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Chief operating officer Ivan Menezes put fears to bed that the distiller's sales would suffer from a restriction on "inter-governmental luxury banqueting" that banned high-level military officials from indulging in alcohol during official visits. Speaking at the Consumer Analyst Group of Europe on Monday, Diageo COO Menezes stated:
Our business in China is not that dependent on the classic institutional sales and classic gifting, which is where the downturn is happening right now. While our Shui Jing Fang baijiu business is an ultra-premium business, it's less dependent on institutional sales than the big Chinese players. So we've taken less of an impact there. ... We were not that heavily reliant (on gifting) to begin with, and we're just at the starting stages of building the business in China."
The stricter regulation, which was introduced near the end of 2012, caused local competitors' share prices to fall -- including those of Kweichow Moutai, the distiller of popular Chinese beverage baijiu -- as the result of the tighter controls started to become apparent. Diageo, though, has continued its strong performance from the beginning of the year, with the shares having smashed through the 2,000 pence mark to sit at 2,020 pence at the time of writing.
If you're looking for another company that should soar in price, we've pinpointed our favorite growth share and produced a special report in which we evaluate its finances, risks, and growth prospects going forward. Simply click here to get your copy delivered to your inbox immediately -- completely free.


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4K-The game changer for HD
Foo Tuan Tong (TT) is our guest blogger. TT is the Manager, System Engineering Sales in Cisco SPVSS covering APJ and holds a B.Eng. in Electrical Engineering from National University of Singapore and an M.B.A. from UCLA Anderson School of Management.
We all know what ‘HD’ and ‘Full HD means’, but now a new term has hit the airwaves – ‘4K’ or ‘4K Ultra HD’. It’s not just a buzzword. 4K something so revolutionary that it’s redefining the future of television. So what is 4K and 4K Ultra HD?
Basically, it’s about image resolution. 4K televisions have four times the number of pixels of Full HD televisions. And this means better contrast, sharper images, richer tones and detailed image quality – the consumer is watching a virtually flawless picture and, of course, enjoying an enhanced viewing experience.
From a broadcaster’s point of view, providing DTH services in 4K resolution enables viewers to receive digital cinema-quality television content. The picture is better and so is overall stability – important when viewing content with fast-moving scene changes. This becomes even more pertinent for live telecasts of entertainment or sporting events.
The screening of major sporting events has marked some of the milestones in the history of broadcasting and television viewing. While the 1984 Asian Games in Delhi brought colour television to mainstream viewing, the recent ICC Cricket World Cup was the first major event to be broadcast live in 4K resolution in India. The response to this has been phenomenal from everyone – viewers, broadcasters and advertisers. This, we believe, marks the beginning of a new era in Indian television.
Know more about Cisco 4K Technology and Encoding and streaming technology visit-http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/solutions/service-provider/sp-video-products.html
Global Launch of Cisco 4K in India –http://newsroom.cisco.com/release/1596032/Cisco-Selected-by-Videotron-d2h-to-Enable-4K-Broadcast-_1Tags:

domain: news


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EEK! The day is finally here — a new show is on Disney+!
Disney is constantly coming up with movies and shows across Disney Animation, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and more.
Not only do we get to look forward to seeing new Disney works in movie theaters, but each month Disney+ announces new releases. If you are a huge Disney entertainment fan, then we’ve got some great news for you!
We got a new look at Splash Mountain’s makeover, learned about potential expansions and changes in Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, saw some new movie trailers, and even found out that a SUPER popular show is coming back to Disney World. But, with all of the SUPER big announcements, a lot of other big news was overshadowed. So, let’s take a look at some of the other big Disney news from D23 Expo!
There are so many series on Disney+ already, but a NEW one is on its way.
We previously heard about Iwájú — a first-of-its-kind science fiction series coming to Disney+, and now we’ve got more info!
Recently, Disney held its Investor Day conference and shared SO MUCH info about SO MANY new Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, Disney live-action, and Disney animated shows and movies, along with new Nat Geo content and updates on Hulu shows as well!
Basically, it was an entertainment OVERLOAD. And while some of the new things announced will premiere in theaters, MOST of the announcements related to shows and movies of all kinds coming to Disney+. It was a LOT. So, today we’re breaking it down for you and sharing ALL (yes, ALL) of the shows and movies discussed during Investor Day that are coming soon to Disney+!
As much as we adore remakes of past Disney movies, it’s refreshing to see something totally new and unique!
We’ve seen a complete variety of entertainment coming to Disney+ in the future from the Walt Disney Company’s Investor Day, but one show in particular has caught our attention.


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Thought the British car industry was dead? Then think again; the UK domestic car making business is as vibrant, diverse, productive and successful as it ever was and, this week, Autocar proves it.
In a special twelve-page snapshot, we take the temperature of an industry worth 1.7 million cars a year, and employing over 50,000 people at 27 factories nationwide. Over the course of nine days and 2000 miles, we visited every one of them - and you can find out what we found in this week's magazine.
'On the day we visited, one plant was presented with demands for major improvements in quality and efficiency,' the report explains, 'and the closure of another famous address has since been announced. But don't confuse this with the bad old days: far worse is happening elsewhere, and there's never been a better time to freeze frame the great British car industry.'
Join our journey in Autocar magazine


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Elle Darby’s clothing brand has released a statement and fans are begging her to come back
‘We are nothing without you’
It’s been a good few months since Elle Darby and Connor Swift left the internet following a collection of their offensive tweets resurfacing after a decade. She has lost thousands of followers and entirely disappeared completely off the internet until this week when her clothing company, Angelle which she and Connor established in 2019, released a statement to those who have previously purchased items from them.
A few days ago, someone on TikTok posted this video showing an email from Angelle Collection, Elle Darby’s clothing brand. It says: “As you are likely to know, our founders were recently at the front of public media criticism for past comments. Much like all of you, the team and supporting members of our Angelle and SWFT operations were disappointed and do not support the words that were shared. Elle and Connor have made their statements of apology and are taking some time away from social media.”
@ellamayhought0n Reply to @jxssbe updates on the Elle Darby and Connor Swift situation – let me know what you think⬇ #elledarby #angellecollection ♬ original sound – Ella May Houghton
The statement continues: “Angelle and SWFT employ and support a team of people, who continue to be committed to the original core values; positivity, community and inclusivity. We are grateful for your support since the brands started. We are nothing without you; the community that joined our journey. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. During this difficult time, the customer service team has dealt with a large volume of messages over the last eight weeks. We have done our very best to respond to everyone, answer questions and manage exchanges and refunds. Thank you for your patience during this time.
“We have taken the last few months to reflect on how we manage our business and understand what we can change, and we will be making changes going forward.” It then ends signing off with “The Angelle and SWFT team”. However, for the first time since December 29 2021, Angelle posted on Instagram showcasing some items in their new collection and the comments are full of people calling for Elle Darby to return to the internet.
One of the top comments says: “We all make mistakes, you have made mistakes, I have made mistakes, they have made mistakes. Hope Elle feels comfortable enough to come back soon. It’s not as if they didn’t say sorry, could understand if Elle had stood by the comments she said but she apologised and acknowledged she did wrong.”
Another comment says: “Lots of keyboard warriors in the comments. If you don’t support someone or their business, just don’t support them. Don’t waste your energy posting negative comments.”
Someone else on TikTok posted this video where they shared that Elle no longer restricts her comment sections. And similarly to Angelle, Elle Darby’s comment sections are full of people begging her to return to social media. In Elle’s most recent post from back in December, someone commented: “Please come back. This will all blow over and no one will remember. Soon they will find something to hate. Please, the longer you leave it the harder it will be for you. I hope you, Connor and Saint are all okay and happy.”
Another person wrote on Elle’s Instagram: “Your racist tweets did affect me. But only because I didn’t expect that from you. However, it was a long time ago. I just hope you’ve learned from that. Everyone deserves a second chance.” Someone else said Elle should try to forgive herself and move forward. They commented: “Just checking on here to see if you’ve posted anything. Just to let you know you are missed, you are loved and you are forgiven. We all say and do stupid things especially when we are young, recognising mistakes and apologising for them is what is important and allows you to move forward. Forgive yourself and move forward hun, we miss you.”


