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Russia 2018 is the third consecutive World Cup with Hublot as official timekeeper. The company has invested millions into the promotion since South Africa in 2010 and Brazil in 2014 in an effort to break into the ranks of the world’s top 10 watch brands. How close has Hublot come to achieving that status, and what is next for the youngest of LVMH’s watch brands? 20 days ahead of the current tournament, WatchPro’s Rob Corder spoke to Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe to find out.
“Hublot loves football,” the watchmaker declared in 2010 when it was revealed as the official timekeeper of the FIFA World Cup for two consecutive tournaments: first in South Africa, then four years later when the carnival rolled into Brazil. This year’s World Cup may be missing the USA and Canada, but Hublot will still be in the faces of millions of soccer fans as the official timekeeper for a third time. It is supplying smartwatches for all match officials, it will appear on the timekeeping boars held up by fourth officials, and it will be flashing around the perimeter of every pitch on the digital hoardings.
One thing is certain, the 36 million Mexicans living in the United States have plenty to cheer about as their national team beat World Cup holders Germany in their opening game.
The 2018 official timekeeper deal for Hublot is less surprising than it was back in 2010, but it is still notable from a brand with sales of half a billion Swiss francs; around half the turnover of Tissot, which sponsors events such as the Tour de France and Rugby World Cup, neither of which comes close to the global reach of the soccer World Cup.
With 20 days to go before the start of the World Cup, WatchPro caught up with Hublot CEO Ricardo Guadalupe at an event launching an advertising campaign called Champion Advice in which brand ambassadors and footballing friends give hints on how to win at life, business and sport. The mainly digital campaign includes messages from Pele, Maradonna, Mancheter United manager Jose Mourinho, Usain Bolt; and even England manager Gareth Southgate.
There is no definitive research on which of the world’s biggest watch brands spends most on sporting sponsorship, but Hublot will certainly be in the top 10. It is likely only Rolex, Omega and TAG Heuer spend more. With Hublot now partnering its third consecutive World Cup, the question is whether it is it working and is it worth it?
“Yes, because to be on the fourth referee’s board gives us huge brand awareness. We have more than 20 minutes of visibility during each match to a global audience of billions who will see the brand Hublot. The fourth referee’s board in the shape of a watch will help people make the deduction that the word Hublot is a watch brand. Of course not all of those billions of people can afford to buy a Hublot watch, but we believe that people knowing that Hublot is a watch brand is enough; maybe one day people will be able to afford to buy one,” Mr Guadalupe replies.
Hublot is a good deal younger than most rival Swiss watchmakers. It was founded in 1980, hired Jean-Claude Biver as CEO in 2004 (who subsequently recruited Mr Guadalupe), and was bought by LVMH in 2008. Becoming the official timekeeper of the South African World Cup in 2010 was vital to introduce the Hublot name to a world that had no idea it was a watch brand. “If I go back to 2004 when Mr Biver took the brand, not even my friends in Switzerland knew what Hublot was. I would say we have made some progress in 14 years to make the name known, but it is true that there is still work to go. It takes years and years,” admits Mr Guadalupe.
Swiss investment bank Vontobel places Hublot as the 11th biggest Swiss watch brand with sales of CHF 550 million in 2017. All of the top six brands have sales of over CHF 1 billion, but Mr Guadalupe aims to challenge these market leaders, at least in terms of brand recognition. “The objective we have is to be among the top five that people name when asked to come up with five watch brands,” reveals. “We are not far away. “If you look at the Vontobel report for 2017, Hublot was 11th in a list including all price points such as Longines and Tissot. If I take only watch brands at the higher price point of CHF 5000 and above at retail, we are number five. That does not include Rolex. If I include Rolex we are number six. Rolex is another world.”
Getting the Hublot name known is one challenge, another is to define what it stands for. Hublot is described by some luxury watch retailers, including its own authorised dealers in the UK, as a footballers’ brand. And before Mr Guadalupe makes the mistake of taking this as a complement, WatchPro clarifies that in the UK footballers are considered men with more money than taste.
Mr Guadalupe concedes the brand has work to do to widen its appeal. “We are a young brand, and of course our consumer is somebody who is younger, it is a person that has succeeded in life, it is new money from people that might have started with nothing. It is also the type of consumer who is buying a lot of products,” he suggests. “We are trying to attract new consumers to Hublot who might not be ready for a Big Bang, but our Classic Fusion collection is more accessible,” he adds.
A fringe benefit to high profile partnerships like the World Cup deal is that retail partners are attracted to work with brands that invest so heavily in marketing. The global channel for Hublot is well-developed now, but that was not the case when Mr Guadalupe and Mr Biver first took over the business. In the United States and the rapidly growing Chinese market, retail partners were reluctant to take on such an unknown brand, so Hublot had to set up its own shops.
“Starting from nothing in 2004, the US was difficult to find the right partners who would get behind the brand and believe in Hublot. I can understand their point of view. The US a Rolex country; or Patek Philippe and TAG Heuer at another level. If we really wanted to show strength, we knew we had to go retail there. It would have taken too much time to find the right partners so we had to do it ourselves. Today, in North America, we do 60% of our sales through our own retail shops. China has been the same. When we started from nothing the partners would not believe in us because there were so many brands selling like crazy, in this case Omega, other Swatch Group brands and Rolex of course. We decided to operate all our own boutiques in China and we are becoming more successful,” Mr Guadalupe describes.
The global market for luxury Swiss watches has been depressed for the past two years, but Mr Guadalupe puts the recent dip into perspective. “When I joined the business exports of Swiss watches were worth CHF 5 billion. We went up to almost CHF 22 billion in 2015 then went down to CHF 19 billion and everybody thought it was a disaster. My view is that CHF 19 billion is still four times higher than 30 years ago, which is not so bad,” he suggests.


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By way of keeping our clients informed of developments, in our Profile Series, we will profile stakeholders, companies and players in the Nigerian renewable energy industry.
Auxano Solar Nigeria Limited is a renewable energy company and a full-service solar installation company based in Lagos, Nigeria. In September 2020, the United States Development Foundation (USADF) and Shell-funded investment company All On announced that it had provided Auxano Solar with a $1.5m investment fund to scale its operations over the next five years. According to All On, the investment would help Auxano expand its solar panel assembly plant capacity by over fifty percent. On December 2020, Auxano broke ground for its new and expanded solar panel assembly line.
In April 2020 alongside Arnergy, GVE and Lumos, Auxano Solar was chosen by All On to partner in the COVID-19 Solar Relief Fund for the deployment of power to emergency health care and emergency response centres in Nigeria. The company deployed the solar power solution at the COVID-19 isolation ward at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos.
Full story here.
Auxano Solar is a full-service solar company. Auxano Solar provides consulting services for clients as well as project sizing, design and installation, site supervision, cost studies and post-installation management. Auxano Solar is also a retailer and distributor of solar energy products like batteries, solar panels, charge controllers and inverters.
Auxano Solar Panels
Auxano Solar is the first indigenous assembler of solar panels in Nigeria. Auxano™ solar panels are certified by the Standards Organization of Nigeria, (SON).

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Overly stringent EU rules on pesticides will lead to a decline in European agricultural self-sufficiency resulting in ever-increasing food prices and job losses in the agri-food sector, warns a recent industry-funded study. The findings were immediately rejected by environmental activists, who derided the study as “professional scaremongering” by “lobbyists behaving like a posse of corporate cowboys.”
A recent industry-commissioned study argues that reduced availability of so-called plant protection products “could lead to a decline in overall European agricultural productivity” and will hamper the food industry’s ability to produce “safe, high-quality, affordable food for European consumers.” As a result, adds the study, Europe would see its already declining levels of self-sufficiency in primary agricultural materials worsen in future.
Entitled ‘European Agriculture of the Future: The role of Plant Production Products’, the study was conducted by Italian research institute Nomisma on behalf of Syngenta and Bayer Crop Science, two members of the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA). It explores the impact of the revised EU pesticides regulation on the competitiveness of the European agri-food industry as well as the role of European agriculture in promoting biodiversity and sustainable rural development.
The study predicts that the proposed EU measures will have a serious impact on farming and consumers in the form of:
- Drastic reductions in yields: Yields of wheat, potatoes, cereals and wine grapes could be reduced by 29%, 33%, 20% and 10% respectively by 2020;
- higher prices and decreased availability of fresh fruits and vegetables with 30-40% of locally produced food at risk, and;
- increased EU food imports from countries with lower quality standards than Europe and where, eventually, the same pesticides will still be allowed.


