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Sony’s mobile business doesn’t jibe with its quest for profits
No matter what part of the world you live in, Sony is likely a household name. For the past several decades, the Japanese mega-corporation has dabbled in a variety of talking points ranging from consumer electronics to healthcare and biotechnology. Recently, however, the company has fallen on hard times and in the past few years its leadership has made some radical changes. In 2014, Sony made an exit from the PC business, selling off its well-known VAIO brand to a Japanese investment fund called Japan Industrial Partners.
After pulling the plug on its PC efforts, Sony stated that it would shift its focus towards smartphones and tablets. Here we are a little over 12 months later and the company’s CEO Kazuo Hirai is making even more drastic moves, recently announcing that the company will no longer pursue profits in smartphone sales. A far cry from Sony’s declaration last February, its frontman also said that he’s not ruling out the thought of a possible exit strategy from the mobile phone business.
After pulling the plug on its PC efforts, Sony stated that it would shift its focus towards smartphones and tablets.
So how did this happen? How did one of the most popular companies in the world end up in such a compromising position? Let’s talk about this for bit.
Things Haven’t Been Easy
Hirai didn’t just come up with this “everything must go” idea from out of nowhere. Sony has been against the ropes for quite a while now. The outfit currently expects to report a loss of around $2.1 billion for its fiscal year ending March 31, 2015. And despite making some rather exceptional handsets, Sony’s ailing mobile division has been a major contributor to the company’s recent decline. Back in September, the firm noted that it would be taking an “impairment charge” of 180 billion yen (around $1.5 billion) due to its mobile sales being lower than anticipated.
Sony then vowed to make some changes by revising its Mobile Communications segment’s mid-range plan. This meant adjustments in select geographical areas, a renewed focus on its premium product lineup, and a reduction to its mid-range offerings. But despite such practical provisions, the firm is still treading water, resulting in its brass entertaining the thought of completely backing out of longtime staples like TV and mobile.
So What’s the Problem?
Arguably the biggest cause of Sony’s recent struggles is stern competition in just about every major market. In 2009, the popular electronics maker was recognized as the fourth largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world. However, by 2010, the company dropped down to sixth place. With the exception of Apple, Sony’s smartphone efforts have taken a back seat to other Asia-based competitors like Samsung, Xiaomi, Lenovo and LG.
With the exception of Apple, Sony’s smartphone efforts have taken a back seat to other Asia-based competitors like Samsung, Xiaomi, Lenovo and LG.
Additionally, Sony doesn’t really have a large presence in important markets. China and the US to be specific. The former is dominated by native companies like Xiaomi, HUAWEI, ZTE and high-profile outsiders like Samsung and Apple, but the key point here is that Sony is practically nowhere to be found.
Not only coming up short in the far east, if you take a look at America’s four major wireless carriers, there’s really not much available from Sony. Meanwhile, flagship devices from Samsung, Apple, HTCand LG can regularly be found across Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. If Sony plans to stay in the smartphone business, it will need to establish itself in these two pivotal markets, as well as other developing territories.
Definitely aware of his company’s tense position, Kazuo Hirai has publicly acknowledged that rival equipment manufacturers have been effectively producing products that bring down costs and drive up innovation. These trends, along with a minuscule market share, are likely a major part of what’s caused Sony to lose faith in its mobile division.
Let it Tank
Sony has reputation for making some of the best smartphones on the market, but as a whole the company is in a very challenging situation. Projected to take its sixth net loss in seven years, the firm’s new recovery strategy bets big on three sectors: video games (PlayStation), movies and camera sensors. You’ll want to dogear that last item.
Despite a less than flattering security breach at the end of 2014, Sony Pictures still manages to churn out profitable films. Also, the studio recently inked a potentially lucrative deal with Marvel Studios that will see the iconic superhero Spider-Man appearing in movies from Sony and the Disney-owned company.
As for the world of video games, Sony’s new PlayStation 4 game console (which actually plays nicely with select Android devices) is currently dominating its immediate competitors in terms of global sales. While the PS4 has only been available to consumers for a little over a year, some analysts predict that it will outsell Microsoft’s new Xbox One by up to 40 percent over the next four years.
This brings us back to image sensors. Sony makes an impressive assortment of cameras, but there’s a bigger picture here. Apple uses the Japanese electronics maker’s hardware in its iPhones. In addition to a deal with the California-based tech giant, Samsung’s forthcoming flagship Galaxy S6 will reportedly feature a Sony-made image sensor. By partnering with the world’s top two smartphone makers, the struggling firm has the potential to earn a lot of cash.
Sony’s grand plan is to return to being profitable in three years.
If Sony does try to maintain its mobile business, the company will be fighting an expensive uphill battle that could possibly put its recovery strategy in jeopardy. While smartphones might be a lost cause for the once dominant electronics maker, it still has time to take a shot at wearables whenever they officially catch on.
Make no mistake about it; Sony is at a turning point. The company that used to have its hands in just about everything imaginable, now only has its fingertips on a few key ideas. It’s clear the firm’s management is thinking about mobile and there could very well be an internal debate going on regarding the platform’s future. Whatever the case, when Sony finally decides what to do with its smartphone business, it needs to commit to it and not waffle from one idea to another.
It’s a simple idea for sure, but the company definitely appears to be having trouble making a definitive decision. But if you ask me, Sony needs to ease up on its smartphone development and start focusing on putting together its best sales pitch. What are your thoughts? Should Sony bow out for now, or would simply scaling back the number of phones produced (ie, less models and less frequent release schedules) be enough to help Sony’s ailing mobile division heal its wounds?


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Exhibiting Companies, Showfloor Both Up for SIA's Snow Show in Denver
In its fourth year in Denver, the SnowSports Industries America’s (SIA) Snow Show continued to hit its stride, despite some challenging times in the industry, with an increase in exhibiting companies and net square footage when it recently ran at the Colorado Convention Center.
“The show had fantastic energy. Everyone is optimistic about the coming season," said Debbie DesRoches, SIA's director of Trade Show.
She added, "After four years in Denver, we’re very comfortable in the city and supporting the snow sports industry’s events, product launches, business meetings and celebrations that happen over the course of four days.”
Exhibiting companies were up from 459 in 2012 to 508 this year and net square footage increased from 333,950 in 2012 to 340,275 this year. Attendance was on par with 2012 at approximately 19,000.
Attendees were pleased with what they saw on the busy showfloor.
“I’m pretty darn impressed with the vendors having so much new product after such a struggling year last year,” said Tracy Gibbons of Sturtevant's Sports in Tacoma, Wash.
She added, “On the hard goods side, there is a lot of new product out there.”
There were several new trends across different segments on the showfloor, such as more females, especially in the 18- to 34-year-old demographic, getting into snowboarding.
“Hybrid camber rocker snowboards seem to have the biggest draw – they give women riders from beginner to expert a versatile ride for any condition,” said Richard Leto ofSki Barnin Wayne, N.J.
In the alpine category, backcountry skiing also is seeing a rise in popularity with buyers.
“Consumers are looking for boots and bindings and gear that allow them opportunities,” said Aaron Provine of Backcountry.com.
He added, “They want the option to go bigger and deeper.”
After the show doors closed, attendees packed up and headed off to the On-Snow Demo/Ski-Ride Fest hosted in conjunction with the Western Winter Sports Reps Association’s Rocky Mountain Demo and in partnership with Cross Country Ski Areas Association at Winter Park Resort and the Nordic Demo at Devil’s Thumb Ranch.
With the help of their general service contractor Global Experience Specialists, SIA also organized kids winter apparel donations for the New York City-based charity Kids in Distressed Situations to help children in New Jersey and New York.
In addition, GES played a key role in ensuring the show moved out of the building in a short turnaround, since the Colorado Garden had to open a few days later.
SIA is the national nonprofit, North American member-owned, trade association, representing suppliers and service providers of snow sports products with constituents in the retailer, rep and resort communities.
Next year’s SIA Snow Show will run Jan. 30-Feb. 2 back at the Colorado Convention Center.
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The story of IKEA’s massive recall hit the news cycle heavily last week, warning the owners of 29 million dressers that the products could be placing children at risk. It was the first time many Americans became aware that the popular dressers had been linked to the deaths of at least six children.
In reporting the news, organizations turned to Feldman Shepherd, the law firm leading the legal fight against IKEA on behalf of three children who have lost their lives in dresser tip-over accidents. Attorney Alan Feldman was quoted in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, among others.
Feldman noted something significant to the Times that went unmentioned in recall announcements by IKEA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission: a seventh child death involving an IKEA dresser. That child, Katie Lambert, died in 2005, and the incident was described in detail by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
That case resulted in a $2.3 million settlement after the family took legal action.
The IKEA recall is far and away the largest of its kind in the history of the CPSC — nearly three times the size of the next largest furniture recall.
Parents of any child injured by a dresser that has overturned — whether IKEA or any other brand — are urged to contact Feldman Shepherd to share their story and discuss their legal options. The firm can be reached at (844) 480-0100 or by filling out the form below.