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Less than six months after the company’s first app, children’s entertainment company Hullabalu has released its second installment of the Pandora series. But this time, the tale of Pandora, a plucky and courageous panda bear on a mission to find her parents, opens the door to the company’s strategy for releasing content.
“There’s a lot of amazing content out there that is being transferred to apps,” says Hullabalu founder Suzanne Xie. “But they haven’t capitalized on creating content on apps themselves.”
Hullabalu raised $1.8 million earlier this year from a lengthy list of funders, including Reddit creator Alexis Ohanian, to tackle children’s entertainment for the tablet generation. The company’s first app, Pan: The Fearless Beribolt, was released in June of this year and climbed its way to the top of the iTunes book section. Perhaps even more interesting, Xie said that the first app has seen an average of 15-minute periods of engagement — quite a long time, considering the attention span of most four-year-olds.
“We’re also seeing about a quarter of our users coming back and playing our app every week,” Xie added. “Which is really high engagement.”
And it’s no secret why Hullabalu is finding success on the tablet: One of the fastest growing demographics for tablets is kids. According to research from Mixpanel from September of this year, 77 percent of children’s app activity happens on tablets, compared to just 10 percent on mobile phones. Data from Nielsen corroborates that outlook in a study from last year, which reported that more than three-quarters of tablet-owning parents allow their children to interact with the device, and 20 percent would encourage the behavior if there were more educational games involved. Xie said that Pandora’s story is designed to not only delight and inform kids who have yet to hit kindergarten, but is packed with little references and themes that give something extra for older kids (and parents).
“We wanted to create content that’s enjoyable for anyone at any age,” Xie said. “We also wanted to create a story that allows kids to grow up with it. As they age, they will be able to look back on it and see more things.”
The formula of Hullabalu’s second app, Pan: Chasing the Keeper, keeps largely to the former installment’s tone and style: Pandora reaches the rabbit-populated Karakorum Keep, where she embarks on a friendship with a personality foil named Chase. However, instead of wrapping the story up neatly, the app ends on an ominous note that reads more like a first chapter than a standalone storybook. The app is structured that way to set up for the upcoming five installments of Pandora’s story, Xie said.
“In these six books, she makes friends and she really does grow up,” Xie explained. “By the end of the story, she’s no longer this young panda. She’s come into her own.”
The concept is rather clever: by utilizing cliffhangers, Hullabalu hooks in curious kids who are eager to follow Pan on her journey. It could also lead to loyalty, and continued installment purchases. Xie did not shed too much light on the company’s future content strategy, but did indicate that each part of the story will have its own app.
“We’re also releasing mini-apps within the coming months that will also be companion activities for kids as they play through the stories with Pan,” Xie said.
Children are already becoming an important demographic for the tablet market, but Hullabalu is entering a space that remains relatively sparse. While proprietary characters like Elmo and Dora are at the forefront of kids’ tablet media, Pandora was born for mobile. It will be interesting to see whether her character can transcend the tablet, and become a star in the fickle world of kids media.


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The Pitch Madison Advertising Report, the most awaited report on predictions of ad spends in the media and advertising industry, is all set to be released in Mumbai today. The report, launched by Pitch magazine of the exchange4media Group in partnership with Madison Media, tracks and analyses how and where advertisers are spending their money and how much advertising monies were spent on different media verticals the previous year, besides predicting growth trends for the next year. The special report, in its twelfth year now, aims at understanding the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for marketers and various media – Print, TV, Radio, OOH, Digital and Cinema.
Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison World will present the highlights of the report, analysing its findings. Shri Jitendra Shankar Mathur, Special Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, will address the gathering and also participate in a high-power panel discussion on the ‘Media’s Make-in-India Story’ along with media moguls Punit Goenka, MD and CEO, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, Benoy Roychowdhury, Executive Director, HT Media, Ashok Venkatramani, CEO, ABP News Network and Tarun Katial, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited. Sam Balsara will moderate the panel, engaging the participants in a discussion on what the government should do to strengthen media and what media can do to strengthen the government’s agenda of economic growth.
At the event, VL Rajesh, CEO, ITC Foods will deliver a talk on ‘Marketing through the lens of a CEO’, while Bharat Puri, CEO, Pidilite Industries will share his views on ‘What Indian marketers get right and what they can learn from multinationals’. Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors will speak on why TV is the evergreen medium, and Pradeep Shrivastava, Marketing Director, Reliance Jio will talk of content as the new arsenal in a marketer’s kitty. Vikram Sakhuja, CEO, Madison Media Group will decipher for the audience why advertisers don’t get the best out of media.
Over the years, the Pitch Madison Advertising Report has become a point of reference for marketers, media owners, media buying and planning professionals to stay updated on industry trends and key developments in various mediums. Besides the growth report of different mediums of media in terms of revenue and forms, the report includes additional information such as top category spenders, India’s Top 50 advertisers, amongst other insights.


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Yakima mail to be processed in Pasco
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) -- The Postal Service plans to start processing Yakima's mail in Pasco.
The Seattle district manager, Yul Melonson, says the move could save $1.2 million a year and eliminate as many as 19 jobs.
Consolidating the Pasco Mail Processing Facility will not change local mail delivery. And, full retail services will still be available at Yakima's main post office.


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That little green robot must be struggling to catch his breath.
Sony appears to be close to ending a two-week long outage of its PlayStation Network. The company said late Thursday that it is in the final stages of internal testing of the new system, but it stopped short of saying when the popular online gaming s...
Sony said it has found no link between an attack on its PlayStation Network and Qriocity services and Internet activist group Anonymous, which had earlier targeted its systems.
Sony's PlayStation Network and Qriocity online services will begin a phased resumption this week, after the company took them offline in response to a "very sophisticated" intrusion, the company said Sunday.
Sony is expected to provide its most detailed update yet on Sunday on a hack that hit the PlayStation Network and the status of personal information and credit card numbers of up to 77 million customers.
A U.S. congressional committee has asked Sony Computer Entertainment to explain several issues surrounding the massive potential leak of information on customers of its PlayStation Network.
Sony may offer users some form of compensation for the outage, now in its 8th day, of the PlayStation Network and Qriocity online services, its U.S. unit said late Thursday.
This is a timeline of major events associated with the attack on Sony's PlayStation Network and Qriocity online services.
Sony's top executive in charge of its games division appeared in front of journalists in Tokyo on Tuesday but failed to address an outage of the company's PlayStation Network that is now in its sixth day and is affecting up to 75 million customers.
Sony has yet to determine the full scope of an attack on its PlayStation Network and Qriocity services that has left more than 75 million people without access for more than four days.
The outage of Sony's PlayStation Network and Qriocity service, now in its fourth day, looks set to continue after the company said on Sunday that it is "rebuilding" its system to better guard against attacks.
An unexplained outage of Sony's PlayStation Network and Qriocity services entered its third day Saturday, with no clear details on when the service might be up and running again.
It's the end of a very short era as Sony's abortive experiment in a digital distribution-only platform quietly dies.
Have you heard the news? Despite every analysis we've seen over the past two years about Android dominating the mobile market, Apple's iOS is the biggest mobile operating system by a landslide.
Cisco's recent announcement that it was closing its Flip mini-camcorder business got us thinking. It's pretty clear that today's smartphones, with their excellent HD video cameras, are partly to blame for the Flip's demise. But how many other consume...
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The company will use what it calls a Proof-of-Benefit mechanism, saying it is the only sustainability-focused blockchain unicorn in the world.
Blockchain layer 1 network 5ire has raised $100 million in Series A funding from U.K.-based conglomerate Sram and Mram, it said Friday.
5ire, which is incorporated in Dubai, said in a press release it plans to use the funds to expand into Asia, North America and Europe while keeping India as the hub of operations and core area of focus.
The funding values 5ire at $1.5 billion, arguably making it both the world’s first blockchain unicorn with sustainability at its core and the fastest growing blockchain in India, it said. 5ire’s business model is to embed the for-benefit paradigm by highly incentivizing practices that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), CEO and co-founder Pratik Gauri said. The company calls the implementation Proof-of-Benefit.
Gauri added that 5ire will empower decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) and working groups to help accelerate the implementation of the U.N.’s 17 SDG goals.
Sailesh Hiranandani, the founder and chairman of Sram & Mram, said 5ire’s blockchain is one that “governments and large corporations will use” in the near future, giving the example of Malaysia.
“The Far East is very proactive and keen on adopting blockchain, like Malaysian Immigration and The Health Card app,” Hiranandani said in an email. “We feel entry into the market with a layer 1 partner which is sustainable is ülkü and 5ire being a sustainable blockchain is perfect for us. This will benefit our group to communicate on blocks as we deal with various countries and have offices in over 8 countries,” said Hiranandani.
Sram & Mram comprises 10 companies across more than 35 locations. Its interests include agriculture, artificial intelligence, hedge fund management, media and publishing, hospitality and IT.
Gauri founded 5ire in August 2021 with fellow Indians Prateek Dwivedi and Vilma Matilla. Gauri and Dwivedi, friends for more than a decade, came up with the idea at an Indian tea shop writing the first thoughts down on a napkin, he said.
The company embodies the fifth industrial revolution, Gauri said, adding that “the secret sauce of our idea is to not use Proof-of-Stake or Proof-of-Work but instead reward sustainable behavior by using Proof-of-Benefit.”
The company raised $21 million in its seed round by October with participation from Alphabit, Marshland Capital and Moonrock Capital among others.


