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This week, we're taking a look at a couple of award-winning businesses and one newly arriving business.
Hey, we're a
Here at the Standard, our goal with Business Pulse is to shine a light on local businesses and bringing attention to their arrivals, changes and accomplishments. I like to think we do a pretty good job with that. We certainly try, at least. But, one thing we often aren't quite as adept with is promoting our own accomplishments. Being the business with the biggest platform to tout others leaves us with not many other options to tout ourselves. So, forgive me for a few paragraphs as we toot our own horn. * Toot Toot*
The Tennessee Press Association (TPA) recently announced its winners in the 2022 Ideas Contest awards which recognizes the best in advertising and design in Tennessee newspapers. The top prize of the event, the 2022 Ideas Contest Best of Show, went to your very own Southern Standard for the multi-color ad, "Patriot Day" that was included in the Standard as a remembrance of 9/11. The winning entry was designed by Nolan Esparza, the Standard's technology supervisor and advertising graphics guru. The ad emerged on top of a field which included 487 entries from 23 different newspapers across the state.
The Standard also picked up a first place in multi-color ads for the poster, a third place award in self-promotion of newspaper for the online sports show, a second place in automotive ad for a Brown Ford ad, first place for best subscription promotion for our Customer Appreciation Week, first place in best rack card for our "print or digital" rack card, and second place in best overall website.
Southern Standard Publisher Patricia Zechman was pleased with the results and proud of the advertising staff. “This is just another example and recognition of the good work done by the hometown folks at a community newspaper. As always, I’m extremely proud of the Standard staff and the day-to-day work and effort team members continue to produce for our readership.
“It’s always gratifying to be recognized for quality work; however, it’s also the effort the Standard staff puts into all dimensions of newspaper production from front desk to the mailroom that is rewarding. It’s a team effort. While news is the implied word in newspaper, we’re still a business doing our best to promote other businesses and entities in Warren County. Bringing solid news and information about Warren County, its people, schools, businesses and events will always be the goal of the hometown news staff.”
I'll wrap up patting ourselves on the back by adding my congratulations to my co-workers in our advertising department and also to the guys on our press crew that did such a good job printing the poster and who work tirelessly to help the print edition of the Standard to always look its best: Tim Woodlee, Tim Hogan and Matt Bufe.
Another local business celebrating a major award is right on Main Street. Collins River BBQ & Café was recently singled out by Tripadvisor as a 2022 Travelers’ Choice Award Winner for Restaurants.
That's a pretty big deal. Tripadvisor is a leading website for those seeking travel advice and features over 988 million reviews on nearly 8 million businesses around the world. Having Tripadvisor's nod of approval puts Collins River BBQ and McMinnville on the global stage for anyone looking for a vacation destination, and that's a great thing for the whole county.
The award celebrates businesses that have received great traveler reviews from diners around the world on Tripadvisor over the last year. Collins River BBQ ranks No. 1 in Warren County and in the top 10 percent of restaurants worldwide on Tripadvisor with a 4.5 rating on food, service, value and atmosphere.
“We appreciate our customers so much and we really enjoy hearing – and seeing online – the kind things they have to say about our atmosphere, our friendly staff, and especially about our food. We realize word-of-mouth is really important to attract new customers, so we can’t say thank you enough to the folks who took the time to give us the great reviews that helped us win this award,” said Collins River BBQ owner Joe O’Neal.
According to Tripadvisor’s Chief Commercial Officer, Kanika Soni, “The Travelers’ Choice Awards recognize the best in tourism and hospitality, according to those who matter most: the guests. Ranking among the Travelers’ Choice winners is always tough — but never more so than this year as we emerge from the pandemic. Whether it's using new technology, implementing safety measures, or hiring outstanding staff, I’m impressed by the steps taken to meet travelers' new demands. “
In addition to the Tripadvisor award, Collins River is the reigning Southern Standard Best of the Best winner for best wings.
Collins River is known for live music events, 2-for-1 craft beers on Tuesdays, and for specials like prime rib and burnt ends. Kids eat half-price every Wednesday.
So, if you're looking for a globally recognized restaurant, you don't have to travel any further than Main Street.
More jobs coming
It's always welcome news to learn about a new company moving to town, especially when new jobs are being created. The Bottling Company International (BCI) is officially opening Nov. 14 at 1287 Mt. View Industrial Drive in Morrison.
The company is owned by Jeff Pennington, Michael Collins and Max Kazhonov. BCI Director of Operations Garry Rausch described the company as "a CoPack bottling facility for the spirits industry. Basically, if you want to put it in a bottle, we do it. We are born out of Nashville with Jeff Pennington of Pennington Distillery (Davidson Reserve Whiskey/Pickers Vodka) as one of the owners. We decided to branch off from there as demand has greatly increased to open this new venture."
The company is looking to add employees immediately. BCI is seeking six full-time line techs ($17.50 per hour), four to six part-time positions, a maintenance position and a welder position. Resumes may be emailed to Garry at firstname.lastname@example.org.
Don Alexander, executive director of the Industrial Development Board is enthusiastic about the new company. "I think this will be a welcome addition to our stable of good employers," Alexander said.
More information can be found in the company's help wanted ad on page 2C of today's classifieds.
Here's wishing much success to The Bottling Company International. Welcome to the community and cheers!
Until next time,
same biz time,
same biz page
Keep the tips coming to email@example.com and (931) 473-2191.


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World-famous skateboarder Tony Hawk has revealed he be will announcing a new game on Saturday at Spike's Video Game Awards.
"I'll be announcing the upcoming release of something new on Sat; the same day as the Spike Video Game Awards. Coincidence? I think not," he posted on Twitter.
We're trying really hard to muster some excitement, closing our eyes real tight and thinking back to the halcyon days of Pro Skater, but our memories have been desecrated by more recent entries in the franchise.
The last game to be released was Tony Hawk: Shred, which used the ill-concieved skateboard peripheral that debuted with Tony Hawk: Ride, and was a critical and sales flop.
We'll try and keep an open mind though.
It's like a mini-E3.

domain: news


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SEATTLE: India has asked Tesla Inc. to
ramp up local procurement and share detailed manufacturing plans before the
carmaker’s demands for lower taxes on electric vehicles are considered, a
person with the knowledge of the matter said.
of heavy industries and finance sought the details from Tesla in a meeting
earlier this month even as the government examines billionaire Elon Musk’s
demand for lower taxes on EVs in Asia’s third-largest economy, the person said,
asking not to be identified because the discussions are private.
departments have also asked Tesla for its thoughts on importing fully built
cars versus so-called knocked-down units or partially built vehicles, which
attract a lower import levy, the person said.
didn’t respond to requests for comment. Representatives from India’s Ministry
of Heavy Industries and the nation’s Ministry of Finance couldn’t immediately
be reached for comment.
Tesla wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in July asking for the
import duty on electric cars to be reduced to 40% from the current 60% to 100%.
The company also asked for the 10% social welfare surcharge — which is levied
on all imported cars and helps fund health and education programs — to be
meeting, Tesla claimed it has procured components worth $100 million so far
from India and suggested that figure would increase following any tax
concessions, the person said. Tesla also pledged to make significant direct
investments in sales, service, and charging infrastructure and evaluate broader
investments in manufacturing once it enters the world’s second-most populous
nation, the person said.
for several years showed his willingness to enter one of the world’s
most-promising automobile markets, but complained that Indian rules prohibit
him from testing the waters first with imports, as high duties make Tesla cars


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Netflix Inc. is joining the key trade group representing movie studios, another sign that the Silicon Valley streaming giant is embracing Hollywood. (AFP/Stephane de Sakutin)
Netflix Inc. is joining the key trade group representing movie studios, another sign that the Silicon Valley streaming giant is embracing Hollywood.
The company will become the latest member of the Motion Picture Association of America, a group that lobbies for the interests of the six major Hollywood studios, according to a statement Tuesday.
“Adding Netflix will allow us to even more effectively advocate for the global community of creative storytellers,” MPAA Chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin said in the statement. “I look forward to seeing what we can all achieve together.”
The studios have wanted Los Gatos, California-based Netflix to join its ranks to help share the costs of battling piracy and other expenses, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Read also: Five Netflix shows to kick-start 2019
The move is another step toward Netflix shedding its outsider status in Hollywood. It comes on the heels of the company nabbing its first best picture Oscar nomination on Tuesday with “Roma” -- a favorite to win the prize when the awards are held next month. Netflix broke with its usual practices and gave the film an exclusive theatrical release before adding it to its streaming service.
The MPAA’s membership is set to drop from seven to six this year when Walt Disney Co. completes a merger with 21st Century Fox Inc.’s studio. The group’s members also include Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures.
Tensions remain between Netflix and the big movie-theater chains, which fear that streaming will erode their power. AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., the biggest chain in the U.S., doesn’t plan to show “Roma” as part of its annual best-picture Oscar showcase.


