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Destinasi Rasa Serantau buffet dinner at Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara
March 22nd, 2023
Following their successful debut last year, the reinvention of the quintessential Malaysian food court experience, Tiffin Food Court, returns with a line-up of celebrated chefs, food vendors, and entertainers, further cementing Tiffin as the culinary platform in the country. Running over six weekends, the dining experience will take place from 5pm until late at The Warehouse (behind The Gasket Alley), every Thursday to Sunday from 25 July to 1 September 2019.
The carnival-inspired affair will be a colourful and quirky, multi-sensory communal space built from the ground up in the warehouse that was also home to last year’s edition.
“This year we’ve tried our best to further elevate Tiffin Food Court’s offerings as a reflection of our aspirations to become the culinary platform for events, and conversations around food that push the culinary experience in Malaysia. Tiffin has always aimed to promote and develop emerging culinary talents and support entrepreneurs whilst nurturing our nation’s collective enthusiasm for all things culinary,” says Adrian Yap, CEO and founder of Freeform Sdn Bhd that organises Tiffin Food Court.
“Tiffin Food Court presents an exciting opportunity for us to push the culinary envelope outside the restaurant setting and share our food with a wider range of foodies,” says Chef Nicholas Scorpion of Jing Ze, who is one of the many guest chefs taking over the kitchens at Tiffin Food Court this year.
CK Kho, owner-bartender of award-winning bars Pahit and Coley, that was listed as one of 2019’s Asia’s 50 Best Bars shares the same sentiment: “Tiffin Food Court is an excellent platform for bartenders to explore new ideas in mixology. It’s also an opportunity for emerging bartenders to showcase their skills. “
Appealing to local foodies with discerning global palates, Tiffin Food Court will feature a rotation of over 60 F&B players out to serve their best fare, where each weekend will celebrate a different flavour highlight. The space will be made up of five culinary experiential zones, namely Chef’s Kitchens, U Mobile Dessert Funhouse, Grub Hubs, Tiger Uncage Street Food Corner, and DISQOVR Lounge.
Culinary Line-up to Look Out For:
Experience dessert in a different way at U Mobile’s Dessert Funhouse and treat yourself to sweet creations from:
Foodies can expect mouth-watering ready-to-eat dishes from:
With more offerings by the nation’s favourite culinary outlets such as:
Foodies in good spirits will be able to wash down all the amazing dishes with cocktails and drinks by some amazing taverns with different offerings each week such as:
This year Tiffin Food Court will be featuring a number of exciting firsts:
While guests can expect to enjoy crowd favourite dishes, Tiffin-exclusive dishes curated by the nation’s beloved food outlets are certain to be scene-stealers such as:
To keep up-to-date with Tiffin’s rotating vendors, follow the event on Instagram and Facebook.
Images supplied by Tiffin Food Court are for illustration purposes only.
Address: Tiffin Food Court
Lot 15, Jalan 13/6, Seksyen 13, Petaling Jaya (behind The Gasket Alley)
Hours: 5pm till late, every Thursday to Sunday from 25 July to 1 September 2019.
March 22nd, 2023
March 20th, 2023
March 12th, 2023
March 10th, 2023
March 7th, 2023


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domain: news


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Let’s quickly recap what has happened till now between the U.S. and China-
January 2018: The first move that signalled a trade war was by the U.S. when it imposed a tax on solar panel and washing machine imports from China.
March 2018: Then in March, U.S. raised tariffs (taxes on imports) by 25% and 10% on steel and aluminium respectively. While the U.S. imports only 6% of these products from China, the trade is worth $2.7 billion to China. So obviously China didn’t take this move quietly and instead came up with its own tariffs for the U.S…
April 2018- In April, China hit back with tariffs on U.S. imports worth $2.4 billion which included agricultural products like pork and hit the U.S. farmers big time. Following which Trump retaliated by proposing to levy 25% tariffs on 1300 Chinese goods worth $50 billion such as semiconductors, medical devices and flat-screen televisions. Once again China responded by producing its own list of 106 American goods, including soybeans, cars and aeroplanes, that could be subject to tariffs of 25 per cent. This went on and Trump ordered his chief trade negotiator to expand its tariffs on Chinese goods worth $100 billion while China’s Commerce Ministry said they’d fight Trump’s tariffs at any cost.
This tit-for-tat continued till June…
June 2018- After saying that the initially announced tariffs were kept on hold, Trump suddenly announced a 25% import tax on 1,100 Chinese products worth $50 billion. A move that would not only harm China but also affect American businesses since they depended on these imports to set up their end products.
And even China retaliated with its own revised tariffs on American imports worth $50 billion. This round of tariffs targeted the agricultural sector especially those who were major Trump supporters.
All these import duties were scheduled to come into effect from July 6
July 2018- On July 6th the previously announced tariffs of 25% on Chinese imports worth $34 billion finally came into effect, instigating China to also immediately implement 25% tariffs on U.S. imports worth $34 billion.
August 2018- U.S. and China both imposed tariffs on each other’s imports worth $16 billion and now they both had imposed tariffs on imports worth $50 billion (previously imposed $34 billion+ $16 billion)
September 2018- Trump threatened to impose tariffs on $267 billion worth of Chinese exports in addition to $200 billion worth products that he might hit with duties. Not to forget the $50 billion previously imposed.
This would total up their tariffs on Chinese imports worth $517 billion but last year the U.S. imported goods worth only $507 billion, clearly showing Trump was out of ways to impose duties on China!
So what does this tug-of-war between the U.S. and China mean for our economy-
When our rupee weakens against the dollar it means we have to pay more dollars for our imports. In other words, our current account deficit (a situation where imports exceed exports) widens. This also spells trouble for our markets because investors lose confidence in our country and flock to safer countries like the U.S. to park their funds. Due to this trade war, our markets have been at an all-time low of 3 weeks!
When U.S. raised tariffs on steel and aluminium it wasn’t restricted to steel and aluminium imports from China only but imports from countries all over the world, meaning even India has to pay these tariffs for its steel and aluminium exports to the U.S.
And considering our steel and aluminium trade with them, this would mean paying approximately $241 million in taxes to the U.S. Thus widening our current account deficit (a situation where imports exceed exports) even further!
Top Steel Producers In The World
- South Korea
- South Korea
As per stats on CNN Money, China leads the market when it comes to steel production. A lot of times the excess steel it produces ends up being ‘dumped’ in countries forcing smaller players out of the competition. To prevent this dumping and promote domestic steel and aluminium production Trump raised steel and aluminium tariffs. But this plan sort of backfired as American industries backed heavily on China to produce cheaper steel and aluminium. Now raised tariffs would mean costs for industries dependent on steel and aluminium would also rise and the American consumer would have to pay more for these products. While this move was aimed at China, other countries like Canada and the EU who export steel and aluminium to America were also hit. And just like China they too came up with counter-tariffs for the U.S., ensuing the world in a massive TRADE-WAR.
India didn’t stay quiet to America’s tariffs, even they imposed duties on 30 different types of goods imported from the U.S. ensuring that the U.S. will have to pay $238 million as duties to India.
Trade wars could actually be good for India, click here to know how.
The above impacts might only be short-lived. In the long-run, the U.S. China trade war could actually be good for India. According to this report, India should take maximum advantage of the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China and export machinery, electrical equipment, vehicles and transport parts, chemicals, plastics and rubber products to the U.S because it now has a competitive edge over China in terms of these goods. Meanwhile, this trade war also means once frenemies India and China might actually come close since China will need a big enough market to export its excess products.
What they meant when they said...
“I give China great credit for taking advantage of the US”
Trump’s rationale behind starting a trade-wars was pretty simple- he wanted to fix his deficit (when imports exceed exports) with China and punish them for allegedly stealing trade secrets, counterfeiting famous brands, pressuring Amercian companies to share technology, and in short engaging in unfair trade practices with America.
But he did not blame China for both these problems and blamed his presdiential predecessors instead. He even went on to say this- “After all, who can blame a country for being able to take advantage of another country for the benefit of its citizens!”
“Trade wars are good and easy to win”
Since U.S. imports a lot of goods and services from other countries, it has huge trade deficits (imports exceed exports). And they lose millions of dollars in trade every year. To prevent this from happening and to keep the dollars in their own country Trump reorganized trade, by imposing tariffs on imports so they become expensive and industries are encouraged to produce goods locally (this is known as protectionism).
‘Dark day in global trade’
Analysts described the events of 6th July 2018 as a dark day in global trade. While the U.S. stocks rose in the run-up to the day, Chinese stocks crashed almost entering a bear market.
“A lot of people are desperate to move out of China”
The trade war has made many manufacturers rethink their supply chain. For instance, Steve Madden shifted production from China to Cambodia because handbags were included in the list of proposed tariffs on goods worth $200bn. Even Hoover-maker Techtronic Industries shifted its production centres to Vietnam. While the shift had started even before the trade war mostly to take advantage of lower wages and avoid concentration in one country the trade war only intensified this shift of production centers away from China.
Still got more questions about trade wars? Comment below and let us know!


