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Because of a French law requiring a 17 month wait between theatrical and streaming release, Disney is considering canceling its Black Panther 2 release in France.
Marvel fans in France may have to wait a good long while before seeing Black Panther 2. Because of a French law that requires a 17-month wait time between the theatrical and streaming releases of most films, Disney is considering skipping its French release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. That’s the news coming from French sites like Le Film Francais (via The Direct).
If Black Panther 2 foregoes a French release, it won’t be the first time Disney has chosen to cancel a theatrical release rather than comply with the law. As DigitalTV Europe reported in June, Disney streamed Strange World (titled Avalonia in France) directly to France in Disney+ rather than bothering with a theatrical window to protest the country’s law. The company released a statement, calling the legislation “anti-consumer, ignoring how behaviour has evolved over the last several years,” while also saying it “puts us at increased risk for piracy.”
Believe it or not, the timeline being enforced in France has actually been significantly shortened. In January, as reported by ScreenDaily, the country announced a deal it had reached with streaming services shortening the previous period–36 months–between theater and streaming by a little more than half to 17 months. One of the only exceptions is Netflix, who bought themselves a slightly shorter window of 15 months by promising to invest $215 million annually to French film and TV.
Should Disney choose to withhold a Black Panther 2 theatrical release in France, it isn’t clear yet whether they will do what they did with Strange World and send it directly to streaming or delay its streaming in France to the same date as other regions in Europe. Considering the fanfare behind Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the former choice might present the best opportunity in the short term as more than likely some fans would be willing to subscribe to Disney+ just for the movie. In the longterm however, a tentpole film like this might serve better as a weapon to use against France’s laws.
A 17-month wait between Black Panther 2‘s theatrical and streaming release–or between releases for any film–does seem prohibitively extreme, even if you are as protective of your theatrical industry as the French. Even in the days when home releases were mostly for VHS and premium movie channels like HBO and Cinemax didn’t have streaming options, a 17-month delay between the theater and the living room would seem excessive; at least in the United States. If Blockbuster can beat your timeline, you might want to rethink things.
If Black Panther 2 skips France, the country’s viewers will miss out on what may very well be the most anticipated Marvel sequel since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. With the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman, fans are expecting not only a great superhero flick, but a cathartic tribute to the late actor. There’s also a lot of talk about who will take up the mantle of the Black Panther, with much of the speculation drifting in the direction of Letitia Wright‘s Shuri, Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia, and even Angela Bassett’s Ramonda.


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Arab Organization for Industrialization
Lt. Gen. Abdul Moneim Al-Tarrass, President of the Arab Manufacturing Authority, stressed the importance of implementing president Abdel Fattah El Sisi's directives to deepen local manufacturing, transfer, and the localization of Digital Transformation technology, safe circulation of information, and the provision of smart electronic services in accordance with international quality standards. This came during the signing of a protocol of cooperation between the Arab Manufacturing Authority and IKEN company, which is one of the leading Egyptian companies in the fields of Digital Transformation, Industry 4.0, and Digital Security.
Ministry of Military Production
The Egyptian Ministry of Military Production, represented by the Center for Scientific and Technological Excellence and the Center for Information and Computer Systems, signed a memorandum of understanding with Iken company in the field of digital transformation. Eng. Hossam Reda El Gamal made the announcement at the ministry's general office. The ministry said in a statement that the signing of the MOU with IKEN comes within the framework of the state's trend of Digital Transformation and applies the concepts of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (I4.0) to the production lines of its companies and units.
IKEN is the strategic service partner of GE Digital in Egypt and the Arab world to support the technology of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and digital transformation through the integration of services and digital solutions, digital security, and increase efficiency in digital transformation. The partnership reflects the added value of IKEN and its deep understanding of customer needs and its ability to implement large and complex deployments.

domain: news


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By millyjshoes, Jan 11 2019 04:14PM
Following on from the great news in the EDP Newspaper!
I’m on the campaign to reduce the landfill implications within the footwear industry with 330 million pairs in the uk alone manufactured a year with most of these ending up in landfill. One pair takes 50 years to decompose with gases and toxins released into our atmosphere due to the manmade materials in use. The way forward is upcyling. Transforming the pairs you don’t wear or old shoes into new designs. Putting off the landfill destiny for another few years! Fast fashion is an issue.


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Written by Slam Da Brakes
|Friday, 04 June 2010 00:00
Bethesda apparently have a huge secret that will be revealed at E3, and everyone on the internet is backing the announcement of Elder Scrolls V. Famitsu, a major Japanese game magazine has listed Bethesda E3's listing as 'secret' which means it cannot be one of the games already officially announced...
It was only in April the company PR Peter Hines debunked any rumors by declaring that there are no immediate plans to make Elder Scrolls V. Yet if there is an announcement and a release is scheduled for 2011, it doesn't seem that too far fetched to me for Peter Hines to be fibbing. It has been four years since Oblivion so the time is right, unless they announce it will Natal support, I can't wait.
Elder Scrolls : V is due (definitely) next year, 2011.
[source the sixth axis and vg247]


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BY CARLA P. GOMEZ
An Iloilo official is appealing to President Rodrigo Duterte and Agriculture Secretary William Dar to consider putting a stop to the export of Philippine sugar to the United States that will cause Filipino farmers to lose about P920,000,000.
Board Member Matt Palabrica (Iloilo, 3rd District) told the DAILY STAR yesterday that he authored a resolution that was approved by the Iloilo Sanguniang Panlalawigan Tuesday, copies of which will be sent to the president and the DA secretary before the end of the week.
The Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) Board in Sugar Order No. 1 issued in September allocated 7 percent of the country’s sugar production for crop year 2020-2021 as “A” for the US Market and 93 percent as “B” for the domestic market.
In his resolution, Palabrica said, it is estimated that the Philippines produces about 2,100,000 metric tons of sugar while the national demand for the commodity is about 2,500,00 metric tons.
This means a production deficit of about 400,000 metric tons, so there is no reason to export local sugar to the US at a much lower price of about P350 per bag or P7,000 per metric ton, he said.
Palabrica pointed out that it has been the practice of the sugar industry to “force” the “A” sugar allocation to be priced lower at 70.48 percent of “B” sugar intended for the local market.
The “forced” export of sugar to the US market at the rate of 7 percent of the country’s total production, or an average of 140,000 metric tons, means Filipino farmers lose about P920,000,000 in one crop year, he said.
After exporting to sugar the US market, the Philippines then has to import sugar to meet domestic needs, he said.
The volume of imported sugar is sizable at about 350,000 to 500,000 metric tons annually and is estimated to value about P110,000,000,000, making it attractive for certain sectors to get involved, as a big time business and undertake manipulations to the disadvantage of the farmers and consumers, Palabrica said.
“This disadvantageous situation for the sugar farmers may be corrected by stopping the export of our sugar to the US and to provide more support for the farmers by way of technology and financial or credit facility”, Palabrica said.
SRA Board Member Emilio “Dino” Yulo said the determination of the sugar classification went through proper consultation and this was even in the news with proposals ranging from 0 to 3, 5 and 6 percent, the highest being 7 percent, which was what the majority of the SRA board decided.
“However, let it just be stressed that industry stakeholders were consulted, including all sugar federations, unaffiliated groups, and the millers through the Philippine Sugar Millers Association,” he added.
Nevertheless, he welcomes any investigation “as this is a democratic country and so we will be given a chance to air our side in the proper venue”, Yulo said.*


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Ex-Campbell's site redevelopment begins in King's Lynn
Work to redevelop the site of a former food firm in Norfolk into a business complex has begun.
The former Campbell's factory in King's Lynn is being demolished to create a new Tesco Extra store at Hardwick, to replace the existing building.
Other plans include a hotel, restaurant, public house and car showroom on the site.
It is thought the £40m Campbell's Meadow project could bring up to 1,000 jobs to the area.
There is currently no set completion date for the work.
Tesco's plan for the site was approved by councillors in west Norfolk in November after initial plans were rejected.
Sainsbury's are also developing a neighbouring store at Hardwick on a separate site.
Early work to demolish the Campbell's factory includes removing asbestos from old offices.
There will also be an archaeological search conducted on the site.
The former factory tower is set to be knocked down in November.
Campbell's former owners Premier Foods closed the King's Lynn factory in 2007 and moved production to other sites.
It was the American firm's first UK base when it opened in the 1950s, employing thousands of local workers.
Plans to get the tower listed by a local civic society failed but an in-depth photographic archive has been created.


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Retail sales rose in August, highlighting an inconsistency of consumer spending.
Retail sales increased slightly in August, the Commerce Department reported Thursday, highlighting an uneven pace for the economic recovery as spending behavior swings month over month.
The 0.7 percent climb in sales last month came after a 1.8 percent decline in July and gains earlier in the summer. The gains in August, which were better than what economists expected, were prompted by a rise in spending on clothing, electronics, and furniture and home goods.
Sales at bars and restaurants fell, after a rise in July.
That drop is “partly tied to the end of summer, but it’s also tied to fear of the virus when going into a bar,” said Beth Ann Bovino, the U.S. chief economist at S&P Global.
Sales of sporting goods and musical instruments and at book stores rose as students prepared to go back to school. Sales at nonstore retailers, which include e-commerce businesses, rose about 6 percent in August after falling in July.
“The resurgence of the virus resulted in households switching their buying options to hands-free transactions,” Ms. Bovino said.
Sales of cars and auto parts were down 4.5 percent in August. The auto industry has been hit by a shortage of computer chips, causing Toyota Motor to announce recently plans to slash production by about 40 percent.
Prices of consumer goods continued to climb in August, albeit at a slower pace, according to data from the Labor Department released this week. The Consumer Price Index rose 5.3 percent in August from a year earlier, the data showed, suggesting inflationary pressures were starting to ease.
The University of Michigan will publish its monthly consumer sentiment index on Friday, a key indicator regarding the economic recovery and consumer behavior. The index fell more than 13 percent in July because consumers expected price increases to continue.
With more employers announcing mandates, the pace of coronavirus vaccinations had been trending steadily upward through the Labor Day holiday, giving economists reason for optimism if cases and hospitalizations level off or decline in September.
Analysts at Bank of America said on Thursday that spending for clothing increased 27 percent for the week ending Sept. 11 compared with the same period last year, based on credit and debit card data. The analysis also found that sales at department stores rose by 21 percent, while spending on furniture were up 9 percent compared with the same time last year.
“Households are sitting on a lot of cash,” Ms. Bovino said. “We expect to see a robust holiday spending season.”
Source: Read Full Article


