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Is your home town changing colour? LEDs are the new in-thing for lighting up our nights, promising to save authorities money, lessen maintenance costs and offer a shortcut to the smart, connected city.
The problem is there's little awareness of how poorly-designed LED lighting could have a potentially devastating effect on privacy, human health, scientific research and the natural world.
So is it time we all got to know LED lighting better – and are the standards high enough for our so-called smart cities?
Smart city on a stick?
LED street lights are quickly changing how our streets look, but they're also being used to help create smart cities.
Los Angeles recently became the world's first city to deploy Philips connected street poles, which also act as 4G LTE cellular towers, and Doncaster in the UK just got 33,000 wirelessly connected LED street lights that use a pioneering low-power, wide-area and ultra-narrow broadband wireless technology to effectively turn each lamp post into a router.
This means it's likely we'll soon see LED street lights equipped with CCTV cameras, Wi-Fi routers and digital signage.
They'll be armed with multiple sensors that monitor air quality, hyper-local weather, traffic flows, nearby parking spaces, footfall on pavements and sidewalks, and noise pollution.
They could even act as a charging station for electric vehicles, and use Bluetooth to locate where every single citizen is by communicating with phones and wearables.
It seems like a great way to make our lives more advanced – so why is there concern over the use of this new technology?
While sensor-packed LED street lights might bring lots of benefits, they come with huge concerns over their incessant collection of data.
Does anyone really want a sensor tracking their phone or wearable device, perhaps recording their heart-rate as they pass an LED street light? Or even our conversations? That tech will soon be here, with ShotSpotter systems – gunshot detection or microphones on street lights – already being considered.
"Intelligent street furniture is not the first example of a connected city – services such as CCTV and emergency response systems are designed to increase public safety, but can be seen by some as 'Big Brother'," says Jon Scott, product development manager at Marshalls, which specialises in LED street lighting and smart street furniture.
It's all a question of balance: citizens need to know what their data is being used for, and why.
"Anonymising user data is a good first step in helping to limit the ability for any one user to be tracked through a system and specifically identified," says Scott, but he thinks that another option might be to explore the use of physically separate devices.
"Standalone Bluetooth tags would ensure the data required to interact with a smart city is held separately from sensitive data held on an individual's mobile phone or other device," he adds. "The trade-off is that individuals will enjoy less personalised support from the smart city itself."
Cold and unwelcoming
Another issue is that LED street lights are being installed on the cheap. They may have the potential to be at the core of smart cities, but for now they're being clumsily installed without either knowledge nor consultation, and could be storing up health problems for all of us.
White LED street lighting is more energy-efficient and longer lasting than the orange high-pressure sodium lights they're quickly replacing, but it comes at a cost that's beyond financial.
The first is glare; the new LED street lights make it harder to see anything in the shadows thrown by cars and trees. The second is that badly chosen LED street lights create a clinical white light.
"A common complaint of LEDs is that the light they produce is 'cold' or unwelcoming, and there's actually a strong evolutionary reason for this," says Scott.
"We've evolved to associate warm red/orange light from natural sources, such as the setting and rising Sun and firelight, as being associated with dawn and dusk, which are generally times of rest," he adds.
"But our brain recognises blue light – which is also emitted from TVs, mobiles and computers – as daytime, and too much of it can knock our natural body rhythm out of sync."
LEDs contain a lot of blue light, which has negative effects on human health (as well as the health of birds, turtles and insects) according to the American Medical Association, which says that white LED lamps have five times greater impact on circadian sleep rhythms than the lamps they replace.
Everyone knows about the need to stop staring at tablets and phones an hour or so before bed time (blue light suppresses melatonin production at night), with brands like Apple and Samsung baking the ability to gradually change the light emitted from LED screens to warmer, less harmful hues into their devices.
The big blue
Using these specific white LEDs is really only about saving money, with more intelligent LED technologies usually ignored.
"The blue light produced inside the LED is changed to white through the use of phosphor coatings, which absorb some of the light energy and convert it into a warmer yellow light," says Scott.
It's the mixture of yellow and blue that creates the light, which we perceive as white. "The conversion process isn't 100% efficient, so colder lights – where less blue light is converted – are more efficient than warmer yellower lights," he adds.
The amount of blue light we're exposed to is becoming more controllable, so it's easily possible to achieve a balance between lights that are highly efficient and lights which are pleasing to to the eye, and less harmful – it's just a matter of whether authorities believe there's a real cost-benefit in using them.
"The new World Atlas of Artificial Sky Brightness showed that about 70% of the land area of the USA is in a state of perpetual twilight at night, never reaching natural levels of darkness," says John Barentine, Program Manager at the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) in Phoenix, Arizona, and author of The Lost Constellations (opens in new tab).
The main problem is, again, the blue light produced by current street lights. "White LEDs are the number one problem that's facing us," he says.
Anyone looking at Nasa's Blue Marble image can see that it's already a big, big problem – the world glowing brighter every night.
One of the biggest movements for dark skies in the US is centred on Flagstaff, a certified Dark Sky Community that has long fought to keep its skies dark. It has a tangible reason to do so, since on Mars Hill, barely half a mile from the centre of town, is the Lowell Observatory, where Pluto was discovered in 1930.
Retired astronomer Christian Luginbuhl at the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition published a research paper in 2014 which showed that if you switch from high-pressure sodium to white LED, the 'sky glow' will increase tremendously – even if you match the total number of lumens (the brightness thrown out) of light.
"That was an eye-opening moment," says Barentine. "It showed that even when cities converting to the new LED technology do what we think is a good thing – by not adding more light in terms of quantity – they still end up with more sky glow."
The issue is that white LED systems emit a lot more shortwave light than high-pressure sodium, which is narrow-band. Sadly, shortwave light scatters.
Technology to the rescue
It doesn't have to be this way and, as usual, technology does have an answer. Even progressive Flagstaff needs to take advantage of LED's undoubted economic benefits, but unlike most towns it's not rushing in and buying the cheapest LED solution without first trying out night sky and eye-friendly alternatives already on the market.
The town is currently testing both narrow-band amber (NBA) and filtered white LED (FLED). NBA fixtures – recommended by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory – emit mostly yellow light, while FLED is a normal white LED fixture with a glass filter over the top that suppresses the shortwave blue light.
Together those technologies largely solve the problem of sky glow, while also achieving the same low electricity costs, but they're newer, so don't have economies of scale.
"The cities of the world in the next few years are going to get brighter – as seen from the ground and from space – as a result of these conversions," admits Barentine. The result? The planet is more than twice as bright as it needs to be if solutions aren't found.
Light at the end of the tunnel
That doesn't need to be the case, and perhaps – just perhaps – it won't. LED fixtures are so small that the distribution of light can be carefully controlled, with proper shielding minimising spill.
"This more precise light distribution means we are able to reduce the impact on local wildlife, especially nocturnal hunters such as bats, and also cut back on sky glow," says Scott.
Marshalls has developed M-LIVE technology that creates intelligent street furniture that's able to control lighting.
"It allows light levels to be tailored to the requirements of nearby users through the use of proximity sensing technologies, including motion sensing and wireless communication systems, such as Bluetooth," Scott adds.
Street lights will therefore switch on only when they sense a smartphone coming their way. Now that's efficiency.
Reversing the trend
So it's clear what's needed to stop this trend: properly shielded, filtered LED lights that emit warm light, dim when no one is around. But there will need to be strict controls on both the light output and on what happens to data collected by sensors on networked LED street lights, too.
While the new technology is saving money and helping reduce energy usage, there's a definite need for more research into what the technology will do and how it can affect society at large – both mentally and physically.
Authorities need to start delivering carefully planned and controlled LED street lighting, realising that it has the potential to change our cities for the better over stock white LED systems – even if those offer the cheapest route to making our lives more connected.
Why? Because the smart city is about creating desirable human habitats, not just saving cash.
Main image credit: Philips


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CES 2017’s top home automation systems
This year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has been a fantastic portal into the future of home automation. A quiet stroll around the floor of the show has scores of IoT boxes, built-in-cameras, artificially intelligent and predictive algorithms, voice activation security monitors and sensors beeping and buzzing at you. It’s thrilling. The energy. The life. The innovation. Nothing short of a technological arms race. So let’s dive straight into it and talk about some of the most interesting home devices that CES 2017 had to offer.
Home automation. Home automation, everywhere!
One study places the smart home as the most popular means of IoT engagement and predicts that 29 million units will be sold in 2017. It’s little wonder that myriad companies are fighting tooth and nail for a piece of the smart home pie. Here are some of the most notable from this year’s CES.
Blaze Automation’s B.One
This device is described as the world’s first skateboard for your home. Blaze Automation are positioning its B.One hub as the most advanced smart home and security system.
Don’t be fooled: Every company’s taken the liberty of being the “most advanced, most powerful”. We’ve found it to be a bit more relative.
This hub, however, does have an AI that Blaze Automation have called “InstinctAct”. It uses basic machine learning to learn user behavior (like coffee preferences) and adapt accordingly (with milk and two sugars please).

