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Everyone used to book their tickets, pack their bags, and fly to their destination with simplicity. Traveling used to be as easy as 1, 2, 3. But the universe had other plans and dropped one of the biggest global health threats to the human race: COVID-19.
Perhaps, one of the most affected by the pandemic are travel bugs, who can’t help but follow safety protocols to avoid contracting the coronavirus. Some people can’t wait to visit scenic destinations while some sorely miss the traveling experience in itself.
Meanwhile, some travelers are so eager to fly because of the food. If you are one of those who love in-flight meals, then you may be delighted with AirAsia’s recent announcement.
The airline company revealed that it would be opening other branches of its restaurant across the world. Last year, it opened Santan, dubbed as the first café to serve in-flight foods, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – an Insider report noted that 30 percent of the menu served onboard is offered.
This may be because AirAsia claims the restaurant has thrived during the pandemic, so rolling out more restaurants not just in Asia but across the globe seems logical. Its first store serves classic Malaysian dishes and beverages like the Nasi Padang with beef Rendang, Nasi Lemak with chicken Rendang, and Teh Tarik.
The company sees the United Kingdom and China as the first countries to open stores in 2021.
AirAsia may be the first to open a restaurant offering in-flight meals but many companies have been toying with the concept long before the pandemic. Other airline companies have also thought of creative ways to attract travelers.
Singapore Airlines, for instance, had its parked A80 superjumbo jet turned into a restaurant so that guests can dine and experience in-flight meals on the plane – pretty much to make you feel you’re eating while flying. It also launched the SIA@HOME, which hopes to bring airplane foods closer to its guests.
Other airlines, meanwhile, have tried other means to lure customers. Qantas, for instance, offered a ‘flight to nowhere’ route – and it sold out in 10 minutes, proving how adventurers long for traveling. In fact, the spokesperson said this is the fastest-selling flight in the history of the Australian flag carrier.
The Boeing 787 aircraft will depart from and land to Sydney on Oct. 10, carrying around 134 passengers. Ticket prices range from $575 to $2,765 depending on the class.
The journey will take guests on a seven-hour flight but it wouldn’t land on any destination. Passengers can just appreciate breathtaking views over the Great Barrier Reefs and Uluru while up in the sky.


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Jaguar on Monday announced its entire fleet would be battery-electric by 2025, about the time the OEM begins to roll out a run of fully electric Land Rovers.
“Jaguar and Land Rover will offer pure electric power, nameplate by nameplate, by 2030,” Jaguar wrote in a news release. “By this time, in addition to 100% of Jaguar sales, it is anticipated that around 60% of Land Rovers sold will be equipped with zero tailpipe powertrains.”
As noted above, new Jag sales will have already been effectively 100 percent electric for five years at this point.
Jaguar Land Rover sold 31,051 Jaguars and 94,736 Land Rovers in the U.S. during 2019. The OEM doesn’t appear to have reported 2020 sales data specific to the U.S.
“From 2025 all Jaguar models will be on a unique all BEV and only BEV platform,” JLR communications Vice President Stuart Schorr wrote in an email Monday.
Jag suggested the XJ could be an exception of some sort. “Although the nameplate may be retained, the planned Jaguar XJ replacement will not form part of the line-up, as the brand looks to realise its unique potential,” the OEM wrote.
For its part, Land Rover will introduce its first truly electric variant in 2024, according to Jag.
“In the next five years, Land Rover will welcome six pure electric variants as it continues to be the world leader of luxury SUVs,” Jaguar wrote.
By 2030, consumers will be able to buy a completely electric version of any Land Rover with an internal combustion engine. Note the OEM’s prediction that the majority of consumers that year won’t even want an ICE vehicle.
“For Land Rover, by 2026 the brand will offer 6 BEV vehicles (could be stand alone BEVs or BEV version of an ICE vehicle) and by 2030 60% of the LR sales will be of those type of BEV vehicles (stand alone or variants) meaning LR will … offer ICE (vehicles) which we estimate will make up 40% of … sales by 2030,” Schorr wrote.
JLR as of 2020 already offers at least one electrified variant of every Jaguar and Land Rover model carrying an internal combustion engine. At a minimum, this alternative would be a hybrid, such as the 2021 Land Rover Defender X-Dynamic seen below. It could also mean an plug-in hybrid — one able to run off a small chargeable battery for a couple dozen miles before having to switch back to the combustion engine — or a completely electric powertrain.
Jaguar said Land Rover would use a new “flex Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA)” permitting “electrified internal combustion engines” and completely electric vehicles.
“In addition, Land Rover will also use pure electric biased Electric Modular Architecture (EMA) which will also support advanced electrified ICE,” the OEM wrote.
The shift in powertrains could mean safety, structural and even cosmetic considerations for auto body shops; check the JLR OEM repair procedures. In a 2019 video, SCRS advised that work on an electric model should be done by qualified personnel and on vehicles placed into what Jaguar Land Rover called an “electrically dead state.” SCRS defined this as a vehicle placed at 0 voltage and disconnected from all live systems.
They might also produce radical structural changes besides those associated with accommodating the battery itself. (For example, the “skateboard” BEV design common among OEMs.) JLR last month described a desire to replace “aluminium and steel with composites capable of handling the increased torque generated by high-performance batteries, while improving efficiency and reducing CO2 impact.
“Jaguar Land Rover aims to increase vehicle stiffness by 30 per cent, cut weight by 35kg and further refine the crash safety structure through the strategic use of tailored composites, such as carbon fibre. Reducing the vehicle body weight will allow the fitting of larger batteries with increased range – without impacting CO2 emissions.”‘
JLR said Monday its goal was to break even on carbon emissions as of 2039 — i.e., any emissions it does produce are offset by cuts somewhere else.
The OEM said it also anticipated “expected adoption of clean fuel-cell power in line with a maturing of the hydrogen economy” and was developing the technology. It said it should have prototypes sometime within the next year. Hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles typically emit nothing but water vapor.
“JAGUAR LAND ROVER REIMAGINES THE FUTURE OF MODERN LUXURY BY DESIGN”
Jaguar, Feb. 15, 2021
Featured image: A vehicle in the 2021 Land Rover Defender X-Dynamic lineup is shown. The X-Dynamics all are mild hybrids. (Provided by Land Rover)

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Nerada Tea celebrates 50 years with an Australian-oriented brand refresh
- 04 June, 2021 08:53
Highlighting both its sustainability and Australian-made credentials locally and globally has seen 50-year-old Nerada Tea overhaul its visual brand identity and kick off a new marketing program.
Nerada national sales manager, Brenden Minehan, told CMO turning 50 was a suitable trigger to evolve the look of Nerada’s packaging and brand identity. Historically, Nerada emphasised its Australian-made message through use of a native koala and green and yellow colours. The fresh look has its 360-hectre plantation in the Atherton Tablelands in North Queensland taking pride of place.
Nerada’s black tea is all grown on its plantation. The company received Rainforest Alliance Certification for pesticide-free black tea in 2018, the first Australian agricultural entity to be awarded the certification. The company also blends and packs its organic range onsite.
The Nerada logo has also been redesigned by brand design agency, Hulsbosch, to better depict the top two leaves and bud used in the production of tea. The fresh packaging starts rolling out across Coles, Woolworths and independent supermarkets from June.
“The majority of the tea on the supermarket shelves is not sourced from Australia and our point of difference very much is the fact that our black tea is 100 per cent Australian grown, Rainforest Alliance Certified and pesticide free,” Minehan said. “We wanted this provenance and the quality of the product to be better incorporated in the packaging to reflect the story of our single origin estate and our Queensland home. The imagery on the pack reflects our plantation on the Atherton Tablelands and the view was to help the consumer discover more about the story and origin of their tea.”
Whether it’s increasing domestic market share or moving further into exporting its products, Minehan said the provenance message remains an important point of difference for Nerada.
“As Nerada looks at new export market opportunities, the Australian-grown message will be vital in penetrating a competitive global market,” he said.
According to Minehan, Nerada represents 85 per cent of the tea grown in Australia. Nerada produces 6 million kilos of fresh tea leaves annually, resulting in 1.5 million kilograms of black tea or almost 750 million cups of tea a year.
“Unlike other consumer categories where there is a collective of producers, we want to champion the Australian tea story and help people understand the taste and quality of our home-grown tea products,” Minehan continued. “As consumers are looking to support more locally produced products and services, particularly post-Covid, now is the time to be proud of our history.”
The fresh look is being supported by an omnichannel marketing campaign through coming months including a broader media campaign incorporating outdoor smartlites, print and online. Minehan said digital activations on owned channels are also in place to help drive awareness of the people and processes behind the brand. The campaign is adopting an Australian-infused theme and is all about encouraging consumers to think about where their tea is grown.
In addition, a limited edition tea range will rollout incorporating a 50th anniversary blend of three different Australian teas, while new Rooibos and Echinacea and Lemon products have been released into Coles supermarkets.
“Ongoing PR will help to raise awareness of the core messaging and influencer send outs will assist with trial and sampling. In store activation with key customers will also very much keep the brand in the spotlight at the point of purchase,” Minehan said.
For Minehan, 50 years of any brand is worth celebrating. “The story of growing tea here in Australia is one of innovation and perseverance. A story that many Australians would be proud of once they know of the pioneering spirit of many of the producers in Far North Queensland,” he added.