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Deere & Company reported fourth-quarter 2012 net income of $687.6 million, or $1.75 per share, up 2.7 percent compared to the same period last year. Net income for fiscal 2012 was up 9.5 percent to $3.065 billion.
Worldwide net sales and revenues rose 14 percent, to $9.792 billion for the fourth quarter, and increased 13 percent to $36.157 billion for the full year.
"In the face of continuing global economic pressure, John Deere has completed another record year," said Samuel R. Allen, chairman and chief executive officer.
Agriculture & Turf Equipment: Sales increased 16 percent for the quarter and 13 percent for the year. Operating profit was up 7.3 percent to $931 million for the quarter and up 13.8 percent to $3.921 billion for the year.
Construction & Forestry Equipment: Construction and forestry sales increased 7 percent for the quarter and 19 percent for the year. Operating profit was up 37.9 percent to $120 million for the quarter and up 21.4 percent to $476 million for the year.
Company equipment sales are projected to increase by about 5 percent for full year 2013 and to be up about 10 percent for the first quarter compared with the same periods of 2012. For fiscal 2013, net income attributable to Deere & Company is anticipated to be about $3.2 billion.
Deere's worldwide sales of agriculture and turf equipment are forecast to increase by about 4 percent for fiscal year 2013.
Deere's worldwide sales of construction and forestry equipment are forecast to increase by about 8 percent in fiscal 2013 due in part to modest improvement in U.S. economic conditions. Sales in world forestry markets are projected to be about flat for the year as further weakness in European markets offsets stronger demand in the U.S.


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Rock Island Armory expands its line of rimfire semi-automatic rifles with a synthetic stock, threaded barrel version of its M20T.
SIG Sauer adds several new versions of the P226 to its XSeries of competition-ready pistols.
FLIR's ThermoSight R-Series, launched at SHOT Show this year, brings thermal night vision to more affordable levels.
SIG Sauer launched their first striker-fired pistol at SHOT Show this week.
Desert Tech introduces their Micro Dynamic Rifle, a light bullpup semi-automatic rifle capable of multiple calibers and ambidextrous operation.
EOTech introduces two new thermal imaging products at the 2014 SHOT Show.
U.S. Optics introduces a new holographic red or green dot sight for 2014.
MasterPiece Arms introduces their first rifle in .308 Win.


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The news of Carol Bartz nomination as Yahoo's new CEO did not cause too many jitters on the stock market although shares of the search company went down by nearly 1 percent while its main competitors, Google and Microsoft gained 0.5 percent and 1.8 percent respectively.
If she manages to become Yahoo's new Messiah, Bartz will certainly have achieved a feat unmatched by any other women in technology. However, there are a few (as usual we've rounded five) reasons why naming her might not be good enough to save the Yahoo ship from hitting the iceberg.
(1) Carol who?
Some could say that she is a spent force since stepping down as CEO of Autodesk in 2006. Forbes no longer lists her as one of the most powerful women in tech in their updated 2008 list while Anne Mulcahy, CEO of Xerox and Safra Catz, President of Oracle are in the top 15.
(2) Different markets
Bartz gained her experience and kudos working at Autodesk, a software company whose flagship product is AutoCAD. The product is a $3995 purchase with 9 million users worldwide. Yahoo is a completely different firm in a vastly different environment. It is clear that she was not brought in because of her online credentials but more because she's a do-er, someone who can kick some a*r* around and make things move quickly. Yahoo is still the most visited website in the world and the hottest online property with more than 100 billion page views per month.
(3) The "Susan Decker" problem
Many could think that Susan Decker, Yahoo's ex-president, could have been a better CEO since she was with the company for almost nine years. The 46-year old Ms Decker, whom Valleywag once called "the humblest tech exec", had been groomed to be Yahoo's CEO for the past three years or so. Some inside the company could start "soldiering" against someone alien to Yahoo's culture, just like the human body may reject a liver transplant.
(4) The "Jerry Yang" Conundrum
Jerry Yang, Yahoo's Co-founder, has decided to step down and return to his position as "Chief Yahoo"; however it is unlikely that the pair will be as friendly as the other famous duo in the world of tech - Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates who stepped down as Microsoft CEO and created a "chief software architect" position. Ballmer and Gates knew each other for decades. Yang only knows Bartz through the seat he holds on Cisco's board together with Ms Bartz. Will there be a battle of two egos, made even more explosive by her straight, no frills, talk.
(5) Different Companies, different issues
Autodesk dominated a niche market even when Carol Bartz became their new chairman and chief executive. She was picked back in 1992 because she "had experience managing rapid growth". Another problem that she had to face was software piracy. A pirated CDROM could easily contain up to $1 million worth of illegal applications and plugins. Compare and contrast with Yahoo's issues. It is trying to reinvent itself, picking itself up and aiming to be a jack of all trade and master of all. Yahoo has acquired 56 companies over the last decade and has had huge issues trying to make the old bits working with the new ones.
Go To Page 3 for our comments and more related links
Carol Bartz will hit the ground running and will almost certainly be under intense scrutiny and immense pressure from day one. That said, we can only wish her luck and hope for the best. Yahoo is still one of the most loved internet brands and with Microsoft still lagging in third place, it has a unique opportunity to give Google a run for its money.
(All Things D)


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Netflix announced it had lost fewer subscribers than expected in the second quarter of 2019, with 130,000 domestic customers leaving the service. The company attributed the lower-than-expected loss to its cheaper ad-supported plan, which was introduced in April. Netflix also said it expects to add seven million new subscribers in the third quarter of 2019, which is higher than its previous forecast of five million.
Netflix’s subscriber loss in the second quarter was not as bad as some analysts had expected.
The streaming giant lost 130,000 domestic subscribers during the three-month period ending in June. That’s less than the 160,000 that Wall Street was expecting.
Netflix blamed the miss on a price hike that went into effect earlier this year. The company said it also saw higher than normal churn in April due to the price increase. Despite the subscriber loss, Netflix posted strong financial results for the quarter.
The company’s revenue and profit both topped expectations. Netflix also said it expects to add 7 million subscribers in the third quarter, which would be a record for the company.
Netflix Loses A Million Subscribers But Fewer Than Expected
It appears that Netflix has been downgraded by the popular website, IMDB. As of today, Netflix holds a 7.4/10 rating on IMDB, which is lower than its previous rating of 7.6/10.
This isn’t a huge difference, but it does show that people are less satisfied with Netflix than they used to be. There could be many reasons for this change in rating. It could be due to the recent price hikes that Netflix has implemented, or it could be because of the growing competition from other streaming services like Hulu and Amazon Prime Video.
Whatever the reason may be, it’s clear that people are starting to turn away from Netflix. This is bad news for the company, and they will need to work hard to regain their lost users. Otherwise, they risk losing their position as the top streaming service in the world.
Is Netflix Losing Subscribers Due to Price Increase?
It’s no secret that Netflix has been struggling to keep its subscriber base happy in recent months. The company has jacked up prices, introduced a controversial new user interface, and removed some popular shows from its lineup. All of these factors have contributed to a decline in Netflix’s customer satisfaction ratings.
Now, it looks like the price hikes are finally taking their toll on the company’s subscriber numbers. According to a new report from JP Morgan, Netflix lost about 130,000 subscribers in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2017. That’s a far cry from the 8 million new subscribers that Netflix added during the same period last year.
TheJP Morgan analysts attribute the drop-off to “higher prices [and] fewer content additions relative to history.” In other words, people are starting to balk at paying more for less content. And as cord-cutting becomes more prevalent, those customers are increasingly turning to cheaper alternatives like Hulu and Amazon Prime Video.
Netflix is well aware of this problem and is working hard to address it. The company is investing billions of dollars in original programming and has plans to launch an affordable mobile-only subscription tier in some markets later this year.
Why Does Netflix Suddenly Lose Subscribers?
Netflix has been steadily losing subscribers over the past few years. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, Netflix is facing increasing competition from other streaming services such as Amazon Prime and Hulu.
Secondly, Netflix has been hiking up its prices, which has put off some customers. Finally, Netflix has been investing heavily in original content, which not everyone is interested in watching. As a result of all these factors, Netflix is no longer the dominant player in the streaming market that it once was.
Did Netflix Lose a Lot of Subscribers?
Netflix has been in the news a lot lately, and not always for good reasons. The company has been embroiled in multiple controversies, including allegations of sexual harassment and workplace misconduct. These issues have led to some subscribers cancelling their memberships.
However, it’s important to remember that Netflix is still one of the most popular streaming services available. The company continues to add new users every quarter, and its subscriber base currently stands at over 130 million worldwide. So while Netflix may have lost some subscribers due to recent events, it’s unlikely that this will have a significant impact on the company’s long-term success.
Why is Netflix Falling?
It’s no secret that Netflix has been struggling as of late. The company’s stock is down, subscribers are fleeing, and once-loyal customers are starting to question whether the service is really worth the price. So what’s behind Netflix’s recent struggles?
Let’s take a look at some of the main reasons. 1. Netflix Is Losing Popular Shows One of the biggest reasons for Netflix’s decline is that it is losing some of its most popular shows.
“Friends” left Netflix earlier this year, and “The Office” will be leaving in 2021. These two shows were consistently two of the most-watched programs on Netflix, and their loss will be felt by the company (and its subscribers) for years to come. 2.Netflix Is Raising Prices
Another factor contributing to Netflix’s decline is the fact that prices have been steadily increasing over the past few years. In 2016, Netflix raised prices for all U.S. subscribers by $1 per month (from $8 to $9). Then, in 2017, they did it again – this time raising prices by $2 per month (to $11).
And finally, just last year they hiked prices up yet again – this time by $3 per month (to $14). All of these price increases have made Netflix less affordable for many people, causing them to cancel their subscriptions or look for cheaper alternatives. 3 .
Competition Is Heating Up When Netflix first launched back in 1997 , it was one of the only streaming services available . But now there are dozens of streaming services to choose from , including Amazon Prime Video , Hulu , Disney+ , and HBO Max .
This increase in competition has made it harder forNetflix to attract new subscribers , as there are now so many other options available . It also means that more people are cancelling theirNetflix subscriptions in favor of other services .
Netflix, the online video streaming service, has announced that it has lost fewer subscribers than expected in the last quarter. The company attributed the lower-than-expected loss to its cheaper ad campaign.
Netflix had forecasted that it would lose around 300,000 subscribers in the United States in the second quarter of this year.
However, it actually only lost 130,000 subscribers during that period. This is a significant improvement from the 800,000 subscriber loss that Netflix experienced in the first quarter of this year. The company attributed its improved performance to its cheaper ad campaign, which was launched in May.
The campaign featured celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston and Conan O’Brien endorsing Netflix’s low monthly price of $7.99. Despite losing fewer subscribers than expected, Netflix’s stock still fell by 4% in after-hours trading on Tuesday. This is likely due to investors’ concerns about the company’s long-term growth prospects.