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The digital art world is buzzing as BNB's NFT marketplace Tabi successfully raises $10 million, highlighting the growing market interest in non-fungible tokens. Concurrently, Tradecurve (TCRV), an innovative crypto trading platform currently in its presale phase, is setting its sights higher, aiming to raise $20 million. Let's jump into how these two projects are driving the NFT market forward.
BNB NFT Marketplace Tabi Raises $10 Million
Tabi is a newly-made nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace that has successfully raised $10 million in an angel funding round. The announcement came on May 10 from the platform that operates on the BNB Chain.
The funding round was led by prominent venture capital entities including Animoca Brands, Hashkey Capital, Draper Dragon, Youbi Capital, and Infinity Crypto Ventures. High-profile individual contributors included Bo Feng from Dragonfly Capital and Suji Yan from Mask Network.
The developers have stated that the primary allocation of this $10 million will be towards expanding Tabi's gaming ecosystem and building its forthcoming on-chain identity protocol. Notably, Binance Labs had previously invested in Tabi back in May 2021.
In addition to its NFT trading and launchpad capabilities, Tabi offers an innovative feature that turns users' on-chain actions into "experience points". These points can then be redeemed for future airdrop rewards and income.
Moreover, the Tabi protocol incorporates a gaming platform, which serves as a hub for blockchain game transactions and entertainment, thereby offering a holistic and interactive experience for its users.
Furthermore, Xavier Lee, the founder of Tabi, recently unveiled plans for an "NFT incubation fund". This fund is designed to motivate developers to create their products, artwork, and brands on the BNB Chain. It will be interesting to see how both Tabi and Binance benefit from this development.
Tradecurve (TCRV) Aims to Raise $20 Million
While Tabi raised $10 million in private funding, Tradecurve (TCRV) is seeking to raise $20 million in public funding. This gives the everyday investor an opportunity to participate in the project's development.
Tradecurve represents a transformative shift in the trading sphere, offering a one-stop shop for trading various assets — stocks, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and forex — with global reach and discretion. It paves the way for a seamless trading experience from an anonymous account, unrestricted by geographical boundaries.
Tradecurve circumvents the often burdensome KYC procedures that are normally associated with trading, opening the door to secure and anonymous transactions of any asset. Trading on Tradecurve starts with a simple email account setup, a linked crypto wallet, and an initial deposit.
Putting power back into the hands of traders, Tradecurve encourages self-custody, letting users maintain control of their own keys and hence their assets - a feature often lacking on many exchanges.
Tradecurve plans to introduce social trading, AI trading tools, 500:1 leverage, and even a metaverse trading academy that will provide users with a comprehensive trading education. All of this combines to create a powerful suite of trading tools that will enable users to trade with dexterity and confidence, regardless of their level of experience.
But to make this a reality, Tradecurve must raise the necessary capital during the presale event. If successful in achieving their target of $20 million, Tradecurve is on course to becoming one of the leading trading platforms in the world.
Presale participants can become a part of this journey for $0.015 per TCRV token. Analysts foresee the price rushing to $1.00 within a short period of time, giving presale participants the chance to multiply their investment almost 67x in just twelve months.
Get more data about Tradecurve at the following links:
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored article. The views and opinions presented in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CoinCodex. The content of this article should not be considered as investment advice. Always do your own research before deciding to buy, sell or transfer any crypto assets.


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One Stop, the national convenience retailer with 1,000 company and franchise stores across the UK, will be expanding its partnership with Whywaste, a Swedish food tech company tackling food waste through technology.
Whywaste promises to reduce food waste and increase profitability through a combination of digital tools which essentially bring more information to the retailer, ensuring that food can be sold before its expiry date.
For example, its Smart Markdown tool calculates the optimum discounted price to reach the market clearing point via artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, its Advanced Date Checking tool notifies the retailer about upcoming product expiry dates through the Whywaste app.
Ben Holden, Head of Business Development at Whywaste said: "It is always wonderful to see that retailers are embracing the idea that sustainability is an important part of their business. In announcing this partnership with One Stop we are delighted that they have shown their continued commitment to reducing food waste and giving their customers the best offers, together with Whywaste."
The partnership initially kicked off in 2022, when One Stop piloted Whywaste in 4 of its stores. After a successful run — with a nearly 15% reduction in waste in ambient and fresh products — One Stop will be rolling out the SaaS tech across its 1,000 stores. The partnership follows a series of eco-friendly tweaks that One Stop has made since its 2022 pledge to become carbon neutral.
The One Stop Head of Supply Chains, Richard Turton, commented: "We’re thrilled to be working with Whywaste – we’re committed to reducing food waste and our environmental impact as much as we can, where we can. The Whywaste software will enable us to discount products which are close to their sell by date at fair prices, giving our customers another great way to save money when they visit our stores."
Tackling the problem of food waste is at the forefront of many businesses: it represents the interlinking issues of environmental impact, profitability, efficiency and pricing strategies. For instance, Spar recently adopted technology to forecast stock levels to cut down on food waste and increase sales, while many retailers opt in to TooGoodToGo’s redistributive technology to sell stock that would otherwise be thrown away.


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LOS ANGELES, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewsCentre/ — Media Design Group today announced the placement of a Super Bowl LV advertisement for their client Dr. Squatch, the California based men’s natural soap and personal care company.
Dr. Squatch has had tremendous growth over the past few years, including over $100M in revenue for 2020, over 350% increase in sales year-over-year for the last two years, and over 300M total views on its YouTube channel to date, making it one of the platform’s most viral brands. The Dr. Squatch team is looking to translate their viral success to linear TV through a Super Bowl commercial negotiated in partnership with Media Design Group.
"We are incredibly excited to partner with Dr. Squatch on their first Super Bowl ad," stated Ben Zimmerman, Media Design Group’s Co-Founder and President. "Having helped numerous DTC brands test and scale on TV, we always enjoy getting a new advertiser into the big game. We love both the Dr. Squatch brand and team and appreciate the faith they have in us to execute their buy."
Media Design Group is working with brands such as ZipRecruiter and Grammarly to deliver innovative ad campaigns efficiently reaching target audiences. Continually proving that television continues to be a viable marketing channel, Media Design Group reaches the pinnacle of television advertising with this placement.
"We are incredibly proud and humbled to see how fast our brand has grown over the past few years," said Founder & CEO of Dr. Squatch, Jack Haldrup. "Our goal is to inspire and educate guys to be happier and healthier. We’re excited to reach a new audience and spread the word about the Dr. Squatch brand to millions of new consumers at the Big Game on Sunday. We appreciate MDG’s support in helping lock in the ad spot."
About Media Design Group
Media Design Group is a full-service, multi-channel DRTV media agency, specializing in results-driven media. Founded in 2008 by Stacy Durand and Ben Zimmerman, Media Design Group is a branded response agency with a singular focus – to give our clients the ability to target the correct television and streaming audiences and drive efficient consumer acquisition. MDG leverages performance television expertise, technology, and data science to go beyond age and gender audiences to target audiences at scale. Current clients include Amazon Key, Grammarly ZipRecruiter, Positec, HomeLight, and many more. With a mission to deliver an incomparable client experience, Media Design Group is comprised of experts in launching and growing successful direct marketing campaigns. https://www.mediadesigngroup.com/.
About Dr. Squatch Soap Company
Dr. Squatch is a men’s natural soap and personal care company, and one of the fastest-growing natural personal care companies in the country, reaching approximately $100 million in sales in 2020. Dr. Squatch’s hero products are natural cold process bar soap, deodorant, shampoo and conditioner, and toothpaste. Dr. Squatch sells high quality personal care products for men made in America and wants all men to Feel Like a Man, Smell Like a Champion https://drsquatch.com/.
SOURCE: Media Design Group


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LOTMAXX announced a new high speed desktop FFF 3D printer with a difference: it also includes a powerful laser.
Snapmaker announced a new 3-in-1 desktop 3D printer, the Artisan.
Did you know that Creality also makes laser engravers?
When I was younger, I always wanted to label everything.
Multi-functional 3D printers offer just that — multiple functions. As the technologies progress, so do the capabilities possible for desktop fabrication.
Snapmaker completed their recent Kickstarter campaign with astonishing results.
Desktop multi-tool 3D printer manufacturer Snapmaker has raised an enormous amount of money for their new Snapmaker 2.0 device.