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Yum Brands Inc (NYSE: YUM) continued to be hit by China's bird flu scare as its same-store sales (SSS) dropped 19% from a year earlier in May. However, the decline was much better than the 29% decline seen in April.
The fast food giant's SSS in China has never bucked the downward trend after the contaminated chicken supply scandal that first surfaced late last year. KFC restaurants in China were found to use chickens fed with excess antibiotics that would shorten their growth period.
Yum Brands' SSS in China dropped 20% year on year in January and February combined, with SSS at KFC falling 24% and SSS at Pizza Hut slightly down 2%.
Its SSS tumbled 29% year on year in April when a new strain of bird flu was detected in China. SSS at KFC plummeted 36% in the month, while Pizza Hut benefited from the trade-off, registering a 5% SSS growth.
In May, SSS decline at KFC was subdued to 25%, and SSS at Pizza Hut rose 12%.
In its latest filing to the New York Stock Exchange, Yum Brands said it expected the bird flu scare to affect its business in China for just a short period of time as it did in the past and forecast an SSS growth in the fourth quarter.
Yum Brands' revenue from China amounted to $6.9 billion in 2012, representing 50.6% of its total revenue. It opened 889 restaurants in China last year, taking the total count to over 4,200, and plans to open at least 700 this year, according to a Yum Brands statement in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Separately, McDonald's Corp (NYSE: MCD) said earlier this week that its global SSS was up 2.6% in May but the growth in the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa regions was tepid at 0.9%. Although it didn't break out data for China, McDonald's blamed the bird flu for the slowdown.
McDonald's has begun selling its first rice product at dinner time in China as a new source of profits taking on KFC that started localizing food in the country more than a decade ago.
The Golden Arches authorized franchises in China in August 2011. It currently operates 1,700 restaurants in China and plans to increase the number to 2,000 by the end of this year, where about 10% are franchises.
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Internet banking transactions double as users find ease
Transactions through internet banking in Bangladesh more than doubled in the last fiscal year as a huge number of people, especially the young generation, are using the platform to carry out financial activities.
In 2021-22, transactions shot up 122.60 per cent year-on-year to Tk 224,958 crore, according to data from the Bangladesh Bank.
Banks started taking up a wide range of initiatives in 2010 as part of their efforts to encourage customers to adopt the digital window.
But it was the outbreak of Covid-19 in early 2020 that turbocharged internet banking as the virus forced people to turn to technologies to communicate, work, study and find entertainment.
Thanks to the growing use of internet banking, people can deposit and transfer funds any time, from anywhere, eliminating the necessity to visit a physical branch of banks. Besides, they can comfortably recharge their mobile phones, and pay utility bills and rents.
Thanks to the growing use of internet banking, people can deposit and transfer funds any time, from anywhere, eliminating the necessity to visit a physical branch of banks. Besides, they can comfortably recharge their mobile phones, and pay utility bills and rents
Abu Masum, an official of a garment factory in Gazipur, performs most of his financial transactions through internet banking owing to his hectic schedule.
"Internet banking has simplified the life of the people, particularly for those who are very busy. I would never have done it all after doing my job without this new form of banking."
Banks have rolled out various products to increase their presence in the digital space. For instance, almost all banks have introduced mobile applications.
The availability of smartphones at affordable prices has contributed to the expansion of internet banking in recent times.
Mohammed Monirul Moula, managing director of Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd, says thanks to the fast-growing internet users and availability of smartphones and digital services, internet banking has gained huge popularity over the years and brought visible changes to customers' banking habits.
IBBL has been providing internet banking services to its customers through its iBanking platform since 2007.
Currently, it has around seven lakh internet banking users and 17,000 transactions are made every day using this service.
Launched in 2020, Cellfin is another internet banking app of IBBL.
People can avail banking facilities such as account opening, remittance transfer and ticket purchase through the app, said Moula.
Brac Bank introduced Astha mobile app in April 2021 and it has gained immense popularity among clients within a short time, said M Sabbir Hossain, a deputy managing director of the private commercial bank.
In June 2019, the number of internet banking active users of the bank was 20,000 and it has now risen to 1.5 lakh. About Tk 2,800 crore was transacted through the platform in July this year.
"We conduct promotional campaigns to increase the number of clients and make the service popular. We levy no annual charge on internet banking transactions though we could have realised the fee in some cases," Hossain said.
Brac Bank plans to invest more to expand its digital banking operation as it has set a target to double the number of clients within the next two years.
In Bangladesh, the number of customers using internet banking stood at 5.35 crore in June, an increase of 47 per cent from a year earlier, BB data showed.
The central bank has provided support to banks at the height of the pandemic so that they could expand their internet banking operations.
For example, the central bank, in September 2020, raised the limit of inter-bank fund transfers to Tk 5 lakh per day from Tk 2 lakh.
It also doubled the ceiling of a single transaction to Tk 1 lakh from Tk 50,000 and permitted customers to settle as many as 10 transactions per day from five in the past.
A central banker says branch-led banking is already on the wane in keeping with the spread of internet banking, which cut the operational costs of financial institutions at the end of the day.
"This also benefits clients as they can opt out of going to branches to settle transactions. This has helped them utilise their valuable time on other productive purposes."
The central bank's platforms – Bangladesh Real Time Gross Settlement (BD-RTGS) and the Bangladesh Electronic Funds Transfer Network (BEFTN) -- have popularised internet banking as well.
Customers can settle transactions of large volumes instantly through the RTGS while the BEFTN helps them carry out retail transactions within a day.
"Various types of payments, ranging from paying utility bills and tuition fees to booking tickets can be now made from any place, which was unimaginable six to seven years ago," said HM Mostafizur Rahman, head of the retail business division of Dhaka Bank.
Dhaka Bank introduced mobile banking app "Dhaka Bank Go" in 2016.
"The coronavirus pandemic has been a turning point for internet banking. It has globally gained huge traction," said Rahman.
"Some 10 per cent of transactions are carried out through internet banking and this will increase by several folds within the next few years."


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Vaping, once considered a revolutionary alternative to traditional smoking, has emerged as a widely debated topic in recent years. This article aims to explore the intricate landscape of vaping, shedding light on its trends, potential risks, and the ongoing debates surrounding its use.
The Rise of Vaping Culture:
Vaping, the act of inhaling vapor produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device, gained popularity in the early 2000s as a purportedly safer alternative to smoking. E-cigarettes, commonly known as vapes, work by heating a liquid (commonly containing nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals) to create an aerosol, which is then inhaled.
One of the factors contributing to the rise of vaping is the perception that it is less harmful than traditional smoking. Proponents argue that vaping eliminates the combustion process, reducing the exposure to harmful tar and other toxic substances found in cigarette smoke. Additionally, the diverse range of flavors and the absence of the distinctive tobacco odor have attracted a new demographic to the world of vaping.
Health Concerns and Debates:
While vaping has been positioned as a harm lost mary mo5000 reduction tool, concerns about its safety persist. The long-term health effects of inhaling the chemicals present in vape aerosols are not yet fully understood. Some studies suggest potential links between vaping and respiratory issues, cardiovascular problems, and adverse effects on lung health. Furthermore, the addictive nature of nicotine, a common component in vaping liquids, raises concerns about the potential for dependence among users.
The prevalence of vaping among young people has sparked additional worries. The enticing flavors and discreet nature of vape pens have made them appealing to adolescents, leading to an increase in youth vaping. Critics argue that this trend could contribute to a new generation becoming addicted to nicotine, undoing progress made in reducing smoking rates.
Governments and health organizations around the world are grappling with the challenge of regulating vaping products. Some countries have implemented strict regulations to curb the marketing and availability of vaping devices, especially to minors. Others are adopting harm reduction strategies, recognizing that some smokers may find vaping a less harmful alternative.
In the United States, the debate over vaping has led to a series of regulatory changes. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been working to address the youth vaping epidemic, implementing measures to restrict the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and limit the marketing of these products to young people.
The Role of Vaping in Smoking Cessation:
While concerns about the health impacts of vaping persist, some argue that it can play a positive role in smoking cessation. Smokers who have struggled to quit through traditional methods may find vaping as a less harmful way to satisfy their nicotine cravings. However, the effectiveness of vaping as a smoking cessation tool is still a subject of ongoing research and debate.
Vaping, once seen as a game-changer in the tobacco industry, has become a complex and polarizing issue. Balancing the potential benefits of harm reduction with the risks associated with vaping remains a significant challenge for public health officials, policymakers, and society at large. As research continues to uncover the long-term effects of vaping, the conversation surrounding this phenomenon will undoubtedly evolve, shaping the future of tobacco control strategies and public health initiatives.


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The team behind Alan Wake 2 confirmed that the game is in “full production” and “is playable from start to finish”.
Remedy Entertainment updated us on their progress in their most recent investor report. While acknowledging a “revenue dip” in the final quarter of the 2022 financial year, the studio says that “the extended scope and budget related to the development of alan wake 2 (opens in new tab)” should bring better results this year.
“Alan Wake 2 is in full production. Soon, the game will have all the content ready and will be playable from start to finish,” he said (opens in new tab) CEO Tero Virtala.
“Next, we’ll move on to polishing the experience. Alan Wake is a unique brand that has high value to the company today. Alan Wake Remastered has yet to generate royalties. However, we expect sales to increase as Alan Wake 2 releases.” becomes imminent, and fans and new players alike want to experience the original story on next-gen consoles.”
The report didn’t get us any closer to a release date – or even a release window – but it did reveal that Control 2 has “detailed concepts around the game’s vision and all creative areas, including gameplay, storytelling and art”, while its secret live service game, Codename Condor, “remains in the proof-of-concept stage”.
In a recent interview with GamesRadar+ (opens in new tab)Alan Wake 2 game director Kyle Rowley confirmed that players do not need to have played other Remedy games (opens in new tab) – including the first Alan Wake game or the remastered version – to enjoy Alan Wake 2.
“When we were creating the concept for Alan Wake 2, we had in mind that we wanted to create an experience that was welcoming to everyone,” says Rowley, “both new players who may not be familiar with Alan Wake or the Remedy Connected Universe and our fans, who have been on the journey with us and have enjoyed previous Remedy games.”
“After 13 years trapped in the sweltering depths of Lake Cauldron, Remedy Entertainment is about to free Alan Wake from the darkness that has gripped his mind,” wrote Josh in his excellent film Big in 2023, After a decade of dreams, Remedy is finally ready to make Alan Wake 2 a reality (opens in new tab).
“After such a long departure, few expected to see Alan Wake 2 come to fruition – thankfully, creative director Sam Lake never lost faith that one day, once again, we would wield the light. ‘I feel like I never left Alan Wake behind There was always an intention to come back to it, there was always more story to tell, and the characters and setting were too precious to forget.
‘The story kept growing and evolving over the years, and we created a new concept between each project. this time after To control (opens in new tab)everything finally fell into place’.”
Alan Wake 2 is scheduled to release later this year in 2023 and is set to release on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
Here they are next games 2023 (opens in new tab) we really can’t wait.


