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PETALING JAYA: While 2020 has been a challenging year for Malaysian Real Estate Investment Trusts (MREITs), the sector is expected see some recovery in 2021 as movement restriction orders are eased and the deployment of Covid-19 vaccines lift consumer sentiment, according to research analysts.
AmInvestment Research, in its 2021 strategy report, has upgraded its rating on the sector to “overweight” from “neutral” previously, and said the worst is over for REITs.
The research unit opined that for the next 12 to 18 months, REITs will be broadly on a recovery path as consumer spending and footfall recover.
It pointed out that retailers are consolidating their physical footprint (with some focusing more on online expansion while others embark on costs rationalisation after a fall-off from oversupply of retail spaces).
This can be seen from the REITs’ strong occupancy rates of over 90% in their anchoring malls even during the movement control order (MCO) period.
Meanwhile, TA Research expects 2020 distribution per unit (DPU) for the REITS under its coverage to plunge 36% year-on-year (y-o-y), caused by substantial loss of income for the retail and hospitality segments.
However, the research unit said the DPU should grow by 11% y-o-y in 2021, driven by contribution from assets post-renovations (Capitaland Malaysia Mall Trust or CMMT, and Sunway REIT), newly acquired asset (Sunway REIT), relaxation of movement restrictions, better operational efficiencies and lower finance cost.
TA Research also noted that MREITs have been more prudent with their capital management, with CMMT’s and Sunway REIT’s latest gearing standing at 33.9% and 40.9%, respectively.
RHB Research has maintained its “neutral” rating on the sector and pointed out that the respectable quarter-on-quarter growth by all REITs in their third quarter results is not expected to be sustained into the fourth quarter, and possibly into the first half of 2021, as the current conditional MCO is likely to be extended further – considering the still high number of positive Covid-19 cases.
It noted that in the retail sphere, results were down on a y-o-y basis, for both the third quarter of 2020 and the first nine months in 2020, on the back of rental assistance granted to tenants.
Also, for the sake of tenant retention, rental reversions may have fallen flat – or negative, in more dire cases – for the leases due for renewal at many shopping malls.
RHB Research expects recovery in the retail sphere to be more conservative in the following quarters – with the exception of those with high-quality assets, and a more domestic shopper profile.
The research unit expects the REITs to register a poor set of results for the fourth quarter due to the ongoing CMCO, following the commendable pick-up in the third quarter, and to be followed by paced growth in 2021.
It reiterated its bearish stance on the hospitality segment, in view of the travel restrictions in place.
The research unit opined that overall occupancy rates will remain disappointing going into 2021, for as long as international borders remain closed.
Meanwhile, MREITs’ yields are relatively unattractive as the overnight policy rate is likely to stay put in 2021. If the 10-year Malaysian Government Securities yields is flat, this would entail the narrowing of yield spreads in the event that investor interest in MREITs returns.
Yield spreads between the MREITs under RHB Research’s coverage and the 10-year MGS are currently trading at around 175 basis points and the research unit opined that even with the expectation of minimal rate hikes this year, the yield spread may narrow further.
While Covid-19 vaccine news flow will likely see REITs’ share prices moving ahead of fundamentals, the risks surrounding the distribution of the vaccine may not pave the way for an actual swift recovery, in terms of consumer sentiment and retail spending.Meanwhile, the office segment is showing relative stability against the backdrop of a supply glut, with occupancy rates for MRCB-Quill REIT staying largely unchanged at more than 90%.
With the disposal of Quill Building 5, the occupancy rate should be even higher.
RHB Research also said MREITs’ balance sheets are largely strong, with average gearing standing at 31%.
MREITs’ assets would have to see a significant write-down in value, by close-to-half, before the gearing threshold is breached.
Although such drastic devaluation is possible for small-to-mid-sized retail malls or office buildings struggling to retain tenancy, RHB Research said the asset values of prime retail malls and office buildings should remain relatively stable moving forward.


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TOM BURNS GOES TO KIRK PALMER
Byline: David Moin
NEW YORK — Tom Burns, senior executive vice president of The Doneger Group, has joined Kirk Palmer Associates, an executive search firm, as vice president.
The move is surprising considering Burns’s long career in the buying office field and his close working association with Abbey Doneger, president of The Doneger Group, a dominant independent buying office.
“Tom will be helping to bring new business in and he’ll be performing executive search assignments,” said Kirk Palmer, president. “I started talking to Tom three years ago about this. This is a great coup.”
At Doneger, Burns was the number-two executive. Along with Abbey Doneger, he has been highly visible in the marketplace. He is known for his expertise across various apparel markets, having a good handle on retail issues and being well liked in the industry.
He often traveled for Doneger, bringing Doneger’s consulting services to foreign retailers as well as some major U.S. chains, such as Wal-Mart. Also, he was instrumental in bringing the fast-growing Doneger Group new retail and wholesale clients.
“The transition into the executive search field allows me to leverage my extensive network and knowledge of the industry,” Burns said in a statement Wednesday.
It will also raise the profile of Palmer, a small but aggressive executive search firm for the retail and fashion industries.
Like retailing, the executive search sector has recently undergone several consolidations, with smaller firms getting merged into larger ones. Recently, Levy-Kerson Associates, another search firm specializing in retailing, was merged into Korn Ferry, among the largest headhunting companies in the country.
“I’m not interested in selling,” said Palmer. “We think there is an advantage in maintaining a niche and providing service as a boutique search firm.” Palmer said he has 12 employees, including eight executive search consultants.
Burns joined Doneger in 1990 when his own company, Van Buren Burns Winkler Associates, was sold to Doneger.
The early part of his career was spent at Loehmann’s where he rose to divisional merchandise manager. After Loehmann’s, he co-founded Burns Winkler Associates, an off-price buying office, in 1982. That office eventually merged into the Van Buren buying office.
Abbey Doneger said he has not yet named a successor.

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Intel has to pay the $1.45 billion dollar fine within three months, the Commission said, adding that the money would go to the EU’s central budget, “thus reducing the contributions that Member States pay to the EU.” CNET reported
The EU’s stimulus package is fining US companies? Germany and and other EU nations have been hesitant on using their own revenue to fund a stimulus package, but now they found a new source! American companies!
Clearly the EU Anti-Trust suit is aimed squarely at foreign companies to bankroll the EU’s dwindling account balances.
This is not the proper way to raise revenue…. what’s next? Apple’s iphone marketshare is too big?


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Iconic Japanese food and beverage brand Kikkoman is celebrating the launch of its latest product – Kikkoman Macadamia Milk.
While macadamia milk has gained popularity in many Western markets, in Japan its presence has been limited to a few imported products with narrow distribution. Kikkoman’s new product is unique as it is Japan’s first domestically-made mainstream macadamia milk.
Expanding the plant-based offering
The plant-based milk market is expanding globally and is predicted to reach US$21.52 billion in 2024, growing at a CAGR of more than 10% between 2020 and 2024.
Japan has long had strong demand for plant-based milk, thanks to the popularity of soy and almond, and it’s a market that Kikkoman says is continuing to steadily expand.
“We believe the plant-based milk market has potential to grow further,” says a Kikkoman spokesperson. “The growth is being driven by multiple factors including increasing health consciousness, environmental awareness and lifestyle choices,” they said.
“As consumers have come to expect more from plant-based milk, we challenged ourselves to develop more choices for Japanese consumers, and that was the key to developing our new macadamia milk.”
Kikkoman says it is appealing to regular soy, almond and oat milk drinkers who are eager for new options, as well as those who are macadamia fans.
“The macadamia is a very popular nut in Japan and it is often a feature of confectionery, desserts and ice cream products. We believe macadamia lovers will be very interested in our new product, as a new way to enjoy the taste of their favourite nut.”
Australian origin a key selling point
Kikkoman is flagging the Australian origin of its macadamias on front of pack and in its promotional campaigns, as the company believes this adds trust and value to the product.
“The macadamia’s unique flavour and aroma is the hero characteristic of the product, so it’s important to assure consumers that the main ingredient is from a safe and reliable source and is guaranteed to taste great. By stating the Australian origin of our macadamias on pack, we think consumers will have an image of a natural and premium quality product,” Kikkoman’s spokesperson explained.
“As our audience comes to understand our product more, we feel they will appreciate Australia as the macadamia’s country of origin, the beauty of its macadamia orchards and the stories of its growers.”
Created for the Japanese palate
Kikkoman first used macadamias in a beverage in early 2019 when it launched a macadamia flavoured soy milk. It proved highly successful, with Kikkoman’s spokesperson saying the distinctive flavour and aroma of the macadamia was well received by consumers. The popularity of the macadamia-soy milk blend was one of the factors behind the decision to develop a pure macadamia milk.
Kikkoman says its new product concept was created with careful consideration for Japanese consumer tastes. “Rather than just replicate a plant based milk product that is popular overseas, we developed our macadamia milk from scratch with the Japanese market in mind,” said their spokesperson.
“Our formulation has the flavour, thickness and satisfaction that is considered ideal by the Japanese consumer. In this regard, we believe it is an innovative product.”
The product is available nationally in supermarkets, convenience stores and online, with two variants on offer. ‘Original’ has a little extra sweetness to enhance the naturally creamy taste of macadamias, while ‘Unsweetened’ offers the natural sweetness and mild flavour of the nut.
Kikkoman is encouraging consumers to experience the unique flavour of the milk on its own at first, but plans to build the product story over time via additional usage suggestions, including in tea and coffee, over cereal or in recipes.
Powerful online promotion
COVID-19 has prevented the promotion of Kikkoman’s macadamia milk at live events, however the brand has a heavy digital presence unfolding to drive awareness and trial of its latest product.
The launch has also prompted an exciting brand collaboration that is giving Australian Macadamias fans in Japan the chance to win Kikkoman Macadamia Milk, in-shell macadamias and a TJ’s nutcracker, which is also launching in Japan at the same time.
The campaign is being featured on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the Australian Macadamias website with the activity to be amplified over the coming weeks by a high profile YouTuber and three Instagram influencers with a combined following of more than 2.9 million.
Looking to the future
The launch of Kikkoman Macadamia Milk aligns perfectly with the findings of our industry’s recent consumer research into the future of food, where it was revealed that Generation Z is increasingly gravitating towards plant-based products, whether for their own wellbeing or that of the planet and society at large. It also identified that as a foundational part of the plant-based movement, macadamias are an ideal ingredient for brands looking to engage and excite younger consumers.
So what does the Kikkoman team have planned for its macadamia milk beyond the launch?
“We wanted to start by introducing consumers to the pure taste of our product,” said the company’s spokesperson.
“But we are considering combining other flavours with macadamia milk in the future in a way that we feel will both surprise and delight consumers.”
Sounds like a recipe for success! We look forward to the next development in the Kikkoman Macadamia Milk journey.


