. He loves to explore new things, and that’s how he discovered blockchain in the first place.


text:
free io game, fun io game, best io game
The tactical first-person shooter was previously only released for PC and Xbox
A datamine leak suggests that tactical first-person shooter game Star Wars: Republic Commando is heading to Nintendo Switch.
Republic Commando was a Star Wars game originally made by LucasArts and released in 2005 for PC and Xbox. Set during the Clone Wars, the game lets users play as an elite clone trooper in command of a squad of fellow clone troopers who fight alongside you.
Switch eShop dataminer NWPlayer123 had discovered data of the title being uploaded to Nintendo’s store server last night (February 10). The leak was shared on Twitter, where a screenshot mentions Aspyr.
Aspyr have previously re-released a number of old Star Wars games on the Switch, including Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, and Episode I Racer.
Although the developer is best known for porting old games, there is also speculation that Aspyr could be remaking Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic according to WCCF Tech, a game the company has previously ported to other platforms.
This partly comes from news that former members of original developer BioWare have also recently joined Aspyr.
Aspyr was also recently acquired by Embracer Group (formerly THQ Nordic), where at the same time it was confirmed that the developer was working on several projects, including a major game project with a $70 million budget, “that is expected to become important for the entire group”.
In related news, EA plans to keep making Star Wars games despite losing exclusive rights to the franchise.
This follows LucasFilm and Disney’s announcement that current and future Star Wars games are to be branded under the LucasFilm Games brand. That includes new partnerships, such as Ubisoft’s open world Star Wars project and Bethesda’s untitled Indiana Jones game.


text:
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – One local business is offering a permanent thank you for buying a toy for a kid in need. The fourth annual ‘Tats for Toys’ is happening at Kool Kids Tattoo.
Kool Kids Tattoo says all people have to do is bring in $30 worth of unopened toys and individuals will get a free small tattoo. Jay Mondragon owner says, “about four years ago, I just decided I had a pretty good year. I decided I wanted to help out and give back to the community.”
Each year the shop gives out about 70 to 80 tattoos on average. The event will be going on until 9 p.m. on November 26.


text:
Passenger-car registrations in Germany surged 5 percent to 274,804 in May, providing a glimmer of hope that the auto industry is still recovering in the country. Other European markets like France and Spain also logged higher year-on-year car sales in May. In the first five months of 2014, German registrations rose 3 percent to 1.26 million units.
Local brands like Porsche and Opel posted growths of 11 percent and 9 percent, respectively, helping boost registration figures in the country, according to the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA).
On the other hand, luxury brands Mercedes-Benz and BMW logged drops of 0.5 percent and 5 percent, respectively, in German registrations, as they review the cost structure of their German business and stopped short of heavy discounting. Volkswagen-brand saw its sales in May jump 2 percent.
While there are indications that the Europe auto market is recovering, excessive capacity and steep discounting distort the real level of demand. Mike Tyndall, an autos analyst at Barclays, remarked that incentives went up in Germany while the most generous ones are being offered by Peugeot, Citroen and Opel.
Average incentives for Peugeot and Citroen were at 24 percent and for Opel was 25 percent, according to Tyndall. He noted that sales growth in Germany was inflated by the fact that registrations in the same period in 2013 were particularly weak.
In France, vehicle sales surged 3 percent to 740,121 in the first five months of 2014, prompting the country’s CCFA industry association to mull raising its 1-percent growth full-year forecast in June.
Sales in Spain, meanwhile, jumped 16 percent in the five-month period, still helped by a government subsidy scheme that provides a rebate to new buyers for turning in their old cars. [source: automotive news - sub. required]


text:
Telstra is continuing to struggle with sluggish business performance, according to its financial results for the half year to December 2015.
The carrier today reported a tepid 0.8 percent growth in net operating profit after tax of $2.1 billion for the half, in spite of a 9.1 percent jump in income to $14.2 billion compared to the corresponding half to December 2014.
