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The Effect of COVID-19 on Commercial Real Estate
The Start of the Pandemic
As the COVID-19 pandemic began, the first places to feel the impact were restaurants, gyms, performance spaces, entertainment venues, and independent stores. However, commercial real estate hung on, largely due to lessors who preferred to let their tenants keep space at lower prices rather than have to try to rent out or sell empty buildings during a worsening health crisis.
But as with any economic downturn, the effects often come well after the initial shock. In 2021, commercial building owners are beginning to see significant downturns. More large and small companies have decided to move out of their offices and work from home, the travel industry is decimated and full of empty hotel rooms, and even more people are shopping online, meaning large retail centers like malls are struggling to stay afloat, even after a holiday surge.
A Debt Time-Bomb
Worse, more than $400 billion in debt on commercial and multi-family buildings matures next year. Defaulting on these buildings or owners declaring bankruptcy could tank the market even further. A community’s tax base is often dependent on commercial buildings, so losing them could mean less money for cities and towns. And if multiple buildings of this type start defaulting, there will be a huge strain on the banking system.
Is this an inevitable disaster? Not necessarily. Congress has already proposed measures that allow banks to work with delinquent borrowers until the end of 2021. Vaccinations could also assist in encouraging more people to return to shopping malls and office buildings. Hopefully, things will begin to look brighter soon.


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Step aside couch potatoes, biggest TV screen is here
London, Jan 6 (UNI) Move aside couch potatoes, as the biggest ever television screen will need you to sit well back.
A 150-inch plasma screen that towers six feet high and stretches 11 feet wide is to be launched tomorrow by Panasonic as one of the star attractions at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the Observer reported.
The television weighs more than 226.796 kg and is expected to cost around 50,000 pounds.
Viewers would have to sit more than 30 feet away to watch it in comfort.
Panasonic insisted that the set is not merely a novelty show-stopper but intended for sale.
Jeff Samuels, a spokesman, said, ''Because we were hoping to keep this as a surprise to be introduced on January 7, we have very little information about it, but it will eventually be a viable commercial product.'' James Beechinor-Collins, editor of Republic Publishing and co-founder of the gadget website ElectricPig, said, ''This will be the Formula 1 car of TV. It's pushing the boundaries of technology and it's only this way they can improve effectiveness and efficiency. But how many people are going to buy a 150-inch TV for 50,000 pounds? These things are always about awe and wonderment.'' He added that the general guidance for watching a TV is to check the size, then sit at a distance that is two-and-a-half times away.
By this formula, a 150-inch TV requires a viewing distance of 375 inches.
''I don't know of any 31 feet living rooms,'' said Mr Beechinor-Collins.
UNI XC SKB RAI1108

domain: news


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With the close of 2018, Nestlé USA is closing out an exciting year that included a cross-country headquarters move to Arlington, Va., our deal with Starbucks, the sale of our confections business, and the introduction of some exciting new brands and tastes to our portfolio.
But in our rapidly changing business, we have to look forward in order to meet the needs of our consumers. People’s tastes and preferences change like the seasons, and being consumer-led — as we are — means you have to keep your finger on the pulse of the people who buy our products.
This past fall, we commissioned Morning Consult, a market research company, to conduct a survey of more than 2,200 people across our diverse country to better understand the food trends that are driving our day-to-day lives. As the world’s largest food and beverage company, this information will help us deliver what you want, how you want it, in 2019 and beyond.
Based on that research, here are 5 food trends we are plugged into for 2019:


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The Port of Savannah’s Garden City terminal received the first of four new neo-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes, and the remaining three will arrive by late April.
The Memphis, Tenn.-based integrator posted a net income of $562 million on revenues of $15 billion for the third quarter of its fiscal year 2017, which ended Feb. 28, year-over-year increases of 10.8 percent and 18.1 percent, respectively.
One intermodal chassis provider, however, the North American Chassis Pool Cooperative, will maintain its current pricing for both pool and premium chassis despite increased labor costs and inventory and fleet enhancement efforts, NACPC said in a statement.
Registration takes less than 1 minute.
The Danish ocean carrier’s plan to acquire Hamburg Süd in 2017 caps a landmark year for consolidation in the container shipping industry, noted Mario Cordero, the chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission.
The South Korean liner carrier’s bankruptcy, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of shipments around the world being delayed, was the biggest in the container shipping industry since the 1986 bankruptcy of U.S. Lines.
The Israeli container carrier told American Shipper Friday it is rejecting the rumor that it has intentions to sell its global shipping operations to instead become a regional Mediterranean carrier.


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Online, branded editions boost Honolulu Star-Advertiser numbers as print circulation declines
- Staff Pacific Business News
Circulation for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s print edition declined in the past year, while the newspaper’s paid online subscriptions and branded editions pushed average total circulation up by 28 percent, according to figures released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
The total average weekday circulation for the newspaper’s print edition was 125,726 as of March 31, compared to 126,411 at the same time last year. Total average circulation for the newspaper’s Sunday print edition declined by 2 percent to 138,020 from 140,556 a year ago.
The Star-Advertiser’s total average weekday circulation, including the paid online subscriptions and branded editions, including Midweek, was 268,244 as of March 31, compared to 209,915 a year ago. That figure included 16,149 digital replicas and 73,525 branded editions.
Total average circulation for the Star-Advertiser on Sunday rose 26 percent to 207,139 as of March 31, including online editions, from 164,316 a year ago.
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- Hawaii County mayor signs GMO bill into law
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Ardent Leisure Group, the parent company of Main Event Entertainment, recently announced that RedBird Capital Partners will acquire a minority stake in the business in exchange for an $80 million investment.
According to the Dallas News, RedBird chose to invest in the Dallas-based Main Event because of its background in building companies in the sports and live entertainment industries, said Gerry Cardinale, founder and managing partner of RedBird. Some of its portfolio already includes the YES Network, which broadcasts New York Yankees games, and Skydance Media, which owns film franchises like Mission Impossible, Star Trek and Terminator.
“When we see how Main Event has built its business and the role that it has in the Dallas community, we see a lot of similarities to the kind of companies that we have been successful in building in sports and entertainment,” Cardinale said. The investment gives RedBird a 24.2% stake in the company (meaning Main Event is valued at $424 million); it can also acquire an additional 26.8% between July 2022 and July 2024, which would give it the majority position.
Learn more about the companies at www.mainevent.com and www.redbirdcap.com.


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Samsung will launch its new camera focussed Galaxy S flagship series in the first quarter of 2022. However, we’ve already encountered a number of leaks and rumors about the upcoming Galaxy S22 lineup such as display sizes, and processor.
Now, a known tipster @FrontTron revealed that the future Galaxy S series will feature noticeable camera improvements. According to the info, the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22+ could come with triple rear cameras including a 50MP main sensor, a 12MP ultrawide camera, and a 12MP telephoto camera with 3X optical zoom.
The leak suggests that Samsung is planning to leave the race of megapixel numbers and will bring practical improvements. It’s worth mentioning that the company had launched a new 50MP image sensor called ISOCELL GN2, which could debut with the Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22+.
However, the tipster has not revealed the details regarding the camera specifications of the Galaxy S22 Ultra. But, it’s expected that the top variant of next year’s Galaxy S series will feature the most powerful smartphone camera ever made.
Just to remind you, the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20+, Galaxy S21, and Galaxy S21+ equipped with a 12MP (1/1.76-inch) primary camera, a 12MP ultrawide camera, and a 64MP telephoto camera (3X digital zoom). If this information will become reality, the Galaxy S22 and S22+ will offer brighter and sharper images compared to predecessors.
Samsung Rainbow R/G Rear Cam
Telephoto 12MP 3x
Take w/ 🧂
— Tron ❂ #MicrosoftEvent (@FrontTron) June 23, 2021


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The South African wine industry distances itself from racist comments that were distributed on Facebook following the death of Springbok legend, Joost van der Westhuizen.
Riaan Lucas reacted to the news by posting racist comments on his Facebook profile. According to his profile he works for the SA Wine Institute.
As a result Sawis, VinPro, the Cape Wine Academy and certain cellars have received email correspondence.
Mr Lucas received training from the Cape Wine Academy, but is not involved with the academy anymore. He is also in no way linked to Sawis.
It is truly disconcerting that these types of unwanted racist comments are linked to the wine industry. The wine industry distances itself from mr Lucas’s comments.
Through the wine industry’s strategic plan (WISE), transformation, training, land reform and upliftment of people have been identified as priorities.
VinPro would like to confirm on behalf of the South African wine industry that this uplifting work will continue and that the industry strongly condemns any form of racism.


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Google’s announcement about their new gaming platform, Stadia, took plenty of industries by surprise, earlier yesterday at GDC 2019. If you haven’t heard about it, check out our coverage of the event over here. Google is stepping in to introduce a cloud-based gaming service where players can play high-quality, triple-A games from their Google Chrome browsers on nearly any device with a decent internet connection.
Over the past year or so, those over at Xbox have talked about they’re slowly getting ready to make their way over the cloud service network, too. With it, players can play an Xbox game any device they download the Xbox application. With Google’s Stadia announcement, it seems they beat Microsoft to the punch.
However, following the coverage, Phil Spencer, the executive vice-president of Gaming at Microsoft, had some insight to share with his team in an email he sent out.
The email read:
We just wrapped up watching the Google announcement of Stadia as team here at GDC. Their announcement is validation of the path we embarked on two years ago..
Today we saw a big tech competitor enter the gaming market, and frame the necessary ingredients for success as Content, Community and Cloud. There were no big surprises in their announcement although I was impressed by their leveraging of YouTube, the use of Google Assistant and the new WiFi controller.
But I want get back to us, there has been really good work to get us to the position where we are poised to compete for 2 billion gamers across the planet. Google went big today and we have a couple of months until E3 when we will go big.
We have to stay agile and continue to build with our customer at the center. We have the content, community, cloud team and strategy, and as I’ve been saying for a while, it’s all about execution. This is even more true today.
Despite Google making it big, Spenser believes Xbox is going to bring it big to this year’s E3. We’ll have to wait and see.