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The Samsung Optical Smart Hub SE-208BW makes a great digital hub for mobile devices, especially on the go. At home, it's rather limited and potentially confusing and hard to use.
Google is working on a new technology called VP10 that will allow it to squeeze higher-quality video over broadband and mobile networks. And thanks to patent issues with a rival standard, it has a chance to catch on.
The device will launch in Europe early next year, and the company also showed off new speakers and talked up a streaming gaming service.
Garmin's newest watch can measure pace, distance and heart rate while running, along with tracking steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned and your sleep at night.
Big Blue's researchers have demonstrated fiber-optic technology that could help computers break through today's speed limits by transferring data faster.
The camera is very basic and the prints are small, but if you're looking for an inexpensive and travel-friendly way to shoot instant photos, the Snap could be the answer.
The alliance, which includes Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Netflix, pledges to build next-generation video technology -- and offer it for free.
Clean or dirty, wet or dry, this highly tuned fingerprint scanner promises to outdo Apple's ho-hum tech with a far higher resolution.
Two rare blue stars ionise the gas in the Prawn Nebula, allowing it to emit its own light.
Tamron's first non-macro primes, a 35mm f1.8 and 45mm f1.8, look promising and serve to launch a new generation of lenses.


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Three major travel-industry organizations begin a campaign on Tuesday to compel the airlines to disclose all fees not included in the ticket price at the same time as the actual fare — and before the ticket is issued. But will such a campaign succeed?
The groups — the Business Travel Coalition (BTC), the American Society of Travel Agents and the Consumer Travel Alliance — want consumers to sign a petition to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The text urges him “to require airlines to fully disclose their fees, whether airfares are purchased on an airline’s website or through an online or brick-and-mortar travel agency.”
The organizations plan to deliver the petition to LaHood on Sept. 23, which they have designated as “Mad As Hell Day.” They have created a special website and a YouTube channel.
“It is imperative that we, as consumers, have the ability to comparison-shop and know the full cost of a trip before committing to a purchase,” BTC Chairman Kevin Mitchell said in an e-mail message on Monday. The “airline hidden fees can surprise us at the airport, ruining our holidays, or vanquishing our business travel budgets. For example, check baggage fees can add 30%, 40% or more to the price of a ticket.”
The campaign is in support of the Department of Transportation’s Notice of Proposed Rule Making, regarding airline-passenger protections, Mitchell said.
What’s the likelihood that this initiative will be more successful than previous attempts to extract similar disclosures from the airlines? How long has the battle over false airfare advertising been going on? To this day, you see examples like this one on most U.S. airline websites: $199 each way, based on a required round-trip purchase, plus taxes and surcharges.
If a round trip is mandatory, why on earth are they quoting half of the price? It’s actually less than half, given the extra taxes. As I’ve written before, such deception is not tolerated in Europe and most other parts of the world.
If you can’t get the airlines to be open and honest about their fares, how are you supposed to force them to disclose additional fees? While everyone has to pay for the fare, many passengers are exempt from luggage, standby and other fees — an argument the airlines will no doubt use against the new campaign.
Getting those fees waived is easier than most travelers think. As I wrote in July, all you need is the lowest level of elite status on any member of one of the three global airline alliances — Oneworld, SkyTeam or the Star Alliance — to have your bags fly for free alliance-wide. And sometimes, it takes as little as 3,000 miles to achieve that.
As often happens, my advice has to do with travel education. Air travel has become a maze of rules, fees and restrictions that’s hard to keep up with. So travelers need to invest time to learn the system and find ways to work around it. My experience so far with “On the Fly” Seminars shows that most people don’t think they need to get educated. How many more fees and other frustrations will it take to change their mind?
Avoiding luggage and other airline fees
When an airfare sale is not quite a sale
Fare sales often lost in translation


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Pedaling bicycles for food delivery is a new trend in KathmanduE-commerce companies are hiring more delivery staff to fill a swelling tide of orders and many low-income adults have opted for food delivery jobs using bicycles.
Not every delivery company cares about the environment. But there are a few who care about sustainability.
Sagar Chaudhary, a first-semester student pursuing a hotel management degree at the Asian Institute of Hotel Management, Khumaltar, is a part-timer at Foodmandu.com, an on-demand food delivery company.
Unlike others, the 22-year-old Chaudhary delivers food by bicycle.
Chaudhary clocks in at his job after 11am and makes around 14 deliveries a day, within the 3 kilometers inside the Ring Road. He normally clocks out at 8pm.
“I make an earning of over Rs25,000 a month. That’s enough to meet my needs at least for now,” Chaudhary told the Post.
He believes in sustainable practices to improve the environmental impact.
He is now an eco-friendly delivery boy.
Chaudhary bought a second hand bicycle in October last year at Rs8,000 before joining Foodmandu in November.
“Cycling is also a means of therapy,” said Chaudhari, who shares an apartment with his two brothers in Sankhamul. “I love cycling and my job allows me to do what I love.”
Bicky Thakuri [name changed] also works as a delivery boy for another company.
The 25-year-old is employed by Pathao Nepal, a Bangladeshi aggregator of cabs and two-wheelers. It also provides food delivery service.
He too uses a bicycle. “It’s a great experience to deliver goods through a cycle,” said Thakuri, who lives in Kalanki. The Covid-19 pandemic led to months-long lockdowns and was a nightmare for the people like Thakuri. Tens of thousands of people were either furloughed or laid off.
A class 12 graduate, Thakuri was among them. He used to work for a bakery in Dillibazar. He also served in a restaurant as a cashier.
“I was laid off. Actually, both jobs did not satisfy me.” Thakuri loves pedaling now. He uses his brother’s old bicycle. He says that the income depends on the number of deliveries you make a day. Most of the time, his monthly earnings go past Rs 20,000.
“My job is simple. I pick the delivery from restaurants and use online maps to find the destination and cycle up to there. Customers really appreciate what I do,” said Thakuri, who hails from Krishnapur Municipality in Kanchanpur.
“The good thing about using a bicycle is that during the pandemic even if the government imposed the odd-even number plate rule, it does not apply to us,” said Thakuri. “We don’t have to spend on fuel either.”
While crowds toting bulging shopping bags are thronging Kathmandu's fancy markets and historic bazaars like New Road, Durbar Marg and Asan, online buyers are also tapping away on their keyboards, and keeping the servers of internet stores humming.
After virus restrictions were removed and people started going out of their homes to shop, e-commerce entrepreneurs had initially worried that their business, which was booming amid the lockdown, could be hit. But they were pleasantly surprised to find out that their fears were unfounded.
E-commerce companies are scaling up operations to keep up with escalating demand for their services as the Omicron caseload explodes.
The demand for home deliveries of food and other items has seen an unprecedented rise in the last two years as people are spending more time at home.
E-commerce companies are focusing on the supply side, managing logistics and even hiring more delivery staff to fill a swelling tide of orders. With the increase in demand for delivery services, many people like Chaudhary and Thakuri have signed on for the job.
Soyal Thakali, a fleet team leader and supervisor at Foodmandu, said that his company started pushing bicycles for deliveries two months ago—a low cost delivery system.
“We currently have around 50 cyclists,” said Thakali. The number of staff using bicycles, however, is increasing gradually. In addition, the company has a massive 200 staff who use motorbikes and scooters to deliver food.
Chaudhary was suffering from depression because the two companies he had served earlier had to close down leaving him jobless.
“I then came to know about the job at Foodmandu which offered an option of using bicycles for delivery. I applied for the job and got it,” shares Chaudhary.
Foodmandu too launched the delivery system using bicycles to attract people with low income and to rope in the people who lost their jobs to the pandemic.
“We opened applications for bicycle users since there are many people who lost their jobs during the pandemic. A lot of people can’t afford to invest in a petrol-powered two-wheeler,” said Thakali. “As we announced the vacancy, it was almost all college students who applied for the job.”
Suraksha Hamal, head of marketing at Pathao Nepal, said the company is encouraging more use of environment-friendly bicycles for deliveries.
“We conducted a training for 161 cyclists, including a few women, two months ago,” said Hamal. “We currently have 66 food delivery people who use bicycles.”
Pathao pays its delivery people based on the number of deliveries they make in a day.
“We wanted to open this platform to the people from low economic backgrounds and to students who need to make a living,” said Hamal. “Some of our delivery people have earned up to Rs 60,000 a month.”
Bhojdeals, another player in the food delivery service market, too has employed around 40 cyclists in the past few months.
According to the compiled data of the three delivery service providers, there are around 150 people who use bicycles.
The environmentalists hail the new eco-friendly practice.
Bhusan Tuladhar, an environmentalist, who closely follows urban environmental issues, said, “This is an environment-friendly service, and most of Kathmandu is accessible by bicycles. The food delivery companies should now focus on increasing the number of cyclists and electric bikes for the purpose within the Ring Road.”
Tuladhar says that if companies adopt environment-friendly approaches to run their businesses, it raises awareness among the public about the need to be sustainable. It will also encourage the younger generation to be environmentally responsible.”
In a wake of growing pollution, the Delhi government on January 15 issued a draft ‘aggregator’s policy’ under which ride aggregators and delivery services should procure electric vehicles in their new fleet for delivery purposes.
The policy comes on the heels of dangerously high air pollution levels in India.
“My parents are happy with my job,” said Chaudhary. “I don’t depend entirely on my parents to fund my studies. I manage on my own. The bicycle is fulfilling my basic needs.”