Its EBITDA was also flat, growing 1.7 percent to $5.4 billion compared to $5.3 billion in the previous half. Total operating expenses grew 14.2 percent to reach 8.7 billion.
Declines in fixed line voice margins continued to put downward pressure on the telco's retail business. Growth in fixed broadband services of 121,000 during the period was only partially able to offset those losses, and EBITDA for its retail business declined 2.6 percent to $4.66 billion.
Telstra chief executive Andy Penn attributed the retail business’s poor performance to declines in average user revenue and costs associated with migrating customers to the NBN.
He said that the company’s mobile business performance was also flat.
Despite adding 235,000 new services during the period average revenues per user fell by 68 cents per customer to about $69.00.
Penn also conceded that the carrier’s investments in new businesses such as Ooyala, PacNet, and other health and software operations were having a negative impact on the company’s overall earnings performance. However, he added that the long-term strategy was to use them to offset declines including the loss of its wholesale business to NBN.
“We need to recognise that strategy reflects the fact that we’re going through a migration of being a provider of fixed line services to an access seeker with the NBN and that has a material impact on EBITDA and its really encouraging that our other businesses are adding value and we’re still growing EBITDA during that period,” Penn said.
“They are investments in growth in the future that are negatively affecting EBITDA in the aggregate at the moment but we’re confident that they’re going to be strong contributors going forward,” he added.
Telstra has also been investing heavily in the region, with a 56 percent stake in Chinese car sale website Autohome and plans to spend around $1.4 billion on a 40 percent stake in a joint venture with food maker San Miguel to build a new mobile network in the Philippines.
San Miguel holds a large share of the country’s 700Mhz spectrum assets.
However, Penn was today cautious in his commentary on the San Miguel joint venture, which has come under fire from rivals in the Philippines seeking regulatory intervention to force San Miguel to divest its spectrum assets.
“We’d like to be able to complete the project if we can but I’ve learnt from experience – I’ve done business in Asia for many, many years and in large complex transactions - they’re not done until they’re done and we’ve still got some things to work through. We’re committed to working through them and hopefully that will lead to a successful conclusion but I can’t guarantee that,” he said.
Domestically the carrier’s network and application services business was among its strongest performers growing income by 32.7 percent to $1.3 billion.
Income from Foxtel was weak with income from cable falling 26 percent and its distribution falling 3.3 percent, bringing its total earnings from the pay TV company to $95 million.
Foxtel from Telstra revenue grew 8.7 percent to reach $350 million however the company conceded that its focus on marketing Foxtel entertainment bundles and Telstra TV was having a negative impact on its IPTV business.
While new IPTV subscribers grew 18 percent to reach 92,000 during the period across T-Box and its new Telstra TV offering (which stood at 43,000 at the end of the half) its Foxtel on T-Box customers fell from 190,000 December 2014 to 132,000 at the end of December 2015.


text:
A lot of people, including some of the world’s best known commentators on Apple, are saying that the company is facing serious challenges in its Mac business — unsurprisingly, Apple is clapping back at those reports and says everything is just fine.
It’s no secret that inside of Apple, the iPhone is the favoured child. Almost ten years into its existence, the iPhone accounts for 63 per cent of Apple’s total revenues across its products and services. The Mac, in contrast, accounts for just eleven per cent of revenue.
As a result, it’s not a surprise that internally, Apple has dedicated far more resources to the iPhone than it does the Mac. Users can see it too. After what felt like 27 years, Apple finally refreshed its MacBook Pro line this fall. But the resulting computers — though beautiful — are expensive and the Touch Bar is gimmicky.
Although the Mac portables have finally received an update, its desktops are still languishing. Apple hasn’t updated the iMac since October 2015 (to be fair, Intel’s new Kaby Lake processors aren’t yet available in the type of chip the iMac uses) or the Mac mini since 2014. And as for the Mac Pro? The much-vaunted “trash can” design hasn’t seen a spec update since its release in December 2013.