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Emmet County recycles many plastics, but needs community's help
When someone drops a plastic container into an Emmet County Recycling Program bin, does it really get recycled or does is just end up in a landfill?
Some area residents might be asking just that question if they’ve heard or read a recent National Public Radio story about just how much of the plastics that are placed into the recycling bins around the U.S. are actually recycled.
In the story NPR reports that in reality, only about 10 percent of plastics collected for recycling has ever been recycled for multiple reasons.
“Here’s the basic problem: All used plastic can be turned into new things, but picking it up, sorting it out and melting it down is expensive. Plastic also degrades each time it is reused, meaning it can’t be reused more than once or twice.
On the other hand, new plastic is cheap. It’s made from oil and gas, and it’s almost always less expensive and of better quality to just start fresh,” the NPR story reads.
Speaking to the News-Review Wednesday, Emmet County Recycling Communication and Education Coordinator Kate Melby said, the data quoted in the story — that only about 10 percent of plastics have been recycled — is accurate, but that data looks at all plastics everywhere.
“There’s this idea out there that all plastic is recyclable, and that’s just not true,” Melby said.
But, she said, when you narrow it down to plastic containers — the ones that have the little numbers on them — the numbers improve.
She said the percentage of “container” plastics that are recycled vary quite a bit from community to community.
For the Emmet County program, Melby said about 90 percent of the proper plastic containers that are collected are recycled.
One of the big problems, Melby said, is that people regularly put plastic items in the recycling bins for “containers” (the bin where all non-paper and non-cardboard items are to go) that are not accepted by the program.
She said a recent grant-funded study showed that between 17-20 percent of items put in the “container” recycling bins should not be in there. Those items have to be trucked to the transfer station, sorted out and disposed of, leading to added unnecessary costs for the recycling program.
“Hangers, hoses, luggage, those are just some examples of things that we find and those we just have to throw away,” Melby said.
As far as the plastic items that should be in the bins, No. 1 and No. 2 plastics are regularly recycled at a very high rate from the Emmet County facility.
Melby said much of the No. 1 plastic (think water bottles) are recycled right back into water bottles at a plant in Dundee that are ultimately used by the Absopure company.
“There’s a humungous demand for No. 1 plastics,” Melby said, pointing to North Carolina where they are regularly turned into carpet.
She said for No. 2 plastics (think milk containers) many are recycled into detergent and cleaner bottles for Proctor and Gamble.
She said many of the other plastics that the program collects are shipped to a company in Sarnia which then re-sorts them and sells them for use in the auto industry.
Melby said many people who put plastic items in the programs bins that shouldn’t be there are probably doing so with good intentions, but, she said it’s most helpful if people learn what is and is not accepted and recycle accordingly.
For more information on the Emmet County Recycling program, visit www.emmetrecycling.org.


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Spring weather means it is time to get out there and start making sure your yard is in shape. Today we’re tracking a notable discount on an electric tool to help the cause, with helping you make last year your last time relying on gas or oil. Now down to a new all-time low at $74 off, there hasn’t been a better time to switch over to this essential electric tool. We also have a wide selection of Tesla, Greenworks, and other e-bike discounts in today’s New Green Deals, so you won’t want to miss that either.
Head below for other New Green Deals that we’ve found today and of course Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.
The post EGO’s Power+ electric hedge trimmer sees $74 discount, more in New Green Deals appeared first on Electrek.


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Here are 10 official screenshots of the upcoming GTA 5.
You can now preorder GTA 5 and some retailers hint at a Mid 2012 release date. However, because another Rockstar Games game is coming out in 2012, we are expecting that GTA 5 will not be released until late 2012.
GTA 5 is going back to the roots. The main location of GTA 5 will not be L.A., instead we’re going back to San Andreas, Vinewood and Los Santos.
GTA 5 has been announced and a first trailer is now online. The first online retailers are now allowing you to preorder GTA 5.
Here’s an awesome free Windows 8 explorer theme for Windows 7.If you really like the advanced features of the Office style ribbon UI in the Windows 8 Explorer, this neat little free app will bring similar features to your Windows 7 PC.
Acer’s CEO JT Wang stated earlier this week that he firmly believes that Microsoft will snag a huge percentage of Apple’s market share.
Here are the winners of our last Halloween giveaway. A new giveaway round will begin shortly.
If you like the Indie game Orcs Must Die, download our newest Windows 7 theme that includes various Orcs Must Die HD wallpapers:
Asus is going to release 2 Windows 8 tablets late next year according to a leaked roadmap.
The first ever FPS (First Person Shooter) game to be developed for the Kinect 3D motion sensing system for the Xbox 360 is out now and is called Blackwater.


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There’s been a new addition to Dubai’s burgeoning burger scene with a delivery-only premium brand launching in Media City.
Operating out of Korean restaurant Shogun’s kitchen, Ugly Burger is the brainchild of three Dubai-based entrepreneurs, Eric Lee, Young Rak Jung, and Chang Sup Shin, and offers a small but targeted menu.
Co-founder Chang, who also operates Asian speciality shop 1004 Gourmet, told Caterer Middle East that although the burger market in Dubai is saturated, his co-founders and he “believed that as long as the dishes were delicious and our marketing was strong, we had a chance to compete with the best”.
Ugly Burger currently offers wagyu beef burgers, super crispy fried chicken and Nashville burgers, and a shrimp katsu burger inspired by the shrimp burgers prevalent in the Far East, as well as small bites such as chicken nuggets, shrimp balls, and different varieties of fries.
The concept is opening at a time when many restaurants are closed or still operating at minimal capacity, but Chang believes the current crisis has led to an opportunity.
He said: “The pandemic has been tough for everybody, especially for the restaurant industry. But when you're put in a tough situation, you come up with creative ways to overcome it. And Ugly Burger was a perfect example. During the lockdown, we saw a silver lining to use a small space in Shogun's kitchen to create a solid delivery-only burger concept.”
Having just held its soft launch, Ugly Burger is still ironing out the creases and Chang says the team has listened to feedback from their friends in Dubai’s food scene and altered the ordering process and made slight adjustments to the recipes and cooking methods to ensure the best customer experience.
And there are big plans afoot.
Opening up for dine-in within Shogun is definitely on the cards, admits Chang, while a collaboration with a large Korean food company for a special limited edition burger is also coming soon.
“Our end goal is to have our own space and hopefully open several branches in the city and different countries,” added Chang.


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On Sunday, Three Story Coffee co-owners Tony and Sarah Anderson gave away a bronze medal they won at a national coffee competition last month. The recipient was Mario Valiente Jr. and his father, Mario Sr., the owners of the El Salvador farm that produced the coffee.
Mario Jr. teared up during a Sunday ceremony at the coffee shop's Dunklin Street location as Anderson told a small group how his shop started sourcing coffee from the family when it opened in 2012.
"It was amazing," Mario Jr. said afterward. "That's why I was crying. I was emotional."
He said he will display the medal on their farm for all the workers to see the results of their labor. Making high-quality coffee, he said, is a chain that must have strong links from the grower to roaster to barista.
His family's farm, Calera, employs 20-30 people throughout the year, and more than double that during harvesting season, he said.
The Valientes, along with farm manager Jose McEntee are in the United States visiting some of the coffee shops they supply.
They operate a roughly 100-acre farm. Mario Jr. said it's getting harder to make a living growing coffee because the international price has dropped to less than $1 per pound. His farm is still profitable because it produced high-quality beans and is able to get a premium price from shops like Three Story Coffee, he said.
"I started to sell coffee in the U.S. thanks to Tony," Mario Jr. said, adding he previously sold his beans to Italian roasters.
The Andersons source their coffee directly from the growers in half a dozen different countries. When they opened the shop, that was the plan from the beginning: build a relationship with the farmers. That allows them to get the quality they want while letting their customers know where their cup of coffee originated.
"For me, it's the best way to get awesome coffee," Tony Anderson said.
The couple entered the Golden Bean Coffee Roaster Competition, winning bronze in each of the three varieties they entered. One variety was from El Salvador, one from Sumatra and one from Ethiopia. The coffee was judged using specific criteria such as mouth feel, acidity and body.