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News & Fairs
Check out our latest press release!
Visit us at AHR Expo 2019
Organized every year in the USA, the AHR Expo brings the entire HVAC&R industry together under one roof to see the latest products and technologies
14-17 January 2019
Visit us at the ISH 2019
ISH is the world’s leading trade fair focusing on the responsible management of water and energy in buildings.
11-15 March 2019
Visit us at the ISK-Sodex 2019
International HVAC, Refrigeration, Pumps, Valves, Fittings, Water Treatment and Insulation Exhibition.
2-5 October 2019


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Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of columns written exclusively for LTW by John Yates, a noted technology lawyer who has represented hundreds of entrepreneurial companies and many of the Southeast’s most successful tech businesses. His weekly column will focus on issues of interest to entrepreneurs in the Southeast — including finance and venture capital, corporate governance, hot legal issues, and new state laws impacting tech companies.I recently attended the 2003 Trailblazer Awards Banquet of the Metrolina Entrepreneurial Council (MEC) in Charlotte. I was honored to be the keynote speaker before 150 Southeastern entrepreneurs.
The event was one of the most upbeat gatherings of tech entrepreneurs that I’ve attended in over a year (and I’ve attended hundreds of tech events in the past 12 months…and seen many anguished entrepreneurs).
The MEC event ushered in a new era for me in analyzing the entrepreneurial community in the Southeast. Some new standards are evolving that bode well for our region’s future.
Put on the Tie: The MEC Awards dinner was dominated by well-dressed men and women…and many ties! (The one tie-less attendee was still well dressed … and since he is a venture capitalist, he can wear whatever he wants. I’ll buy him a tie if he’ll fund my clients!) While business casual will continue to be acceptable, we can expect to see more traditional business dress — and traditional business models – in the entrepreneurial arena.
An Era of Professionalism: If the MEC event is any indication of future trends, the days of the tie-dyed T-shirts and sandals are over. A new level of professionalism (and humility) seems to have re-entered the Southeastern entrepreneurial community. Entrepreneurs seem to have regained an appreciation that good business practices will always prevail in the long run … in contrast with over-hyped, half-baked business ideas.
Entrepreneurism Isn’t Limited to Tech: Several of the MEC Award nominees were non-technology companies, and others were tech businesses addressing traditional business problems. (The entrepreneurial nominees included — an eye surgeon, a growing software company, and a data center business.) Mike McGuire, Managing Partner for the Carolinas for Grant Thornton, reminded us all of the Charlotte region’s long history of entrepreneurism, including Jack Faulk at Bojangles, George Lewis at Cogentrix and Leon Levine at Family Dollar.
Follow the Path to Profitability: The discussion over dinner focused on two interesting and fundamental concepts…revenue and profitability. Actually turning a profit has become a prerequisite for many venture funds, or at least a clear path to profitability (uncluttered by unrealistic revenue forecasts). Based on what I heard during the MEC event, no one ever uttered the words “pre-revenue,” “number of eyeballs” or “don’t worry about profit” — certainly not in the same sentence with venture capital.
Importance of Real Customers: Entrepreneurs are focused on generating revenue from real customers that will pay for products/services consistent with pricing models in the entrepreneur’s business plan. Beta customers and pilot sites are important, but funding for the entrepreneur may hinge on at least a handful of paying customers. At the MEC event, several companies highlighted an advantage of being in Charlotte…close proximity to leading financial institutions that are willing (and able) to pay for technology solutions.
Remember the Government: The US Government was another topic of dinner discussion. The focus was not on global politics, but on the size of the Homeland Security budget and the growing appetite of the government for acquiring technology. Many companies expressed a focus on government certification of tech products and government contract consultants. Others voiced concern over the elongated sales cycle in selling to the government. The new slogan seems to be – when in doubt, turn to the US Government as a source of revenue!
Flight to Security: Security was the central topic of almost every discussion at the dinner. Related topics included … government certification for security products, wireless and remote security (take a look at Air Defense in Atlanta, www.airdefense.net), security surveillance technologies (Vistascape, www.vistascape.com, another Southeastern company), broadband optimization and security technologies (EndIIEnd Communications, www.eiiecomm.com in Charlotte) and several recent startups (many being founded by Internet Security Systems execs).
Absence of Angels: There is a notable absence of new angel investors at tech events in the Southeast, and the MEC was no exception. A growing trend was evidenced at the dinner…former angels who had been burned and have retired from the investment game. Still several angel groups have remained intact…most notably the Atlanta Tech Angels (ATA) and the newly formed Blue Ridge Angel Investor Network (headed by Jim Roberts, Executive Director at firstname.lastname@example.org).
Loyal Venture Capitalists: The MEC dinner included representatives from longtime VC firms that have invested in Southeastern companies for years — most notably, The Wakefield Group and Frontier Capital. Many thanks to the VCs that have remained loyal to the region, and let’s hope for continuing support of Southeastern entrepreneurs.
Interestingly, I’ve also received dozens of e-mails from venture capitalists, investment bankers and M&A brokers in the past 60 days with the common theme … the Southeast seems to be underserved in the investment area. In this vein, the following national venture funds have completed deals in the Southeast in the past quarter…River Cities Capital, Frontenac, M/C Venture Partners, Insight Venture Partners, and Lovett Miller.
Look for more on the VC community in the Southeast in coming weeks.
(For more information on the Metrolina Entrepreneurial Council (MEC) contact Mike McGuire of Grant Thornton email@example.com or Jeff Hay of Morris, Manning & Martin firstname.lastname@example.org.)
John C. Yates Chairs the Technology Group of the law firm Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP, which has offices in Atlanta, Charlotte and Washington, D.C. He can be reached at email@example.com and (404) 504-5444.
This column is presented for educational and information purposes and is not intended to constitute legal advice..
ARCHIVE: Feb 26 – “How To Build a Bigger, Better Technology Community in Southeast? It Won’t Be Easy” www.localtechwire.com/article.cfm?u=3421


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Tomb Raider delivers very good graphics
We had been waiting for the
Samsung Electronics announced the launch of an entry level smartphone, Galaxy Star, ...
With the growing consumption of HD data, no external HDD can ever ...
With clear intentions to establish itself in the tightly contested smartphone market, ...
Latest mobile phones in India .. 42513 views
Luxury smartphones: A royal af.. 7517 views
Yes, the new car from Ford factories is just around the corner to hit the Indian selling stores. Ford invited ...
Aakash has started a race of low cost tablets. Another version of the popular Aakash tablet is right around the ...
Quest-driven Roguelike fantasy dungeon crawler RPG with
The all new classic. The gameplay is
OpenSudoku is an open source sudoku game.
Fight the tough virtual opponent at different difficulty levels and get the full out of the game…. Gr8 features such
Get out and get gliding with glide n ’ ride. Use the umbrella to glide and land on the vehicles.
Milocha said that, use of NOFN (National Fiber Optics Network) would enhance around G2C and B2C applications. Speaking on the industry participation, he said that industry will resonate together for the success of this project. He also added that the project will ensure last mile connectivity in the country and help penetrating broadband. “Broadband will help eradicating illiteracy from the country and the Government’s ambitious project—Aakash 2 will help it bolster further.”
The Government has initiated the Bharat Broadband pilot project in 60 village panchayats across Ajmer, North Tripura and Vishakhapatnam. Very recently, N Ravi Shankar, CEO of Bharat Broadband Project, Government of India, said that, the Nation Optics Fiber Network (NOFN) Project aims to cover 2, 50,000 village panchayats by 2015. He also said that, the project will be executed via Pubilc-Private-Panchayat partnership. He disclosed that the public sector is investing over $4 billion into the NFON project.
The DoT official also revealed that the advisory board for NFON has been called for a meeting, which will take place on 18 December, 2012. He added that the meeting will be attended by industry players and will be headed by Telecom and IT minister Kapil Sibal.
HP has just introduced two new notebooks in the Indian markets, expanding
The festive season brings along an array of offers from various operators.
Jabra releases four offerings for unified communication Hands-free communication device company Jabra
Vodafone India has released the second edition of its sustainability report. Martin