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Not only does the load-shedding monster leave you without power — it can also damage your devices, and insurers are now requiring consumers to have surge protection when making claims for surge-damaged devices.
South African short-term insurers are reporting a 60 per cent rise in property destruction claims due to power surges resulting from load shedding.
Some are now demanding that homeowners have a surge protector (SPD) installed when claiming damage from a power outage.
This condition is often overlooked and the consumer only finds out about it when he wants to complain.
Therefore warns Dr. Andrew Dickson, Engineering Executive at CBI-electric: Low Voltage, encourages consumers to check the fine print of their policies to see if this applies to them.
“If you don’t do this, you could be in for a nasty – and costly – shock should your home be hit by a power surge.”
ALSO READ: Load shedding wreaks havoc on devices and causes spikes in dips
What is a power surge?
If the power is switched on again at a substation after a load shedding, it can send a voltage pulse of several thousand volts into the grid.
“The problem is that the average household runs on 230 volts and when the lights come back on, all electrical equipment, including lights and appliances, can receive an unexpected power surge, followed by a surge of power from the returning mains supply,” he explains.
Although this surge lasts only a microsecond, it is enough to create a point of failure in the equipment that can cause significant damage.
“While they may be a bad buy, SPDs can limit the high peak voltages and shunt that extra current away from your distributor.”
SPDs also cost a lot less than a new TV.
Dickson explains that SPDs will limit the voltage in the event of a power surge, when the voltage is higher than what home appliances can generally handle, and provide a path to ground where the excess energy is discharged, limiting the surge that can occur spreading into the house and thereby keeping the tension at an acceptable level.
Different SPDs can absorb different amounts of energy and exceeding these levels can affect the device, which is why all SPDs have an indicator to show the user that it is either operational or at the end of its life.”
ALSO READ: Load shedding can destroy your devices – here’s how to avoid it
Choosing the right SPD
Dickson says your insurance company will likely dictate the type of SPD you should use, which is typically a Class 2 SPD installed in the distribution panel by a licensed electrician.
It then prevents surges from propagating within the electrical system and protects everything connected to it.
He says you might want to supplement this with Class 3 devices, which are typically point-of-use plug-in adapters for sensitive electronics like TVs, routers and home entertainment systems.
Consumers should note the SPD installation requirements in their policies, and check equipment and devices after a load shedding or storm to see if the gauge still shows they are in good condition.
Dickson warns that consumers need to keep an eye on the SPDs they use as risk mitigation measures as they will eventually fail, especially as Eskom announces “protracted load shedding” will continue for the foreseeable future.
With this year’s rise in inflationary pressures forcing South African consumers to rein in discretionary spending, they cannot afford not to deploy SPDs.
“Not only could this prevent expensive equipment from having to be repaired or replaced, but it could potentially protect them from becoming a victim of crime when power surges disable alarm systems and electric fences.”


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Turkey, Serbia should target $2 bln trade volume: Minister
ANKARA – Anadolu Agency
“As our presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan [of Turkey] and Aleksandar Vucic [of Serbia] agreed, our aim should be increasing the bilateral trade volume between Turkey and Serbia to a level of $2 billion as soon as possible,” Kasapoğlu told a reception marking Serbia's National Day, Serbian Armed Forces Day and the 140th anniversary of Turkish-Serbian diplomatic relations.
Kasapoğlu said it was a welcome development that bilateral trade volume surpassed $1 billion for the first time in 2017, adding the two countries have a serious potential to improve economic and trade relations.
“Serbia is a valued friend of our country and a partner with whom we have strong cooperation for improving prosperity and stability in the Balkans,” he said.
Serbia's Ambassador to Turkey, Zoran Markovic, for his part said his country wants to improve relations with Turkey, adding the two countries share common roots, history and culture.
Praising relations between Ankara and Belgrade, Markovic said: “We have a dialogue that ensures the highest level of lasting and mutual benefit.”


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This week saw the release of Windows Phone 7, Microsoft’s new mobile operating system, which they hope will remove the horrible taint of Windows Mobile from the collective conciousness and put Microsoft in a position where they can compete with the likes of Apple’s iOS and the iPhone and Google’s Android mobile OS and the plethora of devices it’s available on.
So far, early reviews from hands-on testing of the yet-to-be-released handsets (coming to AT&T and T-Mobile by the end of the year) are largely positive, praising Microsoft for a well polished mobile operating system that — while missing lots of critical features like multitasking and copy/paste — integrates lots of Microsoft services like XBox Live, Zune, and social services like Twitter and Facebook out of the box. The hardware platform Microsoft requires from device manufacturers is strong and on the high-end, and manufacturers like HTC and Samsung are heeding the call.
To that point, PC Mag has put together a handy little guide that wraps up everything you need to know about the new Windows Phone 7 devices announced this week, and to help you decide whether you should rush to pick one up when they’re available on your carrier. The general gist? There are some pretty crucial features that are missing at launch, but depending on how you use your smartphone, you may not miss them. There’s even a phone-by-phone breakdown of each device and first impressions.


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Bitcoin maximalist Roger Ver recently called Dogecoin the “best cryptocurrency out there.” Although this is a questionable claim, it’s interesting to think about what other cryptocurrencies would be better than Bitcoin in terms of utility.
Roger Ver, the CEO of Bitcoin.com, has claimed that Dogecoin (DOGE) is better than Bitcoin (BTC). He made this claim in a recent interview with CNBC. The DOGE has been on the rise recently and it seems like people are starting to agree with Roger Ver’s claims. Read more in detail here: why dogecoin.
Dogecoin (DOGE) is superior than Bitcoin, according to Roger Ver, one of the first Bitcoin (BTC) proponents and subsequently a proponent of Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Ver, also known as “Bitcoin Jesus,” views DOGE to be a superior digital currency than Bitcoin because of its cheap transaction costs and speed.
Dogecoin is better than Bitcoin, according to Roger Ver.
According to Bloomberg, Roger Ver discussed his cryptocurrency holdings and how Dogecoin’s qualities make it superior to Bitcoin. Transactions are completed more quickly than on the Bitcoin network. Not to mention the fact that Bitcoin processes transactions every 10 minutes or so (its blocks get confirmed, on average, every ten minutes). Dogecoin, on the other hand, can process blocks in under a minute.
At the same time, we must consider that Dogecoin costs are under At the same time, we should also take into account the fact that Dogecoin fees are close to $0.01 while Bitcoin fees are usually between $0.50 and $1. Hence, it is cheaper and faster to send a Dogecoin transaction than a Bitcoin one..01, but Bitcoin fees are often between At the same time, we should also take into account the fact that Dogecoin fees are close to $0.01 while Bitcoin fees are usually between $0.50 and $1. Hence, it is cheaper and faster to send a Dogecoin transaction than a Bitcoin one..50 and $1. As a result, sending a Dogecoin transaction is less expensive and quicker than sending a Bitcoin transaction.
Roger Ver has also mentioned potential Bitcoin rivals. Dogecoin, Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash are among the candidates. The fact that both Dogecoin and Litecoin use the same mining algorithm, Scrypt, is intriguing. Instead, Bitcoin Cash is a fork of the Bitcoin network with bigger chunks (it can process more transactions per block).
Roger Ver had this to say about it:
“Dogecoin is far superior. It’s less expensive and more dependable. Doge, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash would be my top three candidates for the world’s most popular cryptocurrency.”
It’s important remembering that the Bitcoin network is the most secure in the world when it comes to security. The hash rate of Bitcoin is orders of magnitude more than that of Dogecoin, as seen in the graph below. This demonstrates the Bitcoin network’s importance and security in comparison to other blockchains.
When we compare Bitcoin’s hash rate to Bitcoin Cash’s and Litecoin’s hash rates, the same thing occurs.
As a result, gaining access to the Bitcoin blockchain and conducting a 51 percent assault would be very difficult. The higher the hash rate, the better for the network, since it improves security over time.
Furthermore, the blockchain structure of Bitcoin incentivizes individuals who value block space to pay larger fees. Block space is limited and cannot be given out for free to everyone. Miners put up a lot of effort to execute these transactions, which is why transactions with higher fees are prioritized. Dogecoin, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash do not have this feature.
According to statistics provided by CoinGecko, Bitcoin has a market value of $736 billion and a price per coin of $38,714. It’s also worth mentioning that Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, and Litecoin have a total market capitalization of only $31.49 billion, or 4.27 percent of Bitcoin’s value.
- roger ver net worth
- buy dogecoin stock now
- how much dogecoin is there


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I think Ford just left the other carmakers in cloud of bytes.
Ford’s open-source kit brings era of smart car apps – tech – 24 January 2013 – New Scientist
MIRROR, signal, manoeuvre – now set your engine to “supercar”. Car maker Ford has just released OpenXC – an open-source hardware and software toolkit that will let the hacker community play around with the computer systems that run modern cars. While the first apps may add nothing more exciting than internet radio, the open nature of the system should eventually lead to custom apps that give drivers far more control over their car’s performance.


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Helping meteoric bitcoin price
Facebook and at&t are helping meteoric bitcoin price rally bitpay exec. Speaking on bloomberg tv, singh argued that institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies was nonetheless at a low stage and there was, subsequently, extra upside potential.
Powered by its users, it is a peer to peer payment network that requires no central authority to operate. Here is how to get tickets to the nfl draft in chicago - registration opens tomorrow.
Thieves target four cars left running to warm up in hammond -. September 15, 2019 twitter is losing its s over this 4 million golden toilet ccn.
Facebook, at&t, even jpmorgan are helping meteoric bitcoin.
The folm coin project. By ccn bitpays chief industrial officer sonny singh has predicted that the worth of bitcoin is but to hit a peak.
On october 31st, 2008, an individual or group of individuals operating under the pseudonym satoshi nakamoto published. Nick ayton aug.
By ccn bitpays chief commercial officer sonny singh has predicted that the price of bitcoin is yet to hit a peak. Bond-market selloff pushes treasury yields to six-week high ccn.
Wall bay area. Blockchain expert ends the debate ripple.
New decentralized marketplace. Speaking on bloomberg tv, singh argued that institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies was still at a low level and there was, therefore, more upside potential.
Bitcoin (btc) is a consensus network that enables a new payment system and a completely digital currency. Archive one early adopter.