domain: news


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Surely you’ve heard Kim Kardashian ‘broke the internet’ last week with her nude photo shoot for fashion magazine Paper. Her bountiful bottom, in all its literally shining glory, has made quite an impact.
Irish women are responding actively to the photographs and, after a look at Kim’s famous derriere, they’ve started to reconsider their own backsides, according to Jennifer O’Donovan, spokeswoman for the Therapie Clinic chain in Ireland.
The procedure is non-invasive – what it does is “liquefies fat on the buttocks and lifts the shape it into a more curvy-style behind made famous by celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce.”
Within just a few days of the photoshoot's publication, the number of bookings at Therapie Clinic doubled. “People are literally walking in the door with cut-outs of the pictures,” O’Donovan said.
“People are looking for curves,” O’Donovan said. “The curvy figures have become more acceptable.”
The newly sought-after procedure uses a combination of bipolar radio frequency and infrared heat with vacuum rollers to travel through the layer of subcutaneous fat, “repositioning some of the malleable fat for a more appealing buttock contour,” said O’Donovan.
More Irish women have opting to go under the knife for buttock augmentation surgery as well, says one of Ireland’s leading plastic surgeons, Dr. Ahmed Salman.
Would you ever opt for surgery to look like Kim K.?


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But, when you check its share price, you see that growth in reverse…
The firm, which indexes video from over 720 partners and serves ads against them, passed 100 million monthly unique users in January. Half-year revenue almost doubled last year, new partner announcements come thick and fast from Blinkx’s typical press release factory, the firm has been integrating its acquisitions of ad net PVMG and ad tech outfit Burst Media.
The coming move of online video from desktop to living room would seem to offer considerable growth potential.
But Blinkx shares on London’s AIM market are down 72 percent from their November high.
What’s going on? Many investors piled out of Blinkx when it unveiled half-year pre-tax profits down 26 percent in November.
That appeared to be punishment for Blinkx’s acquisitions. Had it not spent $3.5 million acquiring and amortising those companies to boost its advertising offering, Blinkx pre-tax profit would have doubled to almost $5 million.
But others maintained confidence in the wider opportunity.
Some believed Blinkx to have hit a low that made it a strong stock buy for future growth. But its shares have gone on falling – exacerbated by its warning this April that, despite growing 72 percent, its annual revenue would nevertheless miss analysts’ expectations.
What does Blinkx’s share performance say about the state of online video? Not much – again, the two are out of sync. eMarketer expects U.S. online video advertising spend to grow 54 percent through 2012 as the internet’s fastest-growing format – Blinkx revenue already outstripped that growth in 2011. Suddenly, those missed expectations can be put in context.
But now Motley Fool reckons: “Blinkx could be a prime takeover target for one of the cash-rich tech giants looking to grow through acquisitions.”


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Serviced apartment charter signatories now represent more than a quarter of the industry’s global units
By George Sell
Published in Serviced Apartment News
UK: The industry definitions charter created by Serviced Apartment News and HVS has welcomed 26 new signatories, and now includes operators with more than 230,000 units.
Signatories to the charter, which was launched by Serviced Apartment News and HVS at the 2014 Serviced Apartment Summit in London, now collectively operate more than 230,000 units - comfortably more than a quarter of the entire global industry*.
Many of the largest brands in the world are represented, including Marriott's extended stay flags, The Ascott, Frasers, Oakwood Worldwide and Quest Apartment Hotels, as well as numerous small and medium sized operators from Europe, the Middle East, the Us and Asia Pacific.
As well as operators, recent signatories to the document include consultants, developers and agents. The new names on the document include PKF, BDRC, GVA, The AA, GBI-AG, Prem Group, Maykenbel, Resi Housing, YAYS, Base Management, Stay AKA, Vision Apartments, WWStay, Lamington, Clarendon, Hyde Park Apartments, Zoku, SDI, JLL, LCP, Cityden, The Edinburgh Collection, Blvd Suites and Brera Serviced Apartments.
Italo Melo, sales and marketing director of London operator Maykenbel, said: "Maykenbel decided to join to support the industry, hoping that collectively we can share knowledge and help build a stronger community and product, for both our colleagues and clients."
Peter Heule, managing director of Netherlands-based Yays and Short Stray Group, said: "Setting the keystone for the serviced apartment industry is crucial to make sure we further develop the sector. Short Stay Group and Yays of course fully support the charter."
Robert Godwin, managing director of Lamington, said: "As our sector grows, the diversity of product and service offerings continues to widen, as both new entrants and offerings enter the market. Lamington Serviced Apartments has recently launched a design led apart-hotel brand called Room 2 which aims to throw out the rule book of traditional serviced apartments in the name of improving guest experience. Whilst seeking differentiation in the market, the serviced apartment charter provided us with a concise, industry approved framework to develop our brand in line with those of competitors. The collaboration of industry partners behind the charter will directly benefit all, as consumers have greater clarity of their expectations of our maturing sector, and it is to be applauded."
To see the latest version of the charter, with new signatories, click here.
If your company is interested in being a signatory to the charter, please email email@example.com
*Total estimated size of the industry: 826,759 units. Source: The Global Serviced Apartments Industry Report 2016/17


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If you love to play rummy game online then you need no introduction of JungleeRummy.Com which is an online destination for all rummy players. Now website has announced that they are going to host an tournament, the World Rummy Tournament 2015 which will be biggest tournament of its-kind, it is scheduled to be held from the 1st to the 4th of March 2015 in Singapore and this four day tournament has prize pool of Rs. 1 Crore.
If you are interested in this tournament then you can directly buy tickets for the main event, or progress through tiers of online satellite tournaments for just Rs.10 at JungleeRummy.com and win tickets for the grand finale. Qualifying finalists will enjoy an all-expense paid sailing to Singapore, Penang and Kuala Lumpur on the luxury cruise liner SuperStar GEMINI for a world class gaming experience,cuisine, accommodation and live entertainment.
Apart from this, the package also contains return airfare from various destinations to Singapore, VISAS for Singapore & travel insurance, and round trip. If you qualifies then you can also celebrate your victory with live music shows and karaoke nights, all free of charge on ship.
Finalist can avail unlimited access to the restaurant and bars meals and liquor, Gamers can also avail sports and fitness facilities on the ship from the gym to sauna and massage besides indulging in activities like onboard shopping.
The final tournament will be the knockout one and it will be comprises in six rounds and there will be a maximum of 240 players and 40 tables with a capacity of six players. It is a 13 cards rummy tournament and the prize money of Rs. 1 crore will be distributed among 40 people.
Satya Mahapatra – CMO, Junglee Games, said :-
“After our constant effort of giving our users an enhanced gaming experience, it was time for us to take rummy to the next level. The World Rummy Tournament 2015 was designed with this objective. The qualifier games are now going viral online and we have already found our first winner, Navin Krishna from Pamur, who won the first ticket to the Final Event playing a free entry tournament on JungleeRummy.com.”


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Microsoft and Google have been bitter rivals for years but surprisingly, Microsoft's Outlook.com Web mail client appears to be warming up to Gmail and a bunch of other Google services.
Twitter user Florian B tweeted screenshots that show a new feature in Outlook.com allowing users to integrate their Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Calendar into their Outlook.com account. The feature, which appears to be rolling out slowly to Outlook.com members, means users can interact with, and share content between, their Outlook.com and Google accounts in the same pane.
The feature is only rolling out to Outlook.com Web mail client users. Outlook users who subscribe to Microsoft's Office 365 service—commonly the case for workplaces who use Outlook as their email client—can already add e-mail accounts from other services to manage their messages in one spot.
Microsoft has confirmed the test, with a spokesperson telling Engadget, "We are always looking for new ways to extend the best email experience to our customers and can confirm that we're experimenting with a small set of Outlook.com users to learn and gather feedback."
According to Florian B and other users who have tweeted about the integration, adding Google services to Outlook takes just a few steps. After it's set up, users can switch between their Outlook and Gmail accounts on the fly.
More importantly, the feature works across platforms. So, if users have a document stored in Google Drive, they can attach it to an e-mail they're sending from their Outlook accounts. Similarly, users can add information from their Outlook e-mails to their Google Calendar events all within the same space.
It's unclear why Microsoft is integrating Google services into Outlook.com. But it's possible the feature could be used to combine work and personal e-mails. Those who use Outlook.com personal e-mail accounts, for instance, could integrate their work Google G Suite accounts into Outlook.com and cover both sides of their lives. Office 365 business users can already integrate Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive into their desktop Outlook app, although it's not as simple to set up.