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In a move with the potential to shake up the local taxi market‚ Beijing Automobile Works SA announced the opening of a minibus taxi assembly factory in Springs on Wednesday (13 November). The company said it expected to move to full manufacturing by 2015.
While the local taxi market is relatively small producing between 20‚000 and 25‚000 units a year‚ the company's head of sales and marketing‚ John Jessup‚ said it had an eye on exporting into sub-Saharan Africa. Currently the market is dominated by the Durban-manufactured Toyota Ses'fikile
He also said the company would start to import "fully built-up double-cabs and SUVs".
BAW SA is a joint venture between Beijing Automotive Works (itself a subsidiary of the Chinese state-owned Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Company‚ China's fourth-biggest vehicle manufacturer)‚ which holds 51% equity‚ the Industrial Development Corporation (24.5%) and the balance of shares belonging to China Africa Motors (CAM)‚ a company owned by James Chung, which until now has been importing the BAW minibus taxi known locally as the Inyathi
Chung has been appointed chief executive of BAW SA.
The IDC said in a press release on Tuesday that the combined investment was R196m and would‚ including at an expanded dealer network‚ create approximately 1‚000 jobs.
Geoffrey Qhena‚ chief executive of the IDC‚ said that the investment "underlines the continued strong co-operation between the Brics countries. The assembly plant is expected to provide many benefits to South Africa‚ including increased localisation of the automotive industry and export opportunities".
Jessop said the company would initially start off by assembling semi knock-down kits of the Inyathi
‚ a taxi based on the fourth-generation Toyota Hiace and known in China as the Haice.
But it would also begin to assemble the next-generation Haice‚ codenamed 009‚ which he said "looks a bit like the [Toyota] Quantum".
Toyota South Africa's Leo Kok said they would not normally comment on competitor's products‚ but added that Toyota Motor Corporation had "no partnerships" with BAW‚ either here or in China.
Jessop said the Inyathi
would be "rebranded as BAW" as a result of BAW's investment here and that the first BAW taxis would "roll off the line in January". He said the plant would eventually have the capacity to assemble 9‚600 vehicles annually‚ but that he expected the company to be producing between 200 and 300 units a month by mid-year.
Jessop said the company would be "manufacturing for the whole of sub-Saharan Africa‚" itself unsurprising as Chinese firms look for growth opportunities as their domestic market cools.
He added that while there were currently 25 former CAM dealers‚ BAW SA was hoping to expand the network to "35 to 40 dealerships".
BAW is the first Chinese manufacturer to set-up a minibus assembly plant in South Africa. Rumour abounds that Nissan is in the process of developing a minibus taxi for local manufacture‚ and that Peugeot are keen to introduce a product locally too. If that came to pass‚ given Toyota's 20 000-units-a-year capacity for Ses'fikile
at its Durban factory‚ the market could become extremely competitive‚ or even over-traded.
Jessop said BAW SA will continue to offer the Inyathi
at about R185‚000‚ and that the 009‚ which "has an aircon and ABS"‚ would cost about R265‚000 and come with a two-year‚ 200‚000km service plan.


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JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) is placing last touches on its much-awaited cryptocurrency JPM Coin. Bloomberg Japan reports that the monetary establishment is to start out trials on the coin with company shoppers, because it additionally eyes regulatory approval for its use within the mainstream monetary sector.
JP Morgan Crypto
JPM Coin runs on Quorum, which is a non-public model of the Ethereum community, developed by the financial institution. The coin is to operate as a stablecoin the place fiat money is to be deposited in alternate for the token earlier than one is allowed to hold out transfers through a distributed ledger. Recipients of the tokens will be capable to convert any quantity of the tokens into money.
Whereas the stablecoin is pegged on the US Greenback, JP Morgan Chase intends to increase it to different fiat currencies. Extending it to different fiat currencies will search to deal with the sturdy curiosity from shoppers in Europe and Japan. Pegging the JPM Coin to fiat forex seeks to avert huge fluctuations in worth given the excessive ranges of volatility within the sector.
JPM Coin Objective
JP Morgan Chase venturing into the cryptocurrency house doesn’t come as a shock. The financial institution is looking for to reap the benefits of the rising demand for digital belongings at a time when mainstream adoption is gathering tempo. With the launch of the JPM Coin, the financial institution goals to supply retail and institutional buyers a approach of rushing up bond transactions in addition to intercompany remittances.
“We consider that quite a lot of securities over time, in 5 to 20 years, will more and more develop into digital or get tokenized,” said Umar Farooq, the funding financial institution’s head of digital treasury providers and blockchain.
Along with investing in JPM Coin, the financial institution has additionally taken a eager curiosity within the underlying blockchain expertise. Quorum is the financial institution’s decentralized community that may assist crypto transactions. JP Morgan has additionally inked a strategic partnership with software program big Microsoft Company to deal with any technical difficulties that may come up on the blockchain community.
Featured picture: DepositPhotos © maloha13


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At a recent event at their Allentown, Pennsylvania Customer Center, Mack Trucks demonstrated the first model of its LR Electric refuse truck. The truck will now be transferred to the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY), where it will begin testing on the city’s refuse routes in order to gain real-world insights into the truck’s performance.
DSNY will base the Mack LR Electric demonstration model at its Brooklyn North 1 garage and test it on a local collection route. Several vehicle performance metrics will be evaluated by DSNY, including operating range, payload capacity, regenerative braking performance and the overall functionality of a fully electric refuse vehicle in their operation.
“There is no tougher testing ground than the city of New York for a truck like this,” said Jonathan Randall, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Mack Trucks. “By doing this, what becomes commercially viable as a result will address the needs of the entire customer base.”
DSNY says that it is testing the truck with an eye toward adding more electric models to its fleet in the future. The department has a goal of reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80% by 2035 (compared to a 2005 baseline).
“We’ve already made some progress but we have a lot more to do, and we can’t do it without this electric truck,” said Rocky DiRico, deputy commissioner of DSNY.
The LR Electric is based on Mack’s existing LR refuse truck, but with an electric battery and motors taking the place of the typical diesel engine. Specs for the truck include two 130-kW motors that deliver a combined 496 peak horsepower and 4,051 lb.-ft. of torque available from zero RPM. A two-speed Mack Powershift transmission harnesses that power and puts it to the ground through Mack’s S522R 52,000-lb. rear axles. The truck features four NMC lithium-ion batteries (lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide) that are charged via a 50kW, SAE J1772-compliant charging system. All accessories on the Mack LR Electric model are electrically driven through 12V, 24V and 600V circuits.


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Green Motion awarded the Green World Award 2023
What a win!
Volkswagen has unveiled the MEB vehicle platform which will be used across its range of electric vehicles.
The rolling chassis has been designed specifically for pure electric vehicles and by the end of 2027, the four VW Group brands will sell 27 different models based on it.
Volkswagen says MEB is the key to the ‘electric car for all’ and its price-service ratio will be instrumental in transforming the electric vehicle from a niche product into a bestseller.
Thomas Ulbrich, Volkswagen Group brand board member for e-mobility, said: “We will make electric vehicles popular and get as many people as possible excited about electric cars.
“The MEB is one of the most important projects in the history of Volkswagen – a technological milestone, similar to the transition from the Beetle to the Golf. The MEB is the economic and technological backbone of the electric car for all.”
Click here to read the full story.


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A lot goes into the making of America’s favorite shows and into bringing viewers the award-winning programming they watch everyday, but cable’s efforts don’t stop there. Behind the scenes, cable programmers put together teams that make it possible for viewers to watch TV on the go—anytime and anywhere—through a subscriber-based app. Ovation, a programming network dedicated to the arts, just came out with their new TV Everywhere app last fall, to the delight of their audience. Will Marks, vice president of business development and digital at the network, shared what goes into launching and continually enhancing their app, Ovation NOW.
"We feel that our audience is on every screen. They [the audience] reach out to us across Instagram, Twitter, Facebook. We know they are on all devices, and we wanted to make sure that we were skating to where the puck is," said Marks. "This is a trend that is only growing. We're excited to meet our consumer on any new device they want to play on."
The network partnered with Float Left, a company with experience in building TV apps. They built the front end of the app and worked hand in hand with Adobe Primetime. "That [Adobe's universal, user-friendly login system] has been a wonderful advance for the whole industry, giving everybody a consistent login process," said Marks. He added that the biggest challenge with Ovation’s app comes when the consumer doesn't know their username and password. If they know their cable subscription login credentials, the experience is seamless and consumers are good to go across all devices. For the others, it's a bit more of a learning experience.
To make it a little easier for consumers, the Ovation team put together a comprehensive campaign across on-air and digital properties. They used its Twitter account as a go-to help, coaching and tech center for customers, and continue to run promos consistently through the schedule. "We talk about Ovation NOW as our overarching brand for our out-of-home services. That's been a good way to educate consumers about what these products are and what new devices you can get them on," said Marks.
The feedback the network is getting from viewers has been very telling. For one, the video loads and plays very quickly, removing a point of frustration for the customer. Customers are also taking advantage of catching up on past episodes of their favorite shows, watching five or six in a row. In some parts of the country, Ovation's programming is not in HD yet with some of its providers, but they can now watch shows or movies in HD on their tablet, Apple TV, and Roku. "We hear from them, 'This is awesome, I can finally see Versailles in HD and it looks remarkable.'"
Since the app launched, Marks and his team have seen people go right from the schedule page on the website into watching the live stream. "The flip side to that is we have to be on our game, and constantly make sure the app includes all the different cable providers, all the different changes, just like what you deal with when you log into your bank or your phone plan," said Marks. "We have a lot more tech support to do. It's shared between us and the cable provider or the app store. We have to do more bug fixing."
But Ovation is keen on tackling all the changes and challenges in the industry head-on and coming out with new services and innovative products for its audience. The team is always upgrading and improving the apps across Android, Roku, IOS, and is planning an Amazon Fire rollout later in the year.
"It's the most fun and exciting part of the job, looking at the new platforms and devices and the way consumers are going to want our content," said Marks. "You always have to be looking ahead and not be afraid of all the new platforms, all the new tech. That's the only way you will keep the consumer excited and happy and have great new products and services for them in this space. That's the key to this whole thing."
A Community Full of Jobs