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Canon participated in the 15th PrintPack India exhibition and showed the Canon imagePRESS C110010VP color production digital press, the Canon imagePRESS C9010VP color production digital press, and the Canon imagePRESS C910 color digital press amongst its extensive array of digital output devices.
Indian debut for Canon’s inkjet wide format printers
Two new inkjet wide format products made their debut at the Canon stall at PrintPack – the Canon imagePROGRAF TZ Series and the Canon GP series including Canon imagePROGRAF GP-540, Canon imagePROGRAF GP-520, Canon imagePROGRAF GP-5300, and Canon imagePROGRAF. Both the newly introduced printers received a splendid response at the show.
Puneet Datta, senior director marketing and sales, Canon India shared his excitement with Indian Printer & Publisher, “TZ is, from our perspective of inkjet wide format, the fastest product that we have in the category. It’s a product that’s very well accepted by customers because this can do with accuracy line drawing reproduction as well as graphic arts whereas the GP series printers are the first printers in the world that are aqueous-based and have pink fluorescent ink, so it’s very unique and we have received a very good response from our customers for this product as well.”
When asked about Canon’s business performance at the show Datta admitted to having closed deals. “Canon’s business is almost close to what the company achieved in 2019 through PrintPack. The good part is that we have a good prospect funnel. There are a lot of customers who’ve shown interest but have not signed deals yet so we’ll be going back to them for closing the business over the next couple of weeks,” he added.
Kiosk philosophy for sustainability
Sustainable solutions have been gaining momentum in the last couple of years in the print industry. “Sustainability is no longer a buzzword today. It’s the ethos and it’s the basics of how one should be doing business. Canon has always imbibed sustainability from a couple of decades.
“The philosophy that we follow is kiosk which means living and working together for the common good and sustainability is an integral part of it. In our products we always look at things like packaging and how we can reduce the carbon footprint there. Canon has been at the forefront of taking sustainability as an agenda and driving it forward in the ecosystem,” Datta exclaimed.
Indian labels and packaging market witnesses growth
Labels and packaging have seen tremendous growth in the last few years. The Covid-19 pandemic lead to an exponential growth of home chefs as with eateries and restaurants closed and the work-from-home model in place, many youngsters got a chance to experiment in the kitchen with the extra time on their hands. This, in turn, led to a substantial increase in startups and home office owners who are manufacturing food ingredients and accompaniments including pickles, spice mixes, jams, chutneys, sauces, and more.
Datta said, “From a print fraternity perspective the last two years were not too great but packaging, on the other hand, has seen a tremendous rise even during the Covid-19 pandemic. This growth is not only stemming from products that are out there in the market and have a shorter run today but also from entrepreneurs. A lot of labels and packaging design elements need to be done in a very creative and innovative way for food startups and home business owners. This trend involves short-run label printing and packaging design jobs.
“I feel that going forward packaging and the Indian printing industry only have an upward growth path. The last two years have shown the Indian print industry that they need to be ready to adapt to change and I think the printers who take this learning from the Covid-19 pandemic and go forward have a very bright future ahead.”


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Keeneland ex-president takes post at Fifth Third
Former Keeneland Association President William "Bill" Greely has been named a senior adviser in Fifth Third Bank's equine department. Greely, who was Keeneland president from 1986 to 2000, will be responsible for business development and will be an adviser to the bank and its equine customers, ThoroughbredTimes.com reported Thursday. Since retiring from Keeneland, Greely has been a consultant for businesses and the state racing commissions in West Virginia, Ohio, Florida and New Mexico.
Massey more than doubles profit
Massey Energy Co.'s third-quarter profit more than doubled on a 27 percent gain in revenue per ton, the Richmond, Va.-based coal mine operator said Thursday. Massey earned $54 million, or 64 cents a share, including $27.5 million in pretax charges for the period. Last year, Massey earned $21.4 million, or 27 cents a share, for the third quarter. Coal revenue rose 28 percent to $666.4 million for the quarter, from $521.9 million a year ago. Massey operates mining complexes in West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky.
American Express to cut jobs 10%
In a stark acknowledgment of the tough times ahead in the credit card industry, American Express Co. said Thursday that it plans to cut 7,000 jobs, about 10 percent of its worldwide work force, in an effort to slash costs by $1.8 billion in 2009. The New York-based credit card issuer — which has reported four straight quarters of profit declines as an increasing number of consumers struggle to pay off debt — said it is also suspending management-level salary increases next year and instituting a hiring freeze. The job cuts will be across various business units, but will primarily focus on management positions, the company said.
Ford plant to add 1,000 workers
Ford Motor Co. is predicting pickup sales will bounce back enough to add 1,000 workers at its Dearborn, Mich., F-150 factory in January. The company celebrated the manufacturing launch of a new version of the truck Thursday and announced that it will restore a third shift to the plant. Ford spokeswoman Angie Kozleski said the additional workers will come from those laid off earlier this year at many Ford plants when the company cut production.
Verizon gets OK to buy Alltel
The Justice Department on Thursday effectively gave Verizon Wireless the go-ahead to buy Alltel Corp. in a $28 billion deal that would create the nation's largest wireless carrier. Verizon Wireless, a joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc. and Britain's Vodafone Group PLC, already has agreed to the government's condition that it sell assets in 22 states. The Federal Communications Commission is slated to vote on the merger on Nov. 4.
NYSE could drop Circuit City
Circuit City Stores Inc. said Thursday the New York Stock Exchange has warned that its stock price is not high enough for continued listing. The NYSE said shares in the nation's No. 2 consumer electronics retailer had an average closing price of less than $1 over 30 consecutive trading days as of Oct. 22, falling short of the exchange's requirement. Since the beginning of the year, shares have lost most of their value, down 93 percent, closing under a dollar in trading since Sept. 30. To return to good standing, both the common stock share price and the average share price over a consecutive 30-trading-day period must exceed $1 within six months after receipt of the notice.
Compiled from Staff, wire reports


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•Opens outlet in Festac Town
Retail giant Shoprite has continued its Community Network in local communities in conjunction with Save Our Needy International NGO as it donates learning materials to the Progressive Nursery and Primary School in Festac Town, Lagos.
The retailer which opened its new outlet in Festival mall Festac town of Lagos donated a set of chairs, tables, whiteboards and stationery to the principal of the school. The donation is part of Shoprite’s commitment to making a positive impact in the communities where they have stores.
Speaking on its contributions to the school, Shoprite’s Festac store manager, Jide Ahmadu asserts that the donation forms part of the store’s CSR plans to impact their Community. “we understand the fact that learning materials are important because they can significantly increase students’ achievement by supporting their learning as well as assisting the teachers to efficiently perform their professional duties” “We also want a better life through Education for our youths that’s why we support early childhood development and also assist to create a conducive environment for learning” Ahmadu enthused.
It would be recalled that the retailer recently partnered with the Kwara state waste management agency to drive the message of keeping the environment clean. In the same vein, it also organised a free breast cancer screening event in Ibadan and donated shopping vouchers to NGO’s in Kano and Abuja.
The teachers and students of Progressive Nursery and Primary school expressed sincere appreciation for the donation and encouraged other well meaning organisations to emulate the gesture.
Lagos state now plays host to five branches of Shoprite with the addition of the Festac store and brings to a total of thirteen stores spread across as they continue to expand in the country.


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【PRESS】We published Press release vol.2. Daisuke Miyatsu’s curated booth “Leading Asia” will be held again this year, and good deal advance tickets will be on sale.AUG 23, 2023
The press release vol.2 of “ART FAIR ASIA FUKUOKA 2023” to be held from September 22nd (Fri) to 24th (Sun) has been released.
At AFAF2023, in addition to the largest scale gallery corner with a total of 117 galleries, the booth “LeadingASIA” curated by AFAF2023 Special Advisor Daisuke Miyatsu (art collector and professor at Yokohama University of Art) will open again this year.
In addition, advance tickets that are advantageous than same-day tickets are on sale from August 10th. For more ticket information, please check the Ticket button on the website or the “AFAF2023” page in the ARTPASS.
Beside this, we have picked up and introduced galleries and artists in preparation for the release.
Read the full press release here.


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A terrible twosome is coming to terrorize Figures Toy Company’s World’s Greatest Heroes! They’ve tangled in the pages of Batman comics and even teamed up to take on the Dark Knight on the big screen. Now it’s time to make way for FTC’s first ever Bane figure, and not one but two new versions of Poison Ivy!
Having been released before by FTC, the new versions of Poison Ivy vary from the one currently in stock. A green-skinned version of the villainous vixen will be released, as well as a figure portraying her civilian identity of Pamela Isley! As if that’s not enough to keep Batman and friends busy, the big brute known as Bane makes his Figures Toy Company debut in a future lineup! There’s no doubt that retro collectors will be all over the backbreaking behemoth as soon as he’s available to order! Until then, FTC and Second Union are happy to offer a sneak preview of the prototype head sculpt for the Bane retro figure, as well as the packaging artwork for Ms. Pamela Isley!
You’ll find additional FTC updates in the near future at Second Union, including big news about what’s coming into stock this August! Also make sure you’re following Figures Toy Company on their various forms of social media for plenty of product updates, images, and news on their wide variety of licenses!


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Sakura Taisen Release Date Set!
Sakura Taisen 3: Is Paris Burning? is probably one of the most anticipated Sega games ever, and many people view it as the Dreamcast's last chance in Japan. Originally scheduled for an Autumn 2000 release, the game had been delayed to Spring of 2001. Now, Sakura Taisen 3 is confirmed for release on the second day of Spring, March 22nd to be exact, at a price of 7,800 yen (about $74). No limited edition has been announced yet, but it's highly likely that the game will have one just like its predecessors.
To celebrate the news, we have 100 brand new screen shots from the opening movie, recently unveiled on yet another preview disk that was released with the Sakura Taisen mail software, Kinematron Hanagumi Mail. As for the opening song, it's already available in our Music section!
January 4th, 2001