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Fast food chain Chick-fil-A has rolled out mobile payments to all of its US restaurants, with the exception of licensed locations, following a pilot that began in June 2014. The chain is also testing mobile ordering in more than 130 restaurants in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Orlando and Washington DC with plans to expand the service in 2015 ahead of a nationwide launch by the end of 2016.
- Dutch rail operator pilots open loop ticketing service
- Rohm to use ST NFC chips for wireless charging in cars
- Juniper forecasts a billion mobile ticketing users in 2019
- Microsoft to shut down its Microsoft Wallet service
- MTS to roll out open loop ticketing on buses and trains in San Diego


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Nike is bringing a new collection inspired by New York known as the Nike ‘Tale of Two Cities’ Pack. This acts as a follow up to the Nike ‘LA Glow’ pack that launched not long ago.
Each model comes with a black base with metallic silver hitting key features of the shoes to represent almost a crackle look. Inspired behind each comes from Skyscrapers, metal subway trains and the constant on the go in New York.
Below you can see more images of the Nike ‘Tale of Two Cities’ Pack. As of now, they are starting to show up at Nike Sportswear retailers overseas like Offspring. For those residing in the United States, a release date has yet to be announced but you should expect them to launch this Fall.


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Is this the end of Resistance?
Daniel Brooke, online producer at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, has said in an interview with Official PlayStation Magazine UK that they have no definitive plans to carry on the Resistance franchise.
Brooke had worked on Burning Skies but in reply to being asked where he would like the series to go next has said, “The Resistance franchise has been exciting to work on but as for the future we have no definitive plans.”
This might come as a bit of a surprise to some of you considering Resistance: Burning Skies was one of the most highly anticipated PlayStation Vita titles as well as the first handheld game to use two analog sticks. There wasn’t a big fire for protagonist Tom Riley to put out though as it failed to set fire to the charts.
I personally enjoyed Burning Skies despite its flaws, but Resistance 3 was a great send-off by Insomniac, who have stopped making Resistance games, and it was well received by critics alike, particularly our very own Stefhutch20 and you can read his opinion on it right here.
Sony clearly owns the IP to Resistance, but maybe they don’t have faith in it after Burning Skies failed to sell extremely well and Insomniac stating that they have done all there is to be done on the series, although this may possibly change one day.
Did any of you enjoy the Resistance franchise as much as we have? Let us know in the comments below…


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Exploring the latest breakthroughs in banking solutions.
Jupiter, FL—DMG Productions is proud to announce that Jumio will be featured in an upcoming episode of Innovations w/Ed Begley Jr., airing third quarter 2017 on FOX Business.
Based in Palo Alto, California, Jumio operates globally, with offices in the U.S. and Europe, and has been the recipient of numerous awards for innovation.
This segment will focus on Jumio’s next-generation Trusted Identity as a Service capability, which enables businesses to reduce fraud and increase revenue while providing a fast, seamless customer experience.
“Jumio enables business to be successful in the digital world by combining three key pillars for success, ID Verification, Identity Verification and Document Verification,” said Stephen Stuut, CEO, Jumio. “Jumio’s Trusted Identity as a Service solution and leading technology, including biometric facial recognition, help business to meet regulatory compliance like AML and KYC, reduce fraud and improve customer conversions. As a result business can now tie a physical ID to a real world identity.”
“Jumio’s solutions are used by leading companies in the financial services, sharing economy, retail, travel and online gaming sectors,” said Michael Devine, Senior Producer for the Innovations series. “Jumio has invested heavily in building a highly secure and reliable platform, and we look forward to exploring this technology on our show.”
Jumio, the creator of Netverify® Trusted Identity as a Service (TIaaS), enables businesses to increase customer conversions while providing a seamless customer experience and reducing fraud. By combining the three core pillars of ID Verification, Identity Verification and Document Verification, businesses now have a complete solution that allows them to establish the real-world identity of the consumer. Leveraging advanced technology including biometric facial recognition and machine learning, Jumio helps customers to meet regulatory compliance including KYC and AML and tie the digital identity to the physical world. For more information, visit: www.jumio.com
About Innovations and DMG Productions:
Innovations, hosted by award winning actor Ed Begley, Jr., is an information-based series geared toward educating the public on the latest breakthroughs in all areas of society. Featuring practical solutions and important issues facing consumers and professionals alike, Innovations focuses on cutting-edge advancements in everything from health and wellness to global business, renewable energy, and more.
DMG Productions (responsible for creating the Innovations show) includes personnel specialized in various fields from agriculture to medicine, independent films to regional news and more. Field producers work closely with experts in the field to develop stories. This powerful force enables DMG to consistently produce commercial-free, educational programming that both viewers and networks depend on.


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Looks like Wii-owning Resident Evil fans might well indeed “be very happy soon,” as the latest issue of Japanese gaming mag Famitsu features the announcement of Biohazard: Darkside Chronicles.
With the popular survival horror series’ next installment taking gamers to Africa this Friday on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, Resident Evil fans who own the Nintendo Wii might have been feeling rather slighted lately – not least because the bestselling RE4 first made its appearance on the Wii’s predecessor.
According to Famitsu, though, Wii owners will not be zombie-bereft for long, and can now look forward to Resident Evil (aka Biohazard): Darkside Chronicles. Judging by the name, it’s likely to be another point-and-shoot light gun game a la the previous Umbrella Chronicles, and it will star the protagonist pair from RE2, Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield.
That’s pretty much all we know thus far – despite the name, I think it’s safe to say that the game will not feature iconic DC Comics villain Darkseid, disappointingly. Even so, stay strong, Wii owners. You’ll get to slaughter the living dead soon enough.


