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The farming supply chain is under pressure but the fertiliser, chemical and machinery will continue to move.
Crisis management pressures to stop African swine fever have increased the risk of numerous biosecurity threats slipping into Australia says inspector-general
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is warning that scammers are trying to exploit Australians financially impacted by the COVID-19 crisis
Despite being well positioned to weather the COVID-19 storm, Australian farmers should brace for a likely demand slump as local and overseas consumer incomes fall
The Federal Government has made changes to agricultural visa programs to secure workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rabobank reported there are market influences above and beyond the usual concerns such as rainfall, financing and crop quality and volume.
Australia set for world-first blockbuster release as FMC emerges from the wings as feisty tier one ag chemical player
Rural Funds Management wins big payout after last year's share market assault by US share market short seller Bonitas Research.


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India TV announces senior-level elevations
Sudipto Chowdhuri to be Chief Revenue Officer, Puneet Tandon Chief Officer, Corp Affairs, Rohit Lal Chief Officer, TV Operations; Gulab Makhija gets the add’l role of CEO, Growth & Monetisation
India TV has announced promotions for four of its key persons looking after business revenue, corporate affairs, television operations, and growth & monetization aspects. The company has decided “to rethink, rework and retool” its business strategies in order to make its business more adaptable and resilient. In order to enrich the role of its team members India TV has delegated additional responsibilities to its core team:
Sudipto Chowdhuri has been promoted as Chief Revenue Officer and shall be responsible for maximisation of revenue by identifying and innovating opportunities for enhanced business.
Puneet Tandon has been promoted as Chief Officer, Corporate Affairs, and will be managing corporate, government and public relations for the organisation.
Rohit Lal has been promoted as Chief Officer - Television Operations and will lead integration across the organization and collaboration with all internal partners.
Gulab Makhija in addition to his role of CFO has been given the portfolio of CEO for Growth & Monetisation and shall be responsible for expansion of existing business within India and in overseas markets, seeking new business opportunities, driving new partnerships and monetisation of existing resources.
All these roles and responsibilities are effective immediately.
Commenting on the new promotions, Ritu Dhawan, Managing Director, India TV, said: “It is imperative, given the present state of affairs amidst the pandemic, to rethink and retool our business strategy and strengthen our business to make it adaptable and resilient. Keeping this is mind, we have delegated responsibilities and enhanced role of our core business team to deal with various challenges effectively and ensure a better tomorrow.”
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When a report this week from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showed the United Kingdom was the only one of the Group of Seven economies to shrink during the third quarter, Fleet Street wailed at the national embarrassment of being dead last. But they could have taken some comfort from the asterisks in the report next to Canada’s name. The data from Canada for September won’t be released until this coming Monday, Nov. 30, and we might still beat the British to the bottom.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Two months ago, when the Bank of Canada forecast the economy would grow two per cent during the July to September period, that target seemed wholly within reach. Canada’s resilience during the recession was expected to hold us in good stead come better days. But then the strengthening loonie and worsening employment got in the way. Growth flatlined in July, then dipped in August. Last week the Bank of Canada slashed its forecast, while still holding on to the prospect for “softer growth.”
Maybe. But at CIBC World Markets, they appear to be laying the groundwork for disappointment. “A funny thing happened on the way to Canada’s supposed G7-leading economic rebound,” economist Avery Shenfeld wrote in a Nov. 20 report. “As the horses burst out onto the track, the one with the Maple Leaf on its saddle was still standing in the gate.” As Shenfeld points out, Canada’s major economic rivals, including the U.S., Japan and the eurozone, all showed decent growth in the third quarter. (For instance, America’s economy grew a revised 2.8 per cent.) Yet, for Canada to even crawl out of the red, every data point from September will need a huge arrow next to it pointing straight up at the sky.
Fortunately, we got some encouraging news this week. Retail sales jumped one per cent that month, blowing past analysts’ meager expectations. Economists are clinging to the hope that consumer demand will be enough to turn things around (see “Latest Intelligence” on the opposite page). Don’t be so sure. But even if that happens, there are few signs of life in the rest of the economy. Canada will be playing catch-up for some time.
We can take comfort in one thing though, notes Shenfeld. Our national balance sheet is still the healthiest out of the lot, giving Ottawa more time to wrestle with deficits than in the U.S. and Europe. At least we’ve still got that to hang on to.
The Good News
Recession no more?
The world’s developed countries have officially emerged from the recession, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The group said economic output among its 30 members edged 0.8 per cent higher during the most recent quarter, the first increase since early 2008.
Canadian manufacturers shipped 1.4 per cent more goods in September than a month earlier, continuing a trend under way since May. The boost was mostly due to increased production of cars and trucks, despite the windup of the U.S. cash for clunkers program in August, according to Scotia Capital.
Canadian consumers are feeling better about themselves and the economy, suggesting a merrier Christmas for retailers this year. The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index rose to 94, up 10 points from where it was in April. That’s a full 10 points higher than what was recorded for consumers in the United States, where confidence is also on the rise. The index measures the status of people’s personal finances, readiness to spend and confidence in the job market.
The Bad News
Personal bankruptcies among Canadians soared nearly 30 per cent in September compared to August as the country continues to grapple with the impact of job losses stemming from the downturn. On the bright side, the figures from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada showed the number of corporate bankruptcies declining over the past 12 months, although the number of businesses going under is still much higher than this time last year.
A little help please
More unemployed Canadians are seeking the government’s assistance to pay the bills. Statistics Canada said the number of people seeking jobless benefits rose seven per cent in the month of September compared to August, with Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia reporting the biggest increases.
The number of new homes being built in the United States fell nearly 11 per cent in October, the biggest decline in 10 months. Meanwhile, a record one in seven U.S. mortgages were either in foreclosure or had payments that were past due in the most recent quarter. It’s not just homeowners with bad credit that are being impacted. Nearly one-third of the foreclosures were Americans with otherwise solid credit ratings, according to the U.S. Mortgage Bankers Association.
Graph of the week
OUT OF BALANCE • There’s a lot to like about Canada’s seemingly rock-solid real estate market. Sales, for instance, have been on the rise. But there’s one troubling aspect. Prices are hitting record highs and are rising faster than income—an ultimately unsustainable trend.
Signs of the times
- The Britney bubble has burst. Prices paid for paparazzi photos have fallen 31 per cent over the last two years, as interest in celebrity antics wanes, according to website The Daily Beast. Gone are the days of magazines shelling out $14 million for pics of the spawn of Brad and Angelina, as People did last year. With ad budgets slashed, and Britney Spears behaving herself, the interest just isn’t there.
- The economy must be better—people have stopped eating soup. At the height of the financial crisis, Campbell Soup Co. was hailed as a recession-proof company because broke consumers had to eat something and soup was cheap. Guess they got sick of all that chicken noodle. In its latest quarter, the company said soup sales fell three per cent. Don’t fret for Campbell. Earnings still jumped 17 per cent.
- A new use for unsold houses is emerging—foreclosure raves. In cities like Atlanta, San Diego and Miami, partygoers have been converging on vacant homes, some of them mansions, for huge late-night bashes. Organizers first get a realtor to show them the house, then advertise the parties and charge admission.
- The vampire squid is trying to make nice. Goldman Sachs, which earned that unflattering characterization in a recent Rolling Stone profile, finally realized maybe it’s bad to have 300 million people hate your guts. As the investment bank gets set to dole out billions in employee bonuses, angering Main Street America, it announced a US$500-million fund to help small businesses recover from the recession. Some context: that’s just three per cent of its bonus pool.
Canadian shoppers hit the stores in September, driving sales up one per cent to nearly $35 billion, the seventh gain in nine months. But the question is, was that enough to push Canada’s economy into positive territory in the third quarter, and deliver on the Bank of Canada’s promise of two per cent GDP growth?
“Whether it’s housing, auto sales or these retail sales figures, there is mounting evidence that the domestic side of Canada’s economy is in full recovery mode.”—Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist, BMO Capital Markets
“Despite the weak labour market conditions and sluggish economy, Canadian households continued to hold their side of the bargain.”
—Millan Mulraine, strategist, TD Securities
“September’s sharp pop higher is a strong positive to monthly GDP.”
—Derek Holt, economist, Scotia Capital
“The promise of an economic revival in the third quarter was delivered upon not by factories but by consumers.”—Krishen Rangasamy, economist, CIBC World Markets
“Canadian consumption is being strongly supported by a wealth effect from surging home prices and rallying stock market.”—Grant Bishop, economist, TD Economics
“September will prove just barely enough for the economy to eke out a small quarterly gain in the third quarter.”—Paul Ferley, assistant chief economist, RBC Economics Research
The Week Ahead
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 26: Statistics Canada will report GDP
for the third quarter. Little if any growth is expected.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1: Vehicle sales data for the U.S. will be
released for the month of November. Sales are on pace to top
10 million vehicles this year.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1: The U.S. Bureau of Census will report
construction spending for October. Spending was up in September.