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Companies across the tech industry have announced layoffs, affecting thousands of workers in the first few weeks of 2023.
Sales at top tech firms have retreated from the blistering pace attained during the pandemic, when billions across the world were forced into isolation. Customers stuck at home came to rely on delivery services like e-commerce and virtual connections formed through social media and videoconferencing.
Company officials have often cited economic uncertainty and fears of a recession in their job-cutting, cost-cutting decisions. It follows a volatile 2022, which was also marred with layoffs by the thousands across major tech brands.
Spotify, the Sweden-based music streaming platform, announced on Monday plans to slash 6% of its workforce, which amounts to about 600 employees.
After strong pandemic-era performance, the company encountered a challenging business environment, CEO Daniel Ek told employees in a memo on Monday.
"Like many other leaders, I hoped to sustain the strong tailwinds from the pandemic and believed that our broad global business and lower risk to the impact of a slowdown in ads would insulate us," he said. "In hindsight, I was too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth."
Online home goods retailer Wayfair will lay off about 1,750 workers or roughly 10% of its staff, the company announced Friday, Jan. 20.
Wayfair saw business surge during the pandemic, as people stuck at home eschewed brick-and-mortar shopping and increased spending on furniture, home renovations and other domestic improvements.
But the economic environment has turned against the company, as inflation has strained household budgets and limited nonessential purchases.
The move last week follows a previous round of layoffs in August that cut 5% of the company's workforce.
"We thrive when we are scrappy and dedicated to customer outcomes," Wayfair CEO and Co-founder Niraj Shah said Friday in a message to employees. "Unfortunately, along the way, we over complicated things, lost sight of some of our fundamentals and simply grew too big."
Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, said it will cut roughly 12,000 jobs from its global workforce on Friday, Jan. 20.
The decision will impact approximately 6% of the company's employees.
"This will mean saying goodbye to some incredibly talented people we worked hard to hire and have loved working with," said Google's CEO Sundar Pichai in an email to Google employees on Friday morning.
"I'm deeply sorry for that. The fact that these changes will impact the lives of Googlers weighs heavily on me, and I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here."
Pichai told employees the company is "bound to go through difficult economic cycles" and will "reengineer our cost base, and direct our talent and capital to our highest priorities."
Microsoft said on Jan. 18 it will lay off 10,000 employees this year, affecting nearly 5% of Microsoft's global workforce.
The layoffs at Microsoft arrive in response to "macroeconomic conditions and changing customer priorities," the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
"As we saw customers accelerate their digital spend during the pandemic, we're now seeing them optimize their digital spend to do more with less," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a memo to employees on Wednesday.
He continued, "We're also seeing organizations in every industry and geography exercise caution as some parts of the world are in a recession and other parts are anticipating one."
In early January, Amazon announced plans to eliminate just over 18,000 roles total, including impending layoffs announced in November. The majority of roles being cut are in Amazon Stores and People Experience and Technology Solutions teams, according to an email sent to employees from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.
Jassy had warned in November that job cuts at the e-commerce giant would continue in early 2023. Amazon employs roughly 1.5 million employees around the globe.
"This year's review has been more difficult given the uncertain economy and that we've hired rapidly over the last several years," the message read.
It continued, "We typically wait to communicate about these outcomes until we can speak with the people who are directly impacted. However, because one of our teammates leaked this information externally, we decided it was better to share this news earlier so you can hear the details directly from me."
Coinbase, a cryptocurrency trading platform, announced it will lay off 950 people, in a Jan. 10 statement from CEO Brian Armstrong.
"As we examined our 2023 scenarios, it became clear that we would need to reduce expenses to increase our chances of doing well in every scenario," Armstrong said in the statement.
"While it is always painful to part ways with our fellow colleagues, there was no way to reduce our expenses significantly enough, without considering changes to headcount."
Vox Media is also laying off employees, according to the Vox Media Union.
In a Jan. 20 statement on Twitter, the union said, "We were informed today that the company is laying off around 7 percent of its workforce, and some of our members have been impacted. We're furious at the way the company has approached these layoffs, and are currently discussing how to best serve those who just lost their jobs."
Newell Brands -- the parent company of a host of consumer brands like outdoor goods company Coleman and cookware company Crockpot -- announced on Monday, Jan. 23, plans to lay off 13% of its office staff.
The move came in response to "the reality of the economic environment," CEO Ravi Saligram said in a message to employees.
"There's no sugar coating this news," he added. "We will have to part with colleagues who we value and enjoy working with."
Jon Haworth contributed to this report.


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Jars of sweetened ginger have been recalled due to the presence of undeclared sulfites. The product is distributed by Fine Land Corp. under the Golden Girl brand name. The recalled ginger is sold in a 7 ounce plastic container.
The recall was initiated after routine sampling by New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Food Inspectors and subsequent analysis by Food Laboratory personnel revealed the presence of undeclared sulfites in Golden Girl brand “Mut Gung” sweetened ginger which did not declare sulfites on the label. The consumption of 10 milligrams of sulfites per serving has been reported to elicit severe reactions in some asthmatics. Anaphylactic shock could occur in certain sulfite sensitive individuals upon ingesting 10 milligrams or more of sulfites.
The recalled item was distributed to stores across the country. There have been reports of injuries. The company is offering a full refund to consumers that purchased the product. The company is also taking phone calls at 718-714-1850.


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Samsung has shown interest in buying Blackberry many times. It looked like Samsung was going to buy Blackberry in 2012, but even now this looks like a very good option.
However, Simon Dyer from Swift Contract Phones believes that a merger isn’t necessary as BlackBerry is back on track to make somewhat of a comeback.
He explains, “BlackBerry are enjoying a bit of a resurgence over the last few months thanks to a return to what they do well – QWERTY phones that are secure. I think we’re going to see more of them over the next 12 months too and there could be a slider phone from their stable later this year. No need to merge in my opinion, I think BlackBerry can go it alone.”
With that thought in mind lets give you both sides of the picture. Here are the five most important reasons why Samsung and Blackberry should merge:
- John Chen:
John Chen has done really well in stabilizing Blackberry. He is still thinking of ways to make Blackberry more successful. On the other hand, Samsung leadership has not been stable whereas the mobile unit and the product design are concerned. If Samsung pays 7.5 billion USD to merge both the companies, then John Chen would be totally worth it. John Chen would take Samsung to new heights for sure.
- BES 12 and Samsung:
Samsung has a strong enterprise. The company is looking for partners after IBM and Apple joined hands. Sammy is extremely popular as it is considered the number one Android mobile company, but this could change anytime this year. It is time for Samsung to succeed in managing multiple devices. Blackberry is already managing multiple devices with its Blackberry Enterprise Server. If Samsung and Blackberry merge together they would definitely achieve success that they have never attained before.
Samsung announced at CES 2015 that all Samsung devices will be running on the internet in the near future. It is great news, however Samsung is still deficient of putting all the devices together. The problem could be easily solved if Samsung merges with Blackberry. According to Chen, QNX can solve this problematic situation with no trouble. With QNX, Samsung would be able to achieve its goal of running all Samsung devices on the internet. If this happens, you could be getting entertained while travelling in a car pretty soon!
- Operating Systems owned by Samsung:
Samsung usually depends on Android as its operating system, but lately the Korean Giant has been trying to grow their Tizen platform. Right now, Samsung needs the QNX platform in order to fulfill its objective of tying all Samsung devices together. Blackberry relies on QNX as its operating system. If Samsung and Blackberry merge together, Samsung could easily build upon QNX and use it as its operating system.
- Samsung’s Biggest threat:
If we think that Apple is the main danger to Samsung then we are clearly wrong. The biggest threat to Samsung is the Chinese mobiles like Xiamoi, which is also running Android. In order to emerge as the best mobile company, Samsung needs to use other operating systems than the Android. If Samsung buys Blackberry and use QNX as its operating system, many of its complications would be resolved.


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Snow Leopard ships August 28 and, if Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray is correct, it's going to be one hell of a high seller. AppleInsider reports that the Apple analyst believes the new OS will sell 5 million copies during the September quarter. In financial terms, that's $66 million in additional operating revenue for Apple this year.
Don't Miss: Win a Free Nintendo NES Classic in our Giveaway
The $29 cost is listed as one of the primary reasons for the (anticipated) high sales. Munster believes that Apple is keeping prices low as a way to draw customers away from Windows 7. They've gone all out on Snow Leopard in hopes that it will outshine Microsoft's latest offering. Considering the winning streak Apple has been on this year, I'd place good odds on them succeeding too.
Munster's iPhone sales estimates were off by quite a lot, but it was due to underestimation, not the opposite. It's possible that we'll see Snow Leopard sales much higher than even these high expectations. If so, that would mean bad things for Microsoft. They're relying on high Win 7 sales in October to lift them out of their software division's current rut.


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A lot of people believe in juicing for health. They believe that fruit juices are healthy because of the vitamins and nutrients contained in them. Fruit juice is healthy with regards to nutrient content but the act of juicing removes fibre. This causes fruit juices to disturb blood sugar balance and causes a spike in the insulin hormone. Prolonged spikes can cause insulin resistance.
Table of Contents for Article
Fruit Juicing for Health
A study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers investigated the effects of consuming whole oranges and orange juice. The meals had the same amount of carbohydrate content.
Researchers reported that consuming orange juice caused blood insulin to spike. When whole oranges were consumed, insulin hormone release was gradual. Researchers concluded that the fibre content of fruit blunts the body’s insulin hormone response to fruit sugar.
Another interesting study was published in the Journal Lancet.This time the participants were given three food choices. These were whole apples, apple purée or apple juice. The researchers ensured once again that all meals had the same carbohydrate content. Fibre-free apple juice could be absorbed by the body eleven times faster than intact apples and four times faster than apple purée.
Juicing for health was a defective strategy as fruit juices caused a spike in the insulin hormone.
Fruit Juices Spike Insulin Levels
Due to the similar carbohydrate content of the meals, blood sugar levels in the Lancet study rose to the same level after all three meals. The striking difference was how fast this peak glucose level was reached and how fast it subsided there after. The fastest rise and drop in glucose level was reached after consuming apple juice. Apple purée also had a sharp rise and drop but it was slightly slower than apple juice. A whole apple meal had a very gradual increase in blood sugar level and a gradual decline.
The pancreas releases the insulin hormone to force glucose into cells. A sudden spike in blood glucose levels would result in a spike in insulin. The researchers found that insulin rose to higher levels after juice and purée than after consuming whole apples. The higher levels of insulin released by drinking apple juice would also be left circulating in the blood stream longer.
The removal of fibre from food results in unhealthy insulin spikes. It also decreases satiety and disturbs blood glucose balance which is probably due to insulin spikes. The researchers also said that if often repeated, might lead to diabetes mellitus.
Eat the Fruit Whole
There is no clear benefit in fruit juices for health. Consuming fruit juices disrupts blood sugar balance and causes unhealthy insulin hormone spikes. High levels of blood insulin hormone levels lead to cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and ultimately diabetes. We have to strive to keep insulin levels in check. Eat the fruit whole for the most health benefits.