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1. China’s high chip maker SMIC made the chip for Huawei
Analysis firm TechInsights mentioned in a notice on its WeChat account that SMIC has used present gear and utilized its second-generation 7-nanometre course of, referred to as the N+2 node, to fabricate the 5G-capable Kirin 9000s for Huawei. The California-based analysis agency mentioned it might present extra particulars on the cellphone’s connectivity subsequent week.
Baidu, Huawei executives amongst 655 nominees to hitch China’s engineering academy
If that’s the case, it might mark a “breakthrough” for China’s semiconductor business and a serious win for Huawei’s smartphone enterprise.
Nevertheless, underneath the US sanctions, SMIC shouldn’t have been capable of make superior chips for Huawei.
2. Huawei has produced the chip utilizing its personal provide chain community
That is one other risk, coming after a report by Bloomberg, citing the Washington-based Semiconductor Business Affiliation, as saying the Chinese language telecoms big has been increase a secret chipmaking provide chain by recruiting present foundries to assist it skirt US export controls. On this case, the chip contained in the Mate 60 showcases how has achieved a breakthrough.
That is an unlikely situation but it surely suits the Chinese language nationalist narrative that Huawei, after biting the bullet for years underneath US sanctions, has lastly defeated the US restrictions.
3. Huawei dipped into its personal stock of chips for the brand new cellphone
In a strategic move, Huawei recently tapped into its personal stock of chips to power its latest smartphone release. This decision reflects the tech giant’s commitment to maintaining its position in the highly competitive smartphone market, despite facing challenges related to chip shortages and supply chain disruptions. By utilizing their own chip resources, Huawei aims to ensure the availability and quality of essential components for their new phone, demonstrating their resilience and determination to continue innovating in the face of adversity. This move also underscores self-reliance and ability to adapt to evolving market conditions, solidifying its reputation as a key player in the global technology landscape.


text: Cyber crime is estimated to cost $445 billion dollars annually, revealed by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. And as small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) grow in number so does the hackers that take opportunity from the fact that most SMBs usually have weak security. Furthermore, studies show that more than ninety percent of security breaches are due to the error of employees. Therefore, one tip that small businesses should follow is to establish a strategy on security management. SMBs should choose security that is suitable to the nature of their business. Read more tips on online security on Entrepreneur.


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Recently Google Glass was updated to Android KitKat and now the company is working on another software update for its wearable gadget. Later this week an update will be released for this device. The update will finally bring Google Glass SMS support for the iPhone. It will also bring a new calendar application for the wearable.
Android users have always been able to read and send text messages through Glass. The unit first had to be paired to their handset using MyGlass application. Once it was paired texts would automatically be routed to Google Glass. Users could then tell Glass to reply and simply dictate their message.
Even though Glass can be paired with the iPhone, the smartphone has never been able to beam text messages to it. The upcoming update changes that. However there’s a catch. Users will only be able to view text messages on Google Glass, they won’t be able to reply “due to some limitations with iOS,” Google says.
The aforementioned calendar application will be a new addition for Glass. It will display the user’s agenda once turned on to the left of the home screen. From there users will be able to dismiss, send RSVP or change title, location and time of an event. Recently Google allowed everyone in the U.S. to purchase Google Glass units, it is believed to be a sign that the company might be gearing up for a public launch later this year.


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The Journal Sentinel business department follows developments in the local retail industry
First the New York time publishes a story that discusses how a lot of mall operators around the country would be happy to get rid of their Sears stores.
Then this week, Sears announces that same-store sales declined in the second quarter at both its Sears and Kmart stores, and that it will miss Wall Street's profit expectations. The stock dropped by about 10% when the news hit Tuesday.
Both chains have been in trouble for years, and retail watchers like to point out that it doesn't help that they are run by a guy who is known for his expertise in finance and real estate, not retailing. This week, chairman Eddie Lampert acknowledged that the stores need to improve to become "more relevant" to consumers, while noting that Sears, like other retailers, is suffering from the impact of the housing market bust.
Locally, we see an example of what the New York Times talked about at Bayshore Town Center. In contrast to the rest the shiny new center, the Sears wing looks like it's part of an old class B mall that's struggling to fill space. There are a few empty storefronts and temporary tenants on the wing, which is usually a signal that a mall is having trouble renting space. In some cases, it also might mean that a mall is keeping space open for a large new tenant.
Bayshore manager Bud Schneider says he has a deal in the works with a moderate-price apparel retailer some of the space in that wing.
Meanwhile, Bayshore's owner has made no secret of the fact that he'd like to get rid of the Sears store and replace it with an upscale tenant. North Shore residents are hoping that will happen and that they will someday see a Nordstrom store where the Sears now stands. But don't hold your breath, because Sears has a long lease on that store.
Across town, at Brookfield Square, Sears has upgraded its Lands' End offering with a store-within-a-store. All of the Lands' End products, for men, women and kids, are now displayed in one area, near the entrance to the mall on the north end of the store.
Brookfield Square's owners are much less forthcoming about this, but that mall's best chance for a new upscale department store would also be the exit of Sears.


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Domestic carriers of Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air and Jetstar Pacific pledged to cut ticket prices by 40-65% on local routes, according to a travel demand stimulation program, recently released by the Ho Chi Minh city Tourism Association.
Accordingly, the three airlines will associate with Ho Chi Minh city Tourism Association to operate flights from Ho Chi Minh city to Hanoi, Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa, Vinh, Hue, Da Nang, Dong Hoi, Quy Nhon, Tuy Hoa, Nha Trang, Buon Ma Thuot, Da Lat and Phu Quoc.
Under the program, tour operators will reduce prices of services and open tours with a 20-40% discounted price from normal tours.
The Ho Chi Minh city Tourism Department coordinated with the municipal Tourism Association to encourage hotels, restaurants, shopping areas and tourist attractions to perform the program to attract more tourists to the southern hotspot.
According to the Ho Chi Minh city Tourism Association, in 2014, airlines sold nearly 50,000 low-cost tickets for tourism travel stimulation, a year-on-year rise of 45%./.
( Compiled by VNF )


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By Tiernan Ray
Tim Cook is the incredibly visible, and accessible, new Apple (AAPL) CEO.
Just a day after talking with Goldman Sachs’s Bill Shope at the bank’s tech confab in a fairly relaxed and open manner, Cook is featured this morning in a Wall Street Journal interview with Jessica Vascellaro discussing “Mountain Lion,” the next version of Apple’s Mac operating system, which the company detailed in a press release this morning.
I don’t think I can recall late founder Steve Jobs doing this much chit-chatting in one week.
A developer preview of the software is available for download today. It is expected to be released for Mac computers late this summer.
Mountain Lion supposedly brings aspects of the company’s iOS operating system for the iPhone and iPad and iPod Touch to the Mac.
Cook tells Vascellaro, “”We see that people are in love with a lot of apps and functionality here. Anywhere where that makes sense, we are going to move that over to Mac.”


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By Hyun Ji-hyang
"Kimchi Mask" for swine flu prevention has been recently introduced in New York City.
A picture of Kimchi with a phrase, "Kimchi Prevents Flu," is printed on a regular white face mask.
This face mask was manufactured by a Korean advertisement professional, Lee Jea-suk, working in the city. He designed Kimchi mask to publicize the distinguished effectiveness of Korean traditional side dish, Kimchi in an effort to prevent a worldwide swine flu epidemic.
The 28-year-old producer said, "Many Americans show interest in the mask because it gives a funny look of a head of Kimchi cabbage stuck to people`s lips."
Lee said, "In cooperation with local Korean associations and restaurants, I am going to create similar humorous advertisements for Korean food." He is planning to perform stages with Korean young adults, wearing the mask.


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HONG KONG - An internally flawless, vivid blue 10.10 carat oval diamond smashed auction records on Tuesday when it sold for $31.8 million at Sotheby’s, the highest price paid for a gemstone at auction in Asia.
An anonymous telephone bidder purchased the jewel at Sotheby’s spring sales in the auction that lasted just minutes.
“Very few gemstones have ever been sold for more than that, and it’s setting the record price here in Asia for a gemstone in auction,” said David Bennett, Sotheby’s worldwide chairman of the international jewelry division.
He added that the economic downturn in China has not had any immediate impact on the Asian jewelry market.
The diamond, known as the De Beers Millennium Jewel 4, was mined in South Africa. It is the largest diamond of its kind to appear at auction. It was one of 12 in De Beers Millennium Jewels collection that was unveiled in 2000 in London.
The world auction record for a diamond or gemstone was set in Geneva last November when a 12.03-carat cushion-shaped internally flawless vivid blue diamond fetched $48.5 million.


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Weekly Wrap: When It Rains, It Pours
By Carlo Longino, Fri Nov 07 09:00:00 GMT 2003
Lots of news this week as Sony previews the PSP, Microsoft's mobile boss quits, the latest handset sales figures are out, and more...
As criticism of the N-Gage continues to pile up, Sony showed off a preview of their forthcoming PSP portable gaming device this week. The PSP has some very impressive specs, and Sony says it won't be a single deck, but rather a platform of connected devices allowing for the easy addition or subtraction of functionalities. The company did say, however, the PSP will have Wi-Fi, and they will at some point add mobile-phone functionality. Sony also said it would release a product to rival Apple's iPod priced at $60 -- but it will be interesting to see if they can deliver on that promise, and if they can keep the powerful PSP's price within a reasonable range.
Microsoft announced this week that the head of its mobile unit, Juha Christensen would leave the company next month. Christensen, which joined the Seattle behemoth from arch-rival Symbian, is starting a company to work on mobile Web services -- which Microsoft recently said it would work with Vodafone to push forward. Christensen joined the company four years ago and took its fledgling mobile unit and turned it into a player in the mobile telecom world. It will be interesting to see who will replace him in this key role.
There was a slew of news on the Microsoft smartphone front this month, as US carrier Verizon leaked details of the long-awaited Samsung i600 CDMA smartphone, and OEM Compal promised a new clamshell model with an integrated camera. But stealing the thunder was Taiwanese manufacturer Mitac, which said it expects to release 10 Microsoft-powere phones next year.
IDC dropped the first set of third-quarter handset sales figures this week, and they bode well for the industry, showing 21% year-over-year and 14% sequential total growth. Nokia lost a point of market share from the previous quarter, down to 35%, while Motorola came second with 15.5%, followed by Samsung at 11.6%, Siemens at 8.7%, and with LG rounding out the top five with 5.8%, edging out Sony Ericsson at 5.5%.
As the camera phone "revolution" continues to gather steam, more hints of a backlash emerged this week when it came out some companies were working with US carriers to deliver handsets with their cameras either disabled or removed. The moves surprised carriers, which naturally assumed that high-end handsets would have to include cameras. Carriers Verizon and Sprint said they were working with Samsung and Handspring, respectively, on these hobbled devices.
In other news, BT jumped back into the wireless game by launching an MVNO, and also said they were testing an interesting Bluetooth-based system that uses VOIP when it's in range of a hotspot and the GSM network when it isn't. Opera scored another win this week when BenQ said it would use the company's browser on its forthcoming Symbian/UIQ handset, and the possibility of CDMA2000 gaining a foothold in Europe emerged.
Elsewhere on the site, Justin Hall talks about his struggles in getting mobile-phone service in South Korea and shares some mobile-related images from his visit there, Steve Wallage surmises the impact of wireless number portability, and Mark Frauenfelder takes a gander at a "smart dust" network being used to track some waterfowl in Maine.