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McDonald’s Corp. has revived a popular TV spot from last year in conjunction with its ‘NFL Kickoff Payoff’ promotion, which began Friday. ‘Perfect Season,’ an acclaimed spot from Leo Burnett Co., Chicago, that celebrates football as played by kids, is back. One new spot Burnett created for the promotion plays off the earlier commercial, with a coach telling New York Jets quaterback Boomer Esiason he can’t go to McDonald’s because ‘it’s only halftime.’
The promotion includes instant-win gamepieces and NFL Fantasy prizes including trips to Super Bowl XXVII in January. Customers also can redeem gamepieces for special NFL trading cards or discounts on NFL merchandise.
Copyright Adweek L.P. (1993)
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Last month, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, voiced privacy concerns about Uber in an open letter to the company.
This week, Uber's response letter to Franken was published on the senator's website. The letter, written by Uber’s managing counsel for privacy Katherine Tassi, asserts that Uber is committed to protecting its users' privacy.
Tassi stated that Mohrer accessed BuzzFeed News reporter Johana Bhuiyan’s personal information twice: once was to send her Uber-related notifications she didn't receive, and the other was because she was in an Uber vehicle and running 30 minutes late to meet Mohrer at Uber's office for a meeting. “Mr. Mohrer wanted to meet her in the lobby," Tassi said.
According to Tassi, Uber determined that Mohrer's judgment to track Bhuiyan's location was "poor," and that he'd been disciplined accordingly.
Sen. Franken wasn't too thrilled with Uber's response.
"I recently pressed Uber to explain the scope, transparency, and enforceability of their privacy policies. While I'm pleased that they replied to my letter, I am concerned about the surprising lack of detail in their response," Franken said in a press release on his website.
"Quite frankly, they did not answer many of the questions I posed directly to them. Most importantly, it still remains unclear how Uber defines legitimate business purposes for accessing, retaining, and sharing customer data. I will continue pressing for answers to these questions."
In Uber's letter, Tassi also addresses Uber's controversial God View feature, which lets individuals at the company see, in real time, where all of Uber's drivers and customers who have hailed a vehicle are. She says Uber has shown the feature to third parties due to its “compelling visual display."
In September, venture capital investor Peter Sims wrote a post detailing how Uber used God View to track an Uber ride he took in New York City and displayed it without his consent at Uber's Chicago launch party, as a form of entertainment.
Tassi says Uber is scaling back which employees have access to the sensitive information, and she stressed that God View could only be viewed for "legitimate business purposes," including Uber employees working in “operations or other areas, like fraud prevention."


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Amazon.com Inc. acquirer the Souq.com in $580 million in the year 2017 to penetrate in a Middle East market which was said to be the biggest deal ever made in Arab.
Souq.com that is recognized as the “Amazon of the Middle East” that has 45 million of traffic per month, which retails in electronics, fashion products & accessories, home décor & appliances, and other goods & services. It’s said to be the biggest online shopping store in the Arab world.
For Amazon, Souq.com is like a gold mine which is expanding the e-commerce market in the Middle East rapidly with the adoption of technology by the population. As Saudi Arab, Kuwait, and United Arab Emirates are rated as the top global markets for the penetration of mobile phones.
Why Amazon acquired Souq.com?
Sometimes query arise in the mind that why Amazon acquired Souq? It can be entered in the region too by its brand name. The simple answer is: setting up own company will take a long time to acquire the customer’s, requires more efforts & patience, need to compete for the competitive website, and to execute logistic strategies.
If focusing on other factors then expert has other statistics regarding the Amazon acquisition of Souq. According to experts, Amazon analysis the Middle East market from a long time & extract out the key terms that will be beneficial after buying the Arab largest e-commerce store i.e. Souq.com
Now Amazon has the backup of 75,000 merchants with 2 million plus products to sell in 30+ categories. That will automate the need and requirement of the supply to perform the e-commerce operation.
The acquirement of Souq makes Amazon pass the legislation as all policies and terms were approved. If Amazon, set-up its own in the region than it has to pass the legislation and other terms & conditions to do business in the country. Here Amazon proudly says itself; proper logistics are the essential things that save Amazon.com from the hassle of trial and error.
Finally, Amazon is generating huge revenue with Souq that’s accessed extensively in the region.
How Amazon is using its New Company as Sale Channel?
After the acquisition of Souq.com, Amazon start implemented its strategies on its new company to make it their worth sale channel in the Arab world. In its own name-tag – the Amazon begins marketing its own products (Amazon Echo Dot, Amazon Tap, and Kindle Oasis) on its new company. There is a section on the navigation bar of Souq store i.e. Amazon Global Store where the company is marketing its own products in diverse categories.
From the reports, it has been revealing out that the Amazon is successfully generating the double the revenue via Souq in two years of acquisition. The merchants from all nearby countries are connecting to sell products in the Middle East. Over 4 million of products with 45 categories are available at the store.
Two years before, the recorded traffic on Souq store is 45 million per month and know it crossed 53 million. It’s a tremendous growth that reflects the logistics executed on the backend are much powerful. A large population is recorded from the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arab who mostly turn down on the store during the sales like Black Friday, White Friday, Daily Souq deals, and discount offered on selected products.
One of the leading factors behind the success of the Amazon new sale channel is Sale & Discount offers on different categories throughout the year. To stable, the customer on the store for the long term the company introduces a separate section for Daily Deals where thousands of deals and offers are customized for the shoppers.
Today Amazon has a strong backbone in the Middle East with a huge back-up of 50 plus million consumers and for sure it’s planning to amaze the people with their upcoming projects


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Keeping Up with the Kardashians star Kylie Jenner is worth $900m (£680m) at just 20 years of age, says Forbes.
The business magazine said the social media star is on track to become "the youngest-ever self-made billionaire".The fashion guru, the youngest of the Kardashian clan, starting selling her own cosmetics three years ago.
Her most famous sibling, Kim Kardashian West, 37, has a notably lower net worth of $350m.
Ms Jenner, who is still currently not old enough even to legally drink alcohol in the US, will turn 21 in August as her Forbes cover edition hits newsstands.
"What her half-sister Kim Kardashian West did for booty, Jenner has done for full lips," Forbes writes, describing her famous pout.
Earlier this week Ms Jenner, a mother of one daughter named Stormi, announced she would stop receiving lip injections, known as dermal fillers.
She admitted during an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians in 2015 that her natural lips had been "an insecurity" that she wanted to change with temporary lip fillers.She later launched her brand Kylie Cosmetics, which included a line of lip products designed to help customers make their lips look bigger through over-lining and filling.
Unlike those of traditional cosmetic brands, her products are almost exclusively sold online.
Her cosmetics have proven exceptionally popular with fans, selling out almost instantly at every website re-stock and leading to server crashes.
Ms Jenner's company, which she wholly owns, is worth $800m, according to Forbes.
She is number 27 on Forbes' list of richest self-made women in America, leap-frogging Barbra Streisand ($400m), Beyonce Knowles ($335m) and Taylor Swift ($320m). —BBC Online


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PALMA DE MALLORCA — With the start of summer RIU will have more than 50 hotels and resorts reopening in 16 of the 19 countries where it operates, including Mexico, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Aruba, the D.R. and the Bahamas.
This Wednesday, July 1, marks the reopening of Riu Palace Bavaro in the D.R., along with Riu Palace Paradise Island in the Bahamas and Riu Dunamar in Mexico’s Costa Mujeres.
Riu Palace Aruba will open its doors on July 10.
RIU has also announced that Riu Reggae will reopen, on July 3.
Meanwhile Riu Ocho Rios, Riu Palace Peninsula and Riu Cancun opened their doors earlier this month.
Riu properties in Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Morocco and Tanzania are also reopening. In Spain, the company has already reopened 20 hotels. In the Algarve in Portugal, visitors are already staying at the Riu Guarana and, as of July 4, Riu Palace Madeira.
All of Riu’s reopened hotels and resorts are applying the protocols outlined in the RIU Post-Covid Manual, a specific training program to ensure that all employees are ready to apply the chain’s 17 protocols.


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Land O'Lakes recently introduced a new campaign called 'Delete to Feed' that encourages people to spend less time thinking about crafting the perfect Instagram picture and more time thinking about what they can do to combat hunger in America.
The Delete to Feed campaign asks users to delete their food-centric Instagram pictures and in exchange, Land O'Lakes will donate food to those in need. To participate, users simply have to sign up on the website and each food-themed picture they delete will be recorded. For every picture deleted, Land O'Lakes will donate 11 meals to Feeding America.
The idea is that while many of us enjoy food in excess -- sometimes simply for the purpose of art -- there are many people who are going without any kind of food at all. As the campaign's website points out: "Instagram is full of food posts, but millions of Americans go hungry each year."