Meanwhile, it’s Microsoft, not Apple, that is making real innovative strides on the desktop with the Surface Studio. So what’s going on?
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the Mac team is a much lower priority than it used to be at Apple:
Interviews with people familiar with Apple’s inner workings reveal that the Mac is getting far less attention than it once did. They say the Mac team has lost clout with the famed industrial design group led by Jony Ive and the company’s software team. They also describe a lack of clear direction from senior management, departures of key people working on Mac hardware and technical challenges that have delayed the roll-out of new computers.
Apple has been fighting off critiques that it has forsaken the Mac for the iPhone for years. As far back as 2010, Apple had to hold its first “Back to the Mac” event to basically reassure the public that it still cared about the Mac. The company has continued to do those sorts of events to reassure the public.
But as time has gone on, Apple’s update cycle for its Mac products has slipped too. You used to be able to count on the Mac lineup getting refreshed at least once a year, but that’s slipped. Part of this, as Gurman notes, is on Intel. Apple’s product timetable is often tied to when Intel offers up the latest versions of its chips. If there is an Intel delay, as there was for Skylake in 2015, Apple is forced to either not release updated Mac products, or release them with barely-updated guts.
The deprioritization of the Mac is evident in personal changes within the company as well. In November, longtime Apple engineer Sal Soghoian, who had served as product manager for automation technologies on macOS for nearly twenty years, left Apple after his position was eliminated “for business reasons.” Plenty of Apple pundits found this news to be be ominous, with John Gruber going as far as to call it a “profoundly worrisome turn of events for the future of the Mac.” As Gurman notes there have been more than a dozen departures from the Mac team.
For its part, Apple is on the PR offensive, doing its best to assure everyone that everything is fine.
In a company message board posting obtained by TechCrunch, Apple CEO Tim Cook wants employees to know that the Mac is just fine!
This was the message question and answer obtained by TechCrunch:
We had a big MacBook Pro launch in October and a powerful upgrade to the MacBook back in the spring. Are Mac desktops strategic for us?
The desktop is very strategic for us. It’s unique compared to the notebook because you can pack a lot more performance in a desktop — the largest screens, the most memory and storage, a greater variety of I/O, and fastest performance. So there are many different reasons why desktops are really important, and in some cases critical, to people.
The current generation iMac is the best desktop we have ever made and its beautiful Retina 5K display is the best desktop display in the world.
Some folks in the media have raised the question about whether we’re committed to desktops. If there’s any doubt about that with our teams, let me be very clear: we have great desktops in our roadmap. Nobody should worry about that.
It’s worth noting that TechCrunch’s story with Cook’s remarks ran about 12 hours before Gurman’s Bloomberg story was published. This type of blatant PR offensive is the sort of thing that is designed to detract from the real story about the Mac’s position at Apple.
Moreover, parsing Cook’s statement, it’s notable to see — as John Gruber did — that the 5K iMac gets a mention for the desktop roadmap, but the Mac Pro does not.
The Mac Pro is currently the only major Apple product assembled in the United States. But Gurman cites “earlier challenges” associated with engineering as keeping the product from getting an update. Some engineers are even pushing to move production and assembly to Asia, something that probably won’t endear Apple to President-elect Donald Trump, who at one point threatened to take action against Apple if it didn’t bring all of it’s manufacturing to the United States.
Over the years, I have had numerous conversations with current and former Apple employees about the state of the Mac. While it is very much true that people within Apple are very much committed to the Mac and truly love the Mac, it is also true that the focal point for the company is the iPhone.
And as for those new Mac desktop updates? Gurman says to expect a port refresh for the iMac (USB-C) and better graphics chips some time in 2017.
This story originally appeared on Gizmodo
The Cheapest NBN 1000 Plans
Looking to bump up your internet connection and save a few bucks? Here are the cheapest plans available.


text:
This article was originally published Oct. 19, 2014, and updated Feb. 16, 2016.