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Threatening Apple’s cash cow, iPhone sales are set to decline by 5% from its fiscal year 2018 to fiscal year 2019. That’s according to a new note by Guggenheim analyst Robert Cihra, which sent Apple’s stock sinking on Wednesday.
“We see growing risk of even softer iPhone unit demand, with downside in China, India and other emerging markets, where Apple may need to start considering lower price points,” Cihra warned, while downgrading Apple’s stock to “neutral.”
Among other issues, Cihra said Apple is having a harder time selling its priciest iPhones. Its historically average selling price will no longer be enough to offset sagging sales.
Both Goldman and UBS suggested on Wednesday that Apple would likely sell fewer iPhones than previously expected.
“We are concerned that end demand for new iPhone models is deteriorating,” Goldman said in the note.
The unflattering forecasts come just weeks after Apple reported fiscal first-quarter guidance failed to meet analysts’ expectations.
For the quarter ending in December, Apple had forecast revenue between $89 billion and $93 billion, which fell short of what Wall Street was anticipating.
CEO Tim Cook blamed poor outlook on slowing sales in emerging markets and foreign exchange costs.
Adding to analysts’ fears, Apple said earlier this month it would no longer report device sales.
Apple said such figures no longer fairly reflect its financial health, as more customers buy bundled products, but some analysts suggested the company might have something to hide.


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PNP ramps up operations against motorists that violate Presidential Decree 96
It seems that despite having a Presidential Decree against the use of blinkers and sirens, there are still those that use such devices on their vehicles. However, the Philippine National Police (PNP) wants to crack down on motorists that continue to use sirens and blinkers.
Recently, the PNP has vowed that it will ramp up its operations against such motorists that continue to use blinkers and emergency sirens. As a result, the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) will be strict in apprehending motorists that have illegal devices mounted on their vehicles according to Major General Valeriano de Leon, PNP Director for Operations.
To intensify the PNP-HPG's operations against those that continue to use sirens and blinkers, they will be conducting checkpoints and issuing warnings to motorists. Moreover, De Leon has assembled a group to adopt methods to discourage vehicle owners to purchase and install the said illegal devices. He added that shops that sell the “wangs-wangs” and blinkers without proper authorization can also be held responsible, stressing that they should only be sold to government entities.
As a reminder, the illegal use of blinkers and sirens is banned under Presidential Decree 96 which was issued back in 1973 by then-President Ferdinand Marcos. It prohibits ordinary motorists from using such devices “that produce exceptionally loud or startling sound” and “signaling or flashing devices”.
De Leon added that motorists that continue to use wangs-wangs and blinkers could face 6 months in prison as well as a fine of PHP 600. Worse, motorists found guilty of violating Presidential Decree 96 can also have their vehicle's certificate of registration revoked.
For vehicle owners that continue to use blinkers and sirens, you have been warned by the PNP-HPG.


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McLaren have struggled mightily this season, with Alonso reaching the chequered flag just four times in seven races.
The Honda engine they've been running has scuppered their chances of being competitive with the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes.
And Alonso's frustration has been growing with the team as his results suffer from the car's reliability issues.
Despite the unsuccessful season, Spanish outlet Diario Gol say McLaren want to extend the Spaniards stint with the team.
But their report says engine manufacturer Honda are against them offering the 35-year-old a new deal.
Apparently the Japanese engine supplier would rather spend the money McLaren are using for Alonso's wages on developing their race hardware.
This season it's been rumoured that McLaren are considering a split with Honda.
And the future of their partnership could rest on the success of the Spec Three unit that Honda are supplying fresh for the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend.


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In April 2020, the SCHOTT sales team received a call for help: State officials had ordered a five-digit number of lung ventilators from a medical device company. As these devices contain a life-saving component made of specialty glass, one ton of it would be needed as quickly as possible.
On the very same day, the production plan was adjusted, and the order went on the truck soon after. A great team performance.
April 24th, 2020


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US cellco Sprint Nextel has reported net operating revenues of USD8.15 billion for the three months ended 30 September 2010. This figure represents a 1% increase compared to the figure of USD8.04 billion generated in 3Q09. However, the cellco reported a net loss of USD911 million for the quarter, almost double the USD478 million loss reported in the same period one year earlier. Adjusted OIBDA was USD1.3 billion for the quarter, compared to USD1.5 billion for the third quarter of 2009. Sprint attributes the year-on-year decline to higher subsidy costs due to the increased volume of handset sales and sales expenses resulting from an improvement in retail subscriber gross additions. Retail wireless service revenues increased by almost 2% to USD6.4 billion for the quarter, primarily due to an increased number of pre-paid subscribers – a result of its improved Boost Monthly Unlimited offering and its 4Q 2009 acquisition of Virgin Mobile.
In operational terms, Sprint reported 48.8 million wireless customers at the end of Q3. This figure includes 33.1 million post-paid subscribers, 11.6 million pre-paid subscribers and approximately 4.1 million wholesale and affiliate subscribers, who utilise its CDMA network. For the quarter, Sprint added a total of 644,000 net wireless customers, of which 364,000 were retail subscribers and 280,000 wholesale/affiliate subscribers; the Q3 addition of 471,000 pre-paid customers off-set the loss of 107,000 post-paid subscribers. Wireless post-paid ARPU declined from USD56 per month to USD55 per month year-on-year.
Sprint CEO Dan Hesse commented: ‘Driven by record customer satisfaction, and the performance of iconic devices like the EVO and Epic, Sprint’s momentum continued this quarter. The Sprint brand gained post-paid customers for the fourth consecutive quarter as, for the second consecutive quarter based on porting data, more customers switched to Sprint from our competitors than switched from Sprint to our competitors. In addition, our last two quarters have been all-time bests for post-paid churn. We also saw improvement sequentially in pre-paid net additions, and our lowest pre-paid churn in almost five years’.


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DOW Electronics Wins Sony Distributor of the Year
TAMPA, FL (01.17.2019) – DOW Electronics was awarded 2018 Distributor of the Year by the Sony Mobile Electronics Team. Sony made the award announcement at CES. The award recognizes the level of support provided to Sony and its dealers through a distributor’s efforts in providing trainings, retail service support, operations, shipping, and customer service.
12Volt Sales Team at the DOW Annual Sales Meeting, December 2018
“We’re incredibly proud of our entire organization for a successful 2018,” stated Dave Elkin, senior vice president, sales and product management. “It’s an incredible honor for Sony to recognize the support we strive to offer our customers every day.”
Rick Kojan, sales director- aftermarket car audio for Sony North America, stated, “DOW was presented with this award from amongst our elite group of authorized 12V Specialty Distributors. Beyond their sales achievement, we felt DOW set a new standard for its best in class internal operations. And like Sony, DOW is dedicated to their 12V Specialty dealers, as was showcased by their unique DOW Elite Dealer Retreat event held last July.”
Added Mike Hurwitz, 12volt strategic sales manager, “Our team has worked hard all year to provide expert product knowledge and customer service, it’s great to see their effort acknowledged. I believe our commitment to bringing Sony trainings to every corner of our territory showed the level of commitment DOW and Sony share for the 12Volt industry.” Mr. Hurwitz continued, “This award caps off an outstanding year for DOW. To be recognized by the industry with the Mobile Electronics Distributor of the Year award in August, and then finish the year being recognized by one of our invaluable vendors reinforces our commitment to excellence.”
To learn more about DOW Electronics, visit www.DOWElectronics.com or call 1-800-627-2900.


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Costco is offering new winter tires, but prices start at $5.99 a pair, with a $10 rebate for customers who buy five pairs or more.
You can also pay $0.50 for a $3 rebate for each pair.
The brand says you’ll pay about 20% more in retail, which is more than you’d pay at the dealership.
If you buy five tires, the total cost would be $12.49.
The tires are also not eligible for the new winter tire rebate, but it’s still cheaper to buy them in bulk.
That means you could save about $300 over the course of a year, according to The Wall St Journal.
Costco has not yet announced how many pairs it’s offering.