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Crestron has announced that it will be a sponsor of the Insights Speaker Series, which will be held at Crestron's booth at CEDIA Expo this week.
Jeremy Burkhardt to be Inducted as a CEDIA Fellow
Como Audio Intros Embrace Vinyl, Two-Channel Stereo Sound
Klein is CEDIA’s 2019 Lifetime Achievement Awardee
New Age to Deliver VR Brand HTC VIVE Products to Enterprise Customers
James Loudspeaker Adds Mavericks Architectural Cinema Division
HTSA’s Next-Level Training: Beyond Products, to Human Interaction


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Earlier yesterday, the aggressive and nonchalant singer was officially unveiled as the brand ambassador for Odogwu bitters.
Many of his fans took to their various social media timelines to throw their weight behind Portable and additionally pledge that they will start buying Odogwu bitters.
According to Portable, he thanks the billionaire businessman for giving him a big opportunity plus money.
@odogwu_bitters best of all???? @obi_cubana don show love ooo great Ambassador CEO Dr Zeh Nation


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Electrolube, global manufacturer of specialist chemicals for the electronics, automotive and industrial manufacturing industries, today announced that for the third year in succession, its innovative range of Conformal Coatings has won a Best of Industry Manufacturing Excellence Award organized by popular on-line publication, Electronics Maker.
The Electronics Maker Awards are considered a measure of excellence and consequently generate a lot of interest, recognising industry leaders in technology, efficiency, environmental benefits and quality for the Indian Electronics industry. Electrolube is among the world’s foremost experts in the formulation and application of conformal coatings designed to meet international approvals, including European and American military specifications. The award winning range comprises a revolutionary two-component series (2K), acrylics, silicones, polyurethanes, hybrid chemistries and environmentally friendly options. Electrolube also offers both transparent and pigmented coatings to improve or camouflage the appearance of printed circuit boards and provides a number of ancillary products to complement the use of conformal coatings, which includes thinners and removers, peelable coating masks and thixotropic materials for dam and fill applications.
Ron Jakeman, Group Managing Director of Electrolube, said, “It was a great honour to accept this award at such a prestigious event. We are delighted that Electronics Maker yet again selected our range of Conformal Coatings to win the award for Manufacturing Excellence. This award recognises Electrolube’s commitment to the advancement of innovative and highly effective Conformal Coating solutions for the electronics industry.“
Electrolube’s General Manager for India, Padmanabha Shaktivelu, added, “The brand has gained real momentum showing massive growth since our initial opening in India five years ago; this award is a direct recognition of the calibre of Electrolube products. The Indian market has exciting growth potential with endless opportunities for Electrolube’s speciality products. Our new factory premises further strengthens our position as we are able to offer excellent technical support, customer service, fast order execution and rapid delivery times.”
Please visit Electrolube’s website at www.electrolube.com for further information.


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At Long Last, the Stainless Steel CasiOak is a Reality
It’s only been a few short years since G-SHOCK unveiled its 2019 GA2100 release, but the watch has already become a favourite among the brand’s fans. Taking the template of the first G-SHOCK , the DW5000, the brand upgraded it for a new, younger audience, moving the GA2100, otherwise known as the CasiOak, into cult status territory, but that wasn’t enough to stop fans from asking for more. Building on that success, Casio has upped its game again and finally delivered the G-SHOCK watch we’ve been begging for. This new release retains the same sleek profile and iconic ‘CasiOak’ octagonal shape but adds a bucket-load of new features and most importantly, a stunning stainless steel case.
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If you’re wondering why the watch collecting community dubbed the GA2100 the ‘CasiOak’, the answer is quite straightforward. The watch, with a new redesigned eight-sided case, drew comparisons to Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak – a luxury watch out the reach of many. Fans were offered an affordable contemporary watch, famed for its rugged endurance, that shared design cues with a legendary Swiss sports watch. Of course, it was going to be a winner.
The GA2100 line has had another facelift, with the three models in the new GMB1200 line presenting a more grown-up aesthetic. The elements that we loved – the octagonal case, analogue dial layout and durability – are still there. But this new reinterpretation adds a full stainless steel case, a solar-powered movement and the latest Bluetooth-enabled features. Don’t worry, it’s still surprisingly slim and comfortable to wear.
The new models feature a case 44mm in diameter and made from stainless steel. It’s a beefed-up version of the popular resin-cased CasiOak, but at 12.8mm is still the slimmest full-metal G-SHOCK to date. That higher-end and more luxury aesthetic is reinforced with the matching steel bracelet and exquisite dial. And as you’d expect from a watch that aims to push boundaries, it also features the most up-to-date functionality – this includes Bluetooth connectivity to G-SHOCK’s smartphone app and Tough Solar charging.
G-SHOCK fanboys will be in their element with this new release, particularly when presented with three impressive variations. The plain stainless steel model is equipped with an understated and blacked-out dial, while the black ion-plated watch goes full stealth mode. For those wanting to flex, there’s an eye-catching bright rose gold piece that adds flair to a watch that already has style and functionality. Due for release in August 2022, the latest CasiOak could be the brand’s most popular octagonal watch yet.
G-Shock 2100 Series GMB2100D-1A, GMB2100BD-1A, GMB2100GD-5A
Bracelet: Stainless Steel
Case: Stainless Steel
Movement: Tough Solar
Water Resistance: 00M
Price: AUD$999 – $1099


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Just about a month after bidding for Opel began, with Italian automaker Fiat SpA, private equity investors and auto parts giant Magna International (s MGA) all vying to take a piece of General Motors’ (s GM) European subsidiary, the German government has tapped a Magna-led coalition as the winner. As we noted last month, the European version of GM’s Chevy Volt, the Opel Ampera, was not up for grabs in the deal — but Magna could still shift the green car landscape, and acquire some new muscle for its quest to become a major player in the plug-in car market.
Of course, Magna boasts quite a lot of heft to begin with, having 74,000 employees in 25 countries. But long term, Magna Chairman Frank Stronach aims to take Magna from its current role as a parts supplier to an expanded role as a global automaker that ranks “amongst the leaders in selling and building electric cars.” As Stronach told reporters in Ottowa today:
About two and a half years ago we made a commitment to be in the electric car business in a very serious way.
The Toronto Star reports that Stronach wants $300 million in government loans in Canada in order to start making batteries and electric cars there for global distribution within three years. Two years from now, he said, the company might bring some Opel manufacturing to Canada as well.
After Magna buys control of Opel next week from GM, Opel’s technology, distribution and manufacturing capacity could eventually become one more tool for Magna to use in that effort — but the acquisition is not without risk. If Opel doesn’t become profitable as quickly as Stronach plans, it could drag down Magna’s efforts to reinvent itself with less revenue from Detroit’s shrinking “Big Three.”
As we wrote last month, when Ford (s F) announced plans to to invest $550 million to retool an SUV and truck factory for an electric version of the Focus (built with batteries, powertrains and other components from Magna), hurdles lie ahead for Magna’s transformation, but it can look to startups for a roadmap. With Opel, Magna could follow plug-in startups Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive in trying to take advantage of EV-friendly policies in the EU, as well as the geography and shorter average distances that Europeans drive (compared with U.S. drivers). But at least initially, Stronach has his eye on the Russian market for rapid expansion.
At least one thing is certain for the new Opel: Its cars won’t be coming to the U.S. or China anytime soon, which are important markets on the road to an affordable EV. The company has an agreement with GM and the U.S. Treasury Department preventing it initially from selling Opel cars stateside or in China, where GM (not to mention BYD Auto and a host of Chinese startups) has relative strength.
Magna’s Mila EV platform concept image credit Magna International