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**Editor’s Note: Click here for a list of recent important channel-program changes you should know.**
The Chicago-based master agent is partnering with nine new SD-WAN vendors to give its partners a full range of choices.
“For right now, SD-WAN poses an unbelievable opportunity for not only the end customers but the trusted advisers that are going to be out there helping navigate the amazing amount of options that exists in the marketplace,” said Drew Lydecker, AVANT’s co-founder and president. “So for us, we have gone out and signed every major leader in the space, whether they’re regional, national or global, we have them. Whether they need an MSP or they need a carrier to combine it with, we have it.”
Lydecker cited an IDC survey that said SD-WAN will offer a $6 billion opportunity over the next five years.
“That is a massive, massive land grab, and we’re basically out there trying to get everybody their piece,” he told Channel Partners.
The SD-WAN providers are Aryaka, Cisco, CloudGenix, Masergy, SilverPeak, Talari, VeloCloud, Versa and Viptela.
Aryaka announced $45 million in new funding to expand its SD-WAN services globally on Monday.
“The world is being disrupted right now by companies no one’s ever heard of, and we represent them all, and our job is to enable the channel to be able to not only understand it but embrace it, and go out and be those organizations that every end company is looking for,” Lydecker said.
Lydecker said his company’s distribution strategy is to be much more than a logistics businesses. Doing only logistics “doesn’t work in this next-gen,” he said, adding that AVANT aims to be a leading sales enablement company for connectivity, colocation and cloud.
“What works is enablement, and what Aryaka has realized is that as we can help demystify what they do to the channel in general, then we’re succeeding together,” he said.


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(The Center Square) – Looking to garner more investments from South Korea, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. has announced the opening of an office in Seoul.
The office officially opened at the beginning of the month. It’s the eighth foreign office for the IEDC, and it comes on the heels of the state landing a major economic development project that involves Korean-based Samsung.
State Commerce Secretary Brad Chambers said in a statement the new office shows the state is committed to working with Korean companies and attracting additional opportunities for job growth. Earlier this year, Chambers led a delegation from the state to attend an international battery conference.
He and Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb also went to Seoul last August, touting the state as an ideal location to invest in energy and electric vehicle projects.
“After visiting with government and industry leaders in Seoul twice over the past year, I’m confident that Indiana and South Korea share similar visions for our futures and that investing in our growing partnership will deliver mutually beneficial results in industry and innovation,” he said.
Fourteen South Korean companies have operations already in the Hoosier State, and six Indiana companies have offices in the world’s 11th largest economy, with a 2021 gross domestic product of $1.81 trillion.
Last month, Samsung and General Motors announced it would build a $3 billion electric vehicle battery plant near South Bend that’s expected to create 1,700 and open in three years.
Last year, Samsung announced a similar partnership with Stellantis to build an EV battery facility in Kokomo. That joint venture plans to invest $2.5 billion in a plant that will create 1,400 jobs.
Jaewon Industrial is also planning to build a chemical recycling facility in Kokomo for lithium-ion battery makers. Soulbrain MI will also build a Kokomo plant that will serve as a supplier to EV facilities.
Besides South Korea, IEDC has offices abroad in China, England, Germany, India, Israel, Italy and Japan.


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Cowboy Hall to Pay on Bank Loan
The financially troubled National Cowboy Hall of Fame will make another $300,000 payment today on an overdue bank loan, officials said.
Hall receiver John C. Andrews said the payment will be made from the proceeds of a court-approved land sale.
The First National Bank and Trust Co. of Oklahoma City threatened in mid-April to take legal action against the Cowboy Hall to collect on a $2.4 million loan. But it agreed to postpone collection efforts month by month under a payment plan arranged by the hall's former receiver.
The bank received a $194,366 payment on interest in April and a $300,000 payment on principal a month ago.
A trust fund was used to make the interest payment. The first $300,000 payment came from the first sale in a two-part land sale approved by a judge May 30.
The Cowboy Hall is selling the land to the Oklahoma Industries Authority. The sales contract allows the hall to buy the land back within two years.
In exchange for the $300,000 payment today, the bank has agreed to postpone collection efforts until Oct. 1.
But the hall is to pay the remainder of the loan about $1.8 million no later than Oct. 1, according to an agreement outlined in a June 25 letter from bank vice president Fred R. Youree Jr. to the hall.
The hall also must continue to make interest payments. BIOG: NAME:
Archive ID: 274020


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Drake unveiled his newest iOS app yesterday, a storefront app dedicated to the rapper’s October’s Very Own brand.
“Stay up to date on the latest product releases and shop directly from October’s Very Own on your iPhone,” says the app’s brief description. Users can launch the app to pursue OVO branded snapbacks, hoodies and Jordans.
Could someone visit the online OVO store to get all these items? Probably. But what matters is that Drake is now on your iPhone.
Download the OVO Shop app from the iTunes App Store before it’s too late.
Related: If it weren’t for Apple, there may have never been a music video for Drake’s Hotline Bling


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Tag Archives: Counterfeit
Cheap copies of Schecters being floated as the genuine article
By Alex Baker
Schecter has issued a warning that several guitars recently appearing for sale on auction sites have in fact been counterfeits. The American mass producer of custom guitars has identified the Synyster Gates Signature (above) as being one of the guitars that has been appearing as counterfeited.


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News Summary: MasterCard 3Q income rises strongly
OVERSEAS BOON: MasterCard's net income rose strongly in the third quarter as its overseas business continued to grow. Outside the U.S., the amount of money spent using MasterCard plastic leapt 15 percent. Growth in the U.S. was a still-respectable 7 percent.
INCOME GROWTH: The payments network's net income rose to $772 million, or $6.17 per share, from $717 million, or $5.63 per share in the same period a year earlier.
CONSUMER BOOST: Payments companies are enjoying a boost from consumers' improving views of the economy. Consumer spending in September grew both the most since February, the government said this week.


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A Derby man has been left “shaken” after thieves wrecked his shop for the second time in a month.
Owner of The Eye Gallery Opticians in Sadler Gate, Kevin Wibberley, “hadn’t recovered from the first break-in” when they struck again, stealing £12,000 worth of glasses and sunglasses.
And Kevin, 56, said his insurance company had gone bust during lockdown, meaning the money will have to come out of the business he has owned for 33 years.
Kevin, of Repton, said: “We’ve been closed since March and four weeks ago someone kicked the door through and an electric bike, my expensive sound system and the till was stolen.
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“I had just started to open up again, I got a new till and the glass door replaced when police rang me asking if I knew there had been another break-in at 3am.
“We were also broken into before lockdown in September last year when a serial offender smashed through the window and stole the charity box.”
Kevin said he was left “absolutely shaken” after the most recent break-in, in the early hours of Monday, June 22.
He said when police rang him while he was walking his dog, he thought they were referring to the original incident from a few weeks ago.
He said: “I’ve never had this problem ever before. The low lives took all my designer stock and they had gloves on so we’ve not got prints.
“They stole 78 sunglasses and optical frames from Oakley, Rayban, Superdry and a designer bag. They cleared my cabinets out, they took everything. It’s horrific really.”
Kevin added that his brand new till was damaged as the thieves tried to prise into it, despite it being empty.
He will also have to replace the door, all the stock and a Rayban stand which was smashed.
He added that he is not allowed shutters but will enquire about getting them so he can sleep soundly at night.
He added: “I’m not insured either because my company went bust, there was a day’s lapse between that and the next break-in while we were trying to find a new company.
“But I wouldn’t want to throw the towel in just yet, footfall is slow around Sadler Gate but it will become a good area again.”
He said, for now, the shop will not be reopening as “all the stock has gone”.
But he is planning to reinvent the business by adding a designer pre-loved clothing unit.
A spokesperson for Derbyshire police said officers are investigating.
They said: “We got the call at 3.10am saying two people were breaking into the shop, all wearing dark clothing with their faces covered. They smashed through the front door.
“We went to the scene and the owner is coming back to us with specific items which were stolen.”