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As America?s interest in health grows, more consumers are turning to fortified foods. A Elizabeth Sloan sees innovative companies meeting the new demands and propelling a once-niche industry into the mainstream
From design-your-own nutrient smoothies to fortified eggs that help manage blood sugar, the North American market is alive with cutting-edge functional food concepts and intriguing new ingredients. Nutrition Business Journal reports that sales of functional foods reached $21.9 billion in 2003, up seven per cent on the previous year, while natural and organic foods topped $16.2 billion, up 13 per cent. Supplement sales also rebounded after five years to reach $19.6 billion, up 5.7 per cent.
With 13,285 new US food and beverage introductions in the past four years — and nearly two thirds (62 per cent) of Americans now regular purchasers — fortified foods and beverages remain the largest functional foods segment (see chart below). Cereals, bars and beverages top the list. It?s a category set for continued growth, fuelled by three major attitudinal shifts.
First, Americans continue to feel they are nutritionally deficient. The Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) reports that 37 per cent of consumers believe they are deficient in calcium, 34 per cent soy protein, 31 per cent fibre, 31 per cent omega-3s, 31 per cent soy isoflavones, 28 per cent whole grains, 27 per cent antioxidants, 23 per cent vitamin C, 19 per cent lutein and 15 per cent folic acid.
Second, America?s 40 million young people aged 15-24 are taking an unprecedented interest in health and performance. A Buzzback Research study found that vitamins/minerals content was the fifth most important factor in deciding what foods they?ll eat — right behind fresh, easy-to-prepare, on-the-go meals and energising foods. Young adults are also most likely to think they aren?t meeting their nutritional requirements. NMI reports that 49 per cent of those under 35 think they?re deficient in calcium compared to 24 per cent of those aged 36-45 and 39 per cent aged 46-55. Third, nearly half of all consumers agree fortified foods can single-handedly deliver the day?s nutritional requirements — without additional supplementation.
Maximising the bioavailability of nutrients is the latest trend in fortified foods. Examples include adding inulin to yoghurt, such as Stonyfield Farm, Horizon and Mountain High brands, to improve the bioavailability of calcium. Lactoferrin, which is GRAS by the Food & Drug Administration, is being added to enhance iron absorption. Associated with heart health and increased energy level, the frequency of B-vitamin fortification has increased. And a re-emergence of rickets in children and its role in bone/joint health has put vitamin D back into the spotlight.
With mineral supplements sales jumping 16 per cent last year, marketers are looking to minerals to improve bioavailability. Increasingly linked to energy, the desire for iron-fortified products is growing, particularly for dairy products. Zinc is also getting more attention for its role in immunity and bone health. Lastly, choline, well recognized for its role in memory and cognitive function by the FDA, is another fast-emerging nutrient. Cargill?s Lecigran lecithin is high in choline and inositol; Secisoy is Cargill?s new soy-based lecithin.
With Americans expected to buy more bottled water than coffee or beer this year, fortified waters and clear, minimally flavoured beverages are skyrocketing in popularity. Hansen?s mildly fruit-flavoured Energy Water (E2O) with glucose, ginseng, taurine, B vitamins and electrolytes, and Ajinomoto?s Amino Vital ready-to-drink amino acid water have created two new powerful categories. Fruit waters and soy waters such as Leading Brands? Soy2O with natural soy isoflavones are yet another new direction.
Talking Rain Beverage Co?s Sparkling Ice Spring Water with fruit juice and vitamins C and E, and elegant ?quietly effervescent? fortified table waters such as CCW Holding?s Sanfaustino Aqua Minerale, with a natural bicarbonate effect, represent two of the latest carbonated water trends. A diversity of new nutritional ingredients such as Purac America?s Puracal XPure and Rhodia Foods? VersaCAL calcium; Novartis? Benefiber and Wacker Specialties? Cavamax W6 dietary fibres; and Eastman Chemical Co?s Vitamin E TPGS are all designed for use in clear fortified beverages.
Tropicana?s Essentials line includes a trendy mid-calorie option, Light ?n Healthy, with a day?s supply of vitamin C, calcium and one third of the calories in orange juice. Hansen?s Beverage Co?s all-natural, 100 per cent Juice Slams with 17 nutrients and Apple & Eve?s Water Fruits, with vitamins C, B3, B5, B6 and B12, are school-vending-machine friendly. WaddaJuice?s ?paediatrician-friendly? juice drink is sold in a baby bottle with a nipple, fortified with vitamin C and calcium.
Fortified yoghurt beverages enjoyed a 69 per cent growth rate in 2003. Even coffee is fortified! Caff? Botanica?s blend is made with organic herb- and mineral-infused gourmet beans. Skylar Haley?s achieV One are flavoured, single-serve coffees with 20g of protein and 19 nutrients.
Healthy snacks, which grew 41 per cent in 2003 to $5.5 billion, are projected by Mintel to reach $7.2 billion by 2008. Wellness bars account for 38 per cent of the $1.9 billion bar market, up 32 per cent last year according to Information Resources Inc.
With nearly one third of teenage girls skipping breakfast and one quarter of boys missing lunch and breakfast, portable healthy mini-meals are in high demand. Diet candy — up 93 per cent last year — as well as fortified cookies and candies such as Amerifit Nutrition?s Vitaball Vitamin Gumballs are meeting the need for healthier versions of America?s favourite treats.
The $1.5 billion low-carb movement, new Recommended Daily Intakes (RDI) for amino acids and no cautionary upper limit set to limit high-protein products have spawned a race for novel, highly nutritious proteins. Soy protein tops the list of ingredients in a 2004 Prepared Foods survey food executives say will grow their business. Calcium is next, followed by dietary fibre, omega fatty acids, probiotics, whey protein, high oleic fats/oils, isoflavones, vitamin C and folic acid. Now being formulated into high-protein milks, such as Kidsmilk and bars like Next Protein?s Detour, the trend toward whey protein is just beginning. Corn Protein Isolate was unveiled at the July Institute of Food Technologists? meeting by Energetic Inc and the US Department of Agriculture. Egg protein, fish protein, Nitta Gelatin NA Inc Hydrolyzed Collagen GCP-1000 — which provides additional benefits for skin, hair and nails — Levapan Baker?s Yeast Extracts, and Dipasa USA?s sesame seed flour are other new high-protein alternatives. Canadian company Burcon has a canola-based, high-protein ingredient in the pipeline.
At the same time, dietary fibres, which are subtracted out from the total carb count resulting in low ?net carb? products, are in high demand. Roxlor International?s BakeFlora line, which is less than 85 per cent fibre, replaces sugar 1:1. More exotic fibres — like International Fiber?s JustFiber Bamboo, Cottonseed and White Wheat Fibers — are gaining in popularity.
As the market shifts from prevention to treatment, ingredients that deliver risk-factor reduction have a bright future. With one in four Americans suffering from some form of heart disease, almost every consumer behaviour related to heart health has escalated.
New RDIs and a series of health claims for fish, plant and nut-based omega-3s, have sparked a long overdue wave of omega-3 products, including ?naturally fortified? products like Anchors? Heart Wise omega-3 milk. The latest heart-healthy products include White Wave Silk?s omega-3 fortified cholesterol-lowering soy milk; healthier oils including Heart Beat Foods? Smart Balance Natural blend of canola, soy and olive oil fortified with vitamin E and omega-3s; and a bevy of omega-3 nut butters, oils and toppings.
While plant sterol-containing products are still limited in the US, Cargill?s CoroWise instant water-dispersible plant sterol esters and ADM?s Euchol phytosterol ingredients will help broaden the range of heart-healthy foods.
A new medical category, ?pre-hypertension,? which afflicts 45 million Americans, brings the American blood pressure market to just under 100 million people. Tokyo?s Calpis Co?s Ameal Peptide is the latest milk peptide to be introduced with clinically proven effectiveness in controlling elevated blood pressure. ABIC Internationals? AMP blocks the bitter taste when potassium chloride is added to foods.
Although The NPD Group reports that Americans lost weight last year, with the Body Mass Index falling one per cent, the weight-control market appears to be easing (see chart p19). However, the market remains at a significant level with 46 per cent trying to manage weight for appearance and 42 per cent for health. Two new ingredients have recently gained attention. First, a long-term human study using Cognis? Tonalin conjugated linoleic acid (Am J Clin Nutr 2004; 79(6):1118-25) has confirmed a nine per cent reduction in body fat. Second, Forbes MediTech?s Vivola oil has been clinically shown to promote weight loss and cholesterol reduction.
With 1.5 million new cases of diabetes each year, nearly 80 million Americans being insulin resistant and energy remaining a mainstream concern, interest in managing blood sugar continues to grow. With a health claim petition submitted to FDA related to improved glucose metabolism, diabetes and possibly heart disease, Nutrition 21?s Chromax chromium picolinate is receiving unprecedented attention. A new National Institutes of Health study confirmed that chromium picolinate supplementation reduced carbohydrate cravings. GTC Nutrition?s Natureal GI oat bran concentrate and Matsutani America?s Fibersol-2 digestion resistant maltodextrin are two of the latest ultra-low glycaemic fibres. Bristol Meyers Choice line of foods is one example of diabetic products perfectly positioned for the up-and-coming blood sugar craze.
Sports & Energy
With the nation?s 40 million young adults about to enter the prime age for sports marketers, the $4.7 billion sports and energy beverage segment is set to explode. Energy drinks topped the list of the fastest-growing supermarket categories last year, up 39 per cent. Sports drinks rose 13 per cent. Natural energy sodas such as Blue Sky?s Blue Energy soda, and Bossa Nova Beverages? rainforest fruit drinks in Guarana Berry and Natural Energy versions target a broader audience.
Drinks that provide an immediate energy boost in new interactive formats, such as PowerBar?s Power Fast Fuel Gels, are gaining in popularity. Morinaga Milk Industry Co?s Chicken Breast Extract prevents lactic acid buildup; NutraSource?s new Glutacarob delivers a combination of glutamine and arginine; and Amax?s Oryzbran rice extract has a steroid component that helps develop lean muscle mass. Cargill, which announced self-affirmed GRAS status for its OptaFlex chondroitin sulfate, now offers a performance-grade OptaFlex Chondroitin that is 100 per cent water soluble.
Although the benefits of probiotics are still not well understood by US consumers, Dannon introduced the first ?daily dose? probiotic drink in the US — DanActive — in the past year. With three structure/function claims relating to gut health and immunity, DanActive is well poised to take advantage of American?s growing interest in intestinal health. On the ingredient front, Moringa Milk Industry Co introduced Triple Bifidus for Kids, a highly concentrated stable powder of Bifidobacterium — B. infantis, B. breve and B. longum.
A trend toward intrinsic nutrition is also helping grow the functional foods segment. Intrinsic nutrition is all about relying on a product?s inherent nutrients or the phytochemicals that occur naturally to achieve a desired health benefit. New health linkages for familiar phytochemicals, emerging food-friendly botanical/herbal extracts and new extracted phytochemical ingredients are a few examples.
Antioxidants are finally coming into vogue. New USDA research ranked blueberries No. 1 in total antioxidant capacity, followed by cranberries, blackberries and prunes. Kikkoman has introduced its GRAS Gravinol Grape Seed Extract, the only grape seed extract patented for use in protein-based foods. FlavexLC, an extract of citrus, is marketed by the Arnhem Group as a natural sugar substitute 1,800-2,000 times sweeter than sugar. Amax NutraSource?s Luo Han Guo is extracted from an intensely sweet fruit grown in China.
New research on Kemin?s FloGLO Lutein — mostly known for its role in eye health — indicates that oral lutein supplementation may also reduce the risk of skin damage. Cognis Health and Nutrition has petitioned the FDA for a qualified health claim linking consumption of XANGOLD Natural Lutein Esters to a reduced risk of age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. Decas Botanical Synergies? NutriCran Bio-100 cranberry powder contains the proanthocyanidins or condensed tannins thought to be the active component in preventing urinary tract infections.
With 68 per cent of Americans avoiding additives, naturally produced designer functional foods are popular. For example, designer eggs, enhanced with vitamin E and DHA through birds? feed, saw sales rise 22 per cent in the past year in the natural channel alone. ?Made in America,? ?all-American grown,? ?gluten-free? and ?allergy-free? are some of the new buzz words to describe up-and-coming health-directed ingredients. Gadot Biochemical Industries now offers GMO-free and Kosher nutrients, including calcium, potassium and magnesium.
Lastly, marketers are looking to nutrients to deliver more than just health. At a recent convention, BASF previewed the concept of naturally colouring beverages with nutrients and displayed the range of eye-catching colours possible when beverages were fortified with BASF carotenoids. Ingredients that are as good looking as they are good for you are going to be hard for formulators to ignore.
A Elizabeth Sloan is president of Escondido-based Sloan Trends & Solutions in California.
Respond: [email protected]
All correspondence will be forwarded to the author.