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Rolf Lippuner, general manager, Four Seasons Hotel, Riyadh lists why Saudi Arabia’s hospitality inventory is on the rise and it’s not just down to religious tourism. Having worked his way up the career ladder to become the newly appointed general manager of the Four Seasons Hotel, Riyadh Rolf Lippuner has been with the hotel chain
Gerald Lawless, president and group CEO, Jumeirah Group weighs up the impending shortage of talent for the industry, life post Expo 2020 and Jumeirah’s ambitious plans to have 46 hotels in operation by 2020. You have spent 18 years with Jumeirah and have extensive experience within the hospitality industry, what first attracted you to the
Tony Coveney has been appointed as the new hotel manager at Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh at Kingdom Centre. A Four Seasons veteran with two decades of hospitality experience, Coveney arrives in the Kingdom from Four Seasons Hotel Sydney where he spent two years as director of Rooms. After earning a hotel management degree in Ireland,
The Grand Millennium Dubai has appointed Hassan Dana as director of revenue to ensure a continued focus on revenue management and hotel profitability. Mr. Hassan will be monitoring demand trends, booking pace, and market trends, which will be translated into total hotel revenue management strategies to achieve revenue goals and increase the market share respectively.
Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates has promoted Gabriele D’Amore from assistant F&B manager to F&B manager. Starting his career as a waiter in his home country, Italy, where he advanced to more senior roles over a period of seven years, Gabriele moved abroad in 1999, where he spent the next 12 years gaining international
The award winning Mövenpick Hotel Bahrain has appointed a new director of sales to spearhead the continued growth of the hotel’s revenue. Rameez Shaikh, holds 15 years’ experience in the hospitality industry with previous roles at two prominent Mövenpick hotels in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. He is well versed in corporate and
Konstantin Zeuke has been appointed GM of Kempinski’s newest addition to its portfolio in the region – Kempinski Hotel The Wave Muscat, Oman, due to open at the end of 2016. “Kempinski Hotel The Wave Muscat is an incredible opportunity to build our presence in Oman,” said Zeuke. “The hotel will be an extraordinary property
Jumeirah Emirates Towers has appointed Nadia Beaulieu as the new Director of Sales and Marketing and Ewart Wardhaugh as the Head Chef.
Having previously worked in various positions in different upscale hotels around the Middle East and Africa, Firas joins the Kempinski Hotel Ajman team with a strong hospitality background, bringing 20 years of experience with him.
Frédéric Savoye, who recently joined FRHI as vice president sales & marketing, MEA & India, outlines how the group will carve out a niche with its three distinct brands as it rapidly expands its regional presence. FRHI is just one of many hotel groups significantly increasing its portfolio region wide by the end of the


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New Jersey is poised to become the first state in the nation to impose a permanent ban on single-use bags to help reduce pollution and protect the region’s famed shoreline.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy recently vetoed a proposal that would impose a five-cent fee for all plastic bags; claiming the measure “does not go far enough.”
“Single-use carryout bags—particularly plastic bags—represent a significant source of the litter that clutters our communities and mars New Jersey’s beautiful shoreline and parks,” said Murphy.
The new law –S2776– would ban all food businesses and retailers with stores larger than 1,000 square feet from distributing single-use plastic or paper bags.
“No bags whatsoever … No single-use plastic, no paper,” said the bill’s author.
Read the full report here.
GOING GREEN: NY Gov. Cuomo Seeks to ‘Ban Plastic Bags’ from Stores, Shops Across the State
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled his new initiative to crackdown on plastic bags throughout the state Sunday; saying the proposal “will reduce litter in our communities, protect our water and create a cleaner and greener New York for all.”
“While the federal government is taking our environmental progress backwards and selling out our communities to polluters and oil companies, in New York we are moving forward with the nation’s strongest environmental policies and doing everything in our power to protect our natural resources for future generations,” Cuomo said in a prepared statement on Sunday. “These bold actions to ban plastic bags and promote recycling will reduce litter in our communities, protect our water and create a cleaner and greener New York for all.”
Cuomo made national headlines late last year after confirming he had secured billions of dollars in tax rebates for a new Amazon headquarters in the New York City borough of Queens; sparking outrage from local residents plagued by aging infrastructure and crumbling subway lines.
Read the full report at the Daily Caller.
CORTEZ CONFUSION: AOC Says Americans Must ‘Keep Fighting’ Against ‘Plastic Bags at Grocery Stores’
Recently sworn-in Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez set her sights on a new target this week; urging all Americans to “keep fighting” against “plastic bags at grocery stores” to combat the negative impacts of climate change.
Cortez was speaking with local news New York 1 when she abruptly slammed the use of plastic bags while shopping for groceries, saying “I can be upset that I get 10 plastic bags at the grocery store and then have to toss out my plastic bags.”
.@AOC: “I can be upset that I get ten plastic bags at the grocery store and then have to toss out my plastic bags because the recycling program in the area is tough, and that’s ok."
(I'm no scientist but couldn't she say "no thanks" if she doesn't want any plastic bags?) pic.twitter.com/zNwx5ugzDA
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) March 5, 2019
“All of these are not reasons to stop fighting. All of these are reasons to keep fighting. These are all reasons and pieces of evidence to say, ‘Hey, we need to make it easier to recycle,'” she added.


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COUNCIL bosses have dismissed claims that they have ever 'misled' traders at the revamped Burton Market Hall - after showdown talks were held in a bid to boost the site.
East Staffordshire Borough Council chiefs rejected claims made by traders that they had been 'misleading' them in terms of how full the market was going to be when it opened.
Sources close to the Mail revealed that traders are also said to have demanded that they are allowed to stay in the hall rent and service charge free until it is 70 per cent full, or they may pull out and leave the hall and withdraw from the market.
A spokesperson for East Staffordshire Borough Council said: "We are in discussions with the market tenants about a number of options in order to assist them whilst trade and footfall is being developed.
"There has never been any misleading of traders regarding occupancy – it is unfortunate that some of the interest that was initially formally expressed has not materialised, however interest in both the fixed units and the pop up stalls is increasing. We are currently looking forward to the opening of four new food outlets in the coming weeks to complement the existing offering provided from the current market hall traders."
Council chiefs have had to fight off claims they are 'not doing enough' and failing to bring in enough stallholders ever since the £1.6 million revamp was officially opened in June after being closed for 10 months.
Councillor Robert Hardwick, who heads up the project, said: "The Market Hall has undergone a tremendous redevelopment and we have been working tirelessly to entice new tenants into the vacant units as well as organise events throughout the coming months."
Businesses currently homed in the market include Quiglo Kitchenware, Burton Butchers, The Kandy Factory, fishmongers Fresh Catch. Bambeanos Play Cafe and Yolo Food Company are set to move in soon.


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Up to 20,000 students attended the first day of Welcome Week: the University’s biggest marketing event of the year. Central to the week’s festivities are a number of corporate partnerships with the University of Sydney Union (USU). Historically, some of these collaborations have been ethically questionable. In 2019, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac both occupied prominent stalls – two institutions implicated in the Banking Royal Commission and who have loaned a combined $4.5 billion to fossil fuel companies since 2016.
Since then, the USU has cleaned up its act when it comes to corporate partnerships. Nevertheless, this year’s line-up is not without complications.
Hungry Panda is a UK-based food delivery company accused of firing two delivery drivers in February 2021 who protested changes to their pay. According to the drivers, who were reinstated after launching claims with the Fair Work Commission, Hungry Panda cut their pay – then following the protest – blocked them from the app.
In a NSW Parliamentary Select Committee hearing into safety in the gig economy, a Hungry Panda delivery rider claimed he earned $150-$200 for a 12-hour workday. Another driver claimed his pay dropped from $9 to as low as $3 per delivery.
The Committee also heard Hungry Panda did not provide road safety training to its drivers. Xiajun Chen was killed while working for Hungry Panda after colliding with a bus in Sydney in September 2020. The company did not immediately report the fatality to SafeWork NSW as required by law. As Chen was hired as an independent contractor, his family was not entitled to workers’ compensation.
DoorDash and Deliveroo were also involved in Welcome Week and have similarly been the subject of controversy due to drivers’ working conditions.
Gillette (Proctor & Gamble) and Weis Bar (Unilever)
Gillette is owned by Procter & Gamble (P&G) and Weis Bar is owned by Unilever. A 2016 report by Amnesty International claimed it was “highly likely” P&G and Unilever’s sourcing of palm oil was linked to child and forced labour in Indonesia.
P&G and Unilever have also both been criticised for selling racist skin-whitening products in Asia and Africa. P&G offers melatonin-inhibiting creams under the Olay brand while Unilever sells Glow and Lovely, previously named Fair and Lovely.
In 2016, Unilever’s major Indian subsidiary reached a settlement agreement with workers over allegations of mercury poisoning at a manufacturing plant. According to the workers’ union, 45 employees and 18 children died as a result of the poisoning.
Mojo Kombucha (Coca Cola)
Mojo Kombucha was acquired by The Coca-Cola Company in 2018. Coca-Cola uses approximately 305 billion litres of water every year, often taken from local water sources. The company has been at the centre of major water usage controversies in drought-stricken regions within India. In 2004, a Coca-Cola bottling plant was shut down in Kerala after complaints of a decline in water quality and quantity in the area. In 2017, the region of Tamil Nadu boycotted Coca-Cola products due to groundwater depletion affecting local farmers.
Coca-Cola produces over 3 million tonnes of plastic packaging yearly and is the single largest plastic polluter in the world. According to a 2017 report by Greenpeace, the company has lobbied against recycling and plastic deposit schemes throughout Europe.
In 2015, Coca-Cola donated $1.5 million to non-profit Global Energy Balance Network (GEBN), who promoted the idea that obesity was primarily caused by a lack of physical exercise rather than dietary issues. GEBN was dissolved later that year following public concerns over its independence.
Optus has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay $7.9 million in fines since 2018 for misleading its customers about transitioning to the NBN. Optus pressured more than 100,000 customers into upgrading to Optus’ NBN Broadband by implying their service was soon to be cut off. The telecommunications company was also ordered to pay more than $10 million for misleading customers who were billed after unknowingly purchasing third-party content.
NOVA 96.9 (Illyria Pty Ltd)
NOVA 96.9 is owned by Illyria Pty Ltd – Lachlan Murdoch’s investment firm. Lachlan is the Co-Chairman of NewsCorp and son of Rupert Murdoch.
* * *
The brands involved in Welcome Week were Love BUDS, Mojo Kombucha, Red Bull, V Energy, Gillette, Optus, Benefits Cosmetics, NOVA 96.9, Weis Bars, SCAPE Living, Contiki, Next Level Paintball, Unions NSW, Sydney Trains, I Rock Entertainment, Google Chromebook, Let’s Go Surfing, Skydive Australia, DoorDash, Sennheiser, Red Cross, Deliveroo and Hungry Panda.
Honi understands that the student board was not involved in the organisation of corporate partnerships for Welcome Week.