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STOCKHOLM SWEDEN – October 27 2008 Metro International has deployed 12 separate installations of Roxen Editorial Portal in nine countries in less than 15 months.
Metro International uses the fully web based editorial system Roxen Editorial Portal for producing its free daily newspapers internationally along with Roxen CMS for the company’s global web presence.
As of today Metro International has launched Roxen Editorial Portal in Sweden Denmark The Netherlands Italy Spain France the U.S. and in Canada including two separate installations in both Denmark and Canada. In addition Roxen Editorial Portal is used for Metro World News. In total more than 40 local Metro editions use the system to produce 800 pages daily. Since the start in Denmark last year more than 250 000 pages have been produced in the system.
”The speed of deployment is just amazing thanks to the web based Roxen technology” says Philip Maurer Global Systems Manager at Metro International. Mr Maurer adds further “This gives room for significant cost efficiency in the process. Since Roxen Editorial Portal is practically self-instructive it radically reduces the time and cost needed for training. On average we spend two weeks in total on a complete roll-out to a new country from the time the launch team arrives at a new site to the first print issue has been produced in Roxen Editorial Portal”.
“We at Roxen Internet Software are very impressed with the Metro team’s accomplishments especially the incredible speed of deployment to so many different countries languages and cultures in only about one year. Although Roxen’s technology allows for rapid deployment Metro’s challenge goes beyond technology. Metro is a very impressive company and we are proud to be working with such outstanding innovators and front-runners” says Staffan Ekholm CEO at Roxen Internet Software.
About Metro International
Metro is the largest and fastest growing international newspaper in the world. Metro is published in over 100 major cities in 21 countries across Europe North & South America and Asia. Metro has a unique global reach – attracting a young active well-educated Metropolitan audience of over 20 million daily readers. Metro has an equal number of male and female readers of which 70% are under the age of 45. Metro s advertising sales have grown at a compound annual rate of 44% since the launch of the first edition in 1995. www.metro.lu
About Roxen Internet Software AB
Roxen develops the products Roxen Editorial Portal and Roxen CMS and is a pioneer in web based product development since 1994. Customers include Princeton University Verizon Metro International Bonnier Tidskrifter RTL Nederland and de Telegraaf Tijdschriften Groep. Roxen has offices in Sweden and the Netherlands. Roxen’s many international awards include “Best of Comdex”.


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CRED unveils RuPay credit card-based UPI payments option
By Gloria Mathias
In collaboration with the National Payments Corporation Of India (NPCI), CRED, an India-based FinTech, has launched RuPay credit card-based UPI payments for community members.
CRED currently supports RuPay credit cards issued by banks such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, Axis Bank, BOB Financial Solutions, Canara Bank, Indian Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Punjab National Bank and Union Bank.
The feature offers members smart instrument recommendations, statements, rewards management, and brand offers. Members can use credit cards to make UPI transactions, which was only possible via bank accounts.
Praveena Rai, Chief Operating Officer at NPCI said, “The integration of RuPay Credit Cards with UPI has revolutionised the way credit is consumed, propelling the adoption of digital payments, backed by credit, in the country. At NPCI, our mission has always been to create a seamless and user-friendly digital payment experience. We are thrilled to provide UPI customers with the exceptional convenience of using their RuPay Credit Card on UPI. With this feature, customers can enjoy greater flexibility and a wide range of payment options at merchant outlets, all without the need to carry physical cards.”
The feature also eliminates the need to carry physical cards, enabling seamless payments using saved cards and the convenience of tracking and paying bills for these credit cards right on the CRED app. With UPI transactions via credit cards, customers can earn rewards on day-to-day transactions.
Kunal Shah, Founder, CRED stated, “India has leaped ahead in global financial innovation through UPI. Enabling credit card transactions on UPI – through the integration of our second homegrown innovation, RuPay – will unleash the next stage of growth for India’s digitisation journey. The destination is a world where intent and ability to transact are all that matter, and transactors have true freedom and control over their spending decisions. I’m excited to share that CRED members – among the most creditworthy Indians – can now use their RuPay credit cards on UPI systems for frictionless, delightful, and rewarding payments.”
IBSi Daily News Analysis
September 27, 2023
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Deere And Ashok Leyland To Form Construction Equipment Joint Venture In India
MOLINE, Illinois.— Deere & Company today announced plans to form a joint venture with Ashok Leyland Limited, the flagship of the Hinduja Group in India, to initially manufacture and market backhoes and four-wheel-drive loaders that will be sold in India and exported to other markets. The joint venture plans to provide a full line of construction equipment in future years.
Deere said it has signed a definitive agreement to form the joint venture with Ashok Leyland, the second largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in India and the flagship of the Hinduja Group. Initial production is planned for early 2010. Deere is the world’s largest manufacturer of equipment for agriculture and forestry and a major equipment supplier for construction and lawn and turf care.
“This action enhances Deere’s growth of the construction equipment business outside of North America,” said Samuel R. Allen, president, Worldwide Construction and Forestry Division. “India is an important market and Ashok Leyland is a knowledgeable partner with strengths in brand recognition, distribution, quality manufacturing, and loyal employees and dealers.”
R. Seshasayee, Managing Director, Ashok Leyland, said, “We see huge synergies between this business and our existing one of commercial vehicles, in terms of aggregates, parts and distribution network. John Deere is a technology leader with an impressive portfolio of proven and popular products.”
Ashok Leyland has a broad dealer network throughout India and exports to over 20 countries. In 2007, India was the largest backhoe market in the world.
The joint venture will build a manufacturing facility in India and is currently evaluating site locations. This is Deere’s second announcement this year of global expansion in construction equipment. In February, Deere announced a joint venture to build construction equipment in China – the world’s largest and fastest market overall for construction equipment.
Financial terms of the planned joint venture between Deere and Ashok Leyland were not announced.
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A recession is damaging because it can cause businesses to close, unemployment rates to rise, and a decrease in consumer spending. This leads to an overall decline in economic activity which can have long-term effects on the economy.
It is difficult to predict a recession because of its complex nature. There are many factors that contribute such as changes in government policies, shifts in global markets, or even natural disasters. Also, the main indicators suggest using in tracking recession is quite changeable and hard to determine in advance. Furthermore, recessions tend to happen suddenly and without warning making them hard for economists or other experts to anticipate ahead of time.
Even though it is difficult to predict, there are some expectations that are outlined due to 2022 trends. In this article, we will outline the main picture of the recession in 2022 and will try to give you some forecasts for 2023.
Economic Data From 2022
In 2022, the global economic sector faced many challenges due to the ongoing pandemic. The main economic trends of 2022 included an increase in unemployment rates, a decrease in consumer spending and investment activity, and a decrease in international trade. In addition to this, there was also an increase in inflation as well as rising debt levels across both developed and developing countries.
These factors combined created significant challenges for businesses operating within the global economy including decreased revenues due to reduced demand for goods and services along with higher costs related to production materials or labor shortages resulting from travel restrictions or border closures. Additionally, geopolitical tensions between major economies such as China-US relations put further strain on international trade flows which had already been weakened by disruptions caused by COVID-19.
Despite these difficulties, general data shows quite stable results which assure experts that the recession has not started yet, but it does not mean that it is not expected in 2023. More specifically, results for GDP are mostly positive, especially for Q3 2022, where there was outlined the growth of 2.9%. The same can be said for CPI which has increased by 7.7%. The ISM manufacturing index for the latest report is 50.2 and industrial production decreased by 0.1%. Retail sales increased by 1.3% and the conference board leading index dropped by 0.8%.
When it comes to economic confidence data, according to the November report from the University of Michigan it equals 56.8. Optimism for small businesses has decreased by 0.8 points. As these results are positive as well as negative, we can say that the global economic situation in 2022 is not considered a recession but can not be called good too.
Forecast For 2023 – Should We Expect Recession?
Experts are predicting that a recession could be on the horizon in 2023 due to several factors. First, global economic growth has been slowing since 2018 and is expected to continue declining over the next few years. Additionally, rising levels of debt among businesses and consumers may create further instability. Finally, geopolitical tensions around trade policies and other issues may lead to further disruption in global markets which would likely trigger an economic downturn.
Experts are divided on the possibility of a global recession in 2023 and how serious it could be. Some experts believe that there is potential for a mild recession due to an economic slowdown, while others argue that the current state of the economy makes it unlikely. However, most agree that if there is a global recession in 2023, its severity would depend on several factors such as government policies and international trade agreements.
Additionally, some economists predict that any potential downturn could be more severe than what we experienced during The Great Recession of 2008-2009 due to increasing debt levels around the world. Ultimately only time will tell if this prediction comes true or not but all signs point towards caution being exercised when considering future investments and financial decisions. So the most common position from experts is that it is expected that there will be a mid-level risk of higher inflation and other data which can cause a recession.
How Recession Can Be Avoided in 2023?
In order to avoid global recession or reduce its risk in 2023, it is necessary to focus on the relevant competencies. This includes developing a strong financial infrastructure, improving economic policies and regulations, enhancing macroeconomic management capabilities, strengthening international coordination of policy measures as well as cooperation between countries with different levels of development.
Also, there should be an emphasis on increasing productivity and efficiency by investing in research and development (R&D). Furthermore, governments should focus on reducing inequality through progressive taxation systems that ensure equitable distribution of wealth among citizens. Finally but not least important is the need for more sustainable growth models that promote long-term sustainability rather than short-term gains. By addressing these competencies appropriately we can hopefully prevent another global recession from occurring in 2023 or at least mitigate its effects if one does occur.
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12 January 2021
MAB Kargo Sdn Bhd (MASkargo) recently transported about 20 tonnes of Covid-19 test kits from Seoul, South Korea, to Jakarta, Indonesia, in its first charter flight for the year.
MASkargo CEO Ibrahim Mohamed Salleh said the ad hoc deployment of the charter service was due to the urgent need to ensure timely delivery of the items.
The charter flight involved Airbus A330-200 freighter, flight MH6431 departing from Incheon International Airport on Jan 4 at 5.20pm (local time) and arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Jan 5, after a two-hour transit at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
“MASkargo is happy to operate this particular service, marking the first charter operation between the two countries by the airline for the year,” Ibrahim said in a statement yesterday.
He said the teams worked through numerous challenges during the year-end holidays to get the much-needed goods safely according to the requirements, including the appropriate temperature and travelling time.
He further said coordination of the flight was made seamless with Zagreb-based charterers, recipients in Indonesia and MASkargo teams in Kuala Lumpur and Seoul.
“With adequate infrastructure to ensure safe handling, transportation and distribution of the temperature-sensitive goods, MASkargo also maintained the aircraft temperature at between 15°C and 25°C throughout the 11-hour flight.
“This mission has proven, beyond doubt, MASkargo’s capability and solid track record of carrying time- and temperature-sensitive products within its network and beyond,” Ibrahim added.
Besides its freighter flights, MASkargo also operates passenger-to-cargo flights with increased frequency to meet demand, compensating passenger capacity reduction.
The company has three freighters and also utilises Malaysia Airlines Bhd’s passenger aircraft — the A330-300s, A350-900s and A380-800 — to deliver goods.
Air cargo companies are gearing up as industry players are projected to see a demand spike in transporting the Covid-19 vaccine once it is widely available.
AirAsia Group Bhd’s logistics arm, Teleport Commerce Malaysia Sdn Bhd, is already taking measures to serve new destinations that were not part of its network before.
“There is a constant albeit a slowdown in medical supply such as personal protective equipment, face masks and Covid-19 test kits from China.
“Nevertheless, we foresee that there will be a spike in demand when the Covid-19 vaccines are ready,” Teleport COO Adrian Loretz told The Malaysian Reserve previously.
He said there is a strong demand for time-sensitive goods such as pharmaceuticals, perishables and frozen products in Teleport’s cargo flights.
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LESOTHO: Clothing Firms Warned Of Water, Labour Problems
A report in Engineering News claimed the land-locked kingdom faces rising levels of labour militancy and union influence as well as severe water shortages which could hit production hard.
The magazine said there are nearly 40 textile and garment plants in Lesotho, the vast majority of which are owned by firms from Taiwan and Asia, and warned future foreign investors could be put off by the problems.
It quoted experts as saying the industry needed to focus more on the recycling of waste water and if it’s to thrive during the next decade.
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Convenience store operators have highlighted key issues they want the new government to resolve after the General Election on 8 June.
The Association of Convenience Stores has urged political parties not to use the minimum wage as a bargaining tool ahead of the surprise General Election on 8 June.
The government is mulling the launch of a deposit return scheme for bottles and cans despite an outcry from convenience stores all over the UK.
The ACS has urged the government to ensure councils are given full discretion over the business rates relief fund, and called for decisions to be made quickly.
The Scottish Grocers Federation has likened its ongoing dispute with the Scottish government over a bottle deposit return scheme to the “war of attrition” portrayed in classic HBO Series The Wire.
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has slammed recommendations for restrictions on alcohol promotions and siting in-store.
The National Living Wage (NLW) may have had a disproportionate effect on convenience stores and other micro and small businesses, the Low Pay Commission (LPC) has admitted.
Representatives of subpostmasters who have lost funds or their businesses due to accounting discrepancies have been given the green light to pursue a legal claim against Post Office Limited.
MPs have called on the government to do more to restrict deep discounting and price promotions on the sale of unhealthy food and drink.
Gillett’s Callington, the South West Spar multiple, has come out top in mainland England in a recent audit from Serve Legal.
The Association of Convenience Stores’ pleas for more time before convenience retailers are forced to comply with the government’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) programme have landed on receptive ears.
More than 180,000 consumer products were reformulated globally in 2016, with sugar and sodium the most targeted ingredients for removal among food and drinks companies, according to new research.
But charging for trading standards advice is a bit rich…
Did Easter sales match expectations?
Donna Mullan, co-owner of Mullan’s Spar in Armagh, describes the impact of winning CRA 2017.