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Popular food delivery service Uber Eats is expanding its operation into Matlock for the first time.
From today, Thursday April 29, residents will be able to order home delivery from McDonald's, which is the first restaurant to make use of the move.
Matlock joins more than 100 other towns and cities in the UK which have access to the app, with more favourites set to become available in the future.
The app goes online everyday from 8am until midnight, and the various restaurants that are open for delivery will be listed.
As precautions over Covid-19, all deliveries will be made contactless and every courier will have access to PPE.
Toussaint Wattinne, general manager of Uber Eats in the UK, said: “We are really excited to be launching in Matlock, firstly with McDonald’s, and a host of local restaurants joining in the coming weeks.
"We hope to make it even easier for local residents to enjoy a variety of delicious food both comfortably and safely.”
Here's a guide on how to order:


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After 13 years of being with Apple, Bob Mansfield, Appe’s Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering is retiring. The news came yesterday in form of a press release from Apple…
Apple® today announced that Bob Mansfield, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering, will retire and the role will be transitioned to Dan Riccio, Apple’s vice president of iPad Hardware Engineering, over several months. The entire hardware engineering team will continue to report to Mansfield until his departure.
“Bob has been an instrumental part of our executive team, leading the hardware engineering organization and overseeing the team that has delivered dozens of breakthrough products over the years,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are very sad to have him leave and hope he enjoys every day of his retirement.
Bob has been a huge part in Apple’s success over the years. But given that, this is well deserved.


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Nintendo Announces Mario Tennis Aces for Nintendo Switch
12 January, 2018, 03:21 | Author: Rolando Keller
"Mario Tennis Aces brings a new level of skill and competition to Nintendo Switch". There's an improved frame rate and resolution as well as the Arteries of the Abyss DLC included. Breath of the Wild outfits for Link and Zelda are being added to the game as well.
Final Remix- will also feature a "sizable new scenario" that is said to get "right to the heart of the story". They don't say for how long Joy will be an exclusive on the Switch, but they'll likely roll out the details after the game launches for Nintendo's hybrid console. It's a hide-and-seek situation, where you can spend your time either hiding or finding balloons across the many ridiculous worlds of "Super Mario Odyssey". A new mode was announced featuring Luigi called Balloon World.
The character will have all new perks and abilities distinct from the other characters in the game, including hacker perks, which should really come in handy for stages where you have to hack stuff. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for the Nintendo Switch release date is May 4.
The Weeknd Drops H&M After Racist Ad
At the time of writing, the hoodie is still available on the H&M site , although the photo featuring the child has been removed. Though H&M issued an apology, R&B hitmaker The Weeknd announced on Twitter that he would no longer work with the company.
No deal in place for Gerrit Cole
The Astros would hope that Cole bounces back to his form from 2013-2016 when he had a 3.23 ERA over 579 1/3 innings of work. Passan did note that "generally, this sort of thing winds up with a deal being consummated".
REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonAn event guest plays with the Nintendo Switch in Tokyo, Japan during its announcement on January 13, 2017. She's a Japanese hacker with an LED digital mask that changes colors/expressions depending on what's going on in the game.
Fe is a goregeous game that completely immerses you in nature. Then in 2000, Nintendo released a tried and true "MT" game for the N64 console aptly titled "Mario Tennis 64". After weeks of rampant speculation, a Nintendo Direct Mini unveiled a number of unexpected reveals, the biggest being a remaster of Dark Souls. Like previous games in the franchise, "Tropical Freeze" puts Donkey Kong and the rest of his family through a perilous adventure across dozens of gorgeous, brilliantly crafted 2D levels.
He not only shares his opinions about the show on Twitter but actively promotes Shilpa Shinde and her fan clubs on his account. Vikas says it is Puneesh's way of ensuring that some of Shilpa's supporters will vote for him and save him from elimination.
Hargrave later raises her hand and when called on again asks a question about the issue of teacher salaries and pay raises. Her comments prompted board president Anthony Fontana to rule Hargrave out of order during the meeting, KATC reported .
Amazon Alexa will roll out on Acer PCs in the U.S. via an update through Acer Care Center; other regions will get it in mid-2018. Intel's Smart Sound Technology will also be used in some devices for improved voice and audio interactions with Alexa.
Despite numerous injuries, the Spurs are 27-14 and now in third place in the Western Conference standings. This setback adds to Kawhi's frustrations this year after he missed the first 27 games of the campaign.
According to park officials, it's not out of the ordinary - they're just attempting to acclimating to the freezing conditions. Experts said they believed the alligators may have been pets released by their former owners.
The charismatic multi-talented superstar will take the Super Bowl halftime show stage the third time in his career on February 4. The NFL and NBC have revealed that Pink will perform the song during pregame festivities at U.S.
CES 2018 has mostly been about TVs and displays with companies introducing new and interesting innovations in the lineup. Like the upcoming soundbar, both TV lines feature Roku OS and Roku Connect , making for some strong synergy.
It says one adult between the ages of 50 to 64 died at some point between October first through December 30th. There have been 3,854 total flu-associated hospitalizations in OH since flu season began last October.
One person sustained a serious and possibly life-threatening injury, while another had a minor injury. Fire officials said the fire was contained to the roof and never entered the building.
Dark Souls, Luigi, Hyrule Warriors and More Headed to Switch
Dark Souls Remastered will include the Artorias of the Abyss DLC from the start, as well as an increased resolution and framerate. The box set is listed as a PS4 exclusive and it's also unclear whether this content might be released for PC and Xbox One .
'Home and Away' Actress Jess Falkholt Passes Away
On Wednesday they were farewelled at a moving funeral ceremony at St Mary's Catholic Church at Concord in Sydney's west. Heartbreaking news tonight as we hear that Australian actress, Jessica Falkholt's life support has been switched off.
Giants to hire Matt Patricia as head coach?
On top of that, the New York Daily News is reporting that "all signs point" to Patricia signing with the Giants over the Lions. Leonard said Patricia is expected to be named as the next coach of the Giants , replacing the fired Ben McAdoo.
Freezing rain, measurable snow Wednesday, Thursday
THURSDAY: The warming trend continues for Thursday, with a high temperature of 64 degrees, and the chance for a few rain showers. SATURDAY: Snow showers will develop and linger into Saturday, with much colder temperatures returning.
All-electric Kia Niro unveiled at CES 2018
The interactive display panel which replaced the grille, meanwhile, can be used to flash up messages. For Kia, the concept vehicle unveiled this week at CES in Las Vegas is called the Niro EV Concept .


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A person walks outside Duane Reade by Walgreens in Hell’s Kitchen on May 26, 2021 in New York City.
Noam Galai | Getty Images
Walgreens Boots Alliance raised its outlook for the year and laid out its strategy to drive growth in the future on Thursday, after a stronger than expected fiscal third-quarter.
The drugstore chain said it now anticipates about 10% growth in adjusted earnings per share for the year, due to its rebounding sales and the boost it has gotten from Covid-19 shots. It had previously forecast growth in the mid-to-high single digits. So far, the company said it has administered more than 25 million vaccines and begun offering walk-in and same-day appointments.
Shares were up more than 2% in premarket trading.
The company is in the midst of a turnaround led by its new CEO Roz Brewer, the former chief operating officer of Starbucks. On Thursday, it shared more details about its strategic priorities. Among them, the drugstore chain said it would turn itself into a neighborhood health destination as it opens primary care clinics with VillageMD at hundreds of its stores and will expand the use of automation, so pharmacists have more time to answer customers’ health-care questions. It said it also plans to focus on digital, so more people use its app and get personalized offers to inspire purchases. And it said it will continue to work toward reducing annual costs by more than $2 billion by next fiscal year.
“This quarter’s results demonstrate continued momentum, and while challenges lie ahead, we are in a strong position to grow and innovate our core retail and pharmacy businesses for the future,” Brewer said in a press release.
Here’s what Walgreens reported compared with what analysts were expecting for the third quarter ended May 31, based on Refinitiv data:
- Earnings per share: $1.51 adjusted vs. $1.17 expected
- Revenue: $34.03 billion vs. $33.76 billion expected
In the quarter, Walgreens posted a net profit of $1.20 billion, or $1.38 per share, compared with a net loss of $1.71 billion, or $1.95 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, the company earned $1.51 per share, higher than the $1.17 expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
Sales rose to $34.03 billion from $30.36 billion a year earlier, exceeding the $33.76 billion that analysts expected.
As of Wednesday’s close, Walgreens shares are up about 32% so far this year. Shares closed Wednesday up 1.19% to $52.61. The company’s market value is $45.48 billion.