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Fancy a 4K TV with one of those curved screens? They’re normally well over a thousand, but Aussie e-tailer Kogan is introducing something that could ignite a new TV price war.
You have to wonder if the owner of Kogan, Ruslan Kogan, likes stirring the pot just a little.
Following an onslaught of new TVs announces at CES, the store owner has decided to launch his own play for something shiny and something new, and it’s also quite inexpensive, too.
Bucking the trend of expensive televisions, Kogan (the store) has this week announced that it will have the first curved 4K LED TV in Australia for under $1000, with a price of $749 for the first pre-orders before the TV becomes $799 later on, sitting there as the final cost for when it ships at the end of January.
The budget 4K TV uses a curved Ultra HD (3840×2160) panel from display maker AUO, which probably won’t mean much to most people, though major brands including Sony and Toshiba have been reported to purchase AUO’s curved TV panels in the past.
While that does imply a similarity between some of the technology used between Kogan’s own TV and bigger name brand models, there’s more to a TV than mere panel technology, and that’s an area Kogan hasn’t exactly spoken about, forgoing even the smart TV technology on the budget Kogan 4K curved TV.
“Our customers have been crying out for an affordable, quality curved television in Australia, and we’re here to deliver on those demands,” said Ruslan Kogan, Founder and CEO of Kogan.
“We’re excited to be able to offer a huge, sharp, curved TV at an incredibly low price, and give more Aussies the chance to enjoy ultimate viewing pleasure,” he said.
Kogan was able to confirm a few things for us, such as as a four start energy rating, the inclusion of four HDMI 2.0 ports capable of being sent 4K UHD video, and two USB 2.0 ports.
And even thought no smarts has been included, support for a personal video recorder using a USB port is.
Kogan did confirm to Pickr that the omission of features like USB 3.0 and a Smart TV operating system came down to cost, with this release about getting the cost down as much as possible.
“While some brands may charge over $1000 extra for a curved TV, our team didn’t rest until we could get one into customer’s hands for under $1000. We’ve been working tirelessly to make Australia’s most affordable high-end 55” Curved TV,” said Kogan.
Kogan’s 55 inch 4K Curved TV is available now from the Kogan website for $749, with the price expected to jump up to $799 by the end of the month.


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- SING switches to virtual sales model, grows solar business from 13 to 25 states
- Company to launch website allowing consumers to buy complete solar installations online
- SING expanding solar footprint into commercial sales through awareness campaigns and financial partnerships
In an effort to keep up with continuing consumer demand for solar energy solutions, SinglePoint Inc. (OTCQB: SING), a diversified holdings company, recently shifted to a virtual sales process for Direct Solar, one of its subsidiaries. Besides almost doubling the company’s footprint to 25 states, management expects the strategic move will further streamline the business and spur additional growth as demand for solar installations increases nationwide.
SING CEO Greg Lambrecht recently discussed the move in a recent video…
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to SING are available in the company’s newsroom at http://cnw.fm/SING
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Diet-related illness increases with availability of red meat – study
Paris, France — As global trade in red and processed meats has increased, so have chronic diseases associated with meat consumption, a study looking at data from 154 countries found on Thursday.
Researchers focused on illness and death rates from three diseases strongly linked to red and processed meat consumption: colorectal cancer, type-2 diabetes, and coronary heart disease.
They drew on meat import and export figures from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to find out where in the world red and processed meats had become more available.
They then checked these findings against health data from the Global Burden of Disease project.
“The increased intake of red and processed meat products via trade caused the abrupt increase of diet-related non-communicable diseases,” the study published in the British Medical Journal concluded.
The adverse effects of a diet high in red and processed meats are well known.
But the international trade of these products also has far-reaching impacts on the climate, through greenhouse gas emissions, and biodiversity loss, through shrinking habitat, the study noted.
“Few international initiatives and national guidelines for sustainable diets explicitly address the spillover impacts of the meat trade across countries,” they said.
They calculated a worldwide increase in related deaths of nearly 75 percent between 1993 and 2018, with major variations by geographical region.
While they estimated a 55 percent rise in related deaths in developed countries, the rate of increase in developing countries was more than double: 157 percent.
“These higher rates are because many developing countries around the world exponentially relied on red and processed meat imports to meet their increased meat demands under rapid urbanization and income growth,” the study says.
Over the years covered by the study, developing countries expanded imports while rich ones expanded exports, the findings showed.
The study suggests that to achieve healthier and more sustainable diets, international dialogue should involve both health and trade bodies, citing the World Trade Organization (WTO).
“Regional trade agreements of the WTO accelerate red and processed meat flows among countries,” it said and suggested it could coordinate with UN health and food agencies to improve future trade policy.
Since it is observational, the study can suggest but not confirm the cause-effect relationship between meat trade and diet-related illnesses.


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Yesterday, I received a press release for Nathan Sawaya’s next exhibition that will be revealed at San Diego Comic Con 2015 for The Art of the Brick: DC Comics. Additionally, he’ll also have a panel on Thursday, July 9 at 6pm in Room 25ABC for it called DC Comics Meets LEGO Art. The panel will also consist of Jim Lee, and our friends Brandon Griffith and Tommy Williamson. Check out the full press release below.
LEGO® Brick Artist, Nathan Sawaya Teams with World-Renowned Comic Book Artist and Co-Publisher of DC Entertainment, Jim Lee To Draw Live The Concept for a Brand New Batmobile To Be Built Entirely Out of LEGO Bricks
LEGO Batmobile To Be Featured During Sawaya’s Upcoming Global Touring Exhibition, The Art of the Brick: DC Comics
Creativity will reach Heroic heights as LEGO brick artist Nathan Sawaya unveils the first-look at select signature sculptures to be showcased in the global touring exhibition, The Art of the Brick: DC Comics. Attendees of the interactive DC COMICS MEETS LEGO ART Panel will witness the convergence of the world’s greatest Super Heroes with one of the world’s greatest toys. Acclaimed comic book artist and Co-Publisher of DC Entertainment, Jim Lee, will draw LIVE the concept for a brand new Batmobile to be built entirely out of LEGO bricks and later unveiled during the exhibition. The Electric Playground TV host, Victor Lucas will serve as moderator, with production team members, Brandon Griffith and Tommy Williamson, joining the discussion.
World-renowned artist, Nathan Sawaya, has joined forces with Warner


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The Rolling Stones are releasing their own chocolate bars
20 Jan 2021, 15:01
The Rolling Stones are reportedly making their own chocolate bars, and they'll be available next week.
The rock'n'roll legends opened their own flagship merch store in central London last year. Who doesn't love chocolate? It's a genius merch idea.
According to there will be two flavours to choose from.
You could soon be eating a Rolling Stones milk chocolate bar, called ‘Brown Sugar’, or a dark chocolate bar called ‘Cherry Red’.
The latter was inspired by the lyric “” from ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want.
Both bars will be available to buy from the band's merch website from next Monday (January 25).
It's predicted that each chocolate bar will cost £5.95, plus postage.
Ahead of the Soho store opening last year, the band said: "Soho has always encapsulated Rock ’n’ Roll so Carnaby Street was the perfect spot for our own store. We are confident this exciting project that our friends at Bravado have created will be an unrivalled experience for everyone to come to London and enjoy."
John Habbouch, GM and CFO of Bravado, said of the band’s fully immersive, 360-degree “virtual shopping experience”: “We are excited to be able to take the brand new RS No.9 Carnaby store to the world and to allow customers and fans to shop the collection from the comfort of their own homes through an immersive and unique online experience of this exciting retail space.”
In a recent interview, Keith Richards also says he has a lot more respect for what Mick Jagger does, now he's fronted his own band.


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These official One Piece treats are just too cute to eat, and Seven Eleven Japan is now selling them!
Back in 2016, Bandai’s TabeMas (Taberareru Mascot) introduced a cute little sweet treat for One Piece fans featuring Tony Tony Chopper. And now, that sweet treat is returning, and bringing with it its timeskip version! That’s right folks, those cute TabeMas treats are back!
The pre-timeskip version with the pink hat will be sakura flavoured, while the post-timeskip version with the blue hat and sparkly eyes will be chocolate-flavored. Both treats will feature those flavors as stuffings inside a cute and soft shell, which is just Chopper really. But that doesn’t matter because the two look just too cute to even eat!
Japanese Seven Eleven stores are now selling these cute little treats for 258 yen each. It comes with a box packaging, and those who buy it must consume it immediately. Now, the question is, would you even eat these cute little treats?
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source: Comic Natalie


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BlueTape, a payment and financing solution for the construction industry, has officially launched its payments solution. Construction pros can use BlueTape to make and receive payments on their mobile device. This exciting milestone marks the start of many product launches over the upcoming months that will improve the payment and financing experience for the construction industry.
BlueTape is geared toward providing a payment and lending solution for contractors and construction material suppliers. Building material suppliers, dealers, distributors, manufacturers and retailers have the ability to automate accounts receivable, send invoices and payment reminders via text, and offer their customers an easy way to pay for building material with credit cards and ACH on their mobile device. This launch will give construction material suppliers a great tool to get paid fast while lowering their transaction costs.