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The MoIT is willing to listen to ideas and opinions from Korean investors and businesses and will work harder to improve the local business climate, he added. Speaking at the event, Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Park Noh Wan highlighted Vietnam as an open economy which has developed steadily and become member of many free trade agreements. These are good factors for Korean firms to stay confident about their investment and business in the Southeast Asian country, he said. As the COVID-19 pandemic is causing disruption to global supply chains, enterprises from both nations need to exchange frequently and coordinate closely to further boost trade and investment, the diplomat said. Currently, the RoK is Vietnam’s third largest trade partner, after China and the US, with bilateral trade reaching nearly 67 billion USD in 2019. It is also the fourth largest export market and second import market of Vietnam. The RoK mainly imports agricultural and aquatic products, processed food, … [Read more...] about MoIT pledges to do its best to support Korean firms: Minister
Factors attracting fdi
The scale of M&A in Vietnam is about $8.7 million, this is not as large as in other countries, such as Thailand where the market is valued at $18.5 million. Many foreign investors feel the need to set up offices in Vietnam, but carrying out these plans is still hard. … [Read more...] about Seizmic shifts in Vietnamese real estate market
Office space remains a hot commodity as rents soar past the recent peak to reach a decade high. Rental rates in Grades A & B increase was supported by strong demand and higher rental rates in newer office developments. Tenants are struggling to find bigger space as in the current market, only one Grade A building and ten Grade B buildings can provide a contiguous space larger than 1,000 square meter (sq.m). … [Read more...] about Industrial property continues dominating Vietnam’s 2020 real estate sector
Vietnam’s control of the pandemic and its continued growth has further cemented its position as a safe business environment compared to others. And US businesses have noticed. Apple has planned to shift significant production of its products including its AirPods to Vietnam. … [Read more...] about How US investors’ positive sentiment towards Vietnam grows stronger?
Co-hosted by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Science and Technology, and co-organised by the National Innovation Centrr and Golden Gate Ventures, the summit included seminars combining online and offline speakers in Viet Nam and in the region on the topics of unicorn hunters, education, technology, fintech and payment in ASEAN and regional logistics. … [Read more...] about Disruptions from COVID-19 create opportunities for investment in innovation


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The 2013 Nexus 7 tablet was launched for a price that was $30 more than what its predecessor sold for. That might be explained by the higher-end specs, but for some this still was an unfortunate thing to have happened.
Well, those people can now hurry and buy a Nexus 7, because starting today it can be yours for just $199.99 – just like the 2012 edition always was. The caveat here is that you have to skip the Play Store and go directly to Amazon, Best Buy, or Ebay. All of these retailers are now offering the Asus-made Nexus 7 $30 cheaper than they used to.
Sure, that’s not a huge amount to save, but it’s something nevertheless. And now that this device has gone below the $100 psychological threshold, who knows what sales records it will break…
The Asus Nexus 7 from 2013 comes with a 7-inch 1,920×1,200 touchscreen, a 1.5 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage, a 5 MP rear camera, a 1.2 MP front camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, GPS, and a 3,950 mAh battery. It already runs Android 4.4 KitKat (if not from the box, then via a software update that should pop up once you power it on for the first time).


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Apple fans may still be getting to know the iPhone 5S and 5C, but attentions have already turned to what Apple will do next.
The iPhone 6, or iPhone Air, depending on who you believe, is expected to hit the shops in September this year.
As Apple puts the finishing touches to the next-generation handset before it goes into production, we bring you five concept designs predicting what the new iPhone could look like.
5. Innovative Screen
Iskander Utebaev and Ran Avni’s design features a 4.9inch HD Sapphire front display and futuristic wraparound screen.
4. Holographic display
This concept design by YouTube user Teknohobi imagines a transparent iPhone featuring a laser keyboard and holographic display.
3. Curved wrap around
Gadget experts T3 claim Apple has filed a patent for a wraparound style display, predicting we could see the technology on the iPhone 6. Here’s their take on it.
2. iPhone Air
These iPhone Air concepts were created by independent designer Martin Hajek for Steve Hemmerstoffer of French tech website Nowhereelse.
1. Larger display
TechRadar is predicting the new iPhone to come with a larger display and brand new design.


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Merck & Co.’s Schering-Plough unit must face a challenge to its agreement with competitors to keep generic versions of its drug K-Dur off the market, an appeals court ruled, reversing a lower-court antitrust decision.
Wholesalers and pharmacies sued Schering-Plough beginning in 2001 over allegedly unlawful agreements to delay the entry into the market of generic versions of K-Dur, a treatment for low blood levels of potassium. Consumers incurred extra costs of more than $100 million because of the deals, according to the plaintiffs.
A lower court ruled in favor of the company in 2010. The federal appeals court in Philadelphia overturned that decision today and asked the lower court to reconsider its ruling.
“This is a landmark decision that clarifies why these pay-for-delay deals violate mainstream antitrust law,” said David Balto, a Washington-based antitrust attorney who represents consumer groups opposed to such agreements. “The decision will finally reverse the past decade of misguided decisions that have cost consumers billions in higher drug prices.”
“We are disappointed with today’s ruling,” Ron Rogers, a spokesman for Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based Merck, said in an e-mailed statement. “We are reviewing the decision and will consider all our options.”
Merck bought Schering-Plough in 2009.
Federal appeals panels in New York, Atlanta and Washington have upheld such agreements as long as they don’t delay generic drugs beyond the expiration of the underlying patents. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has campaigned to block the deals, which are sometimes reached on the eve of patent trials, saying they cost consumers about $3.5 billion a year in higher prescription drug prices.
“We cannot agree with those courts that apply the scope of the patent test,” the Philadelphia panel said in its opinion. “In our view, that test improperly restricts the application of antitrust law.”
“The Third Circuit Court of Appeals seems to have gotten it just right: These sweetheart deals are presumptively anticompetitive,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz in a statement. “It’s time for the pharmaceutical companies to return to the side of consumers.”
Leibowitz has said he was hoping there would be conflicting decisions among the circuit courts, making it more likely that the U.S. Supreme Court would review the issue.
The agreements, also known as reverse payments, permit the sharing of “monopoly rents” between would-be competitors without any assurance that the underlying patent is valid, the appeals panel said.
The appeals court directed the lower court to apply an analysis based on “the economic realities of the reverse payment settlement rather than the labels applied by the settling parties.”
In a statement, Ralph G. Neas, president and chief executive officer of the Washington-based Generic Pharmaceutical Association, called the decision “inconsistent” with other federal court rulings.
“Pro-consumer patent settlements have never prevented competition beyond a patent’s expiration,” he said. “Indeed, they have resulted in making lower-cost generics available months and even years before patents have expired, saving consumers billions of dollars.”
Drug companies completed 28 potential deals to delay generics in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, according to the FTC. That’s just under the record of 31 such agreements in the previous fiscal year, the FTC said.
Prices for generics typically are 20 percent to 30 percent less than the name-brand counterparts, and in some cases are as much as 90 percent cheaper, according to the FTC.
Brand-name and generic-drug makers have said the deals protect patent holders’ rights while lowering legal costs.
“The plaintiffs still have a tough row to hoe because it is public policy to encourage settlement of legal disputes, including patent disputes,” Erik Gordon, a business professor at the University of Michigan, said in an e-mail. “It’s a tricky area very much driven by the facts of each particular case because there can be an antitrust violation or no violation whatsoever in circumstances that at first glance appear to be the same.”
The case is In re K-Dur Antitrust Litigation, 10-2077, 10-2078, 10-2079, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Philadelphia).


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Community Plates expands nationally
NORWALK -- The concept is simple: Transfer unused food from restaurants and markets to agencies that help feed the hungry. The logistics, however, are more complicated.
Norwalk-based Community Plates has gotten food-transfer down to a science. With its technology-based delivery system, it efficiently facilitates the delivery of 600,000 pounds of donated food annually from local markets and restaurants to Fairfield County social service agencies for distribution.
"Our web and smart phone applications are the backbone of Community Plates," said Community Plates co-founder and executive director Kevin Mullins. "They've been designed to help our food runners, who are our core volunteers. We try to make it easy for people to do good."
The non-profit food rescue, direct-transfer organization was founded in January 2011, with its focus being to transfer healthy usable foods to where it can help those most in need. Local restaurants, grocers, bakeries and caterers who have food destined to be thrown away donate the food to local soup kitchens, food pantries and hunger relief organizations. Never stored in a warehouse, the food is delivered immediately by more than 200 local volunteers to receiving agencies that have been specifically matched with food donors.
"We have a phenomenal group of volunteers," Mullins said. "There are over 200 and we could use about twice that amount."
A 2008 report by the United States Department of Agriculture stated that one in five children under age five is food insecure, meaning they are unable to consistently access sufficient amounts of nutritious food.
"There are over 100,000 people in Fairfield County alone who do not have enough money to put food on the table," Mullins said. "The economy has been stubborn to recover and we help people who are in all types of situations. There may the family who has been having difficulty making ends meet for a few months, or perhaps need a week's worth of food during the month. People eligible for food stamps account for about 49 percent of the 100,000 food-insecure people in Fairfield County. What we are able to do is to deliver fresh, healthy food to people who may not be able to buy it."
Local food donors include: Restaurants Barcelona, Bartaco and Match; Starbucks, Whole Foods, Fairway Market and Bull's Head Market.
"This is a wonderfully well-organized organization that we are happy to help. They make it convenient for us. They pick up the food, they package it," said Adam Halberg, Culinary Director of Barteca Restaurant Group which owns Barcelona and Bartaco Restaurants. "We order good quality produce by the case for the restaurants. For example, if we order a case of carrots and we use 75 percent of it, we will donate the rest. What we donate is all high-quality, perfectly good food."
Local social service agencies are appreciative of the donations and have seen their needs increase over the past year.
"We operate a food pantry. Last year we provided over 170,000 meals to over 3,700 families in Norwalk, Stamford, Darien and New Canaan. Eighty-eight percent of our food is donated food. We've seen our need increase 22 percent since this time last year." said Janet King of Person to Person of Darien. "We've been with Community Plates since day one and the food that they deliver offers our clients broad and, most importantly, healthy choices of food."
When the non-profit organization was founded in Norwalk, its mission was to end food-insecurity through direct-transfer food rescue throughout the United States. Community Plates programs have been launched in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Columbus, Ohio and the 2013 goal is to target six new sites across the country.
"Our goal from day one has been to be a national platform for hunger relief," Mullins said.
Mullins is pleased with the results he's seen locally in just one year.
"There are two things we're very excited about," he said. "Even though agencies are seeing increased demand and food costs, they are now able to say their food budgets are decreasing. The second is, we've been delivering greater quantities of food and food of a healthier quality that people would not normally have access to. Another benefit to that is that people who eat foods that come primarily from boxes or cans are now receiving fresh produce, thus helping to lower rates of obesity and diabetes."