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Little Rollright cheese maker scoops top award after only eight months in the industry
David Jowett of King Stone Dairy took the Supreme Champion trophy at the Artisan Cheese Awards with his Rollright rind-washed cows’ milk cheese
The delicious cheese was also winner of the New Cheese class. And by scooping first prize, King Stone won a trophy and cheque for £1,000.
The awards are part of the Artisan Cheese Fair held in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. The newcomer triumphed over the 338 entries from 85 cheese producers across Britain and Ireland,
Mr Jowett said: “We’re thrilled to win this prestigious industry award after selling our cheese for just eight months. It gives us credibility as a UK producer and affirms that we’re doing things right.
“This recognition will hopefully draw attention to our cheese from potential sales outlets such as delicatessens, farm shops and wholesalers and help us to grow our production.”
Matthew O’Callaghan, organiser of the Artisan Cheese Awards added: “It’s particularly pleasing to see King Stone Dairy succeed as they’re a new artisan cheese maker who have only been producing for less than one year.
“A panel of experienced judges from some of the big names in the cheese world including Neal’s Yard, Waitrose, Marks and Spencer and others judged the competition and were astounded by the quality and breadth of entrants for these first year awards,” he said.
Cheese making in the British Isles has been undergoing a revival in recent years with the establishment of a small number of bespoke dairies. Of those who entered the awards, 75 were small producers (under 50 tonnes of cheese per year). There were almost 50 entries for the New Cheese class showing that innovation is very much alive in the cheese-making world.
“The French boast that French people can eat a different cheese each day of the year can now be matched in the British Isles by the counter claim that people can eat a cheese from a different British cheese maker each day of the year,” said competition spokesman Simon Gribbon.
The awards were open to any cheesemaker in the British Isles producing less than 250 tonnes of cheese per year to celebrate the craft and skill of the small artisan cheese maker.


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New Westminster, B.C. – October 31, 2020 – As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to escalate in British Columbia and across Canada, UFCW 1518 President Kim Novak recently sent a letter to B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, asking her to require anyone entering a grocery store or retail outlet to wear a mask.
The call comes after COVID-19 cases peaked to over 800 in late October, making it clear that British Columbia is in the second wave of the pandemic.
UFCW 1518 is seeking mandatory mask-wearing in grocery stores to slow the transmission of the virus and to protect front line workers, including UFCW members working in retail stores throughout the province.
“UFCW 1518 members are diligently doing their part to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by wearing masks and carrying out enhanced health and safety procedures in stores,” says Novak. “However, it is time for the government to do its part to protect workers by ensuring that customers are required to wear masks,” she adds.
UFCW Local 1518 represents 22,000 members working in the community health, retail, industrial, and professional sectors across British Columbia. To learn more about UFCW 1518 and its outstanding work, visit the Local Union’s website.


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At any point of the digital transition,…
Despite not being unveiled yet, what seems to be a OnePlus 9 concept has been sold at an incredible price on eBay.
Soon, the official debut of OnePlus’ latest top of the line is absent, but what has happened in the last few hours is very weird and ridiculous. What seems to be a prototype of the new OnePlus 9 was actually sold on the famed online marketplace eBay at an insane amount.
The OnePlus 9 prototype sold for $6,000 on eBay
Numerous live images of the supposed top of the OnePlus scale have been released online in recent weeks. Today, however, on the well-known eBay online store, the smartphone depicted in these images has been found. It was originally offered as a $3,000 price tag, but the retailer removed it later and then re-entered the terminal, which was ultimately sold for as much as $6,000.
Obviously, though, this product is not the actual OnePlus 9, but it is just a prototype and the company may decide at any moment to deactivate it. “In fact, in this respect, the seller has taken away all responsibility and wrote: “I am not liable for the cancellation of this phone by OnePlus or anything that could happen to the phone after the sales time. When you order it, you accept these terms.
It was probably an odd and insane occurrence, in short. In reality, never before had such a thing happened. However, waiting for the official launch, we remind you that OnePlus 9 will be the Chinese manufacturer’s first smartphone fuelled by Qualcomm’s top-of-the-range processor, the Snapdragon 888 SoC, whereas up to three photographic sensors can be counted with regard to the photographic module.


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In mid-December, Forrester Research issued a report entitled Guides Redefine Mass Media that states, “Media companies in every sector face a collapse of their distribution control – and distribution control is what maintains media industry profits. Industry troubles have only begun.”
Mass Media companies rely upon the control of distribution channels, but that consumers’ increasingly open access to content via the Internet is evaporating that control, the report states. Forrester says that as consumers begin using new technologies that allow each consumer to find content specifically matching his individual needs and interest, the concept of Mass Media itself is shattered.
How are the major media companies defending themselves? According to Forrester, they are blindly relying upon their brand names. These companies simply believe that the consumer will continue to rely upon the media brand names that had controlled the finding of content during the late 20th Century. “But they are wrong,” the report states. “This reasoning assumes that the consumer has no outside help finding content.”
(By the way, Forrester’s mention of media companies using their brand names as a Maginot Line. That echoeswhat we at Digital Deliverance termed the Muddle Through Strategy of Time Warner New Media.
During the 1999 Content Summit in New York, Time Warner Director of New Media Dan Okrent was asked about his company’s strategy for Media Media. “Some eight or nine media companies dominated media during the 20th Century. We think some eight or nine will also during the 21st Century, and we plan to be one of those companies. Although we don’t know how the Internet will affect media, we are confident that consumers will always trust the Time Warner brands. And we are a rich company, so we can always buy any hot new companies that develop future media technologies.”
We wonder how surprised Okrent was a year later when one of those hot new companies instead bought Time Warner. Probably about as surprised as he was that Time Warner’s Pathfinder site never found any path to online success.)


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Inside the business looks like a sleek, modern version of any other convenience store, but much of the food and beverages inside are from small local brands, albeit alongside larger brands like La Croix and M&Ms.
“Why carry big brands?” Union Kitchen said on its website. “We want to build D.C. manufacturing companies that are going to last. This means they need to be so good that they outcompete the national options. Customers need to want to pick up a bag of Snacklins over Doritos, not because it’s local, but because it’s delicious. We need to build products that people want.”
Other offerings at Union Kitchen include coffee, pizza, beer and hard seltzer.
Customers coming by the new store will receive a free Blind Dog chocolate chip cookie, according to the Union Kitchen Facebook page.


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India banning Bitcoin? How Can It? The Indian market for cryptocurrency trading is one of the fastest-growing in the world. Despite the fact that the ability to trade Bitcoin and its peers in a free and anonymous manner. Contradicts the country’s restrictions on the convertibility of its national currency, the rupee. The central bank has made it clear that it wants all private cryptocurrencies to be banned. Until it develops an official digital currency to replace the existing ones.
The government, on the other hand, is willing to make exceptions. In order to promote blockchain technology. With in midst of these competing objectives, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration. Is racing against the clock to draft legislation in time. For the final session of the year’s parliament.
How big is crypto in India?
It’s one of the largest in the region, and it’s growing at a quick pace. According to a survey published in October by Chainalysis, a crypto-analysis company. The Indian market expanded by 641 percent between July 2020 and June 2021. With more than $572.5 billion in value received during that period. Central and southern Asia was the fourth-largest crypto market. Assessed overall, accounting for 14 percent of worldwide transaction value.
During that time period, transfers worth more than $10 million accounted for 42 percent. Of all transactions sent from Indian addresses. Compared to 28 percent for transactions sent from Pakistani addresses and 29 percent for transactions. Sent from Vietnamese addresses. As a result, it projected a more developed Indian market. At the same time, India, which has a very young and tech-savvy population. It was second only to Vietnam in terms of increase in crypto adoption. Among retail investors in the Asia-Pacific region.
What are the rules now?
India’s relationship with digital currencies, which exist in a murky area. That has been both hot and cold at various points in the past year. The Indian Supreme Court reversed the ban on cryptocurrency transactions in March of this year. After the government effectively outlawed them in 2018. The number of people calling for stricter rules has increased since then. As there is concern that an unregulated environment may cause more domestic household funds. To be steered into volatile assets, leaving normal savers vulnerable to a crash.
A sell-off on Indian stock exchanges was triggered by news that the government. That was drafting a bill on November 24, according to the media reports.
What are India’s concerns?
It is claimed that they constitute a severe threat to the country’s macroeconomic. And financial stability by the Reserve Bank of India. As a result of the rupee’s limited convertible nature. The Indian regulator has greater knowledge and control over. Who has access to the country’s financial markets. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are supposed to be freely traded and anonymous. By their very nature, depriving authorities of the capacity. To monitor and tax transactions. Money laundering and terrorism financing. Are two issues that have been brought up in the discussion.
What is the bill likely to propose?
That’s a little difficult to understand. “It attempts to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies in India.” It is according to a brief summary given on the parliament’s website. “However, it also provides for specific exclusions to promote. The underlying technology of cryptocurrency and its purposes.” According to Bloomberg News, the government plan. May also recognize cryptocurrencies as a financial asset and establish. A minimum investment level for cryptocurrency investments.
Despite the fact that it officially prohibited from used as legal money. According to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. “We want to make sure that there is a window available for all kinds of experiments. That will have to take place in the crypto realm.” The idea that we are going to turn inward and declare that we will not also tolerate. Any of this is ridiculous as India Banning Bitcoin. In this case, the location will extremely calibrated.”