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Dr. Tuomo Suntola has received the technology award with the world’s highest prize money for atomic layer deposition (ALD) – a method for producing high-quality, thin layers for microelectronics which he developed. Congratulations from electronica!
The prestigious Millennium Technology Prize is awarded every two years. This year, there were 72 innovations submitted by 105 people from all over the world to choose from. The Finnish physicist Dr. Tuomo Suntola ultimately won the prize. Today, the Finnish President presented him with the prize and a check for €1 million.
Suntola developed the technology back in the 1970s in order to produce thin, electroluminescent layers for flat displays (Thin Film Electroluminescent – TFEL). At the time, no one imagined layer thicknesses in the order of nanometers. Only later, as a result of technological developments, many researchers around the world began discovering the optimum method for producing nanostructures from the middle of the 1990s.
At the moment, the global market for systems and chemicals for producing ALD films is estimated to be worth around $2 billion, while the market value of the consumer electronics based on the procedure is believed to be at least $500 billion.
Layers for microelectronics
The atomic layer deposition (ALD) procedure developed by Suntola makes it possible to produce nanostructures which, among other things, have led to huge increases in the performance of computer processors. With the procedure, extremely thin, defect-free and highly homogeneous layers can be deposited and used for example as a dielectric in transistors, capacitors and non-volatile memories. An important feature here are the high dielectric constants, allowing relatively thick insulator (dielectric) layers in a transistor. As a result, the leakage currents caused by quantum mechanical effects can be drastically reduced, thus allowing the overall structural sizes of components to be reduced.
The ALD procedure is essentially a modified form of chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The difference is, however, that the process is divided up into a number of separate stages.
ALD – a multipurpose procedure
ALD plays a crucial role in numerous high-tech applications. Components with the extremely thin insulating or conductive layers can be found in virtually all computers and smartphones nowadays. Although their power is increasing all the time, IT devices are becoming smaller and cheaper. Suntola’s innovation is therefore helping to keep the famous Moore’s law alive – albeit in a modified form. In 1965, Moore predicted that the number of components in an integrated circuit would double approximately every two years and that its price would fall constantly. Over the decades, the law evolved into the “transistors per area unit” concept. Since 2016, the Intel roadmap has not followed Moore’s “self-fulfilling prophecy” either.
However, ALD films are a welcome addition not only in IT. Promising results have been achieved with medical instruments and coatings for implants too. Start-ups are even attempting to use the technology for the controlled release of active ingredients in the human body in a manner which is commercially viable. The technology also has the potential to optimize the performance of solar collectors, LED lamps and lithium batteries for electric cars. The films are already used in optical applications and on watches and silver jewelry to prevent corrosion.
The Millennium Technology Prize
The Millennium Technology Prize which is the result of an initiative of the Finnish government was first awarded to the British physicist Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the world wide web, in 2004. It rewards groundbreaking technological innovations which improve people’s quality of life and encourage lasting development.


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Calmer political situation in Nigeria helps PZ Cussons post 16.5 per cent increase in full-year profit
The calmer political situation in Nigeria helped Imperial Leather-maker PZ Cussons post a 16.5 per cent increase in full-year profit.
The firm – which makes 40 per cent of its earnings in the African country helped by best-selling products including Zip detergent – had suffered because of social unrest in the north and rising costs due to the government axing a fuel subsidy.
Cleaning up: PZ Cussons makes 40 per cent of its earnings in Nigeria helped by best-selling products including Zip detergent (pictured)
But trading rebounded over the past six months with profits rising 11.6 per cent for the region.
In the UK the group said the strength of its brands meant it did not have to drop prices to compete with promotions in the market.
Group pre-tax profit rose to £107.5m for the year to May 31, 2013 from £92.3m on sales of £883.2m.
Finance director Brandon Leigh said it would mark the birth of the royal baby with a limited edition of ‘Cussons Ma’am and Me’ range of shampoo.
He said: ‘While we face difficult trading environments in most of the geographies in which we operate our focus remains on driving profit growth through innovation.’
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Vietnam risks giving the old investment adage “buy the rumor, sell the fact” a bad name as the delta variant upends an economy rumored to have beaten Covid-19.
Up until last month, the Southeast Asian growth star was on a multi-year run as the regional economy that really “gets it.” The government had nimbly and savvily lured factories its way as they fled trade-war battered China.
And Hanoi, the grapevine said, had found the special Covid-19 formula: staying open for business amid impossibly low infection and death rates.
It was widely hailed as fact – and proof – that the transformative Doi Moi reforms since 1986 were not just alive and well, but about to find a higher gear amid a major government leadership change. This argument dominated a March 10 International Monetary Fund report headlined: “Vietnam: Successfully Navigating the Pandemic.”
Not so much. Traders normally ride such narratives until the rest of the herd catches on – then they take profits. Yet Vietnam is now reminding the globe it’s far less ready for global prime time than hoped as a new Covid wave overwhelms the place.
“With the recent surge of the Delta variant, paired with shockingly low vaccination rates, public opinion on Vietnam’s performance is beginning to wither,” cautions economist Huong Le Thu at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
Investor opinion, too, as markets realize this threatens already shaky global supply chains. Huong notes that giants of the garment, footwear and electronics sectors from Adidas to Nike to Apple now must worry about their delivery schedules and prices as the Delta wave hits Vietnam Inc.
A month ago, Ho Chi Minh City was still among Asia’s most frenetic metropolises, one cutting lots of ribbons on new factories. Now it’s the epicenter of Vietnam’s worst Covid surge to date – and effectively shutting down.
On Sunday, the Vietnamese government confirmed the nation’s biggest single-day infection increase to date – more than 9,700. Though HCMC is the main hot zone, neighboring cities that also serve as industrial hubs like Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An are racking up dangerously high caseloads.
Vietnam’s game plan
What happened in Vietnam will sound familiar to observers of Southeast Asia’s economies: complacency, laxity and a lethal dose of hubris.
As we’ve seen in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, governments’ initial success in containing the virus led them to slow-walk vaccination programs. The game plan was that any new increases in positivity rates could be quickly curtailed by doing what had worked before: social distancing guidance and more personal protective equipment.
During the first wave, Vietnam also took some decidedly top-down steps. Economist Stefan Angrick at Moody’s Analytics cites as an example of how Hanoi “has been aggressively trying to protect its economy” with its policy of “mandatory sleepovers” at “some factories to avoid Covid-19 infiltration that might cause delays to necessary production and broader supply chains.”
Then came the Delta variant, forcing a complete recalibration of government responses. That includes stepping up Hanoi’s vaccination game. Vietnam fell prey to vaccine nationalism, of sorts. One problem, in retrospect, says Barnaby Flower, a clinical research fellow at Oxford University, was that “there was little urgency to procure expensive new vaccines from abroad.”
Vietnam’s government, he says, “balked at the cost and the length of the queue and went on record to say it would be better to produce vaccines domestically.” Like many governments in Asia, it sensed an opportunity to flex its muscles in the biotech sector. Hanoi, Flower says, invested in at least four indigenous vaccines, knowing the lag-time could take considerable time.
This strategy hasn’t aged well as the Delta surge flips the script on Vietnam’s 2021. The government resorted to importing more Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines. Just not in time to head off where Vietnam finds itself in mid-August 2021: more cautionary tale than economic success case.
This has meant quite a baptism by fire for new Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính, who in April grabbed the reins from Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Chính’s government must tread carefully, though, to reassure investors who in recent years came to believe Vietnam moved beyond the “pendulum economics” of the past.
The reference here is to a decades-long Vietnam pattern where sentiment among global investors swings from exuberantly positive to wildly negative, often with little nuance between the extremes. The last headline-grabbing pivot toward crisis was in 2012 and a bit of turbulence in late 2013 amid the “taper tantrum” in emerging markets.
Since then, Phuc’s team did an impressive job trying to reduce the extremes and move beyond boom-bust cycles with steps to strengthen the financial system, increase transparency, reduce red tape and raise Hanoi’s ease-of-doing-business score. Companies including Apple, Adidas, LG, Nike, Panasonic, Samsung and myriad other responded by shifting production to Vietnam.
Yet these pre-existing conditions remain – and are now giving markets pause about how far Vietnam has really come. Suddenly, investors are being reminded of the nation’s opacity and knack for policy missteps in moments of extreme stress.
The good news, though, is that Hanoi is indeed displaying an aptitude for multitasking. One example is making nice with Joe Biden’s White House.
Last month, Hanoi and Biden’s Treasury chief, Janet Yellen, announced a deal that Vietnam won’t weaken the dong to gain a trade advantage.
Back when Trump added Vietnam to the currency list, its seemed retribution for the great headlines Hanoi was getting about winning the trade war. The outgoing US leader had hoped his taxes on Chinese goods and nontariff barriers would pull millions of jobs back to America. Instead, they zoomed to the greater HCMC area.
Yellen and State Bank of Vietnam Governor Nguyen Thi Hong moved to keep the peace. That means the pressure is on Hanoi to trim a ballooning trade surplus with Washington. In 2020, Vietnam’s trade surplus with the US jumped 25% to nearly $70 billion.
Hanoi said it will honor its commitment under International Monetary Fund rules “to avoid manipulating its exchange rate in order to prevent effective balance of payments adjustment or to gain an unfair competitive advantage and will refrain from any competitive devaluation of the Vietnamese dong.”
This suggests the temperature between the US and Hanoi will come down enough to create space for Chính’s government to raise its economic game.
A case in point is Chính’s government is taking a big swing at increasing the size of Southeast Asia’s smallest e-commerce market.
On Friday, Hanoi announced ambitions for digital enterprises to generate 20% of gross domestic product within four years. By 2030, the National Party Congress is targeting 30% of GDP produced by the digital sector. That’s up from just over 8% of GDP now. The plan is that that by 2025, 80% of the 98 million-person population will have online payment accounts.
Low wage costs
There are other silver linings here, says economist Michael Kokalari at investment firm VinaCapita. He lists fewer logistics bottlenecks of the kind cropping up in, say, Indonesia, and lower costs than those facing Malaysia. Economist Rajiv Biswas at IHS Markit Asia Pacific notes that even as Hanoi works to increase its vaccination rate, investors will continue to be drawn to its competitive strengths.
“Vietnam will continue to benefit from its relatively lower manufacturing wage costs relative to coastal Chinese provinces, where manufacturing wages have been rising rapidly over the past decade,” Biswas says. “Secondly, Vietnam has a relatively large, well-educated labor force compared to many other regional competitors in Southeast Asia, making it an attractive hub for manufacturing production by multinationals.”
So long as Vietnam can contain Covid, Biswas adds, it’s probably not done winning multinationals switching production of manufacturing away from China towards alternative hubs in Asia.
Finally, he says, many multinationals have been diversifying their manufacturing supply chains during the past decade to reduce vulnerability to supply disruptions and geopolitical events.
“This trend has been further reinforced by the Covid-19 pandemic, as protracted supply disruptions from China during February and March created turmoil in global supply chains for many industries, including autos and electronics,” Biswas says.
Yet all bets are off if Hanoi doesn’t get a handle on this second Covid wave. The economic pendulum swinging once again is the last thing this new government needs.