One of the most exciting discoveries of the past decade has been graphene, a simple two-dimensional sheet of pure carbon atoms. Its production was revolutionized by two scientists at the University of Manchester (who applied sticky tape to a block of graphite, such as that found in pencil lead), who won the 2010 Nobel Prize in physics thanks to the potential implications of the nano-material.
What’s so special about graphene?
Perhaps the better question is what’s NOT amazing about graphene, a substance with physical properties that boggle the imagination.
For example, graphene is the strongest material ever discovered, 100 times stronger than diamond, and 200 times stronger than steel. It’s also amazingly flexible, and more conductive than copper, both in terms of heat and electricity.
Why this matters
Graphene possesses some super cool attributes. Is that really going to change the world? Actually, that’s exactly what might happen, given the incredible potential applications of this material to the world of electronics, energy storage, telecommunications, renewable power, healthcare, and telecommunications.
Brian Cox, professor of particle physics at Manchester University and a leader on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), believes that graphene has the potential to become a multibillion-dollar or even multitrillion-dollar industry.
Graphene applications in computing
Now, I know what you’re thinking — “Multitrillion-dollar industry? There better be some REALLY amazing technological applications to back up a claim like that.” However, just take a look at what researchers around the world are doing with these flat sheets of carbon.
Graphene could have massive potential implications with regards to advancing computer technology. This is because, according to industry experts, copper wires (which currently conduct electricity in computer chips) will soon reach their miniaturization limit. Similarly, silicon-based chips, which are currently built on a scale of 14-20 nanometers (nm), are fast approaching their own size limitations of 7 nm, 5 nm, and 3 nm, according to IBM, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), and Applied Materials, respectively. Each company differs on how small they think silicon technology can get.
Graphene, due to its diminutive size and amazing thermal, electrical, and optical properties, will allow for further miniaturization and allow computers to continue on their historical track — doubling in power every two years (Moore’s law).
In addition, graphene can be used to create local fiber optic networks within an individual computer. This will make for faster, more energy-efficient and cheaper computers. In addition, because graphene is completely non-toxic, they’ll be more environmentally friendly as well.
Graphene applications in consumer electronics
Graphene also has the potential to completely disrupt the consumer electronics industry, especially when it comes to smartphones.
For example, according to the American Chemical Society, “Touch screens made with graphene as their conductive element could be printed on thin plastic instead of glass, so they would be light and flexible, which could make cell phones as thin as a piece of paper and foldable enough to slip into a pocket. … Because of graphene’s incredible strength, these cell phones would be nearly unbreakable.”
When can we expect the graphene age to begin?
As with any new and potentially world-changing technology, it will take many years for researchers to discover and refine graphene applications. In addition, a cheap and reliable manufacturing method must be devised to make graphene in massive, industrial-scale quantities, in order for its costs to be competitive with existing materials.
This is partially why, according to tech site Fudzilla, when Intel CEO Brian Krzanich was asked about the state of Intel’s graphene chip research, he said his R&D teams were making good progress but the technology was still a few generations away from commercial application. Specifically this means Intel won’t be introducing graphene chips this decade, though it eventually plans to.
However, despite graphene’s potential mass adoption being years away, there might still be a way for long-term investors to cash in.
Patent gold rush already underway
|Company||Number of Graphene Patent Families|
|IBM||64 (patents recently sold along with chip business)|
As the above table shows, Samsung is far and away the world’s leader in graphene patents, which might be worth billions of dollars in the future. One of the reasons its patent lead is so large is because of its close ties to Sungkyunkwan University, the second-leading patent holder in the world, located in Samsung’s home country of South Korea. In fact, Asia is the world’s dominant graphene research hub, with China and South Korea holding 43% of global graphene patents (the U.S. has 23%). In addition, six of the 10 top patent holders are located in Asia, with four of those being research universities.
The other major reason Samsung is so dominant in graphene patents is that it’s an industrial conglomerate involved in everything from batteries and smartphones to digital displays and medical equipment.