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In September 2020, a few days after Muhammed Akinyemi didn’t receive payment for a 6-month poultry cycle investment made in ThriveAgric, he informed his lawyer about this but didn’t take legal action.
He was expecting the sum of ₦581,000 ($1,200) for the ₦510,000 he’d invested in March. Akinyemi had also invested ₦200,000 in April, which was due (₦224,000) in October.
“At first, I just felt it’s money, and it’s with them. Whatever the problems are, within a week or two, they should resolve it,” Akinyemi said. “But I found out that they hadn’t addressed the issue to all their subscribers; rather they were explaining to individuals. And there was no specificity as to when it would be resolved.”
Unfortunately, a few weeks later, Akinyemi’s car broke down and he urgently needed money to fix it. ThriveAgric hadn’t yet paid him and he was running out of patience. He was one out of hundreds of ThriveAgric’s retail investors who hadn’t received the payments.
His lawyer sent a warning notification to ThriveAgric, threatening to sue if the issue wasn’t resolved. Akinyemi also put out a tweet calling out the company to fix the problem. He tried to rally around other retail investors who hadn’t been paid, but a number of them didn’t want any media attention.
“We fought it from the legal and social aspect,” said Akinyemi.
Over 500km away, in Southwestern Nigeria Osun State, Esther*, a poultry farmer who partnered with ThriveAgric, had lost over 1,000 birds because there was little to no movement.
“It was a difficult period losing my birds in the middle of the pandemic,” Esther said. She was one out of many farmers within ThriveAgric’s network who suffered massive losses.
While the losses incurred varied among the farmers, depending on the capacity of their pens, ThriveAgric shared that there were over 400,000 mature birds that had no buyers. Despite efforts made by ThriveAgric to rent more cold rooms for storage of processed chickens, the lack of buyers and difficulty in moving the birds during the pandemic meant that over 90% of the birds were lost. The losses started happening as early as April 2020, until the end of the year.
With hundreds of unpaid, angry retail investors dragging ThriveAgric online, asking for their money, and farmers recording millions of naira in losses, this was ThriveAgric’s darkest hour.
Founded by Uka Eje (CEO) and Ayodeji Arikawe (CTO) in 2017, ThriveAgric started as an agricultural technology startup that provided access to finance, premium markets, and data-driven advisory for smallholder farmers. It financed agriculture projects through crowdfunding. In the space of 3 years, ThriveAgric had grown to become a notable African Agritech startup, with backing from Y Combinator—one of the world’s most successful startup accelerators—in 2019.
How did it get into this mess?
“It was a mix of different events. The pandemic meant that offtakers couldn’t pay for the goods we’ve already supplied,” Eje said. “Farmers were also suffering losses in the farm, and we lost over 100 million naira worth of produce in transit because they were held up on the road. No movement during the pandemic.”
The dilemma for ThriveAgric was that its owing offtakers—FMCGs and restaurant chains—made repeated failed promises on when they’d repay.
“They’d promise to pay next week and, banking on their words because they hadn’t defaulted before, we’d in turn promise our retail investors that they’ll be paid next week, only for the offtakers to go quiet,” Eje said.
The offtakers too were anticipating that the pandemic would wind down and business activities would return, but it took longer than expected. This affected ThriveAgric’s communication with its retail investors as it repeatedly failed to fulfil the promises it made to its retail investors. The fact that its large network of farmers were also experiencing losses also exacerbated the situation as ThriveAgric had invested in them by providing seeds and chicks, expecting to receive returns when they were sold. Many of those farmers haven’t recovered from those losses till today.
A popular question that came up during this period was whether ThriveAgric’s claims to be covered by insurance were true. The company explained that the insurance covered the farming activities and not the retail investors’ investment—the logic being, if the farming process went well, the returns on the investment by the retail investors were guaranteed. Also, in this situation, the fact that farmers were unable to sell and the offtakers were owing weren’t valid bases for requesting for insurance claims.
American serial entrepreneur Elon Musk once described the experience of running a startup as being similar to the act of chewing glass and staring into the abyss. “After a while, you stop staring, but the glass chewing never ends,” Musk said. ThriveAgric’s experience validates this description.
All through this turbulent phase, the company maintains it didn’t take its retail investors for granted.
“One of the things we realised was that this money we were owing was important for these people; for some it was house rent or school fees,” Eje said. “It was money that meant a lot to them. Regardless of how people reacted, it was their money, and they needed it back.”
Salvaging the situation
As the situation escalated, different parties showed up to help out.
“We stepped in as quickly as we got wind of the situation and did the best that we could at the time by guiding the team on the right approach to take, as well as by providing the practical support they needed in what was a very time-sensitive situation,” said Kola Aina, General Partner, Ventures Platform, one of ThriveAgric’s investors.
Ventures platform helped with recruiting an interim CEO, Adia Sowho, who was then VP of Growth and Managing Director, Nigeria, for credit platform Migo. It also restructured the finance and communications team.
When ThriveAgric came knocking, the first question Sowho had to answer was “Did she care enough?”
“The big question for me was, do I care enough about ThriveAgric and what it’s doing? And am I willing, because I wasn’t bored,“ Sowho said.
With the answer to that question being yes, in October Sowho agreed to step in, with Eje stepping down to the role of chief operating officer (COO).
“Food security is an important part of our economy. It doesn’t get enough love and support as far as I’m concerned,” Sowho said. “If every Nigerian were a farmer, we’d be feeding ourselves and the continent, which is literally ThriveAgric’s vision.”
Solving for Y
Tasked to initiate a turnaround in a new company and entirely different sector, the guiding principle Sowho turned to was first-principles thinking, a reverse engineering technique that has its origins from the teachings of Aristotle and has been made recently popular by leaders in Silicon Valley.
“For me, I tend to work with first principles. At the end of the day, whatever problem you’re trying to solve, whether it’s a startup, enterprise, or even conglomerate turnaround,” Sowho said. “They all involve the two or more parties exchanging value. With ThriveAgric there was an equation and it was broken.”
“It was this hazy chain of unfulfilled agreement that just ended up in a crisis. And, of course, when it hits the public sphere, it makes the news.”
To fix the broken equation, Sowho deployed three things: structure, governance, and documentation, concepts she claims startups tend to be wary of. The different teams and processes were restructured in order for the company to solve existing problems and be “10 steps ahead of any risk before it materialises”.
“A lot of the things I did were an outcome of the experience that I have working in building organisations,” Sowho said. “These things don’t happen by accident. The success of any enterprise has to be by design.”
Sowho and Eje worked on structuring the financing plan for the repayment of the retail investors and hiring for key roles. Alongside Sowho, a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and a head of risk were hired. As the new hires got to work, stabilising the ship, co-founder and CTO Arikawe couldn’t help but wonder why they joined the company at such a time.
“These people joined us during the crisis. I was thinking, didn’t you look up ThriveAgric online, a company that people are bashing, before joining,” Arikawe said.
The typical response from the new hires was that they believed in what the company was doing and were willing to put their names on the line.
“Our CFO joined us and 2 days later he’s on a call where investors were insulting him,” Arikawe said. “A similar incident happened with Sowho, who joined and 1 week later had 300 angry people on a Zoom call with her.”
In a few months, the presence of additional hands, fresh ideas, and the “bridge” capital (temporary financing) provided by Ventures Platform helped stabilise ThriveAgric.
Transparency—the currency of trust
During this period, members of the support team and other departments had to work overnight for many days.
“Everyone was stretched but we had a lot of empathy for the people and also a sense of responsibility to ensure that things don’t go wrong again,” Arikawe said.
On one of those nights, the engineering team in collaboration with the support team, decided to enhance transparency around the repayment schedule by creating a new payout dashboard—Payout.thriveagric.com—that reflected each retail investor’s exact repayment date.
This was done to fix an issue with the initial payment dashboard which automatically indicated that the retail investors had been paid, as soon as it was due date. This feature caused retailer investors to be confused and angry, because they hadn’t been paid.
“When we initially built the payout dashboard we didn’t foresee a period like this where we wouldn’t have been able to pay. People always got paid on or before payout day,” Arikawe said.
With the new payout dashboard, the retail investors could also see how many other people have been paid. A feature which the engineering team hoped would provide extra comfort and ease tension.
Utilising the bridge loan secured, over the span of 9 months ThriveAgric was able to pay back the hundreds of customers it was owing. Akinyemi was paid in November and December 2020. ThriveAgric also repaid the bridge loan in 2021.
Unexpected support and lessons
During the turbulent period, there was a lot of pushback from retail investors but also surprisingly a lot of support from investors, financiers, and friends.
“I remember people calling and asking, what’s the challenge, what do you need?” Arikawe said. “For example, one of the people we sold birds to but hadn’t paid called to apologise that he’s trying his best. He was owing us because someone else was owing him.”
After 6 months at the helm of ThriveAgric, Sowho left to join telecom giant MTN Nigeria as its first-ever female Chief Marketing Officer while Eje returned to the position of CEO. During his time as COO, Eje worked on ensuring that repayment and communications with different stakeholders happened seamlessly.
“Essentially, I ensured that the core business operations ran smoothly and built a system to ensure that the defaulting offtakers paid,” Eje said. “I also identified other funding opportunities outside crowdfunding.”
Reminiscing on her experience, she said, “You often wonder whether you can hack it with a turnaround, and I did, so that’s one thing I learned. Now people are calling me the queen of turnaround after one event.”
Another valuable lesson for Sowho was how she was able to manage her productivity considering that she joined ThriveAgric during the pandemic and managed things virtually.
“I didn’t realise how focused I could be, because I’m one of those people that like to do everything all the time, all at once,” Sowho said. “But I think in this situation, the urgency required that I stay very focused.”
There were ThriveAgric team members she didn’t meet until about 2–3 months into the job, because she was very focused on talking to the people nearest to this issue.
For the team at ThriveAgric, the incident was a learning moment for them.
“We’re learning to scale with structure. Right now as we explore different opportunities, we look at the risks and how to scale sustainably,” Eje said. “For us, we’re still certain about what we want to do. It’s still day one.”
Kola Aina believes the incident was a reminder as an investor that “supporting companies through difficult times is one of the truest forms of portfolio support.”
ThriveAgric has since paused crowdfunding from retail investors to focus on institutional investors. Since the pivot, ThriveAgric has sealed investment partnerships with several commercial banks, the CBN, World Food Program, and USAID. Its landmark partnership came recently in the form of a one-year project in partnership with USAID-backed West Africa Trade & Investment Hub (Trade Hub).
The partnership, which aims to empower at least 50,000 farmers across Nigeria, will be supported with a $1.75 million co-investment grant from Trade Hub. The startup is also focusing on building out its farmer-centred technology solutions which currently serves over 200,000 farmers. The company’s focus is to build the largest network of profitable farmers across Africa.
“Agritech is not just about having a website and asking people for money,” Eje said. “It’s about building the infrastructure that supports the food production value chain.”
Sultan Quadri contributed to this story.
*Name changed to protect source’s identity.


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Now that we heard there are more booths being added to the Food and Wine Wine festival there is also big news with the Eat to the Beat Concerts! Disney has announced more acts being added to the lineup!
Singer Joey Fatone has recently revealed that he will be hitting the America Gardens Theatre stage Nov. 12-14! Fatone will be appearing as Joey Fatone and Friends, featuring Chris Kirkpatrick and Ryan Cabrera. We are excited to see Joey Fatone in his natural element and rocking those moves on the stage!
In addition to Joey Fatone and Friends, Disney has announced the alternative rock band Smash Mouth – soon to release a brand-new album — will rock the stage Sept. 16-17!
Lastly, new Radio Disney artists have also been announced to the Eat to the Beat concerts:
Sept. 27-28 – Isabella Nicole (“Headphones”)
Oct. 4-5 – Avenue Beat (“Delight”)
Nov. 1-2 – AJ Mitchell (“All My Friends”)
Nov. 8-9 – Kylie Cantrall (“That’s What I’m Talkin’ Bout”)
Nov. 15-16 – Erin Bowman (“Keep Me Warm”)
Nov. 22-23 –Tegan Marie (“Horses”)
Source: Disney Parks Blog
Let our friends at Destinations to Travel help you plan your next Disney Vacation! Just fill out the form below and someone will be in touch! Remember their services are 100% Free!
- Disney Cast Members Help Make Memories at Oga’s Cantina - January 4, 2020
- New Which Disney Character Are You Instagram Game Out Now - January 1, 2020
- Young Fan Uses Imagination to Create Disney Parks Bag Dress - December 30, 2019