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Thursday, January 19, 2012
Kodak is a household name for camera, this particular brand is well known outside America and Europe.
Heck, i knew Kodak as my 1st ever camera when i was a small 5 year old boy residing in Sabah, Malaysia.
Even Rihanna was featured in Kodak's advertisement.
Kodak was founded by George Eastman in 1892, 130 years ago, hence the name Eastman Kodak. The headquarters is in Rochester, New York, United States of awesome America and is credited for supplying human beings the first ever photos from the Moon.
However a shocking news erupted today on January 19, 2012, the household name and world famous Kodak, sadly has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It had also obtained a USD $950 million, 18-month credit facility from Citigroup to keep it going. What the hell happened?
The loan and bankruptcy protection from U.S. trade creditors may give Kodak the time it needs to find buyers for some of its 1,100 digital patents, the key to its remaining value, and to reshape its business while continuing to pay its 17,000 workers.
"The board of directors and the entire senior management team unanimously believe that this is a necessary step and the right thing to do for the future of Kodak," Chairman and Chief Executive Antonio Perez said in a statement.
"Now we must complete the transformation by further addressing our cost structure and effectively monetizing non-core intellectual-property assets. We look forward to working with our stakeholders to emerge a lean, world-class, digital imaging and materials science company," he added.
At end September 2011, the group had total assets of USD$5.1 billion and liabilities of USD$6.75 billion.
Kodak said it and its U.S. subsidiaries had filed for Chapter 11 business reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
Non-U.S. subsidiaries were not covered by the filing and would continue to honor all obligations to their suppliers, it added.
A FALLEN ICON
Kodak once dominated its industry and mesmerizes the world, but it failed to embrace more modern technologies quickly enough, such as the digital camera -- ironically, a product it even invented.
Its downfall hit its Rust Belt hometown of Rochester, New York, with employment there falling to about 7,000 from more than 60,000 in Kodak's heyday.
Its market value has sunk to below USD$150 million from USD$31 billion 15 years ago.
Well i am sure, Kodak will not be in its present state of affairs, had Steve Jobs worked in that company.
All the Best Kodak.


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The Department of Electronics and Information Technology is working on a policy to incentivise entrepreneurs to set up electronics testing laboratories, as part of its plans to introduce a standards regime for all electronic products.
The Government has recently notified 15 category of electronic products, including computers, multi-media products and phones that should comply with certified safety and efficiency standards by April 2013.
“Even for certifying standards for these category of products, we do not have adequate electronics testing labs. We are working on a new policy under which we will provide some incentives to investors willing to set up such labs,’’ Ajay Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Electronics and Information Technology, told Business Line on the sidelines of an event here today.
Certification of products
It is estimated that at least 50 labs are required to enable makers of these categories of electronic products get the required certificate before they hit the market. Some of the makers of these products are setting up their own labs, but there will still be a need for independent labs, he said.
In the second phase, the Government will bring in other products under this regime. Medical electronics products will not immediately brought under the certified standards regime.
This initiative is part of the government’s target of achieving a turnover of $400 billion for electronics products by 2020 from the current level of $80 billion. “Out of the targeted $400 billion, $55 billion will come from the chip design segment, about $80 billion from semiconductors, $35 billion from LED products and $34 billion from telecom equipment,’’ Kumar said.
Electronics development fund
The new policy on electronics will also see the creation of an Electronics Development Fund of Rs 10,000 crore with contributions from the government, private investors and venture funds.
“This mother fund will fund different daughter funds, each ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 1,000 crore. We expect some of the daughter funds to be operational in the next three to four months," he said.


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Today’s guest post is written by Yasin Akgun.
Traditional marketing methods of charities have, for a long time, been offline based activities. For instance, door to door sales, leafleting, street vendors, and tele-sales.
Of course, we’ve all seen this changing as more and more charities turn to digital marketing strategies to raise awareness and increase profitability.
In the U.K., the BBC published a report showing that millions of pounds intended for charities, in fact, go to the companies managing and implementing the fundraising on their behalf.
The report even concluded that:
Fees paid to fundraising companies by UK charities for recruiting new donors often effectively wipe out the amount a person gives.
They cited, as an example, that many organizations effectively pay sub-contracted fundraisers MORE than they raise in the first year, just to cover the initial costs. These fundraisers, also known as “chuggers,” or charity muggers, may get 750,000 signatures raising 90 pounds per signature, but the charities are paying 100 pounds per signature.
The result of this story has been detrimental to charities who were already struggling with the perception that donors’ money lines the pockets of others, and not the intended beneficiaries of charities.
This has left them in a difficult situation. Traditional marketing methods, where their experience lies, are becoming more and more ineffective.
Of course, now they realize the strategy they must take next is to dip their toes in to previously unknown frontiers: Digital marketing.
It would be wrong to suggest that charities have only now used the Internet for fundraising activities but it is a valid statement that some have been reluctant to make that transition.
Those that have made this giant leap are doing very well. In fact, the partnership of online game publishers and charities has been consistently successful in bringing in never before seen ROI for charities.
- The charity Save The Children (for victims of this year’s earthquake in Japan) partnered with Zynga via branded virtual goods. Within 36 hours of the campaign going online, more than $1 million in funds were raised.In fact, the partnership of game publishers and charities have been consistently successful in bringing in never before seen ROI for charities, including outside of the BVG business model.
- The game developer Backstage raised more than $172,000 for charities around the world, primarily through their innovative ‘Scratch & Win‘ online games. Special tickets could only be purchased via Spare Change for $0.10 with net proceeds going directly to charity.
The success rate of the partnership between charities and social game developers should be of no surprise when we consider the market value of virtual goods.
According to eMarketer, the branded virtual goods revenues this year have increased by more than 156 percent since 2010 and has an estimated worldwide value of $41 million. The projections for 2015 show that this will increase by a staggering 775 percent to a worldwide value of no less than $318 million.
Charitable causes and social media are surely a perfect match particularly when you see the symbiotic nature of the core values of each. Social media is a platform to provide people a way of connecting with others around common interests; concordant with the core values of charities which is to raise awareness, bring people together and create communities around causes.
Charities have the potential to reach more donors than ever before for their project by utilising new media in an ethical, profitable and engaging environment; online gaming. Do you have a success story you’d like to share?
Yasin Akgun is a marketing executive with PlayMob, a UK based company offering offering relationship management solutions for game developers, charities and brands together. He blogs for them here.


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To the great anticipation of fans, Nintendo released a Direct Mini Thursday morning showcasing several of their games for the next few months. While most of the titles announced are on the Switch, there are some nuggets for 3DS-only fans. The World Ends With You -Final Remix- Release Date: 2018 Originally
Here’s a new batch of Super Mario Odyssey Screenshots. Super Mario Odyssey release October 27th exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.
Here’s a new look at Super Mario Odyssey, Nintendo has released this new trailer during their Nintendo Direct Presentation. Check out the latest trailer above and Super Mario Odyssey launches October 27th exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.


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MasterCard International and its new advertising agency, McCann-Erickson, Tuesday launched a new ad campaign and new slogan.
The campaign-the card association's first since its Smart Money campaign ended 10 months ago-incorporates the new tag line: "There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's MasterCard."
The first of these ads will debut during tonight's World Series telecast, and will feature a father and son attending a game.
The campaign will be complemented with print ads in January, followed by radio, cable, and Internet advertising.