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NRIs home in on India, account for 10% of sales
"What would happen when one loses his job in the US? The downturn is scaring many NRIs who fear job cuts," says JLLM's Raminder Grover. "There is a renewed interest in selling abroad," says Lodha Group senior VP R Kartik.
Many NRIs have been thinking of coming back to India and "many of them are making safety investments," explains Mr Kartik. Over the last few months, Lodha has seen a 25% increase in its sales to NRIs.
Sobha Developers has seen the share of NRI sales go up from 5% to 10% of its sales. "In the last six months, we have been selling about 25,000 sq.ft. a month to NRIs," says Sobha Developers MD Jagdish C Sharma.
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Selling to NRIs though is a very different proposition. "You need a different strategy for NRIs. To service the requirements of NRIs, you need to have your own representation in the target market," says Mr Kartik.
Omaxe has had roadshows in the US, UK, Canada and Dubai to promote its residential projects and have representative offices, too. Omaxe VP marketing Vineet Nanda says, "NRIs made only about 3% of their total luxury apartment sales but today constitute about 10%. A good chunk of their NRI sales comes from Middle East."
For some like Tata Housing, it is a much larger business. "We have not done any formal marketing of our properties in the international market but already 10-15% of our sales are to NRIs. When we start our promotions, we expect this figure to go up to 25-30% of our total sales," says Tata Housing CEO Brotin Banerjee. They have received a tremendous response from the US, UK and Canada for their projects in Bangalore, Gurgaon, Chandigarh and Kolkata.
"Many NRIs would like to have a place in India since the country is expected to tide over this downturn and would be a better place to work in the future," says Mr Banerjee. Propertymixer.com CEO Minal Arora says a lot of NRIs, who are considering coming back, are securing sales in India.
But not everybody thinks so. For Jayesh Desai, head, real estate at Ernst & Young, these are purely investment sales. Well over 50% of NRI sales will be for investment. "With a downturn in the west, India is still a better market for investment. But, if they don't see returns, this segment will start going down too," warns Desai.
According to him, the reality is that the market in India is very tight and Indian speculative investors are out. "The share of the NRI market might be higher because of this," he says. Omaxe ED Vipin Aggarwal, too, subscribes to the same logic. "Most NRIs are buying in India only for investing and not for end-use," he says.
For developers though, it is a good way to catch up on lost sales in the Indian market. With a big push, a number of developers from across the country are embarking on roadshows in markets where there is a large NRI presence. The favourites really are the Middle East, UK and the US markets.


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Nok Nok Products joins thousands of companies in Money 20/20 in Amsterdam. Conducted on September 21 to 23, 2021, the event aims to tackle financial technology, its role in various industries, and what to expect moving forward like passwordless authentication.
The Return of Real-Life Interactions
The past year has been a challenging time for most, if not all, industries all over the world. With the need for social distancing measures, safety has been the main priority.
Because of this, live events were put on hold. Conferences, talks, exhibits, and other similar activities were postponed.
But as we welcome the vaccine development and rollout, the world is slowly welcoming the return of real-life interactions. While the need for ensuring safety is still a must, organizations and companies can once again come together to tackle important industry developments.
Money 20/20 in Europe
The financial technology community is among those adapting to the new normal through innovation. Money 20/20 is proof of that.
The three-day event aims to showcase how the industry will move forward and adopt changes to face risks and prepare for the arrival of new technologies. From passwordless authentication to various payment solutions, participants can learn what is new and what to expect in cyber security and the financial market.
More than being the biggest financial technology event, one can expect to see global leaders, tech giants, startups, and new industry challenges. Find renowned speakers, innovators, and C-level executives. Money 20/20 helps business entities expand their network while learning from one another.
Learn from the experience of others. Find out more about various products. Gain knowledge on how to facilitate data and ensure security. See how you can remain relevant as the competitive landscape changes. All of these opportunities are to be seen in one grand event.
Nok Nok Products And Passwordless Authentication
So, where does Nok Nok Products come in?
Nok Nok Products is among the thousands of companies joining the biggest event about the financial landscape and ecosystem in Europe. Through this, the company gets to showcase its part in the innovative industry.
Nok Nok Products is among the innovators in the field of cyber security. With its services, such as passwordless authentication, the company has helped various business entities and financial companies have better security not only for themselves but also for their clients.
To know more about Nok Nok Products or Money 20/20 Europe, visit www.noknok.com.


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Coty acquires a majority stake in 3-year-old Kylie Cosmetics, valuing it at $1.2 billion. The transaction is a milestone in Coty’s ongoing transformation.
WHO: Kylie Cosmetics was launched by the youngest of the five Kardashian-Jenner sisters in 2015 with the Kylie Lip Kit, which was a sellout success on the brand’s website. The assortment has expanded the collection beyond lip products to include offerings like eyeliners, eyeshadows, blushes, highlighters, concealers, brushes, and makeup bags as well as creating limited-edition sets launched throughout the year. Following the success of the cosmetics brand, Kylie introduced Kylie Skin, a range of skincare products, in May 2019. Kylie Jenner is one of the world’s most-followed people on social media, with a combined following of over 270 million users and counting.
Coty is one of the world’s largest beauty companies with an iconic portfolio of brands across fragrance, color cosmetics, hair color and styling, and skin and body care. Coty is the global leader in fragrance, a strong number two in professional hair color & styling, and number three in color cosmetics. Coty’s products are sold in over 150 countries around the world.
WHY: The transaction is also a key milestone in Coty’s ongoing transformation into a more focused and agile company.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: “Combining Kylie’s creative vision and unparalleled consumer interest with Coty’s expertise and leadership in prestige beauty products is an exciting next step in our transformation and will leverage our core strengths around fragrances, cosmetics and skin care, allowing Kylie’s brand to reach their full potential,” Coty Chief Executive Officer Pierre Laubies said in a statement.
“I’m excited to partner with Coty to continue to reach even more fans of Kylie Cosmetics and Kylie Skin around the world,” Kylie Jenner said in a statement. “I look forward to continuing the creativity and ingenuity for each collection that consumers have come to expect and engaging with my fans across social media. This partnership will allow me and my team to stay focused on the creation and development of each product while building the brand into an international beauty powerhouse.”
“This new partnership between Kylie and Coty is an exciting step in Coty’s renewed emphasis on its beauty business,” Coty chairman Peter Harf said in a statement. “Kylie is a modern-day icon, with an incredible sense of the beauty consumer, and we believe in the high potential of building a global beauty brand together.”
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Upscale headphone maker Beats by Dr. Dre is in talks to buy subscription music service MOG, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday.
Beats’ owner, Taiwanese cellphone maker HTC, is looking to create a music offering that combines its mobile devices, Beats’ headphones and MOG’s all-you-can-listen streaming plan, said the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity.
News of the possible acquisition was earlier reported by Business Insider.
MOG Chief Executive David Hyman declined to comment. HTC dismissed earlier reports as rumor and speculation.
Last August, HTC announced it was paying $300 million for a 51 percent stake in Beats Electronics LLC, a company headed by rapper and producer Dr. Dre and recording executive Jimmy Iovine.
The maker of handsets that work on Google Inc.’s Android platform has been struggling with intense competition from Samsung Electronics Co. and iPhone maker Apple Inc. HTC said its profit fell 26 percent in the final quarter of last year.
MOG has also struggled to gain subscribers in the face of established music subscription service Rhapsody and Sweden’s Spotify. MOG’s paying subscribers are estimated to be in the tens of thousands compared to more than a million for Rhapsody in the U.S. and 3 million for Spotify worldwide.
Each service offers unlimited music streaming on portable devices for $10 per month and a range of free trial offers to get customers hooked.
MOG was founded in 2005 and counts Universal Music Group and Sony Music among its investors. Along with its subscription music plan, the company operates a series of music blog sites that attract more than 60 million visitors a month.
Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed


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By Trevor Mogg — – DigitalTrends.com
As part of a possible effort to improve the Google+ Photos experience, the Mountain View company has acquired the team behind Odysee, an app that automatically backed up images from a mobile device to a desktop and also let users easily share content privately with friends and family.
“Odysee’s vision was to be the easiest way for everyone to capture unlimited memories and access them everywhere,” the startup said on its website on Sunday, adding that its integration into the Google+ team means it can “continue to focus on building amazing products that people love.”
The mobile software has already disappeared from the Google Play and iOS app stores as Odysee developers presumably set about integrating its technology into Google’s Photos offering while at the same time working on new software.
Google’s move to acquire Odysee follows a suggestion first heard last summer that the Web giant is considering separating its Photos service from Google+ and launching it as an independent product. With this in mind, bringing in the folks behind Odysee could certainly be seen as a step toward this goal, with the team’s talent and technology utilized to help build out the new product.