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If you have certain goals in mind for 2016 — prosperity, love, fortune, happiness, friendship, etc — you may want to don a specific color of underwear come December 31st.
As a new video from The Underwear Expert explains, nations from around the world have different customs of what color underwear you should wear on New Year’s Eve to ensure a fortuitous year ahead. Argentinians believe pink skivvies will bring you love, while in China, red underwear (preferably with golden embroidery) wards off bad luck for the coming year. And it’s not always about color; Bolivians suggest wearing pink underwear backwards to keep up strong friendships and Peruvians wear green underwear inside out to receive positive energy all year long.
Among the many nations profiled in the video, there is one consensus: wearing black skivvies on New Year’s Eve will bring misfortune to your year ahead. So opt for something colorful instead, depending on what’s on your 2016 vision board.
Watch the video below:
And check out this cheat sheet of New Year’s Eve underwear traditions from The Underwear Expert:


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MADRID (Reuters) – Zara owner Inditex (ITX.MC) on Wednesday closed its accounts with sales growth that showed resilience amid weaker global consumer demand for clothing. It announced a 24% increase in net profit in the first nine months of the year. .
The world’s largest fashion retailer’s in-store and online sales fell slightly faster than analysts had expected after raising prices by more than 5% from the spring to forecast inflationary pressures in some markets, year-on-year increased by 19%.
Net income reached €3.1 billion ($3.3 billion) from February to October in the first year under the leadership of Marta Ortega, daughter of founder and owner Amancio Ortega, as Non-Executive Chairman Did.
Known for its ability to quickly bring the latest designs to consumers thanks to its flexible sourcing, Inditex recently made emotional purchases for special events at a time when the cost of living crisis threatens non-essential spending. To motivate you, we offer more “high fashion” Zara items. A company source said.
Such an approach allows Inditex to sell more expensive items and attract shoppers from the upscale segment of the market, according to company sources and analysts.
According to Inditex, sales grew 12% year-on-year from early November to December 8, but at a slower pace than the previous month due to a weaker consumption environment.
The company’s second-quarter sales increased 16% year-over-year.
Reporting by Corina Pons, Editing by Inti Landauro
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


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Online fraud remains a real problem, with businesses worldwide losing billions of dollars each year to criminals. While fraud detection can be challenging, in many cases, the state of the art is advancing steadily. As a new case study online at www.siftscience.com/case-studies/seoclerks shows, applying the right automated algorithms, filters, and tests can root out and stop a huge range of potentially fraudulent transactions.
Certain types of online businesses are inherently more susceptible to fraud than others. While criminals might not be able to do much with a business that ships valuable products which require a signature from a specified recipient, service oriented companies tend to be more vulnerable. Because the value provided by a given service cannot typically be retrieved if fraud is later discovered, criminals who can sneak a fraudulent payment through typically end up gaining in the process.
As a result, businesses and marketplaces that provide or facilitate the provision of online services have to be especially vigilant in guarding against fraud. Failing to be take an active, effective stance against crimes of this kind will generally mean not only failing prey to the usual level of fraud, but also facing more and more of it as word spreads. This can easily snowball into an issue of monumental proportions, with some companies going out of business entirely after becoming overly prominent targets for fraudsters.
As the case study above shows, however, there are actually effective ways of fighting back. While few companies will have the specialized capabilities needed to prevent fraud entirely on their own, there are now sources of assistance that are ready to lend a hand. By inserting themselves into the payment process upon request, companies like these can vet proposed transactions and immediately highlight those that are most likely to be fraudulent.
Most importantly, of course, this means that fraud becomes much less of an immediate issue. It also typically means that the client business can focus more intently and confidently on its core mission, instead of needing always to be distracted by the prospect of fraud. That can end up being what it takes not only to overcome fraud focused criminals but to do the same to competitors.


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Holidaymakers have had honeymoons and wedding plans ruined and have even been left fearing for their lives due to dwindling medication as Thomas Cook teeters on the brink of collapse today.
One couple on honeymoon in Cancun said their relaxing holiday had turned into a 'frenzy' as customers searched desperately for news about the ailing travel firm.
Their anxious wait is still going on today as Thomas Cook bosses hold crunch talks with shareholders in a last-ditch effort to save the firm.
One British mother feared she would run out of medication in what could have been a 'life-threatening' situation, prompting a mystery stranger to step in and book her a new flight.
Sami Ryder, 26, who works in marketing, is due to get married to Dean Turgeon with a Thomas Cook package in Santorini next September
Chloe Sharpe and Paul Kerfoot, both 27, whose dream £15,000 wedding in Cyprus is in jeopardy because of the Thomas Cook crisis
James and Rebecca Hyam, from Lichfield, are facing an anxious end to their honeymoon in Cancun, Mexico.
The newlyweds are supposed to be flying back to Manchester on Monday night.
Mr Hyam told CNN: 'There are quite a few of us here with Thomas Cook at the hotel where we are staying. Everyone is quite concerned.'
The issues facing the travel company had 'transformed a nice, relaxing honeymoon holiday to a Twitter frenzy trying to find out what happens next,' he said.
Others face having long-cherished wedding plans ruined by the possible collapse of Thomas Cook.
Sami Ryder, 26, who works in marketing, is due to get married to Dean Turgeon with a Thomas Cook package in Santorini next September.
She said she now fears she and Dean, 27, who live in the Midlands, could be left having to reorganise wedding plans.
Chloe Hardy told BBC News her wedding on the Greek island of Zante next month - which she booked more than a year ago - is now under threat.
James and Rebecca Hyam, from Lichfield, are concerned about returning home from their honeymoon in Cancun. The newlyweds were are supposed to be flying back to Manchester on Monday night
Chloe Hardy and her fiance Jack (pictured together) said her wedding in Zante in October - which she booked more than a year ago - is now under threat
'We've had constant questions from our family that we are unable to answer,' she said.


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HP is launching a range of packaged, mission-critical services designed to enrich the services conversations that partners can have with their customers.
Until now, HP's channel services play has centred on its Care Pack product-attached services.
But through a range of services packages including Critical Advantage (CA), HP is aiming to bring the high-end datacentre services capabilities that it gained through its acquisition of EDS to a level partners can resell.
Aimed predominantly at ISS (industry standard server), blade and virtualised environments, CA encompasses mission-critical services such as firmware management, patch management, server sprawl and version control.
Paul Early, HP channel manager HP Technology Services, stressed the vendor is "not expecting to sell millions of pounds" of these services tomorrow. But he said HP and its partners needed to prepare for an era when break-fix services are less relevant.
"This gives the partner the ability to have a richer conversation about services than they have ever had before around the ISS, storage and the virtualised world," he explained.
Early said the packaged services would have a foundational level featuring services such as hardware break-fix and proactive support. This would be delivered in conjunction with the partners so "HP is not cutting across them".
Above this, there will be a "Chinese menu" of services such as health checks on storage and server and consultancy, where the partner picks and chooses what they can deliver themselves and what they back off to HP.
Early said that HP's distributors have been briefed on the launch and that the vendor is currently in the process of educating its partners.
Vendor partners with Microsoft and Intel to dish out £25,000 to four schools every year
Insight's UK managing director and senior vice president of EMEA marketing talks to CRN about the value of diversity, the importance of meritocracy, and the many initiatives her firm supports to ensure a balanced workforce
Shields to become VP of enterprise channel, Europe - but stresses the UK will remain a key market for her
Have you attended the Channel Awards multiple times, or experienced your first ever awards in the past year? We want to hear from you!


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“The chain itself will also benefit from VSBLTY’s computer vision and consumer analytics technology.”
VSBLTY is continuing to make in-roads in South Africa. The company has announced that it will be providing smart retail technology for a chain of fuel and convenience stores with locations all over the country.
The deal specifically concerns VSBLTY’s VisionCaptor and DataCaptor software, which will be installed in more than 300 individual locations beginning in October. Each of those locations will have three digital displays with interactive features to drive customer engagement. The chain itself will also benefit from VSBLTY’s computer vision and consumer analytics technology.
The contract was achieved in collaboration with Onyx-Cognivas, which acts as VSBLTY’s partner in South Africa. The two companies have previously worked together to build smart city infrastructure in the affluent Johannesburg suburb of Sandton.
“Progressive retailers are increasingly recognizing the value of monetizing their stores in a model where brands can purchase space as media,” said VSBLTY CEO Jay Hutton. “Interactive ad messages are now reaching, influencing and measuring consumers right at the point of sale where we are seeing major increases in conversion and ROI on these programs.”
“This marks an important milestone in how the retailer of the future is adopting, not only digital activation for enhanced customer engagement, but also the utilization of computer vision to provide validation and verification for media partners,” said Onyx-Cognivas Co-founder Andrew Coudounaris.
The news comes mere days after VSBLTY secured a similar smart retail partnership with a chain of pet stores in Mexico. That contract involves digital shelf strips and interactive surfaces in addition to real-time customer analytics.
VSBLTY has steadily worked to expand its profile in both the smart city and smart retail spaces in the past few months. The computer vision specialist teamed up with UST Global in an effort to reach international retailers, and later allied with Vancouver’s Teralight to explore potential smart city applications.
August 10, 2020 – by Eric Weiss


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Tropical Research Services (TRS) announces a 4% coffee reduction in 2022 production year
The recent frost damage in Brazil was assessed by Tropical Research Services (TRS) to analyze the scale of the destruction to the coffee plantation in the country. During the webcast organized by the Intercontinental Exchange, TRS claimed a 4% loss to the country’s 2022 crop year.
According to Steve Wateridge, TRS’s global head, the frost were not as severe as the 2001 and 1994 weather incidents.
He added that TRS expects a loss of around 2.7 million 60-kg bags to Brazil's 2022/23 coffee crop potential from the frosts, taking into consideration the forecaster's initial estimate for a crop around 68 million bags next year in the world's largest producer and exporter.
Guaxupe, Brazilian coffee exporter has its own estimation of a potential loss of over 4 million bags showing a 50 % difference in the two assessment data. Another trader, Comexim put its figure with a 20% fall in the production in the south Minas Gerais coffee producing region.
TRS’s figure is based on the percentage of area so severely affected that coffee production will not start to recover until the 2024 and 2025 crops, but it does not include the much larger area of coffee farms which will have to be renovated or replanted because of the uneven impact of damage by the frost.
History will remember it as the Black Frost Of 2021 unlike the “black frost” weather condition that mostly hits the state of Parana in 1975 and 1978, and led to an estimated 90% of the state’s farmers abandon coffee production in the southernmost part of the Brazilian coffee belt.
Wateridge believes the current drought in Brazil will have a larger impact than the frost. TRS currently estimates a loss of 6.3 million bags for the potential arabica production next season from the drought alone.Brazil produces 40% of the entire coffee consumed around the world, and even though an overall loss that is now recorded might not sound like much, as it makes up for as much as the entire coffee grown in Mexico and most of Central America combined. There is no other producing country or region in the world with even remotely close to the ability to make up for such a major shortfall in Brazil


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Banks offer to open deposits in yuan and introduce storage fees for the accounts in “traditional currencies” – dollars and euros. Such facts are reported by BFM.
As noted by the chief analyst of Banki.ru Bogdan Zvarich, the interest of Russians in saving in the yuan is explained by the fact that it is a fairly liquid currency, in particular, it can be easily bought on the Moscow Exchange.
The growth of sanctions risks for non-cash currency, coupled with a ban on the supply of Russia of cash dollars and euros are naturally making liabilities in these currencies extremely unattractive for banks, economist, associate professor of RANEPA Sergey Khestanov emphasizes.
“Interest in the yuan, on the contrary, is growing,” the expert notes. – “I wonder how soon UnionPay yuan cards are coming? They will be used abroad without problems.”
We recall that UnionPay is an international payment system created by the Chinese authorities.