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Large-screen smartphones have proved popular with end-users as OEMs and vendors have introduced a variety of large-screen handheld devices, such as phablets. So, what is the optimal smartphone screen size? According to new research results from Strategy Analytics’ Mobile Device UX group, U.S. and U.K. smartphone users are most likely to be interested in those with a display size of 5.3 inches.
Shown smartphone prototypes, U.S. smartphone users showed a greater interest in larger screen size formats than their U.K. counterparts, Strategy Analytics highlights in a press release. Android smartphone owners, in turn, have a greater interest in phablet size prototypes as compared to Apple smartphone owners.
Preferred Smartphone Screen Size
Similar to market research results for 2014, prototypes with 5.3¨ displays were the most preferred overall in Strategy Analytics Mobile UX group’s 1H 2015 survey. Prototypes with 5.0¨ screens ranked second and those with 5.5¨ screens third.
The majority of research participants preferred smartphone prototypes larger than their current handsets, the market research provider noted. That said, more than half said they were interested in a handset with a display only slightly larger than that of the smartphones they had at the time.
“While interest in larger displays is considerable for current consumers it is still imperative to keep in mind that a device with good ‘fit in hand’ is important,¨ commented report author and analyst Monica Wong. ¨Strategy Analytics has found previously that mobile devices with a thinner bezel, optimizing display, while still fitting well in hand overall, has far more appeal to consumers.”
Also of note, smartphone owners preferred thicker prototypes with a longer battery life over thinner phones. When it comes to thickness, survey participants initially preferred thinner 6mm smartphone prototypes. Informed they could expect one-third more battery life with a thicker phone (i.e. 8mm), they changed their minds, Wong continued.
¨Consumers were willing to give up thinness for a longer lasting battery,¨ she stated. ¨As consumers continue to use their smartphones daily, they expect their phone to keep up with their busy lifestyles.”
OEMs should bear that in mind, added Mobile Device UX director Paul Brown. ¨As Strategy Analytics’ has found, it is important for OEMs to keep in mind that a long lasting battery is imperative to satisfy the consumers’ needs.
¨It is also important for OEMs to take into account that the largest battery capacity does not always mean the best battery life and finding a way to optimize battery performance is key. With that said, features such as ‘fast charging’ would aid consumers considerably in providing the ability to charge a larger battery in a shorter amount of time.”
In recent market research, J.D. Power found that mobile subscriber satisfaction is typically higher for those who bought smartphones with 5-plus inch screens as compared to those who purchased smartphones with smaller screen sizes of 4 inches or less.


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Europe’s farmers want the EU to strike a free trade deal with Japan within the next six months, pointing out that it’s currently the second biggest export market for EU pork.
The call for a speeding up of free trade action was given to EU Trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom, during a recent meeting with the presidents of Copa & Cogeca, the European farm and farm cooperative organisations.
“We are starting to see signs of recovery on the EU dairy and pork markets, but they remain in a fragile state and it will take time for producers to recover their losses after such an unprecedented crisis,” said Copa president, Martin Merrild (pictured above).
While noting that the recovery was partly due to demand having picked up in China, plus European Commission progress in finding new export markets, he added that free trade agreements with Japan, Mexico and Indonesia could all benefit the EU market substantially. In relation to Japan, in particular, he urged the EU to complete a trade deal within the next six months.
As for the ongoing free trade talks with the USA (TTIP), Mr Merrild said Copa sees both opportunities and challenges on both sides of the Atlantic.
“I question, however, why there are so many protests on this in the EU when we do not know what would be in a potential deal”, he said. “For us, it’s important to lift non-trade barriers to trade as we see three-quarters of the gains to be had here (in the EU).”
Cogeca president Thomas Magnusson, for his part, focused on his organisation’s “serious concerns” about a potential free trade deal with the Latin American trade bloc Mercosur, saying it risks having a catastrophic impact especially on the EU beef and poultry sector.
Commissioner Malmstrom restricted herself to a brief response, stating merely that Copa & Cogeca’s concerns will be taken into account and that a “cumulative impact assessment on trade” is already in development and will be released later this autumn.


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We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.
You might have noticed that Samsung recently dropped a huge array of new products, including its fancy new flagship phone the Galaxy S10.
There's also a larger, bulkier version, the Galaxy S10+, and a smaller, budget model, the S10e, giving you a potentially difficult choice if you're thinking about an upgrade.
Along with many other networks, EE has launched pre-orders for all the new Samsung phones right now ahead of release day, which just so happens to be today – and a number of the deals that the network has on right now include a free pair of Samsung's new wireless Buds earphones (usually worth £139).
Check out the best deals we found on EE below, including offers on the older Galaxy models, which have also dropped in price, and get your new Galaxy handset by March 8.


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US regulators have launched a nationwide crackdown on companies inundating US consumers with billions of unwanted and illegal telemarketing robocalls.
The action, known as Operation Stop Scam Calls, was announced Tuesday by the Federal Trade Commission and involves more than 100 federal and state law enforcement agencies across the country, as well as state attorneys general. 50 States and Washington, DC.
In addition to telemarketers, the action will target so-called consent farms that provide your personal information to calling bots while falsely claiming that consumers have consented to receive the calls. The crackdown also targets voice-over-Internet-protocol providers that facilitate illegal robocalls, which often originate outside the United States.
“We are taking action against those who trick people into giving false consent to receive these calls and those who make these calls easy and cheap,” Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Consumer Protection Bureau, said in a statement announcing the crackdown.
The FTC received more than 1.8 million complaints about robocalls in 2022, up from 3.4 million the previous year. More than 2.5 million people registered last year for the Do not call register, which allows consumers to register their numbers with the FTC to let telemarketers know not to be called for solicitations. In November, the register contained more than 246 million telephone numbers.
The FTC said it filed 167 lawsuits against illegal calling bots and do-not-call registry violators, with defendants ordered to pay more than $2 billion.
One such FTC target is Fluent, a New York-based media company that allegedly operated a consent farm that lured consumers to its websites with the promise of job interviews and gift cards. $1,000 Walmart. Instead of providing the promised job opportunity or reward, the websites tricked consumers with their personal information and “consent” to receive robocalls, which they then sold to third-party marketers, said the FTC.
Fluent used these tactics to obtain and sell more than 620 million telemarketing leads between January 2018 and December 2019, the FTC said. Fluent faces a $2.5 million fine and a ban on robocall activity under a proposed settlement.
Fluent did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


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New Zealand’s competition regulator The Commerce Commission is weighing up whether to approve the proposed acquisition of data encryption hardware and software provider Gemalto by the e-security division of Thales.
Global ICT services company Tech Data has inked a distribution agreement for Australia and New Zealand with digital security provider Gemalto.
There are some curious inconsistencies in IT decision makers' view of their organisations' posture, judging by a new study.
The USA seems to be having more of its friends suggest to it that using security issues as an excuse[…]
"“We have concerns that NBN Co’s wholesale pricing has resulted in unfair outcomes for those consumers who have no need[…]
Pleased to see that NBN Co is going to co-operate with the ACCC.Do they have a choice?If there is a[…]
Interpretation - The telco sector in Japan is continuing to grow satisfactorily.Or at least that is what I think was[…]
IBM sacked him to avoid paying a retainer. Typical. At least the k8s chief saw the writing on the wall.


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Sep 29, 2020
The community of Lavender Hill in Cape Town will for a long time reap the benefits of a newly established hanging garden, donated by Checkers as part of its Little Garden 2 campaign.
One of these benefits includes ongoing support for the Dover Court soup kitchen, started by Faieka Gasant (25) in response to the dramatic increase in hungry people in the Cape Flats community due to the national lockdown.
- Faieka Gasant, founder of Dover Court soup kitchen, who daily feeds between 300 and 500 people
With this hanging garden the retailer hopes to inspire South Africans from all walks of life to employ such innovative, yet cost-effective ways to plant food gardens. This type of garden can be reproduced in small spaces and promotes recycling because plastic bottles are repurposed to serve as planters.
Checkers is part of the Shoprite Group, which has been supporting food gardens across South Africa since 2015. To date the Group has partnered with 119 community food gardens and 475 home gardens. This brings to over 28 000, the total number of people benefitting from this initiative.


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Along with the rest of the market, two of the largest stocks, Tesla (TSLA) and Meta Platforms (FB), have been on substantial rallies this month. In the case of TSLA, the stock is roughly 10% away from its 52-week high after rising ~45% since its late February low. Facebook/Meta Platforms, on the other hand, peaked back in September with a massive drop in response to the last earnings report in February being the pinnacle of those declines. Losses continued until it put in a low on March 14th. Since then, the stock has rallied 22% but that still leaves it down over 40% from its 52-week high.
As shown below, Facebook had a much larger market cap than Tesla throughout the 2010s, but the 2020s have seen Tesla take the lead in a big way. While both have been members of the “trillion dollar market cap” club at various points in time, only Tesla holds that distinction right now. At the moment, Tesla’s market cap sits at nearly $1.15 trillion, while Facebook is just above the $600 billion level.
Below we show the ratio of the market caps of TSLA and FB. As shown, the massive distancing of the two stocks’ market caps means the value of Tesla (TSLA) is closing in on being worth 2 whole Facebooks. Click here to view Bespoke’s premium membership options.


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In a move to cater to the increasing number of Chinese arrivals to
the country, Cambodia has announced that visitors from China will now be
able to pay in Chinese currency at all tourism services throughout the
Until recently, all foreign visitors to the country could use either Cambodia riel or US dollars for their payment.
The adoption of the Chinese renminbi is expected to make it easier
for Chinese tourists to spend their money in Cambodia, as it eliminates
the need for currency exchange and also saves them from paying
additional fees. Additionally, it will also give local businesses in
Cambodia a boost as they will now be able to receive payments in a more
Cambodia has been making a concerted effort to attract more Chinese
tourists to the country. In recent years, the number of Chinese tourists
visiting Cambodia has been growing rapidly, making it one of the
largest tourist markets for the country.
The Cambodian government has been implementing several initiatives to
improve the tourist experience and make it easier for visitors to spend
their money in the country.
The move to accept Chinese currency is expected to further boost the
number of Chinese tourists visiting Cambodia and help promote trade and
and strengthen economic ties between the two countries.