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Fifty-two percent of moms use kids apps, according to a report from BabyCenter.com and Research Now. The report revealed that 81 percent of moms reported use their smartphones to help manage their day. This is up 212% from 2011. Moms are also using tablets more often these days. The report found that tablet usage more than doubled last year, jumping from 29 percent in 2012 to more than 60 percent in 2013.
Kids apps are not the only tools that moms are using on their phones. Seventy-two percent use social media, seventy-two percent use gaming sixty-nine percent use weather apps, and 53 percent use their phones to listen to music and podcasts. The report also revealed the 42 percent of the Moms surveys use their phones to shop, 60 percent use it for banking and finance, and 64 percent use their phones to communicate on parenting social media sites.
Is all of this connectedness affecting parenting duties? Not entirely. Only a third of parents say that their mobile devices distract them from their parenting duties. (Via MediaPost).


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ChinaTravelNews - China’s air ticketing sector has long been plagued by irregularities in third-party ticket changes and refunds. Now state-controlled airlines are taking steps to address this issue.
ChinaTravelNews learned on June 12 that China Southern Airlines, Asia’s largest carrier by passenger number, announced an online feature to allow all its domestic tickets (excluding group purchase, mileage redemption and government procurement) to be rescheduled or refunded through the airline’s App or its WeChat Official Account.
The Guangzhou-based airline said in a statement on Tuesday that it will facilitate this feature with a fully automatic process, instant refunds and instant response in flight re-scheduling.
For refunds, China Southern Airlines offers passengers two options: either through the original means the ticket was paid, which will take three working days, or get instant refund by providing a UnionPay card number.
To ensure price transparency in its ticket re-scheduling and refunds, the airlines has also rolled out a price calculator so passengers can check the price and cost for flight changes or cancellation.
Similar steps were also taken last month by Loong Air, a Hangzhou-based regional carrier, which enabled re-scheduling and refunds on all its direct channels including the loongair.cn and the airline’s flagship stores on different online ticketing platforms.
An industry analyst told ChinaTravelNews that China Southern Airlines’ latest move will further regulate third-party air ticketing operation and have the business re-focus on the improvement of service and customer experience.
Chinese carriers including China Southern Airlines, Air China, Hainan Airlines and China Eastern Airlines separately announced in April to ban third-party online seat selection and check-in services.


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The computer maker is once again the world's most valuable company
As the Dow Jones industrial average plunged another 500-plus points Wednesday, Exxon Mobil (XOM) plunged more than Apple (AAPL) and once again gave up its long-held spot as the No. 1 public company in the world in terms of market capitalization.
When the closing bell rang, Apple closed on top for the first time. The tale of the tape looked like this:
Co. Price Change % Market cap
Apple $363.39 -10.32 -2.76% $337.17 B
Exxon $68.03 -3.14 -4.41% $330.77 B
On Tuesday, Apple's market cap (share price times number of shares outstanding) briefly overtook Exxon's, although Exxon ended the day ahead. See here.
One day later, Apple became the world's most-valued company by a cool $6.4 billion.
As of Monday morning the stock was officially down for 2011
Explain this, if you would.
Two days before Apple (AAPL) was expected to report record earnings -- with customers snapping up iPhones faster than it can make them and others still camping out overnight to buy the latest iPad -- the world's most valuable technology company on Monday was down more than $7 (2.2%) in early morning trading.
It would be one MOREPhilip Elmer-DeWitt - Apr 18, 2011 10:33 AM ET
Giving ExxonMobil a run for its money in the race to be the world's most valuable company
In a broad 2011 rally that pushed the Dow up nearly a point in mid-morning trading Monday, Apple (AAPL) popped more than $7 (2.25%) to hit new record intraday highs -- and to cross a major psychological barrier.
The company's market capitalization -- its stock price times the number of shares outstanding -- is now MOREPhilip Elmer-DeWitt - Jan 3, 2011 10:46 AM ET
|McDonald's gives Charles Ramsey free food for a year|
|Want to invest in Samsung? Good luck!|
|Japan stocks close up after big plunge|
|Stocks: Calm returns as holiday beckons|
|Bitcoin more powerful than fastest supercomputers|