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NEW YORK (Reuters) - The past few weeks may have meant Christmas shopping for some, but the next few could be all about where and how Wall Street bonuses will be spent.
This year, payouts from financial companies are being scrutinized more than ever, as several banks cut jobs and reel from losses tied to mortgages and the global credit crunch.
Overall bonuses announced so far are down from last year, headhunters have said, while individual payouts varied widely.
Payouts for some of the most successful fixed income traders this year were flat to down 5 percent, while those for other top performers were down 10 percent to 20 percent, according to recruiters, quoting early feedback from clients.
So as the idea of a lower bonus turns to reality for some Wall Street professionals, experts expect them to splurge less. While they won’t be hurt by the credit squeeze in the same way middle-class America has been, what could force them to close their wallets is the fear of losing their jobs.
“Job security is more an issue right now than how to spend one’s bonus,” said James Grubman, a clinical psychologist who has worked with several wealth management advisory firms, including Wachovia Corp WB.N.
“If you are not sure whether you are going to have a job in the financial services industry shortly, you may be more conservative with your spending this holiday.”
Jobs at the very top of Wall Street have already been lost. Merrill Lynch & Co Inc MER.N Chief Executive Stan O‘Neal and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) Co-President Zoe Cruz were ousted after their companies posted huge mortgage-related losses.
Citigroup Inc’s (C.N) Charles Prince quit as its CEO, and there has been talk that Citigroup could slash more jobs than the 17,000 it announced in April.
Those who escaped the cut often did so at a cost. Both Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack and Bear Stearns Co Inc BSC.N CEO Jimmy Cayne kept their jobs, but had to forgo bonuses.
While Citigroup’s shares had lost more than 47 percent in 2007, Morgan Stanley, Merrill and Bear Stearns were down 21 percent, 42 percent and 46 percent, respectively.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) remains the sector’s bright spot, with its shares up 6 percent this year.
“Much more important than (the) bonus is the investment performance of Bear Stearns, Citi ... and that is going to impact spending,” said Emanuel Weintraub, managing director of money management firm Integre Advisors.
During a good year, Wall Street bonuses are typically spent on exotic trips, cars, jewelry and homes.
A popular New York shopping destination is Fifth Avenue, though most luxury stores there cater to wealthy consumers who don’t rely on year-end payouts, said David Arnold, senior vice president at luxury magazine Robb Report.
CEO Michael Kowalski of Tiffany & Co (TIF.N), which has its flagship store on the fabled stretch of luxury shops, has said Wall Street bonuses have never been an issue for the jeweler.
Also this year, tourists have flocked to the United States to make the most of a weak dollar. For retailers in Manhattan, that has translated into a nice revenue boost.
“There is the reality of a huge influx of Europeans in the market ... for many of them the prices in the United States are 20 to 40 percent lower than comparable products in Europe,” Arnold said.
In November, Tiffany reported a 25 percent rise in third-quarter sales at its flagship store, attributing more than half the increase to tourists. A few days earlier, Saks Inc SKS.N, whose sales rose 14 percent in the third quarter, said its Fifth Avenue store outperformed the company average.
This year, higher-end cars from Mercedes-Benz (DAIGn.DE) and Aston Martin and expensive accessories like watches for men and jewelry for women will be popular, Arnold said.
One area that could see less demand is the already troubled real estate market.
“Upgrading apartments or purchasing a better place to live ... I think people are more cautious on that,” Grubman said.
Some could even spend their money on items that seem more a luxury investment than a one-time expenditure.
“I’d say we’re thinking that we could spend ‘X’ dollars to rent in the Hamptons for August or spend the same amount and get a wonderful piece of art for our apartment,” said Weintraub.
Still, exceptions will always remain.
For instance, Halstead Property associate broker Jill Sloane sold to bankers recently a $2.3 million three-bedroom condominium and another $700,000 apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
“It depends on which broker you talk to,” she said. “I happen to be really, really busy.”
Additional reporting by Joseph Giannone and Kristina Cooke; Editing by Braden Reddall


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When it comes to trends, teenagers tend to jump on board early. Whether it's fashion, technology, games, music, celebrities or social media, there's a trend for it all.
Erin Wood, a high school senior at Tierra Encantada Charter School in Santa Fe, is a writer for the school’s online newspaper, TECS Stinger.
Wood said several styles are currently trending around her school. Boots have been popular with everyone. High school girls have also been drawing stars and hearts on their faces with makeup and glitter.
The "VSCO girl" style is making its way around Tierra Encantada as well, according to Wood. The VSCO girl style includes scrunchies, Birkenstock sandals and is usually completed with a Hydro Flask reusable water bottle and jeans with vintage-looking tops, t-shirts or sweaters.
In terms of technology, iPhones reign supreme with the teenagers at Tierra Encantada. Gaming is also quite popular amongst the students — PlayStation being the preferred console.
Pokémon Go still remains a popular game among the students following its initial release in 2016. Instagram is the most popular social media site used by the teenagers, but Tik Tok is slowly on the rise. Many students like to watch makeup tutorials and gaming videos on YouTube in addition to using the platform for homework.
Although football reigns supreme among Americans, soccer is the most popular sport at Tierra Encantada —both to watch and play.
Kylie Jenner holds the title as the most popular celebrity. Many of the young women at the school see her as a very well-rounded role model.
Susan Schripsema, a journalism teacher and head of La Cueva High School’s student newspaper, said that from social media to fashion and food, students are matching each other.
For young men, fashion trends include curly, permed hair while Air Force Ones, Vans and Birkenstocks are at the soles of their feet. Faux fur jackets, American Eagle sweatshirts and North Face backpacks round out the look.
According to Schripsema, girls prefer wearing their hair long and straight.
Vans and Birkenstocks are the most popular shoes, and the general favorite clothing brand is Pink. The iPhone also reigns supreme amongst the students at La Cueva. Tik Tok is the most popular social media website, and they also have something called "La Cueva Point." To the students, this makes pointing at someone on social media a lot less creepy.
Football is the most popular sport at LCHS — both playing and watching. The most popular celebrities are Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift and Kevin Hart. Despite the feud between Popeye’s and Chick-fil-A sandwiches, the latter is preferred among the students.
Manuel Garcia, a junior at Pojoaque High School, said the "swag" style — like the styles of Justin Bieber, Jaden Smith and Zayn Malik — is in at his school. The VSCO girl style and styles like Cardi B are popular with the girls.
Like the students at Tierra Encantada, students are drawn to gaming. Unlike Tierra Encantada, however, Xbox One is the preferred console. Call of Duty games are the most popular with the boys while simulation games like Sims are popular with the girls. Card games, like Cards Against Humanity, have also been rising in popularity.
Snapchat is the most popular social media site with the Pojoaque teens, but like many other schools, Tik Tok is slowly on the rise.
The most popular celebrities at the school are Ariana Grande and Billie Elish. The most popular food amongst the students is pizza, but tacos are a close second.
Caitlin Scott is a freelance reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at firstname.lastname@example.org or on Twitter @Caitlin69123118


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Cloud Networking Leader Aviatrix Appoints Cyrous Jamé From Google as Chief Financial Officer
Aviatrix , the cloud network platform, today announced that Cyrous Jamé will join the company as CFO. Jamé was formerly the head of finance for Google Play, and also held finance leadership positions in ads, media and consumer hardware at Google over the last ten years.
“Cyrous brings a strong track record of driving results and accelerating growth at Google, and we are thrilled to have him join Aviatrix as CFO,” said Steve Mullaney, CEO of Aviatrix. “We are building a strong management team to continue executing our strategy, driving revenue growth, and increasing new customer acquisition.”
Prior to Aviatrix, Cyrous Jamé spent the past 10 years at Google. Most recently, leading the Strategic Finance team of Google Play, and also held finance leadership positions across Ads, Media, and Consumer Hardware divisions. Prior to Google, Jamé spent several years working on Wall Street as a software and Internet technology analyst and investor.
“I am very excited to join Aviatrix. It’s rare to have a combination of game-changing technology in a disruptive market coupled with a strong leadership team,” said Jamé. “I am energized by the opportunity to further accelerate the company’s growth path as we lay the foundation for the public markets.”
The transformation to cloud is becoming essential for every organization; and as a result, demand for Aviatrix cloud networking platform is surging. The company now has more than 450 customers, including some of the biggest brands in retail, financial services, pharma, high-tech, manufacturing, and hospitality, as well as government agencies.
Aviatrix cloud network platform delivers advanced networking, security and operational visibility and control required by enterprises with the simplicity, automation and agility of cloud. More than 450 customers worldwide leverage Aviatrix and it’s proven multi-cloud network reference architecture to design, deploy and operate a repeatable network and security architecture that is consistent across any public cloud. Combined with the industry’s first and only multi-cloud networking certification (ACE ), Aviatrix is empowering IT to lead and accelerate the transformation to the cloud. Learn more at aviatrix.com.
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Several Sacramento-area area eateries are hosting grand-opening festivities this week.
The area’s fifth Nothing Bundt Cakes bakery will host a 10 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday at 3880 Truxel Road, Suite 100. On Friday, 20 percent of sales will be donated to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Sacramento. At 9 a.m. on Saturday, the first 50 shoppers making a purchase will win free bundtlets for a year (one a month).
Bakery hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Founded in Las Vegas in 1997, the franchise chain has two bakeries in Sacramento and one each in Roseville, Elk Grove and Folsom.
Atlanta-based chicken sandwich/meals chain Chick-fil-A will open a new restaurant Thursday at the Delta Shores retail complex along Interstate 5 in south Sacramento.
As it has done with other grand openings, the restaurant at 8104 Delta Shores Circle S. will host an overnight “campout” starting at 6 a.m. Wednesday. The first 100 adults in line when the restaurant opens at about 5:45 a.m. Thursday will receive a digital card good for a year of free Chick-fil-A meals (52 meals). If more than 100 people are in line by 6 a.m. Wednesday, the top 100 spots will be randomly selected.
The new Chick-fil-A will employ about 100. A book drive for Matsuyama Elementary School in Sacramento also is planned.
Chick-fil-A had three local restaurant openings in 2016 and has about a dozen eateries in the region.
The 4,600-square-foot restaurant seats 122 and will employ about 100. It’s open from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and is closed on Sunday.
On Monday, El Pollo Loco opened its ninth Sacramento eatery at 7820 Folsom Blvd.
The Costa Mesa-based chain, which specializes in fire-grilled chicken, said the 3,000-square-foot restaurant seats 70 and features the company’s “Vision Design” with Mexican decor touches and an open kitchen area. It’s open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Promotions and news on the new El Pollo Loco site are being posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page.