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It's awfully quiet outside. But SLO County farmers have not stopped the plows.
Checking in with our local food growers, many reported a huge increase in CSA boxes, meat boxes, and farm stand sales. Others—producers of luxury food items like organic olive oil—found their online and storefront food traffic came to a halt.
- Photo Courtesy Of Andrea Chavez
- CSA BOXES SOAR Andrea Chavez, of Talley Farms, holds one of their popular farm boxes. Their produce boxes have been in demand since the pandemic, as many local farms have seen increases in subscribers since mid March's countywide and statewide shelter-in-place announcements.
Local growers are making the necessary adjustments during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you think about it, farmers are always reinventing themselves—they either have the weather on their side, or not.
Jerry Rutiz, owner of Rutiz Family Farms in Arroyo Grande, said it's been chaotic since the shelter-in-place orders began. He said he sells 95 percent of his organic produce through his food stand on The Pike, serving mostly people who live within a 5-mile radius. He sells to a handful of restaurants such as Ember, Spoon Trade, and Apple Farm, and runs a Friday pickup for CSA box subscribers, which has become more popular recently, especially with seniors.
"People seemed like they were buying lots of stuff," Rutiz said about the week of March 16.
In addition to his produce, people can also buy See Canyon fruit, bakery bread, and locally ranched beef, chicken, and pork at his stand.
To keep cross contamination from happening, Rutiz said he eliminated self-service, placing all his produce behind a table. One of his staff, in gloves, was taking orders and packing the veggies in a box for the customer, while the money station was manned by another staff person. Rutiz has always only taken cash or check, but he cut the coins out of the equation when he heard that coins carry more germs than bills.
Rutiz said his biggest worry right now is health. The 63-year-old farmer said he checks in with his staff regularly to see if they are feeling OK.
"If they're at a point when they start getting sick ... we will stop. We can't do anything ... and if that time comes, then there's nothing that we can do," he said.
Rutiz mentioned one of his blueberry partners had to stop delivering because his workers had to stay home with their kids, who need supervision at home due to school closures.
At Talley Farms in Arroyo Grande, Box Program Manager Andrea Chavez has been seeing a spike in the number of customers who signed up for their farm box program. She said last week that people are still signing up.
"We're seeing a big increase in older customers wanting boxes delivered to their home versus picking up at one of our 70 pick up locations," Chavez said. "The wholesale side of our farm is business as usual, with some of our older office employees working from home. Our sales to food service accounts are slower, but sales to our retail accounts are strong."
Chavez said their packing crew started at 6 a.m. rather than 6:30 a.m., and they've been using more trucks to make home deliveries. Some of their pickup locations have changed, as gyms and other businesses close, so customers are being notified by email.
Chavez said people are buying their produce all at once right now, noting that grocery store produce shelves are light in supplies as more people are cooking at home and "perhaps realizing they need to eat healthier."
Tessa Varia—daughter of Antonio Varia, beloved chef and owner of Buona Tavola Restaurant and Alle-Pia Fine Cured Meats—said that as of March 18, their handcrafted salami emporium in Atascadero would stay open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
"It's slowed down quite a bit, but we've changed it," said Varia calmly. "We're still making sure that we're out there."
Varia said the shop will still sell fresh-made pasta, olive oil, Varia's amazing jarred sauces, frozen sausages and cured meats, cheese, and fresh focaccia.
Rancher Will Woolley of Templeton Beef, said his operation was "off the rails, crazy busy" amid the state and county coronavirus mandates. They have a good supply of ground beef, but you'll need to call in your order rather than use the online portal. Woolley still will deliver the beef boxes all over SLO County, but instead of one pack per customer, it's 10 pounds of beef at a time.
- Photo Courtesy Of Karen Tallent
- FARM TOURS CEASE For the foreseeable future, local ag operations will not be holding farm tours, like the one pictured at The Groves at 41. The North County olive oil farm is one of the Central Coast ag producers that have lost business due to COVID-19.
Bautista Family Farms decided to go with the flow, opening up a grab-and-go pre-made produce box from their stand in Arroyo Grande. Each box, $20, can be picked up Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 to 11 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon.
Bee Wench Farm in Shandon sold out of pasture-raised chicken the week of March 16. As soon as Sarah Worley posted her inventory online, she sold out in less than an hour. She urges everyone to check the online inventory for deliveries of eggs, meat, and bone broth.
SLO Veg founder Rachael Hill said she's been super slammed.
"Our business has seen a huge influx in new sign-ups in the past three days."
Hill's delivery service of Central Coast grown harvests has always been an online service that delivers directly to customers.
But some farm businesses have come to a grinding halt. Karen Tallent, president and farmer of The Groves on 41 in Templeton, was just granted a farm stand permit last month. Because of coronavirus cautions, they haven't been able to open for olive oil tasting and tours. Though they're accepting online orders and some locals are picking up drive-thru style, Tallent said their small farm tourism is "certainly suffering, so re-orders are pretty scant right now."
"We're a bit of a luxury product," Tallent said. "Seems by the looks of the grocery stores, people are more interested in toilet paper, sanitizers, and canned food."
But despite the challenges, Tallent said, "We are deeply grateful for the sensibility and manners exhibited by folks out running their necessary errands."
Farmers' markets in SLO County
On March 19, the state issued an executive order telling all Californians to shelter at home, meaning only essential government functions will continue, while essential businesses, such as farmers' markets, are encouraged to remain open. However, as of March 13, SLO downtown farmers' market has been canceled until April.
Market organizers ask the public to practice social distancing, let the farmers get your product for you, and stay home if you are sick.
Here are the locations and hours of the farmers' markets near you:
• Baywood/Los Osos: Mondays from 2 to 4:30 p.m. (2nd and Santa Maria Streets by the Bay)
• Paso Robles: Tuesdays from 9:30 a.m. to noon (Spring and 12th Street)
• San Luis Obispo Farm Supply: Tuesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. (resumed March 24) (224 Tank Farm Road)
• Arroyo Grande: Wednesdays from 8:30 to11 a.m. (Smart & Final parking lot)
• Atascadero: Wednesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. (Sunken Gardens)
• Morro Bay: Thursdays from 2 to 4:30 p.m. (Spencer's parking lot)
• Avila Beach: Fridays from 4 to 8 p.m. (starts April 15)
• Cambria: Fridays from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. (Main Street)
• Cayucos: Fridays from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (resumes in Summer)
• San Luis Obispo: Saturdays from 8 to 10:45 a.m. (Madonna and Dalidio)
• Arroyo Grande: Saturday from noon to 2:30 p.m. (Olohan Alley)
• Morro Bay: Saturdays from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. (Main Street and Elena)
• Templeton: Saturdays from 9 to 12:30 p.m. (Town Park, 6th and Crocker streets)
• Paso Robles: Saturdays from 9 to 1 p.m. (Downtown City Park, Spring Street and 12th)
For up-to-date information on the markets, visit their Facebook pages; their websites: slocountyfarmers.org, readyslo.org, pinterest.com/slocorarmers; and Instagram pages: @northcountyfarmersmarkets and @farmersmarketsofslo. Δ
Flavor writer Beth Giuffre is supporting her local farmers right now. Send reusable grocery bags and other foodie ideas to firstname.lastname@example.org.


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Sales have not been uniformly strong for IT, but there have been enough upbeat reports pouring in from vendor and market research companies to buoy overall confidence in tech.
After the Nasdaq computer index sank Thursday on weak economic news, it bounced back Friday as Intel shares hit a 10-year high on its announcement that business PC sales have been greater than expected.
Intel shares hit US$29.81 in afternoon trading, up $1.85 for the day, while the Nasdaq computer index rose 11.82 points to 2,194.82. All major U.S. indexes were also up for the day. The Nasdaq computer index is up almost 7 percent for the year, despite mixed sales reports.
Intel's news could be big for IT as a whole, because hardware has been tech's weak spot. Gartner has issued a forecast that calls for a 6.6 percent year-over-year decline in PC and laptop shipments in 2014. What's more, the 276.7 million PCs that are expected to be shipped to retailers in 2014 will drop even further, to 263 million units, in 2015, Gartner said.
But Intel said Thursday that it expects to report revenue of $13.7 billion, plus or minus $300 million, for the current quarter. The company's previous guidance was $13 billion, plus or minus $500 million. "Intel now expects some revenue growth for the year as compared to the previous outlook of approximately flat," the company said in a statement.
The upbeat forecast from Intel could be short-lived, some analysts said. The PC market could be getting a short-term boost as companies replace machines based on Windows XP, which Microsoft stopped supporting two months ago.
Still, the Intel note was uplifting. While Canaccord Genuity, for example, maintains that Intel's long range prospects still face hurdles in sectors such as mobile, where rival ARM is strong, it raised its target price on company shares to $31.00 from $29.00. "We adjust our estimates higher to reflect this enterprise PC strength and the positive impact to margins from leverage," wrote Canaccord Genuity analyst Matthew Ramsay in a research report.
Earlier in the week, IDC said that the Middle East and Africa PC market will end "a dismal run of seven consecutive quarters of year-on-year declines" in the second quarter by posting long-awaited growth of 3.2 percent year over year. The report is especially welcome after the first quarter, when overall PC shipments in the region were down 8.3 percent year on year to total 4.8 million units, IDC said. The report is notable because emerging markets are key to overall sector growth.
There was also good news on the smartphone front this week from eMarketer. The market research company said that by the end of 2014, it expects 1.76 billion people to own and use smartphones monthly, up more than 25 percent over 2013. "By 2015, we project that 15 countries worldwide will have seen more than half their populations adopt smartphones," said Monica Peart, senior forecasting analyst at eMarketer.
That's important because a slowdown in the growth rate for tablet and overall mobile phone sales, together with economic uncertainty in emerging markets, are expected to put a damper on global IT spending. IDC said overall IT spending this year will increase 4.1 percent in constant currency to $3.7 trillion, a slowdown from last year's 4.5 percent growth.
On the online front, there was positive news for Internet companies this week. U.S. Internet advertising revenue reached $11.6 billion for the first quarter of 2014, up 19 percent year over year, according to a report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PwC US.
"These Q1 revenue levels speak to digital's unique ability to identify the most relevant audience segments and deliver powerful results," said Sherrill Mane, Senior Vice President, Research, Analytics & Measurement, IAB.


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Groupon is planning a network of North American warehouses for its physical goods business. Goods is actually doing well, and CEO Eric Lefkofsky said that bringing shipping in house will improve the company’s margins.
It’s hardly a secret that Americans not only consume massive amounts of food everywhere but also throw massive amounts away. Fortunately, a scrappy startup called EcoScraps is doing its part to remedy one of these problems. The company announced today that it has raised $1.5 million in its first round of funding, which will enable the team to expand operations into more stores and regions across the United States.


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News On 6
TULSA, OK -- The hottest hotrods and most creative custom cars from across the country are in Tulsa this weekend.
Darryl Starbird's annual Rod and Custom Show is under way in the QuikTrip Center at the Tulsa Fairgrounds.
Despite the economy, entries are up this year. More than 1,000 vehicles are on display, including 21 competing for a $20,000 cash prize.
The event began Friday and will continue 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Be sure to check out SkyNews 6 at 1 p.m. Saturday and meet pilot Will Kavanaugh, anchor Lori Fullbright and meteorologist Travis Meyer.