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The electronics titans square off in a tangled tale of mobile technology, centered on Apple's iPhone
The Panasonic Viera TH-P42V20A is a steal at half the price of the company's flagship and features a better picture to boot!
Typical price: $1,699.00
The Volkswagen Beetle was a car that came close to never seeing the light of day, but on its way from fascist project to hippie icon it became one of the pillars of the automotive world. XCAR goes back to the start of the story and finds out whether the new Beetle deserves its name.
With a touch display that bends back 300 degrees, the N20p isn't a much of as shapechanger as its sister Yoga Chromebook.
Lenovo's first consumer Chromebook adds touch and a 300-degree hinge.
If you don't think you'd be up to the task of maintaining a classic car but would still like the experience now and then of driving one, the Classic Car Club offers up the chance to do just that.
The Classic Car Club offers the experience of driving some amazing cars without the hard work that ownership can bring with it. We tagged along for a night drive to take some of these awesome machines out for a spin.
And as usual, Forbes' latest list of the wealthiest 400 Americans includes a tech industry who's who, from Ellison to Zuckerberg to Musk.
An investment analyst has tipped the upcoming Grand Theft Auto instalment to sell 18-20 million copies by March 2014.
Pics and specs have leaked for Sony's rumoured Xperia i1 camera phone, and it looks to take on the opposition with some serious speccage.
The computing giant wins the patent game again, but it looks like Samsung, Google, and Apple will be tough competitors in the future.


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Through its access to unique financial and commercial data, Dun & Bradstreet provides current and predictive assessments of economic conditions, business expectations and payment behaviour, and credit and spending activity in Australia.
The Business Expectations Index is at its highest point since Q4 2015. Plans for capital investment are at a two-year high for the second quarter of 2017 as businesses look forward to higher sales and profits.
As 2016 draws to a close, business confidence for 2017 remains strong. Dun and Bradstreet's December Business Expectations Survey shows that companies are expecting to see increased employment, profits, capital investment and selling prices for the first quarter of 2017 compared to the previous quarter.
Business sentiment moving into the first quarter of 2017 remains high, with Dun and Bradstreet’s November Business Expectations Survey indicating increased expectations for sales, employment, profits, capital investment and selling prices compared to the previous quarter.
New businesses across Australia rose sharply during the second quarter of 2016. According to Dun & Bradstreet’s latest analysis of New and Failed Businesses, the number of start-ups rose 4.8 per cent compared to the same period last year, and 36.7 per cent on the previous quarter.
The recent trend of increasingly faster payment times stalled during Q2, with Dun & Bradstreet’s AustralianTrade Payments Analysis revealing businesses in all states recorded a slight increase in the time taken to settle invoices.
The legal firm wholly owned by leading data business Dun & Bradstreet has been appointed by the Australian Government’s Attorney-General’s Department to the Commonwealth Legal Services Multi-Use List (LSMUL).
The results from Dun & Bradstreet’s April Business Expectations Survey have highlighted another drop in expectations, with businesses maintaining gloomy forecasts for the three-month period to 30 September 2016.
The results from Dun & Bradstreet’s March Business Expectations Survey have highlighted a second consecutive decline in expectations, with businesses issuing subdued forecasts for the three-month period to June 2016, despite reporting an improved actual performance over the previous quarter.
The results from Dun & Bradstreet’s February Business Expectations Survey have highlighted a sharp decline in expectations for the second quarter, with businesses issuing gloomy forecasts for the three-month period to June 2016.
Dun & Bradstreet (‘D&B’) is pleased to announce that it continues to be a trusted supplier of choice for the Department of Human Services (‘DHS’) after being awarded a renewal of its contract for the provision of Mercantile Agent Services for Debt Recovery.
The results from Dun & Bradstreet’s January Business Expectations Survey have highlighted a third consecutive period of subdued expectations, with businesses reporting a pessimistic outlook for the second quarter of 2016.
Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) welcomes the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) decision to grant authorisation to the Australian Retail Credit Association (ARCA) in relation to the Principles of Reciprocity and Data Exchange, effective 25 December 2015.
Dun & Bradstreet’s latest Business Expectations Survey indicates a fairly subdued outlook for the first quarter of 2016, as results continue to fall short of expectations. As the new year approaches, business are reporting lowered expectations for activity across Sales, Profits, Employees and Capital Investment.
Australian consumer credit bureau Dun & Bradstreet and peer-to-peer lender RateSetter are pleased to announce that they have partnered together for the provision of comprehensive credit reporting data.
The number of failed businesses in Australia jumped by 17.7 per cent in the third quarter of the year, compared to figures from the third quarter of 2014, with all states and territories experiencing an increase in the number of firms that sought legal relief from creditors or ceased operations without paying their creditors in full.
The optimism seen in September’s Business Expectations Survey has waned in October, with businesses flagging a drop in sales, selling prices, employment, profit and investment in the first quarter of 2016. A decrease across all expected indices has not been seen since the June quarter of 2013.
Australian businesses settled their invoices at a new record-setting pace of 45.1 days on average in Q3 2015. This compares to 49.2 days in the previous quarter and 51.7 days in the same period last year, as revealed by Dun & Bradstreet’s latest Trade Payments Analysis.
Confidence has continued its upward trajectory in the corporate sector, although businesses remain cautiously optimistic as concerns over weak demand and low consumer confidence weigh on their outlook for the final quarter of 2015.
Despite an Australian economy growing at a moderate 2.3 per cent according to March quarter figures released by the ABS this month, the latest data on trade payments reveals that businesses are paying their invoices at the fastest rate on record.
The number of failed businesses in Australia has increased by 7.8 per cent in the first quarter of the year, compared to figures from the first quarter of 2014, with all states and territories experiencing a rise in the number of firms that sought legal relief from creditors or ceased operations without paying their creditors in full.
Despite earlier indications that the business sector would take steady steps forward this year, the latest survey of Australian firms reveals that expectations and levels of optimism have returned to 2014 levels.
The number of failed businesses in Australia leapt 8.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of the year, with all states and territories experiencing a rise in the number of firms that sought legal relief from creditors or ceased operations without paying their creditors in full.
After easing in the lead-up to Christmas, prices are expected to begin rising this year with 31 per cent of businesses intending to lift their selling prices in the first quarter, while just four per cent will discount.
The average time taken for Australian businesses to pay their invoices has fallen to the lowest level since the third quarter of 2007, in signs that operating conditions have strengthened this year and the business sector's cash position is improving.
This year's gradually improving business outlook looks set to continue into 2015, with the latest survey of Australian firms revealing that an increasing number expect to lift their sales and profits, sell their goods and services at higher prices, and invest more in their operations during the first quarter of the New Year.
Business owners are optimistic about seeing a jump in sales during the run-up to Christmas, with retailers and the services industry lifting their forecasts for the final quarter of the year despite signs that consumer confidence in Australia is faltering.
After jumping to a three-year high during the first quarter of 2014, the average time taken for commercial invoices to be paid has fallen sharply to 53.4 days as businesses get their finances back in order and pay more of their bills within standard terms.
The level of financial stress in Australia is forecast to reach a new high for a third quarter of the year as consumers' financial capacity strains under the weight of high household debt, weak wages growth and fragile sentiment.


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U.S. businesses in Hong Kong are generally optimistic about the competitive global hub and more plan to expand their investments, said a survey report released Wednesday by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (AmCham HK).
Hong Kong is either the global or regional headquarters for six out of 10 businesses, said the 2022 Business Sentiment Survey Report of AmCham HK, which covered a total of 151 key corporate representatives and 111 individual members of the chamber.
About 15 percent of respondents plan to reduce their operations in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) for the next two years, and a marginal 5 percent felt very pessimistic about the business outlook, according to the report.
"Hong Kong is seen by the majority to be competitive as a global hub," said the report.
The report highlighted Hong Kong's edge in the free flow of capital, international connectivity, and the tax structure, noting that the financial services sector is seen as robust with gains in competitiveness, especially in wealth management, and 66 percent of the businesses rate the performance of the transport and logistics industry in Hong Kong as good to excellent.
Canada's Fraser Institute ranked Hong Kong as the world's freest economy in the Economic Freedom of the World 2021 Annual Report, while Hong Kong ranked third globally in the Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI) published by the British commercial think tank Z/Yen Group in September 2021.
To further consolidate the advantages of Hong Kong, China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for national economic and social development supports Hong Kong's efforts to promote its position as a global financial, shipping and trade hub, and better integration into the national development.
Sixty percent of surveyed businesses are already operating in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), which promotes regional integration, with Shenzhen and Guangzhou being the most popular cities.
Two in five businesses plan to expand their operations in the GBA over the next few years, according to the report. "Most industries have benefitted from the growth in the GBA. Information Technology has benefitted the most."
Given Hong Kong's competitiveness and opportunities, more companies plan to hire more employees in the next year, with at least 35 percent of respondents planning to increase headcount, compared with 14 percent in last year's report.
"I hope this survey will serve as a launch point for discussion and collaboration to make Hong Kong a top destination for businesses from across the world. Hong Kong has always renewed and refocused after challenging times, and hopefully business, government and residents can work together to surmount challenges," said AmCham President Tara Joseph.