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The gap between imports and exports widened to £8.5bn in the three months to March amid signs that the effects of a weaker pound have started to wear off and concerns about protectionist trade policies have risen.
The total deficit, excluding “erratic” goods such as ships, precious stones and oil, widened by £1.2bn in the three months to March. Erratic goods are excluded because they are often one-off very expensive purchases which might cloud the overall trend in trade data.
Exports were being supported by "strong global demand and accommodative financial conditions" the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) said on Thursday.
Trade had "contributed positively to growth in 2017 and was projected to continue to do so," the MPC added.
In the 12 months to March, growth in what the UK sold to overseas was overtaken by what it bought. As a result the deficit shrank by £13.3bn to £26.6bn.
The figures come after separate revisions to trade statistics announced in mid-April, ahead of the next set of national accounts, known as the blue book. These show that, thanks to the earnings of financial traders, the UK’s trade deficit was £10bn lower in 2016 than first thought.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) had not factored in the implications of this analysis into Thursday’s trade figures, but recent changes will allow it to better include data from sources such as HMRC in order to estimate import and export activities.
Ruth Gregory of Capital Economics said that “net trade appears to have contributed very little to GDP growth” in the first quarter of the year.
“While import volumes fell by 0.3pc on the quarter, export volumes only rose by 0.1pc,” she added.
There were signs that the impact of the fall in the cost of sterling - which can make UK goods cheaper for buyers in other currencies - was starting to wear off. Some economists have credited this fall in the pound’s value since the referendum with the uptick in exports.
The ONS said: “In the three months to March, import and export prices both increased at their slowest rate since June 2017, when import and export prices fell by 0.4pc and 1.1pc respectively.”
This tallies with the strengthening of sterling seen since August 2017 “which may be having a dampening impact on import and export prices,” the ONS added.
Josie Dent of the Centre of Economics and Business Research (Cebr), said: “Looking forward, Cebr forecasts that in 2018, exports will grow by 2.2pc and imports will grow by 3.3pc.
“Therefore, despite this week’s good news concerning the historic trade balance, the immediate future looks less bright.”
Samuel Tombs of Pantheon Economics said that “a tangible boost” to GDP from trade could emerge “if Brexit uncertainty dissipates”. This would, he said, encourage companies to invest in extra capacity and feel more confident about reaching beyond domestic markets.


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The Lotus car used in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me will be sold at auction next month.
The white 1976 Lotus Esprit, made famous by the 1977 film starring Roger Moore and Barbara Bach, is expected to raise between £100,000 and £120,000. Auction house Bonhams will sell the car as part of its annual motoring sale at Olympia, in west London.
The iconic motor, which turns into a submarine for the role, is one of two Lotus cars driven in the film by Bond and was recently voted the secret agent's best gadget.
The auction will also feature the registration number AU1 from the James Bond film Goldfinger. issued in Nottingham in 1903, is expected to sell for £80,000 or higher
AU1 was fitted to the Rolls Royce Phantom III used by the villain Goldfinger in the film, as it is the chemical symbol for gold in the Periodic Table. It was issued in Nottingham in 1903 and is expected to sell for £80,000 or higher
Copyright © Press Association 2008


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A salvage operation to save a tug containing 200 tonnes of diesel from sinking off the coast of Devon is "going well".
The pumping out of water continues to go well. The situation is more stable and it was confirmed at first light that there is no report of pollution.
Salvors are onboard the tug Christos XXII, pumping operations continue to go well.
Divers now deployed to inspect and repair.
More top news
Lottie and her dog Marley confronted a man who had taken a laptop and goods from a Lush store in Oxford.
Feeling colder with a biting, bitter windchill
A thoughtful teenager has taken Valentine's romance to a whole new level by buying 900 flowers and giving one to every girl in his school.


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Of ARM And AMD
A year after the iPhone launched in 2007, Apple executives recognized that using ARM CPUs in the iPhone was a no gain, no win proposition because every other smartphone maker could use similar chips so the company bought P.A. Semi, a fabless semiconductor design company. That purchase led to the A-Series CPUs that power today’s iPhones and iPads, specialized chips that show up in AirPods and MacBook Pro and iMac Pro models, and helped to set the stage to differentiate Apple’s wares from competitors.
Apple still has to shop around for chip manufacturers, and it’s not likely that Intel will go out of business soon, but the iPhone maker has become a semiconductor powerhouse with a growing appetite for custom silicon. The real question is: can Intel keep up? Samsung makes the most chips but Intel makes the most money. After that, it’s Taiwan Semiconductor (which makes the chips in new iPhones and iPads), then Qualcomm, followed by Broadcom (which wants to buy Qualcomm) and a few others in the also-ran business.
Way down the list is AMD which makes Intel clones, and some of its recent designs provide greater processing power than comparable Intel chips but at much lower prices. Apple has choices. For the Mac, it’s Intel Inside but AMD’s new Ryzen chips could provide greater power, lower power consumption, and lower prices than Intel Inside.
Apple’s own A-Series Bionic CPUs– in iPhone X and iPhone 8 and 8 Plus– benchmark about the same as mid-range MacBook Pro models. Is Apple capable of putting its own ARM-based CPUs into a Mac? Apple-designed CPUs already power iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K, and, yes, HomePod. Apple-designed chips grace the MacBook Pro, the iMac Pro, and AirPods.
Yes, Apple is a chip design powerhouse and that means it is time to put Intel outside because the chipmaker is having difficulty competing against up and comers– Apple included. Two new AMD CPUs– the Ryzen 2400G and 2200G are quad-core powerhouse chips with a modest price tag– with performance that makes Intel look old, slow, and tired.
The best Mac bargain you can buy these days is iMac Pro at $4,999 (running Intel Inside). Why a bargain? In today’s dollars, it is less expensive than the original $2,495 Mac in 1984. What could Apple do to replace the aging $999 MacBook Air? How about an Apple-designed ARM-based CPU that runs only macOS? And a slightly more expensive and powerful version that also runs Windows and Linux?
At times, Apple seems fearful to upset the apple cart, so to speak, but it already has thanks to the success of its own chip design division. Apple must differentiate its product line against competitors and that makes it time to put Intel outside the Mac (while the company adds more Intel modem chips to the iPhone line to compete against Qualcomm).


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The minute she laid eyes on it, Sally Flory-O’Neil knew she was taking it home: a brand new, 3-foot-tall cat scratching tree for just $10.
“It was an incredible find,” Midtown resident Flory-O’Neil said. “They usually sell for $80 or $90.”
Treasures of all shapes and sizes will be waiting for bargain hunters at the Boulevard Park Neighborhood Association’s annual yard sale in Midtown Saturday.
The sale starts at 9 a.m. on the 22nd Street median between F and G streets and wraps up at 1 p.m., according to the BPNA Park Beat newsletter.
BPNA member Pat Cosentino said more than two dozen families donate items to the annual sale, so there will be a wide variety of items for shoppers to discover.
Cosentino is the designated “treasure keeper” leading up to the event, and neighbors use his six-car garage to collect and store items for sale. He starts storing the items about two weeks ahead of the event, and more treasures roll in as the day draws nearer.
“By the weekend before the sale, my truck no longer fits in the garage,” Cosentino said.
For sale this year are items ranging from a large leather sofa to new rubber garden boots and everything in between, Cosentino said.
“We’ll have furniture and and glassware and knick-knacks and doodads for everyone,” he said.
But don’t wait until the last minute to go check it out.
“Everybody and their cousin comes to the sale,” Flory-O’Neil said. “They get there while it’s being set up and just keep coming. People just kind of descend on it.”
The event is BPNA’s largest fundraiser, and money collected is used to publish the association’s monthly newsletter, make grants to local organizations and finance neighborhood events including an annual holiday party and spaghetti dinner.
For more information, or if you have something to donate to the sale, contact Asha Jennings at firstname.lastname@example.org
Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.


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The Cavaliers' long-rumored alterations to their primary and secondary logos and wordmarks are official, the team announced Monday afternoon. The team changed its colors to a “deeper wine and brighter gold,” it announced in a news release, bringing those colors closer to those that were used from 1970 to 1983. The team cited those colors' popularity in recent “Hardwood Classic” promotions and merchandise offerings in making the change. “The response from our fans related to our classic uniforms and merchandise has been tremendous over the last several seasons, especially our original wine and gold color mix items, “ said Tracy Marek, the Cavaliers' senior vice president of marketing, in a news release. “As a result, we're very excited to bring the spirit of the original expression of wine and gold into our brand full-time for the future.” The color changes will appear in new uniforms later this summer.
Cleveland Cavaliers unveil alterations to primary, secondary logos
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Sony has officially announced the acquisition of German mobile games developer, Savage Game Studios. According to PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst, the developer will lead a brand new ‘mobile division’ at Sony, with a focus on ‘expanding’ the PlayStation community and game offerings.
Savage Game Studios was established in 2020 by veteran developers from Wargaming, Zynga, Rovio and Insomniac, and has seen great success in the short time it’s been active. In early 2021, the studio raised US $4.4 million to work on a mobile shooter game and expand its development across multiple regions.
That move seemingly caught the attention of Sony, which will now work with Savage Game Studios on upcoming mobile projects, including an ‘announced AAA mobile live service action game’.
In a new blog post, Hulst enthused about the acquisition, but also made clear that Sony expanding into the mobile realm – at the same time Microsoft is making similar moves – isn’t cause for concern.
‘As we assured you before with our plans to bring select titles to PC, our efforts beyond console in no way diminish our commitment to the PlayStation community, nor our passion to keep making amazing single-player, narrative-driven experiences,’ Hulst said.
‘Our mobile gaming efforts will be similarly additive, providing more ways for more people to engage with our content, and striving to reach new audiences unfamiliar with PlayStation and our games. Savage Game Studios is joining a newly created PlayStation Studios Mobile Division, which will operate independently from our console development and focus on innovative, on-the-go experiences based on new and existing PlayStation IP.’
Mobile gaming is expanding at a rapid pace, and it’s likely Sony is looking to claim a slice of the market as it continues to grow. Expect to hear more about Sony’s burgeoning mobile division in the coming months.