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Red Dead Redemption‘s impressive success was clearly evident ever since the game’s launch last year in May. Rockstar Games’ western title dominated the sales chart for countless months and beat off strong competition even long after its initial release. Back in December, Rockstar’s parent company Take-Two said the game shipped eight million units. Now, in the publisher’s latest financial results, it has been unveiled that Red Dead Redemption has sold eight million copies.
Take-Two has revealed its financial results for the third quarter ending on December 31st, 2010, with net revenues clocking in at $334.3 million with a profit of $40.9 million. The publisher also revealed that four million copies of NBA 2K11 has been shipped, consequently making it the best selling title in its series.
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick commented on the financial results:
Our results year-to-date clearly demonstrate the Company’s ability to translate its world-class creative resources and diverse portfolio of triple-A franchises into meaningful profits. Looking ahead to the balance of the year and fiscal 2012, I have never been more enthusiastic about our diverse line-up of upcoming releases.
Zelnick continued to say what to look forward to in the future from the company:
From unique, groundbreaking new titles such as L.A. Noire, to the long anticipated return of Duke Nukem, the interactive entertainment industry’s most irreverent hero, we will deliver a broad array of entertainment experiences that promise to delight audiences around the world.
The following titles from Take-Two, which are all confirmed for a release during the 2011-2012 release period, are as follows:
- L.A. Noire – May 17th, 2011
- Top Spin 4 – Fiscal 4Q 2011
- Major League Baseball 2K11 – Fiscal 4Q 2011
- Duke Nukem Forever – Calendar Year 2011
- Spec Ops: The Line – Fiscal Year 2012
- BioShock Infinite – Calendar Year 2012
Will you be picking up any of Take-Two’s upcoming titles? Let us know in the comments below.


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The New York City Wine and Food Festival presented by Coca-Cola returns for its 10th anniversary from October 12-15. Every year, the NYCWFF attracts thousands of people to partake in a four-day event showcasing the incredible talents of the world’s most renowned wine and spirits producers, chefs, culinary personalities and America’s most beloved television chefs while fighting to end hunger.
This year, more than 70 events will take place at locations across New York, with 100% of the net proceeds benefiting the hunger-relief organizations Food Bank for New York City and No Kid Hungry. To this date, the NYCWFF has raised more than $10 million to support the fight against hunger.
The festival’s 10th anniversary includes a noticeable increase of family-friendly offerings. The following events are compelling for all ages.
- Culinary demonstrations only at the Grand Tasting presented by ShopRite featuring Samsung Culinary Demonstration presented by MasterCard on Saturday, October 14 and Sunday, October 15.
- Italian Harvest Party sponsored by Barilla hosted by Giada De Laurentiis.
- Family Ice Cream Fun-dae hosted by Mario Batali and Ayesha Curry
- Coco-Cola Backyard BBQ hosted by Andrew Zimmern and Pat LaFrieda
For the first time ever, the beloved Brooklyn market Smorgasburg will travel over the bridge to celebrate their simultaneous 10th anniversary with NYCWFF on Thursday October 12. This expansive tasting, presented by Thrillist hosted by the Coast of Chopped, will feature bites curated by the team at Smorgasburg and plenty of carefully-crafted libations.
The revamped signature party continues on Saturday, October 14 with Rooftop Iron Chef Showdown: Battle Autumn Bounty hosted by Alton brown, where kitchen stadium will be brought to life overlooking the Hudson River in celebration of the Iron Chef franchise and more than 30 chefs will compete.
Tickets for NYCWFF’s 10th anniversary can be purchased at nycwff.org or by calling (800) 764-8773.


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The new Galaxy S8 and S8+ are set to be released on April 21st in the U.S. and on April 28th around the rest of the world. However, Amhaz is as usual a step ahead of the official resellers in Lebanon and is currently offering the two phones at City Centre and Bir El Abed for a ridiculous $950 and $1150. Still, as in the case with any new smartphone the prices should decrease by the day.
On the other hand, the official prices for the S8 and S8+ are set by Samsung Lebanon to $799 and $899 respectively, and you can pre-order your device while benefiting from free bundles by placing an order on their website.
I personally briefly passed by Samsung’s Dbayeh showroom today and found the S8 to be absolutely gorgeous, and I’m now having a hard time resisting the urge to get one even though my current S7 is still running perfectly. Disregarding all the phone features and specs, the infinity display alone is guaranteed to make you fall if in love with the S8.
Price wise, I expect Amhaz and other stores to soon start selling at a price lower than Samsung’s once the S8 is officially released, but after the issue I enountered with my old S7 Edge, if I’m buying the S8 then I will certainly get it from an authorized retailer because the official warranty is definitely worth it.


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Japanese retailing giant Aeon has donated JPY25 million through the Chinese Embassy in Japan for the protection of the giant pandas in Wolong, Sichuan.
Of the donation funds, JPY11.59 million was raised from a panda protection campaign run by each of Aeon's retail stores in Japan at the end of last year and the remainder was donated by Aeon Group.
Cui Tiankai, Chinese ambassador to Japan, has expressed his appreciation for Aeon's demonstration of its corporate social responsibility in protecting the environment and the panda. Cui says that Aeon's donation demonstrates Japanese people's support of the friendly relations between China and Japan.
The cute giant pandas are not only the national treasure of China, but also special envoys for Sino-Japanese relations. The Chinese government previously gave two giant pandas to Japan when the diplomatic relations between the two countries was normalized.


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Swiss researchers have unveiled a two-factor authentication mechanism dubbed ‘Sound-Proof’ that uses the noise recorded by a user’s phone and the device he or she wants to log into to verify identity. “The proximity of the two devices is verified by comparing the ambient noise recorded by their microphones,” the team from the Institute of Information Security at ETH Zurich explains in a paper describing the system.
- From the high street to the handset: How banks can stay connected to consumers in the smartphone era
- British Airways owner IAG launches mobile pay on new airline Level
- Heat become first NBA team with mobile-only entry
- What code is running on Apple’s Secure Enclave security chip? Now we have a decryption key…
- Digital payment platforms primed to topple cash


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Researchers from the Japan Superior Institute of Science and Expertise have discovered a option to improve the lifetime of batteries considerably. This might resolve a recurring downside for anybody who owns smartphones — as batteries degrade over time, the lifetime of a cellphone is mechanically decreased, even when it performs nice in different methods. Scientists say the blame lies largely with the design of the lithium-ion batteries that energy these state-of-the-art smartphones as these batteries degrade over time. Researchers Japan Superior Institute of Science and Expertise (JAIST) are probing methods to provide an extended capability to those batteries.
The researchers, led by Professor Noriyoshi Matsumi, have printed their newest findings in ACS Utilized Power Supplies journal, which was reported by EurekaAlert. They are saying the extensively used graphite anodes – the damaging terminal – in a battery require a binder to carry the mineral collectively however the poly (vinylidene fluoride) binder presently in use has a number of drawbacks that cut back its place as an excellent binding materials.
The researchers at the moment are investigating a brand new sort of binder constituted of a bis-imino-acenaphthenequinone-paraphenylene (BP) copolymer, which they imagine might handle the problem of smartphones working out of juice so rapidly. They mentioned their analysis might have far-reaching penalties as a extra dependable back-up system can encourage shoppers to speculate extra in costly property like electrical automobiles that their polluting alternate options.
The lead researcher defined that whereas a half-cell typical PVDF binder exhibited solely 65 p.c of its authentic capability after 500 charge-discharge cycles, the half-cell utilizing the BP copolymer as a binder confirmed a 95 p.c capability retention after 1700 such cycles. He additionally mentioned that sturdy batteries would assist these counting on synthetic organs, moreover the final inhabitants who vastly depend upon smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
The research concerned Professor Tatsuo Kaneko, Senior Lecturer Rajashekar Badam, PhD scholar Agman Gupta, and former postdoctoral fellow Aniruddha Nag.


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Since the COVID pandemic took over the world people have been confined to their houses, looking for the best possible way to secure household commodities everyone has opted for online shopping. Lets look at the rise of eCommerce in the USA.
The rise of eCommerce in the USA!
The US eCommerce market was already the second largest market in the world, placing itself ahead of the Japanese market. Contributing to the worldwide growth rate of 16% in 2019, the US market jumped up to an 11% raise!
The sales in the year 2020 will reach $794.50 billion this year which is 18.0% more than predicted in a Q2 forecast by emarketer.com. The US eCommerce sales amounted to a whopping $212 billion in the months of April, May, and June which is analogous to 16.1% of the total retail sales.
Although the eCommerce expands to a very extensive variety of products, most of the sales were made in the departments of clothing and footwear.
The highest amount of sales were made by the huge online store Amazon whose share is said to grow by 39.0% in the year 2020.
Moreover, the eBay app is used by 34.9 US cellphone users which made it another big candidate for online sales in 2020.
Lastly, Apple’s online sales rate is 10% to 15%, which made it the second company in line that showed an increase in online sales after Amazon!
This is it for the rise of eCommerce in the USA. Keep visiting our website for daily updates on news, entertainment, and politics.


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Apple has recently launched the new version of iOS i.e. iOS 5.0.1 beta. This version will help users in fixing battery issues and will also provide many features to users of first generation iPad.
Apple spokesperson, Natalie Harrison told MacWorld,
A small number of customers have reported lower than expected battery life on iOS 5 devices. We have found a few bugs that are affecting battery life, and we will release a software update to address those in a few weeks.
This new version will help to resolve smart cover issue – which was first introduced by 9to5mac in the middle of October – and will be available to give more multi-touch for original iPad.


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Graphics chipset manufacturer ATI has unveiled the latest additions to its Radeon range of high-end graphics cards, with Valve's Gabe Newell on hand to praise the cards' performance in the now-delayed Half-Life 2.
The Radeon 9800 XT and 9600 XT graphics cards were announced at an event originally designed to coincide with Half-Life 2's September 30 release date, but despite the game now being scheduled tentatively for the "holiday season", the show went ahead regardless at Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay.
No new footage of Half-Life 2 was shown, but Newell assured the audience that ATI had been chosen as a technology partner by Valve "because of their outstanding DirectX 9 performance," pointing out that "ATI's DirectX 9-class Radeon cards are the best choices for playing Half-Life 2."
Purchasers of the new cards - which will ship at $499 in the USA for the 9800 XT, and around $200 for the 128Mb 9600 XT - will receive a free copy of Half-Life 2 when the game is ready, in an OEM deal for which ATI is rumoured to have paid up to $8 million to Valve.
In terms of performance, it would seem that these cards aren't massive leaps over ATI's existing high end products, but they will give the manufacturer a further edge over larger rival NVIDIA - at least until it announces the next additions to the GeForce range, with an announcement of two new products expected in the coming weeks.