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Robotics Industry News
Intelligrated Launches New Blog, Intelligrated InSights
Honeywell Intelligrated Posted 02/04/2011
Blog features intelligence, news and insight for supply chain professionals and influencers
Intelligrated®, a leading North American-owned automated material handling solutions provider, announces its launch of the Intelligrated InSights blog (www.intelligrated.com/blog). InSights will be updated regularly with timely comments on the latest industry news and trends in material handling and tips to improve operational efficiency and productivity.
Driven by a panel of Intelligrated experts, InSights puts an emphasis on educating the reader on relevant industry news and topics that could have an impact on their business. Topics covered include distribution, fulfillment, logistics and manufacturing topics for retail, wholesale, e-commerce, food, beverage, consumer products and postal and parcel industries.
"We hope you will find our content interesting and thought provoking," blogs Jim McKnight, senior vice president, system sales and marketing, Intelligrated, in his welcome post. "Our expert authors will strive to focus on education and relevant industry topics, providing our InSights 'straight from the source.'"
As part of the company's expanded social media program, Intelligrated has also established a presence on YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn.


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Social media is changing. Twitter may have started as a male-dominate platform, but a recent study by Beevolve.com found that women now outnumber men on Twitter by 6 percent. In addition, women users are more active, tweeting on average more often than men.
The subjects they are interested in are different too; family and fashion are more important to women, whereas sports, technology and entrepreneurship are more referenced by men.
Pinterest and Facebook are even more female-dominated. Forbes puts Pinterest’s female following at anything between 72 and 97 percent, whereas Facebook is currently a 58/42 split, favoring women, with women more active than men in updating their profiles, sharing photos and commenting on statuses.
Many businesses would dismiss these figures as irrelevant to them, but it may be worth their while to take a closer look.
Women have increasing spending power, make the key purchasing decisions and are online talking about it. According to a report by She-conomy, women account for 85 percent of all consumer purchases, including everything from autos to health care, and spend about $5 trillion annually, over half of the U.S. GDP. Affluent working women with family incomes of $75,000 or more are growing in number, and 94 percent access the Internet during an average month.
However, the report goes on to state that 91 percent of women said advertisers don’t understand them. Are companies using the opportunities that social media provides to really listen to their customers? Are brands missing out on vital customer engagement that could help them focus their marketing more effectively?
Is Your Brand Listening?
While 8 out of 10 American companies are on Facebook, only 45 percent are on Twitter. Sixty percent listen to consumer conversations on social media, while 8 out of 10 American companies answer client questions and complaints via social media.
Brands can’t afford to ignore women but despite the potential of social media to help companies better understand their audience, there still seems to be a gulf between what brands are saying and what their audience is interested in hearing.
Your Social Media Strategy
Engaging with your audience has never been easier. The following tips can help you learn more about your customers, and even reach out to previously overlooked demographics.
1. Social media is an unprecedented market research tool
Companies spend anywhere between 2 and 20 percent of their budget on market research, but too many are missing the opportunities that social media provides. Your customer base, many of whom will be female, are out there talking about what matters to them, what they spend their money on, and how they use products.
Social media is a market research goldmine just waiting to be tapped. You can learn not only about your existing customers but identify potential new demographics who may be interested in your product and find out more about their lifestyles, interests and spending power. Investing more resources in social media research could provide valuable insights into what your customers want from a brand.
2. Are you really listening?
Many companies only search for mentions of their own name, which is a good enough start, but misses a wealth of consumer information. Don’t limit your searches to mentions of your own brand; you can dig deeper to find out what people who mention your brand are saying about everything else, too. What do they talk about, who do they follow, what is their gender, age, location, and interests? Are women saying different things than men, and how do they perceive you?
3. Are you overlooking potential customers?
Social media gives you an opportunity to learn about potential customers as well as existing ones. With women making up a growing percentage of active users, you can use social media as a research tool to learn more about new markets. Don’t just look at who is talking about your company or products; search for people talking about your competition or similar products. It may be that your rivals are engaging with a demographic that you have overlooked.
4. Are you engaging with your audience on your terms or theirs?
By learning more about your existing customers and about potential new customers, whatever their demographic, you can tailor your content more to your audience. Who is talking about your company? Does your content reflect their interests? Changing your content could expand your audience and win you more sales.
5. Are you on the right networks?
By learning more about your customers – and your potential customers – you can focus your social media effort into where they spend their time. You might consider a presence on Pinterest if you hadn’t already, or else re-evaluate the balance of your time and content. Knowing your demographic is key: how can you better engage with your customers?
6. Are you feeding back?
How is your social media strategy informing the rest of your marketing and product research? By putting your social media strategy at the center of your market research and customer engagement, you may find that your advertising speaks to your customers in new ways, and your products better reflect their interests.
Social media now drives sales like never before. For example, a third of online shoppers have based purchases on images found on Pinterest or other similar sharing sites. To overlook the potential of social media to generate leads, build consumer confidence and to engage with customers on a new level is to waste a growing resource for companies.
Brands as diverse as Dell, Hootsuite, Gatorade, The American Red Cross, Clemson University, and the Super Bowl have all set up social media command centers to not only put social media marketing at the heart of their strategy, but to engage targeted groups and demographics on the contextually relevant platforms in the right way with the right message.
Every year, the average business spends thousands of dollars on Facebook ads but has little or nothing to show for it. If this is true for your business, what can you do about it?
Twitter's own statistics say that videos are six times more likely to be retweeted than photos, and three times more likely than GIFs. But what is it that makes video on Twitter so effective?
Snapchat started as a simple messaging app that made the idea of ephemeral messages into a trend among social platforms.
Social media has changed the game in the hospitality industry. Most hotels use Instagram to visually engage their audience; some use Twitter for customer service and social listening; but many completely fail at Facebook marketing.


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Lies of P, the Pinocchio-inspired soulslike title, is getting a DLC expansion and a separate sequel. Publisher Neowiz dropped a Director's Letter video, in which game director Ji Won Choi confirmed the plans and revealed two pieces of concept art from the in-development DLC. The first one appears to be a laboratory frozen all over, which could presumably be the location where the human citizens of Krat were experimented on and turned into puppets. There's no labelling on them, so for now, we can simply guess what these images could mean for future content. The second art sees our puppet protagonist strutting along an abandoned, almost ghostly ship, which could indicate some Peter Pan influence.
Currently, there is no release window for the DLC or the sequel, which is expected to bring in characters from The Wizard of Oz, but director Choi dropped details for a set of new updates coming later this month. In case you missed it, Lies of P sold 1 million copies worldwide as of October, prompting the developer to return the favour, starting with a patch that tweaks weapon and handle balance, so players can experiment with more armaments instead of sticking to an overpowered one throughout the run. Whenever FromSoftware drops a new game or any Souls clone makes its way into the wild, conversation about its high difficulty level always flares up. Lies of P has been part of that discussion as well, with several of its bosses being nerfed last month.
A tease for what to expect in the Lies of P DLC
Photo Credit: Neowiz
This time, however, the protagonist Pinocchio will have the Rising Dodge ability unlocked as a default skill, reducing the amount of damage taken when dodging. Some cosmetic updates were also promised, with the merchant Alidoro's costume and wolf mask being made available to all owners of the game, ‘as a token of gratitude.' Furthermore, a new slot is being added to Lies of P's outfit menu, separating facial accessories and headgear, allowing players to pick separate hats and glasses for their character. Previously, these wearables were clubbed under the same slot, providing the option to only pick one of them. Of course, a more detailed description of the weapon balance and other tiny tweaks will be released closer to the November patch launch.
Neowiz also has plans to release the long-requested soundtrack for Lies of P, which would total more than 60 tracks. As development on the DLC has commenced, the studio is looking for new developers to join the team, which is ideal for the unfortunate ones who've been recently getting laid off across the larger video game industry. “Even after the launch, our commitment remains unwavering in providing players with a compelling and unforgettable story,” Choi said in his closing remarks about the future of the game. “I love seeing players speculating and discussing various aspects as they wait for the DLC.”
Lies of P is out now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X.
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For details of the latest launches and news from Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme, OnePlus, Oppo and other companies at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, visit our MWC 2024 hub.


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Oppo is launching the Oppo Reno Ace smartphone on October 10 in China. The smartphone was earlier confirmed with a 90Hz refresh rate display and 65W SuperVOOC Flash Charge support but now we have the full specs of the smartphone, courtesy of TENAA.
The Oppo Reno Ace has now popped on Chinese regulation site TENAA, revealing almost all that needs to be put on paper about the upcoming smartphone. Shared by /Leaks, the TENAA listing claims that the Oppo Reno Ace will feature a 6.5-inch Full HD AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels. The phone will be powered by a Snapdragon 855 Plus chipset clocked at 2.96Ghz and will be coupled with 12GB of RAM and 256GB storage. There won’t be support for external storage.
Reno Ace is expected to come with a quad-camera setup with a 48MP + 13MP + 8MP + 2MP configuration. There’s a 16MP selfie camera on the front. The phone is expected to run on Android 9 and will be available in Purple, Green and Blue variants.
Another leak posted on /Leaks reads “2*1950” as the battery specificationwhich could mean that the Reno Ace could come with a total battery backup of 1950 x 2 = 3900mAh. In addition to that, the phone has been confirmed to feature support for Oppo’s latest 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 fast charging that was announced yesterday in China. The 65W charger is expected to charge a 4000mAh battery from zero to 100 percent in 30 minutes and from zero to 27 percent in 5 minutes.
The Oppo Reno Ace will measure at 161.0 × 75.7 × 8.7 mm and weigh 200 grams. Connectivity options include WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, a 3.5mm headphone jack, USB Type-C port and GPS.
Oppo Reno Ace will launch on October 10 in China.