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After a few good years America’s carmakers face a rapid U-turn
THE bravado of America’s car industry is typified by the new Ford GT, the biggest star at the Detroit motor show. The superfast hypercar, unveiled on January 13th, demonstrates a self-confidence born of an incredible turnaround since 2009 when GM and Chrysler sought bankruptcy protection, and Ford narrowly avoided the same fate. But the GT also represents an escapist fantasy. America’s booming market has hit a peak, and there will be far more to worry about than going from 0-60mph in a few seconds.
The jovial mood in Detroit may appear reasonable. Sales slumped to 10m vehicles in America in the depths of the financial crisis. The recovery has been swifter than anyone imagined. After gains of over 1m in each of the past four years, car sales hit 16.5m in 2014 the best since 2006. But the turbocharge is at an end.
Analysts and even some carmaking executives reckon that if there are further gains they will be modest for the next few years. Despite cheap credit, cheap petrol and rising employment, car buying has peaked. Pent-up demand from drivers wanting to replace their old bangers is largely spent. Other trends are at work too—young people are reluctant to own a vehicle and cars are nowadays built to last, says Brian Johnson of Barclays bank.
Yet a few good years seems to have made America’s carmakers forget that the bankruptcies and bail-outs of 2009 ever happened. Morgan Stanley, another bank, reckons that all the capacity taken out in the downturn, plus half as much again, will be added by 2016, significantly outpacing demand. Building more cars for a market that is close to standstill will inevitably mean a return to the old, bad habit of heavy price-discounting to shift stock.
Things could get ugly. Ford and GM have lots of cash to fight a battle of incentives. Chrysler has beefed up by merging with Fiat, and the group is seeking to boost its Italian brands’ sales in America. So the bumper profits the three Detroit carmakers have been enjoying could soon evaporate in a battle to maintain market share.
The big three dominated at home until cheap and reliable cars from Japan appeared on forecourts in the 1980s (see chart). Asian carmakers now account for two-fifths of all vehicles sold. And Nissan, Toyota and Honda have been joined of late by Hyundai of South Korea.
The mighty Volkswagen of Germany—which revealed on the eve of the Detroit show that it had become the first carmaker to sell 10m vehicles worldwide in a year—is also making a renewed push in America, where it has hitherto struggled. Giving it a boost, judges at the show gave the North American Car of the Year award to the latest VW Golf model.
GM may also have sold close to 10m cars last year. But size isn’t everything. VW gets much of its profits from its pricier Audi marque. America’s big three would also like to sell more high-margin cars, but their premium brands lack pulling-power. The luxury-car market in America is dominated by BMW and Mercedes of Germany and Toyota’s Lexus brand. Audi has bumped GM’s Cadillac from fourth place. Ford’s Lincoln is way behind; Fiat Chrysler lacks an American-made contender, though it wants to make its Jeep brand into one. One consolation is that low oil prices are encouraging Americans to buy more gas-guzzling pickup trucks, at which the domestic firms excel.
The Detroit giants face as much uncertainty abroad as at home. Low oil prices may prompt some buyers to trade up to bigger models. But Morgan Stanley notes that 10m cars a year are sold in oil-exporting countries—whose sales will surely droop as their economies suffer. Ford was hit in the big, profitable Russian market after the West imposed sanctions over Ukraine. A collapsing oil price will compound the problem. It may deepen a recession in Brazil, bad news for Fiat Chrysler.
GM and Ford say their chronically loss-making European operations are on the road to profitability—but they have been saying this for years. All three should be worrying about the recent signs that economic growth in China will be weak this year, following a sharp slowdown in 2014. No wonder the carmakers want to create a distraction with their flashy hypercars.
This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Hypercars and hyperbole"


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Home Tags IPhone accessories
Tag: iPhone accessories
iPhone accessories can add to the new phone you got for the holidays because they can be both practical and fun. Here are 25 great iPhone gifts.
Apple just launched a new battery case for the iPhone 11 and 11 Pro, and it introduces a dedicated camera button for the first time
Apple has released a new Smart Battery Case for the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max with a dedicated camera button.
Target just recalled 90,000 of its self-branded iPhone chargers over reports of them smoking, sparking, and igniting
Target has recalled its "Heyday" brand iPhone chargers because they may pose a fire and shock hazard.
iPhone accessories can add to the new phone you got for the holidays because they can be both practical and fun. We've rounded up 20 iPhone accessories
iPhone holsters for your ankle and colorful VR headsets were worn by models at a recent fashion show in Paris
Maison Margiela, a French luxury fashion house, debuted its fall/winter collection as part of Paris Fashion Week. The hottest accessories? VR headsets and iPhone holsters.
Phone cases being s...
If you want the "complete" iPhone X experience, you're going to need to get your wallet out for a few must-have accessories.
Sonix makes affordable, stylish cases that actually prevent your screen from cracking.
The Prynt Pocket is an easy-to-use iPhone attachment that will instantly print your photos.
Wraps are a lot cheaper than cases, or getting your phone completely re-colored — and they're highly customizable.


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Cash has always been a popular payment option, and if new surveys that indicate consumer sentiment hold true, businesses will need to invest in a new cash and check scanning machine to handle an influx of paper transactions. Recent data breaches and growing concerns over unsecured web purchases have drawn more people to cash and checks, and many are claiming they prefer to complete transactions with these payment options.
Many reluctant to switch to new payment options
A new survey from electronic payment provider Compass Plus revealed many shoppers are still happy with cash and hesitant about the latest payment technologies. The research indicated a mere 9 percent of people had used a contactless card in the last month. This hints that these cards, which can be waved over a reader at a point of sale rather than swiped, aren't catching on very quickly with shoppers. Almost 40 percent of those surveyed had no idea what contactless payments were, and those who did named them the least secure payment method, showing it will be difficult for these transactions to unseat the popularity of cash, especially since 93 percent of respondents had withdrawn cash from an ATM in the last month.
Contactless payments are slow to catch on with consumers, but completing transactions via smartphone are even less popular. The survey showed only 4 percent of people had used a mobile device to make a purchase in the previous month, despite the growing prevalence of such tools.
Many want to pay with cash online
Credit cards are a popular option for online purchases, which have skyrocketed in recent years. However, they may not be the option most shoppers prefer. A poll by e-commerce solution Ukash found many of those who shop on a company's website would prefer to pay with cash. Fifty-two percent of those between the ages of 18 and 24 claimed they would do so if given the opportunity, while 30 percent of all consumers said the same. This marks a significant area in which online retailers can improve their offerings and better serve customers, as most don't offer a cash payment option.
To better handle shoppers who are unwilling to use the latest payment options, companies could see a significant benefit from employing a cash counting machine and check scanner. This will ensure consumers know their payment preferences are being taken into account and will remember they won't have to complete a transaction in a manner they are uncomfortable with.
June 5, 2013


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Christmas is coming early this year, Android users.
According to a CNET, Google will announce two new Nexus phones at an event in San Francisco on September 29.
Citing unnamed sources, the publication confirms that the company intends to announce Google-branded handsets from Huawei and LG. This will be the first year that the Mountain View-based company has announced two phones simultaneously.
In previous years, Google has waited until late October to announce new phone hardware. Given that Android Police has also said an announcement is coming in September, it’s likely CNET’s report is accurate.
From previous leaks, we know that the LG-made Nexus will likely be a 5.2-inch device with a 1080p display, a Snapdragon 808 SoC, 3GB of RAM and a 2700mAh battery.
Huawei’s Nexus, which we know less about, reportedly includes a Snapdragon 810 processor and a 3,500mAh battery.
Both phones are said to feature a fingerprint scanner on their back and a USB Type-C port for connectivity.


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Only 1 in 5 restaurants pass inspection
The Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA) has inspected numerous eateries, school catering centres and meat shops in the emirate over the month.
Out of 65 restaurants inspected, only 13 were found to fulfil all standards. That’s a ratio of 1 restaurant that met all the standards out of every 5 that were inspected.
Overall, three restaurants were imposed with fines while 36 were issued warnings. Notices were issued to 13 restaurants and 33kg of unsafe food was destroyed. Only one facility was found to have met all the standards, while three shops were handed notices.
Of the companies supplying food to the schools in Al Ain, one was imposed with a fine for violating rules. And, another one was given “last” warning. The team – the hospitals and educational institutions control unit of ADFCA – also destroyed food items totalling to 32kg for not meeting the standards.
“We are keen on launching continuous inspection drives in order to guarantee that only healthy food gets served in school canteens. It is also key to check possible violations and bad practices by the businesses,” said Mohammed Jalal Al Rayssi, director of communication and community service division at ADFCA.
A series of surprise checks were conducted at restaurants, markets and storage houses in Musaffah Industrial area. Eleven were issued warnings and three fined. Additionally, 560kg of unsafe food were seized and destroyed.
Of the five storage houses the team visited, one was in compliance with all ADFCA standards. Warnings were issued to three storages, and one was given a notice.
“The objective of our inspections – both routine and surprise – is to guarantee the availability of safe and healthy products to the public.”
Launched by the Meat Establishment Control Section at the Animal Control Division of ADFCA, a series of surprise checks were also conducted on shops selling fish and meat products inside shopping complexes and supermarkets in Musaffah.
Of 32 establishments, the inspectors checked, three shops were given warnings while one was imposed fine. They also destroyed 30kg of unsafe food.
ADFCA also joined hands with Ministry of Environment and Water, and Abu Dhabi Economic Department to check whether agricultural nurseries and shops adhered to the laws regulating the handling of agricultural materials (such as pesticides, fertilisers, growth promoters, seeds and saplings).
Rayssi added that the three-day campaign aimed at ensuring safety of food from farm to fork. “We intend to curb handling of certain kind of pesticides which are not registered in the UAE. We also want to eliminate common violations based on improper recording of supply and sale of fertilizers and pesticides.”
ADFCA inspectors use high-tech equipment to inspect safety and quality of food.
Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.