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Scapia, the India-based fintech company aims to make travel accessible through its suite of financial products, has raised $23 million in its Series-A funding round, led by Elevation Capital and 3STATE Ventures.
The round also saw participation from its existing investors, Matrix Partners India and Tanglin Venture Partners, Scapia said in a statement on Tuesday.
With the new capital, Scapia will continue to grow its customer base, add more banking partners and further strengthen its product suite, ensuring more travellers enjoy seamless, rewarding experiences.
“We are grateful to our new and existing investors who believe in our vision and are helping us deliver a compelling proposition to our customers,” said Anil Goteti, Founder of Scapia.
Scapia said that its $23 million Series A fund-raise is a testament to the customers’ love for its co-branded credit card and delightful app experience.
It said within five months of launch, the firm has garnered widespread popularity and has distributed its card in over 7500 pin codes.
Remarkably, 40 percent of Scapia’s users are from beyond the top 30 cities, underscoring Scapia’s rapid ascent in the country’s diverse financial landscape.
It is noted that Scapia’s co-branded card, built in partnership with Federal Bank, comes with zero joining and annual fees, offering a zero-forex markup and unlimited domestic lounge access to its users on minimum monthly expenditure.
It provides a generous 10 percent reward on every transaction, minting these into Scapia coins.
The company has also built a travel platform within the app to enable customers to instantly redeem their coins for flight and hotel bookings.
Scapia also offers a wide selection across all global airlines and 5 lakh+ stays and hotels worldwide with the best prices, easy cancellations, flexible rescheduling and affordable payment options like Travel Now, Pay Later, and 24/7 customer service.
“The customer interest we see in Scapia’s co-branded credit cards is a testament to the transformative power of fintech in making travel more accessible and delightful for Indians,
“We are excited to partner with Anil and his team as they develop strong fintech solutions that address the growing demands of today’s travellers by integrating user centricity, experience, and financial empowerment,” he added.
3STATE Ventures representative Binny Bansal said the rise of fintech in India has been nothing short of revolutionary, democratizing access to financial services and empowering millions.
“Among such innovations, Scapia stands out with its differentiated solutions tailored for travel, addressing a vital need for aspiring Indians,
“We are excited by Scapia’s progress in a short time and happy to continue our commitment to the company,” he added.
Matrix Partners India Managing Director Vikram Vaidyanathan said that the firm continues to be big believers in transaction credit+ commerce plays across large verticals such as travel, commerce and more.
“Scapia has been able to stitch together unique user journeys across fintech and travel. The company is off to a fast start and has seen strong customer love since the launch of its co-branded credit card,
“We are delighted to double down on our investment here and welcome Elevation Capital to the partnership,” he added.


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With the opening kickoff to the biggest game on the sporting calendar now less than two weeks away, sports fans across the nation are busy organizing their Super Bowl XLVII parties. Despite the fairly dismal state of the economy, and to use a well known phrase from Jurassic Park, last year consumers “spared no expense”. In total around $11 billion was spent on food, apparel, decorations and other related goods for the event. If you do the math that averages out to over $60 for each person watching the game.
While a significant portion of viewers will just buy a few cans of beer and a bag of Cheetos; more and more of us are going all-out on their parties with copious volumes of light beer, chicken wings and nachos on offer. For those of you that really like reveling in the party atmosphere we have picked out nine of the best Super Bowl themed costumes below.


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Samsung's Lee Tightens Grip Over Group With C&T Share Purchasesby , , and
Lee Jae Yong, heir apparent to Samsung Group, strengthened his control over South Korea’s largest conglomerate after he and a family foundation increased their stakes in de-facto holding company Samsung C&T Corp.
The grandson of the group’s founder will buy 200 billion won ($161 million) in C&T shares from affiliate Samsung SDI Co., and a Samsung foundation headed by Lee will buy another 300 billion won of stock, Samsung Group said in an e-mailed statement. SDI, which is selling 5 million shares in total, will offer the rest to institutional investors, according to terms for the deals obtained by Bloomberg on Thursday.
The deal helps Lee increase his direct holdings atop Samsung Group’s ownership hierarchy while complying with an order from South Korea’s antitrust regulator to reduce cross-shareholdings by March. Such structures, commonly used by conglomerates including Hyundai Motor Group and Lotte Group, have been blamed for weakening corporate governance and contributing to South Korea’s financial crisis in the late 1990s.
Samsung SDI is offering 1.7 million Samsung C&T shares to institutional investors at 148,410 won to 153,000 won apiece, or a discount of as much as 3 percent to the last close, the deal terms show. Citigroup Inc. and Credit Suisse Group AG are helping arrange the offering.
Separately, Lee also agreed to purchase 30.2 billion won of Samsung Engineering Co. shares to support the company’s efforts to stabilize its management, according to the statement. He will buy another 70 billion won of Samsung Engineering shares at a later date, it said.


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Zheng Yi reports:
The registration details of about 40 million users of tianya.cn, a big social networking site, were found to have been leaked on Sunday, following last Thursday’s discovery that user information had been leaked from several other websites.
According to Web users, tianya.cn was hacked and some 40 million users’ names and passwords were accessed. The details had been stored in clear text format instead of being encrypted, the Chengdu Evening News reported.
A tianya.cn customer service staff member who wished to remain anonymous confirmed the leak and said it was being investigated.
“The released information belongs to users who registered on our website before November 2009, when we saved information in clear text format. After that we started using encryption,” she said.
Read more on Global Times.
More profiles were later found online, including 20 million from 7k7k.com and 8 million from duowan.com, both gaming sites, and 5 million from SNS website renren.com, the newspaper said.
Update: Renren has reportedly denied that they had any breach or ever stored passwords in clear text.


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First five months of 2022 turned out to be exactly what some of the investors expected. Stock market tanked with rising inflation being the leading factor for the downfall.
Rising inflation prompts the central bank to raise interest rates which in turn slows economic grwoth thus impacting corporate earnings. Faltering growth means a recessionary environment which could be more damaging to all stakeholders of the economy.
“Headwinds in terms of inflation, monetary tightening, rising interest rates, supply and labour issues, and the impact of the Ukraine war on commodity prices continued to weigh on US equities last month. Disappointing retail sales further dampened the sentiments. Walmart and Snap attributed their weak results to inflationary pressures. So, it underscores that inflation has hurt consumer sentiments, thereby eroding corporate profits,” says Kunal Sawhney, CEO of Kalkine Group.
Already the talk of recession is in the air even though economic data is sending mixed signals. What may appear is that the market may have priced in an economic slowdown but not a recession. Although, the scenario may change quicktime, with the inflow of more data in the coming months.
While some highly valued stocks especially in the tech sector saw the biggest fall, even other stocks and sectors were not left unscarred.
Coming out of a bear market may have its own share of volatility armed with sharp rallies on both sides. “ It is to be seen how the market absorbs the likely impact of the interest rate hikes the Federal Reserve has planned for this year. For now, the consensus view is of higher inflation and slower growth. It can become incredibly difficult to navigate when the market is in a bearish territory where the bottom is hard to predict, with the occasional burst of sharp bottom-up rallies,” adds Sawhney.
The latest headwind to face stock investors could be the runaway inflation and the potential impact of central-bank tightening aimed at controlling it. The US Fed has twice raised rates since March and signaled it will go for two additional 50 basis-point increases at its next meetings.
What also remains to be seen is how the market absorbs the likely impact of the interest rate hikes the Federal Reserve has planned for this year. For now, the consensus view is of higher inflation and slower growth.


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China’s Twitter-like social media platform Weibo debuted on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday but slipped in early trade as investors remain wary of tech during a Beijing crackdown on the sector.
Weibo was trading 7.2 percent down from its initial listing price of HK$272.80 soon after the open, although it began to recover some of that ground by mid-morning.
Several US-listed Chinese tech firms such as Alibaba have held initial public offerings in Hong Kong over the past two years as the United States has stepped up scrutiny of Chinese companies.
Listing in Hong Kong is seen as a hedge against the risk of being removed from US exchanges and a way of accessing an investor base closer to their home markets.
China has also been encouraging its big-tech players to list either in Hong Kong or Shanghai.
Weibo raised a healthy $385 million in its Hong Kong IPO, its second listing after New York’s Nasdaq.
But its tepid debut points to ongoing concerns that China’s plans to rein in the tech sector are not over.
In recent months, Chinese regulators have launched a wide-ranging clampdown on tech companies such as Alibaba, Tencent and Meituan -- clipping the wings of major internet firms that wield heavy influence over consumers’ daily lives.
According to Bloomberg News, Chinese companies that managed to raise more than $100 million in their Hong Kong IPOs this year have seen an average first-session gain of 15 percent.
Weibo, which launched in 2009 and was among the earliest social media platforms in China, had 566 million monthly active users as of June, it said in a filing.
Its shares have traded on the Nasdaq since 2014.
Weibo is among the most widely used social media platforms in China, where authorities have blocked major international players such as Facebook.
Weibo said it planned to use the funds raised from its Hong Kong listing to grow its user base and for research and development.
But it cautioned that it was “subject to changing laws and regulations regarding regulatory matters, corporate governance and public disclosure” that have increased both its costs and risks of non-compliance.
China says US tech blacklist moves violate Biden-Xi consensusChina has slammed the US decision to add dozens of its companies to a trade blacklist, saying the move violated an understanding between leaders of ... Technology
China fines tech giants Alibaba, Tencent over anti-monopoly violationsChinese tech giants including Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings were fined on Saturday for failing to report corporate acquisitions, adding to an ... Technology
Why are foreign tech companies pulling out of China?Yahoo Inc. is leaving the China market, suspending its services there as of Monday amid what it says is an “increasingly challenging” business and ... Technology
US intel warns China could dominate advanced technologiesUS officials are issuing new warnings about China’s ambitions in artificial intelligence and a range of advanced technologies that could eventually ... World News
China’s policy of curbing tech monopolies to continue, says Central Bank governorChina will continue to curb monopolistic behaviors of internet platform companies and strengthen the protection of consumer privacy and data security, ... Technology


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Results For "Maggi"
3 News Found
Crayons Advertising appoints Samir Datar as Senior VP
In OOH News By M4G Bureau - December 01, 2020
Samir will head Delhi branch and report directly to Ranjan Bargotra, President, The Crayons Network
MARQUEES awards 11 brands for creating new benchmarks
In OOH News By M4G Bureau - December 13, 2019
Maruti Suzuki, Xioami, Maggi are to name a few
Look what's cooking on outdoors!
Along with JCDecaux Hungary, Maggi tempts masses with a hot Cup-a-Soup simmering under the shelter.


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Webinar Recording: Are Mobile Hotspots Heating Up? 700 Users Sound Off
According to the latest survey conducted by Smith Micro and uSamp, 62% of consumers tap smartphones for hotspot capabilities, an increase of 9% since last May. However, users still have concerns around cost, usability and plan options.
With personal mobile hotspots on the rise, proactive operators such as T-Mobile are taking notice of this growing market and offering incentives for consumers such as including hotspot service with their monthly data plan. Providing meaningful services to users also means understanding their pain points and providing features deemed valuable by the consumer.
In this survey, we polled over 700 smartphone users and asked them questions around their hotspot usage, satisfaction, plan options and preferred features. In this webinar we will discuss survey results and the relevance to today’s mobile operator.