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Bykea, a ride-hailing and parcel delivery startup based in Pakistan, has received up to $5 million in capital commitments from Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) for its upcoming Series B round.
According to Bykea CEO Muneeb Maayr, the firm is targeting to raise $15 million for its Series B round by early 2020. It is engaged in active conversations with prospective investors from Pakistan and around the world.
Bykea last closed its $5.7-million Series A round in April, with $2 million from MEVP, $1.2 million from Sarmayacar, a Pakistan-focused venture capital firm, and $2.5 million from a Vietnamese investor. Its previous investors include Pakistani investment companies Ithaca Capital and JS Capital as well as angel investors such as Jonas Eichhorst.
According to Bykea, the platform has over 200,000 motorbike owners serving two million users across Karachi, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, and Lahore. The platform operates mainly in Urdu through voice notes, and follows Indonesia’s Gojek model, tapping on its motorbike drivers to deliver parcels to its users.
Bykea was facing stiff competition in the country until US ride-hailing giant Uber announced plans to acquire its Middle Eastern counterpart, Careem, for $3.1 billion in March. Since then, Maayr said the company will be able to breathe easy until the acquisition finalises in Q1 2020.
Maayr is bullish about Bykea’s prospects, sharing that the company has already broken even in Karachi, Pakistan’s most populous city. It has also been careful not to enter segments which will lead it to a “race to the bottom”, noting that it does not want to replicate the relentless cash-burning seen in companies like Uber and WeWork.
In coming months, Bykea will roll out new services in B2B logistics and cash-to-digital payments. It is open to other services like food delivery down the line as well.
Bykea was founded by Muneeb Maayr, co-founder of Daraz, a Rocket Internet-backed e-commerce site. In May 2018, Daraz was sold to Chinese internet giant Alibaba for an undisclosed amount, making it one of the earliest exits in Pakistan.
Pakistan is one of Asia’s many frontier markets that have begun to appear on the radar of foreign investors in recent months. Other Pakistani startups that have raised overseas capital include Airlift, a transportation startup backed by Fatima Gobi Ventures, and EasyPaisa, a digital wallet that is 45%-controlled by Alibaba’s Ant Financial.


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A case of “discomfort” reported by one consumer has led North America’s biggest dairy co-operative to pull certain batches of milk from sale in Quebec and Ontario.
Agropur on Friday announced a voluntary recall of certain bagged and cartoned milks made at its Ottawa processing plant and sold under the Sealtest and L’ecole c’est nourrissant brands, after an internal check found “sanitizer residues.”
The products affected, as of Jan. 27, are listed below.
The co-operative, one of the 20 biggest dairy processors in the world, said it announced the recall of the products in the wake of an investigation after “one reported complaint of discomfort associated with the consumption of a product.”
Agropur said it has asked all of its clients to pull the specific products from their shelves and inventory and has contacted the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which is overseeing the voluntary recall.
CFIA on Friday advised Quebec and Ontario consumers to see if they have the recalled products in their homes, and to either throw out the recalled products or return them to the stores where they were bought.
Food contaminated with sanitizer residue may not look or smell spoiled and “should not be consumed,” CFIA said, adding that consuming the affected product may cause symptoms such as nausea, upset stomach or vomiting.
No other products, formats, brands or “best before” dates are affected other than those listed below, Agropur said.
The Sealtest brand, which originated in the U.S. in the 1940s, is today owned by Unilever and used by Agropur in Canada under license on milk, cream, sour cream, cottage cheese and lemonade products. — Glacier FarmMedia Network
Correction from source, Jan. 27 — The article and table below have been updated with corrected information from CFIA.


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The purpose of the latest regulation is to close loopholes in restrictions announced in October of the previous year, said the sources, who requested anonymity because the rules are not public. The Biden administration reportedly wants to strengthen controls on the sale of graphics chips used in artificial intelligence applications and advanced chip-making equipment to Chinese companies.
The United States also wants to impose additional controls against Chinese companies that try to circumvent export restrictions by diverting shipments through other countries. It also plans to add Chinese chip design companies to the list of companies subject to trade restrictions.
The US government imposed the original restrictions on the chips a year ago with the aim of hindering technological development in China, which it considered necessary for national security reasons. In response, China has accelerated investments to build its domestic capabilities. The revised restrictions are expected to be issued as early as this week, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Biden administration has been criticized for perceived shortcomings in the original export controls. The original restrictions were imposed without support from key allies such as the Netherlands and Japan, allowing chip equipment companies in those countries to continue selling advanced devices to Chinese customers.
This oversight has facilitated China’s progress in developing domestic technological capabilities. Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant at the heart of US-China tensions, quietly launched a new smartphone powered by a cutting-edge 7nm processor in August. This chip was manufactured by a Chinese company, indicating that manufacturing capabilities are well beyond the point where the United States wanted to halt its development.
Cover image source: Getty Images


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Cows that feed solely on pasture perform a valuable service: they transform what’s inedible to us — grass — into a rich source of protein and other nutrients. And when such cows are raised in moderate numbers, they can actually improve the health and biodiversity of grasslands. Moreover, cows evolved to eat grass, so the pasture model is clearly the most animal-friendly way to create beef.
To me, the grass-fed concept exemplifies responsible agrarianism: it’s energy efficient (it relies on no vast, petroleum-guzzling corn fields), it enhances rather than degrades the ecosystems it relies on, and it forces us to eat mindfully and in season.
If we insisted on raising all of our beef on ample pasture, every American would be able to savor the privilege of eating beef only, say, every couple of weeks — and less during the grazing season, when cows are fattening up.
Which sounds about right to me.
Leave it to the USDA — that hothouse of food-industry flackery — to attempt to screw it all up.
Let’s look at the USDA for a second. Its director, Mike Johanns, is a former governor of Nebraska, the nation’s top beef-producing state. Its deputy chief is Chuck Conner, former flack for uber-agribiz giant Archer Daniels Midland — which provides much of the corn that gushes into the nation’s feedlots.
Its chief of staff is Dale Moore, the former top lobbyist for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association — which views concentrated feedlots and cheap corn as the proper elements of beef raising. Its undersecretary for food, nutrition, and consumer services, Kate Coler, previously served as chief lobbyist for the Food Marketing Institute — a trade group for supermarket chains. (Before that, she represented the American Bankers Association in its lobbying efforts before the USDA and Congressional ag committees).
Shot through with food-industry shills, it’s no wonder that the USDA has come out with an industry-friendly proposal for defining “grass-fed beef.”
Think beef labeled “grass-fed” should come from cows that graze outside on grass? You’re wrong, says the USDA. According to a recent AP story, the USDA’s latest proposal on the grass-fed label would cover confined cows fed hay and leftover corn stalks.
The agency’s official reasoning for proposing this loose standard sounds reasonable enough, at first glance. A USDA functionary explained to AP that:
With the geographic diversity found in the U.S., a farmer or rancher in Minnesota is going to have a little bit different grass-fed scheme than, say, one that’s located in Alabama, in the South where year-round grazing is available. What we tried to do with this grass-fed claim is make it where anyone in the U.S. that wanted to make this claim could.
But that’s bunkum. Sustainable agriculture — the movement that reintroduced grass-fed beef in the first place — respects geographical differences; it doesn’t try to paper them over. If grass-fed beef is easier to produce in Alabama than it is in Minnesota, then grass-fed steaks should be cheaper and more abundant in Alabama than Minnesota. Period.
Brazenly, the USDA man added that “insisting on access to pasture could be covered by another standard, such as the department’s rules for organic meat,” AP reported. Of course, the agency is already letting so-called “organic” cows be confined in feedlots as well.
The USDA’s endless shell games with labels like “organic” and “grass fed” will fool some consumers but not all. The best way to avoid being flummoxed by government bureaucrats doing industry’s bidding is to seek out farmers whose practices you know and trust.