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EA's arena ball-hucker Knockout City will be available on Xbox Game Pass and EA Play at launch, the publisher announced in a blog post (opens in new tab) this week.
Arriving on Origin, Steam (opens in new tab), and the Epic Games Store (opens in new tab) on May 21st, the 3v3 dodgeball arena will also be available via Xbox Game Pass for PC, by way of that service's integration with EA Play (opens in new tab). Combined with the cross-platform support already shown in the game's recent beta (opens in new tab), it looks like EA wants to ensure there's a strong playerbase at launch.
That's important, because while Knockout City's unique spin on team shooters (auto-aim balls that can be dodged, caught, and thrown back meshed with Overwatch-style hero abilities) could be neat, it's easy to see this kind of experiment fall on its face. Indeed, EA has already seen one similar project flounder. Is anyone still playing Rocket Arena (opens in new tab) these days?
Knockout City is already facing an uphill battle, too. The game's reveal trailer was more memorable for its Wreck-It Ralph-style framing (opens in new tab), and there's a sense that the game hasn't really found a style beyond looking a bit Fortnite-ish.
Still, by putting it on Game Pass and EA Play, Knockout City might tempt enough players over to sell its particularly gymnastic brand of arena shooting. We'll find out when Knockout City launches at the end of next month.


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Pearl Abys told yesterday that he launched a public test of the Xbox One "Black Desert" and received a positive response.
The company began testing the "Black Desert" console version of the 8th year. The first 15 days of testing the first day of the test is soon enough to respond to users' responses, and now 30 servers are expanding to respond to the service, the Pearl gap said.
Users who enjoy games in North America also respond positively. It is not hard to see the reaction of games on consoles on operability, target action, high graphic quality, and great battle anticipation.
Meanwhile, the Xbox version of the "Black Desert" will be open for testing until the 12th and plans to launch games in North America and Europe this year.[더게임스 김용석 기자 [email protected]]
Copyright © Games Illegal copying and redistribution is prohibited


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Corona Virus is affecting expat employment. Cathay Pacific airlines is asking 27,000 employees to take up to three weeks of unpaid leave.
In the mean-time, 10,000 Americans have died from influenza this season.
With Corona Virus captivating the news, it's worth taking a look at travel health.
Whether you're traveling to Asia (where most cases of Corona Virus currently are reported) or some other part of the world, including domestic, you should take reasonable precautions to safeguard your health while traveling.
When you travel, wipe down everything you touch! On the airplane, that means the seat belt buckle, the arm rests, the tray table, the air vent, the safety information card, the magazines in the seat pocket, everything!
Don't shake hands with anyone - use a "knuckle-bump" instead.
When you get to your hotel, wipe down everything in your room: the telephone, the remote control, the toilet flush handle, all surfaces, and all items you plan to hold.


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If 12 months ago it had been suggested that in the spring of 2021 the halls of Switzerland’s mighty watch fairs would echo with the sound of not one ticking clock, nobody would have wanted to believe it. News of cancellations to 2020’s Baselworld and Watches And Wonders (once the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, or SIHH) came before lockdown began in this country. It was clearly a grim portent. But surely 2021's shows would go ahead as normal?
And yet here we are. Tomorrow, the organisers of Watches And Wonders Geneva will cut a virtual ribbon on the world’s first organised online watch fair. Later next week, half of this week's 38 exhibitors will gather in Shanghai for a small but in-person five-day event.
Last year, there was little to no time to respond to the fair cancellations. Watches And Wonders quickly flicked the switch on its digital platform and encouraged exhibiting brands – Cartier, Montblanc, IWC, Panerai et al – to upload films and imagery of their new watches for the world to consume while working from home. Times were what they were.
This year, however, the run up has been much longer, but because the world is not yet in control of the virus, the Geneva version of the event is again online. This year’s Watches And Wonders Geneva programme is thus a richer, more involved affair made up of over 40 online keynotes, 400 local digital presentations, 500 press conferences, six panels, individual appointments and a daily “Morning Show”, all streamed live (or as live) through its website.
If that's different from last spring, the big change this year is that the participating brands will include a group of exiles from Baselworld, which is due to take place physically (don’t bet on it) later this summer under a new name of its own, Hour Universe. Whatever it does, Hour Universe looks set to do it without Rolex, Patek Philippe, Chanel, Chopard, TAG Heuer, Hublot, Zenith, Oris, NOMOS Glashütte and a number of others who have jumped ship to Watches And Wonders, leaving the future of Hour Universe as a watch fair in serious jeopardy.
The events that run from tomorrow until next Tuesday will no doubt generate plenty of noise and introduce us to some highly desirable new luxury watches. Watches And Wonders’ live streams are invitation-only – although brands can choose to subsequently post content for public consumption on the Watches And Wonders site – but GQ will be there to bring you all the most important news.
Will Patek use Watches And Wonders to reveal the promised “victory lap” final series of its sought-after Nautilus Ref. 5711? Will Rolex mark the 50th anniversary of its Explorer II with a new model? Follow all the action from Geneva on GQ.co.uk…


text: The Motorola DROID X2 from Verizon Wireless, just announced yesterday, is now available on the carrier’s website for $199.99 with free overnight shipping. It won’t be in Verizon stores until May 26th, but we’ve confirmed that you should be able to pick up a DROID X2 in Best Buy retail locations now. While we’re a bit disappointed that the DROID X2 doesn’t stray far from the original DROID X’s industrial design, the phone packs some beefier hardware. For one, it’s the first smartphone on Verizon’s shelves to offer NVIDIA’s 1GHZ dual-core Tegra 2 chip, and it also comes equipped with a 4.3-inch touchscreen display, and 8-megapixel camera capable of recording HD video, and runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) out of the box. Hit the jump for a link to Verizon’s website.


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The latest branch of Leicester-based family business Chocoberry is launching today. The new cafe is opening at 56 Narborough Road, which was formerly occupied by dessert shop Johnny Custard before it closed earlier this year.
The owners of Chocoberry have told LeicestershireLive that the cafe will be 'soft opening', with reduced opening hours to begin with. You'll be able to visit between 5pm and midnight for the first few days, and then the regular opening hours will be from 10am until midnight.
The menu promises to delight customers with a selection of brunch dishes, desserts and coffee. You'll also be able to enjoy the elegant surroundings, complete with faux flower displays inside and out, for which Chocoberry has become known.
Chocoberry was started in 2018 and now has branches around the UK and even one in Dubai. According to the owners, the Narborough Road cafe will become their 12th store in the UK, and they say they have ambitious plans to expand further by adding 20 more stores by 2024.
At the start of this year, the brand launched its flagship cafe in London Road, Leicester, in the former Christopher Scotney store. The cafe features beautiful faux flower displays, quality furniture and a soft pastel colour scheme, giving it a stylish, elegant feel.
Chocoberry has become known for its desserts, including cheesecakes, cookie dough, tres leche (milk cake) and kunafeh (a Middle Eastern dessert with shredded pastry soaked in syrup). The flagship London Road branch also saw the launch of brunch dishes such as a classic English breakfast, a Mediterranean breakfast, shakshuka and classic French omelette.