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Ericsson Hungary to hire 200 more staff by mid-2008
The Hungarian unit of Ericsson, will hire 200 workers by mid-2008, raising its number of staff to 1,000, outgoing CEO of the unit Steffan Pehrson told a press conference in Budapest on Friday.
The Hungarian unit of Ericsson, the world's leading maker of wireless telecommunications equipment will have about 750 research staff by the end of 2007, chairman István Fodor said. The number of staff in services will rise from 170 to 250 during the same period, he added. Ericsson Hungary spends about Ft 10 billion a year on innovation, Fodor said. The company controls 70% of Hungary's market for GSMand second-generation mobile services infrastructure, and it is the only company in Hungary to have built a third-generation wireless network. Worldwide, Ericsson has built 30 of the 67 operating 3G networks, Pehrson said. Gábor Ery, Ericsson Hungary's new CEO, said the company aims to achieve a bigger share of the landline and mobile broadband internet market. He declined to reveal the company's turnover, but said services generate about 30%. (Mti-Eco)
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Investment House LLC decreased its position in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,354 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,376 shares during the quarter. Investment House LLC’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $6,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WP Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $118,000. Fort L.P. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $125,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in PepsiCo by 85.7% in the 2nd quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Independent Order of Foresters purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $152,000. Finally, Robinson Value Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $171,000. 70.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Investment Research upgraded PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $126.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $124.00 price target on PepsiCo and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on PepsiCo from $127.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 4th. BidaskClub upgraded PepsiCo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank cut their price target on PepsiCo from $118.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.89.
PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 2nd. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $16.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.38 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 73.27% and a net margin of 7.66%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.9275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 6th. This represents a $3.71 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 70.94%.
In other news, CEO Mike Spanos sold 20,074 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.42, for a total transaction of $2,256,719.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,993,158.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mehmood Khan sold 168,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.12, for a total value of $18,532,645.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 173,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,128,064.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 205,893 shares of company stock valued at $22,663,157. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.
TRADEMARK VIOLATION WARNING: “PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP) Shares Sold by Investment House LLC” was originally posted by WKRB News and is owned by of WKRB News. If you are accessing this piece on another domain, it was stolen and republished in violation of United States and international copyright laws. The correct version of this piece can be viewed at https://www.wkrb13.com/2018/11/25/pepsico-inc-pep-shares-sold-by-investment-house-llc.html.
PepsiCo, Inc operates as a food and beverage company worldwide. Its Frito-Lay North America segment offers Lay's and Ruffles potato chips; Doritos, Tostitos, and Santitas tortilla chips; and Cheetos snacks, branded dips, and Fritos corn chips. The company's Quaker Foods North America segment provides cereals, rice, pasta, mixes and syrups, granola bars, grits, oat squares, oatmeal, rice cakes, simply granola, and side dishes under the brands Quaker, Aunt Jemima, Cap'n crunch, life, Quaker Chewy, and Rice-A-Roni.
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Apple says Psystar knowingly violated its copyrights and license agreements and induced customers who bought the OS X-running Open Computer to do the same. Because of that and the resulting damage that Apple alleges is being done to its brand, it’s asking the US. District Court for a permanent injunction that would bar Psystar from selling any more hardware with Apple software. And it wants Psystar to recall every Mac clone sold.
Those details are contained in the complaint Apple filed with the U.S. District Court’s Northern District of California. Apple filed its suit against Psystar on July 3, though word of the legal action first came to light earlier
Now the text of Apple’s complaint is
available online. (You can download it for a modest fee.) And the 35-page filing—a 16-page complaint plus 19 more pages of evidence—offers some insight into the basis of Apple’s allegations and the arguments it plans on making in court.
Miami-based Psystar announced in April that
it would sell PCs capable of running Mac OS X. Customers could order the desktop—originally called Open Mac but later renamed Open Computer—and install OS X themselves, though Psystar, which charges $155 to install the OS itself, encouraged customers to order hardware with
OS X 10.5 preinstalled. In June, the company added a
cloned version of Apple’s Xserve to its offerings.
Apple says that’s a violation of its end-user license agreement, a copy of which is included with Apple’s July 3 filing. Specifically, Apple cites portions of the agreement in which users agree “not to install, use, or run the Apple software on any non-Apple labeled computer or enable another to do so.” Apple contends Psystar’s owners are aware of the end-user license agreement—in an
InformationWeek article from April, a Psystar employee is quoted as challenging the validity of the license agreement—and that installing OS X on its Open Computer constitutes a breach of contract. Further, Apple contends that Psystar encouraged other users to break the license agreement by telling them to install OS X on non-Mac hardware or doing it for them. And Apple further alleges that Psystar “makes copies of, and offers to customers for download from its website… ‘updates’ to the Leopard software that are either direct copies of Apple-generated updates and/or unauthorized modified versions” of those updates.
Apple argues that the end result of unauthorized use of its software and intellectual property is damaging to its brand. And it takes great pains in the court filing to point out how valuable that brand is—Apple says it’s spent more than $3 billion since 1994 to promote the Mac and Apple trademarks and that the Apple brand consistently ranks among the 50 most valuable brands on earth by independent research organizations. In contrast, Apple cites user complaints about the Open Computer experience as well as Psystar’s
changing physical addresses and its
dispute with an online payment processor.
“By misappropriating Apple’s proprietary software and intellectual property for its own use, Psystar’s actions harm consumers by selling to them a poor product that is advertised and promoted in a manner that falsely and unfairly implies an affiliation with Apple,” says the complaint filed by attorney James G. Gilliland, Jr. on behalf of Apple. “Psystar’s actions also have cause, and are causing harm to Apple and constitute a misuse of Apple’s intellectual property.”
In addition to demanding that Psystar recall all the Open Computers sold, Apple also says that it’s seeking damages. The company contends its entitled to triple the amount of damages “because Psystar’s actions have been committed with intent to damage Apple and to confuse and deceive the public.”
There’s been some speculation as to why Apple would wait until July to file its suit against a company that’s been selling Mac clones since April. In our Tuesday report, Macworld’s Jim Dalrymple spoke to M. Kelly Tillery, a lawyer at Pepper Hamilton LLP in Philadelphia, who said that such timing isn’t out of the ordinary. “You do a proper investigation before you go to court,” said Tillery. “If it’s not going to cause reputable damage, you want to take your time and do it right.”
Some other issues may have played a part in the timing as well. On July 2, the day before Apple filed its complaint, Psystar notified its customers via
a blog post called “Business as Usual” that the OS X 10.5.4 update was available “for users who have run our 10.5.3 scripted installer or whose computers shipped with 10.5.3 Leopard.” A month earlier, Psystar had done
the same thing with the OS X 10.5.3 update, this time making a scripted installer available for download. It’s possible that after those two instances, Apple felt it had enough ammunition to bring its case to court.


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The Aditya Birla Group is planning one of its biggest brand-building exercises till date for its newly launched UltraTech Cement (earlier known as L&T Cement) through a combination of an advertising campaign and direct marketing efforts.
"We are launching a major ad campaign in the coming days. The first set of TV commercials will be rolled out after October 24," said Mr O. P. Puranmalka, Chief Marketing Officer of UltraTech CemCo.
Talking to Business Line here, Mr Puranmalka said over 16,000 seconds of prime time have been earmarked in various television channels for airing commercials by the ad agency Leo Burnett.
"We are going for mostly the prime time in news channels," he said. To begin with, UltraTech will launch a 90-second commercial and will later have a 60-second ad on air. "Ultimately we will have a 30-second ad," the official said.
He said the ads would be aired in national as well as regional networks, targeting programmes with good ratings. In addition to this, a series of print media ads are also planned. Mr Puranmalka did not disclose the total adspend for the UltraTech brand, but indicated that it would run into a few crores of rupees. Other efforts include outdoor advertisements splashed across various kiosks, bus stops, rural exhibitions and other meeting places.
Grasim officials are also meeting thousands of dealers across the country to drive home the point that `nothing has changed' in L&T Cement except the name. This exercise had started along with Grasim's announcement of buying the stake in L&T Cement.
"We have travelled with the L&T Cement team to know the pulse of (their) dealers and to remove any apprehensions they have (about the new management)," Mr Puranmalka said. While the erstwhile L&T Cement dealers would continue to get their previous margins, they now get improved support from Grasim, he claimed. UltraTech has over 5,500 stockists and authorised dealers across the country.
He said Grasim decided not to merge the L&T Cement brand with its existing ones such as Birla Plus and Birla Super, since the company wanted to capitalise on the strong brand equity the L&T Cement name enjoyed.
Grasim will position UltraTech as a national brand, along with Birla Plus and Birla Super. Together, they will account for 24 per cent share of India's annual 125-million tonne cement market.