This has led the company to be expansive in its patent filings, whereas firms like IBM and Sandisk are more limited in their R&D efforts. While IBM and Sandisk were focused on computer chips and data storage applications (respectively), and IBM recently sold off its semiconductor business, Samsung sees disruptive, synergistic potential across many of its subsidiaries.
For example, Samsung SDI recently built a $600 million lithium ion battery factory (the largest in the country) in China’s Shaanxi province. Graphene’s energy storage applications could theoretically allow the company to leap generations ahead of its competitors, such as local rival and fellow battery manufacturer, LG Electronics.
How big of a potential market is graphene, really?
Despite its incredible promise, the current market for graphene (a speculative technology at this point) is still rather small — $20 million in 2014 and $24.4 million in 2015. However, this is expected to grow 35% annually over the next decade to $390 million/year.
Given the fact that the global smartphone market alone is expected to reach $837 billion/year by 2016, and wearables could reach $19 billion within five years, it’s not hard to see why Cox believes the market for graphene may eventually reach a multitrillion-dollar level.
So how do I invest in graphene?
Given the fact that graphene is still a material technology in its infancy, there is really no direct way for retail investors to get in on the ground floor of this potential world-changing megatrend. Samsung, Sandisk, and Intel are really the only ways for today’s investors to attempt to potentially get a piece of the future giant graphene pie.
Of these three companies, Samsung has the most to gain from graphene due to its large presence in the smartphone, battery, consumer electronics, and semiconductor markets. In other words, graphene represents a potential “kicker” to help boost performance — but investors should realize they represent only an indirect investment in this exciting nano-wonder material.
There is always a chance that these companies’ graphene R&D efforts fail. And in the meantime Samsung, Intel, and Sandisk are all facing increasing competitive pressures that threaten the profitability of their core businesses.
One of the best ways for long-term investors to profit from global economic megabooms is with “pick and shovel” providers of raw materials and services that fuel a major technological paradigm shift. Graphene represents just such a shift — however, as with any technology that promises to change the world, there is incredible risk involved with directly investing in a public company that represents a “pure play.”
In the coming years, there may be several graphene-based IPOs, which may come to market wildly overvalued, and several may go bankrupt. An indirect investment in the likes of Samsung, Intel or Sandisk could prove a much safer long-term investment, however, investors need to realize that even if these tech giants end up becoming the dominant players in the graphene industry, this doesn’t necessarily mean that it will translate to solid earnings growth over the next decade or so.
Until the graphene industry begins to show some clarity regarding how companies will be able to monetize its potential applications, investors may be better off just watching from the sidelines.


text:
Leszek Godlewski announced on Twitter that he will be leaving the Linux porting business, but the news isn't that bad. One of the original coders is taking over the Linux port of Darksiders.
I'm leaving the Linux porting business, but Darksiders is in good hands — one of the original Vigil coders is taking it over from me!— Leszek Godlewski (@TheIneQuation) November 14, 2014
It's sad, but we can't really argue with his reasoning. Working remotely has a lot of drawbacks, and it's not for everyone.
We will keep you posted when some more solid details about Darksiders comes in, until the next time folks!
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:


text:
Most business valuations are driven substantially by the corporate’s historic monetary statements, tempered by different elements resembling: location, model name, management and such. Hall added that the brand new model will probably be Ford’s “world B-car,” referring to the business designation for such small, gasoline-environment friendly autos. The automotive had great reception with the status auto market in the USA. Few people in 2007 envisioned the financial collapse of late 2008 resulting in the worst sales 12 months for cars in some 50 years for 2009.
Being a market leader and visionary, Toyota is now developing a car that will likely be powered only by photo voltaic energy. Another German car producer which is able to introduce diesel-powered autos in the U.S. next yr is Mercedes Benz. The present 350Z mannequin is the fifth generation of the Z automotive which was first launched by Nissan in 1970.