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Mass. techies launch products from CES floor
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If you drink tea, wear a watch, ride a bike or want to learn about security issues in facial recognition technology, you may want to tune into some of the things Massachusetts companies are displaying and talking about at the International CES this week.
The Las Vegas convention is one of the largest consumer electronics shows of the year, with 3,200 companies from all over the world - and nearly 100 New England ones - exhibiting innovative products and services.
One of those products is being billed as “the world’s thinnest watch” by Massachusetts-based E Ink and Chicago-based Central Standard Timing. The CST-01 is thinner than a credit card and inspired by E Ink’s electronic paper displays, which is already used in the Kindle and other consumer products. The patent-pending CST-01 is assembled by laminating components that are less than half a millimeter wide into a pocket etched into a piece of flexible stainless steel. Orders for the $129 product are being taken now, the be shipped in the spring.
“E Ink’s ePaper displays enable designers to create products without the constraints of traditional displays,” said Sriram Peruvemba, chief marketing officer for E Ink Holdings, which will be moving from Cambridge to Billerica in coming weeks. “The CST-01 incorporates some of the best features of our technology and brings a very unique design to the consumer.”
Cambridge Consultants is showing off two products which would appeal to health nuts: a wireless, automatic gear-changing bicycle, and a tea-brewing machine that’s claimed to be twice as fast as the teabag-and-boiling-water method.
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Tyson's most recent trend suggests a bullish bias. One trading opportunity on Tyson is a Bull Put Spread using a strike $63.00 short put and a strike $58.00 long put offers a potential 7.53% return on risk over the next 3 calendar days. Maximum profit would be generated if the Bull Put Spread were to expire worthless, which would occur if the stock were above $63.00 by expiration. The full premium credit of $0.35 would be kept by the premium seller. The risk of $4.65 would be incurred if the stock dropped below the $58.00 long put strike price.
The 5-day moving average is moving up which suggests that the short-term momentum for Tyson is bullish and the probability of a rise in share price is higher if the stock starts trending.
The 20-day moving average is moving up which suggests that the medium-term momentum for Tyson is bullish.
The RSI indicator is at 53.59 level which suggests that the stock is neither overbought nor oversold at this time.
To learn how to execute such a strategy while accounting for risk and reward in the context of smart portfolio management, and see how to trade live with a successful professional trader, view more here
LATEST NEWS for Tyson
10 Companies Already Hurt by President Trump's Tariffs
Fri, 14 Sep 2018 18:30:33 +0000
If steep tariffs on goods imported into the United States are only part of a negotiating tactic from President Donald Trump, he certainly has committed to his bluff. Trump's tariffs – the first of which went into effect in early July and prompted an immediate, equivalent response from America's trade partners, including China – have been left in place long enough to start taking a measurable toll on American bottom lines. Most consumers and even most investors have yet to see or feel their impact. Despite the relatively civil trade war thus far, the global economy is robust, driving overall corporate earnings upward. Workers are enjoying their recent pay raises. Time is working against certain businesses, however. The ripple effect stemming from the initial victims' struggle could take weeks if not months to be fully felt on other fronts. And new tariffs are being imposed. It will take weeks and/or months to feel their full impact as well, even as those outfits start to feel the early ripples. Still, more than a few major publicly traded stocks have already taken hits related to Trump's tariffs (and other countries' retaliatory measures). Here are 10 companies that already have run into trade-war headwinds. SEE ALSO: The Best and Worst Presidents (According to the Stock Market)
Is Tyson Foods Stock Ready to Serve Up Profits for Investors?
Fri, 14 Sep 2018 17:11:04 +0000
After a difficult 2018, investors may consider adding Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) stock to their portfolio for the rest of the year. There are several long strategies in TSN stock that could lead to impressive profits. In the recent trade wars saga, China, the global top consumer of pork and one of the biggest markets for U.S. pork, introduced a 25% tariff on pork imported from the U.S. Previous 2018 earnings calls by TSN management had also been downbeat and investors in Tyson Foods stock had punished the stock throughout the year.
See what the IHS Markit Score report has to say about Tyson Foods Inc.
Tue, 11 Sep 2018 12:00:56 +0000
Tyson Foods Inc NYSE:TSN
Why Is Tyson (TSN) Up 4.8% Since Last Earnings Report?
Wed, 05 Sep 2018 12:46:12 +0000
Tyson (TSN) reported earnings 30 days ago. What's next for the stock? We take a look at earnings estimates for some clues.
Edited Transcript of TSN earnings conference call or presentation 6-Aug-18 1:00pm GMT
Tue, 04 Sep 2018 18:59:33 +0000
Q3 2018 Tyson Foods Inc Earnings Call
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We have various options to advertise with us including Events, Advertorials, Banners, Mailers, Webinars etc. TorLinks is a moderated replacement for The Hidden Wiki, and serves as a link or url list of Tor hidden services. The MIT students' work on the black market prices for drugs project led to collaboration with DARPA to develop Tor. So even though they directly did not host illegal content, they monetised their way of promoting criminal activity and directing traffic towards these darknet sites. Your package will take anywhere from a week to two months to arrive, and there isn’t a damn thing you can do to speed it up. While Uncle Sam contributes to the development of Tor and similar anonymity resources, the government is also known to take more of a proprietary approach, considering even the dark web to be within American jurisdiction when site hosting is in question. Results show a radical drop of careless clicking to just 14.
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Daeva Darknet Market
The darknet consists of internet services that darkmarket list can darkmarket list be accessed with anonymity using special networks such as Router, or Tor, network. All distributors assist PGP and have specified a public PGP key on their profile. As an asynchronous method of BFT consensus, HBBFT does not rely on assumptions about time to achieve network consensus, which is beneficial in an environment where network nodes are operating under widely different conditions and connection speeds. Their arrest was carried out following joint investigations by the German, US and Dutch law enforcement agencies with the support of the European police agency Europol. Trafficking routes can also be used by criminal networks to transport other illicit products. The most iconic family feud in American history begins in the heart of southern Appalachia. As a service that makes it easy for people to link their online presence and identities together in a more secure way. This means that only certain websites can get to your website and no one else can. That gave the Dutch investigators an idea: Perhaps they could use the existing German investigation as cover for their own operation, letting the German police nab their suspects for e-book piracy and then secretly taking over Hansa without tipping off the market's users. Tor, short for Router, is free and open-source software for enabling anonymous.
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Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we can confirm that the stadium has now closed.
The stadium closure will include the Club Shop, which will be closed until further notice.
All online sites remain active and open. To shop online, please click HERE.
Supporters wishing to purchase 2020/21 Season Tickets over the phone (0117 9096648 - Option 1) will be able to do so between the hours of 9am-1pm, Monday and Thursday.
Season Ticket renewals are also available online by clicking HERE.


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SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — Hanwha Techwin Co., a major surveillance tech firm in South Korea, said Thursday it will start into the clerkless store solution business with its auto checkout (ACO) machine as the company expands its business portfolio amid the pandemic-induced non-contact trend.
Hanwha Techwin said it decided to enter the unmanned store solutions market as many retailers opt to open cashier-free shops for 24-hour operation while there is a need to improve consumer convenience in the checkout process at stores.
“It can create a synergy with our mainstay video surveillance solutions business,” the company said. “Since this is a market with a high growth potential, we will develop related technologies and expand the business.”
Citing an industry report, Hanwha Techwin said the global self-service checkout machine market is estimated at US$3.5 billion and is expected to grow an average 9 percent annually for the next three years.
In South Korea, more than 100,000 automated self-service machines are estimated to be at retail stores.
The affiliate of Hanwha Aerospace said its ACO machine is easier to use compared to self checkout (SCO) machines installed at cashierless stores.
While people have to manually tag a barcode of a product at an SCO machine, the company’s ACO machine can automatically scan a barcode of a product with various sensors and cameras when users put items on a conveyor belt, according to the company.
To boost its competitiveness in the sector, Hanwha Techwin said it signed a partnership with Cognex Corp., a U.S.-based machine vision systems and sensors developer.
Under the deal, the two sides will join hands to develop various technologies for clerkless stores and establish global sales channels.