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Apparently the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission cares more about whether or not people smoke weed rather than scam money through high-frequency trading.
According to Forbes, trading of shares of GrowLife, a store franchise specializing in hydroponic gardening, was suspended by the SEC last week “because of questions that have been raised about the accuracy and adequacy of information in the marketplace and potentially manipulative transactions in PHOT’s (GrowLife’s stock symbol) common stock.”
This action comes a month after the SEC suspended another marijuana-related business, Advanced Cannabis Solutions, citing questions “regarding whether certain undisclosed affiliates and shareholders of Advanced Cannabis common stock engaged in an unlawful public distribution of securities.”
These SEC crackdowns have caused pot stocks to crash only months after their prices were flying high after Colorado legalized recreational marijuana on Jan.1.
Shares of Advanced Cannabis have resumed trading, but have seen their stock drop by 40 percent. CannaVest, a company specializing in products with CBD, trades today at $16.88 — down from as high as $201 a share earlier this year.
The SEC has made it clear that there’s no room for weed on Wall Street. But there’s always room for Quaaludes.


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Latest Light-emitting diodes Stories
Leading manufacturer and distributor of industrial lighting Larson Electronics announces the release of a Class 2 Division 1 explosion proof high bay light fixture that provides operators with
Leading lighting manufacturer Larson Electronics has announced the release of a powerful new LED fixture designed to provide powerful output combined with rugged construction capable of withstanding
Gives users the option to have a brighter display or longer battery life without loss of color quality St.
Industrial lighting specialist Larson Electronics has announced the release of a 1,600 watt high output LED light mast powered by 7kw brushless water cooled diesel generator.
The KIND LED grow lights K3 series, proudly distributed by SuperCloset, are included in the 2014 group of Best LED Grow Lights.
The Larson Electronics’ EPL-IBM-150LED-RT explosion proof high bay light fixture provides operators with a powerful and energy efficient alternative to traditional hazardous location luminaries.
Multi-function display market in the Middle East to reach $2,108.4 million by 2020 at a CAGR of 11.96%
Learn how to save energy and money by using efficient light bulbs DETROIT, Nov.
Major systems integration and electronics manufacturer and world’s leading manufacturer of indoor LED displays expand Made in America initiative manufacturing giant LED displays, these for distribution
LONDON, Oct. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- LED lighting delivers high efficiency, high level of brightness, long lifespan and high reliability.
- A member of the swell-mob; a genteelly clad pickpocket. Sometimes mobsman.


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Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
Shipping company Maersk has ordered eight new shipping vessels that can run on methanol, which is considered the more green type of fuel. The company will spend $1.4 billion on the ships, which are 10-15% more than the less Earth-friendly vessels.
The ships will be mostly dedicated to shipping products for H&M and Unilever and other consumer goods. Theu should go into production in 2024 and Maersk says that it expects all of its ships to operate with zero emissions by 2050.
Companies are under increasing pressure from consumers to green up their supply chains. Maersk said that more than half of its 200 largest customers, including Disney and Amazon, have pledged to reduce carbon emissions in their supply chains.


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Food prices fell 1.0 percent in the March 2012 month, following a 0.6 percent rise in February, Statistics New Zealand said today.
"Prices fell in March for all five broad food categories. This last happened in October 2009," Statistics NZ prices manager Chris Pike said. The most significant decrease came from the fruit and vegetables subgroup (down 4.2 percent).
The fall in fruit and vegetable prices reflected seasonal price falls for apples (down 24 percent). Lower prices were also recorded for grapes (down 20 percent), pumpkin (down 26 percent), potatoes (down 5.8 percent), and cauliflower (down 33 percent).
Prices for these fruits and vegetables usually fall at this time of the year. In March 2012, the meat, poultry, and fish subgroup (down 1.8 percent) was the next largest downward contributor to the food price index (FPI). This reflected lower prices for chicken pieces (down 4.0 percent), bacon (down 6.5 percent), lamb chops (down 7.8 percent), sausages (down 5.0 percent), and porterhouse/sirloin beef steak (down 3.5 percent).
These falls were influenced by more discounting in March than in February. Within the other subgroups, the most significant downward contributions to the FPI came from lower prices for chocolate biscuits (down 7.8 percent) and energy drinks (down 4.4 percent). These decreases reflect more discounting in March than in February.
For the year to March 2012, food prices increased 0.2 percent. Three of the five food subgroups made upward contributions to the FPI. Higher prices were recorded for grocery food (up 1.7 percent), restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food (up 1.4 percent), and non-alcoholic beverages (up 2.5 percent).
These rises were partly offset by price falls for fruit and vegetables (down 7.2 percent) and meat, poultry, and fish (down 0.9 percent). The FPI measures the rate of price change of food and food services purchased by households. Statistics NZ visits shops across New Zealand to collect prices for the FPI and check package sizes.


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Categories: foreign trade
Decision for a deeper fairway in the Port of Gothenburg
The Land and Environmental Court granted a permit for deepening and widening the fairway, strengthening the quay and the disposal of dredge spoil in a designated location at sea. The decision will allow the Skandia Gateway project’s dock reinforcement work to start according to schedule.
Smart freight tracking system at the Port of Gothenburg goes live
The largest port in Scandinavia is seeking to enhance customer benefit through digitalised freight tracking. The Port Optimizer™ Track & Trace app is being launched by the Port Authority of Gothenburg to make it easier for freight owners and rail and terminal operators to track their freight in real time from quayside to inland destination.
Strong autumn for rail traffic at the Port of Gothenburg
During 2018, 398,000 TEUs were transported to or from the port by rail. The figures were strongest during the final quarter of the year when rail-borne container freight increased by 27 per cent. “The fact that long-distance freight transport is recovering at a higher rate is a clear indication of the growing confidence in the Container Terminal throughout the country".
Port of Gothenburg freight volumes 2018
Port of Gothenburg freight figures for 2018 have just been compiled. Container volumes rose by 17 per cent compared with the previous year. Energy products, intra-European ro-ro* units and new cars all fell by one per cent, albeit in relation to the high comparative figures for these three segments in 2017.
Gothenburg ro-ro traffic on the increase – European network expanding
The prospects for ro-ro traffic between Sweden and the continent are certainly looking bright. Volumes between Gothenburg and Belgium have increased for the ninth year in succession. Shipping companies are also in the process of expanding their networks from Gothenburg across large parts of Europe – often via the Belgian ports in Ghent and Zeebrugge, large hubs for intra-European ro-ro traffic.
Official opening of new combi terminal at the Port of Gothenburg
On Wednesday, the Arken Combi Terminal at the Port of Gothenburg was officially opened. Freight can now switch between road, rail and sea at the quayside, and can do so much more efficiently than before. The new terminal will result in higher freight capacity, improved transport efficiency, and cleaner air.
New freight service from Gothenburg to Rotterdam
The opening of a new freight service to Rotterdam will be a welcome development, presenting further opportunities for Swedish industry. The company behind the new service is the ro-ro* carrier CLdN, whose vessels will call at the Port of Gothenburg twice a week.
Port of Gothenburg appoints new Harbour Master
The Port of Gothenburg has appointed a new Harbour Master – Åsa Kärnebro. Åsa has been deputy Harbour Master at the Port of Gothenburg since 2010. In her new position she has identified a number of ways to further strengthen the port's competitiveness, not only in Europe but also globally.
Sweden: Port of Gothenburg expands
The Port of Gothenburg, the largest port in Scandinavia, is set to expand with the construction of a new terminal at the outer port area. It is the largest expansion project at the port since the 1970s. The terminal will be built using dredging spoils and is expected to be completed at some point after 2020.
Great start for the Port of Gothenburg’s environmental discounts
January 1 this year saw the introduction of environmental discounts in the Port of Gothenburg, the aim being to incentivise vessels with high environmental performance. Edvard Molitor, Senior Manager Environment at the Port of Gothenburg Authority, reveals that the concept has got off to a great start.
Upturn in container freight at the Port of Gothenburg
Container freight volumes increased by two per cent during the second quarter compared to the corresponding period in 2014. Exports and imports of new cars have also increased. This was revealed in the six-monthly report published today by the Port of Gothenburg.
New service between Gothenburg and Germany
A new container service for Swedish imports and exports has commenced between Gothenburg and Germany. The first ship is expected to call at Gothenburg on June 9.
Port of Gothenburg new export port for Volvo cars to Russia and China
The Port of Gothenburg will be the new export port for Volvo cars to Finland, Russia and China. This will result in a new service to Finland and Russia and an increase in volume of around 30,000 cars each year.
New service between Gothenburg and Morocco
Swedish exports to Morocco are on the increase. The shipping company Seago Line is about to establish a new service to Casablanca and Agadir in Morocco. Swedish forest products and engineering products are just two examples of the freight that will be transported using this new service.
New deep sea service between the Port of Gothenburg and Japan
The Port of Gothenburg has acquired a new deep sea service to Japan. The service will be operated by the newly formed 2M Alliance – MSC and Maersk Line. Japan is a major importer of Swedish forest products.
Gothenburg best logistics location in Sweden
For the 14th year in succession, Gothenburg has been named the best logistics location in Sweden by the industry journal Intelligent Logistik. The deciding factors are that it has the largest port in the Nordic Region for both imports and exports, direct deep-sea services and the short distance from the import harbour to the warehouse.
Rise in car exports though the Port of Gothenburg
During 2014 the Port of Gothenburg reported a rise in car exports and a fall in oil volumes. This can be seen in the Port of Gothenburg volume report which is released today.
New forest terminal at the Port of Gothenburg
More sawmills throughout the Nordic region can now ship their timber via the Port of Gothenburg. A new transloading terminal for timber products has opened at the port. The terminal will be run by the family-owned company Sören Thyr AB.
OPDR chooses Port of Gothenburg
Swedish import and export companies can look forward to a new freight service to the United Kingdom and Spain. The German shipping company OPDR, in collaboration with X-Press Feeders, has established a new route from the Port of Gothenburg.