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Date: September 13 - 15, 2022
CCW’s Customer Contact Industry Review 2022 is back for a 3 day virtual summit from September 13 to 15, 2022 with its global online community and research hub of more than 150,000 customer contact members. With the mission of uncovering the advantages innovative solutions have had on the customer contact industry, this online event will highlight the importance of AI and digital for the future of CX and outline leading solutions for optimizing all aspects of the modern customer journey.
Date: September 20 - 22, 2022 | Place: Moscone Center, San Francisco, California
Grazitti Interactive, our parent company, has announced its Navigator Sponsorship for Dreamforce 2022. The three-day hybrid event is the biggest Salesforce tech event that is packed with new product walkthroughs, customer stories, innovations, discussions with experts, and more.
Date: October 17 - 19, 2022 | Place: Las Vegas, Nevada
SearchUnify has joined as a Gold sponsor for TSIA’s technology and services conference in Las Vegas this time. This conference delivers relevant technology services, sales, channel optimization, and product content that helps teams navigate evolving business challenges.
Date: August 10, 2022 | Place: Virtual Customer Conference
SearchUnify is back with its third edition of User Group Meet on August 10, 2022 at 10:00 AM PST. It is an invite-only virtual customer conference where our customers get to learn, connect, network and exchange ideas with like minded tech wizards.
Date: June 20 - 23, 2022 | Place: Caesars Forum, Las Vegas
SearchUnify is a Gold sponsor at Customer Contact Week at Las Vegas on June 20-23, 2022. The event aims to bring back their community together and navigate the new normals of their industry while tackling the biggest challenges. The event features expert speakers, exciting celebrity headliners, session formats, event schedule, program themes, and more.
Date: May 16 - 18, 2022 | Place: Orlando World Center Marriott + Virtual Booth
SearchUnify has joined as a Gold sponsor for TSIA’s technology and services conferences, which deliver relevant technology services, sales, channel optimization, and product content that helps teams navigate evolving business challenges. SearchUnify is also leading a session on May 16th, 2022, from 12:30 PM – 12:50 PM EST on the role of cognitive technology in transforming customer support and self-service experiences.
Date: May 10 - 12, 2022
CCW’s Customer Contact Industry Review 2022 is all set to bring together its global online community and research hub of more than 150,000 customer contact members for a 3 day virtual summit from May 10 to 12, 2022. With the mission of creating customer contact rockstars, CCW Digital provides the customer contact community with the research, analysis, and network required to optimize their customer contact operations.
Date: November 17, 2021
Support (re)Focus is Grazitti Interactive’s annual invite-only conference where customer service leaders, technology experts, and industry thought leaders from Grazitti’s customer and partner ecosystem connect, network, exchange ideas and best practices.


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So, I keep finding more and more stories related to “iPod Like Devices” but nobody but myself seems to believe that the up and coming Microsoft Zune could have anything to do with it.
Microsoft came clean, today, and announced their portable media player device would be named the Microsoft Zune (rumored to be previously codenamed “Argo”). Could this be the device I thought was perhaps an iTunes videoconferencing unit? Slashdot recently ran an article talking about other mp3 players and their designs, and how Apple will stick with the “clickwheel.” I can’t find the link right now, but there was another story I had even submitted to Slashdot that mentioned a different design for the iPod that appeared to be crammed in a cell phone. But now I’m wondering if the sites and articles I have been finding, which discussed strange patents similar to something Apple would work on, were really preliminary Zune patents?
By way of patents, I’d like to remind people that Microsoft and Apple still have open patent sharing, as per a 1997 agreement wherein Microsoft bought around 150 million dollars worth of Apple’s stock. But that doesn’t really matter when Microsoft patented the iPod’s clickwheel first. The words “iPod Killer” have been floating around the web for over a year now – but will anyone finally do it? Doubtful.
I’ll be working on some news with my connection at Microsoft to see what the word is right now. Many of you won’t remember, or had no idea who I was at that time, but I was among the first to provide the web with pictures of Microsoft’s earliest “Tablet PC” running a Windows Whistler beta. I intend to do the same with anything relating to the Zune – so you’d better stay tuned.
Peace on ya,


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Jet-black days: Hotel chains & in-flight caterers brace for impact
"Jet owes us too," said Patu Keswani, Chairman of mid-market chain Lemon Tree Hotels.
People familiar with the matter said the suspended airline owes Marriott, Taj, Hilton and Hyatt, among others, for room nights booked in bulk for months in advance for its crew. Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) subsidiary TajSATS Air Catering and Ambassador’s Sky Chef were primary catering providers for Jet.
IHCL, Marriott and Hyatt declined to comment for this story. Hilton and Accor did not respond to emails seeking comments while Sky Chef could not be reached for comments.
“Jet owes us too,” said Patu Keswani, chairman of mid-market chain Lemon Tree Hotels. “We are a little careful and do not give airlines a long credit period for crew accommodation. We are not that affected but I am hoping this is resolved. This is operational credit and if it goes to the (National Company Law Tribunal) NCLT, we will be last (in repayment priority).”
Sources said Taj and Marriott will be affected, considering their scale of operations and Jet’s flight routes. For more room nights promised to chains, the carriers can negotiate longer repayment periods with chains that have a wider presence.
“They owe so much money to hotel chains for their airline crew,” said a source. “Carriers do not pay in advance. There is a negotiated room rate for a certain minimum number of room nights. Bills get sent to the company and the billing cycle and room nights vary for each company and carrier.”
A brokerage executive who tracks IHCL said on condition of anonymity that balance sheets and margins at the Tata group hospitality company would certainly suffer.
Mandeep Lamba, president (South Asia) at hotel consultancy HVS Anarock, said, “The closure of Jet Airways’ operations is likely to impact the hospitality industry significantly as usage of crew accommodation contracted across several hotels pan-India will stop, leading to a cumulative loss of a large number of room nights. Non-payment of dues to hotels will also add to the pain inflicted on the hospitality industry.”
Dilip Puri, former regional vice-president of Starwood Hotels & Resorts South Asia, said Jet would be a huge debtor to any hotel chain where its crew stayed. “They typically lagged in their payments even when they were doing well,” he said.
Celebrity chef Ajay Chopra, trained in in-flight kitchens, said Jet was one of the the biggest movers of both people and packages across the country. “TajSATS is a major player in in-flight catering, besides Ambassador’s Sky Chef. GoAir and IndiGo moved away from fresh meals to packaged, but Jet Airways, Air India and Vistara were still on fresh meals. The international sector is a big market,” he said.
Explaining the size and infrastructure involved, Chopra said, “These kitchens have to be separate because a lot of quarantine measures must be undertaken for every single produce. Stringent efforts have to be taken on every single meal box in terms of hygiene. There are costs involved in creating these in-flight meals. Airline kitchens cost double of an on-ground meal because you are employing that many more people to keep it more hygienic, safe and tested.”


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The manufacturer makes sure no one goes away without an autograph in 2011 Topps Precision football.
February 21, 2012 ByNovember 15, 2011 By
2011 Topps Marquee morphs into 2012 Topps Museum Collection. A sneak peek at one of next year’s early season products.September 25, 2011 By
Topps tries to spread the wealth in its latest higher end baseball card product, but is the autograph checklist strong enough?January 18, 2011 By
There’s no glut of Mark Sanchez autographs on the market and it seems like that’s how he likes it.December 21, 2010 By
The 600-card set offers retro variations, autographs and jersey cards at less than $2 per pack.August 17, 2010 By
The T206 set provided the first in-depth glimpse at the national pasttime.