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Led by the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, the scientists say they have produced an edible oil with ‘superior properties’ to those found in palm oil.
The microalgal oil contains more polyunsaturated fatty acids than palm, which can help reduce ‘bad’ cholesterol levels in blood and lower a person’s risk of heart disease and stroke. The microalgae-produced oil developed in collaboration with scientists from the University of Malaya, Malaysia, also contains fewer saturated fatty acids, which have been linked to stroke and related conditions, the researchers claim.
To produce the oils, pyruvic acid - an organic acid that occurs in all living cells - was added to a solution with the algae Chromochloris zofingiensis and exposed to ultraviolet light to stimulate photosynthesis.
After 14 days, the microalgae is then washed, dried, and treated with methanol to break down the bonds between the oils and the algae protein. The oils can then be extracted.
The results of the study were published in the peer-reviewed academic publication Journal of Applied Phycology.
The NTU team has separately developed cost-cutting innovation to replace the microalgae culture medium with fermented soybean residues while improving the yield of microalgae biomass. The team has also developed green processing technology to extract efficiently microalgae-derived plant oils.
To produce enough plant-based oil to manufacture a store-bought chocolate bar that weighs 100 grams, 160 grams of algae would be required, the researchers revealed.
More sustainable than palm?
Palm oil is the world’s most widely consumed vegetable oil, featuring in around half of all consumer products. Farmers produced 77 million tonnes of palm oil for the global market in 2018, and that is expected to grow to 107.6 million tonnes by 2024, according to estimates from the International Institute for Sustainable Development.
However, the rapid expansion of oil palm plantations is has been linked to deforestation in tropical forests.
The researchers said that their algae oil innovation presents a ‘possible alternative’ to the cultivation of palm trees for oil.
Professor William Chen, Director of NTU’s Food Science and Technology (FST) Programme, who led the project, said 'developing these plant-based oils from algae’ is part of the researchers efforts to ‘find successful ways to tackle problems in the agri-food-tech chain’, especially ‘those that have an adverse impact on the environment’.
“Uncovering this as a potential human food source is an opportunity to lessen the impact the food supply chain has on our planet,” Prof. Chen added.
Algae: a three-pronged approach to climate
Besides offering an alternative for plant-based oils or fat, the NTU-developed technique also has the potential to help cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and food waste.
The scientists suggested that when scaled up, the production of the plant-based oils with natural sunlight instead of using ultraviolet lights could help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by converting it to biomass and oxygen via photosynthesis. As the microalgae grows, it converts carbon dioxide to biomass at ‘relatively fast' rates.
In a separate study, the scientists at NTU’s Food Science and Technology programme have also developed a process to produce the key reaction ingredient needed to cultivate the microalgae oil, pyruvic acid. This is done by fermenting organic waste products, such as soybean residues and fruit peels, which would not only reduce production costs, but help cut down on food waste.
“Our solution is a three-pronged approach to solving three pressing issues. We are capitalising on the concept of establishing a circular economy, finding uses for would-be waste products and re-injecting them into the food chain. In this case, we rely on one of nature’s key processes, fermentation, to convert that organic matter into nutrient-rich solutions, which could be used to cultivate algae, which not only reduces our reliance on palm oil, but keeps carbon out of the atmosphere,” Prof. Chen said.
The next step for the scientists is to optimise extraction and improve yield and quality. The research team revealed it has received interest from ‘several food and beverage partners’ and could explore scaling up their operations within two years.
Due to the oils’ properties, the NTU team will be exploring adding them to plant-based meats to improve their texture and nutritional properties. They also hope to explore pharmaceutical and cosmetic uses in products such as topical creams, lipsticks, and more.
‘Screening and effect evaluation of chemical inducers for enhancing astaxanthin and lipid production in mixotrophic Chromochloris zofingiensis’
Journal of Applied Phycology
Authors: Jun-Hui Chen, Dong Wei, Phaik-Eem Lim, Jun Xie & Wei Ning Chen


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In response to sluggish sales, Microsoft has axed the price of its Surface RT tablet by 30%. The 32GB Surface RT, which used to cost $500, is now just $350; in the UK, where the Surface RT used to start at £400, it's now £280. These price cuts are active immediately on Microsoft's online stores, and at retailers such as Best Buy and Staples in the US, and John Lewis and PC World in the UK. The Surface Pro, with its chunky dimensions and weak battery life, is still priced at $1000. In other news, Microsoft has also confirmed that the Surface RT and Pro will be updated, probably alongside the release of Windows 8.1 and the Xbox One. Whether either of these moves will actually make Microsoft's crippled, Metro-only Windows RT tablet useful remains to be seen.
Ever since the Surface RT launched in October last year, one big question has been repeatedly leveled at Microsoft: How many units have you sold? Microsoft's continued secrecy about the Surface RT (and Pro) sales figures has led the industry to just one conclusion: The sales figures are bad, really bad. If the figures were good, you can be guaranteed that Microsoft would be shouting them from the rooftops. Microsoft reportedly ordered three million Surface RTs originally, and the best estimates from industry analysts puts the current sales figure at somewhere between 1 and 1.5 million.With the news that that Microsoft is readying to release a Surface RT follow-up this fall, the massive price cut can only mean one thing: Microsoft and its retailers have a lot of stock that needs to be shifted quickly.
To be honest, we're surprised that it took Microsoft this long to slash the prices of the Surface RT. Ever since it launched, consumers, technologists, and pundits alike have slated the Windows RT's (and by association the Surface RT's) lack of utility, and Microsoft's terrible communication of what Windows RT actually is. Selling a Windows device that can't run conventional Windows apps was utterly insane -- a fact confirmed by the poor sales of Surface RT and even worse sales of OEM Windows RT devices. Some OEMs, such as Samsung, even decided that the confusion surrounding Windows RT was so great that it canceled the planned release of its tablets in key territories, including Europe and the US. Sales of the Surface RT were so bad that even the CEO Jen-Hsun Huang of Nvidia -- the company who makes the Tegra 3 SoC inside the Surface RT -- went on the record to say, "Windows RT is disappointing to us because we expected to have sold more than we did. Everybody expected to have sold more than we did."Microsoft's expected product launches in FY 2014. Note the Surface RT and Pro in pink.
Moving forward, Microsoft hopes that the Surface RT 2 is a lot better and a lot less useless. The updated version of Windows RT, which will be essentially identical to Windows 8.1, will help matters a little. The increasing number of apps, and improvements to the Windows Store, will help too. Perhaps most importantly, though, the Surface RT 2 will presumably come with a hardware spec that's comparable to the iPad, and an SoC that's actually powerful enough to run Windows RT without sizable slowdowns every time you open an app or try to multitask. We don't have the specs yet, but we would expect the Surface RT 2 to use a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC, which is twice the speed of the Tegra 3.
Whether these changes will actually make the Surface RT 2 and other Windows RT 8.1 devices viable remains to be seen. Come winter, Microsoft will not only be competing with the latest and greatest from Samsung and Apple, but also Intel's Bay Trail. With the x86 SoC expected to blow ARM out of the water in terms of performance while maintaining competitive battery life, plus the ability to run full-fat Windows 8.1, the future for Windows RT and Surface RT is bleak. With Haswell inside, we expect the Surface Pro 2 to have more luck -- but with competition in the tablet market growing stiffer by the day, Microsoft really has a tough task ahead.Now read: Intel’s Silvermont revealed: After a five-year snooze, Intel is finally ready to crush ARM


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KEN Vs SIN | Match 24 Oct 23, 2019
KEN 110/0 (14.0)
CAN Vs IRE | Match 25 Oct 23, 2019
IRE 88/6 (12.4)
Latest News on Wii U
Showing of 0 - 10 from 87 results
Wii U - Total results - 87
Oct 30, 2017
Nintendo revises its annual profit outlook as supply shortages plaguing Switch console begin to easeNintendo sold about 2.9 million Switch consoles in the three months through September, bringing the cumulative total to 7.63 million units.
Jul 26, 2017
Nintendo beats estimates to make profit after sharp increase in Switch console salesJapan's Nintendo Co Ltd on Wednesday said it swung to a profit in the first quarter, beating analyst estimates, due to strong demand for its Switch console.
Mar 04, 2017
Nintendo Switch: Another feather in the company’s cap of gaming innovation?Has Nintendo just gone and done it again?
Feb 01, 2017
Nintendo announces that it will release 2-3 smartphone games every yearJapan's Nintendo Co Ltd on Wednesday said it plans to release two or three smartphone games every year in the hope of stabilizing earnings still highly dependent on its volatile games console business.
May 16, 2016
Gaming company Nintendo looking at movie business for growthJapanese video game maker Nintendo Co. is eyeing the movie business for growth.
May 13, 2016
Until Dawn, Zombi, Alien: Isolation and more: Best Horror games to play on Friday the 13thThe best way to enjoy these genuine spine-tinglers is to turn out the lights, put on headphones and have a spare pair of underwear nearby.
Mar 23, 2016
Nintendo rubbishes Nikkei report, says Wii U production to continueJapanese videogame maker Nintendo Co Ltd will stop production of the Wii U video game console as early as this year after stagnant sales, Nikkei reported on Tuesday.
Jan 29, 2015
Nintendo's nine-month profit jumps on cheap yenNintendo reported a nearly six-fold increase in profit for the first three quarters of the fiscal year Wednesday and raised its earnings forecast as a cheap yen masked weak sales.
Jan 23, 2015
Microsoft to roll out Xbox app, Xbox One streaming on PCForming part of Microsoft's plans for Windows 10 on PC, an Xbox app will help unify the gaming experience across the two platforms, while a streaming service will allow Xbox One games to show up on network-connected computers.
Sep 29, 2014
Nintendo Turns 125: 5 lesser-known facts that shaped the Nintendo we know todayArray


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Marc Jacobs Is Bringing Heaven to Soho
Since he founded his eponymous label in 1984, Marc Jacobs has been the undeniable king of New York cool. A true iconoclast, the American designer has become an industry cult favourite thanks to his cross-cultural references that slide from couture to punk to his favourite bands from the 80s, 90s, and beyond. It’s the brand’s diffusion line, Heaven by Marc Jacobs, with its Y2K-inspired uptown-meets-downtown aesthetic that has captivated a whole new generation of fans. Well, now anyone can go on a Heaven shopping spree because Marc Jacobs has just opened its first standalone store in London’s Soho.
Inspired by Soho’s nightlife, Heaven by Marc Jacobs has opened its doors on Brewer Street surrounded by bustling streets and vivid neon lights. The shop itself is decked out with the brand’s two-headed bear mascot along with posters from iconic throwback films including The Blair Witch Project and The Virgin Suicides. Nodding to Soho’s sleazy reputation, there’s a bespoke peep-show-inspired sign with a model dancing in the window — wearing Kiki boots, of course.
The go-to destination for some of the best Y2K-inspired designs, the shop will be homes to the latest Heaven collections along with a revolving line-up of exclusive collaborations. The shop is partnering up with the likes of Climax Books library, Heaven I Stay, and R&M Leathers on curations of exclusive new and vintage goodies. To commemorate the shop opening there will also be an exclusive Deftones collaboration which first launched last week in New York City.
Heaven is open at 10 Brewer Street, London, 11:00 - 19:00 GMT.