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A study recently published by Oxford Economics, conducted in partnership with YouTube, assessed the economic impact of the platform on the Indian economy. It reveals that the YouTube creative ecosystem contributed more Rs. 6,800 crores to the country’s GDP, which is just short of $1 billion. This is a figure which has witnessed enormous growth year on year over the last few years and it appears as though more and more Indians are finding ways to earn money on their own via the internet.
The report believes that YouTube is responsible for creating the equivalent of nearly 7 Lakh full-time jobs. About 40,000 channels have over 1 lakh subscribers which is a 45% increase from the year before. Of these, more than 4000 channels can boast over a million subscribers, which is itself a 50% year-on-year increase. The number of channels earning at least a lakh in revenue has also increased by 60%. Such figures tell us that the growth of the Indian presence on YouTube is still very much in the early stages, and we are likely to see even more channels utilise the earning capacity that the platform provides.
The estimates calculated by the report take into account both direct and indirect impacts that YouTube has and how this leads to a growth in jobs and income. The direct impacts have to do with ad revenues, payouts from channel memberships, royalty payments in the case of music, and so on. Indirectly, YouTube also helps generate income as creators need to spend money on their channel in terms of equipment and software. The larger channels also need to hire editors, designers, producers, etc. and as such, there is a long supply chain through which money is spent.
One of the reasons why we are seeing such high growth figures currently likely has to do with the pandemic. The report cites many channels that looked to YouTube for income as their primary sources dried up as a result of the lockdown. Channels, however, are reliant on YouTube’s algorithm to promote their content. They generally need to wait for one of their videos to go viral and generate a lot of views before the subscribers start pouring in. It is only then that channels begin to invest and can actually grow their subscriber base as there is some sort of revenue stream to tap into.
The rise in YouTube’s contribution to the Indian economy also coincides with India’s increasing usage of the internet. As Indians become more comfortable with engaging with the internet, they are also figuring out how to tap into the resource for income. This is not only the case with YouTube but also with other platforms like Urban Company, Uber, Swiggy, etc. There is a difference between these platforms and YouTube, however, as Uber, Swiggy, etc. are filling in the gaps in an existing industry. YouTube on the other hand is providing an entirely new alternative which is in effect expanding the industry of content creation which was once restricted to only a small group of people.
As the digital economy grows, it will be important for regulation to keep pace. We have already seen the kind of issues that employees at organisations like Zomato, Swiggy, Uber, etc. face in terms of a lack of labour rights. With platforms like YouTube, content curation policies will have to be reviewed. By and large, the Indian YouTubers create content on everyday topics such as music, beauty and hair care, education, tech help, etc. There will, however, be content that might pose a problem to the public discourse, as we have already seen with the likes of conspiracy theorists, political extremists, and so on. In a coutry like India, where the line between what is admissible and what isnt is not so clear, YouTube will have to come out with its own standards that it abides by consistently.
The structure of the Indian economy is changing. Online platforms are giving people new ways to monetise their skills/talents and this is tapping into a previously unexplored area of the economy. While growth will continue to accelerate over the next few years, it will be important for the government to pay attention to how these changed are affecting the people who are involved. Adequate research and planning will be necessary so that regulation protects individuals from being exploited.


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|The‘Pro ‘Hijab’ |
Sunday, March 12 2017
Nike will soon begin selling a performance hijab for Muslim women athletes.
The head cover, called the “Nike Pro Hijab,” boasts a singlelayer pull-on design made from lightweight polyester in dark, neutral colours. According to Nike, the fabric’s tiny holes will make it breathable while remaining opaque, a requirement for hijab-wearing women.
It’s also super-stretchy for a personalized _ t that adapts to the wearer and is designed using _ uff threads to eliminate rubbing and irritation.
Nike said it began developing the hijab after some Muslim athletes complained about wearing a traditional head scarf during competition.
The Pro Hijab was designed in collaboration with several Muslim athletes including weightlifter Amna Al Haddad. Nike said the garment has been tested by Egyptian running coach Manal Rostom and is already being worn by Emirati _ gure skater Zahra Lari.
“I was thrilled and a bit emotional to see Nike prototyping a Hijab,” Lari said in a statement. “I’ve tried so many different hijabs for performance, and ... so few of them actually work for me. But once I put it on and took it for a spin on the ice, I was blown away by the _ t and the light weight.” Response online to the hijab has been mostly positive, but some hijab wearers have questioned Nike’s decision to make branded hijabs.
Sporting hijabs have been around for several years, but Nike is the _ rst major international company to embrace the sports needs of Muslim women. Small sporting brands such as Capsters and ResportOn have previously been seen as leading brands of sporting hijabs.
Nike’s Pro Hijab will be available in three different colourways, black, vast grey and obsidian, early next year.


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Olympic 'brand police' crackdown on corporate cheats
The London 2012 Olympics starts in a week from now and as the athletes compete to see who can be the fastest, highest and strongest, many corporations are trying to ensure they'll be the richest.
Companies are paying up to $100 million to sponsor the games, and they want to ensure they have some bang for their buck.
So this week the British statutory body entrusted with delivering the games, the Olympic Delivery Authority, has just released 300 Olympic brand enforcers onto the streets of London.
It's their job to make sure that companies aren't illegally associating themselves with the Games at the expense of official sponsors such as McDonald's, Coca-Cola and BP.
Olympics organisers have warned businesses that unless they are an official sponsor they cannot give the impression they have any connection at all to London 2012.
Sound a little crazy? To give an insight into how this world works, CEO of Leo Burnett Todd Sampson. He's also a panellist for the ABC's Gruen Sweat, an Olympics special that starts next week on ABC 1.
- Todd Sampson
- CEO of Leo Burnett and panellist on Gruen Sweat


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SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft Corp will unveil its much-anticipated next-generation Xbox on May 21 following months of speculation the company is gearing up to announce a new video game console this summer. The company sent out media invitations on Wednesday,
On that day, we’ll share our vision for Xbox, and give you a real taste of the future. Then, 19-days later at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, we’ll continue the conversation and showcase our full lineup of blockbuster games. We are thrilled to pull back the curtain and reveal what we’ve been working on.


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Salt, a necessary ingredient in kitchens across the world, is getting a technology upgrade thanks to a lifestyle company that has created a Bluetooth-equipped saltshaker.
Called SMALT, the smart saltshaker has been in development since 2015 and contains multiple sensory devices to entertain more than just tastebuds at your next dinner party. Users can stream music, play around with a mood light and, going back to its originally intended function, dispense salt in an “interactive way,” according to SMALT’s website.
Herb & Body, the company behind SMALT, said the advanced saltshaker can also connect with Amazon Echo so Alexa can take care of any salt- or tech-related needs.
The company is still determining prices for the saltshaker with a plan to launch the product on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo by June 15, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. With shipping dates estimated around November or December, customers will hopefully be able to command their saltshakers for more than flavor assistance by Christmas.
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Cranbrook city hall is blazing a new trail along with the rest of Canadian municipalities with the adoption of its cannabis bylaw on Monday night at a special council meeting ahead of Wednesday’s legalization deadline.
Cities across the country are scrambling to prepare and meet the unknown challenges that will come with legalization, and Cranbrook is no exception.
“The rules could change as time goes on,” said Mayor Lee Pratt, speaking to reporters after the meeting. “The province could change the rules, the feds could change the rules; we’re just trying to be prepared for some of it, whatever we can.”
The Cannabis bylaw involves the land-use zoning regulations within the city and tweaks existing bylaws around clean air, municipal ticketing and development procedures.
No changes were proposed from the last time the bylaws came to the council table.
Going forward, the cannabis bylaw sets a cap of four retail locations in C-1 zoning (downtown core) and six in C-2 zoning (highway corridor).
“It’s a crapshoot,” said Pratt. “Is three too many? Is three not enough? Is 10 too many? Not enough? We don’t know. What will determine it is the number of applicants, solid applicants that have put the money up and are genuinely interested.
“We can change that number anytime we want. If we don’t want more than that, we just don’t approve them. If we want more than that, then we’d have to change the bylaw to undo that.”
In C1 zoning, cannabis retail locations must be separated by 30 metres, while C2 zoning locations have a 50-metre setback distance. Cannabis locations must also be a minimum 100-metre distance from a group daycare, playground, school or park.
The Development Procedures and Delegation Amendment Bylaw was also changed, which set a $500 fee for a cannabis retail licence, while also tweaking fees to liquor licences to reflect the rising mailing and advertising costs.
Tweaks to the Clean Air Bylaw include banning smoking cannabis — and vaping in general — inside a public building and up to seven metres away from a public building; in a public municipal space; in a city cemetery; inside a vehicle owned or leased by the city; during an Outdoor Special Event (unless an exemption is obtained) and in any public municipal right-of-way.
The fine for smoking in a prohibited area is set at $150.
In order to obtain a cannabis retail licence, there is a complicated application process to work through, which starts with the province.
A potential cannabis retailer applies to the provincial government and pays a non-refundable $10,000 fee. From there, the province sends the application to the respective town or city, which has the power to allow or deny a retail cannabis location based on their own municipal processes.
At the last regular council meeting, senior city planner Rob Veg told council that he ‘lost count’ of how many calls he had received from companies asking questions about obtaining a cannabis licence, estimating the amount to being over a dozen and a half.
However, Pratt says the city has yet to receive a formal cannabis retail licence application.
“To our knowledge, nobody has actually come up with the deposit and gone through the application process yet,” said Pratt. “Lots of inquiries, but that’s just people phoning and questioning.”
Pratt flatly admitted that the city may not be prepared for what the future holds for enforcing the cannabis bylaws.
“To be honest with you, I don’t think any municipality in B.C. or probably in all of Canada are actually prepared to enforce it, and I’ve said that all along,” Pratt said. “You can make all the rules and regulations you want, but it’s the enforcement that’s the key part, and it would cost a lot of money, for any municipality, to enforce it.
“I don’t think any of us are ready.”