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Steam, the popular video game platform, has announced that it will abandon support for current versions of the Windows OS – Windows 7 and 8.1 – starting January 1, 2024. This is because the latest features of Steam rely on the built-in version of Google Chrome, which no longer works on these older versions of Windows. Furthermore, future versions of Steam will require updates to Windows features and security present only on Windows 10 and above. As such, for those still running on older Windows systems, the only thing left to do is upgrade to newer software.
Data from the February survey reveals that Windows 7 holds a market share of 1.52%, while Windows 8.1 has 0.34%. These systems have not been supported by Microsoft since January 10 of this year, and the decision of Valve Software to terminate their support for the old systems is understandable.
The app, which is essentially a browser, works completely differently in the Windows 10 system. It is able to use certain features of Chrome, and as such, it can make use of a much more sophisticated set of features. For instance, the app has virtual reality support and game-streaming, which works much better in the newest version of Windows.
In addition to the features and upgrades, Windows 10 also provides a more secure environment. The newer Windows OS is equipped with features such as Windows Defender and Windows Firewall, which add extra protection to the system against malicious attacks. Furthermore, this OS also has better overall performance and stability, making it much more efficient.
Overall, it’s clear that Steam’s decision to end support for older versions of Windows is justified. These systems are no longer supported by Microsoft, and the latest features in Steam require the built-in version of Google Chrome, which does not work on such systems. As such, for those still running on Windows 7 and 8.1, the only option is to upgrade to Windows 10. This will provide not only the latest features for Steam but also overall better performance, stability, and security for the system.


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We are entering an era of seismic change — retailers have started to right-size their physical assets (whether those are stores, transportation assets, or other physical capital investments) enabled by the move to cloud computing and the ability to intelligently connect stores, devices, warehouses, and transportation.
Amazon, however, has been moving in the exact opposite direction, albeit cautiously at first: investing in physical distribution and infrastructure, including brick-and-mortar experiments like its consumer electronics pop-ups, baker’s dozen bookstores, and Amazon Go grab-and-go convenience store. With its $13.7 billion Whole Foods acquisition announced late last week, it has now cannonballed into the physical retail world with 465 stores across the country, in a category commonly accepted as key to building customer loyalty. It’s a direct volley at Walmart, whose strategy has long relied on dominance in grocery to maintain its position as the #1 retailer in the world.
Was this a smart investment?
With this acquisition, Amazon certainly acquires a highly regarded brand with a dedicated customer base in a critical category, but it also acquires a lot of expensive suburban real estate. Amazon paid a 27 percent premium for Whole Foods (whose stock price had declined from a high of $65 to $30). Its previous watermark for an acquisition was $1.2 billion in stock for Zappos in 2009.
At face value, this strategy makes sense: “The brand is a good complement to Amazon and would allow them to more aggressively target fresh food delivery to the at-home market,” Darren Tristano, Chief Insights Officer at Technomic, told CNBC. And if that means also delivering an Echo, bestselling novel, diapers, or a new TV with that weekly grocery replenishment, so be it. However, Amazon didn’t need to make this purchase at this price; there are other ways to achieve similar objectives with a strategic partnership instead of a full — expensive — acquisition. Buying a minority stake in WFM, or partnering with it to facilitate last-mile delivery and returns as well as building its fresh grocery business, could be had for a fraction of the cost and a lot less liability.
Buying this heavily into physical retail right now, when all signs point to overdevelopment, also seems a little like skating to where the puck was versus where it will be in terms of retail. It could be perceived as a backwards move. Physical retail is a business Amazon has yet to learn — and now it is responsible for almost 500 locations and the nearly 100k (human) employees on the ground who come with it.
Stretched too thin? A warning from GE
By working to expand Amazon’s scope across so many disparate fronts concurrently, from original entertainment content with Prime Video and Twitch, proprietary hardware devices like the Kindle and Echo, AWS cloud services, its growing logistics network, a potential play for the office with its rumoured eyeing of Slack, and now a major stake in the (literal) ground of physical retail and grocery, is Bezos reincarnating the spirit of GE’s “Neutron Jack”?
For those who may not remember, throughout the ’90s, Jack Welch conglomerated multiple disparate businesses into the new GE, which extended far afield from its core business of power. “Neutron Jack”, as he came to be known, bought and slashed ruthlessly to build a juggernaut that was fueled by GE Capital. The biggest surprise was probably its acquisition of the flagship entertainment property NBCUniversal. Twenty years later, GE has underperformed its peers and has continued shedding assets including NBCUniversal, GE Capital, and maybe more to come. What was originally seen as a diversification strategy is now recognized as a fatal lack of focus, which may also plague Amazon down the road.
In an era where “economies of scale” dominate the retail category, Amazon and Walmart are converging from different directions. As Walmart continues to transform its digital strategy and elevate its brand perception (through Jet, Modcloth, Moosejaw, Bonobos, etc.), Amazon is seeking physical economies of scale. It’s too early to predict the outcome of this deal, but it will come down to how successful Amazon can be at stitching together the back-end of the supply chain to the consumer-facing one, now including Whole Foods.
Amit Sharma is a former Walmart executive and current CEO at Narvar (the retail tech behind Levis, Sephora, Nordstrom and 400+ others). He’s also a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review.
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Ming-Chi Kuo today released a report discussing the 2020 iPhone lineup. As expected, Kuo says that Apple is set to launch the first 5G iPhones later next year. The analyst also says that all three models will feature OLED displays. The report says the new phones will come in 6.7-inch, 5.4-inch, and 6.1-inch screen sizes.
The 6.1-inch OLED model is apparently the successor to the iPhone XR (or whatever this year’s 2019 LCD 6.1-inch iPhone is called) and will support LTE only. The new 6.7-inch and 5.4-inch phones would support 5G mobile data.
The 5G timeline matches with the consensus expectations of the rumor mill. The screen size dimensions line up with specifications listed in a Digitimes report from earlier this year.
For Apple customers wanting a high-end model with a smaller screen than what the current lineup offers, the 5.4-inch OLED 5G model seems to fit the bill. The current iPhone XS is 5.8-inches diagonally, so a move to a 5.4-inch panel would represent a significantly smaller phone in the hand. For iPhone XS Max fans, the rumored 6.7-inch screen implies an even larger phone, an increase from 6.5-inches in the XS Max.
The 5G compatibility in the 2020 iPhone would apparently support both leading standards; that is, both sub-6GHz and mmWave technology. Millimeter wave spectrum is what is being deployed across the United States.
Ming-Chi Kuo says that Apple’s in-house 5G baseband chip will not be ready until 2022. This means the next few iPhone generations will heavily depend on Qualcomm baseband chips to connect to the high-speed 5G cellular networks. However, Kuo believes Apple is using its own power amplifier and RF antenna designs.
Obviously, we still haven’t seen Apple’s 2019 ‘iPhone 11’ for real. However, the rumor mill believes the phones will largely resemble the current XS/XR lineup in physical appearance. The 2019 flagship iPhones are believed to feature a triple-camera system, a faster A13 chip, indoor location improvements, AirPods power sharing, and larger internal batteries. The 2019 iPhone XR successor will be upgraded from a single to a dual-camera module.
Despite Intel’s exit from the modem business, Kuo says that the 2019 models will use Intel basebands. Component supply for this year’s devices was presumably set in stone by the time the Qualcomm settlement and Intel news broke.
Apple’s 2019 lineup is expected to be unveiled this fall. Apple’s 2020 5G-capable phones described in today’s Kuo report would not go on sale until fall next year.
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When a splashy new smartphone hits the market, consumers often weigh whether to place an order right away or to wait and see how others react to the device.
But with the Galaxy S8, Samsung’s first major smartphone release since the spontaneously combusting Galaxy Note 7 was discontinued last year, there isn’t much of a debate. Your best bet is to wait to buy the roughly $750 device — not just for safety reasons, but also because other uncertainties surround it.
Samsung declined to provide an early review unit of the Galaxy S8 to The New York Times, but several consumer electronics experts who tried the device ahead of its release this Friday were cautiously optimistic about the product. Even so, they said the phone had some radical design changes that might make people uncomfortable, a few key features were unfinished and Samsung’s recent safety record remained a concern.
For those who may not recall, Samsung killed the Galaxy Note 7 last year after some of the phones overheated and several of them caught fire. The South Korean company issued two recalls for the big-screen smartphone and blamed battery manufacturing problems and design flaws for the issues.
“What happened to the Galaxy Note raised questions about Samsung phones in general,” said Mark Spoonauer, the editor in chief of the product reviews site Tom’s Guide, who had early access to the Galaxy S8. “I don’t think there’s any harm in waiting to make sure that everything is safe with this phone.”
Broadly speaking, a wait-and-see approach is the most practical route that consumers can take with any brand-new product. Waiting a few months or even years gives tech companies time to improve existing features and to fix bugs. The only reason to rush to buy a gadget is if you are extremely enthusiastic about it and think it might be sold out for a while.
The New Design
When introducing the Galaxy S8 last month, Samsung highlighted its larger 5.8-inch screen, up from 5.1 inches on the previous model. To make more room for the screen without adding bulk to the body, the company reduced the size of the bezel — or the forehead and the chin — on the face of the device. Samsung also made the home button into a virtual button and shoved it under the display. And the fingerprint sensor for unlocking the phone is now on the back of the device a few millimeters to the right of the camera lens.
Several product reviewers took issue with the location of the fingerprint sensor, saying it made it easy to bump into the camera lens when trying to unlock the phone.
“They should just give you a cloth with the phone to wipe it,” said Mike Gikas, a phone reviewer for Consumer Reports who had tried the Galaxy S8. He added that the placement of the fingerprint sensor might make it difficult for left-handed people to unlock the phone.
Jessica Dolcourt, a product reviewer for CNET who used the Galaxy S8 at a media event last month, agreed that it felt awkward to use the fingerprint reader because of its location on the back. Mr. Spoonauer of Tom’s Guide also said the placement of the fingerprint sensor was not ideal, though not a deal breaker.
The Galaxy S8 includes some other unlocking methods, like facial recognition. Raise the phone to your face as if you were taking a selfie to unlock the Galaxy S8.
However, this method is far from secure: People who tested the phone found that the facial recognition feature could easily be tricked with a photo of the device’s owner. A Samsung spokesman said the facial-recognition feature was less secure than the fingerprint reader or a third unlocking method, an optional iris scanner.
Key Features Are Unfinished
Samsung highlighted Bixby, its voice-controlled virtual assistant that will rival Apple’s Siri, Google’s Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa, when it initially unveiled the S8. What makes Samsung’s assistant unique is that you will be able to ask it to accomplish tasks like sending your most recently taken photo to your spouse, or streaming a specific video to a Samsung television, which other assistants don’t do.
Yet last week, Samsung said that while some portions of Bixby would be available on Day 1, Bixby’s voice features would not be released in the United States until later this spring. To Mr. Spoonauer, this incompleteness was a problem.
“I think the other more disappointing thing is the fact that one of the most exciting features is not going to be fully baked at launch,” he said. “For that reason people might want to wait and see.”
Ms. Dolcourt was less concerned about Bixby because the Galaxy S8 will also include access to Google’s virtual assistant. She said consumers might take greater issue with the lack of a dual-lens camera similar to the one found on the Apple iPhone 7 Plus or the new LG G6 smartphone. With a dual-lens camera, the two cameras work together to show the photo’s main subject clearly while gently blurring the background, among other effects.
While the Galaxy S8 includes some neat filters and effects for taking photos, it has only a single-lens camera, Ms. Dolcourt noted.
“If somebody has their heart set on two cameras, this device doesn’t have it,” she said.
Samsung’s Safety Record
After Samsung’s debacle with the Galaxy Note 7, there is no knowing whether the Galaxy S8 will also have safety issues once it reaches the masses. Samsung said that after the problems with the Note 7, the company developed a so-called eight-point battery safety check, which involves putting batteries through an array of tests including X-ray and human inspections.
All the reviewers agreed that it was highly unlikely for the Galaxy S8 to face similar problems, largely because the device is crucial to Samsung’s profit. Ms. Dolcourt of CNET said she would personally wait three months to see if the phones were safe to buy.
“The proof is in the pudding if the phones survive without incident for three months,” she said.
Kyle Wiens, the owner of iFixit, a company that sells hardware components, noted that among the roughly two million Note 7 devices that were recalled, only a few dozen were defective. In other words, consumers will need a large sample of devices to be in the wild before concluding that Samsung’s new safety tests worked.
“Somebody’s got to be the guinea pig,” he said, before asking, “Do you want to be the guinea pig?”