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LONDON – With food prices having doubled in the past decade, food security is back on the international agenda. How can the world produce more to feed the next billion people? How can agricultural yields be raised? What is the best way to develop aquaculture?
Unfortunately, this focus on the supply side misses half the problem. The world already produces more than twice the number of calories that the human population requires. An estimated one-third of global food production is wasted. In poor countries, food is lost due to inadequate storage and gaps in the supply chain (for example, a lack of refrigeration); in rich countries, food is also wasted in the supply chain, and consumers throw a lot of food away.


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Wen: March Trade Deficit to Hit $8b
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao estimated China may record a trade deficit of more than $8 billion in March, China Daily reported March 23. According to the report, the deficit would be the first since May 2004.
China's Minister of Commerce Chen Daming said March 22 there is a possibility the country may record a trade deficit in March, based on strong growth of imports in the previous two months.
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Listeners can now respond to voice ads to receive more information about the product
Ads are powered by Instreamatic’s AI technology, where it enables audiences to engage
Gaana claims to be growing at 100% YoY, both in ad revenue and subscription revenue
Music streaming app Gaana, on Thursday (December 20), announced that it has partnered with San Francisco-based voice dialogue marketing platform Instreamatic to enable advertisers to offer interactive voice dialogue ads both in India and globally. Through this collaboration, Gaana will be joining Instreamatic’s voice ad exchange for enhanced voice ad monetisation.
In a press statement, Gaana said that the advertisers on audio-based platforms have struggled with the ‘click challenge,’ in terms of measuring and attributing the success of audio ad campaigns.
Prashan Agarwal, the CEO of Gaana said that the users will now be able to engage with interactive voice ads by controlling the conversation and helping advertisers deliver positive experiences. For instance, an ad’s call-to-action might invite the listener to respond affirmatively in order to receive more information about the product or services, or negatively to skip the ad. Furthermore, the ads are powered by Instreamatic’s AI technology, which enables audiences to engage with the ads in an interactive manner, where the user can respond with ‘ yes or no.’
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Launched in 2010, Times Internet and Tencent-owned Gaana currently has a userbase of 125 Mn monthly active users in India and more than 3.2 Bn monthly streams. With this partnership, advertisers can leverage on Instreamatic’s AI-based technology. The music streaming platform will now allow brands to engage in ongoing conversations not only across ads, but even across channels and audio publishers. In addition to this, advertisers can retarget listeners with new ad content, customised based on their previous history with the campaigns.
Gaana claims to be growing at about 100% year-on-year (YoY), both in terms of ad revenue and subscription revenue. However, there are other players in the market, including YouTube Music, Spotify, JioSaavan among others. Apart from these, there are other startups like live music streaming app Streo and podcast startup Kuku FM.
Music Streaming Landscape In India
It is needless to say that Indian consumers are spoilt for choice. The music streaming landscape in India has turned into a battleground, where both domestic and international music streaming players are fighting their ways to generate revenue. According to a Deloitte report, the music streaming industry in India currently generates revenue of $37.9 Mn, while the overall music industry in India is valued at $150 mn.
Chinese media giant ByteDance is also planning to launch its music streaming platform. In May 2019, the company is in talks with Popular Indian music labels such as T-Series and Time Music for licenses. Previously, it had secured rights from the world’s three largest record labels Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment.


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May 25, 2022Money Financial literacy Economy Travel Commentary In the news News
What's Happening Today - May 24
I’m back after a week off and fresh as a daisy. Julie and I headed up to Tofino for a few days and witnessed the power of the Pacific up close and personal with that big storm last Wednesday. All I can say is wow, those were some seriously big waves.
So what’s been happening while I was away? Well for starters, CIBC did a 2 for 1 stock split, so if you see CM’s share price seriously lower than your last statement, it’s because you have twice as many shares (splits are generally viewed as a positive for share growth). In the broader view, the past week saw earnings fall short of expectations in reports from some large retailers, sending nervous equity markets into a bit of a tailspin. But there’s a macroeconomic story woven into the themes that were common to several of them. First, there were signs that retailers are having difficulty passing on all of the increase in their costs in what they can charge their customers. That may well be an early signpost for a turn in inflation, at least in the goods side of the economy. Pressed by higher prices for essentials like food and gasoline, and despite rising wages, Americans might not quite have enough to cover escalating inflation in everything else on the shelf. Some reported rising inventories, consistent with official data that showed a climb in retail inventories since the start of the year. While supply chains aren’t fully healed, and can’t be while parts of China are in severe lockdowns, we might be seeing at least some relief on that front, which would also be a dampener on inflation. Consumer spending was still reasonably healthy in the first quarter, and could be revised higher given an upward revision to retailing data. But a handoff is underway from goods consumption, which has been miles above trend, towards services, which are outpacing the goods sector in year-on-year volume growth for the first time since the pandemic. The services sector is less constrained by capacity limitations — it’s easier to get a hotel room these days than a newly made vehicle — and better positioned to absorb additional demand without as much of an inflationary bump. In other U.S. news, the Biden administration is preparing to authorize the release from the Northeast Home Heating oil reserve if conditions deteriorate. President Biden also reiterated that the U.S. is considering reducing Chinese tariffs, and that the policy towards Taiwan (including using force to defend) hasn’t changed.
Across the pond in the Eurozone, the European Central Bank’s Lagarde basically commits to raising rates at the July and September meetings (25bps each) when she says that the ECB “will be in a position to exit negative rates by Quarter three”. Additionally, the Lagarde says that if the inflation outlook stabilizes, the ECB will continue to move to neutral rate in a “gradual” manner. However, if inflation expectations become de-anchored, then “we would need to withdraw accommodation promptly to stamp out the risk of a self-fulfilling spiral”. Earlier today, Lagarde further clarifies and says that rates may be positive at the end of Quarter three (“can be at zero, or slightly above zero”). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed global business and political leaders at the World Economic Forum on Monday, urging stiffer sanctions on Russia. Meanwhile, the Russian army met heavy resistance in the southern Ukrainian city of Melitopol.
Asian markets pulled back, led by internet and technology stocks. China will offer tax relief of over US$21 billion to boost its economy amid growing concerns fueled by COVID-19 lockdowns. Japan's manufacturing activity for May grew at the slowest pace in three months, reflecting supply bottlenecks from parts shortages and China's COVID-19 lockdowns.
Oil prices are up on expectations of higher fuel demand from the U.S. summer driving season, despite worries over a possible global downturn.
As always, give us a call if you have questions, or if you’d like to get together for a review.
And I see 5 names on our RSVP list for Monday’s first event since the pandemic – I’d love to see more of you! Please let me know if you’d like to join in on the festivities (don’t worry – we’ll learn something too).


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Elon Musk to build a new Tesla factory in Germany
Tesla plans to build 500,000 electric vehicles a year at its new factory on the outskirts of Berlin, Germany’s Bild newspaper reported on Wednesday.
THE COMPANY WILL INVEST €4 BILLION
Last month, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk announced that a site in Gruenheide, Brandenburg, had been chosen to build Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.
German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that Tesla will invest up to 4 billion euros ($4.41 billion) in the plant.
Tesla’s Gigafactory will create 10,000 jobs, Bild said, citing planning documents to develop the site which is as large as 420 soccer pitches.
Construction will start in 2020, the newspaper reported. Tesla declined to comment on the Bild article or on its expansion plans.


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Cosmetics Manufacturer Coty Takes Retail Space in Times Square
Beauty product maker Coty has leased a five-story retail building in Times Square for its flagship, landlord SL Green (SLG) Realty Corp. announced in a press release.
Coty owns several major cosmetics brands, including CoverGirl, Max Factor, Rimmel, Sally Hansen, Clairol and OPI Products, and it produces fragrances for Marc Jacobs, Hugo Boss, Gucci, Burberry, Calvin Klein and Adidas.
The perfume, haircare and makeup giant inked a 10-year, 10,040-square-foot lease for the entirety of the property at 719 Seventh Avenue, also known as 30 Times Square. The 104-year-old conglomerate also leased all 5,800 square feet of the building’s LED billboards. Asking rent for the space wasn’t disclosed. Women’s Wear Daily first broke the news of the deal.
SL Green finished developing the building at the corner of West 48th Street last year, and Coty is expected to take over the space in July.
“As the retail world evolves, Times Square has transformed, delivering state-of-the-art customer experiences, high sales volumes, social media engagement and global marketability, all of which are highly desirable in the current retail landscape,” said Brett Hershfeld, an SL Green managing director, in prepared remarks.
RKF’s Ariel Schuster, Ross Berkowitz, Mitch Heifetz and Jason Wecker represented SL Green and JLL’s Michael Hirschfeld represented Coty on the transaction. A JLL spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Schuster told Commercial Observer Coty leasing the property for its flagship is “a good example that Times Square is a market that’s drawn a lot of non-traditional retail tenants. Smart landlords are able to attract non-traditional retailers. Times Square is an incredible market and opening stores there really makes a statement to the whole world.”