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Have you ever thought about declaring your undying love for fried chicken with your phone? Well, neither have we but as the rumor on the block has it, Huawei and KFC recently launched the fiery red Huawei Enjoy 7 Plus with Colonel Sanders emblazoned on the back. Talk about taking creepy fandom a whole notch up! We surely haven’t been this surprised since Snapchat decided to venture into hardware!!
Over the years, we have seen our fair share of incredulous special edition smartphones, not all of which accomplished to be as cool and savvy as the R2-D2 Droid 2 or Samsung’s superhero-themed Galaxy devices; the appallingly unpleasant Hello Kitty HTC Butterfly S was one such exception. However, the latest special edition contraption from Huawei is actually so weird it kind of comes across as the “cool new thing”. Some customers even claim that it is “finger-licking good.”
The KFC-branded Android smartphone was launched in china to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the chain’s presence in the country. The global empire of KFC decided to expand its reach to the most populous country in the world in 1987, with a single outlet opened in Beijing. It was founded all the way back in 1930 as the Sanders Court & Café, before being franchised in 1952. Following a course of three decades, the franchise touted more than 5000 local outlets in china, taking the lion’s share of fried chicken culture in the country. As it was, Huawei also launched in 1987, and has since witnessed noteworthy progress in the mobile industry, both internationally and domestically. Therefore, it seems only natural that the two ginormous companies would collaborate to commemorate “the rise of China in these 30 years”.
According to Steven Li, the senior vice president of KFC marketing with Yum China,
“Both brands have witnessed the rise of China in these 30 years, and both embody the spirit of the times. Our collaboration is a homage to the era. The launch of the phone is also an important phase in the brand’s effort to fully digitalize the user experience and venture into smart F&B and entertainment.”
The new device was announced over Weibo by KFC. While the original post is in Chinese and keeping in mind the shaky nature of Google translate, this is what we gleaned from the broadcast:
“Kentucky China 30 years from 1987 to 2017, 30 years accompanied by the taste of the times, suck refers to the aftertaste! Kentucky together with Huawei joint cooperation, the introduction of Huawei Chang enjoy 7 Kentucky commemorative version of gorgeous struck! Commemorative Edition laser back carving, pre-installed Kentucky Super APP, with WOW member 10 thousand K gold, but also the first to experience k-music song function. Limited to 5000 will soon be on sale, waiting for you to grab!”
FYI before you start inferring the meaning of this distorted piece of translation, “Suck” refers to the brand’s slogan of “finger-licking good”, as translated from Chinese.
Is The KFC Edition Huawei Smartphone worth its Salt?
Watch out Apple as KFC’s brand new Enjoy 7 plus Android device is going to take you up on it! Constructed in partnership with Huawei, the 5.5” smartphone is powered by a Snapdragon 425 processor with the Adreno 308 GPU, incorporating 32GB of storage and 3GB of RAM, with an optional 128GB of expandable memory. The phone comes equipped with Android 7.0, has a 3,020mAh battery, a 12MP camera, and a splendid fingerprint scanner that we hope is grease-proof to accommodate fingers that have been tucked into a bargain bucket. The phone is decked out in KFC’s signature red colour, with the heart-warming illustration of Colonel Sanders etched out on the back. At a mere $160, one could say it’s a fair bargain.
Unfortunately, the fast food giant has announced that it would release only 5,000 of the Android devices, but on the plus side, each arrives laden with the restaurant’s personal digital currency in 100,000 K-dollars, so that the KFC aficionado owners can gorge themselves to their heart’s content on the brand’s scrumptious and succulent deep fried goods!
If you want one of these magnificent fried chicken smartphones, sadly you are going to have to get yourself over to China. While a few units may find themselves resold internationally, it’s important to keep in mind that cellular bands might not work in certain places. Not to mention, since the phone was intended for China, it will lack Google services due to the build of Android 7.0 on the phone.
As soon as the news leaked out, Twitterati over the globe went overboard with amusement while some frowned upon the very merits of the notion. Here’s what a few people have to say about the launch:
— Comet Tech (@TechComet) July 13, 2017
— Kotaku (@Kotaku) July 13, 2017
Real talk, I kinda want that KFC phone
— Jaime (@atilano_jaime) July 13, 2017
They already made one pic.twitter.com/OLQYkrIK5m
—  (@1kona_) July 13, 2017
Let’s see what our panelists of today have to say about this finger-licking development:
- Soon Chen Kang, Assistant Editor at Asia News Network
- Chris Chavez, contributing Editor at Phandroid
Embracing The Wave Of Technology
Image credit: techweez
Our beloved Colonel Sanders isn’t the only good ol’ branded character to have a phone dedicated to him. He has simply joined the ranks of the Disney franchise Pirates of the Caribbean which had previously made an appearance in limited editions of Samsung phones and Marvel superheroes like Batman. Concurrent with the release of the Android device, KFC has also introduced a jukebox like function called “K-music” on its mobile app. The app allows users to share music with any of the 4000 KFC outlets covering the span of the country.
According to Soon Chen Kang, assistant editor at Asia News Network,
“Unlike many young adults, KFC is embracing its 30-something status in China with much zeal through a blend of strategies to keep the brand relevant among the fickle post 90s. At the same time it’s tapping into nostalgia for older consumers who have grown up with the brand. I am confident that K-music will find an audience among the pool of 83 million members that the brand currently has. Music is part of the lifestyle of young consumers and they want music to be on-demand. Word-of-mouth and initial response from consumers (for K-music) has been very positive.”
Keeping Up A Fresh Face
One of the biggest Western brands to enter the Chinese mainland was the fried chicken chain KFC, and to this date it overshadows McDonald’s in the orient. The brand has stepped into the realm of digital savvy in its ambition to keep up a fresh image, such as by opening a robot-staffed restaurant in Shanghai, releasing smartphone games, and accepting mobile payments. According to the brand’s parent company, sales have gone up 4% in the most recent quarter as compared to a year earlier at established KFC stores.
It is not the first time that the brand has gotten around to running slightly bizarre and exuberant campaigns, however. In the May of last year, the brand introduced a range of scrumptious KFC nail polish, which as you might have guessed was chicken flavored and very edible! Talk about taking the “finger lickin’ good” slogan too seriously. This somewhat whacky success was followed with the introduction of chicken-scented sunscreen. In addition, the brand has recently installed facial recognition ordering kiosks which would automatically order a meal for a customer on the basis of their facial expressions, at one of its Beijing outlets.
According to Chris Chavez, contributing Editor at Phandroid,
“Can’t say we ever thought we’d see the day KFC would release an android phone but then again, we also didn’t think they’d make a serving tray with built-in Bluetooth keyboard, a photo printing bucket, or a take-out box that also charges your smartphone. We hate to say it but… the phone doesn’t look half bad. As strange as the entire concept is, I believe that this “Finger Lickin’ Good” KFC phone would easily sell out in the U.S.”
Are You Getting Swept Up In The KFC Rage?
Over the years, we have witnessed a plethora of whacky, and sometimes downright absurd, marketing gimmicks from KFCs that have made us wonder if the brand indeed wants to weave itself tighter into the lives of its aficionados. If colonel Sanders inspired exotic literature (we are still getting over that one) and chicken scented paraphernalia wasn’t enough, KFC now seeks to mark itself on the one thing people cannot live without: Cell phones! While we are all for getting our hands greasy in a piping hot bucket of fried chicken, we still aren’t sure if we are ready to throw away our good ol’ cell phones for a fiery hot addition.
If you would like to get your hands on one, do let us know in the comments below!


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Public transportation is in. Hummers are out. Frugality is in. Wastefulness is out.
The worst oil shock since the 1970s has put a permanent mark on the American way of life that even a drop in oil’s price below $100 a barrel won’t erase.
Although oil prices dipped beneath the $100 mark Friday for the first time in five months, it still isn’t cheap and Americans have long memories. They are saddled with debt, high food costs and home prices worth far less than two years ago.
Experts say some relief at the pump is probably coming within weeks after light, sweet crude fell to $99.99 before closing later at $101.18, up 31 cents. But the era of “staycations,” four-day work weeks, airline fuel surcharges and costly commutes could be here to stay.
One immediate reason is Hurricane Ike, which steamed into the Gulf of Mexico on Friday and forced a cluster of refineries to shut down, sending wholesale gas prices spiking. Also, refineries are still saddled with more expensive fuel and having trouble selling it as people drive less. As cheaper oil begins trickling into refineries, pump prices should start to ease some, possibly by October. “We’re not going back to $2-a-gallon gasoline,” said Stephen Schork, an analyst and energy trader in Villanova, Pa. “Consumers have to appreciate that the low prices we had before didn’t reflect the price of crude, so there will be a limit to how much prices will come down.”
More bad news: Food prices, plane tickets and plastic goods made from petrochemical products aren’t expected to get much cheaper, either. The softening U.S. economy means food makers, airlines and manufacturers are unlikely to roll back recent price increases for goods and services anytime soon.
Although the hurricane is keeping gas prices high, it’s not doing the same for oil, as it has in the past. Neither are geopolitical flare-ups involving Russia and Venezuela. Many analysts say that’s because speculative investors – not rising demand – pushed oil prices to record levels this summer. “This market is clearly telling us that it was priced too high,” said Peter Beutel, an analyst at Cameron Hanover in New Canaan, Conn., who believes oil will fall to $70 to $80 a barrel.
As prices come falling back to earth, Americans aren’t expected to drop their newfound frugality. The reality of $4-a-gallon gasoline stirred up consumer angst that experts say will keep people from reverting to extravagant energy use for years – if ever. “I see a permanent shift,” said Kit Yarrow, a consumer psychologist at San Francisco’s Golden Gate University who has studied how high oil prices have affected Americans’ buying behavior. “Historically, when gas prices come down, people use more. But we’ve learned a lot of new things during this period and it will be hard to go back to our gas-guzzling ways.”


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Companies that move the bulk of their IT operations to Cloud services can end up realising significant overall cost savings, according to a study by analyst firm, Computer Economics.
While Windows 8 is getting blamed for dismal PC sales, upgrading laptops and desktop systems isn't a priority for business users, according to new research.
As the economy improves and at least some of the concerns about the so-called U.S. "fiscal cliff" are resolved, desire for new mobile, analytics and storage technology will drive IT spending this year, according to market researchers and economists.
Tech stocks looked strong Friday morning on the back of a week of upbeat surveys on small business and online spending, positive news about enterprise hardware and hopeful reports on U.S. employment and the European debt crisis.
WASHINGTON -- The IT industry shed employees last year at a much faster pace than they are now hiring them, but at least the industry is hiring.
Forty-six percent of North American IT shops are planning to cut positions this year, up from 24 percent last year, with one-quarter planning to slash staff by 10 percent or more, according to a newly released study by Computer Economics.
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GGG Evaluation Team
First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.
For work use, Microsoft Word and Excel programs pre-installed on the device are adequate for preparing short documents.
The Fujitsu LifeBook UH574 allowed for great mobility without being obnoxiously heavy or clunky. Its twelve hours of battery life did not disappoint.
The screen was particularly good. It is bright and visible from most angles, however heat is an issue, particularly around the Windows button on the front, and on the back where the battery housing is located.
My first impression after unboxing the Q702 is that it is a nice looking unit. Styling is somewhat minimalist but very effective. The tablet part, once detached, has a nice weight, and no buttons or switches are located in awkward or intrusive positions.