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Nathan’s Famous to host hot dog eating contest in New York
NATHAN’S Famous is celebrating its annual hot dog tasting competition this weekend, Sunday July 4th.
Founded in Coney Island, NY, the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Tasting Contest dates back to their 105-year-old 5 award.
Competitors can try to eat as many hot dogs with buns as possible in just 10 minutes.
Current records are held by Joey Chestnut who ate 75 hot dogs in 10 minutes and Miki Sudo who ate 48.5 hot dogs in 10 minutes.
The show draws more than 35,000 visitors to Coney Island, and an additional 1.5 million people are tapping into ESPN and BT Sport worldwide.
UK viewers can watch this year’s famous Nathan Hot Dog Eating Contest from 5 p.m. on BT Sport 1, or watch extensive coverage live and for free in the Bournemouth restaurant.
Founded 105 years ago in 1916 by Nathan Handwerker, Nathan’s Famous is known the world over for its 100% beef hot dogs.
In 1939, US President Franklin D Roosevelt served Nathan’s famous hot dogs to the King and Queen of England in what has been dubbed “The Picnic That Won The War.”
The original Nathan’s Famous hot dog stand in Coney Island, New York, is still open today. The store has been open 365 days a year for 105 years, only closing once due to the destruction of Hurricane Sandy.
In a historic throwback to their original 105-year-old price of just 5 ¢, Nathan’s Famous will be offering 5p hot dogs all day this Sunday, when purchased with any regular meal – available only onsite and to take away.
Brad Armitage, CEO of Nathan’s Famous UK said: “We are very proud to present this world famous event in our restaurants. The Hot Dog Tasting Contest is one of the most unique sporting shows in the world, and we are delighted to pay tribute to our rich and eventful heritage with a unique return to the prize of 105 years.


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Snapchat is to the beauty industry what Instagram is to fashion world.
Social media messaging app Snapchat has recently revealed that its users are now viewing 4 billion videos per day. Snapchat allows users to send photos and 10-second videos directly or publicly and has only recently become a popular social media platform.
It’s okay though, if like us, you only have Snapchat to stalk the Kardashians! Snapchat has become a popular medium for celebrities and influential people to engage with their followers on a more personal, casual level.
Snapchat has changed the way beauty lovers are keeping up-to-date with runway beauty looks. Anyone around the world who has access to the Internet can watch front row fashion through Instagram. Now, Snapchat is allowing beauty lovers to visually ‘go backstage’ through the Snapchat accounts of beauty editors and influential bloggers.
Beauty fanatics can watch live snaps of the latest runway beauty looks up-close and before they make an appearance on the runway. Makeup artists can talk through the products and processes they use by combining short snaps into a ‘story’.
Snapchat is also a valuable tool for beauty YouTubers and bloggers to engage with their audience. Street style bloggers often post Instagram photos as a tease to their latest style lookbooks, similarly many beauty YouTubers now feature ‘mail hauls’ where they open PR mail and show products they have received and which they will be testing for review.
With Instagram recently making changes to its direct messaging we wonder what is next for Snapchat.
Words: Frances van Eeden


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The relationship is over, but users can still make videos by connecting their device directly to Relive
First announced last October, Garmin’s partnership with Spotify is now available on a third Garmin smartwatch model, the Vivoactive 3 Music
What kind of GPS watch does the world’s greatest men’s marathoner sport?
February 28th, 2017 by Tim Huebsch | Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
“We’re devastated by the senseless tragedy that took the life of one of our associates and friends, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, and injured another, Alok Madasani,” writes Garmin.
Garmin continues to demystify the hunt for the right GPS watch with their latest addition: the Fenix 5.


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Once called the nation of shopkeepers, the role of small- to medium-sized businesses in the UK economy, whilst underappreciated, is of paramount importance. Of the 4.8 million businesses in the UK, only 1 per cent of UK businesses employ over 250 people.
The Coalition Government’s tentative plans to incentivise the formation of SMEs is encouraging. Mark Prisk (Conservative) was appointed the Small Business Minister within Vince Cable’s (Liberal Democrat) Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. It is likely that Prisk will oversee significant business reform.
Prior to the election, Prisk was advocating a new national loan guarantee scheme, a programme that would provide financing to companies that are denied by banks. He was also promoting a programme called ‘Work for Yourself’ which would provide a weekly allowance to budding entrepreneurs giving them time and a cushion to start their businesses. However, an uncertain recovery may make these reforms unfeasible.
“The UK economy has three major challenges – reducing government spending; rebalancing the economy with less dependence on the financial services and government sectors and repaying consumer debt. To counterbalance these forces, more entrepreneurial dynamism will be critical to driving sustained economic recovery – the UK needs to encourage more company set ups and to make it easier for existing SME companies to recruit additional staff. It is smaller companies rather than bigger multinationals, which will be the engines of UK growth and jobs over the next five years,” says Mark Spelman, Global Head of Strategy, Accenture.
Although, no major bills were announced in the Queen’s Speech during the state opening of Parliament, it is believed that many reforms will be implemented in the 22 June 2010 Emergency Budget.
"There is undoubtedly a pressing need to ensure that SMEs are able to prosper and fuel the rest of the UK economy. In order to ensure that these businesses are the engine room for growth then access to appropriate funding is critical. The recent government report entitled, ‘The provision of growth capital to UK small and medium sized enterprises’ makes some interesting recommendations. A combination of government incentives and private capital provision should be a model that can provide a way forward," says Tim Farazmand, Managing Director, Lloyds Development Capital (LDC).
The internet and globalisation are challenging the relevance of large companies and over-reaching government.
Rob Wirszycz, Managing Partner, Fortus Partners says, “Smaller businesses are more dynamic, innovative and closer to their customers. They also employ a lot of people and provide them with meaningful jobs where the purpose of their work is clear and obvious. We must find ways of creating an environment where these kinds of companies can thrive and grow which is pretty much down to a hands-off approach from regulators and government, and a tax regime that provides incentives to employ more people and to allow the business owners to keep more of the value they’ve created over time.”
The need to assist SMEs develop their talent and management skills is of the greatest importance. However, there persists a significant shortfall of skills within SMEs.
“Considering that the UK economy is 99 per cent represented by SMEs that collectively employ 50 per cent of the UK workforce, contributing £1.5 trillion to the GDP, it is essential that a new government encourage and support the development of the talent within these under-resourced businesses. The UK skills shortage is more prominent in the SME sector than anywhere else and support through Training and Development will be one of the most efficient and indeed essential factors in a long term sustainable recovery,” Gary Browning, Chief Executive Officer, Penna.
Many young entrepreneurs look to The Prince’s Trust for funding and guidance when establishing their first business. Steve Wickham, Head of Business Sector Development from The Prince’s Trust comments, "The Prince’s Trust believes in young entrepreneurs and works hard to create opportunities for them to develop their business skills, experience and where appropriate to provide the funding they need to start a small business. The Trust has started nearly 70,000 businesses in the past 27 years and this year will start 2,500 small businesses – a unique and significant investment in UK plc."
The Vice Chair of The Prince’s Trust Enterprise Fellowship, a growing network of entrepreneurs and philanthropists and Chief Executive Officer of TM Lewin plc Geoff Quinn will be speaking at this year’s Criticaleye Summer Drinks Party on 24 June. If you are eligible and would like to attend please contact us.
Please get in touch if you have any comments about the issues in today's update.
I hope to see you soon,


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Key factors that will shape business strategy in the future
Article released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) based on the discussions from more than 250 Chief Strategy Officers (CSO) from more than 20 industries sharing their views on the inflexion points over the next three to five years that can push them to make fundamental change in their business strategy and that should be on the radar of every company.
Five potential triggers that can speed up a change of strategy within the company:
- New hubs, new corridors: Although deglobalization seems the general trend the WEF observe he emergence of new economic corridors that are yet to consolidate but that might soon overtake the major ones we know today. Movement of capital, goods and people and new economic forces such as energy transition, could point to more globalization rather than less creating a new set of interdependencies and trade corridors that must be understood by companies when setting their strategy.
- Understanding the green economy: The green transition will create winners and losers within and across countries. New strategic resources such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and graphite will be key to define the new economic players anc companies need to understand potential implications for their business.
- The Great Unretirement: According to the article one of the most underappreciated trends concerned employees who are over 50 years old and how they will affect labor markets over the next few years. On the one hand there is a need to avoid talent shortages, and a significant loss of knowledge and experience within the workforce once the Baby Boom generation begins to retire (by 2031) but at the same time there is an opportunity for companies to capture senior talent: The development of a multigenerational workforce and better opportunities for older employees could drive an increase of 19% of GDP per capita over the next 30 years according to OECD.
- From owning data to data-sharing: most companies are yet to realize the potential of shared data and its ability to unlock new opportunities, the article suggests that organizations that promote-data sharing will outperform their competitors on most business value metrics.
- Beyond the hype of exponential AI: The article contains interesting data on how this technology will reshape business models: By 2030, a major blockbuster film could be released with 90% of the film generated by AI. In fact, it comments that while ChatGPT has focused a lot of our attention recently, it represents only one of the many applications of generative AI, which could also include drug design, development of new materials, synthetic data etc.