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Rivington Biscuits plans to slash 99 jobs, thanks to the falling value of the pound which has thrown the company into administration.
Russell Cash and Ben Woolrych, joint partners at FRP Advisory claimed the redundancy of 99 staff was the only viable option they had.
The rest of the staff numbering 24 will help the administration with the present transactions to ensure that the current orders are fulfilled in the New Year.
Currently, Rivington has a total staff of 123 working at its two factories in Harderwijk and Wigan, The Netherlands.
According to the administrators, the company experienced tough conditions over the past year. This put a lot of pressure on its profit margins as well as cash flow.
FRP Advisory alleged that the sharp decline in the value of the pound against the euro worsened the problems.
A Record 31-Year Low against the US Dollar
After the UK’s surprise vote to quit the European Union in June, the value of the pound nosedived to a record 31-year low against the US dollar.
Cash was reported saying: “A sustained deterioration in trading conditions and significant additional pricing costs since the summer following the sharp fall in the value of the pound, left the business facing unsustainable cash-flow pressure”.
He added: “Rivington Biscuits continues to trade through administration but with a reduced staff base in order to fulfil current orders into the New Year.”
Discussion between the joint administrators and major clients and suppliers are being planned. Those with an interest in either acquiring the business or portions of it have been requested to get in touch with the firm.
Cash further regretted the decision saying: “We have had to take the difficult decision of making a large number of redundancies and our immediate priority is to assist those staffs who have lost their job to make timely claims with the Redundancy Payments Service.”
Rivington is famous for making an assortment of wafer biscuits, such as renowned popular pink safer biscuits which are made for supermarket own-label as well as sold under the ‘Pink Panther’ brand.
Meanwhile, the jobs of 13 workers have been “rescued” by the sale of a West Midlands bacon maker after it entered liquidation. This occurred partly because of mounting costs triggered by the UK’s Brexit vote.


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Washington Wellness Entrepreneur Leverages Comcast Business Solutions for Expanding Juice Bar Chain
Intentions Juice and Smoothie Bar embraces connectivity technology to enhance operations and community engagement
SOUTH TACOMA, WASH. – DEC. 14, 2023 – Comcast Business today announced that it is providing Intentions Juice and Smoothie Bar, a rapidly growing wellness-focused business in Washington, with Comcast Business Internet and Comcast Business Mobile. With a firm commitment to supporting community well-being, Intentions Juice and Smoothie Bar is leveraging the technology solutions to not only streamline its operations but also to deepen its impact within the greater Tacoma and Seattle communities.
Founded by Marquita Evans, Intentions Juice and Smoothie Bar was created with the goal to challenge customers to be intentional about what they feed their bodies. What began as a home endeavor to create a healthier lifestyle evolved into a business that provides a wide range of juices and smoothies to customers in the South Tacoma and Seattle areas. Now, the storefronts are more than a place for fresh, healthy drinks – they also serve as hubs for community activity and support. From hosting a kids' chess club to offering merchandise from local artists, the juice bar business has become a beacon for local entrepreneurship and wellness. Building on its success in the South Tacoma and Seattle markets, Juice and Smoothie Bar is set to open a third location in downtown Tacoma in early 2024, further solidifying its commitment to promoting health and community engagement.
In today's fast-paced world, efficient and reliable technology is essential for any growing business. For Intentions Juice and Smoothie Bar, the need to maintain strong communication with clients, manage online orders and participate in local festival events requires robust technology support. And, with aspirations to automate and streamline operations further, the juice bar's technological needs are continuously evolving.
Comcast Business solutions emerged as the ideal solution for Intentions Juice and Smoothie Bar’s technology needs, particularly given the challenges that the business faced during and following the pandemic. The reliability of Comcast's internet and mobile solutions have been crucial to help keep the juice bar business connected with its clientele and in supporting its growth ambitions.
“As we expand our presence and continue to support our local communities, it's vital that our operations run smoothly and efficiently,” said Marquita Evans, founder and owner of Intentions Juice and Smoothie Bar. “Comcast Business has been a game-changer for us, providing the reliable and high-quality tech support we need. Their solutions have empowered us to focus more on what we do best – serving our community and promoting wellness.”
At Intentions Juice and Smoothie Bar locations, Comcast Business Internet enables online order processing, efficient menu updates and smooth customer communications. This robust internet network is crucial for handling the business’ increasing online traffic, especially as it expands its digital footprint. Simultaneously, Comcast Business Mobile is optimizing the way the juice bar business connects with its team and customers. The mobile solution helps ensure seamless communication between the South Tacoma and Seattle locations, while also empowering staff with the ability to share social media updates on daily specials and other offerings in real-time, helping to create a dynamic and interactive online presence.
“Supporting small businesses like Intentions Juice and Smoothie Bar is at the core of what we do at Comcast Business because we understand how important these businesses are to economic growth and community well-being,” said Rob Brenner, vice president of Comcast Business for Comcast’s Pacific Northwest Region. “Our solutions are designed to empower small businesses, enabling them to grow and connect with their communities more effectively.”
About Comcast Business
Comcast Business offers a broad suite of technology solutions to keep businesses of all sizes ready for what’s next. With a range of offerings including connectivity, secure networking, advanced cybersecurity, and unified communications solutions, Comcast Business is partnering with business and technology leaders across industries and integrating Masergy, a leader in software defined networking, to help drive businesses forward. Backed by a next-generation network, Comcast Business has been recognized for its growth, innovation, and leadership in global secure networking.
For more information, call 800-501-6000. Follow on Twitter @ComcastBusiness and on other social media networks at http://business.comcast.com/social.
About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company that connects people to moments that matter. We are principally focused on connectivity, aggregation, and streaming with 57 million customer relationships across the United States and Europe. We deliver broadband, wireless, and video through our Xfinity, Comcast Business, and Sky brands; create, distribute, and stream leading entertainment, sports, and news through Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, Universal Studio Group, Sky Studios, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, multiple cable networks, Peacock, NBCUniversal News Group, NBC Sports, Sky News, and Sky Sports; and provide memorable experiences at Universal Parks and Resorts in the United States and Asia. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.