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The lack of a consistent CSIRP is a persistent trend each year
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) takes effect in May 2018 and will mandate that organizations have an incident response plan in place. At least 77% of respondents said in a new study condcted by Ponemon Institute and sponsored by IBM Resilient, do not have an incident response plan that is applied consistently across the entire enterprise. Most countries surveyed do not report confidence in their ability to comply with GDPR. A report by research firm Gartner in November last year, also alluded to the fact that less than 50% of all organizations impacted will fully comply by the GDPR deadline of 25th March, 2018. The GDPR regulation levies steep penalties of up to EUR 20 million or 4% of global annual turnover, whichever is higher, for non-compliance. The language in the guideline uses the word “reasonable” to indicate the level of data protection and privacy that companies should observe towards EU citizens.
The study has also found that 77% of respondents admit they do not have a formal cyber security incident response plan (CSIRP) applied consistently across their organization. Nearly 50% of the 2800 respondents have said that their incident response plan is either ad hoc or completely non-existent.
However, 72% of organizations this year feel more cyber resilient in 2018 than they were last year. This confidence, the survey reveals, is due to their ability to hire skilled personnel. This confidence may be misplaced, with the analysis revealing that 57% of respondents said the time to resolve an incident has increased, while 65% reported the severity of the attacks has increased.
Some of the key factors impacting overall cyber resiliency include:
- Lack of an adequate Cyber Resilience budget in place(69%)
- Difficulty retaining and hiring IT Security professionals (77%)
- Lack of investment in AI and machine learning as the biggest barrier to cyber resilience (60%)
The lack of a consistent CSIRP is a persistent trend each year despite a key finding from IBM’s 2017 Cost of a Data Breach Study. The cost of a data breach was nearly USD 1 million lower on average when organizations were able to contain the breach in less than thirty days – highlighting the value and importance of having a strong CSIRP. The survey has found that these organizations have had a CISO in place for three years or less. 23% report they do not currently have a CISO or security leader.


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Local car manufacturer Proton will be building a new assembly plant in Pakistan, with its local partner Al-Haj Automotive.
Malaysia High Commissioner to Pakistan Ikram Mohammad Ibrahim said, “Proton felt the potential for its cars in Pakistan is huge, which led to its partnership with Al-Haj Automotive to establish an assembly plant near Karachi in Sindh province. This is significant because it will be Proton’s first (assembly) plant in South Asia because the population of Pakistan is 210 million.”
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan are expected to witness the groundbreaking ceremony tomorrow, as part of Tun Mahathir’s three day official visit to Pakistan.
Back in February, the new generation Proton Saga was seen in Pakistan, possibly hinting that the model could be introduced there.


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Together, Decorex and the Sleep & Eat event hosted an online event focused on hospitality: 17-19 November 2020. To whet the design palate, their platform shares online conferences first shown at Designscape 2020.
In anticipation of the online event, the organizers of the Sleep & Eat event and Decorex put together an ensemble of online conferences originally shown at Designscape 2020. While certain areas of the design world were already shifting, we can expect more change following the current events of 2020. During online conferences, professionals discussed new luxury and the Great Reset in hospitality.
MORE: Of our articles on the Sleep & Eat event here.
New Luxury and Its Many Facets
The conversation on new luxury is promising for some and disappointing for others. The days of simply making objects shine, of displaying one’s wealth, of vaunting one’s antiques, might have come to an end.
“Luxury is subjective today. It’s different for everyone,” said Staffan Tollgard, co-founder of Tollgard Designs. “It’s something everyone can achieve but it will mean different things to them.”
One of the major shifts is in regards to sustainability, according to Karen Howes. Luxury products must be well-made and although such products are often expensive, the high price doesn’t equate well-made, and the same goes for the tag “by hand”.
“By hand doesn’t necessarily mean better made than if it were made by machine. It’s also about originality and uniqueness,” said Karen Howes.
What has changed over the years?
“MBF dipped in gold. We had this thing in the early 90s where we tried to make everything shiny,” said Staffan Tollgard. “Authenticity has become really important now. If it’s an old piece, you understand its heritage. For new pieces, it has a narrative around it. You understand who’s made it, what it is and how it got to you. Uniqueness and authenticity in luxury is something that makes you feel good much more than a branded piece that has a name on it.”
“Luxury is not following a trend but you carving out what luxury is to you,” said Tollgard. Clients don’t necessarily want the same piece as their friend, like before. Now, they want a piece that speaks solely to them.
“With COVID, everyone has had their eyes on their home. Luxury now is being able to work from home in the peace and quiet—alone—inside or in the garden,” said Tollgard.
Space is luxury, according to Karen Howes. Her clients realize this more and more as they request work with requirements that are much different from what they would have been six months ago.
“Clients realize even more that their home is their special place. The home study and dining room had disappeared but they’re now back.”
The younger generation is another story. According to Shalini Misra, their notion is very different from those of the past.
“They don’t see luxury as ostentatious or an accumulation of goods. They use luxury as an adjective to describe some very holistic notions. The luxury of being healthy, creating an atmosphere that’s healthy. The luxury of peace, the quietness that’s coming in because of COVID now. The luxury of being around beautiful surroundings, being in beautiful natural surroundings, this connection between your landscape and interior, how to bring plants and nature inside,” said Shalini Misra.
The current situation has done more than strengthen the alteration of the definition of luxury. It has turned off the switch to past habits for travel.
According to Staffan Tollgard, hospitality has changed and will continue to do so. He has seen that people are viewing travel in different ways and those who have the means are considering buying new vacation homes in which to stay in order to avoid staying in hotels with other people, a concern caused by the COVID scare.
“Those who have had one or two homes are now starting to buy a third or fourth.”
So what is the future of hospitality in the midst of a changed mindset of new luxury?
The Great Reset In Hospitality
The Great Reset is a big word these days. It appeared during the World Economic Forum and now in an online discussion about hospitality. According to the speakers, the marketplace will change and there will be a new set of rules.
We might not see the buffet-style restaurant layout again as people no longer wish to have other people hovering over their food.
What does that mean? Well, the reconfiguration of lobby seating, the restaurant dining area and even guest services—to name a few.
“With the Great Reset, we’re looking at what worked well in our industry, what by force needs to be changed and what is, in time, speeding up,” said Michael Levie, Chief Operations Officer and Founding Partner of CitizenM.
“And I think that an industry that’s already fighting for cap backs—dollars, euros—to have their property shine and look cool, it’s not helping,” continued Michael Levie.
He was not alone in his understanding that investments might not be on their side in regards to the hospitality industry.
“For some time, there isn’t going to be huge investment in new shiny renovations and projects,” said Matt Seal, Senior Director, LUXURY Brands at Marriott International. “The staff is going to be able to, hopefully, fill that gap with genuine service and care of guests.”
Since the COVID wave began in Asia, travel in certain Asian countries has picked up over the last few months. Europe has not yet followed suit, although some travel bans have been lifted and certain cities have benefited slightly.
Ed Bakos, CEO, Champalimaud Design_____Designscape, recently went to Switzerland from New York to oversee a project.
“We’re rethinking what services guests will receive and how.”
In terms of design, according to Bakos, this means what type of seating and arrangement will be used, how the team will go about cleaning and what cleaning program will make people feel more comfortable.
“It’s about physical comfort as well as cleanliness.”
WATCH: The full discussion here. In a collaboration between Decorex and Sleep & Eat, this session was first shown at Designscape 2020.
According to Michael Levie, we can expect to see more digitizing and better use of technology in hotels.
“There’s a change in how service gets delivered,” said Levie.
“There were trends that were emerging,” said Matt Seal, joining Michael Levie on this point. “Technology was already there. It was evolving but it needs to become more app-based, more personal-based rather than built-in technology to guest rooms. We do have apps on which you can book a room, but it needs to go further.”
The idea is to limit human interaction by making some decisions through smart applications, such as ordering meals.
“It’s possibly already there,” continued Matt Seal. “We have some of that in our meeting room apps. We can call up additional coffee or what have you through the app. For some of our hotels, we already have a mobile guest key so you can gain access to the room without going through the formal check-in procedure. There was already a move to roll this out across the world. We are converting many properties over to it. I think this is going to speed it up.”
However, as Ed Bakos mentioned, humans are social creatures so this might not seem to be the greatest long-term solution. The way in which we engineer experiences, even in respect to the current situation, is important: memorable meals, special moments. Social spaces are key.
“There are near-term things that could be done to create distancing or enhance our perception of security within spaces,” said Ed Bakos, “but I do think there will be aspects of this that will continue after,” a certain point.
“As business starts to come back, those who are in the proper locations where there is a minimum need to rely on public transportation or taxis, they’re going to do well,” said Michael Levie.