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Rolex watches, Burberry hats and other fake luxury goods are increasingly becoming small beer to ambitious counterfeiters. They are now thinking on a far grander scale – both in terms of size and the tools for the job.
According to Der Spiegel, a “fake” copy of a Beijing office and retail development designed by London-based architect Zaha Hadid is already being built 900 miles (1,500km) away in Chongqing. In Guandong province, also in China, builders are reportedly working on an unauthorised replica of the Austrian village of Hallstat, a UNESCO World Heritage site. And on a smaller scale, pirated petrol stations are not unheard of in eastern Europe, including fake Shell stations in Russia, and an entire fake BP station, complete with a petrol tanker decked out in BP livery, in Bulgaria.
Ruth Orchard, director general of the London-based Anti-Counterfeiting Group points the finger of blame at the internet. "The sheer number of counterfeit goods is going up, because people can now order them online and they can be sent from the other side of the world," she said. "In the past we would see a large consignment that would be shipped, and the contents sold on market stalls. But thanks to the internet counterfeiters can send out individual items. It sounds low key, but it is actually far more difficult to detect."
The fear is that budding counterfeiters could soon create the parts themselves. That's because it will be possible to make your own copies using a 3D printer – either from pirated blueprints, or from digital files containing 3D scanned images of the object in question. The internet will certainly make accessing these files straightforward: The Pirate Bay, a website that makes it easy to access pirated music and movies, has already added a section called Physibles, where people can share files for printing objects.
It's important to remember that copying physical objects is not always illegal. While songs, movies and literary works are automatically protected by copyright, functional objects like tables or chairs don't have any automatic protection, according to Michael Weinberg, a staff attorney at Public Knowledge, a Washington, DC-based non-profit public interest group involved in intellectual property law. "Patents can be used to protect useful pieces of engineering or sciencey things, but you have to apply for a patent, and it only lasts for twenty years,” he says. “But the world is full of things that are not protected in any way, so anyone can make a direct copy."
Weinberg published a white paper last week that attempts to point out what is and isn't protected by copyright. For instance, there is the issue of severability, where the artistic features of an object can be separated from its functional features. A chair may not be covered by copyright, but the design on the seat cushion could be, so the design is removed from the chair and protected by copyright.
It's likely that laws relating to intellectual property will have to be updated or clarified in the future, to take in to account the capabilities of 3D printing technology, Weinberg believes. "For example, at the moment you don't have any intellectual property rights over your body parts," he said. That may become increasingly relevant, because a number of projects around the world are looking at 3D printing using biological matter, to produce anything from artificial raw meat to human organs. "If you had a fantastic heart, what happens if it gets scanned in hospital, and then someone uses that scan to copy your heart and then use a 3D printer to make a replica and sell it for a profit? At the moment there is no case law on that."
Repeat and remix
One way of fighting the use of 3D printers for counterfeiting may be to introduce some form of copy control, similar to the digital rights management (DRM) systems that are applied to some music files, according to Bruce Bradshaw, a director of 3D printer maker Stratasys. "Much like the music industry has created mechanisms to protect the intellectual property of artists, we may see a day where designers and engineers are able to incorporate anti-piracy codes into digital design files, preventing them from being reproduced without proper credentials," he said.
In fact a patent for just such a system has already been granted in the US.
But Weinberg believes implementing copy controls on 3D printers would be a folly. The music industry has moved away from the practice of embedding DRM into music files, he says, and it is now concentrating on making it easy for consumers to buy digital music files online, as well as looking at ways to profit from merchandising and live performances.
"I hope that instead of being worried about 3D printing, manufacturers will follow the music industry by thinking about how they can benefit from 3D printing," said Weinberg. "If I was a manufacturer I would make a store that sells files that people can download and use to make my products on 3D printers. People who are interested enough in my product to make their own copies are fans, so I would nourish them, not try to sue them. "
Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia recently announced that it would embrace this sort of approach. In a blog post published in mid-January, John Kneeland said that as well as selling coloured plastic cases for its Lumia 820 phone, the company plans to make it as easy as possible for people to copy Nokia's designs and make their own. "We are going to release 3D templates, case specs, recommended materials and best practices – everything someone versed in 3D printing needs to print their own custom Lumia 820 case," said Kneeland, a Community & Developer Marketing Manager at Nokia.
He hinted on the blog that fans of the company's phones might be able to produce their own handsets in the future. "We could sell some kind of phone template, and entrepreneurs the world over could build a local business on building phones precisely tailored to the needs of his or her local community. You want a waterproof, glow-in-the-dark phone with a bottle-opener and a solar charger? Someone can build it for you – or you can print it yourself."
A phone-with-a-bottle opener may sound fanciful, but it may not be as unlikely as it seems at first glance. "The ability to use techniques like 3D printing to carry out "remixing" is one of the things I am most excited about for the future," said Weinberg. He points out that in the United States there is a rich culture of remixing music and videos, but the source material is always protected by copyright – which limits how easy it is to distribute or sell these remixes. "There is a huge creative impulse, and in the physical world there are not the same limitations. So in the future with 3D printing what I hope we will see are some crazy remixes."
So why stop at a phone-with-a-bottle opener? What about a golf club that works as a phone? Or perhaps a spoon that tells the time? We'll just have to wait and see what the "physical mix-masters" and "object jockeys" of tomorrow can come up with.
If you would like to comment on this article or anything else you have seen on Future, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.


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Latest travel agent Stories
Geo-located profiles for nearly 1,000 vetted travel agent experts available to traveling public; ability to sort by destination knowledge and lifestyle interests, as well as by levels of expertise
Travel Leaders Group CEO Barry Liben Offers Reflective "State of the Travel Agency Industry"- Says Business among Millennials Increasing Dramatically PLYMOUTH, Minn., Feb.
The CCRA PowerSolutions Regional Travel Events will take place in six cities across the U.S. on select dates throughout 2015.
Dwain Wall to depart CLIA at end of 2014 for new opportunity in the travel industry WASHINGTON, Nov.
Travel referral leader Tripology, a division of USA TODAY Travel Media Group, has seen an impressive increase of 34+ percent in travel agent registrations year-over-year and that momentum continues.
Travel Agent magazine selected Cadence Travel Specialist Ben Rosenkrantz as one of thirty young professionals named travel industry leaders in 2014.
Joseph Carino will be responsible for leading the strategic development of CCRA’s hotel partner relations to support the company’s global network of agencies, as well as establishing new supplier
In Travel Weekly's prestigious Power List, released on June 23rd, 2014, Fox World Travel delighted in significant advancements over last year's standings, moving eight spots from number
Updated Program Provides Robust Reporting and Optimized Commission Tracking BELLEVUE, Wash., June 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Expedia.com®, the world's largest full service online travel
CCRA is Now Featuring Over 33,000 Properties That Offer Competitive Rates For Travel Agent Bookings Ft.
- A young chicken: also used as a pet name for children.


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Earlier this year, Connecticut skiiers received welcomed news when Middefield approved the sale of the abandoned Powder Ridge Ski Area to a park owner who wants to invest $2 million and restore downhill skiing.
But a report published in the Hartford Courant Sunday shows that investing in Connecticut ski areas might not be a wise decision.
The newspaper reports that Canadian researchers say slight changes in temperature within the next few decades may make it impossible to have profitable ski seasons in New England states south of Vermont and New Hampshire.
While that may be a long-term concern for Connecticut's few remaining ski areas, owners have more pressing concerns: they hope temperatures get cold soon.
The owners of Mohawk Mountain in Cornwall and Mount Southington hope to open on Dec. 15 (dependent on the weather), while New Hartford's Ski Sundown states on its website that it hopes to open "as soon as possible."
Woodbury Ski Area, which is usually among the first to open in New England, has been welcoming skiiers since the middle of October.
Where Can I Ski Locally?
Here's a look at Connecticut ski areas, as well as some in Massachussetts and Vermont:
- Mohawk Mountain - 25 trails
- Mount Southington - nine trails
- Ski Sundown - 15 trails
- Woodbury Ski Area - six trails
- Catamount Ski Area - 25 trails
- Jiminy Peak - 38 trails
- Ski Butternut - 22 trails
- Wachusett Mountain Ski Area - 19 trails
- Bromley - 33 trails
- Magic Mountain - 15 trails
- Mount Snow - 51 trails
- Okemo Mountain Resort - 91 trails
- Stratton Mountain Ski Resort - 80 trails


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KISUMU businessmen are cashing in on the upcoming visit of President Barrack Obama on July 25.
Clothes, flags and key-holder tags branded with Obama’s portrait are selling briskly in the city’s streets.
Trader Ben Okach told the Star yesterday their sales increase as the day of Obama’s visit nears.
“I can sell about five T-shirts in a day and 20 flags minimum and get good money,” he said.
Okach said they sell T-shirts at Sh 1,500, US flags at Sh200 and tags at Sh100 .
He said people want something to identify with the President when he arrives.
Another group sells their T-shirts on order and even walk with them around the city.
Lawrence Oyange said T-shirts are branded “Siaya” or “Woud Kogello Warwaki Pacho” (Son of Kogello we welcome you home).


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larry clark captures the essence of youth in the new converse x jw anderson campaign
The iconic American auteur whisks us away to the beaches of Marseille to celebrate the footwear giant’s latest collaboration with J Dubs.
Blurring the lines between high fashion and street style again, the new JW Anderson x Converse collection is everything we hoped for and more. Their first collaboration, which dropped late last year, was a sparkle-coated take on classic Converse silhouettes. This season is more stripped back. Referring to his latest offering as a “labour of love and obsession” -- the Simply_Complex collection has an acute focus on materialisation and thought provoking design.
An asymmetrical iteration of the Thunderbolt has been rendered in beige suede and indigo denim, while the Chuck 70 has been elevated into a formal piece, reimagined as a v sensible brown shoe. “We approached it as a sneaker first but introduced detailed elements and the suede execution that make it a sort of curious version of Chuck,” Jonthan explained via a press release this morning, “ultimately constructing the silhouette as a statement shoe.”
As if that were all, for the accompanying campaign, American filmmaker and photographer Larry Clark has been tapped to lend his gritty realism and effortless cult cool to the collab. Tearing us away to the beaches of Marseille, Clark captures a bunch of bespectacled and brace-faced kids hanging out in their new kicks.
The Simply_Complex collection hits stores on 2 March