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Fashion-media brand, Coveteur linked with The Adventure Project (an incredible organization that raises money through donations to provide the training and tools to help people in developing nations to fight extreme poverty in their communities) for their Spring Gala hosted at New York City’s The Skylark last week for an inspiring and female empowering event. That’s right up our alley here at BELLA so we were excited to report on it.
Coveteur, along with 6 other female-founded companies celebrated the 1,000 jobs The Adventure Project has created around the world. Funds raised will help with expansion to create new jobs and reach additional countries. Becky Straw, co-founder and CEO of The Adventure Project explains, “We’re excited to toast the amazing women we’ve employed and announce our vision for what’s ahead.”
A major highlight of the night was presenting the first ever Coveteur/Adventure Project Award for Philanthropy in Fashion to jewelry designer and Catbird owner, Rony Vardi.
The Adventure Project


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Commodities Market Little Help for Metal Industry, Solidium SaysKasper Viita
The commodities market will offer scant relief to metal producers struggling with overcapacity and low prices in the coming months, according to the head of Finland’s equity-asset manager.
Outokumpu Oyj, Rautaruukki Oyj and Talvivaara Mining Co. must continue adapting themselves to low steel and nickel prices, Kari Jaervinen, managing director of Solidium Oy, which owns stakes in all three companies, said in an interview in Helsinki today.
“These companies must themselves act to reach profitability in all environments,” Jaervinen said. “Nickel price pressures will remain and the general economic situation causes commodity prices to develop with moderation.”
Slow global growth has damped metal prices in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Nickel, used in stainless steel, tumbled into a bear market in May and is set for a third yearly loss. European steelmakers are struggling with excess supply as imports from Asia worsen a supply glut amid waning demand from automakers and builders.
Even so, speculation is premature that the super cycle, or longer-than-average period of rising prices, in commodities is ending, McKinsey & Co. said Sept. 26. Solidium has during the past year increased holdings in Finnish mining-equipment makers Metso Oyj and Outotec Oyj, betting on construction industry demand picking up in developing markets including China and Southeast Asia.
Solidium is the biggest owner of special-steel maker Rautaruukki with 39.7 percent of shares. It holds a 21.8 percent stake in stainless-steel maker Outokumpu and 16.7 percent of nickel producer Talvivaara.
The long-term outlook for the metal producers is more favorable, Jaervinen said.
“Urbanization will remain such a strong cyclical force for the next decade that outlook on minerals remains positive,” he said.
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Windows Server 2016, not likely to arrive until the second half of next year, is going to shake up the way Microsoft licenses its server operating system, moving away from per socket licensing to per core. The change was first spotted by Wes Miller who is, for his sins, an expert on Microsoft licensing policies.
Microsoft said Thursday it aided law enforcement agencies in several regions to disrupt a four-year-old botnet called Dorkbot, which has infected one million computers worldwide.
The Dorkbot malware aims to steal login credentials from services such as Gmail, Facebook, PayPal, Steam, eBay, Twitter and Netflix.
Microsoft’s first purpose-built Windows 10 flagship devices are beginning to arrive in markets worldwide, and despite being the first high-end Windows Phones to come from the firm in recent years, they may not be the 'ultimate' devices we've been waiting for. While the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL are remnants of its Nokia acquisition, Microsoft has supposedly been working on delivering its first mobile device to originate from Redmond.
Microsoft has killed Dell's user-pwning root certificate and its self-reinstalling .dll with its antivirus Defender tool.
The certificate is a big blunder because it opens a universal means for attackers on public networks to hose new Dell laptops.
That's because bright minds planted a self-signed certificate and private key on new laptops which allows attackers on public WiFi to steal otherwise encrypted usernames, passwords, and other sensitive data.
Downloadable versions of Windows 10 version 1511, the November 2015 update, appear to have been removed after their release earlier this month.


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DailyDose: Facebook Launches New Timeline & 22 Top StoriesMarch 8, 2013 2013-03-08 8:39
DailyDose: Facebook Launches New Timeline & 22 Top Stories
DailyDose: Facebook Launches New Timeline & 22 Top Stories
DailyDose, your everyday technology news brief is here. In today’s edition: Facebook Launches New News Feeds & 22 Top Stories.
Samsung Galaxy S III Security Flaw Allows Potential Hackers Free Reign on Your Home Screen: SECLISTS.ORG has recently disclosed a potential security flaw on the Samsung Galaxy S III. According to the report, “It is possible to bypass the lock screen on the GSIII allowing an individual full access to the phones features.” We previously reported a similar screen lock bug relating to the Samsung Galaxy Note II. It appears that when Samsung messes up with security, they go BIG or go home! Similar to the Note II Security flaw, it takes pressing a combination of buttons in the correct sequence to get it to work. More here.
News Corp launches 10-inch tablet aimed at education, manufactured by ASUS: Global media company News Corp is entering the education market with the release this autumn of its Amplify tablet, aimed at taking on the iPad in schools. It will launched under News Corp’s Amplify education division and will also offer schools the option of subscribing to a $99 (£66) a year Amplify curriculum that will integrate with the new tablet, along with others already on the market. More here.
Tablets surpass smartphones in driving global Web traffic: The numbers are out — people increasingly prefer to browse the Internet on tablets rather than smartphones. Adobe released its latest Digital Index today and discovered that for the first time ever worldwide tablet traffic has surpassed smartphone traffic. Tablets now drive 8 percent of all Internet traffic, while smartphones generate 7 percent. More here.
Digital Living & Gaming
SimCity launch a complete disaster: Good luck trying to move into the new SimCity. Ever since the city management game launched on Tuesday, countless gamers have found themselves battling error messages and random disconnections that prevent them from experiencing what the SimCity was supposed to deliver in the first place — fun. In response, publisher Electronic Arts is working around the clock to try to fix the problems and add more servers so people can play without worry. More here.
San Francisco’s Bay Bridge becomes a glowing network of Ethernet-enabled LEDs: On Tuesday evening at 9pm local time, a 1.8 mile western span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge will be transformed into a massive, two-year-long public art project called The Bay Lights. Each night for the next two years, from dusk until 2am, the northern side of the bridge section between San Francisco and neighboring Treasure Island will display a dazzling array of 25,000 LEDs. It’s an assortment of seemingly animated patterns, strung vertically on the bridge’s twisted steel cables. More here.
GoDaddy predicts first batch of new web site names will go on sale by June: As the process to roll out hundreds of new top-level domain names, which will join familiar ones like “.org” and “.com,” grinds forward, the head of the largest domain registrar predicted the public will be able to buy them by June. More here.
Unreported Side Effects of Drugs Are Found Using Internet Search Data, Study Finds: Using data drawn from queries entered into Google, Microsoft and Yahoo search engines, scientists at Microsoft, Stanford and Columbia University have for the first time been able to detect evidence of unreported prescription drug side effects before they were found by the Food and Drug Administration’s warning system. More here.
Skype 4.6 for iPhone and iPad released, adds ‘beautiful new calling experience’ and more: Skype has released an update for its iPhone and iPad applications that add several tweaks and improvements, including a new calling experience that it describes as “beautiful”. Alongside a number of fixes, including the fact that one-to-one chats will now appear in the correct order, and several other issues having been resolved, the new interface for calling is much cleaner and, dare we say it, more FaceTime-esque. More here.
Dell’s Crafted LBO Pitch Gets Messy as Carl Icahn Circles: Michael Dell’s $24.4 billion deal for Dell Inc, carefully crafted over six months, has gotten much more complicated. Billionaire Carl Icahn has amassed a stake in Dell and is pushing the company to pay a $9 a share special dividend, according to a statement today. Dell’s board, seeking bids higher than last month’s offer from CEO Dell and Silver Lake Management LLC, has also attracted interest from Blackstone Group LP and rival computer makers Hewlett-Packard Co. and Lenovo Group Ltd., said people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. More here.
Pandora CEO announces resignation following record revenue and losses: Pandora’s CEO, Chairman, and President Joe Kennedy will resign from leadership of the company following yet another quarterly loss. Pandora’s board of directors announced that it begun a search for a successor and that Kennedy would continue to lead the company through its transition. More here.
Razer Taps Bing Fund GM And VoodooPC Founder Rahul Sood To Advise Board Of Directors: Now that it’s spent some time trying to navigate the gap between churning out PC accessories and actual, honest-to-goodness gaming computers, the folks at Razer have seen fit to look for some experts for guidance. To that end, Razer announced earlier today that it has appointed entrepreneur and former VoodooPC founder Rahul Sood to serve as advisor to the company’s board of directors. More here.
Nokia backs Apple in legal skirmish against Samsung: Apple has finally found an ally in its fight for a sales ban of Samsung phones.On Monday, Nokia filed a brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington backing Apple in its bid for a permanent injunction of certain Samsung phones, Reuters reported yesterday.Though the brief itself was sealed, a summary from Nokia said that the court was wrong to deny Apple’s request. Read more here.
Microsoft Discounting Windows 8 For OEMs to Boost Sales: Both the Wall Street Journal and DigiTimes are reporting that Microsoft has cut the prices of Windows 8 and Office 2013 to boost current lackluster sales. The Redmond-based company’s blocky new operating system is struggling to gain traction since its release back in September 2012 even though the company offered discounted upgrades until January 2013, and launched two branded tablets. Office 2013 just launched in January, but has been plagued with complaints about Microsoft’s policy regarding the transfer of the suite from one PC to another. More here.
Nokia still owes Microsoft $650M in Windows Phone fees: Nokia still has to pay Microsoft 500 million euros ($650 million) as part of its agreement to use the Windows Phone operating system. That’s the amount that Nokia will have to pay over the life of their agreement after taking into account the “platform support payments” that Microsoft pays to aid in the development of Windows Phone products. The length of the agreement wasn’t disclosed in the company’s annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. More here.
EU Fines Microsoft for Failing to Comply with Browser Ballot: The European Union has imposed a €561 million fine on Microsoft for failing to offer the browser ballot screen it promised to ship with all versions of Windows. The European Union was said to have launched an investigation last summer after receiving complaints that Microsoft was not offering the browser ballot to all users. The ballot screen is a pop-up designed to give customers the ability to choose which browser they want to use to surf the web. In September, word got out that the EU was preparing to lay charges against Microsoft for its mistake. More here.
China unexpectedly lifts ban on IMDb website: The Chinese government has apparently lifted its longtime ban on IMDb, making the encyclopedic movie website available to users in both Chinese- and English-language versions. As the AFP reports, the restrictions were unexpectedly lifted on Wednesday, though the reasoning behind the change remains unclear.
IMDb was first blocked in 2010, ostensibly because of a documentary on Tibet that was prominently displayed on its homepage. The move was met with consternation from many Chinese cinephiles, though it was hardly surprising, considering Beijing’s strict censorship of politically “sensitive” online media. More here.
NZ appeals court says Kim Dotcom can sue over illegal government spying: On Thursday, the New Zealand Appeals Court ruled that Kim Dotcom has the right to sue the government of New Zealand for illegal surveillance. The Megaupload founder had previously gotten the green light late last year, but the government appealed that ruling. New Zealand’s Government Communications Security Bureau, analogous to the National Security Agency in the United States, was found to have spied on Dotcom (a German national with permanent residency status in New Zealand) before the January 2012 raid on his mansion. More here.
Attorney General: Aaron Swartz Case Was a ‘Good Use of Prosecutorial Discretion’: Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday said the suicide death of internet activist Aaron Swartz was a “tragedy,” but the hacking case against the 26-year-old was “a good use of prosecutorial discretion.” Read more here.
Facebook Launches Multiple Topic-Based Feeds, Bigger Images, And A Consistent Design Across Devices: Today at Facebook HQ, Mark Zuckerberg just unveiled a new look for news feed that uses a “mobile-inspired” consistent design across devices, lets you drill into specific content type feeds, and offers larger images. More here.
Twitter, LinkedIn apps updated for BlackBerry 10, now function like the real deal: Two new app updates are currently on deck for owners of BlackBerry’s Z10 aimed at enhancing the native Twitter and LinkedIn experience. More here.
Latest Google Chrome for Android Beta features data compression for quicker web browsing: Not too long ago we heard about a web data compression feature Google was testing out. It was only available to Android 4.2 users, however, so not many of us got a chance to play with it. After some digging around in the source code for the latest Chrome browser, it turns out that Google has somewhat implemented the data compression feature into Chrome for anyone to try out. More here.
Twitter’s API keys and secrets for its official apps surface; what should we do with them?: It appears that Twitter’s API keys and secrets for its official apps have surfaced, and are currently being shared on GitHub. At first look, this is simply a little embarrassing. The keys and secrets which Twitter’s official apps utilize through its API have leaked, but because of the way OAuth works, this information can’t actually be hidden completely, if you know where to find it. More here.
Apple’s Phil Schiller pokes fun at Android security on Twitter: Apple’s Phil Schiller has been known to fire salvos at the competition using Twitter, and today he’s back at it. In April of last year, the marketing chief notoriously claimed that Instagram had “jumped the shark” in its expansion to Android. And now he’s again aiming his sights squarely at Google’s mobile OS. “Be safe out there,” reads Schiller’s latest tweet, paired with a link that points to F-Secure’s latest Mobile Threat Report. More here.