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Industry 4.0 and data integrity within the cloud
Not only the manufacturing industries are facing a digital transformation boost as a result of industry 4.0 applications; the same applies to administration, education and healthcare sectors. The future of the manufacturing industry is firmly tied to new digital solutions and enablers such as IoT (Industrial Internet of Things), cloud, 5G, AI and machine learning. Immovable factories will work more flexible and almost all aspects of manufacturing will become more mobile, digital and connected. It is and remains necessary to ensure the integrity and trustworthiness of complex systems.
A recent report on digital transformation by management and strategy consultants McKinsey found that the most successful manufacturing companies are those that take an integrated approach. This means that they involve their entire value chain, including suppliers and customers, in their digitalization processes in order to achieve optimum added value. Therefore, digital transformation includes technological, organizational, process and communication changes – always combined with data integrity.
A look at Estonia, one of the most digital societies in the world, shows how this change is going. The small country in northern Europe revolutionized its administration in the mid-90s with the “Tiigrihüpe”, the Tiger Leap. Today, 99 % of public services are available online – from digital administrative processes over digital voting in elections to online tax returns. “The term ‘e-Estonia’ embodies this robust ecosystem, which has gained global recognition as efficient, secure and transparent,” says Leana Kammertöns, export adviser at Enterprise Estonia. “The knowledge gained from the development of a digital administration and education can also be applied to the industrial environment.”
Estonia: Pioneer of the digital transformation
In terms of data security, Estonia was the first country in 2008 to test a technology based on blockchain, which ensured the uncompromising security of networks, systems and data. Since then, it has evolved immensely and is now used by administrations and businesses worldwide to secure digital processes and data against manipulation, fraud, or simply human error.
Blockchain technology ensures the “authenticity” of a document. It distributes data records in blocks on many different computers instead of storing them centrally on one server. If someone tried to manipulate existing data, it would be noticed immediately because the manipulated blockchain would no longer match that of other users. Fraud based on forged documents thus becomes impossible. Blockchains are, so to speak, the integrity layer in all e-Estonia management networks.
Solutions from Estonia for manufacturing industry and health sector
From the very beginning, Guardtime, a leading cybersecurity company based in Tallinn, has contributed as an enabler to the development of the digital society in Estonia. Guardtime’s KSI technology makes it possible to access billions of data points and process steps every second, creating an immutable and traceable trail of every digital process. KSI stands for Keyless Signature Infrastructure and enables data authentication through scatter-value cryptography (hash function) that places only fingerprints of data on the blockchain instead of complete data sets. “This makes digital services secure, verifiable and controllable, and eliminates distrust,” explains Silver Kelk, business development manager at Guardtime.
While Guardtime’s KSI blockchain technology was initially designed for the Estonian e-government, today the company’s software solutions are at home in various B2B and B2C industries. For example, a supply chain management (SCM) platform offers customized solutions for security, track & trace, counterfeit detection, recall management or post-sale monitoring, the latter for drug safety, for example. They are also used, for instance, in aerospace companies to ensure end-to-end security for their physical information and software supply chains.
This SCM software makes it possible to extend existing systems and connect suppliers and smart devices across extended supply chains. Moreover, it integrates complex supply chains and existing legacy systems.
Guardtime also uses KSI blockchain technology for other applications, such as the tamper-proof digital vaccination certificate “Smart Vaccination Certificate,” a pilot project of WHO and the State of Estonia for the effective implementation of the Covid-19 vaccination program. Another application for the Estonian healthcare system provides immutable audit trails related to patient records. A third example is VaccineGuard, a privacy-compliant global vaccination certificate platform. The software provides health authorities with real-time insights into vaccination records and enables manufacturers to detect counterfeit products in real time.
Zero-trust solution for cloud-based applications
“The complexity of IT infrastructures and data volumes are growing exponentially today compared to when digital governance systems were still being built in Estonia,” says Silver Kelk. He is convinced that there will be an increasing move to cloud-based solutions in both the public sector and enterprises.
According to figures from consulting firm Accenture, most companies are doing an average of only 20 to 40 percent of their work in the cloud so far, partly because of concerns about data security or control. But large companies are exerting traction on the mid-sized manufacturing industry. Automobile manufacturers such as VW, Renault and BMW are looking specifically at cloud-based manufacturing and logistics platforms. In healthcare and building technology, GE Healthcare or Johnson Controls operate their own platforms.
“Based on the same highly scalable technology that protects e-Estonia, we have developed a zero-trust solution for real-time monitoring and compliance auditing of cloud environments,” says Kelk. This solution detects misconfigurations and non-compliance with defined usage and security policies in real time; this speed thus avoids costly data breaches or other security incidents. “Just as KSI technology once served as an enabler technology to build trust in our digital public management systems, the current solutions are creating the basis for broad industry adoption of cloud-based services,” Kelk says.
Easy access for German companies
“Estonia has been a member of the EU for almost 20 years, which means that in cooperation with European companies, legal certainty is given by EU-wide identical regulations, especially with regard to cybersecurity,” says Leana Kammertöns. The German-language website tradewithestonia.de of the Estonian Trade Development Agency contains further case studies on smart solutions for various industries. For direct contact, the Estonian Trade Development Agency maintains offices in Nuremberg and Berlin.


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Apple has been slapped with yet another patent infringement lawsuit
, with ZapMedia Services claiming iTunes and iPod infringe on patents submitted in 2000 and awarded to them in 2006 for distributing digital music and videos.
Specifically, the patents in question cover a way of sending music and other digital content from servers to multiple media players – a broad description that could easily apply to other companies selling digital media and the devices to play it. ZapMedia said its move comes after multiple failed attempts to come to an agreement with Apple. The company is now asking for a royalty cut on both sales of iPods as well as iTunes music sales and a permanent injunction against Apple.


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Barbie has hair loss !
Barbie manufacturers Mattel has created a doll with no hair. The company wanted to show a 'multi-dimensional view of beauty and fashion' with its new series. First launched in 1959, the Barbie doll has been criticised for promoting a narrow, unrealistic idea of beauty. However, the Barbie Fashionistas range has been seen as an attempt to change this.
“The variety offered is designed to inspire girls to tell more stories and find a doll that speaks to them,” Mattel said. “Over the past five years, the line has evolved to be more reflective of the world girls see around them.”
The doll with no hair will be available later this year. So is the company creating headlines to raise awareness of hair loss or are they using the stigma of hair loss to create headlines for their products?
The Stigma of Hair Loss
Hair loss is a challenging subject and can affect people in many different ways. While it is accepted for men to be bald, women's hair loss is not often discussed, often leaving women experiencing feelings of shame and helplessness. The staggering facts are that 40% of women have visible hair loss by the time they’re 40.
People create confidence and self-esteem from their hair and when they lose even a little bit, if their character and confidence is based on that, they're going to have severe emotional and psychological impacts.
Female hair loss can arise for many reasons: Stress and autoimmune conditions (immune system attacks cells); extreme dieting/exercising and weight loss; or an underlying deficiency or medical condition. Even how the hair is styled — in tight ponytails/braids — can put prolonged traction on the hair follicle (‘traction Alopecia’).
Alopecia Areata can affect anyone of any age or gender, and how deeply it affects a person completely depends on the individual. Many women find it extremely hard due to the stigma that still remains around female hair loss. It is often assumed that it must be so much worse for women, but actually men can suffer equally as much and can struggle to come to terms with the drastic, and often sudden, change to their appearance. Whereas there are further challenges faced by women as it can be harder to face the world with a bald head, society is familiar with seeing bald men.
Awareness of Alopecia is key to making it easier for those with the condition to live with their hair loss. It’s amazing the difference it can make simply knowing you’re not alone. The greater awareness of Alopecia, the fewer misconceptions when seeing a bald person and greater understanding of how many people are affected. Alopecia may not be life threatening but it can be life altering. Sometimes its just good to talk...
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WASHINGTON (Oct. 17, 2002 — The International Trade Commission's vote to levy high tariffs against steel wire rod imported from seven countries will hurt U.S. tire manufacturers who need that rod for tire cord, according to the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA).
On Oct. 2, the ITC voted to slap duties as high as 369 percent on imports of tire-cord-quality steel wire rod from Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, Ukraine and Moldova. Countervailing duties—designed to balance subsidies that industries receive from their home governments—were levied against Canada and Brazil, while all seven countries will have to pay antidumping duties designed to counteract sales in the U.S. at less than fair value.
The commission voted 5-0 to levy tariffs on six of the countries, and 4-1 on Trinidad and Tobago. It voted 4-1 to exempt German wire rod from the tariffs, and it also voted to exempt one of the three grades of wire rod.
At the behest of U.S. steel wire rod producers, the ITC placed temporary tariff quotas on imported rod in 2000, the RMA said in an Oct. 17 press release. In anticipation of the lifting of these quotas in March 2003, domestic producers filed antidumping and countervailing duty cases against wire rod producers from 12 countries, the association added.
"Tire-cord-quality steel wire rod simply isn't produced in this country in the quantities we need," said Ann Wilson, RMA senior vice president, government affairs. "We would love to get our supplies domestically, but we import it because we need it." The exemption for Germany was "important" but inadequate to protect U.S. tire makers from significant increases in manufacturing costs, she added.
There is no appeal of an ITC antidumping or countervailing duty decision, Ms. Wilson said.