While Subaru may have posted a 5.four p.c sales slip for the month of March, the corporate’s passenger car sales increased by 1.7 p.c. Valuing new automotive dealerships has to do with projecting future profits and alternatives based upon the “dynamics” of the actual dealership being valued and of the car enterprise itself.
Main the way for the international model are, of course, the surging Asian brands of Toyota, Honda, and Nissan. Fortunately although, the oil trade is clearly supporting the usage of diesel-powered vehicles. Many markets like this are opening up around the world and international auto-makers are enterprise creating alliances and making offers to regulate labor costs and faucet into these markets.
The transfer by Hyundai to supply luxury automobiles is to boost revenue within the U.S. market and this could counter the declining demand for his or her autos in the South Korean auto market. Subsequent year, it’s expected that European and Japanese car producers will likely be introducing diesel vehicles in the said auto markets.


text:
The Steel City has been ranked the number one worst city when it comes to our drivers, tied for the top spot with New York City. It’s the conclusion of a survey by EverQuote Inc., an online insurance.
Today, Blacklane Co-Founder and CEO Jens Wohltorf shares the story of how Blacklane went from one city to over 250 round the world. country of residence (analyzed by mobile phone numbers), and dire.
Here’s a quick way to summarize many young people’s attitudes. how they’re going to appeal to young car buyers. Their claims come as academic research confirms what many parents have suspected: Get.
Compare car insurance for older drivers, The IAM claimed that the number of drivers over 70 had passed four million, Cheap car insurance for older drivers.
Play over 1000 free racing games online, including car games, bike games, parking games and more on GamesFreak.net! New free games added daily!
Although it may not look like it at first glance, there’s plenty of change inside, underneath and outside the all-new 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. Our only gripe is that Chevy didn’t release all the.
These are to test for local customer needs,” he said. With Geely in the driver’s seat, Proton’s turnaround won’t stop at the SUV – the company will launch one new model every year. “We can guarantee w.
Car insurance; Young drivers box. Emergency phone numbers. About Car & Box Insurance from Tesco Bank. Tesco Bank Car Insurance.
The plan includes submission of detailed company information, verification that federal and state safety standards are met, certification of driver training, list of vehicles involved, routes for test.
Tesla claims its Semi, which could be recharged at the firm’s 1,000 free Supercharger stations worldwide, can save 20 percent over conventional transport rigs with fuel and insurance factored in—while.
Cheapest car insurance guaranteed or your money back. we are able to offer you competitive pricing over the phone. Car Insurance for Mature Drivers
I’vе been browsing on-line more than three hours lately, but I never discovered any fascinating аrticle liҝe yours. It’s pretty value enough for me.
Find the latest Wall Street Journal stories on tech companies, start-ups and personal technology, plus the latest reviews.
Valid Concerns About Joining Amway, What should I expect from amway, How Much Does It Cost To Join Amway, Amway vs College
Best Car Insurance For New Drivers Under 25 Earlier this year, then-23-year-old David purchased a new Chevrolet Cruze and was. Both in Canada and the US, 6 results. Drivers aged under
GamesRadar+ takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love.
Get the latest science news and technology news, read tech reviews and more at ABC News.
The department has already had a number of earlier successful prosecutions, including one of a man who advertised insurance on website Gumtree and another who set up four fake websites offering cheap.
Is sorting young drivers insurance becoming a. Quicker & Cheaper rates by phone complete the call me form during. Car Insurance for Young Drivers.
Autoblog brings you automotive news; expert reviews of cars, trucks, crossovers and SUVs; and pictures and video. Research and compare vehicles, find local dealers.
Single car; Young or new drivers;. cheap car insurance?. and you must provide the existing RAC Car Insurance policy number that the additional cars are to.
For Sweden: You don’t get loyalty credits, but for stupid cheap. an XBox 360 and a wifi router hooked up to a Verizon wireless modem. Amazing road trip vehicle, all for much cheaper than anything c.
BASKETBALL: Chatham Glenwood sophomore guard Peyton Allen, who has received interest from Illinois, has a scholarship offer from Oklahoma State. Allen attended Oklahoma State midnight madness. Allen a.