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Something Looks ‘Reely’ Familiar Here…
After a series of advances to make the IG feed focus more on videos, Instagram has added another new feature; someone can now reply to a comment on a Reel as a new Reel video; a feature taken from its main competitor, TikTok.
As Reels continues to become a more prominent part of the Instagram infrastructure AND it continues to look more and more like TikTok, we’re wondering what Instagram’s USP is right now, and what the future holds for the platform.
TikTok’s Top Tips
June is Internet Safety Awareness Month and TikTok has shared its top tips to be cyber safe. From 2-factor verification to keeping updated with the latest software, TikTok has you covered. These include:
- Surf smart – always use strong passwords and 2 step verification, and be careful when using unsecured public Wi-Fi.
- Keep it in the family – customise your online TikTok experience with the platform’s user friendly safety and privacy controls.
- Catch the right fish – avoid opening, downloading and clicking on links from unrecognised senders to avoid phishing.
- Leave no trace – always keep devices updated with the latest software and when selling or trading devices, always erase all content to keep private information private.
As Meta’s incarnation of the Metaverse makes its journey from caterpillar to butterfly, we’re being kept updated with what we can expect. The Metaverse as a whole can seem a little daunting, even for the tech savvy. A new study put together by The Analysis Group, and supported by Meta, suggests we shouldn’t expect to be pivoting into this new digital universe just yet.
The future of the platform is dependent on if and when the adoption of the concept is taken on by the wider public and that means access to the relevant tech gear such as VR headsets and AR glasses that will allow the platform to be experienced at its best.
Think about the way in which mobile technology combined existing technologies such as cameras and MP3 players; Meta wants to create a platform where existing and developing tech such as digital currency, avatars and gaming can be combined into one place. Watch this space.
You heard it here first, a funny/laughing face reaction is coming to LinkedIn. In recent months, LinkedIn has gained more traction from younger audiences and branching out of the robust corporate world. After the rollout of the ‘support’ reaction in 2020, the funny reaction has been highly requested and it seems LinkedIn is listening. It comes after funny campaigns from large businesses such as Specsavers and Aldi have really taken off on the platform. This has sparked debate about how LinkedIn is becoming ‘less professional’, but even the professional world needs a sense of humour, right?
Twitter Tackles The Truth
The spread of misinformation on social media is a prevalent issue, with much of this occurring on Twitter. As a platform that people come to for news and to find resources during times of crisis such as war and natural disasters, it’s essential that the information being given is reliable. So Twitter is committing to implementing a new policy that will hinder the acceleration and spread of misinformation in times of crisis. As a platform that encourages free speech, Twitter will not automatically be removing harmful content, but will instead add a warning notice that people can click through if they wish to consume the content.


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The Final Fantasy series is renowned not just for its story, but also for its huge library of music. Square Enix's music library for the franchise is so big and popular that it has spawned concerts like Distant Worlds and, most recently, an upcoming rhythm game called Theatrhythm Final Fantasy. The company recently finalized the Japanese release date of the 3DS title on its official website: February 16, 2012.
The game will feature more than 50 songs from throughout the Final Fantasy series. Players have to hit inputs to the beat of the song using the 3DS's touch screen. The game will also feature SpotPass options.
On a related note, newly announced characters in the rhythm title include Snow (Final Fantasy XIII), Aerith (Final Fantasy VII), Vivi (Final Fantasy IX), Prishe (Final Fantasy XI), Faris (Final Fantasy V), Cid (Final Fantasy III), and Princess Sara (Final Fantasy). These characters can be recruited and unlocked by collecting crystal fragments in-game.
Square Enix has yet to announce a North American version of the game. For more information, check out GameSpot's coverage of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy from the 2011 Tokyo Game Show.


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As Nigeria looks to restructure its economy to be more diversified and sustainable, agro-processing is emerging as a key tool to improve agricultural value added while also bolstering the sector’s status as a driver of economic growth
As in many African countries, agriculture has long been an important part of Nigeria’s economy – not only in terms of food production, but also in terms of its economic impact and contribution to the overall workforce.
Despite its sizeable footprint, some 90% of agricultural goods are exported raw, meaning that the country misses out on crucial value-added opportunities associated with agro-processing. It is estimated that up to 80% of profits in the agriculture sector are derived from processing and retailing raw goods. Emmanuel Ijewere, vice-president of the Nigeria Agribusiness Group and CEO of agro-processing firm best foods, estimated that for every dollar made exporting raw products in 2016, Nigeria could have earned 10-fold that value had the country processed all the commodities exported.
The lack of processing capacity means that Nigeria essentially exports its agricultural goods abroad, where they are processed and often exported back to Africa at a far higher price. For example, it is estimated that between 2016 and 2019, Nigeria’s cumulative agricultural imports, at US$7.9bn, were four times higher than its agricultural exports.
As Oxford Business Group has previously noted, such situations are not uncommon in the region. For example, leading West African cottonproducing nations Benin, Burkina-Faso and Mali export 1.8 million tonnes of unprocessed cotton worth US$922mn, but import $2.4bn of finished cotton textiles and apparel. The result of such a model is that despite a large agriculture sector and vast arable land, Nigeria remains vulnerable to food insecurity and fluctuating food prices. These challenges were underscored by the 2014 drop in oil prices that led to a recession in 2016. Amid falling revenue, the government sought to diversify the economy and reduce the import bill by focusing on agro-processing. Development of agro-processing In an effort to address the situation, in recent years Nigeria has sought to develop its agroprocessing capacity.
In 2015, the Central Bank of Nigeria launched the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, an initiative to create linkages between smallholder farmers and agro-processors through a series of financing options and inputs. The Bank of Industry (BoI), for its part, has supported the sector by providing loans aimed at developing the agriculture value chain. It is estimated that more than 6.9 million direct and indirect jobs were created through BoI initiatives between 2015 and October 2020.