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“In August, Apple launched an iPhone trade-in program for its United States-based retail stores,” Mark Gurman reports for 9to5Mac. “The promotion is part of Tim Cook’s grand plan to dramatically increase iPhone sales inside of his own stores.”
“Interestingly, the iPhone ‘Reuse and Recycle’ trade-in program has been absent from Apple Stores outside of the United States even though approximately 1/3 of the company’s stores exist outside of the U.S.,” Gurman reports. “That will soon change, according to a reliable source.”
Gurman reports, “This person says that Apple has begun preparing training materials for its United Kingdom retail staff on the Apple Store iPhone trade-in-program and that the initiative will launch in the UK in the coming months… The source added that Apple plans to soon begin training in countries in Europe other than the UK, but it seems that the UK launch could come before any other international countries gain the trade-in ability.”
Read more in the full article here.
How Apple’s iPhone ‘Reuse and Recycle’ trade-in program works – August 27, 2013
Apple to launch iPhone trade-in program in retail stores as soon as next month, sources say – August 26, 2013
Selling your old iPhone? Do it now – August 22, 2013
Cook’s plan: Grab iPhone sales share from resellers – July 5, 2013


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LAHORE : Khushhali Bank has introduced `Sarsabz Karobar’ an agriculture based product designed to address the financing needs of certified growers. The product is a joint venture between Khushhali Bank and its value chain partner Connecting Agro Value Chain Private Ltd (CAVC). The product is initially introduced for the tobacco growers of Swabi says a statement of the bank issued here on Wednesday. Pakistan has best tobacco producing areas in the world and the bank want to provide local growers choices to producing and selling tobacco so as to introduce variety and optimization of land.
The statement said producing potatoes was another such option and the bank intend on not only supporting individuals producing potatoes financially but also through ensuring easy market access and good price for their product.
It further said alternatives and choices create options for growers to earn a stable income and bolster the economy on the whole.


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Actress Meryl Streep certainly has had her share of news coverage lately. Most of it hasn’t painted a favorable picture of the Academy Award winner, who has shown her privilege more than anything else while trying to convince the public that she can identify with the average American.
WWD reported that the actress passed on wearing an embroidered gray silk gown from Karl Lagerfeld’s collection to the Academy Awards because the designer wouldn’t pay her to wear it.
Lagerfeld told WWD that the dress had been ordered, along with Streep’s request for a higher neckline, but after the work on the dress was already underway, his studio received a call from Streep’s camp telling them to stop the order because they found someone who would pay her to wear their design.
“I made a sketch, and we started to make the dress,” Lagerfeld said. Then a few days later, the call came: “‘Don’t continue the dress. We found somebody who will pay us.’”
The designer explained that Chanel has a policy of not paying celebrities to wear its clothes.
“After we gift her a dress that’s 100,000 euros (about $105,000), we found later we had to pay (for her to wear it). We give them dresses, we make the dresses, but we don’t pay,” Lagerfeld said.
As for the dress, Lagerfeld said it still had Streep’s name on it.
“She could keep the dress because of the size,” the designer said. “It’s couture. It’s perfect for her.”
A disappointed Lagerfeld added, “A genius actress, but cheapness also, no?”
Cheapness, yes. Very much so.
A representative for Streep told The Hollywood Reporter that the statement was not true, and that being paid to wear a gown on the red carpet was against her personal ethics.
Ah, the hypocrisies of being part of the Hollywood elite. If Lagerfeld’s claim is true — and why would he make it up? — it shows how Streep, who has an estimated net worth of $75 million, is so blinded by her own privilege, she doesn’t make sense — because she has none.
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Greater Noida/ New Delhi, 01st August 2023: The Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA) will roll out the first edition of India Stainless-Steel Expo (ISSE) 2023 under the aegis of the Ministry of Steel. The three-day event is scheduled to take place at the India Expo Mart in Greater Noida starting on August 3, 2023. Shri. Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Honorable Minister of Steel and Civil Aviation, will be the chief guest.
The participating speakers include Mr. Anil Kumar Lahoti, Chairman, Railway Board, Mr. Amarendu Prakash, CMD, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL),Ms. Ruchika Chaudhry Govil, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Government of India, Mr. Abhyuday Jindal, CMD, Jindal Stainless Limited, Mr. Markus Moll, Managing Director, SMR GmbH, Mr. Tim Collins, Secretary-General, World Stainless, Mr. Rajamani Krishnamurti, President, of ISSDA will be present.
The mega show is being organized by ISSDA in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce, Bureau of Indian Standards, Ministry of Micro Small & Medium Enterprises, Niti Ayog, Invest India, Ministry of Railways, World Stainless Steel, Nickel Institute in association with ISSMA, ISDO, amongst others related to the sector.
With a primary aim to provide an extensive platform for the Stainless-Steel industry to connect, collaborate, and conduct business, the Stainless Steel Expo 2023 is all set to host over 150 participating companies. Besides, as many as 8000 industry professionals directly affiliated with the Stainless-Steel industry are also participating in the mega event. Encompassing input materials, processing machinery, finished products, and essential secondary processing techniques crucial to the Stainless-Steel sector, the event promises to be a melting pot of innovation and ideas.
Commenting on the event, Mr. Rajamani Krishnamurti, President of ISSDA, said, “ISSE 2023 is a must-attend event for every stakeholder in the stainless-steel value chain. ISSE 2023 will serve as a dynamic platform for stakeholders to come together, exchange ideas, and forge collaborations that will propel the industry to new heights of innovation and success.
ISSE 2023 is one of the prestigious events in the Stainless-Steel sector, offering unparalleled networking opportunities and knowledge sharing. One of the highlights of the conference is the 10 focused roundtables, which will delve into strategies to bolster the consumption of stainless steel in key sectors such as Railways, Infrastructure, Utensils, Oil, Gas, Energy, Chemical & Petrochemical, Pharma, Medical & Healthcare, Architecture, Building & Construction among others. The insightful discussions are set to pave the way for the industry’s sustainable growth and development.
With comprehensive representation from government bodies, Industry associations, and leading corporations, the International Conference cum Exhibition on Stainless Steel 2023 promises to be an extraordinary opportunity to shape the future of the stainless-steel sector.
The International Conference cum Exhibition on Stainless Steel 2023 has already witnessed the participation of some of the industry’s leading names, with Jindal Stainless Limited being the Presenting Partner for the event along with participation from prominent organizations like Synergy Steel, Sunflag Steel, Ratnamani Metals, Novacel, TRL Krosaki, Avtar Steel, Sarvesh Metal, and many more.
Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA) is a not-for-profit organization, registered under section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013, committed to the growth and development of the stainless-steel industry in India. Founded in 1989 by leading stainless steel producers, it was formed with the explicit objective of diversifying Stainless Steel applications in India and increasing usage volumes in the country. At the point of the formation of ISSDA, the main visible application of Stainless Steel was essentially household kitchenware, which has now diversified significantly. ISSDA currently has a membership base of over 150 companies engaged in producing and processing stainless steel.
This year Educate yourself and develop your career with EasyShiksha.


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Apple is gearing up for one of their biggest services yet as Apple Music goes live in just a few more hours ? and yes, Taylor Swift songs are now part of its 30-million song playlist.
Along with the official launch of Apple Music, the tech giant?s music streaming service, Apple will also be updating their latest iOS to iOS 8.4 ? a must upgrade for those who wish to avail of the music streaming service, and the 24/7 Beats 1 Radio Station.
Apple Music, which was introduced earlier this month during the Apple Worldwide Developer?s Conference in San Francisco, was the tech brands answer to the already popular music streaming services such as Spotify, Rdio, Pandora, and Google Play Music, who recently announced that they will be offering free music streaming ahead of Apple.
Beats Music, another music streaming group, has merged with Apple Music to bring Beats 1 Radio Station, which will be hosted by former BBC DJ Zane Lowe. Aside from special music sets, Beats 1 is expected to also have special guests during the show such as music mogul Pharrell Williams, Drake, Elton John, and Beat?s very own Dr. Dre.
30 Million songs
The music streaming service will have similar features as the others ? the chance for listeners to create their own playlist, with the system suggesting new sounds based on preferred artist, genre, and even the last music played. Apple Music will have 30 million songs in its playlist ? a diverse collection of sounds from mainstream to indie, classic and new.
Apple Music will be able to suggest a line-up according to your preference, new hits gathered by their in-house music editors (Apple has separate team for every genre), and curators such as Rolling Stone Magazine, Pitchfork, and the Grand Ole Opry among others.
The service is tagged at $9.99 per user and a steal at $14.99 for a group of six.
And with the iOS update, you can actually ask Siri to do the music streaming for you. Just set specifics such as, ?the hits of 1982?, ?the new Blur album,? or simply, ?Play songs just like this one.?
The iOS 8.4 is a requirement for Apple Music, so better update by 8AM tomorrow (Pacific Time) ? the first three months of service is free!


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By Rita Liao
There’s no lack of news these days on China’s tech giants teaming up with traditional carmakers. Companies from Alibaba to Huawei are striving to become relevant in the trillion-dollar auto industry, which itself is seeking an electric transition and intelligent upgrade as 5G comes of age.
State-owned automaker SAIC Motor, a major player in China, unveiled this week a new electric vehicle arm called Zhiji, in which Alibaba and a Shanghai government-backed entity are minority shareholders. The tie-up comes as Chinese EV startups like Xpeng and Nio and their predecessor Tesla see their stocks soaring in recent months.
Alibaba’s ties with SAIC can be traced back to 2015 when they jointly announced a $160 million investment in internet-connected cars. The partners moved on to form a joint venture called Banma (or ‘Zebra’) and Alibaba has since developed a slew of auto solutions for the Banma platform to enable everything from voice-activated navigation to voice ordering coffee, which is, of course, linked to the Alipay e-wallet.
Alibaba is certainly not SAIC’s exclusive supplier, as it’s also worked closely with the …read more
Source: Tech Crunch