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Going “green” has become one of the strongest customer-driven demands for businesses in recent years. For vending operators, there are several aspects to providing a more environmentally friendly service, a key one being the use of energy efficient machines.
Adapting more energy efficient machines is not a simple proposition. Machines need to be retrofitted or replaced. In a challenging business climate such as the present, operators need good reason to invest in new machines and upgrades.
Vending operators are nonetheless finding it pays to use machines that consume less electricity. By offering such machines, operators meet the needs of customers who want their facilities to consume less energy. Government accounts in particular have required more energy efficient machines in recent years.
Because many accounts expect operators to compensate them for the electricity their machines use, machines that use less energy give operators a way to lower this cost.
Since 2004, vending operators have been able to meet this demand by offering Energy Star certified cold beverage machines.
The Energy Star program has become fairly well known to consumers since it applies to a variety of appliances.
The Energy Star sticker indicates an appliance meets energy use guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
Energy Star certified cold drink machines incorporate more efficient compressors, fan motors and lighting, and better insulated compartments to keep beverages cold and the machine visible while using less energy.
Prof. Michael Kasavana, the National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) endowed professor, wrote an extensive article on the Energy Star program in the March 2009 Automatic Merchandiser. The article can be accessed at www.vendingmarketwatch.com.
Energy Star standards evolve
While Energy Star gives the vending industry new tools to meet customer needs, evolving rules can create confusion for operators and customers alike.
The Energy Star program for cold drink machines began in 2004. A second set of standards known as “tier 2,” which further reduce energy consumption, took effect in 2007.
In August of 2012, newly-built cold drink machines will have to meet even more stringent DOE standards. The DOE rules will no longer be voluntary, and third party compliance verification will also be required.
Further complicating the issue is that the 2012 DOE rules for OEMs are not part of Energy Star. Meanwhile, a third tier Energy Star specification will be announced in 2012 or 2013 for remanufactured vending machines.
“They (DOE) will continue to raise the bar,” said Tom Edwards, vice president of global food and beverage innovation at Crane Merchandising Systems (CMS). He noted that all newly-built CMS machines meet and exceed government energy efficiency standards.
Operators have more choices
Fortunately, vending operators are not required to have new machines. But many find they are receiving more inquiries from customers who want to know they are conserving energy. Operators who offer the most efficient machines will have a competitive advantage in some situations.
Besides offering machines that meet current government standards, operators also have the option of using aftermarket products that manage energy use. “There are a lot of vending operators that don’t want to buy new equipment,” said Doug Parsons, president of Area Wide Inc., an equipment distributor in Waynesville, Ohio.
Aftermarket devices that regulate energy use have been used for more than a decade. While these products remain an option for operators looking to conserve energy, not all aftermarket products qualify a machine for Energy Star.
The DOE offers a list of remanufactured machines that meet Energy Star requirements on its Website at http://www.energystar.gov/ia/products/prod_lists/vending_machines_prod_list_rebuilt.pdf.


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Mumbai: Dairy company Danone has announced expansion plans in the health-food-drinks (HFDs) segment with the launch of Protinex Grow, a health drink especially formulated for adolescents.
The product will be launched in West Bengal and Karnataka in the first phase. These States collectively have a market share of 22% of the family HFD business of India, the company said.
“The launch of Protinex Grow is a unique innovation in the family Health Food Drinks’ segment that addresses the specific protein requirements of children during the second growth spurt,” said Rodrigo Lima, Managing Director, Danone India.
“We have aggressive plans to double our sales in the nutrition portfolio by 2020 and also grow the overall business in India. We have lined up 10 new launches this year to expand our portfolio. We recently launched our global infant formula brand Aptamil in India,” he added.
Protinex is a nutritional supplements brand formulated with hydrolysed proteins that caters to the nutritional needs of adults and children.
Danone started its dairy business in India in 2010, while the nutrition business was started in 2012 through the acquisition of the nutrition portfolio from Wockhardt Group. Globally Danone has four lines of operations—dairy, beverages, early life nutrition and advanced medical nutrition.
In an interview with PTI, Lulu Group Chairman and Managing Director M. A. Yusuff Ali said the company had committed an investment of around Rs 4,500 crore for the development of five shopping malls in India in the first phase of expansion in the country and out of the five, the three malls have already become operational at Kochi, Thrissur and now Bengaluru.
The Mumbai centre will house 72 international and Indian brands, 27 culinary outlets with cuisines from across the globe, an open-air weekend community market, pet-friendly services, according to the company's statement.


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Notre Dame's switch from adidas to Under Armour was first reported by ESPN on Jan. 9, but Tuesday provided the public's first look at what the Fighting Irish could wear in basketball from the company. (Editor's note: In an earlier edition of this story, we did not note this is a mock-up uniform by UA and not a finished product.)
A sign of things to come ... pic.twitter.com/uT5Ec9IbzI— Notre Dame MBB (@NDmbb) January 21, 2014
UPDATE: At a news conference today, Notre Dame's Jack Swarbrick called the 10-year deal between Under Armour and Notre Dame the largest between any brand and school in the U.S.
At the presentation, Swarbrick was presented with a Notre Dame Under Armour fotball jersey.


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Laptops News - Page 81
Hsinchu, Taiwan - April 21, 2008 -- Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced it is first to offer high performance, low-latency DDR2-667 SO-DIMM notebook memory to the world. Offering greater performance options for existing mobile platforms, the HyperX DDR2-667 CL4 SO-DIMM kits in 2GB and 4GB capacities are the first in a new line of memory innovations Kingston plans to release over the next few months to the notebook market.
"Kingston customers asked about higher performance memory for current notebooks and our new DDR2-667 CL4 low-latency SO-DIMMs are the first in a series of new HyperX memory offerings to support this market," said Ann Bai, Product Manager, DRAM Memory, APAC Region, Kingston. "We will continue to expand the product line, including developing a 3GB memory kit."


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Twitter is a great way for companies to interact with customers, and in some cases are an easy way for companies to leak some news without a press release. Today Motorola’s official Twitter account informed a customer, and the rest of the world, that it will release Ice Cream Sandwich devices just six weeks after the software is released. One of the drawbacks of getting information from a tweet is the lack of information provided, so we aren’t able to learn any other details from the tweet in question.
The part of the tweet that has caught our attention is the fact that Motorola will be releasing new devices, and did not say updating old ones. The original question was asking when the Motorola Atrix will be updated to ICS, but the topic of upgrading was not mentioned in the reply. If it is true that Motorola will be able to launch new devices just six weeks after the software is available that would mean the company has already been working on these devices prior to having the software in hand. This of course raises a few more questions with recent devices, and future devices.
Normally the first Android phones to be updated to the latest software are the Nexus devices, so it is expected that the Samsung Nexus S will be the first currently available phone to be updated. If Motorola is able to keep to the six week prediction it might have these new devices out before even the Nexus S sees the update. As of right now the Galaxy Nexus is rumored to be released on November 10, but that does not mean that the software can’t be released prior to that date.
We are also hoping that if Motorola can release new hardware so quickly after a release that they will hopefully update existing devices just as quickly. There are millions of Motorola users on either Gingerbread or Honeycomb that would love to see their device updated in just six weeks, but we think that time frame might be a little too tight. Seeing how most Motorola devices are shipped with a customized version of Android it’s hard to see the company being able to push out an update so quickly.
Hopefully we will start seeing some new Motorola ICS hardware will be announced soon for us to drool over. We would also love to see the newly announced Droid RAZR to be updated to ICS in the near future. Just when we thought it was safe to buy the Galaxy Nexus there is the possibily of new hardware already looming in the future.
Update: Motorola has sent out a tweet that mentioned that the Xoom, RAZR, and the Bionic will all be updated to ICS within six weeks of the software being made public. The tweet said it will confirm other devices, but did not say when.
Second update: We were just contacted by Motorola with a clarification to the information provided. Motorola said it, “will provide more precise guidance on timing within 6 weeks post public push of ICS by Google.” Which means that instead of releasing new products just six weeks after ICS goes public it will be giving more of a timeline for when customers can expect new products, and updates to current products. While this is disapointing, it does seem more reasonable.
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Samsung has recently released a new teaser for the Galaxy Note10 which is a short video clip showing the device being used in place of several devices - a desktop in an office setting, using the DeX functionality, and as a laptop outside the office.
The message that Samsung is delivering with the new teaser is that the Galaxy Note10 is powerful enough to replace several devices, making things easier for productivity users. It shows how the device was easily switched from one mode to another while still being able to maintain a high level of usability.
Considering that DeX mode is not perfect right now, the Galaxy Note10 is powerful enough to serve as a backup laptop computer in case of an emergency. The teaser video also shows off the new Galaxy S Pen which is rumored to get new features as well and considering that Samsung added Bluetooth Low Energy to the S Pen last year, that could very well be the case this year as it is speculated that the company may add more functionality to the stylus.
In line with the teaser video mentioned above, another Galaxy Note10 teaser rotated around the theme 'Superpower means doing the impossible', which some have speculated as Samsung's hint at releasing a Spider-Man-themed Galaxy Note10, which could be a possibility considering that the device launches on August 8, which is a day after the latest Spider-Man movie's international premiere. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen.
This approach is a slight deviation from the marketing tactic used on the Galaxy Note9, which was marketed for its high-quality camera and its superior gaming performance. Since the UNPACKED event is taking place next month, we could be in store for more marketing teasers soon. Interestingly, both postings were taken down from Samsung's official Twitter accounts, several hours later.
In other news, there are leaked images of the Galaxy Note10 and the Galaxy Note10+ floating around which show off their all-screen display panels. The Galaxy Note9 was impressive enough though it does have very small bezels on the top and bottom of the panel, but the new Galaxy Note10 line gets rid of those tiny bezels, making the display size slightly larger. The front-facing camera is now going to be placed in the punch-hole located on the top of the screen.
The rear panel comes in two finishes, one in black, and the other in gray with a gradient finish, which is similar to what HUAWEI has done for the P30 Pro. The gradient finish Galaxy Note10 will come with a blue S Pen. The fingerprint reader is no longer located on the rear panel, and gone is the heart rate sensor which was on the Galaxy Note9. There is now a three-camera setup on the rear, compared to the two-camera setup on the Galaxy Note9.
Since the bottom ports are not visible on the leaked images, it cannot be confirmed right now whether Samsung has decided to do away with the 3.5mm headphone jack. Considering that the Note series has managed to impress with its sound quality, audiophiles are hoping that the Galaxy Note10 retains that feature.
There are fewer buttons on the new smartphone with rumors saying that the Bixby button is no longer part of the layout, but that remains to be seen. The fingerprint reader is now located underneath the display panel, making the unlocking process easier.
In regards to the RAM and ROM configuration, the latest leaks suggest that the Galaxy Note10 will be offered with a 12GB RAM/1TB storage variant, but considering that the launch is a few weeks away, this information will be validated very soon, so be sure to stay tuned for the latest details about the Galaxy Note10.