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Right now, there's effectively one smartphone vendor holding a candle to Apple (NAS: AAPL) , and it's none other than its biggest frenemy, Samsung. The South Korean conglomerate recently overtookNokia (NYS: NOK) (including feature phones) in the world, after the Finnish giant held that crown for 14 years.
Samsung is the role model for the Google (NAS: GOOG) Android army, recently hitting a record quarterly profit of $5.9 billion, largely thanks to its Android smartphone lineup, while other OEMs like HTC have fallen from grace with a vengeance.
Galaxy S3. Source: Samsung.
Galaxy S3. Source: Samsung.
A Sammy exec recently told South Korean news outlet Yonhap News Agency that sales of its freshly released Galaxy S3 have now topped 10 million units, less than two months after it was unleashed upon the masses. Compare that with the Galaxy S2, which took a whole five months to hit the 10 million unit sales threshold, and you'll see why this is bad news for Apple. On the contrary, Apple quickly sold 4 million units of its latest iPhone 4S when the device launched last October.
Samsung's momentum with the Galaxy S3 may likely continue on through the next quarter, as Apple's sixth-generation iPhone isn't expected until the fall, meaning the number of worthy contenders is slim.
The figures also imply that many smartphone buyers aren't waiting for Apple's next iPhone and have opted to go with Sammy's newest Android flagship. There's still some good news for Apple, though, as a recent survey from ChangeWave Research indicates "unprecedented" demand for the next iPhone ahead of any official details on the device.
Roughly 14% of respondents said they were "very likely" to buy the next iPhone, while just 2% made the same indication on the Galaxy S3. ChangeWave researcher Dr. Paul Carton believes that overall smartphone sales will hit all-time highs later this year, with Apple being the biggest beneficiary and Samsung in tow. The results also peg demand for Research In Motion (NAS: RIMM) devices at an "all-time low."
With the Galaxy S3 off to a strong start, the next iPhone can't get here soon enough.
The next iPhone is expected to shatter sales records, which is why Apple still has growth momentum. Sign up for The Motley Fool's brand-new premium Apple research service to read more. The next revolution in computing will be mobile, and one company is growing its share of the component pie. Grab a free copy of this report to see who's powering the next generation of smartphones and tablets.
The article 1 Technology Stock to Watch in the Smartphone Battle originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributorEvan Niuowns shares of Apple, but he holds no other position in any company mentioned. Check out hisholdings and a short bio. The Motley Fool owns shares of Google and Apple.Motley Fool newsletter serviceshave recommended buying shares of Apple and Google and creating a bull call spread position in Apple. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.
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16 posts tagged "Sophie Theallet"
The International Woolmark Prize is a pretty prestigious honor—the American winner, who will be chosen at an event in New York on July 9, will take home a cool $100,000 and go on to compete for another $100,000 at the international event in Milan next February. This year’s U.S. nominees were announced today, and as far as we can see, they’ve each got some stiff competition. Creatures of the Wind (above, center), Altuzarra (above, left), Giulietta, Wes Gordon, WHIT, Timo Weiland, Bibhu Mohapatra (above, right), Ohne Titel, Daniel Vosovic, and Tucker by Gaby Basora are all up for the prize. Last year, Sophie Theallet earned the U.S. award, but Christian Wijnants took home the international honor.
“This is a proud day for me,” said Sophie Théallet (pictured) at yesterday’s announcement for the U.S. winner of the International Woolmark Prize, held at the Crosby Street Hotel, which drew nominees including Prabal Gurung, Naeem Khan, and Bibhu Mohapatra. The contest, which was revived this year after lying dormant since 2008, boasts impressive alum including then-unknown 1954 recipients Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld. The winnings? $100,000 and a slot in the global competition held in London next February. (Théallet stands to collect an additional $100,000 towards a runway show plus luxury retail partners, including Harvey Nichols and Bergdorf Goodman.)
“This was an opportunity to give CFDA members a global platform,” said Steven Kolb, who spearheaded the project stateside along with co-judges Narciso Rodriguez, Sally Singer, and Linda Fargo (all came out for the affair). “It’s an important time in American fashion; twenty years ago we wouldn’t have even been invited to participate.” As for Théallet, winning was a full circle of sorts. “My grandfather had a knitwear factory in the South of France so this award is dear to my heart,” the former Alaïa apprentice told Style.com. For the competition, Théallet crafted a demure ensemble that read one part cropped sweater, one part corseted frock as an homage to her mother, who would pair her grandfather’s knits with sexy underpinnings. “To me, knitwear is about love,” she added. “It’s what you wrap yourself in, cuddle with, or wear like a boyfriend’s sweater. It’s something we all fall in love with.”
Fashion week presents a particular problem to any scheduler: When? “Fashion week’s so nuts,” designer Waris Ahluwalia admitted. “I didn’t have an open night.” So when he went to host an “intimate” (25—which turned into 45—person) dinner to celebrate his presentation at CIRCA’s Lincoln Center accessories lounge, he decided to bat cleanup, and invite friends to supper after the end of the week. It worked. Last night, CIRCA CEO Chris Del Gatto and Stephanie Winston Wolkoff hosted Johan Lindeberg, Scott Campbell, Veronica Webb, Sophie Théallet, Aaron Young, Terence Koh, Carlos Quirarte, and Ahluwalia’s mother, Darshan (“the guest of honor, always”) piled into Tiny’s in Tribeca for a last-minute dinner toasting House of Waris’ Spring jewelry and scarf collections. “A downtown celebration for an uptown exhibition,” he called it.
The collection being celebrated marks the second time that the House of Waris—known largely for its jewelry—has forayed into scarves. At a follow-up visit at his studio today, the designer explained that the two categories only seem different. They’re both, he reasoned, about keeping craftsmanship alive for a new generation—of craftspeople, as well as of customers. (The Rajastani embroiderers who work on his hand-loomed cashmere scarves now have their hands so full from his business that they’ve stopped working with any other.) This season sees a major uptick in the number of scarf designs offered, with many motifs carrying over from the jewelry collection. They range from the simple—a gorgeous plain taupe cashmere scarf with embroidered border—to the ornate, with chains picked out in contrast thread weaving their way over the whole. They have a richness—and a price tag—consistent with the hours of work they take to complete. But luckily for entry-level fans, batik-dyed cotton-silk scarves start at $300.
We’ve glimpsed quite a few exposed shoulders on the streets and at the Resort collections this summer. Casual, collared dresses popped up at Richard Chai Love and Chloë Sevigny x Opening Ceremony, and for after-hours examples, check out Vionnet‘s royal blue, long-sleeved frock, or the framboise silk gown by Sophie Theallet that Karolina Kurkova wore to the Ischia Global Film Festival. (In other news: There is an Ischia Global Film Festival.) Why we like these dresses: Well-placed cutouts highlight a part of the body that doesn’t usually require hours of upkeep at the gym. As Donna Karan famously said, “Shoulders are the one place a woman will never get fat—so show ‘em!”
CLICK FOR A SLIDESHOW, and let us know just how much deltoid you’re willing to expose.


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The US government’s top nutrition advisory panel in 2015, decided to drop its caution about eating foods containing dietary cholesterol, a move that did a U turn on 40 years of government warnings. Continue reading
Our half-century effort to cut back on the consumption of eggs, meat, and full-fat dairy foods has had a tragic effect on declining health. The very cornerstone of dietary advice for generations has been that saturated fats in red-meat, butter, and cheese should be avoided because they clogged our arteries. Diets shifted from meat to chicken, and canola oil over butter. Our chariness of fats can be traced back to the 50’s to an American, Dr Ancel Keys, who rather persuasively followed through with some flawed research to support his idea that saturated fats raise cholesterol and, as a result, cause heart attacks.