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This year, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics forecast the largest sales since their founding. Based on a brokerage report, Samsung’s Q4 performance was expected to be KRW 75.26 trillion in sales and KRW 15.07 trillion in operating profit.
Sales topped the previous high of KRW 73,979.2 billion in Q3 2021, and operating profit is set to rise by 67% over the same period last year, reports Korea IT News. Samsung is predicted to earn an all-time high of KRW 278.67 trillion this year, exceeding the KRW 243,771.4 billion it earned in 2020. Operation profit is estimated to reach KRW 52.83 trillion, the highest level since the semiconductor super-boom in 2018.
In Q4 2021, LG Electronics is forecast to generate KRW 19.67 trillion in revenue and KRW 831.3 billion in operating profit. After generating KRW 18 trillion in Q3 2021, this is the first time in history that the company has established two new records in a row. Operation profit fell short of the record high set in Q1 this year (KRW 1.516 trillion).
Nonetheless, Samsung predicted growth of more than 27% over the same period last year. For the first time in history, annual sales will likely exceed KRW 70 trillion, reaching KRW 73.70 trillion. For the first time, operation profit will likely surpass KRW 4 trillion.
Home Appliances, Air Solution and TV account for LG's sales
The Home Appliances and Air Solution (H&A) and TV (HE) businesses of LG Electronics accounted for most of the company’s earnings. In Q3, the H&A business division’s quarterly sales reached KRW 7 trillion for the first time. New home appliance sales, such as stylers and dryers, also reached new highs. Aside from OLED TV, which achieved a new high by more than tripling shipments over the previous year, the company also improved its performance in the Vehicle Component Solution (VS) division, which is growing orders in the reviving car market.
In 2022, both Samsung and LG Electronics will continue to showcase growth. Samsung Electronics is likely to surpass KRW 300 trillion in annual sales for the first time. With significant premium TV sales and a reversal in the electronics market, LG Electronics is predicted to generate KRW 76 trillion in sales and KRW 5 trillion in operating profit.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics will release preliminary results for Q4 2021 around January 6-7, which would provide an accurate picture.


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This article is a continuation of a series, you can check out the first post here
In the last few years, African start-ups have successfully raised capital from angel investors both within and outside the continent. In 2015 about a $185M was raised in total, with Fintech bagging about 29.6% of this funding which is about $49.7M, while Agritechs raised about $50k in funding. Reported investments in Start-ups in Nigeria have increased to $49M in 2015 compared to $16M in 2014. Interestingly, Nigeria, which had the highest investment focus (about $109.3M), accounted for 29% of the total investments in African start-ups. In 2016, 146 African start-ups raised $129.1M with about 24% equalling $31.4M going to the Fintech sector according to Disrupt Africa’s tech Start-ups Funding Report.
Fintechs have been by far the most funded start-ups since tracking began. In 2017 a third of all the funding to the Nigerian tech ecosystem went to Fintechs and this proportion has remained stable in the last three years, so it is safe to say that Fintech is worth a third of the entire tech ecosystem. Investments in Fintech in Nigeria and other parts of Africa have moved from about $198M in 2014, to $800M currently. Though global investments in Fintech were put at $19B in 2015, indications have shown that investors are increasingly attracted to the industry’s potential to tap into Africa’s huge unserved/underserved population. KPMG states that investment in Nigerian Fintech over the last two years exceeded the $200M mark with $195M being invested in 2017 alone. Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa were the top three recipients of Fintech investments in Africa over the last two years. This is even as start-ups are increasingly accounting for a significant portion of Fintech investments, accounting for 30 per cent of the total funding raised by African tech businesses in 2015. KPMG observed that Venture Capitalist/Angel investors were early-stage investors in Fintech businesses in Nigeria in line with global trends. It, however, said Nigerian banks, which had previously invested in Fintech start-ups such as Interswitch and Valucard are now predominantly consumers. In the Tech start-up funding report for 2017 released by Disrupt Africa Fintech was the most attractive sector for investors. The high investment in Fintech start-ups is really something noteworthy because banking penetration is low. In 2014, the number of bank accounts relative to population was 34% in Africa.
For the past two years, the total investment in Agritech in Africa has amounted to $19M. With nearly one billion people in Africa active as smallholder farmers, it comes as no surprise that entrepreneurs and investors alike are starting to tap into the Agritech space. This space is charting out a decidedly upward trajectory, with funding into this sector growing 203 per cent in 2017. Agritech start-ups across the continent raised a combined total of US$13.2M in funding last year, the fourth largest of any sector. This was up 203 per cent on 2016 figures, which had in turn been an increase of 8,660 per cent on the pitiful of US$50K raised by Agritech start-ups in 2015. Agritech is hot right now internationally, and Africa is no exception. Investment tends to be Marco economically stable, people have to eat, and there are a number of acquirers perusing the space lately looking for opportunities.
This level of investment is confirmation that Agritech has become a key sector of interest not just for venture capital investors, but also for impact investors, individuals, family offices, institutions, and strategic players. Some high-profile investors include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which invested across biological inputs and alternative proteins, Google, actress Demi Moore, actor Jared Leto, Stanford University, and the University of Texas Investment Management Company. The corporate venture arms of big agribusiness also stepped up their participation in 2015 with Monsanto and Syngenta leading the way.


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It seems like every luxury brand has a Wear OS watch offering these days, and Louis Vuitton is one of them. According to Engadget, the designer has updated its Tambour Horizon watch with Qualcomm's new Snapdragon Wear 3100, as well as a handful of other improvements for the new year.
The highlight here is the Wear 3100, which puts battery life as its number-one priority. Louis Vuitton claims that the watch can now last for a full day (wow!) and six days in total if it's just being used to show time. Also mentioned is an upgraded screen, though no specifications are mentioned. The new watch will also have a ring around its rim that indicates whether it's day or night, and it'll be visible even in ambient mode.
Lastly, Louis Vuitton has also added a white ceramic option. No pricing or availability has been revealed — in fact, it doesn't look like Louis Vuitton itself has mentioned anything about the new watch — but for reference, the old model retailed for $2,490.
The new Louis Vuitton watches are now available for purchase (or more likely just gawking) on the company's online store. There are four models starting at a measly $2550 for the Monogram Eclipse and going up to $4450 for the Pure White. The other two models, Matte Black and Monogram Brown, sit around $3000. These prices are for the base model though, so expect to add one or two hundred dollars for an upgraded strap.


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[JURIST] Google [corporate website] called for new international laws to protect personal information online [speech text] at a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) [official website; conference materials] conference Friday, urging that an international body such as the UN or the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) [official websites] create the guidelines. Google global privacy attorney Peter Fleischer [personal blog] noted that the existing guidelines on privacy and personal data are out of date, with OECD guidelines dating back to 1980 and European Commission guidelines dating back to 1995, both prior to the widespread use of the Internet. Google suggested that a Privacy Framework [PDF text] created by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) [official website] in 2004 could serve as a model for new international guidelines. The Financial Times has more.
Google's attitude towards privacy has seen a dramatic shift in the last year. In June, Google announced that it will retain user search data for 18 months [JURIST report], down from its previous policy of retaining data for 18-24 months. Google's policy revision came in response to an announcement [JURIST report] by the European Commission [official website] in May that the EU's independent advisory panel would investigate [press briefing] Google to determine whether it complies with EU privacy rules [EU Data Protection website]. In April, numerous Internet privacy groups in the United States filed a Federal Trade Commission complaint [PDF text; JURIST report] against Google, following reports that the company was planning to buy Internet advertising company DoubleClick [corporate website]. The groups requested that the FTC block the proposed merger [agreement text; SEC press release] until the agency conducts an investigation, saying that the merger would allow Google to match users' personal information with their Internet usage history and habits.


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Gujarat’s industry minister Balvantsingh Rajput categorically noted today that high level talks were on for viable investment from Tesla, ANI reported.
“I want to share that Tesla is in the pipeline, he responded to a reporter’s query at a presser.
“Quite a few companies are in touch. Talks are going on at higher levels, and we are positive,” he added.
Further talking on this issue, SJ, Haider, Additional Chief Secretary, Industries and Mines Department said, “We have more than 20 investor policies and we are a policy driven state,” ANI noted.
Elon Musk had said in June last year that he was planning to visit India in 2024, and was confident that the carmaker will be in India “as humanly possible.”
Musk had noted that PM Modi had invited him, adding that “I would like to thank PM Modi for his support and hopefully, we will be able to announce something in the future.”
Tesla was concerned about India’s high import duty structure, which is between 25 to 100% on completely built unit vehicles (CBUs), ANI noted.
In November last year, Commerce and Industy Minister Piyush Goyal visited Tesla’s manufacturing facility in Fremont and said Tesla was on its way to double imports of components from India.
Goyal had expressed pride in the growing importance of auto component suppliers from India in the Tesla EV supply chain.


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The Making of the Super Bowl Footballs
Amy Sancetta / AP
The Ball Behind the Game
A worker laces one of the official game balls for Super Bowl XLIV at the Wilson Sporting Goods football factory in Ada, Ohio. The Indianapolis Colts will face the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl on Feb. 7 in Miami.