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While increased efficiency standards and the rapid growth of EVs will reduce the growth rate for transport fuels, demand for feedstocks will continue to grow at strong rates. Demand for petrochemical feedstocks such as ethane, LPG, naphtha and synthesis gas goes beyond transportation — to the plastic, rubber and synthetic-fibre building blocks for products like shirts and consumer goods packaging. These items consistently have demand growth rates above GDP and will keep things running smoothly for the chemicals industry.
How are energy companies responding to declining oil demand? Many have begun to reevaluate their chemicals strategies. We're seeing major energy companies aggressively expanding their current chemicals portfolio, forming alliances with chemical companies, or stepping into the chemicals space for the first time.
As part of our coverage on peak oil demand, we asked Stephen Zinger, Senior Vice President – Chemicals and expert on the Wood Mackenzie Chemicals research team, to share his view on what will drive chemicals demand and how companies are responding to the likelihood of peak oil demand.
Will the chemicals industry shift focus to renewable sources?
As oil majors look to invest in petrochemicals as a growth driver of oil demand in the future, biochemicals and polyester recycling could squeeze this growth. Like any new technology, there are challenges to producing bioplastics at the same scale as traditional plastics. Provided these challenges can be overcome, we expect bioplastics to become a much larger portion of the supply — potentially eroding a portion of oil demand. At higher crude prices, the squeeze on oil demand will be even more significant. Some majors are already addressing this by getting involved with investments, consortium groups or funding technologies for developing biomass sourcing into either chemicals or plastics.
And what about polyester? Polyester sustainability is focussed on alternative routes via biomass or coal. The versatility and scalability of polyester means we expect demand growth to continue at 4-5% for the next five years, driven primarily by Asian fibre markets. Both cost and environmental benefits are urging producers and consumers to establish genuinely sustainable supply chain sourcing strategies and select suppliers who can deliver low carbon polyester products.
Our latest Thought Leadership Insight examines what happens when factors which could radically reshape energy markets become entrenched. The carbon-constrained scenario accelerates the impact of electric vehicles, renewables, and energy efficiency. It builds an increased role for energy storage technologies, and provides access to decarbonised electricity across the developing world. It posits a world in which the energy industry, policymakers and the general public are focused on minimising the environmental impacts of their behaviour. Oversupply is weighing heavily on oil prices, so the prospect of peak demand in 2025 is an uncomfortable one for producers. Meanwhile, momentum is building within business to adapt. Companies building diversity into portfolios will be best placed to adapt to a radically-changed landscape. But the time to adapt is now – the dynamics of marginal change mean markets will be reshaped sooner than the industry is currently prepared to acknowledge.


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29-year-old Amy Reign has always considered herself to be an average looking woman. That is until she purchased a pair of yoga pants at Ross Dress For Less in Tacoma, Washington.
“For only $14.99, I became a hot chick overnight,” Reign confessed to GUR. Reign said that because of this, she wears her yoga pants at least three to four times a week.
Since 2009, yoga pants have become a boner-inducing fashion statement. Straight men everywhere admittedly love this relatively new fashion trend.
“Asses are the new implants. Every time I see a chick walking ahead of me in a pair of these, I know there’s a God,” said Stephen Tarik, creator of the blog, DatAss.Wordpress.com
Before 2009, yoga pants were only worn by women who spent their days downward-dogging in a room full of nose breathers who often spoke of “being at one with the universe.” However, today, these pants are worn by women who have no intention of ever doing yoga.
“I don’t get how sitting around with my eyes closed will make me thin. That’s just a nap. But I do love what those yoga chicks wear,” explained local gourmet pet food store employee, Candy Rollen.
Sadly, there have been casualties because of this fashion phenomenon, jeans. Jeans have become obsolete now that women are opting for these form-fitting pants instead of the once popular jeans.
“These things [yoga pants] are like magic. Guys who would normally never check me out are now giving me the twice-over when I walk past.”
Reign is noticeably excited about the newfound attention she is receiving from men.
“It used to be, ‘The tighter the sweater. The bigger the better,’ but now it’s, ‘The tighter the yoga pants. And if you can put a cup on her booty that’s even better. But the real secret is not to wear underwear underneath. There’s nothing more unattractive to a man than a visible panty line, except for an unplanned pregnancy ,” said Reign.


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Envisioning a new retail ecosystem
IoT is enabling better retail operations today, and will open the doors to safer experiences tomorrow. Here's where digital solutions are making an impact.
The Worst Problem in the Retail Industry? Turnover.
Retail has one of the highest turnover rates in any industry. The Hay Group reports a median turnover rate of 67 percent for part-time retail employees. I doubt any of us would be too challenged to list the problems driving this high turnover: Retail jobs are considered boring and repetitive, with little training and low […]
Creating Context to Attract the Connected Customer
A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to lead a session at the SAS Global Forum, along with Intel VP Steve Brown and Lori Schafer, SAS Retail Executive Advisor, on how retailers can create better in-store context for today’s connected customer. SAS Institute is a Cisco analytics partner and we had some exciting […]
The Next Step in Your Store Analytics Strategy: Sensor Fusion
Retail has entered an era of unprecedented competition and accelerated evolution worldwide. Retailers in every category, both brick-and-mortar and online, face larger and more unpredictable threats than ever before, from digitization of goods and distributed manufacturing to autonomous, near-instant delivery, service robots, and online experiences with unprecedented realism, as disruptors such as virtual reality, 3D […]
Determining the Value of the Virtual Shopping Experience
We are increasingly hearing about the value of improving the shopping experience by adding virtual expertise to the store. As head of Cisco’s Retail & Hospitality practice, I frequently talk...
Join Us on Oct. 22 for Our Final Analytics Webcast
Hello, retailers everywhere! My name is Dianne Lamendola, and I am a senior retail practice advisor here at Cisco. My role is to work closely with store operators and merchants...
Revamping the MSE User Interface
As part of the WLC 8.0 release, we addressed customer comments and revamped the user interface (UI) for the MSE. We wanted to make it easier for customers using...
Show Me the Retail Data
Success in retail often comes down to a counting game. How many people pass by your store? How many come inside? How...
Omnianalytics for an Omnichannel World
At Cisco, we’re about ready for the NRF trade show being held in New York on Jan. 12-15. We’re at the show expo on Jan. 13-14, and will be featuring four company thought leaders in the highly popular annual Big Idea sessions. Kathryn Howe, retail senior advisor at Cisco, will be discussing one of the […]