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There’s been much talk around the restaurant industry regarding Google Glass. The wearable technology is still rather difficult to obtain — Google only recently released Glass to public demand, but for one day only — which makes it that much more difficult to prove its benefits to those in the restaurant biz. In the media, Google Glass hasn’t gotten the best reputation in terms of societal integration.
However, KFC and Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop have already begun implementing Google Glass as a means of training employees. Thanks to a prototype created by a mobile and wearable tech strategy firm, KFC is using Glass to record training practices in video format, essentially condensing its 80-page manual into one interactive, hands-on video. This obviously has many perks considering time is of the essence, especially in the restaurant industry — and especially in fast casuals and QSRs, where speed of service is a clear selling point. Read More
For a deeper grasp on wearable technology in the restaurant industry, check out this Turn & Burn episode below, featuring "The Most Connected Man on the Planet" Chris Dancy.


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The Game Awards show took place earlier this evening, where Overwatch received the coveted Game of the Year Award.
Blizzard has worked hard throughout the year in developing not only a video game but a lasting multiplayer experience. While it doesn’t entice everyone, there is no doubt that Overwatch has brought in a lot of attention, from fan-art to impressive looking Cosplays, Overwatch defines gaming in 2016.
In their yearly tradition, The Game Awards picked their Game of the Year with the help of various news outlets and gaming companies. Last year, the Game of the Year award went to CD Projekt’s The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, assumably for its ability to tell an amazing story and provide hundreds of hours of content without the need of downloadable content.
It is an impressive feat to earn the Game of the Year title during the Game Awards. Overwatch beat out massive titles like Titanfall 2, Inside, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, and Doom – All holding Metacritic scores between 80 and 100.
Overwatch is available for the Xbox One, Playstation 4, and PC.


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"I've sold about 500-1000 Modi masks (for COVID-19) till now and the demand is high": Kunal Pariyan
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh:
Masks with the face of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other political leaders are doing brisk business at a garment store in Madhya Pradesh. Those buying mask to protect against COVID-19 infection can also choose from other leaders, like Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his predecessor Kamal Nath.
"I've sold about 500-1000 Modi masks till now and the demand is high. Masks with our CM's face is also popular. I also have masks with images of Rahul Gandhi and Kamal Nath ji," Kunal Pariyani told news agency ANI, claiming that the Modi masks are bestsellers.
The use of masks and face covers are mandatory at public places as a part of the centre's guidelines, among other precautionary measures, against coronavirus.
Masks with face of PM Modi and other leaders at a garment store in Bhopal
Madhya Pradesh is one of the worst hit states with nearly 11,000 COVID-19 cases and 465 deaths. With restrictions eased after nearly two months of lockdown, masks are being strictly enforced in the state. Though use of masks remains mandatory in public places, the state police have asked those visiting banks and jewellery shops to remove their masks for 30 seconds so that they can be photographed by the CCTV cameras for security purposes.
In states like, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, not wearing a mask can cost a person a fine of up to Rs 5,000.
A study published in 'The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA' says masks are more important than social distancing and stay-at-home orders in the fight against coronavirus. When mask-wearing went into effect in New York, the daily new infection rate fell by about 3% per day, researchers said.


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Bring payment abuse to an end
Steve Bratt, CEO of the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) shares his thoughts on a recent CBI event and the messages for businesses in our sector.
I had the good fortune in November to be invited to this year’s Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Conference, in London. The Confederation is a business organisation that claims to represent around 190,000 businesses in the UK and lobbies government on business-related issues.
Top billing at this event was given to speeches from Boris Johnson, Jeremy Corbyn and Jo Swinson and while, naturally enough, their presentations were interesting I didn’t learn anything particularly new. There was some crowing about the UK having a business start-up rate higher than that of Germany and France combined, and Jeremy Corbyn took the opportunity to tell a business audience that Labour would tackle late payment.
However, there was no recognition that the high number of start-ups is due in part to record UK insolvencies arising from payment abuse, or that Germany’s SME insolvency rate is a fraction of our own, due to their regulatory approach to fair payment.
However, for me, one subject at the conference stood out, and that was Workplace Wellbeing. Alastair Campbell chaired a session on this important topic and the panel included Gregor Craig, CEO of Skanska. Knowing Gregor, I wasn’t surprised to hear him give a good assessment of the current situation regarding wellbeing in the construction industry, together with some examples of good practice and some ideas on how we might continually improve and support workers in our industry. However, I was disappointed that the impact of poor payment on mental health was not mentioned. Unfair and slow payment practice is a blight not only on the construction industry, but on the business world in general, particularly in relation to SMEs. Despite my best efforts at attracting Alastair Campbell’s attention to ask a question, I failed, but had I been able to ask one, I would have been interested in the panel’s view on the following.
ECA, supported by around 25 other trade bodies, recently surveyed business owners to establish whether poor payment had an impact on their mental health. The results were shocking, if not entirely surprising! For instance, a staggering 90% of respondents reported that poor payment impacted on their mental health. The impact ranged from heightened stress to 10% of respondents reporting that they had considered suicide due to payment abuse, with some saying they had attempted it.
It was also clear from the survey that this considerable impact isn’t just on the business owners, but also on their families, their employees and all those around them.
Therefore, it seems clear to me that if we genuinely want to improve mental health and wellbeing in the construction sector and improve the overall economic health and profile of our industry, then we must all look to tackle, and eliminate, payment abuse.
Steve Bratt is CEO of ECA, which represents the electrotechnical and engineering services sector.
Picture credit: Shutterstock/Rawpixel.com


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GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, has found that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to temporarily increased drug sales for big bio/pharma companies in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020. This increase was due to people stockpiling in preparation for limited medical access during the lockdown.
GlobalData’s Pharma Intelligence Center Drug Sales and Forecast Database reveals that global sales in Q1 2020 for companies that were not developing a COVID-19 drug saw an 8% increase in sales when compared to the archived global sales forecast for the same time period. In contrast, companies that were developing a COVID-19 drug only saw a 3% increase.
For more information, click here.


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One in five mobile phones shipped abroad is fake – OECD
Nearly one in five mobile phones and one in four video game consoles shipped internationally is fake, as a growing trade in counterfeit IT and communications hardware weighs on consumers, manufacturers and public finances, according to a OECD report. ‘Trade in counterfeit ICT goods’ finds that smartphone batteries, chargers, memory cards, magnetic stripe cards, solid state drives and music players are also increasingly falling prey to counterfeiters. On average, 6.5% of global trade in ICT goods is in counterfeit products, according to analysis of 2013 customs data. That is well above the 2.5% of overall traded goods found to be fake in a 2016 report. Launched just ahead of the 2017 OECD Global Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum, the report says the high value of smartphones and ICT accessories and insatiable demand makes them a lucrative target for counterfeiters, and cautions that the number and range of affected products is growing. Counterfeit ICT goods entail health and safety risks, service outages and loss of income for companies and governments. China is the primary source of fake ICT goods, and US manufacturers are the most hit by lost revenue and erosion of brand value. Almost 43% of seized fake ICT goods infringe the IP rights of US firms, followed by 25% for Finnish firms and 12% for Japanese firms. See more here.
- Thursday, 20 April 2017


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From the Editor
By Ina Steiner
As readers increasingly turn to multiple channels on which to sell, we've expanded AuctionBytes coverage to include tips on marketing to help you increase sales. In the last issue, Jeff Gawronski advised readers to jump in and create a Google AdWords campaign. Jeff follows up in this issue with some tips for making your Google Adword search campaigns profitable. Don't be intimidated by terms like PPC, CPC, paid-search, SEM and SEO - you'll be surprised at how mastering a few simple principles can help you take control of your business.
In fact, sellers who began on eBay are already skilled in the principles behind Search Engine Marketing. Did you ever analyze which keywords to include in your listing titles and in your descriptions? Then you already understand "search engine optimization." Did you figure out what time of day to start an auction, what the starting price should be, whether to use a reserve price on auction listings, whether fixed-price would be more effective? If you operate an eBay Store, did you set up Store categories? If so, you're already using principles that are easily applied to search engine marketing.
Need more convincing? I spoke to Marty Weintraub who runs Internet-based ad agency aimClear and is an authority on the topic of search marketing and social media. He's got some great advice, which I've posted as a podcast in our Ecommerce Industry SoundBytes section. The information is fabulous, so if you're thinking about doing a Google AdWords campaign, set aside half an hour to listen to it. You'll also find recent interviews with Auctiva's Kevin Kinell, who talks about selling trends and more changes ahead from eBay, and Monsoon CEO Kanth Gopalpur speaking about his company's recent merger with Alibris.
You can catch Marty Weintraub at Search Engine Strategies in New York on March 22, where he is speaking on Advanced Keyword Research. This is a great conference, you can read my coverage of last year's conference here.
It's that time of year when thoughts turn to Spring, warmer days, and,...taxes. Next year, online sellers in the U.S. who don't report their sales will no longer be able to fly underneath the radar screen. Barbara Weltman explains and shows us the new Form 1099-K from the IRS in today's issue.
I've seen a lot of cases of email hijacking lately. I received one from a friend's Hotmail account that included a link to a website and a message that he had confirmed that "it really is a store allied with NFL offical company. All products are authentic." Another, more convincing email came from a reader's Gmail account stating she had been to London and had her bag stolen, leaving her stranded and penniless. Sure enough, their email accounts had been hacked.
It's especially important for online sellers to create secure passwords for their accounts (here are some tips), but you also must assume that your friends and family's accounts are vulnerable and remember to be skeptical of messages that come from their email address.
We've got some interesting content lined up, including a report from Lissa McGrath on a cool marketing tool for Etsy sellers and more interviews with key industry players. Stay tuned, and be sure and check AuctionBytes.com every day for news that impacts your business. News headlines appear at the top of the home page, and you can receive the news via email 3-times-a week by subscribing on this page. You can also follow AuctionBytes on Twitter.
Thanks for reading.
Note to InkFrog customers: if you are an eBay seller using the InkFrog tool, be aware that the site went down on Saturday due to an apparent malware incident. I reported it on the AuctionBytes Blog and hope to get an official update from the company.
About the author:
Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to email@example.com.
You may quote up to 50 words of any article on the condition that you attribute the article to EcommerceBytes.com and either link to the original article or to www.EcommerceBytes.com.
All other use is prohibited.