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Crash of 1929 gives unlikely support to Pearson profit
J.K. Galbraith’s classic study of the Wall Street crash became an unexpected bestseller for Penguin last year, as book buyers turned to history for help amid the credit crunch.
Sales of The Great Crash 1929 leapt more than twelvefold to 12,642 as readers increased their spending on books owned by the publisher, which is owned by Pearson, the media group.
Penguin lifted profits by 4 per cent to a record £93 million in 2008 and, while other parts of Pearson’s business face pressures in 2009, Dame Marjorie Scardino, Pearson’s chief executive, described the consumer publisher as “recession resistant”. She said that people were keen to understand the credit crunch, as the Galbraith sales spike showed, but also said that escapist fiction — such as the


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The company said it has received two orders from the central government to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients from poppy capsules and other derivatives on an annual basis.
It plans to execute both these tenders from its API manufacturing unit located at Savli, Gujarat.
The Indian opiate market holds good potential and the receipt of this order opens the doors to a new business vertical with better margins, he added.
"This is for the first time in the history of the nation that the government has deregulated Opiate Processing to a private player, and we are extremely honoured to be awarded the very first tender in this segment," Jain said.
- Front Page
- Pure Politics
- Sumitomo Mitsui, 4 Others Sought Info on IDBI Sale
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and one other global bank are among five potential investors that have sought information from the Centre about the sale of state equity in IDBI Bank through a formal query process that closed on November 10, people familiar with the matter told ET.Flipkart may go in for $700m Esop Buyback
Walmart-owned homegrown ecommerce marketplace Flipkart is likely to facilitate a $700 million employee stock buyback as part of digital payments platform PhonePe’s new financing round, multiple sources briefed on the matter told ET.Falling Input Costs may Cool Prices of Essentials, Apparel
Prices of groceries, daily essentials and apparel are likely to fall over the next two quarters as input costs are expected to decline, spurring sales in the process, according to consumer goods makers.
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Shiner, Texas (Nov. 13, 2020) – An international panel of brewing experts honored the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas today as its iconic Shiner Bock was awarded a gold medal in the Session Beer category at the European Beer Star 2020 competition in Nuremberg, Germany.
“We are very proud of our flagship Shiner Bock, so to receive this gold medal for it from one of the largest and most competitive beer competitions in the world is incredibly gratifying,” said Shiner Brewmaster, Jimmy Mauric. “Winning gold in the Session Beer category is a testament to just how well Shiner Bock balances its rich flavor with being refreshing and easy-drinking—precisely the same attributes that define the Session Beer style.”
More than 2,000 beers from over 40 different countries competed at the European Beer Star as a 72-member panel of master brewers, beer sommeliers, and beer connoisseurs from around the world took part in a two-and-a-half-day blind tasting. For Stefan Stang, Managing Director of the Bavarian private brewers’ association Private Brauereien Bayern, this is one of the reasons why the Beer Star competition has such a strong worldwide reputation.
“The phenomenal rise of our competition shows how important artisanal brewing has become and the great variety of beers being produced. We are proud that we managed to organize such a high-quality competition in these turbulent times,” Stang said, in commenting on the goals behind this year’s competition.
This gold medal marks the second European Beer Star gold medal win for Shiner Bock and it is the 19th major award overall in international competition for Shiner Bock since the year 2000.
About Shiner and the Spoetzl Brewery
The Spoetzl Brewery was founded in Shiner, Texas (population 2,069), in 1909, by Czech and German immigrants brewing beer with old-world traditions and heritage. Since then, the brewery has grown to be one of the leading independent craft brewers in the country with beers available in all 50 states and Mexico. To this day, every drop of the award-winning beer is brewed right in Shiner, TX, where it all started 111 years ago. Visit us at www.shiner.com.


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Swiftkey, the London start-up that provides an alternative keyboard for mobile devices running on Google's Android platform, is set to start building the software behind its mobile app into cars.
The Southwark-based firm, which has been selected to appear on Tech City UK’s programme for fast growing start-ups and was backed with £11.3 million in funding last September, announced today that it is partnering with in-car entertainment manufacturer Clarion on their AX1 Android-powered touchscreen car stereo system, which is designed to be built into car dashboards.
SwiftKey said it will be providing the default keyboard across the whole AX1 device, which means that its software will underpin multiple interactions, from passengers typing directions to choosing which songs to play.
The internet-connected AX1 sets out to provide drivers and passengers with a web browser and 1080p video playback via a 6.5 inch capacitive multi-touch display.
The AX1 is currently available in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and India, with rollouts planned for countries in South Africa, the Middle East, the rest of South East Asia and the CIS.
Lst October, the start-up issued an update that unified its software across phones and tablets through a single version (SwiftKey 4.3) that can support multiple form factor scenarios and typing styles. The update could be seen as SwiftKey making its product increasingly flexible so that it can be applied to as many devices as possible.
SwiftKey co-founder and CTO Dr Ben Medlock said: “We believe ‘connected car’ technology will be a growing trend throughout 2014 and is set to reach the mainstream. Partnering with a cutting-edge company such as Clarion demonstrates our real interest in this exciting sector and signals our ambition to become known as a leading platform for innovative, personalized technology.”


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The skyline of the Wasatch Front shows growth and development everywhere. But much of the growth is among homogenous corporate retail chains, restaurants, and big-box stores.
According to Val Hale, who is the President of Utah’s Office of Economic Development, AKA GoEd – the Governor’s Office of Economic Development – Utah’s economy is booming. Just last year one million people left California and a large percentage of those people came to Utah, Arizona and Texas. “Utah’s economy is the envy of the nation,” says Hale.
Hale stopped by our office to appear on our newly launched Utah Stories podcast. We had a lengthy discussion about the future of Utah’s economy including the coming age of automation; the growing divide between the rich and the poor. We also discussed Utah’s tax revenue surplus of $1 billion as well as a growing sales tax deficit. Most importantly, we talked about how Utah leaders go about building stronger local economies for the cities they serve.
Hale oversees sixteen programs designed to build and grow Utah’s economy. They include Utah’s Office of Tourism, The Utah Film Commission, and the “corporate recruitment” programs which are designed to persuade more big corporations to located to Utah from not just California and Silicon Valley, but from all over the world.
Adobe And Goldman Sachs Huge Investments into Utah
Hale says the “poster child” for a corporate recruitment program that worked is Adobe. The state offered Adobe a big incentive after they bought out Omniture to build an additional headquarters in Lehi. Today, Adobe is doubling the size of their Utah offices. This is thanks in large part to the excellent labor pool that exists in Utah as well as the growing number of talented people who are attracted to the idea of locating to Utah.
Hale also spoke to us about how Goldman Sachs is doubling-down on the expansion of their office in Utah. They will reach up to 3,000 employees. This makes Goldman’s Utah office the fourth largest office in the world and second largest in the United States.
What Incentives Exist For Utah Small Business?
In our opinion, giving out huge sums of money, tax abatements and incentives to corporations only make our local tax base more reliant upon Wall Street to survive, and we don’t believe these efforts help but only hinder small business owners who never receive such handouts.
What I learned in talking to Mr. Hale is that these two ideals—helping both big and small businesses— are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Mr. Hale is a small business proponent, “Most businesses in Utah have between two and four employees and overall they employ far more people than the big businesses,” Hale recognizes.
When I pointed out the corporate welfare that cities hand out to entice big players such as Walmart, Cabellas, and Scheels, Hale says, “The cities compete vigorously with each other to try to get projects. This past legislative session there was some discussion about changing the whole way that sales tax is distributed so that it doesn’t become such a dog fight among cities.”
The practice of cities building incentive packages to compete against each other for big-box retail sales tax dollars clearly represents government abuse of power. Why should any big-box retailer get such as Scheels receive a huge amount of tax rebates and incentives when local businesses receive nothing? He admits that this is a problem, but says his office has nothing to do with incentivizing retail for sales tax purposes.
Hale encourages cities economic development directors to instead create an ecosystem that fosters the growth and development of small business and encourages entrepreneurs.
Hale offers a clear example in Provo:
“If you as a community can create some type of an environment where you can grow and be creative and flourish, then you have businesses there. Scott Smith was the BYU professor who started Qualtics in the basement of their house with his sons. You look at Provo and right next to each you had Ancestry.com, Vivint and Qualtircs. They practically shared the same parking lot and those three businesses got about $100 million of venture capital…They were hiring all of these people and it was just a great economic boon for the cities and the communities.”
He said that this model is a far better way to develop a strong tax base than to offer huge retailers and car dealerships big incentives.
Our conversation continued about how despite Utah having a $1 billion surplus, state leaders are currently cutting programs. To hear why this is the case, listen to our entire 35-minute podcast on Val Hale. Find it on iTunes or SoundCloud.