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E-payments giant PayPal ( PYPL ) announced Wednesday that it will release an updated mobile app for the Apple ( AAPL ) iOS and the Alphabet ( GOOGL ) Google Android operating system next month But it also offered further evidence that also-ran mobile operating systems from Microsoft ( MSFT ), BlackBerry ( BBRY ) and Amazon.com ( AMZN ) are obsolete. PayPal said in a blog post that users of its Apple iOS and Android OS mobile apps must update to version 6.0 between June 3-30. As for Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Amazon Fire, there’s no app upgrade. In fact, PayPal will discontinue apps for those services as of June 30, though they can still access PayPal via browsers. Windows Phone and BlackBerry have seen continued market share losses, with Windows Phone market share falling below 1%. Amazon, which uses a modified Android, killed its ill-fated Fire Phone, though its Kindle tablets remain numerous. “It was a difficult decision to no longer support the PayPal app on these mobile platforms, but we believe it’s the right thing to ensure we are investing our resources in creating the very best experiences for our customers, wrote Joanna Lambert, PayPal’s vice president of consumer product. Microsoft announced plans Wednesday to cut another 1,850 smartphone jobs.
Apple ( AAPL ) stock rose Monday as investors digested a positive iPhone 7 production report, along with a cautionary article that suggested Apple was at risk of becoming the next BlackBerry ( BBRY ). Apple stock was up 1.6%, near 97, in afternoon trading on the stock market today . Taiwan’s Economic Daily News reported Monday that Apple has ordered contract manufacturers to produce 72 million to 78 million iPhone 7 handsets this year, a record figure for a new iPhone and above analyst estimates of 65 million units. The iPhone 7 is expected to be released in September, with a slimmer design, faster processor and improved camera as compared to earlier iPhones. This 10th-generation iPhone might even sport a waterproof design for the first time. Apple Falling Behind In AI Meanwhile, influential tech blogger and Web developer Marco Arment on Saturday posted an article that argued Apple is falling behind Amazon.com ( AMZN ), Facebook ( FB ) and Alphabet ( GOOGL )-owned Google in artificial intelligence (AI), digital assistants and voice interfaces. He said Apple could miss the next big shift in computing, just as onetime cellphone giant BlackBerry missed the move to smartphones from email-centric feature phones. “Amazon, Facebook, and Google — especially Google — have all invested heavily in Big Data Web services and AI for many years, prioritizing them highly, iterating and advancing them constantly, accumulating relevant data, developing effective algorithms and attracting, developing and retaining tons of specialized talent,” Arment wrote. Arment says Apple is not putting the same emphasis on Big Data and AI as its rivals. “Becoming a major Big Data AI services company doesn’t happen completely in secret and suddenly get released to the world, completed, in a keynote,” Arment said. “It’s a massive undertaking, spanning many years, many people and a lot of noticeable interaction with the world. It’s easier to conceal the development of an entire car than a major presence in AI and services.” Analysts Keep Buy Ratings On Apple Stock Investors on Monday were more focused on the Economic Daily News article and a trio of reassuring analyst reports. Pacific Crest Securities analyst Andy Hargreaves on Sunday reiterated his overweight rating on Apple stock with a price target of 123. “We believe concerns about a potential lack of innovation in the iPhone 7 underestimate the extraordinary growth in the user base over the past two years, which is likely to drive increased replacement volume and overall iPhone unit growth in fiscal 2017, almost regardless of the hardware,” Hargreaves said. BMO Capital Markets analyst Tim Long also is positive on Apple because of the potential for iPhone users to upgrade with the iPhone 7 cycle. “What we find most interesting is that we believe we are entering the iPhone 7 cycle with the highest percentage of phones in the installed base at least two years old, at about 26% (compared to 23% for iPhone 6),” Long said. “This translates to about 120 million phones. As a result, we believe the device will drive an improved replacement rate, even if it has lackluster features.” Also, the huge growth in used iPhone sales will increase the installed base of iPhone users and boost services revenue, Long said. He reiterated his outperform rating on Apple stock, with a price target of 117. Nomura analyst Jeffrey Kvaal maintained his buy rating on Apple with a price target of 120. He noted the success of Apple’s recent iPhone SE launch but cautioned that the lower-cost smartphone could cannibalize sales of iPhone 6S handsets. Apple chip suppliers Broadcom ( AVGO ), Skyworks Solutions ( SWKS ), Qorvo ( QRVO ) and NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI ) were up Monday intraday. Broadcom climbed 1.5%, Skyworks 2.4%, Qorvo 2.9% and NXP Semi 1.1%. RELATED: Apple Has Largest Cash Stockpile, Twice That Of Microsoft’s Apple Faces ‘Existential Threat’ From Messenger Bots .
Aiming to shoot past Apple ‘s ( AAPL ) CarPlay, Alphabet ’s ( GOOGL ) Google hopes to woo auto makers with its new Android N operating system, which can be used in infotainment systems, as well as smartphones. Google unveiled an “auto-centric” variant of Android N at its Google I/O developer’s conference on Wednesday. Google also announced that Android Auto will include the Waze traffic app as part of its navigation system. “This is very important, as the major screen projection systems (Apple CarPlay and Android Auto) have relegated the user to only the native navigation Apple or Google map application, but the Waze application has tremendous popularity,” Egil Juliussen, an analyst at research firm IHS Automotive, said in a report. Apple and Google have revved up efforts to integrate their smartphone technologies with auto communications systems. QNX Software Systems, a subsidiary of BlackBerry ( BBRY ), has also pushed into Web-connected infotainment and telematics systems, along with AT&T ( T ). Apple and Google have faced challenges because of the lengthy design cycles for autos. While Apple’s CarPlay technology is built around its iOS software, some automakers have preferred open-sourced technologies, analysts say. At the developer’s conference, Google showcased the Android N software working in a Maserati Ghibli equipped with a 15-inch screen. Google said it has added Wi-Fi capability to “Android Auto,” a move Apple took in 2015. IHS Automotive says Android software has been built into infotainment systems on new Honda ( HMC ) and Renault vehicles. “ General Motors ( GM ) and Harman ( HAR ) announced a tie-up to build Android-based infotainment systems for GM vehicles,” said the IHS report. “This $900 million contract will (create) a new next-generation infotainment system powered by Android by the end of 2016 — it’s possible that those vehicles will be powered by this (Android N) embedded system.”


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WASHINGTON—Calling the trend a reflection of the nation’s changing social and economic landscape, a report released Friday by the Pew Research Center confirmed that more U.S. families are living with multiple generations of Xbox under one roof. “According to our survey data, over the past decade we have seen a dramatic rise in the number of American households that contain two or even three generations of consoles,” said the report’s author, Sean Corfield, adding that, in many cases, citizens reported that their Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One all share the same room. “The vast majority of Americans we surveyed described feeling an obligation to continue caring for their older consoles as they age, even as they continue to welcome new generations into their homes. At the same time, more Americans are also finding themselves trying to free space in their basement after their Xbox 360 returns home from college.” While Corfield acknowledged that it might be difficult finding enough television inputs to go around, an overwhelming number of survey respondents said that having an extra Xbox in their home was enormously helpful when it comes to raising their kids.
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- EBRD providing US$ 20 million trade finance limit to Crédit Agricole du Maroc
- Support for local exporters and importers
- Crédit Agricole du Maroc to further develop its correspondent banking network
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is boosting trade in Morocco with a US$ 20 million trade finance limit to Crédit Agricole du Maroc, a leading local bank.
The uncommitted, multi-currency trade finance limit will be used to issue guarantees in favour of confirming banks and to provide cash financing for pre-export and post-import financing and for local distribution.
The coronavirus pandemic has seen strong demand for trade financing to keep the import and export of vital goods going. The EBRD has responded by increasing the total limit available under its Trade Facilitation Programme (TFP) to a record €3 billion for 2020 alone. Trade finance is a key part of the EBRD’s response to the coronavirus crisis.
By joining the TFP, Crédit Agricole du Maroc will gain access to a community of more than 100 issuing banks and 800 confirming banks worldwide, expanding its correspondent banking network and its international business opportunities. Joining the Programme will also create the opportunity to develop new products such as factoring which will support small and medium-sized enterprises and intra-regional trade.
The EBRD TFP was launched in 1999 with the aim of promoting international trade between the economies in the Bank’s regions, in the form of guarantees and short-term loans to selected participating banks and factoring companies.
Crédit Agricole du Maroc was the fourth-largest bank in Morocco in 2019. It operates as a universal bank through a network of around 400 branches.
Morocco is a founding member of the EBRD and became a country of operations in 2012. To date, the EBRD has invested over €2.7 billion in Morocco through 69 projects.


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LONDON Rarely-seen possessions belonging to Britain's late Princess Diana including her music collection and ballet shoes are to go on display this summer at London's Buckingham Palace to mark the 20th anniversary of her death.
Recent Lifestyle News
NEW YORK A toilet paper wedding dress with 1,500 hand-cut butterflies made by a mother of two in her spare time won the $10,000 first prize in a quirky New York fashion competition on Thursday and a bride-in-need may have the chance to wear it down the aisle. | Video
JAKARTA After donning a blue Cinderella dress, Sind Yanti carefully arranges her pale yellow "hijab", or traditional headscarf, into folds that resemble hair. | Video
BEIJING A Chinese female blogger who posed as a man's Lunar New Year girlfriend says her experience illustrates the generational tensions over finding a marriage partner in China. | Video
ALEXANDRIA, Egypt For Egypt's Special Olympics athletes, a lack of snow in their homeland did not stop them winning medals at this year's Winter Games. They trained on a surface that Egypt has plenty of: sand.
STOCKHOLM A Swedish rail operator has vowed to name one of its trains "Trainy McTrainface" after a public vote, saying it would bring joy to people disappointed when Britain rejected the name Boaty McBoatface for a polar research ship following a similar poll.
ACT-1 Group Founder and CEO Janice Bryant Howroyd on why she loves doing business in and taking time off in the British capital. Find out where she likes to go and why she likes the people so much. Video


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Ugandan distributor makes good on $4m Ascent injectionThe African Queen fleet grew from 48 vehicles to 70 vehicles post-investment and in the meantime its distribution network has grown across Uganda.
July 1—USAID Hub, the Nairobi-based organization geared to expanding American commercial interests in Eastern Africa, is touting African Queen, a Ugandan importer and distributor of hair care, skin care, stationery and plastics products, for turning around its business fortunes.
A couple of years ago, private equity firm, Ascent asked staff at the regional Hub to carry out due diligence on African Queen to judge the firm’s prospects with more refinancing and some reorganization.
With the support from the USAID Hub, Ascent and African Queen closed an investment deal of $4 million in February 2016. These Hubs across Africa, are spearheading a new model of private-sector led development. For every $1 of public money spent on trade programs in Africa, the Hubs leverage $9 in private investment.
African Queen managing director, Innocent Bagumira said last week, “The recommendations that came from the USAID Hub helped us transform our business; particularly in terms of refocusing on high margin brands, sales automation, reorganizing our workforce and inventory and channel management. Because of their work, we are positioning the company to win by leveraging better on our ICT and innovation.”
USAID Trade Hubs work on the ground to reduce the cost and risk of doing business in Africa, leveling the playing field and cutting through red-tape to make investment and trade freer and fairer. USAID is engaging with partners across sub-Saharan Africa to deepen regional economic integration, promote two-way trade with the United States under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and finally attract investment that drives commercial expansion within the region and to global markets.
According to the Nairobi Hub, African Queen now operates as a robust commercial enterprise with the oversight of a Board of Directors and a Managing Director who redefined African Queen’s operating and management procedures. African Queen’s improved management and governance also allows them to better engage with fast-moving consumer goods conglomerates who insist on professional distributors for their global and regional brands.
From 198 employees pre-investment in 2015, African Queen grew to 219 employees (38 pc women and 70 pc youth) post-investment in 2017. Similarly, its fleet grew from 48 vehicles to 70 vehicles post-investment. African Queen retired its auto rickshaw fleet and old trucks in favour of fuel-efficient vehicles that reduce its carbon footprint. Furthermore, the company expanded its consumer base in Uganda
The new management team drives a strong customer centric mentality which enables African Queen to offer improved service to wholesale clients as well as to new retail clients. The strategic shift resulted in African Queen becoming the market leader in distribution.
African Queen’s credit-line now allows its retail partners to grow alongside the company. Due to greater attention to detail and demand for best practices and high-quality goods, African Queen and its partners now have a reputation for being ‘best in class’ and are well positioned to expand their quality offerings to the underserved consumers in Central and Northern Africa.