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Procter and Gamble is asking its marketing teams to think differently about advertising spend while moving “a lot” of its marketing in-house, including how it buys advertising, according to its latest quarterly earnings call.
The FMGC giant is also the world's biggest spender in advertising, with brands including Pampers, Tide, Gillette, Tampax and Olay. This means any shift in strategy is eyed with keen interest as an unofficial bellwether for the marketing industry’s health.
Its new measurement approach, centred around its own concoction - a ‘reach metric’ - is behind a new strategy of lowered media spend.
It follows a marketing splurge during the pandemic, when the Gillette owner increased media spend by $1.2bn over three years since 2019.
"We are actively shifting our spending from linear non-targeted TV into programmatic"
"On the media investment, I think we really need to shift focus”, said Andre Schulten, Chief Financial Officer, on the company’s recent Q1 2023 earnings call in a response to a question on advertising investment.
“It is difficult to describe media sufficiency in dollars, especially when we are actively shifting our spending from linear non-targeted TV into programmatic and into digital spend that is a lot more targeted and a lot more precise in terms of delivering reach and quality of reach where we need it".
P&G now has more than 50% of its media spend in digital channels, and is increasing its first party data capabilities.
Jon Moeller, P&G’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer added: “What we need to understand is what are our reach objectives, and are we sufficient and spending to achieve those reach objectives. What are our objectives in terms of the number of weeks on air achieving that reach? And that's how we'll measure sufficiency.
“We want to do that as cost effectively as possible… We went through and ensured that category-by-category, we had sufficient reach and we had sufficient weeks of media and where we determined that we might not, there was a discussion with the business leaders on what we could do to ensure that happened.”
So will the new leaner P&G pay off? PMW spoke to a panel of five experts in the performance marketing industry to explain the change in direction for one of the world’s biggest consumer brands.
Claudia Struzzo, CMO, Acceleration
“P&G’s move is a thoughtful approach to challenging economic times. The emphasis on first party data future proofs their strategy from a privacy perspective and - if well orchestrated- will lead to a more holistic understanding of their customers. “The challenge is getting the most out of this data in practice. To deliver precision marketing at scale, brands such as P&G need to build a culture of innovation that encourages experimentation, combining the right tech with a robust measurement framework to enable always-on media optimisation.”
Bridget Arik, Chief Operations Officer at Redmill Solutions
“Traditionally, linear television was the most efficient way to have substantial reach, and FMCG markets capitalised on this – especially those with a vast brand portfolio. So it makes sense to cater to the changing consumption and shift the media dollars. In doing this, P&G are leading the industry by not blindly investing in the latest trends, and instead ensuring media decisions marry with business objectives. Every marketer should be looking at efficiency and sufficiency right now; the best way to control that narrative is to in-house or ensure your media data is in a central place that you can access in order to make meaningful, informed decisions”.
Jamie Barnard, CEO, Compliant
“You have to read between the lines to see the real story here. Why double down on digital spend when ad fraud is rampant, when adtech is under fire, and when tracking, targeting and personalisation are under threat from the deprecation of third-party cookies?
“While the complexity of the media supply chain and the high risk of privacy compliance failures are making brands cautious, P&G seem to be leaning into the problem: in-housing media-buying suggests more control (more selective inventory from fewer publishers); greater reach suggests a heavy play for first and second-party data to compete with the much-anticipated loss of third-party data, and both combined suggest a leaning towards the logged-in/opted-in walled gardens. P&G is increasing its investment in digital because higher reach, higher quality of reach and higher targeting come at a higher price. But if P&G can balance precision and reach with privacy and data ethics, then this could be a smart move.”
Irem Isik, Head of Marketing, Storyly
“Historically, FMCG brands that rely on retailers as sales intermediaries have struggled to secure enough high-quality first-party data. As a result, they have relied on the abundance of available third-party data, much of this derived from advertising platform intermediaries. However, with increased consumer privacy expectations, rising data regulations and the upcoming death of third-party cookies, a new approach is required.
“By taking their media-buying in-house and increasing their digital advertising investment, it seems clear that this is high on the P&G agenda. While high quality first-party data is difficult to acquire at scale, this increased focus on digital channels will also enable P&G brands greater opportunities to acquire zero-party data, proactively shared by its customers. With brands like Pampers providing due-date calculators, Olay offering online video skin-care consultations, and many of their brands creating interactive, mobile-first experiences, P&G will be able to go beyond marketing engagement metrics and convert zero-party customer intelligence into an ongoing business growth strategy.”
Kevin Joyner, Director of Data Strategy at Croud
"As some marketers still grapple with how to move investment from TV to digital ad platforms, digital marketers have already moved on quite far from managing campaigns. The most competitive digital marketers used to be the smartest ad platform tacticians; now, they're the teams that can feed ad platforms with the smartest data.
“[P&Gs] in-house digital marketing teams will need to include data engineers, data scientists and adtech solutions architects. Digital marketing is a customer-data-driven data engineering and data science product, not a media buy. And someone will need to be able to explain it all to compliance too."


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Article •Looks at how women's roles in society have changed and continue to evolve, meaning brands have had to adopt how they engage this audience, by promoting female empowerment, removing gender bias and ensuring women are part of the client and agency teams.
Article •Advertisers can achieve consumer behavioural outcomes even when video viewers are not in a state of high attention, a new study has revealed.
Case Study •Carrefour, the supermarket chain, proved its commitment to food quality and improved brand love through a direct campaign centred on a brand-owned experience in France.
Article •Provides a better understanding of the initial signals on how Generation Z will be different to, or the same as, previous generations.
Article •Financial services marketing has declined in effectiveness since the mid-00s recession, and marketers must reinvest in long-term brand building to turn it around.
Article •Livity, a youth marketing agency, distils what it has learned from over 17 years’ experience about how to effectively research and understand young people.


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Wall Street report: Tuesday close
THE death of two of Saddam Hussein's sons triggered a late rally on Wall Street, with chipmakers gaining a boost from forecast-beating results at Texas Instruments.
Pundits said the death of Uday and Qusay, killed in a firefight with US troops in the northern Iraq city of Mosul, lifted sentiment. But the effect is likely only to be fleeting. Investors want more evidence about a revival in company profits, to justify their share-buying since March.
' The market is celebrating a bit,' said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. 'One of the major pieces of background noise (in the market) was the disappointment that we don't have clear evidence of weapons of mass destruction (by Iraq) or clear evidence that we have Saddam Hussein or any of his direct relatives.' But he added: 'On a daily basis it is about earnings.'
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 61.76 points to 9158.45, recovering some of the losses of the previous session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 24.61 to 1706.02.
Chip makers and chip equipment makers gave tech stocks a boost, following earnings released late Monday from Texas and upgrades within the sectors from Lehman Brothers.
Texas climbed US$1.37 to US$19.25 and Novellus Systems advanced $1.76 to $36.31, each having been raised to 'overweight' by Lehman.
Other gainers included Lexmark, which rose $3.95 to $63.35, recouping some of the $14.10 it lost Monday.
AmeriTrade advanced $1.17 to $9.42 on second-quarter profits that beat analysts' forecasts. But Merck, the drugs group, fell a further $2.01 to $57.81.
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Apple’s $2 Billion a Year Tax Avoidance Strategy
Thursday, May 03, 2012
Apple is a leader not only in technology but also tax dodging.
The world’s most profitable tech company has developed over the years creative legal ways (that other companies have followed) to minimize its tax hit with the U.S. government.
Last year, Apple avoided paying $2.4 billion in taxes. Worldwide, it paid a total of $3.3 billion in taxes on profits totaling $34.2 billion, which amounts to a 9.8% tax rate.
To compare, Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retail chain, paid $5.9 billion in taxes worldwide on profits of $24.4 billion, a tax rate of 24%.
How does Apple get away with avoiding billions in taxes? For starters, it sets up small offices in states like Nevada, which doesn’t have a corporate tax rate. This move helps the company avoid paying the 8.84% corporate tax rate in California, where Apple has its headquarters in Cupertino.
It also has created subsidiaries in low-tax places like Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and the British Virgin Islands that allow the company to store 70% of its profits overseas and avoid giving more to the Internal Revenue Service. It also allows Apple to develop patents in California, but send the royalties to Ireland.
According to an analysis by Martin A. Sullivan, 54% of Apple’s long-lived assets are in the United States, as are 69% of its retail stores and 39% of its sales. However, by using its foreign subsidiaries, the company reports only 30% of its profits in the U.S.
To Learn More:
How Apple Sidesteps Billions in Taxes (by Charles Duhigg and David Kocieniewski, New York Times)
Behind the Lobbying Effort That Helps Save Apple $2.4 Billion in Taxes a Year (by Suzanne Merkelson, Republic Report)
Apple Reports High Rate But Saves Billions on Taxes (by Martin A. Sullivan)
Apple the Jobs Creator…Outside the U.S. (by Matt Bewig and David Wallechinsky, AllGov)
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Self-isolation continues till mid-April 2020 and hope this will pass soon and we all can continue how it was before the pandemic started. Not sure how quarantine in your country doing, but here in Da Nang seems quiet and less cars or motorbike than usual. While beach is no longer allowed any activities or gatherings for more than 2 people. Using face mask all the time when you out, and social distancing is important but people seems don’t really practicing it.
Pharmacy, hospitals, local market and grocery stores will remain opens as usual, and even vet clinic open as well for those who has sick pet that need attentions. However, theres no confirmed cases of pet has positive COVID-19 but it is important to wash hand before and after playing with your pet. Walking your pet is allowed here in Da Nang although there is no restriction against it, but make sure to distance yourself from others about 2 meters away.
Majority shops or restaurant is closed and not allowed open for business. But offices still open and people still go to work and working from home seems not allowed unless you in education sector (from what I know). In this critical time, theres plenty of organisation offers food donation to those who in need and even the government treating those who in COVID-19 quarantine are free of charge.
Da Nang beach is closed for public and notice is hung up almost every beach entry to prevent people to come and gathered. This is one of the ways to prevent the virus to spread even more and it seems people taking it seriously. Beach is empty except beach lifeguard (or bay watch) to ensure its empty. Not everyday you would see empty beach like this. Quiet and peace.


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- Sponsored Content
Last modified on February 6th, 2019 at 1:47 pm
To give a big thanks to the community, Hamilton Distillers is inviting everyone down to celebrate “Del Bac Day” from 1 – 10 p.m. on Saturday, February 9.
“We are so excited to take this next step in our business, and all of this was made possible by the support that we received from our beloved Arizonans,” says Founder of Hamilton Distillers, Stephen Paul.
The hours-long party is intended to celebrate Hamilton Distillers’ national launch of their rebranded line of whiskeys. You’ll be able to buy the new bottles or purchase one of the “vintage” bottles if you’d like a collector’s item.
“With our new bottles and labels, as well as new materials, website, and social platforms, we can’t wait to be better partners to all of the bars, retail shops, and consumers that have supported us since the beginning.”
In addition to that, there are going to be master classes on whiskey, tours of the distillery, tastings, live music, a pig roast, and more. Some of the events are free to attend, while others require tickets.
Run through the list of events more than once to make sure you’ve got your day planned out accordingly, and keep in mind that some of the classes have limited space.
Hamilton Distillers is located at 2106 N. Forbes Blvd. Suite 103. For more information on the distillery, visit hamiltondistillers.com.