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With an eye to bringing power efficiency to high-performance systems, a prototype supercomputer with quad-core ARM processors is being built at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center in Spain.
Intel on Monday announced what it called its fastest chip to date for PCs, the six-core Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition processor, which is based on the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture and designed for use in high-end desktops.
After a brief delay and more than a year of chatter, Advanced Micro Devices has announced the availability of its first 16-core Opteron server chips, which pack the largest number of cores available on x86 chips today.
With Nvidia and Cisco reporting results, there was some good news on the chip and networking front this week that, with the help of a successful debt offering by Italy that eased economic concerns, helped fuel a rise in IT vendors' shares Friday morn...
Tablets and smartphones will soon get quad-core processors with Nvidia's new Tegra 3 chip, which will eclipse the application and graphics performance provided by dual-core processors found on tablets like Apple's iPad and Motorola's Xoom.
Apple is working to fix the battery problems faced by users of devices carrying its i0S 5 mobile operating system, solve a security issue with the magnetic SmartCover for the iPad 2 and add a new multi-touch feature to its original tablet.
There was mixed news on PC and microprocessor market growth this week, while the Groupon initial public offering Friday showed that there are plenty of people betting that social media will continue to drive technology trends.
Intel and MIPS Technologies expect the next version of Google's mobile operating system, Android 4.0, to soon run on tablets and smartphones based on their processors.
AMD plans to lay off 10 per cent of its global workforce and will terminate "existing contractual commitments" in a plan to cut costs, the company announced Thursday.
Intel registered a drop in worldwide laptop-processor market share during the third quarter this year as Advanced Micro Devices came on strong with its latest Fusion PC processors, IDC said on Thursday.
Concern about how well quad-core processors will work in mobile devices like smartphones and tablets means that Texas Instruments will focus on releasing chips with dual-core ARM processors for these applications, a company executive said this week.
Nokia will use ST-Ericsson's dual-core NovaThor chips in future Windows Phones, the companies said on Wednesday.
Worldwide processor shipments went up during the third quarter this year and Advanced Micro Devices gained market share from Intel over last year despite being hurt by manufacturing problems, according to a study released by Mercury Research on Tuesd...
Calxeda on Tuesday announced its EnergyCore, an integrated server chip with an ARM processor that could provide the groundwork for ARM to challenge Intel's dominance in the server market.
Apple iPhone 4S users worried about the device’s battery draining rapidly can take steps to prevent the problem.
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First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.


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A new sports car, made by Tesla Motors, is a tribute to Nikola Tesla, the most famous person few have heard of.
The car, which can go zero to 60 in 3.7 seconds is completely electric. It doesn’t use a drop of gasoline. The sports car also doesn’t lose power in altitude. It retails for $128,000.
Tesla was looked upon as an insane person, as he spoke of transmitting pictures, wireless electricity and transmitting electricity. But he was way before his time. He is credited with several inventions that we could not live without today – AC power, an electric motor, radio tubes and a laser. He also figured out a way to electrify gas, making the first neon light.
He may be most popular for the Tesla Coil, which he tested while living in Memorial Park near Colorado Springs.
A century later, Tesla Motors is also before their time with their electric car. It’s a rolling tribute to a man and his inventions. Tesla Motors is also working on an electric sedan which will have a battery that lasts longer and will be half the cost of the roadster.
For more on Nikola Tesla, check out the Tesla Society’s Website.


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Dairy Council advises against keeping milk in fridge door during warm weather
Householders are being reminded not to store their milk in the door of their fridge after complaints that it seems to sour within days of being opened.
The Irish Dairy Council has reacted to complaints that milk seems to go off within a few days despite the use-by date indicating it should last a week.
In a comment to The Irish Times, the council said there is no reason for normal pasteurised milk to go off more quickly during the warm weather as long as it is stored at the right temperature.
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Toronto, Canada-based up-and-coming artist Taahira Aqyila Duff (who goes by ‘Aqyila’) is delivering vibes, making moves, and even inspiring superstar singer Lizzo to get down to her Tik Toks.
Aqyila was busy twisting her hair the night her TikTok went viral, triggered by award-winning artist Lizzo singing along to a version of her song called ‘Bob For Me’, which has garnered more than 14 millions views and 3 million likes.
“TikTok honestly is one of the greatest tools we have now for social media, because since it’s so easy; like you’re just sitting on the screen scrolling, you’re bound to pop up on somebody’s page,” Aqyila shared with Atlanta Black Star.
Her views on TikTok are quickly melding into digital streaming success. As of June 2021, 'Vibe For Me' has almost 6 million streams on Spotify, translating to roughly $26,000 in current earnings. Aqyila has mentioned that it's important to her that everyone involved with the creation of 'Vibe For Me' get the credit and pay they deserve. Producers PDUB and Thomas Crager crafted the beat for 'Vibe For Me', and Aqyila shared that "[she] made sure to credit them and make sure they also got their payment because without that beat, it wouldn't even exist."
BeatStars A&R and Live Show Host Cammy Tabb, came across 'Vibe For Me' and realized it was produced by BeatStars Publishing clients PDUB and Thomas Crager, sparking the beginning of a relationship between BeatStars and Aqyila.
"We're her day-to-day management," Cammy Says. "We helped her with all of the label calls, which eventually led to her signing with Sony Canada. In addition, we handle her emails, brand deals, scheduling, and anything additional with Sony Canada."
When asked about her experience working with Aqyila, Cammy noted it as being "...an incredible experience. Aqyila is not only talented but the most down to earth and kindhearted soul. She cares about her music and craft deeply and doesn't take anything for granted, which shows when working with her."
Aqyila has recently been signed to Sony Music Canada, joining artists like 404Vincent, Celine Dion, Famba, and more. Her song 'Vibe For Me' is available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music and other digital platforms.
"There is so much success headed Aqyila's way and BeatStars is excited and honored to be along for the ride," Cammy says. "Stay tuned!"


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THE bilateral links between Fiji and India will again be strengthened with the visit of Indian travel agents to our shores.
Attorney-General and Minister for Tourism Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said a group of Indian travel agents and travel writers would be hosted at the Shangri-La Fijian Resort today for the India-Fiji Tourism Exchange Day.
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said the trip made by the Indian delegation would be a good opportunity for Fiji to showcase to the Indian travel agents what the country had to offer in terms of tourism.
"In fact we have approximately 35 travel agents and also some travel writers accompanying them will be meeting with the various product owners and property owners here in Fiji," he said.
"This is an opportunity for the locals to give the visitors the products that are available in Fiji."
Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said the Indian market was fast growing and the meetings and exchange of ideas would benefit the tourism industry and the country as a whole.
"The Indian market is a growing market and has grown by 30 per cent though the number is still small but their spending is quite high."
"They also take part in lots of activities like skydiving etc and they are trying to explore Fiji as much as possible.
"This is a good opportunity to bring everybody under one roof and get them to meet these people first hand," he said.


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Latest in Highlight
We aim to increase the number of payment points in Egypt to 70,000 in 2017
We began launching the service with a number of banks and will soon be activated with others, says Fawry CEO
We aim to increase payment outlets to 60,000 by the end of 2016, says CEO
E-payments market is set to grow by 60%, says CEO
The company is preparing to launch new services and access 17 million users
By Mohamed Alaa El-Din and Hossam Mounir Fawry Company will allocate EGP 20m for investments in payment solutions for the electronic trade sector in the upcoming period, company CEO Ashraf Sabry revealed in a statement to Daily News Egypt. The service will launch before the end of the first quarter of 2016, he said. However, …
Approximately 20% of the shares were acquired by the Egyptian American Enterprise Fund, 40% by Helios International Partners (on behalf of the funds it consults for), and 25% of the share was acquired by the MENA Long Term Value Fund.
Service to be activated in the next month, with studies conducted to provide credit services for smart electricity metres
The company started working through a paid capital worth EGP 77m, of which 75% belonged to Egyptian banks and entities including: Amlak Egypt, AlexBank, the Information Technology Development Fund, the Arab African International Bank, Raya Holdingand HSBC.
Five new financial services sought in cooperation with banks during 2015, says Sabry
Daily transaction rate has gone up from 1,000 per day by the end of 2009 to over 1m, says CPIO
Expansion brings bank’s total number of ATMs to 286 across the country
Egypt’s EBPP leader provides convenience and efficiency to vehicle owners
In an exclusive interview with the Daily News Egypt, Magdy Hassan, Country Manager of MasterCard Egypt, highlighted the programmes and services the credit card provider offers. He also highlighted the “Road to Inclusion Report” adopted by MasterCard.
Value of financial transactions made through Fawry’s service $571m; 40 thousand outlets across the country for e-payment; one million transactions made daily through the company’s services; plans to expand to Arab Gulf countries in the coming period.
Fawry plans to begin regional expansion in the United Arab Emirates before moving on to other markets in Gulf Arab states
This service will allow citizens to obtain their car license directly from traffic units skipping several procedures except the technical examination process
North Cairo Electricity Distribution Company and National Bank of Egypt sign agreement to receive payments online
MasterCard praises Fawry for ‘producing a non-traditional payment solution tailored to the market’
The investment in ‘Fawry’ the electronic payment provider, will be used to extend the network of payment terminals across the country


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Shares of Pitney Bowes (PBI -1.27%) stock closed down 10.3% Wednesday after the postal services company reported first-quarter 2018 earnings.
Pitney Bowes reported earning $0.28 per share on a GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) basis in Q1, and $0.30 adjusted for one-time items, roughly in line with the $0.29 that Wall Street analysts had predicted it would earn. Sales for the quarter came in at $983 million, ahead of consensus estimates of $930.4 million in sales.
But if Pitney Bowes met or exceeded expectations for Q1, then why is its stock down, not up?
Well, "earnings beat" or no, Q1 wasn't a great quarter for Pitney Bowes. The company grew sales strongly, it's true -- up 18% year over year. However, profits on those sales fell steeply. The $0.28 per share that Pitney earned in Q1 2018 was 20% less than it earned in the year-ago quarter -- despite greater sales.
That all adds up to deeply lower profit margin earned on its revenue last quarter -- and maybe in quarters to come as well.
Turning its eyes to the future, Pitney Bowes guided investors to expect sales to rise 11% to 15% in 2018. That should work out to sales of between $4.1 billion and about $4.26 billion -- well ahead of the $3.9 billion that analysts had been saying the company was likely to produce this year. Unfortunately, Pitney said its "adjusted profits" will only range between $1.15 and $1.30 per share, versus analyst hopes for $1.45.
That right there, I expect, is the main reason investors sold off the stock today: Pitney Bowes warned on profits, and investors took that warning to heart.