You’ve passed your test, and you’re ready to hit the road. But you’re shocked at the price of insurance – after all, young drivers’ car insurance can end up costing.
You still have time to sign up for. to get it on Xbox One or PC for a reduced price. This game is award-winning, in case you didn’t know. This is the second-best Disney animated movie of all time,
In an interview with ET Now, Mihir Vora, Director & CIO, Max Life Insurance, says he has gone. The point is we have a young population and a lot of cheap data is now available for mobile phone user.
For a phone app! (Or $40 for three months. that error text and offers a numbered menu of possible corrected versions. You just speak the number of the fix, and off you go. In Anywhere, the only way.
Car insurance costs are on the up, after it emerged that following a steady period of declining prices, premiums have now gone up for the first time since June 2011. Drivers can expect. are some ti.
Find cheap auto insurance in just minutes. Try this site to see auto insurance quotes and select the right deal for you. Make your purchase from the same location to.
The 10 cheapest cars for young drivers to insure. it’s a small car that’s cheap to run and competitively priced, other regulated insurance companies.
He’s the elderly, extremely nearsighted cartoon character who ends up in a heap of trouble every time he drives his car. drivers and talked with some experts in the field. Now I’m alarmed. Not just.
★ 6 Volts Battery – Recycle Car Battery Sf Car Battery Replacement In Vallejo Aa Battery Amp Hour Rating
On warm, humid nights in late spring and early summer, the iconic tree frogs of the Pine Barrens gather at ponds for their annual mating ritual. Join The New Jersey Conservation Foundation at the Fran.
The unveiled Fiat Chrysler Portal Concept car during the Fiat Chrysler press conference at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES2017) in Las Vegas The car of the future doesn’t just want to drive yo.
His own car was bought for a whopping. went to study the same program for the same number of years. In fact, it is underst.


text:
Kmart will close Portsmouth store
May 16. 2013 10:42PM
PORTSMOUTH — The Kmart store on Woodbury Avenue, which opened in 1978, will close in August, the company said this week.
The closure is part of a series of actions Sears Holding is taking to reduce ongoing expenses, adjust its asset base and “accelerate the transformation” of its business model, according to a statement issued by Howard Riefs, director of corporate communications, on Wednesday.
“These actions will better enable us to focus our investments on serving our customers and members through integrated retail — at the store, online and in the home,” Riefs said.
The Portsmouth store has 30 employees who will be given the opportunity to apply for positions at other Kmart and Sears stores. There are no plans for other store closures in New Hampshire, Riefs said.
The Portsmouth store will begin its liquidation sale June 2.


text:
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- A new trend in viral videos has St. Paul police concerned -- it's called "gallon smashing."
Teenagers are recording themselves at grocery stores picking up gallons of milk or juice, pretending to fall and spilling the liquid all over.
Police say just like the Harlem Shake or flash mobs, this is quickly gaining popularity with teens.
Just this past weekend, a 16-year-old was arrested for disorderly conduct and damage to property at the Midway Target when she tried to reenact the video.
"From damaging product, to spending time cleaning it up, and all the products the milk comes in contact with, it's a mess. And people can slip, creating the potential for a severe injury," said St. Paul Police Sgt. Paul Paulos.
for more features.


text:
There are currently no items in your cart
ASOS included an image of a 20-year-old student in a product listing after being mocked by a date. The result has sparked a conversation about using "real people" as models.
Power Retail talks to Naomi Shepherd from Facebook Australia, to learn how beauty brands can leverage platforms like Instagram and Facebook to boost brand awareness and increase conversions.
As part of Facebook and Instagram’s annual “Gift Guide” initiative, we talk to the owner of Spiritwoods Botanicals to learn how she uses social media to increase her business’s brand awareness.
General Pants is the latest fashion retailer to embrace the body confidence movement, launching its latest social media campaign – #NOFILTER.