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Adweek's annual #Brandweek summit will explore the ideas behind breakthrough successes, discuss solutions to pressing challenges and explore new opportunities in the Metaverse. Join leaders from Alo Yoga, Hyundai Motor America, Frito-Lay and more, Sept. 12–16 in Miami. Sign up early to save.
Twitter today said it is changing its advertising policies and no longer accepting ads from state-controlled media entities. The announcement came on the same day the platform discovered coordinated activity from China attempting to sow political discord in Hong Kong.


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3. Ford pays off its workersWhat happened? This past week, Ford announced that 38,000 workers have accepted buyout offers, for an overall workforce reduction of 46%. The plan should save the company some much-needed cash, but the question remains: How much more does Ford need?What does this mean for your portfolio? This move gives the company much more agility to enable a vast restructuring. If the company can properly adapt to future trends in the auto industry, Ford will bounce right back on track. And according to figures from the December 2006 issue of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Spectrum magazine, Ford Motor is leading the world in R&D in terms of dollars spent.Investors can hope that this effort will produce something better than the Ford Fiesta in years to come.http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/2006/commentary06120124.htm?source=mppromo
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Samsung has recently announced the Samsung Galaxy Y Duos which is actually the revised version of Samsung Galaxy Y which was launched a few months back.First of all let’s talk about it’s tech specs and then we will tell you the price of this device.Samsung Galaxy Y Duos has a 3.14″ TFT capacitive touchscreen and is running on Android Gingerbread operating system.Have a look at the device itself below.
Samsung Galaxy Y Duos packs a 832 MHz processor along with 384MB of RAM.Internal storage is unknown to us now but you can expand the external storage upto 32GB via a microSD card.Anyway,Samsung Galaxy Y Duos is going to launch in India next year,possibly in March,2012 and we are guessing that it’s price will be between Rs.8,900- Rs.10,000.Stay tuned for more tech news.
Samsung India has officially announced this device today(Feb. 15) and this device is priced at Rs. 10,490.We are currently writing a new post which will help you to understand better,so,stay tuned for that.
Okay friends the new post is published now and you can click here to get more details.


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The Puma store in downtown Amsterdam has been given a thorough makeover. Occupying 290 sqm. spread over three floors, the shop has been remodeled according to sustainable guidelines, and uses the brand’s new format to boost its presentation and improve the shopping experience of anyone entering the premises. Men’s and women’s collections have now received more clearly designated areas, and Puma’s various footwear collections, including its coveted designer collab lines with Alexander Mcqueen, have been given a more prominent and eye-catching showcase within the store concept.
The overall interior design has been injected with a dose of fun, featuring playful props and gadgets such as life-size puma cat sculptures that greet shoppers the entrance and a so-called Puma unsmart phone that rings when approached. And making it a truly modern store, Ipads have been installed that’ll allow shoppers to purchase products from Puma’s european online store which not only offers a wider range of items but also complete size runs and alternative colors of items stocked in the store.
Designed by Plajer & Franz Studio
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Jharkhand is heading to a food crisis as traders have stopped procuring edible items from other states to lodge a protest against Jharkhand State Agriculture Produce and Livestock Marketing Bill 2022 which introduces market fee on perishable food commodities.
Traders under the banner of Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI) had been protesting against the proposed market fee since April.
“We had tried to communicate our grievances to the government through various ways since April. But the government is in no mood to listen. Finally, we decided to stop importing food items, both perishable and non-perishable items, from other states from Monday. No trader will go for fresh orders until the government revokes the proposed market fee,” said FJCCI president Dheeraj Taneja.
The traders claimed that the proposed fee will lead to price rise of consumable products, thus adding to the burden of common people.
A deserted looking Bazar Samity at Dhanbad on Monday. Shabbir Hussain
“If those dealing in food grains have to pay two per cent tax for buying those, they have to sell those at a higher price for maintaining a margin which will be very difficult in competitive markets outside the state,” Taneja said.
The decision to introduce the fee, under the Jharkhand State Agriculture Produce and Livestock Marketing Bill 2022, had received Assembly nod in March. It is currently awaiting governor’s approval.
“Jharkhand has simply adopted the Central government rule. Once the new rule comes into force, two per cent market fee will be realised on non-perishable items and one per cent on perishable items. Different states have different market fee slabs. The fee is aimed at modernising and improving the infrastructure of agriculture mandis (market yards) in the state,” reasoned Jharkhand State Agriculture Market Board (JSAMB) managing director Manoj Kumar.
Kumar said that the decision to withdraw the Bill has to be taken at the government level.
Jharkhand has agriculture market yards at Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Ramgarh and Deoghar.
FJCCI former president and executive member of Pandra Bazar Samity, Praveen Chhabra, said that the impact would be felt in a week.
“Jharkhand depends on other states for supply of food items such as rice, pulses, edible oil, potato and onion. With traders not ordering for fresh stocks, the existing stocks will last at the most till a week and by then prices will start rising due to the crisis. Traders will accept those stocks which are in transit and had been ordered before May 15,” said Chhabra.
Food grains are imported from Haryana, Punjab, MP, UP, West Bengal in the state.
“On the basis of a market survey 3500 tonnes of rice is consumed per day in Jharkhand. Similarly, the consumption of wheat is 2500 tonnes, edible oil varies between 800 and one thousand tonnes, pulses from 700 to 800 tonnes, onion from 800 to 1000 tonnes, potato consumption is up to 1500 tonnes per day.
“Rice is grown in the state up to 75 percent. 25 per cent is imported from outside,” said Chhabra.


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“Business users are no longer threatened by complex hardware setup or locked into proprietary technologies”
An Adobe-led industry consortium has developed and pushed through a new cloud-based digital signature standard, which was published today by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) amid a sweeping shakeup of how Europe regulates digital certificates.
The Cloud Signature Consortium said: “Access to legally compliant, cloud-based digital signatures on any device, anywhere is a substantial leap forward in usability compared to traditional approaches – which typically rely on a single device linked to either a smart card reader or a software file on the device.”
The move comes amid a push by European regulators to harmonise digital certificate management across the EU as part of its “Digital Single Market”.
It allows digital signature providers to use cloud-based certificates from any EU-certified “Trust Service Provider” (in essence, an approved Certificate Authority).
A new technical standard published in May 2018 set security requirements for banks and service providers under the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2), including new requirements for “electronic seals” and “qualified website certificates”.


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Stanley Black & Decker is closing a plant in Fort Worth it opened in 2020, part of a restructuring of the toolmaker’s manufacturing and distribution network.
As part of the restructuring plan, the New Britain, Connecticut-based manufacturer said it will discontinue operations in Fort Worth and transfer its Cheraw, South Carolina, operations to its facilities in Jackson and Gallatin, Tennessee.
The closing of the Fort Worth facility will result in the loss of 175 employees. The company will also cut 182 employees in South Carolina, while adding 80 jobs in Tennessee. The company did not say when the Fort Worth plant would be closing.
The 425,000-square-foot plant in the Alliance area of north Fort Worth made mostly Craftsman brand tools. It opened in 2020. The company also has a 1.2 million-square-foot shipping hub with about 300 jobs just north of Fort Worth in Northlake. That location is not affected, according to the company.
In 2019, the Fort Worth City Council approved a five-year tax abatement agreement with Stanley Black & Decker. However, the agreement was never finalized and the company relocated the plant without the tax abatements, according to Robert Sturns, director of economic development for the city.
According to a news release from Stanley Black & Decker, the closure and consolidation are part of its strategy aimed at $2 billion of cost savings. While the toolmaker has reported strong revenues, including $16.9 billion in 2022, it has been dealing with supply chain and consolidation issues over the past few years, according to a presentation on earnings from the company.
Stanley Black & Decker was founded in 1843 and has more than 40 manufacturing facilities and nearly 19,000 employees.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at firstname.lastname@example.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.


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The online giant service has recently launched a new application called Crowdsource that allows users to bring their contribution and help to improve the quality of Google’s services such as translation, image transcription, handwriting recognition or maps.
According to TechCrunch, this will be a pilot project and is now available to download for free on Google Play Store. After downloading the app, users will be asked to answer some simple questions about what language they are fluent in and that’s the area they would like to help with.
The app’s each micro task takes around 5 or 10 seconds to complete and every time someone is using this service is “making the Internet a better place for the community”
The Crowdsource app is currently available for Android OS and can be downloaded here.