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The increasing frequency and cost of cyber crime is “enough to rattle even the most steadfast” chief financial officers (CFOs) says Deloitte, which adds that ‘five realities’ must be accepted if the war against criminals is to be won.
“According to the Ponemon Institute’s 2014 Cost of Breach: Global Analysis study, the average total cost for a data breach is now US$3.5m globally; up 15% from last year. In addition, the survey found a company’s probability of a material breach involving 10,000 records or more stands at 22% over the next 24 months,” the group reports.
According to Deloitte, the five realities for CFOs are:
- Your information network will be compromised: Inevitably, you will be attacked. If you operate an information network, you will not get to a point of zero risk. You need to accept it.
- Physical security and cyber security are increasingly linked: Typically, the physical security domain and the cyber security domain have been viewed separately. That is no longer the case. While threats like espionage, intellectual property theft, fraud, counterfeiting and terrorism may involve cyber breaches, they potentially can begin by physical access. In a common example, certain administrators may have full control over a system such as payroll, customer data or billing. Armed with that access, those employees or contractors might pay themselves with false invoices, approve loans with special rates, or copy customer credit-card data and employee files that contain sensitive information such as social security numbers, with the purpose of selling the data, creating identity theft, embezzlement or other fraud.
- Cyber damages go beyond monetary: While the average cost of a data breach may be well documented, the long-term effects on corporate reputation and brand significantly add to the toll. Breaches of customer data can lead to a breakdown in trust that could inevitably hurt the top line; one reason for several payment networks to demand that retailers move to new payment cards that store information on computer chips rather than on traditional magnetic stripes. Many companies are now considering cyber insurance to limit excessive damages.
- Everything can’t be protected equally: Ask yourself: “What and where are the crown jewels in my organisation?”, meaning what data is crucial to running the organization and what databases, if compromised, could put it out of business? Not every piece of information, after all, is equally important. To a retailer, for example, customer credit-card data and employee ID numbers are crucial, as is logistics information related to supply chains. By making a hierarchy of data customised to your company and industry, CFOs can also make better decisions on how to prioritise protective controls and other aspects of cyber spend.
- Your walls are probably high enough: Companies continue to invest heavily in the protection side of cyber security with more firewalls and more intrusion-detection systems. Yet, most wall-building may be about as high as it needs to be. Given that hackers have likely already infiltrated, companies should focus more on the detection side to increase their vigilance against attacks and on recovery after the fact. While the formula is different for every company, of the typical IT cyber-risk spend, 30% might be allocated to wall-building, 50% to detection, and another 20% to resilience preparation.
Far and away, the largest financial market on the planet is the foreign exchange currencies market, where on average individuals and organisations trade more than $5 trillion daily. In the FX world, the ability to master the market isn't considered a luxury for treasury officers–it's a necessity.
Using data for predictive analytics is the future of banking success, argued Jean-Laurent Bonnafé, CEO of BNP Paribas, in his session on how the bank is reinventing its approach to innovate with and for corporates.
The EU and US’ shift in accounting standards may bring balance sheet losses and increase credit risk, according to James Elder, director of risk services at Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Global.
Sibos 2017 day two highlights: Brexit and banking, and why ‘data is the new oil’ in financial services
How nation first politics can impact global financial organisations It’s clear that data and regulation are the two key topics that are ... read more


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BFGoodrich Tires has introduced the Mud-Terrain T/A KM3, its next-generation off-road tyre for extreme conditions. Long known as the leading brand for hard-core off-road enthusiasts, BFGoodrich has introduced technologies into the new tyre that further improve climbing, traction and toughness in the mud and over rock. Showcasing the latest innovation in BFGoodrich’s 40-year history of
BFGoodrich is set to introduce its first ever tyre range for trucks, buses and coaches in the UK and Ireland, offering customers quality fitments at affordable prices. The company, most famous for its off-road specialism, sells more than 1.6 million tyres per year to the commercial vehicle market in all territories across the world –
Independent retailer Ian Brown Tyres is entering new terrain after becoming the first independent UK tyre dealer to become part of the new BFGoodrich Off-Road Centre network. The North Yorkshire retailer near Malton is vying to be the go-to place for off-roaders’ tyre needs. And it’s ideally located to corner the market, thanks to its proximity
BFGoodrich is helping military veterans deal with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) by donating tyres and funding to a charity embarking on three challenging vehicle expeditions. Set up and led by expedition specialists Max Adventure, the ‘Driven to Extremes’ charity was recently named a winner of BFGoodrich Tyres’ Good Project Award, which sponsors off-roading projects with
The 2017 Dakar Rally saw Peugeot Sport and BFGoodrich monopolise the podium at the two-week event’s finish in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Saturday, January 14. It was the ideal result to mark the off-road tyre brand’s return to the world’s most famous cross-country rally after a four-year absence. Like the rest of the field, the
To mark the launch of its new website, www.bfgoodrich.com, BFGoodrich has launched its “BFGoodrich Good Project” operation. The idea is to fund 10 projects for people who have always yearned to take part in a big race, participate in a desert rally or restore a classic car, but until now have not necessarily had the
BFGoodrich, creators of the first all-terrain tyre in 1976, is launching its toughest and most advanced off-road tyre yet.


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Consumer prices up 5.1% y.o.y. in April
Image by LaMography
Consumer prices were 5.1% higher on average in April 2021 than a year earlier, with significant price rises measured for alcoholic beverages and tobacco as well as motor fuels, according to data by the Central Statistical Office (KSH).
Compared to April 2020, food prices were up by 2.4%, within which the price of edible oil by 22.8%, that of buffet products by 7.8%, rice prices by 7.7%, the price of margarine by 7.5%, that of flour by 7.4%, pasta product prices by 6.8% and the price of sugar and that of fruit and vegetable juices by 4.9% both.
A price decrease of 6.9% was recorded for pork, of 1.6% for other meat preparations and of 1.2% for cheese.
Alcoholic beverages and tobacco prices grew by 12.2% on average, within which tobacco prices – mainly due to an increase in the excise duty on this product group – by 20.1%.
Consumers paid 3.4% more for consumer durables, within which new passenger cars cost 10.4% and kitchen and other furniture 5.5% more for consumers. Motor fuel prices became 39.2% higher.
Consumer prices up 0.8% compared to March 2021
Compared to March 2021, consumer prices increased by 0.8% on average. Food became 1.1% more expensive, within which seasonal food items (potatoes, fresh vegetables and fresh domestic and tropical fruits altogether) cost 3.9%, pork 3.7%, buffet products 2.3%, pasta products 1.8%, poultry meat 1.6% and rice 1.2% more, while butter and buttercream 1.1% and milk 0.3% less for consumers.
Consumers paid 3% more for clothing and footwear and 2.4% more for alcoholic beverages and tobacco. The excise duty on tobacco rose further on April 1, which resulted in a 3.7% increase in the price of the product group.
Motor fuel prices lessened by 1.2%.
In January-April 2021, consumer prices rose by 3.6% for all households on average and by 3.4% among pensioner households compared to the same period of 2020.
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A new iPhone application proclaiming to be ‘the ultimate mobile city guide’ for Londoners has made its debut on london24.com.
Unlike many other smartphone applications, the MyCityWay London24 has included everything a local – or indeed tourist – could need to know about the bustling capital.
More than 30 specialist ‘location-based, real-time and really useful’ mini-apps make up the tool, supplying information such as what’s on at event venues, where to park or where the nearest café is. Archant, the publisher behind london24, has partnered with the app specialist mycitymyway.com to bring the application to life.
Paul Hood, digital director for Archant London, said: “We are very excited to be able to offer a free-of-charge urban discovery tool, enabling residents, tourists and business travellers to navigate, explore and enjoy London in unprecedented ways.
“It is a natural extension of our London24 digital brand and the Archant core mission to serve London residents, commuters and tourists with helpful and relevant information.”
According to mycitymyway.com, the application is not only easy for users to customise and plan, but also a good way for brands to grow their client base without the need for mass marketing.
This is because the built-in GPS features allow brands to specifically target people using the app whilst near their precise location; giving them the chance to promote their own events, parties, or offer discounts in-store.


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06 Oct Excellent results from EESPA e-Invoicing survey
EESPA (European E-Invoicing Service Providers Association) commissioned this fourth annual survey among its members as part of a continuous support of the rapid e-invoicing market growth and to play its part in monitoring. The majority of invoices processed were B2B or B2G invoices (1035 million invoices in total in 2016), although the EESPA membership also has a significant involvement in the delivery of B2C invoices (580 million invoices in total in 2016).
Compared to the years 2014 and 2015, last year has been characterized by an important growth of B2B and B2G transactions as well as for the sector B2C. According to the results emerged by the survey, the volumes are respectively increased of 18% in B2B/B2G market and of 16% in B2C market. As the implementation of EU Directive 2014/55 (that rules B2G e-invoicing in Europe) is in progress, we are expecting a further volumes increase based on the results of the last years.
B2G and B2B e-invoicing: focus on the Italian Market
Recently Ernesto Maria Ruffini, Director of Agenzia delle Entrate (Italian Tax Authority), resume the status of Public Administration e-invoice market in Italy: “From June 2014 to August 31st 2017, the SDI (Sistema di Interscambio) has received and managed around 75,5 million invoice files. Around 70,2 million files have been delivered to the Public Administrations and around 2,5 million invoice files have been managed per month; moreover the rate of invoices rejected has been progressively reduced from 18% in 2014 to 4,16% in August 2017.”
The Italian Government is working to a law proposal to make B2B e-invoicing mandatory, starting from next year. The main goal is to increase the development of the automation and the diffusion of information technology in companies as well as to reduce fiscal evasion:
- VAT fraudulent evasion due to fake invoices;
- evasion on correct invoices but not recorded by both counterparts;
- evasion on correct invoices but recorded for an inferior amount compared to real amount of the transaction.
According to the “Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze”, B2B e-invoicing will bring a saving of 3-4 million euros:” B2B e-invoicing is far more cost-effective. It allows measurable saving for each invoice managed in comparison to traditional invoices models and this is not only worth for big companies, but also for the smallest one.”