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Juventus FC (affectionately nicknamed the “Old Lady”) has won a noteworthy ruling in its case of trade mark infringement brought against the non-fungible token (“NFT“) producer Blockeras s.r.l (“Blockeras”). The Rome Court of First Instance, on 20 July 2022, ruled that the unauthorised minting, advertising and sale of NFTs1 can infringe the trade mark rights of the relevant owner.Read More
Bad faith has been a hot topic in UK and EU trade mark matters in recent years – not least in the sports world where recent prominent cases have concerned the football superstars, and one time teammates, Lionel Messi and Neymar. Whilst in those cases bad faith was found to be a valid ground for refusal of the trade marks in question, which the players did not consent to, a recent decision of the Appointed Person in the United Kingdom has provided an important clarification on how bad faith objections must be raised in the UK.Read More
The scorecard against computer implemented inventions being patentable in Australia took another hit this week when the Federal Court revoked two innovation patents from global fitness giant, F45 in F45 Training Pty Ltd v Body Fit Training Company Pty Ltd (No 2)  FCA 96. Justice Nicholas of the Federal Court held that F45’s innovation patents, which involved a computer implemented system for configuring and operating one or more fitness studios, were invalid and even if they were valid, rival fitness franchise Body Fit Training did not infringe them.Read More
AC Milan is one of Europe’s most decorated football clubs with seven European Cup/Champions League titles and 18 Serie A (Italian league) titles. However the Rossoneri, as the club is affectionately known, recently came up against an unfamiliar opponent in an unfamiliar field of play, being in the General Court of the European Union (the General Court), following their attempts to register their club crest as a trade mark.Read More
A recent UK Court of Appeal case has highlighted the importance of assessing the conceptual similarity of marks and not just their aural and visual similarities, when considering a potential trade mark infringement.
The UK Court of Appeal was hearing an appeal from a decision of the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court concerning a claim by the British Amateur Gymnastics Association (“BAGA”) against UK Gymnastics and UK Gymnastics Affiliation (together “UKG”) for trade mark infringement and passing off. BAGA is a not for profit private company and recognised as the national governing body for the sport of gymnastics in the UK. UKG is a gymnastics sporting body that provides: membership services to individual gymnasts, gymnastics clubs and coaches; competitions; courses and badge/certification programmes among other services.
At first instance, HHJ Melissa Clarke found UKG liable for infringement of BAGA’s trade marks and passing off. UKG were granted permission to appeal on limited grounds which are listed below.Read More
An interesting recent decision by the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) on an unusual set of facts may provide an opportunity for brand owners to prevent unauthorised third parties from piggy-backing off a trade mark to drive traffic to their competing sites or product offerings. Uniquely, this has been found in circumstances which do not amount to traditional “bait and switch” or passing off and where consumers are not confused about the origin of the goods.Read More
CJEU determines no likelihood of confusion between footballer’s “Messi” figurative mark and earlier MASSI mark.
Whilst debate will continue to rage as to whether Messi or Ronaldo is the world’s best male football player, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the “CJEU”) has ruled that Argentine superstar can register his name as a trade mark after an almost decade long legal battle.
In an interesting decision for trade mark fanatics, irrespective of their interest in football, the CJEU stated that Lionel Messi’s reputation could be taken into account, without any evidence of said reputation being provided, when weighing up whether the public would be able to determine the uniqueness of Messi’s mark.Read More
On 11 June 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) handed down its decision in the referral from the Belgium Companies Court (Tribunal de l’entreprise de Liège) arising from copyright infringement proceedings by Brompton Bicycle Ltd (Brompton) against a Korean company Get2Get Chedech (Get2Get) relating to its folding bike.
The decision is good news for designers and creative businesses as it lays a foundation for new opportunities for copyright protection and enforcement in Europe. This evolving area of law now requires a low threshold for protection, with a suggestion from the CJEU that minor creative choices in products will be sufficient for a finding of copyright protection.Read More
After the CJEU’s ruling earlier this year (as discussed here), the Sky v Skykick case has now returned to the English High Court and Lord Justice Arnold on 29 April 2020 issued a final judgment in the case (see full text of the judgment here).
Although Sky’s trade marks were found to be partially invalid on the ground that they were applied for in bad faith, Sky was still ultimately successful in establishing infringement.Read More


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Singapore-based real estate developers Pacific Star and DB2, through their joint-venture company Pearl Discovery Development Sdn Bhd, have signed a management agreement with Pan Pacific Hotels Group for the hotel chain owner to operate 205 luxury serviced suites under the “Pan Pacific” brand at Puteri Harbour, the crown jewel of Nusajaya, a major flagship zone in Iskandar Malaysia.
Developed by Pearl Discovery, Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Puteri Harbour will offer studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments to cater to the needs of short- and extended-stay professionals and expatriates working in Iskandar. The 205 suites are scheduled to open in early 2018, when Pearl Discovery’s Puteri Cove Residences is completed. The only luxury waterfront development in Iskandar with both private-marina and sea views, Puteri Cove Residences will comprise three towers of premium apartments, four blocks of SOHO/loft units and a two-level waterfront retail promenade. Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Puteri Harbour will occupy 16 floors within Tower 3.
Puteri Cove Residences will overlook a private marina with more than 300 berths designed for the international boating community. The facility will be managed by Singapore’s award-winning Marina and lifestyle operator.
A premium waterfront lifestyle development Bernold O. Schroeder, CEO of Pan Pacific Hotels Group, said: “Pan Pacific collaborates strategically with well-reputed developers who share our vision of setting the highest standards for quality accommodation and services in thriving destinations around the world. Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Puteri Harbour is a premium property that will extend our geographical reach and strengthen our engagement with customers in Malaysia.”
Glen Chan, President and CEO of Pacific Star Development, said: “Partners, investors and buyers are increasingly discerning and are looking for well-located prime properties by developers they trust to deliver quality. This partnership underscores the confidence in our latest development Puteri Cove Residences and Quayside, which faces a private marina and is the only luxury waterfront project with both private-marina and sea views in Iskandar.” Puteri Harbour, Iskandar’s thriving new centre, is a 10-minute drive from Singapore via Tuas Second Link, and is close to major attractions and buildings, including Ascendas Nusajaya Tech Park, Pinewood Studios, Gleneagles Medini Hospital, EduCity and Legoland. It is also within a 5-minute walk from the Puteri Harbour International Ferry Terminal, which is planning daily ferry services to Singapore’s HarbourFront terminal.
Datuk Ismail Ibrahim, CEO of Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), said: “We are extremely pleased to welcome ‘Pan Pacific’, a leading hospitality brand, to Iskandar, especially at a time when demand for premium accommodation in this part of Malaysia is going strong.” Optimism in demand for premium accommodation in Puteri Harbour, Nusajaya The collaboration between Pearl Discovery and Pan Pacific comes as more companies are setting up shop in Iskandar. IRDA disclosed in September that at least three theme park operators – from Japan, North America, Europe and Australia – are expected to open attractions in Iskandar. The theme park projects will be part of the RM30 billion of committed investments IRDA has targeted for 2015.
Investors, especially those in the manufacturing industry, are also actively seeking out space in Iskandar. Johor remains Malaysia’s top investment destination for manufacturers, attracting RM27 billion in investments between January and June this year compared to RM21 billion for the whole of 2014. Attracted by lower business costs in Johor, many industrial property users are multinationals from Europe and companies from Singapore.
Ascendas Nusajaya Techpark in Gerbang Nusajaya also recently announced a joint venture with Mitsui & Co, one of Japan’s leading conglomerates, to bring in quality Japanese industrial tenants as part of its phase 2 developments.
In the longer term, several major projects will continue to underpin demand for real estate in Nusajaya. Nusajaya, where the Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Puteri Harbour is located, will be easily connected to the rest of the country and Singapore when the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur high-speed rail link is established as it is one of seven stops in Malaysia identified for the rail. Existing attractions in Nusajaya include Puteri Harbour Marina, Legoland, Hello Kitty Town and the Mall of Medini.
Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Puteri Harbour marks the latest collaboration between Pan Pacific and Pacific Star following the successful opening of Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Bangkok in 2010. Some 80% of the Bangkok property, developed by Pacific Star and operated by Pan Pacific, was pre-leased just six months after its opening.


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Paris - European dairy farmers are facing the end of three decades of milk quotas on Wednesday with a mixture of anticipation and angst as it will allow them to serve growing demand in emerging markets, but could also cause a crash in prices.
Farmers will be allowed churn out as much milk as they want from 1 April.
While the quotas had been increased in recent years - growing 1% a year between 2009 and 2013 --- the complete liberalisation of the market is seen as a game changer for producers.
In northern Europe, farmers have hailed the move as a chance to cash in on the growing global thirst for milk, particularly in China.
Ireland has already announced plans to boost its milk output by 50% by 2020. The Netherlands and Germany, Europe's largest producer, are gearing up for increases of 20%.
"We're happy the quotas are being scrapped. We're prepared," said Karl-Heinz Engel, president of the German dairy industry association, MIV, insisting that the sector was "export-orientated and competitive".
But many farmers in France, Europe's second-biggest milk producer, have adopted a wait-and-see approach, preferring to wait for the demand to pick up before ploughing money into boosting their output.
The quotas were introduced in the mid-1980s to staunch the infamous milk lakes and butter mountains that had built up on the back of generous EU production subsidies.