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This is a rush transcript from "Your World With Neil Cavuto," June 30, 2009. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
ALEXIS GLICK, GUEST HOST: Did Wal-Mart just hand President Obama a big helping hand in health care reform? What in the world is going on at Wal-Mart?
The world's largest retailer just embracing the president's health care plan and teaming up with a union to do it. Wal-Mart now saying it favors President Obama's call for requiring all large employers to offer health care to their workers.
Craig Smith calls this a job-killer. He is president and CEO of Swiss America.
I'm — I'm sort of speechless. I couldn't believe it. I was on air live today when the news came out. Why would Wal-Mart do this?
CRAIG SMITH, CEO, SWISS AMERICA TRADING CORPORATION: Alexis, I'm speechless, too. You and I — you and I are in synch with this.
When I heard the news, I scratched my head. Who in their right mind raises increased costs in their business during a time of a recession? This is an absolute jobs-killer? And I would like to look at the language in that letter that Wal-Mart sent to the administration and the congressional leaders, because it said that they are for employer-mandated insurance, if — or, I should say, which is fair and broad in its coverage.
The way Mr. Obama is suggesting he's going to do it is not fair and it's not broad. So, I doubt you're going to see Wal-Mart have this same position when they see the final bill.
GLICK: You know, it's so interesting, Craig, because I think people need to be aware the president of the SEIU represents a million union workers in this country, along with John Podesta, who worked on the president's transition team, signed this as well.
Interesting, coming from a company, the largest private employer in the country, who has actually been criticized in the past for not providing the right benefits or expensive benefits to its employees.
SMITH: That's a great point.
And — and let's think this through, Alexis. I mean, you're a business — you're — you know business as well as anybody. How in the world does an employer that has 1.4 million employees, of which 2.5 percent are currently on Medicaid — they get Medicaid — how can you put those 35,000 employees on insurance and not have your costs go up? It's impossible.
Now, maybe Wal-Mart has done very well as a direct result of the slowdown in the economy and more people are looking for bargains. But I can assure you, other large corporations are hanging on by a thread. And if they have increased costs, they are going to start cutting jobs. This is a jobs-killer. I don't care how you out — you weight it out. It's going to hurt employment.
GLICK: Yes. Craig...
SMITH: And we can't afford to lose jobs now, Alexis.
GLICK: Yes, Craig, look, that is a critical point here.
You know, everybody agrees we have got to do something on health care. The danger here is that cost-cutting initiatives have saved a lot of jobs. And if we do something like this, the risk is that people may need to get laid off in order to afford these rising costs.
What about the families themselves?
SMITH: Well, you are absolutely right.
Think about this. As a business — look, I am not a politician. I am a businessman. Any businessman will tell you that his biggest bang for his buck in cost-cutting is employees, because you get rid of the salary, you get rid of the benefits, et cetera, et cetera.
In 30 years I have been in business, I have never gone through layoffs. I'm grateful for that. But most companies will tell you, that is where they can get their biggest cost savings.
I can assure you, if they are mandated to pay higher costs for health insurance, you're going to see them cutting jobs. And, in the case of Wal-Mart, they're going to take those increased costs, increase their prices to the public, and what you said in the last segment. It will be a tax, a hidden tax, on the middle class, as they pay more at Wal-Mart for goods and services.
This is a horrible bill. It's going to cost us jobs. And we should stop it instantly. We can't afford to lose one more job, Alexis.
GLICK: Yes, this is — this is pressing.
Craig Smith, thanks so much. We appreciate you joining us.
SMITH: Good to be with you.
Content and Programming Copyright 2009 FOX News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Transcription Copyright 2009 CQ Transcriptions, LLC, which takes sole responsibility for the accuracy of the transcription. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No license is granted to the user of this material except for the user's personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be printed, nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any fashion that may infringe upon FOX News Network, LLC'S and CQ Transcriptions, LLC's copyrights or other proprietary rights or interests in the material. This is not a legal transcript for purposes of litigation.


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Bridgestone Tyre factory turned into new playground in Salisbury, dubbed Bridgestone Reserve
A SPRAWLING tyre factory in Adelaide’s north has been bulldozed, and its place is now a multimillion- dollar playground featuring climbable cars with rubber tyres built to pay tribute to its former life.
BRIDGESTONE’S Salisbury South factory may have been bulldozed, but a playground featuring climbable cars with rubber tyres has been built at the site to pay tribute to its former life.
Salisbury Council has officially opened the new playground, recreation space and fitness trail at the former factory site on Frost Rd, costing the council about $5.3 million.
The 6.8ha site, called Bridgestone Reserve, features two kick-and-catch grassed areas, flying foxes, a fitness loop, barbecues and picnic areas, toilets, a new carpark and landscaping.
But Mayor Gillian Aldridge believed the best features were the climbable vehicles, including an ambulance, which featured rubber tyres – something she said paid homage to Bridgestone.
“I think this is one of the most exciting developments we have done,” Ms Aldridge said.
“Here, we have a track that you can run around and use for exercise, there are barbecues, toilets and an amazing playground that has cars with tyres on them.
“I think that’s a nice way to reflect on how valuable Bridgestone has been in Salisbury.”
Bridgestone donated the parcel of land to the council when it wound down its tyre-making in 2010, wrapping up a half-century manufacturing history in the northern suburbs. The Federal Government also contributed $2.2 million to the project.
Bridgestone Australia and NZ managing director Andrew Moffatt said: “We hope this facility will invigorate the area and provide a space to be enjoyed by all members of the community.”
Originally published as Bridgestone Tyre factory turned into new playground in Salisbury, dubbed Bridgestone Reserve


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A Significant Snowy Event Could Leave 15 inches of Snow Behind in Ocean County, NJ
Here comes the snow! As we head into Friday, it is becoming more clear that we could see a true nor'easter impacting the area.
The warnings are up and the snow could be significant, as of right now. I'm pretty excited about this storm. Since it is the first major snow since moving back to the northeast. Yes, it did snow at the beginning of the year, but it was more significant further south.
What's the difference between watches and warnings with the weather.
According to the national weather service, a watch means there is a risk of hazardous weather but the timing and location are still uncertain.
A warning, on the other hand, means the hazardous event is imminent or likely.
What is being forecasted for this nor'easter?
According to the warning, we could see 9 to 15 inches of snow with high winds, including gusts, as high as 50 mph. Starting from 7 pm Friday to 7 pm Sunday.
How much snow is expected for New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Look at that! The shore could actually see up to 18 inches of snow according to this grapic. That's over one foot from Asbury Park to Cape May.
Right before leaving work, my wife sent me a book via text message, on items to grab at the grocery store because, surprise, we were not prepared. I grabbed everything from pasta, because, you know, pasta, to you, guessed it, bread, milk, and eggs. We literally go grocery shopping over the weekend. So, don't judge.
You never know with storms like this, especially with the threat of high winds, you could deal with power outages, to impassable roadways for a good period of time until plows make their way from the major roadways to the side streets.
Settle in, get ready to stay warm, and binge that favorite show.
If you have kids, they are going to love being able to go out and enjoy the snow. Oh, there's nothing wrong with sledding down a small hill on a garbage can lid. Just in case you needed a sled idea.


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Programmatic isn’t just for bold brands anymore — it’s making inroads on e-commerce sites, including eBay, which will conduct its own “test run” in February.
“Online marketplace eBay is to run an ad trading experiment next year which will see it cease all regular ad deals to focus solely on programmatically traded campaigns for one week,” notes Jessica Davies of The Drum.
Phuong Nguyen, eBay’s head of advertising, explained that eBay is working with a variety of clients to set up the experiment and hopes it will bring the global auction and buying site up to date on knowledge and best practices when it comes to programmatic.
“Certain parts of the industry, such as the agency trading desks for example, really understand the benefits of programmatic, and therefore are excited about accelerating what they ultimately believe will be the industry’s destiny,” Nguyen said. “Where we will likely see the most interesting insights from the experiment is around what happens with the traditional buying media agencies. How will they think about either engaging with eBay advertising or engaging with their trading desk as this experiment runs?”
For the entire week-long run, eBay advertisers will be restricted to buying ad inventory (about 1.5 billion weekly impressions) using its programmatic technology.
Nguyen himself is willing to bid on the project.
“I’m hoping not only to accelerate the innovation in the space, but to try and see how businesses transform. I think there is a really interesting business transformation story that will come off the back of this experiment.”
Ultimately — though the trial test is limited to the UK — eBay’s global advertisers will be watching carefully to gauge potential changes down the road.
eBay is also believed to still be conducting trials to determine if it can make video ads a viable revenue format for the site.


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Auction to benefit advocacy agency
Johnson College’s Carpentry & Cabinetmaking Technology program is hosting an auction to benefit the Children’s Advocacy Center of NEPA.
More than 60 items will be available to bid on at the auction on Wednesday, April 12, inside the Moffat Student Center on the Johnson College's Scranton campus.
All items were created by students in the Carpentry & Cabinetmaking Technology program. And many were made from re-purposed material.
Items available include: cutting boards, tables, cabinets, a bookcase, and more.
Doors open at 5 p.m. The auction is open to the public and begins at 6.