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DAILY BRIEFING: Elon Musk's plan to beam broadband internet into homes from space
Starman: Elon Musk is planning a network of broadband satellites
SATELLITE INTERNET Broadband internet could soon be beamed into homes, serving 3bn people, by Elon Musk’s SpaceX after the firm won regulatory backing for a new network of satellites.
DUAL DITCHED Information provider Relx is scrapping its unusual dual structure in favour of a London-based parent company.
The Anglo-Dutch group said the move would simplify operations but there would be no changes to locations, activities or staff numbers.
PROFITS CRASH Kit Kat and Shreddies owner Nestle said profits fell 24 per cent last year to £7.3billion as sales were hit by weak demand in North America and Brazil.
DRUG BACKED A drug developed by British medicine maker AstraZeneca and Merck to treat a rare genetic disorder which causes tumours to grow on nerves, has been given special status by US regulators, meaning tax breaks and market exclusivity for seven years.
EXPANSION PLAN Bosses at Uber said the company is expanding into food delivery, freight, driverless cars, buses and even bikes.
AVON FALLING Cosmetics company Avon is pulling business from Australia and New Zealand in a bid to return to profit.
RETAIL SALE Property firm Newriver has bought two retail parks in Cardiff and Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, for £26.5million.
INVESTMENT BOOST Lawsuit funding business Therium Capital Management has been handed an extra £300million of investment.
Its leading backer is thought to be US insurer Amtrust Financial.
BANK OK Online bank Monzo is set to launch services in Ireland after winning permission to operate overseas from the Bank of England.
DEALS HOPE Deal-making will pick up in the first half of 2018 as the world economy accelerates, says legal IT firm Intralinks. It expects a 10 per cent rise in M&A.
FUNDS RAISED The private equity owner of Shawbrook Bank has raised £400million to invest in financial services firms.
Pollen Street Capital has spent half of it, with some put towards an £868million deal to take Shawbrook private last year.
RECORD TALLY Investors put a record £538billion into private equity funds last year, says McKinsey.
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Online gambling games developer Yggdrasil Gaming has showcased its first branded game partnership with Nitro Circus with an innovative launch event in Malta featuring two of Nitro Circus’ biggest stars.
World-famous BMX riders Todd Meyn and Kurtis Down performed a series of gravity-defying stunts in front of more than 100 Yggdrasil clients from the industry’s leading operators.
Yggdrasil’s ‘Slot Shots’ tournaments have proved popular, and built a strong brand, since being introduced in 2016. The Nitro Circus happening is the kick-off for taking the Slot Shots Tournaments to a new level where Yggdrasil plan to invite clients to a series of extraordinary and unforgettable event experiences, the company said in a press statement Friday.
In between stunts, guests participated in the ‘Slot Shots’ tournament where they experienced the game’s unique features and bonus rounds, competing against each other in a thrilling BOOST tournament.
Nitro Circus is the world’s biggest action sports entertainment brand led by co-founder, and legendary action sports athlete and stunt daredevil, Travis Pastrana. The brand has a huge global following and will be touring Europe in conjunction with the game launch in November this year.
Yggdrasil Gaming CMO, Karin Wahlström said: “We have a very close relationship with our partners, so putting them at the heart of unforgettable events like the Nitro Circus preview is important to us. Our events give clients a deeper perception of our game, and the concept behind it, which is our goal for the Slot Shot Tournaments. This is the first of many memorable events that we are planning.”


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Hi! Welcome to the Insider Advertising daily for October 20. I’m Lauren Johnson, a senior advertising reporter at Business Insider. Subscribe here to get this newsletter in your inbox every weekday. Send me feedback or tips at email@example.com.
Today’s news: Edelman’s revenue rebounds, how WarnerMedia markets HBO Now, and new data about YouTube’s most-popular videos.
Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP via Getty Images
PR giant Edelman’s CEO says the firm has recovered half its pandemic losses and lays out his plan to grow by taking on ad agencies and helping companies mend their reputationsSean Czarnecki reports that Edelman CEO Richard Edelman said his PR firm has recovered half of its decline that stemmed from the pandemic through creative work for brands like Unilever that is traditionally done by ad agencies.Edelman is also unfroze hiring and restored employee salaries to their amounts before the pandemic.The company’s US revenue, which makes up 60% of total revenue, slipped 10% year-over-year in the spring while other markets fell as much as 25% to 30% year-over-year.Read the full story here.
Selena Gomez stars in "Selena and Chef," which was renewed for a second season on HBO Max.
How HBO Max’s marketing team works to turn free-trial users into paying customers and prevent cancellationsAshley Rodriguez looked at how WarnerMedia is promoting HBO Max with seven-day free trials in the crowded streaming space.Christine Miller, director of campaign management for HBO Max, said that free-trial users who watch multiple shows and movies, and those who watch on more than one device, are the most likely to become paying subscribers. She uses push and email notifications to encourage people to open the app as soon as they register for a free trial.The content of the messaging changes based on what people watch. Someone who watches Selena Gomez’s cooking show “Selena and Chef” may get recommendations for other young-adult shows like “Love Life” or “Friends.” Someone who can’t decide what to watch might get an email that shows different movies and series on the platform.Read the full story here.
Just 0.4% of channels on YouTube get the bulk of views and subscribers, a new study suggestsA new study from researchers at the Universities of Amsterdam and Barcelona, as well as Queensland University of Technology in Australia underscores how hard it is for creators to make money from YouTube, reports Chris Stokel-Walker.The researchers analyzed video views across 36.3 million YouTube channels, finding that only 4.4 million channels have more than 1,000 subscribers, making them eligible for running ads by YouTube. Another 153,770 channels — equivalent to 0.42% of the channels analyzed — have more than 100,000 subscribers.”All these YouTubers are driven to work across platforms,” said Òscar Coromina, one of the study’s authors. “YouTube’s monetization system isn’t good enough to earn a living. Even these super-elite YouTubers need to go to other platforms like Patreon and Twitch.”Read the full story here.More stories we’re reading:How Kevin Mayer, the ex-Disney executive who left to be TikTok’s CEO for only 3 months, has started to mount a comeback as an investor (Business Insider)Apple launched an MTV-style live-streaming channel featuring exclusive music videos and interviews (Business Insider)Mark Zuckerberg reportedly signed off on a Facebook algorithm change that throttled traffic to progressive news sites — and one site says that quiet change cost them $400,00 to $600,000 a year (Business Insider)WPP back on hunt for deals, says chief (Financial Times)TikTok’s first music hire, Mary Rahmani, joins Triller as global head of partnerships (TubeFilter)The Dodo, Group Nine’s animal brand, is getting into pet insurance (Wall Street Journal)
Read the original article on Business Insider
To discover more visit: feedproxy.google.com


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ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Bayer has announced a groundbreaking regenerative farming collaboration with Perdue AgriBusiness aimed at large-scale carbon emission reductions and creating a model for a more sustainable food value chain spanning across Perdue’s entire grain network, the companies note.
The collaboration, a first-of-its-kind under Bayer’s new ForGround platform, leverages the strengths and scale of both organizations to create a blueprint for businesses to assess their carbon footprint and rapidly scale up their ability to reduce Scope 3 emissions. Through the collaboration, Bayer and Perdue AgriBusiness, the international agricultural products and services business of. . .


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Sprint is purchasing a 4.5% share of Clearwire from Eagle River Holdings, Bloomberg is reporting. With Sprint already owning 48% of Clearwire, the purchase gives the third-largest wireless company outright control of the smaller firm.
The deal is valuable for Sprint for two reasons. First, it gives the firm control over Clearwire’s wireless network. Second, Clearwire has access to a large swath of spectrum that Sprint can use to expand its wireless data capability.
The deal helps secure the earlier announced acquisition of Sprint by Softbank, a Japanese wireless firm. By getting the new spectrum and networking assets, Sprint ensures that Softbank will receive value for the $20.1 billion the Japanese company is investing in the Kansas-based firm.
Sprint, locked in competition with AT&T (NYSE:T) and Verizon (NYSE:VZ), had earlier made overtures to Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) for their shares of Clearwire but chose to purchase Eagle River Holding’s shares instead.


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Customers can pick up the kits outside store locations and then drop completed masks back at Joann Fabrics to be donated to hospitals.
We visited Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann to see which was a better arts-and-crafts store, and there was a clear winner
Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joann Stores are three of the biggest arts-and-crafts giants in the country. We visited each store and found that one of them had a lot more to offer than the other two. Here's the verdict.
JCPenney stole the CEO of Joann Stores as she was in the midst of mounting a furious campaign against Trump's tariffs
JCPenney announced on Tuesday that Jill Soltau, most recently the CEO of Joann Stores, would be taking over as chief executive. As Joann's CEO, Soltau has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods, telling Business Insider that they act as a "made in America tax."
The CEO of one of America's largest crafting stores is mounting a furious campaign against Trump's tariffs
Joann, a leading fabric and craft retailer, is concerned that President Donald Trump's latest tariff proposal could seriously hurt many US small businesses. Joann CEO Jill Soltau spoke with Business Insider to spread the word on the dangers of the tariffs.


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- "The 25% Tariffs will remain as is, with 7 1/2% put on much of the remainder," Trump tweets.
- The USTR confirmed that the U.S. will be maintaining 25% tariffs on approximately $250 billion of Chinese imports while reducing tariffs on $120 billion worth of goods to 7.5%.
President Donald Trump said Friday that as part of the U.S.-China trade deal, Washington will not charge Beijing with any new tariffs and will slightly reduce existing ones.
He also said that at Beijing's request, "phase two" talks with China will begin immediately rather than waiting until after the 2020 election.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative confirmed that the U.S. will be maintaining 25% tariffs on approximately $250 billion of Chinese imports while reducing tariffs on $120 billion in products to 7.5%.
In a tweet, the president wrote: "We have agreed to a very large Phase One Deal with China. They have agreed to many structural changes and massive purchases of Agricultural Product, Energy, and Manufactured Goods, plus much more. The 25% Tariffs will remain as is, with 7 1/2% put on much of the remainder ...
"...The Penalty Tariffs set for December 15th will not be charged because of the fact that we made the deal," he added. "We will begin negotiations on the Phase Two Deal immediately, rather than waiting until after the 2020 Election. This is an amazing deal for all. Thank you!"
The USTR's office added that the "phase one" agreement struck between the U.S. and China also includes a commitment by Beijing to make "substantial" purchases of American goods in coming years.
China's Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Han Jun confirmed the country would increase its purchases of agricultural goods but declined to specify how much. The deal also involves intellectual property, technology transfers, agricultural goods, financial services and expansion of trade, Chinese officials said.
"President Trump has focused on concluding a Phase One agreement that achieves meaningful, fully-enforceable structural changes and begins rebalancing the U.S.-China trade relationship. This unprecedented agreement accomplishes those very significant goals and would not have been possible without the President's strong leadership," United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a release.
The United States first imposed tariffs on imports from China in January 2018 and based its sanctions on what it argued were illegal acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation.