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Worldmark will have over 16,000 sq ft of eating-out space that will house several restaurants including Cafe Delhi Heights, Imperfecto, Social and Asia 7.
Cook thought the iPhone cover was fake as the colour and the different packaging is perhaps not sold in the US or some of the other markets.
Cook also had a nearly hourlong meeting with top Bharti Airtel executives on Friday , meeting chairman Sunil Mittal and India CEO Gopal Vittal Mittal's son Kavin Mittal is said to have briefed Cook about Hike, his instant messaging startup.
On being asked about Apple’s proposal to sell used phones in India, the government official cited above said: “No way.”
Long before his success, Sharma met Mittal in an elevator in Kolkata and asked for his autograph on his business card.
Kumar Birla rated the demographic dividend as the biggest positive for India, that was endorsed by Sunil Mittal later.
Rakesh Jain, a member of Jain community, said that they came to know about meat shops and convenience stores disobeying the police orders banning non-vegetarian food items for the Jain festival of Samvatsari and decided they would ensure the ban was complete.
Is Sunil Mittal's Bharti Enterprises looking at joining hands with Foxconn, one of the world's biggest mobile phone contract manufacturer, and Japan's SoftBank to manufacture electronic devices in India?
“This is the golden era of India’s entrepreneurial journey. Entrepreneurs are the new celebrated, romanticised heroes,” says a serial entrepreneur.
SoftBank and the Bharti Group have a joint venture — Bharti SoftBank — which invests in mobile technology companies.
Carrefour, the world's second largest retailer, has started to work on an exit plan after talks to sell its five wholesale stores to Sunil Mittal's Bharti Group failed and the French company sees little hope of the government allowing foreign chains to set up multi-brand outlets in the country. Sources said there have been senior-level exits from Carrefour India and some employees may be asked to leave over the next few weeks as part of the exit strategy.
The Bharti group was also in talks with Japan’s largest retailer Aeon for a possible tie-up but decided to pursue its business interests with Carrefour.
The new partner will replace Walmart with which Bharti, owned by billionaire Sunil Mittal, had a strategic partnership till October last year.
The family of Vinod Mittal, the former managing director of the erstwhile Ispat Industries, is poised to enter India's food and beverages industry by buying a majority holding in a fast food chain that serves pizzas.
Despite offers for fresh tie-ups, Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Group appears set to go solo in the retail business and expand the footprint of its EasyDay stores through fresh investments, estimated at Rs 700-800 crore annually.
Bharti Enterprises and Walmart have a 50:50 wholesale cash and carry venture, which acts as the backbone for Bharti Retail.


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A new Gartner report projects worldwide mobile ad revenue will increase 16% to $11 billion this year and more than double by 2016. Gartner ... Read the whole story


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The recently confirmed next Borderlands game, described as “the big one” by Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford, will only be coming to the latest generation of consoles (via GameSpot). That’s what Take-Two Interactive president Karl Slatoff had to say about publisher 2K Games’ upcoming release in a recent company earnings call.
The game’s existence was announced when Pitchford tweeted a call for developers to join Gearbox’s team for the next Borderlands. No other particulars about the game — such as title, content, or a release window — have been revealed yet.
In the meantime, series fans with PlayStation 4 or Xbox One will be able to get Borderlands: The Handsome Collection on March 24, collecting Borderlands 2, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and all of the associated downloadable content for those games into one package. That extra bit of practice in bringing Borderlands to the latest consoles will no doubt be useful for Gearbox as they prepare for the next full-fledged entry in the franchise.


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When Google unveiled its smart and controversial eyewear three years ago, some early tech adopters tried to do their part by eagerly pushing for Glass acceptance. The world pushed back.
Adventures In Tech uses the hottest topics in tech as a jumping off point for bitesize, informative
The next time your mind wanders, you might be able to regain your focus if you turn your gaze on a specific type of image, says research out of the University of Melbourne.
In the Dolby Cinema presentation of Disney's "Tomorrowland," fiber-optic-fed laser light engines, 4K resolution, HDR contrast and Atmos sound combine to create a breathtaking cinema experience. Tomorrow's theater experience can't come home soon enough.
Right now 87 percent of Apple's global operations run on renewable energy. But its goal is 100 percent and converting China manufacturers will be key to getting there.
Just ahead of its Tech World event in Beijing, Lenovo reveals three new low-cost consumer laptops, including the entry-level 14-inch ideapad 100 starting at just $249.
Elemental Path and ToyTalk hope to pioneer interactive toys. But will kids and parents want Internet-connected Barbies and dinosaurs?
Federal Aviation Adminstration gives insurance powerhouse approval to use unmanned aerial vehicles to examine disaster sites, assess risk and get claims rolling.
After its $25 phones fail to dent the dominance of Google and Apple, the Firefox backer will try to compete using technological superiority -- and maybe by adding key Android apps, too.
Chameleons in Madagascar previously thought to all belong to a single species have actually turned out to be 11 separate ones.
The Internet giant also shows off "Expeditions" kits, letting teachers conduct virtual field trips, and its new "Jump" VR video recording system.


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Charges Filed for Allegedly Tampering with Advil
WILKES-BARRE — Charges have been filed against a woman accused of tampering with an over-the-counter medicine at a drug store in Wilkes-Barre.
Authorities said in August, Yolanda Holman of Wilkes-Barre put prescription pills and other medication into a bottle of chewable children’s Advil, then returned it to Rite Aid on East Northampton Street.
A woman who purchased that bottle of medicine said a pharmacist said the pills inside were muscle relaxers and iron pills.
If convicted, Holman could face 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.


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Juba hotel debts remain unpaid by NTC
In a letter sent by the Hotel and Catering Association of South Sudan (HCASS) to the National Transitional Committee (NTC), it is alleged that the government has still not yet paid a number of Juba hotels for almost 2 years of accommodation debts.
The letter follows an original demand for payment sent in early January, which claimed the Juba government owed over $10mil in arrears to a number of high end hotels in the capital. Originally signed by 9 hotels, the number of signatories demanding payment has grown to 18 following the letter in January.
The HCASS claim they have repeatedly visited and contacted the NTC's offices seeking answers to the question of payment without success.
'For innumerable times, we tirelessly have knocked the doors of authorities in charge of this and the response we always got was: "We will pay you tomorrow, next week", and this is the reoccurring reply from officials', it's said.
Citing the urgent need for the hotels to pay staff, settle bills and cover operational costs, the HCASS gave the government until the end of today to pay their invoices.
'Majority of our member hotels are struggling to cope with the current financial distress, and we are not able to cover even our daily operational costs', the HCASS note.
If the government's debts are not met, the HCASS have said it is likely many of the hotels signing the letter could face closure.
'If many hotels get closed as a result of the financial problem; it obviously is going to result in...social and economic problems to the employees and their families. This critical situations can result in lack of significant numbers of world class hotels to accommodate clients arriving to Juba...such as heads of states, diplomats'.
The hotels included in the letter are of international standard, and are typically used to house government officials and visiting guests. At present, it is estimated that 300-400 officials are currently staying at hotels in the capital. Some of these can cost up to $200 per night.


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The Colony, Texas – June 27, 2023 – LAI Games, a global leader in out-of-home entertainment, is thrilled to announce the official launch of their highly anticipated Asphalt 9 Virtual Reality arcade game at Bowl Expo 2023. The annual event is set to take place on June 28th and 29th, and LAI Games will be showcasing their innovative VR racing experience to bowling industry professionals.
Asphalt 9 VR takes the excitement of the popular Asphalt 9 DX Simulator and Premium models to new heights, immersing players in a heart-pumping virtual reality racing experience. Featuring realistic cockpit views of the guest’s chosen supercar, a selection that includes Lamborghini, Porsche and McLaren, this game offers a thrilling and realistic driving simulation that is sure to captivate players of all ages and skill levels. In addition to the exhilarating gameplay, Asphalt 9 VR offers a premium VR headset featuring stunning graphics and inside-out tracking, which eliminates VR interference. The game also includes a variety of gameplay modes, including single-player races, multiplayer competitions, and challenging time trials, ensuring endless hours of excitement for players.
Join LAI Games at Bowl Expo 2023 Booth 1241 to experience Asphalt 9 VR as well as LAI’s other top hits including Rick and Morty Blips and Chitz, Virtual Rabbids Ultra HD, FGTeeV Out of Time, and Slam N Jam Ultra basketball. For more information, visit www.laigames.com/asphalt-9-legends-arcade-vr.
About LAI Games:
LAI Games, a subsidiary of the Helix Leisure Group, has been a leader in the interactive entertainment and game industry for over 60 years. With a reputation for innovative and high earning games, LAI Games commits to providing the most profitable and memorable entertainment solutions for operators and players alike.