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Aug 3 (Reuters) – The Ethereum platform’s potential purposes, decrease environmental impression and technical upgrades are doubtless to assist the ether token proceed to outperform bitcoin, Pantera Capital CEO Dan Morehead mentioned.
As a newer token, ether has additional to run than bitcoin, Morehead informed the Reuters International Markets Discussion board on Monday, including that the most recent Ethereum Enchancment Proposal (EIP) 1559 improve will assist it commerce extra like a hard and fast asset.
“You may see a transition of people that wish to retailer wealth, doing it in (ether) moderately than simply bitcoin,” he added.
Scheduled to go dwell Wednesday, EIP 1559 considerably modifications how transactions are processed on the Ethereum blockchain in addition to reduces provide of the ether token. read more
Migration to the upgraded “Ethereum 2.0” will cut back ether’s mining power use in contrast with bitcoin’s massive carbon footprint, Morehead mentioned.
The blockchain’s use in decentralised finance (DeFi) purposes may even help costs, he added.
Ether , the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, has greater than doubled its worth in 2021 to its Monday shut of $2,608, in contrast with bitcoin’s rise of 46% to $39,166.
Ether’s market capitalisation was round $306 billion on Monday, lower than half of bitcoin’s $737 billion, in keeping with tracker CoinGecko.com.
Morehead sees bitcoin ending 2021 between $80,000 and $90,000, and rising above $120,000 inside a yr. Elevated mainstream adoption might push it as excessive as $700,000 within the subsequent decade, he mentioned.
Regardless of latest volatility that left bitcoin 40% under its April all-time excessive of $64,895, Morehead mentioned Pantera Capital’s funds have attracted institutional traders who’re much less “momentum”-oriented than retail traders, and see present costs as a shopping for alternative.
He additionally sees elevated regulatory scrutiny, reminiscent of a worldwide crackdown on cryptocurrency change Binance, as a “transition” section.
Pantera, which manages $2.8 billion in blockchain-related property, has invested in a number of crypto exchanges together with Bitstamp, Coinbase, (COIN.O), and regional exchanges reminiscent of Mexico-based Bitso.
(This interview was performed within the Reuters International Markets Discussion board, a chat room hosted on the Refinitiv Messenger platform. Be part of GMF: https://refini.tv/33uoFoQ)
Reporting by Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Aaron Saldanha in Bengaluru; Modifying by Divya Chowdhury and Jacqueline Wong
Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


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Wal-Mart ROCKS and 4 Stocks BLASTING to Fresh 52-Week Highs
Tegal Corp. (NASDAQ:TGAL) reported that it has inked a definitive agreement for the purchase of CollabRx, Inc., a private equity tech firm in the quickly growing market of interpretive content and data analytics for genomics-based medicine. Shares closed up 43.89 percent on the day at $5.18, having been traded between $1.50 and $4.79 during the past 52 weeks.
Union Pacific Corporation’s (NYSE:UNP) CEO foresees “another record year” for fiscal year 2012. Shares closed down 0.67 percent on the day at $118.51, having traded between $77.73 and $119.82 during the past 52 weeks.
Don’t Miss: Is Apple Getting a NEW Look?
USG Corporation. (NYSE:USG) is strategically partnering with the Zawawi Group of Oman, in order to meet the growing demand for its building products in the Middle East and India. USG projects that the stake of about $60 million should be incurred over two years, with the majority being in 2012. USG’s partnership with the Zawawi Group will be multifaceted, with the first phase consisting of the establishment of a mining joint venture through which USG will acquire 55 percent of Zawawi Gypsum, which currently holds the mining rights to a gypsum quarry in Salalah, Oman, which will be operated by the same joint venture, with mining operations slated to begin in the third quarter of 2013. The next phase of the partnership will be a 50/50 manufacturing partnership with Zawawi Minerals, to establish and operate a new low cost wallboard plant in the Salalah Free Zone, Oman, which is an enterprise zone that has been operational for the past three years. Shares closed up 4.72 percent on the day, and have traded in a range between $5.75 and $19.44 the past 52 weeks.
Verizon Communication’s (NYSE:VZ) HTC Droid Incredible 4 gigabyte LTE will be introduced on July 5th. Shares closed up 1.06 percent on the day at $44.91, having traded between $32.28 and $44.77 the past 52 weeks.
Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT) shares are still shrugging at the company’s bribery scandal in Mexico, as they closed down 0.56 percent on the day at $69.33, and have traded between $48.31 and $69.72 for the last 52 weeks. Rationale for the non-reaction is the economy, which is not really stalling out but isn’t robust either, but might be just about right for the stores to attract shoppers looking for bargains, and who aren’t kept up at night worrying about the scandal.
Don’t Miss: Warren Buffett Picks a WINNER with Walmart.
Want news like this in real-time so you can get an edge? Click here for Wall St. Cheat Sheet Pro.


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Evora, Portugal – September 26, 2023 – In 2016, the Portuguese government began their push to becoming the Silicon Valley of Europe, and with each year since, the country has welcomed thousands of tech startups.
Tech Entrepreneurs Flocking to Portugal
Empowered Startups’ HQA Visa program continues to see exponential growth in applications. With more than 3.4 million euros of research funding coming to territorial regions of Portugal in the past year, it’s the perfect place to incubate a start up. Tech entrepreneurs are increasingly seeing the benefits of starting or expanding in Portugal, taking advantage of excellent R&D facilities at the many universities and polytechnics that Empowered Startups has partnered with.
Golden Visa No More?
While the Golden Visa is nearing its end, the HQA Visa program is just picking up momentum. With a lower initial investment, and individual support throughout the process, Empowered Startups is helping tech startups find new and exciting opportunities in Portugal.
Silicon Valley Vibes, Portugal Cost of Living
Costs continue to skyrocket throughout the US, especially in Silicon Valley, and Portugal offers a picturesque alternative to the status quo. The standard of living in Portugal is far superior to cities in the States, from food to housing to healthcare, those who immigrate to Portugal have a lot to look forward to.
To ensure that HQA Visa participants see the most success with their new venture, Empowered Startups partners entrepreneurs with the university or polytechnic that specializes in the subject matter of their project. With access to research assistants and PhD candidates, entrepreneurs can be assured that their R&D is in the right hands.
Find out how you can join the tech startup movement in Portugal – ask about our HQA Visa program today.


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Ericsson Tightens Focus, Warns of $1.7B Q1 Hit
Ericsson's new CEO, Börje Ekholm, has unveiled the Swedish giant's new business strategy, one that is built around the vendor's traditional strengths in mobile networks, backed up by professional services, supporting software (including virtualization) and the development of Internet of Things (IoT) platforms.
There are, however, some strategic sacrifices. Ericsson says it is exploring "options" for its media and cloud hardware assets, hinting at a potential sale of the struggling units. (See Ericsson Presents New Business Strategy.)
With the new business strategy comes a revamp of the management team, though the change is more in structure and designated responsibilities than in personnel. (See Ericsson Unveils New Management Team .)
The much-anticipated update comes after Ekholm took charge of the Swedish vendor at the start of the year and is aimed at returning Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC) to growth and healthy profitability following a torrid few months in which the company has lost market share to rivals, Ekholm acknowledged today. (See Loss-Making Ericsson Still Short on Vision and Ericsson's Ekholm Trumpets 5G Role But Still Lacks Plan.)
During a conference call with analysts, Ekholm said the ultimate profitability target was "at least double" the overall group margin that Ericsson reported last year, when the company's operating margin, minus restructuring charges, was 6.2%.
In the short term, the pain is likely to persist. Besides tightening its focus, Ericsson this morning revealed that it would book up to 15 billion Swedish kronor ($1.7 billion) in additional costs in the January-to-March quarter -- equating to about 7% of sales last year -- because of writedowns at its media and IT and cloud businesses, along with "negative developments related to certain large customer projects."
Ericsson appears to have suffered a couple of major setbacks since December last year. In Italy, it is reported to have lost a contract to China's ZTE Corp. (Shenzhen: 000063; Hong Kong: 0763) to manage networks for Hong Kong's Hutchison and Russia's VimpelCom, which are merging their Italian operations, while in Russia VimpelCom Ltd. (NYSE: VIP) is said to have terminated a similar deal with Ericsson, opting to use Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. instead. (See ZTE Suffers $340M Net Loss on US Fine and VimpelCom to Pioneer 'Multivendor' NFV; Downbeat on 5G.)
"We are not commenting on what contracts," said Ekholm, when pressed on the specifics of the negative customer developments. "On market share, we know that over the last few years we've lost market position and we've lost market share."
The figure of up to SEK15 billion ($1.7 billion) for additional first-quarter costs includes SEK3-4 billion ($340-460 million) in impairment charges, SEK7-9 billion ($800 million to $1.03 billion) relating to negative customer developments and another SEK2 billion ($230 million) in extra restructuring charges.
Ericsson said that restructuring charges over the whole of 2017 would rise to about SEK6-8 billion ($680-910 million), up from a previous estimate of just SEK3 billion ($340 million), and that the company would stop providing guidance on overall operating expenditure.
Next page: Portfolio pruning


text: SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- The Australian economy grew 1.3% in the three months to March 31 in seasonally adjusted terms, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported Wednesday. In the fourth quarter of 2011, the economy grew 0.6%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had been expecting first-quarter GDP growth of 0.7%. On an annual basis, the economy grew 4.3%, the ABS said. The Australian dollar traded at 98.26 U.S. cents after the data, up from 97.76 U.S. cents.


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Vietnam Promotes Higher-Quality Bananas for Export to China
Border crossings between China and Vietnam have recently been forced to tighten their disease prevention measures owing to the pandemic. From Aug. 16 to Aug. 25, the Puzhai–Tan Thanh border crossing between Pingxing County in China’s Guangxi province and the northern Vietnamese province of Lang Son temporarily suspended the flow of goods. On Aug. 26, the Nonghuai–Coc Nam border crossing also received notice that imports and exports were to be temporarily halted.
To ensure continued trade, customs officials in China and Vietnam recently agreed to trial a vehicle transfer pilot scheme until the end of August. Under the pilot scheme, Vietnamese truck drivers arriving at the border were required to hand off their vehicles to Chinese drivers waiting in Guangxi, who then delivered the cargo and returned the trucks to the border. However, Vietnamese authorities indicated that the new regulations could increase costs and delay exports. In addition, many trucks carrying produce from Vietnam lack specific destinations, making it difficult for the Vietnamese drivers to precisely determine the value, quantity and quality of their cargo prior to handing off their vehicles.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnamese bananas traded on a small scale across the border into China have experienced price fluctuations. Pandemic prevention measures have also hindered shipments, creating backlogs of bananas that have caused severe economic losses for farmers. Bananas shipped through standard international trade channels, however, have not fluctuated much in price. For example, bananas from Vietnam’s Ca Mau province exported through standard channels via Saigon Port have been able to reach major supermarkets in China in one week. Although Vietnamese authorities have encouraged growers to export bananas through these standard channels, border trade remains the primary means by which Vietnamese agricultural products reach China. Before the end of the year, Vietnam is expected to grow 17,500 metric tons of bananas, which are mainly harvested between September and November. However, owing to the tight restrictions at border crossings, sales of Vietnamese bananas have so far been severely strained.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has been cooperating with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and has also engaged in negotiations with Chinese authorities to find a solution for distributing Vietnamese agricultural products in China. At the same time, Vietnam has also taken measures to encourage and support the intensive processing of agricultural products to streamline the amount of fresh produce that is exported. Among the government bodies seeking to improve Vietnam’s produce industry, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Ca Mau province has instituted a program for banana farms as a way of combating the pandemic’s long-term effects on the local banana industry. The program, which includes banana farms with Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices certification, organically grown bananas and ecological areas utilizing intensive farming practices, aims to turn the industry toward cultivating new, higher-quality varieties.
At present, Ca Mau province’s banana farms span 5,400 hectares with an annual output of 60,000 metric tons. Within five years, authorities plan to expand the province’s banana farms to 6,000 hectares with an annual output of 120,000 tons.
In recent years, Vietnam has become China’s second-largest supplier of bananas. The provinces of Ca Mau and Hau Giang, the city of Can Tho and other areas in western Vietnam have thousands of hectares of banana plantations growing traditional South American varieties that are exported to China. Data from China Customs indicate that Vietnam exported 293,000 tons of bananas to China this year between January and July, second only to the Philippines with 474,000 tons. In fact, Vietnam exported more bananas in those seven months than it did during the whole of 2020, for which the total was 283,000 tons.
This article was translated from Chinese. Read the original article.
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Barnetts Motor Group has opened Scotland’s first Volvo showroom conforming to the Swedish brand’s new Scandinavian-inspired corporate identity.
The dealership at Dundee’s Waterfront has been refurbished to the new Volvo Retail Experience (VRE) showroom style, which allocates 40% of the space for a ‘living room’ with Scandinavian designed furniture, lowered ceiling, wifi and Swedish coffee and cakes, while the remaining 60% is in ‘street’ style to display the new car range.
The business is showing customers a time lapse video of its construction via its Facebook page, together with a video explaining the VRE concept.
A spokesman for the company said the new showroom continues the long tradition of innovation and class-leading service which began when founder Bob Barnett began selling Volvos in the city’s Seagate in 1965.
His son Paul, the current chairman of Barnetts Motor Group, said: “We’re very proud to be investing in the city once again through both this new showroom and the continued employment and training of more than 150 staff.
“It’s part of a £1m investment in the site turning the multi-franchise site at Riverside Drive, Dundee, into a state-of-the-art showcase for the future of car retailing. Further plans for this year include a customer handover centre utilising hi-tech 3D projection mapping as well as a car photography studio.
“I’ve grown up alongside the Volvo brand, it’s very close to my heart as well as being a key part of the business.
"I’m really excited about how in our Volvo 50th anniversary year the new showroom improves the total customer experience in so many ways and can’t wait to hear directly from our customers what they think of it.”


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Comcast Corp. said it will distribute video from the online venture that News Corp. and NBC Universal recently set up as a rival to the hugely popular YouTube site.
Comcast.net and Fancast.com will serve as key distribution sites for News Corp. and NBCU’s recently announced online video venture, the companies said. Comcast will also provide non-exclusive content for domestic distribution, including E!, Style, G4, Versus and Golf Channel.
The deal opens up new advertising revenue opportunities for Comcast, which is benefiting from ad sales on its Internet sites and wants to tap into the growing demand for spots on video venues.
The as yet unnamed News Corp.-NBC venture was announced last month and will start later this year. Philadelphia-based Comcast, the world’s largest cable TV company, is joining Yahoo, Microsoft’s MSN and Time Warner’s AOL, Google’s three biggest rivals, in helping to distribute video from the venture. Google bought YouTube last year for $1.7 billion.
“We’re delighted that the nation’s largest cable provider will be a major player in this new venture,” Peter Chernin, president of News Corporation, said in a statement today. “News Corp. and NBC have long histories with Comcast and we’re committed to expanding our relationship in this new media universe. We believe there is a wealth of opportunities to exploit broadband distribution to benefit both our businesses.”
News Corporation and NBC Universal have so far signed AOL, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo to carry TV and film content from News Corp., NBC TV, and other unnamed media partners. Advertisers at launch will include Cadbury Schweppes, Cisco, Esurance, Intel Corporation, General Motors and Royal Caribbean.
The companies today did not detail the types of advertising that will be offered on Comcast’s video network. Calls to spokespeople at the firms weren’t immediately returned.
Comcast recently said it will buy Fandango, the movie information and ticket site, for an undisclosed sum and spelled out plans to introduce a new site, called Fancast, for lovers of filmed entertainment.
They're arguably the most annoying video ad formats in existence, but soon they'll be a thing of the past, at least on YouTube.
On Thursday, Twitter reported its earnings for Q4 2016, and the results have raised questions about the company's long-term future.
From its $1.5 billion air cargo hub to its growing network of contract last-mile delivery drivers, Amazon is increasingly looking like a logistics company; but shipping and logistics giant FedEx isn't sitting idly by.
Havas Group's Meaningful Brands report delivers sobering news for brands: consumers wouldn't care if 74% of the brands they use disappeared off the face of the earth.


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By Larissa ZimberoffSmithfield Foods Inc. thought it was doing great. In the first quarter of this year, the pork giant’s earnings were up 190%... ...https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/startups-race-to-develop-tech-that-can-clear-workplaces-of-covid/articleshow/78199366.cms
Imports too declined 26 per cent to $29.47 billion in August, leaving a trade deficit of $6.77 billion. Contracting for the sixth straight month,... ...http://www.rediff.com/money/report/exports-fall-for-6th-straight-month-down-over-12/20200915.htm
As many as 20 central public sector enterprises and their units are at various stages of strategic disinvestment, while six are being considered... ...http://www.rediff.com/money/report/20-central-psus-in-pipeline-for-sale-6-for-shutdown/20200914.htm
The applications range from disaster recovery to predicting demand and understanding customer choices using artificial intelligence. Illustration:... ...http://www.rediff.com/money/report/tech-ibms-ai-push-helps-parle-mother-dairy-go-digital/20200914.htm
Even as the domestic market continues to face challenges on the demand side, exports have come to the rescue of sectors such as pharmaceuticals,... ...https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/exports-offer-lifeline-as-domestic-market-flounders/articleshow/78083010.cms
Malayachi Group established on 2010...
Introductory Chemical Engineering...
Free Download Pdf Books Of Chemical...


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Here's a clip of Carol Bartz speaking more bluntly than the potty-mouthed Yahoo CEO has ever spoken in public before. She tells TechCrunch editor Mike Arrington to "fuck off," and that's not the start of it.
Their point: Yahoo made about 1 million euros per worker from Yahoo France alone last year, and used to hype how "it's important to have [locally] concentrated engineering activities... to innovate" in France, where it would base "one of [its] most important centers in Europe." Yahoo France's engineers will now stop working until Yahoo agrees that they shouldn't have to stop working. At least they're fact checking the internet company's hype along the way.


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In his new role, Abbas will be tasked with expanding the Yeezy brand and will report directly to West. Abbas will oversee the direction and the launch of special projects for the Yeezy brand including Adidas Yeezy,Yeezy Gap, and the Yeezy Stem Player.
“I’m energized to work with Ye because he cares so deeply about design and moving culture forward,” Abbas told WWD. “At Yeezy and Gap, I’ve met some of the most talented people and teams, and I’m looking forward to working with them all to extend this new creative vision to the world.”
Per his LinkedIn profile, Abbas most recently worked at Nike as the design director for the brand’s ACG line, spending over five years at the sportswear company. Prior to Nike, Abbas had stints at Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Uniqlo.