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JNS Next proudly supports National Plan for Vacation Day (NPVD); a day celebrated on the last Tuesday of January each year. National Plan for Vacation Day is a day dedicated to encourage Americans to plan their vacation days in advance for the entire year. As an agency, our expertise lies within the travel and tourism space, which is why we too have felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and want to encourage others to participate in this national day.
Though many Americans are not ready or able to take a trip just yet, a new study finds that the simple act of booking travel can generate happiness and alleviate the feelings of stress and uncertainty that have undoubtedly come with these unprecedented times. According to the study, 97% of respondents say having a trip planned makes them happier and 84% of respondents say they are excited and willing to plan a vacation in the next six months.
NPVD is joining forces with the Let’s Go There initiative to encourage Americans to still plan, book, or to simply keep their travel flame lit and dream of their next getaway. Whether you’re dreaming of sipping a margarita by a resort pool in Palm Springs, exploring the trails of La Quinta, going wine-tasting in Sonoma Valley or catching a Cowboys game in Arlington, Texas, we hope to inspire you to plan that dream escape now. To further inspire you, JNS Next has created social media and blog content for our travel and tourism clients to share to encourage their viewers to start planning a getaway to their destination today (examples of this content displayed below). Happy planning!


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Android eBook App Aldiko Hits 20 Million Downloads
The Aldiko app has now been downloaded 20 million times. Considering that this does not include premium purchases or pre-installed versions of the app, that is an impressive accomplishment.
Aldiko has a far larger install base on Android than either Barnes & Noble or Kobo, a detail I noted when Aldiko reached 15 million downloads in September 2013, and they’re not the only indie reading app to best the majors. Moon+ Reader also reports downloads in the 10 million to 50 million range (according to Google Play).
Aldiko and Moon+ are two of the most popular reading apps on Android, second only to the Kindle app – and of course Google Play Books. But given that Google has arranged to pre-install Play Books on nearly all certified Android devices (I think it’s a contract requirement), I’m not sure it’s reasonable to include Google when looking at installs as a popularity contest.


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16 search results
Financial Services (FinServ)
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Gareth Wilson, Vice President and head of banking and capital markets, talks us through Capgemini’s role in transformation services
Karen Millen integrates Alipay through Wirecard
Karen Millen stores throughout Europe will now accept Alipay. With over 400 stores and concessions across 63 countries in total worldwide, luxury fash...
PNC to buy BBVA’s US subsidiary for US$11.6bn
Bank holding company PNC has reportedly struck an $11.6bn deal with Spanish BBVA to buy the latter’s subsidiary in the US...
Santander acquires Wirecard’s assets for tech expansion
Banco Santander has released a statement confirming its acquisition of tech assets from insolvent payment processor Wirecard...


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Earlier in June, investors from Argentina commenced plans to build boutique retail on a triangular strip in Brickell. After a $6.5 million sale, the new build is expected to bring more traction to the financial hub of Miami. The development sits at 1101 S. Miami Avenue, and will be built over former CMC Group’s one-story Burckell Flatiron sales center.
Retailers and restaurants are expected to flock to this development, and restaurants from as far as London, Mexico, and Colombia are already making claims to space. The unnamed Argentinian investors will announce the official list of tenants by the end of the year and plan on having their grand opening in late 2023.
Brickell, one of Miami’s fastest-growing communities, currently has 52,000 residents and hundreds of remote and in-office workers who come to the area daily. The neighborhood has long been popular for office workers and corporate employees for the close proximity to great restaurants and shopping centers.
Commercial real estate in Brickell, including business deals that need a corporate law firm in Miami, are at the head of the commercial real estate boom in South Florida. Asking rates for office, industrial, and retail spaces have gone down, while multifamily asking rates stabilized over the last year.
The overall population growth in Miami is another contributor to the current corporate real estate boom. Florida is ranked number four in the nation for the fastest growing population and is projected to reach 23 million residents by 2025. Miami is in the top 50 fastest-growing cities in the country, and its urban area in its entirety is 5.5 million.
For more information on commercial real estate or for an M&A attorney in Miami, please visit Alvarez & Diaz-Silveira online.


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VIRGINIA BEACH — As part of a special Friday the 13th promotion, lawn tickets to the KISS concert at the Virginia Beach Amphitheater will be on sale tomorrow for $10, the promoter Livenation has announced.
The $10 deal will only be good on Friday. No service fees will be added.
KISS will perform at the amphitheater on Friday, Aug. 27.
The $10 tickets will be available through Ticketmaster outlets, at the amphitheater's box office, by phone at (800) 745-3000 or online at livenation.com/virginiabeach.


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Frankie was ranked number 17 in FHM’s 2009 Sexiest Women poll while Zoo named her has having the ‘best bum’. She has also helped with the 2010 autobiography ‘The Saturdays: Our Story’. The Saturdays have been the face of Veet hair removal, Impulse women’s deodorant and Nintendo 3DS game, ‘Nintendogs + Cats’.
Midtown is being added to the name to differentiate this location from the same company’s newest venture, Vin on 5th, scheduled to open later this year. Local pastry chefs Philip Speer of Uchi and Callie Whigham of parkside were married on Aug. 17 in Austin.
Crystal was great. Tim was good too, Andrew did a very different version of his song. The rest were just ok.. Jaime Castaneda, senior vice president of the US Dairy Export Council, said the retaliatory tariffs have been a punch that have left the industry have to put all of this into context, Castaneda said in an email. Have had 3 years of low prices and this fall was looking promising. We were going to get back to profitable margins for the first time in years.
Leicestershire traffic and travel updates from the LeicestershireLive. Tens of thousands of journeys are made each day in the Leicester region as well as millions of journeys by public transport every year. Leicester’s road, rail, air and sea network is constantly evolving to keep up with the daily demand of travellersRoad safety campaigners say 2017 was a ‘remarkable’ year but the trend is continuing this year.
The mistake people make is diligence, staying on top of it. Once weeds become established, you lose the against weeds. I have cacti that attract the red insect that covers it with the white cotton like substance. The H1N1 outbreak in 2009 brought to light a number of incongruences between international, federal, provincial, regional and local pandemic influenza planning. Specifically, it highlighted a lack of clear common communication protocols between all levels of decision makers; demonstrating the need for coordinated pandemic planning that addresses the health, social and economic impacts of an influenza pandemic. Extensive research has been done on pandemic preparedness, and has been used to create many response strategies.
Here in Texas wild strawberries are far and very few between so I have had to go to a Pick Your Own Farm to satisfy my urges for strawberry jam. I have one strawberry plant in my garden and it has given me a handful of fruit so I knew it was time to head out to the Poteet area to get strawberries. What a day.


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Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, in his opening keynote at ILM:10, noted a general frustration with Google’s apparent de-emphasis of Yelp’s content, but said he sees major opportunity in mobile app access as a workaround of Google. Stoppelman showed an example of a 2007 search that showed the vast majority of results coming from Yelp. “We …continue reading »
Our Flagship event: San Francisco Dec. 10-12.
Some of our Great Speakers!
Gavin Newsom, Lt. Governor, California
Kara Swisher, Co-Executive Editor, AllThingsD
Blake Irving, CEO, GoDaddy
Brian Boland, VP, Products, Facebook
Ralf VonSosen, Marketing Leader, LinkedIn
Brendon Kraham, Dir, Global Mobile Solutions, Google
Chris Schroeder, Author, Startup Rising
Jody Ford, VP, Marketplaces, eBay
Patrick Barry, CMO, DemandForce (Intuit)
Mark Roberge, SVP, Hubspot
Denise Chudhy, VP, Weather.com
Sean Smyth, VP, Groupon
Victor Ho, CEO, FiveStars
Audrey Cooper, Managing Editor, The SF Chronicle
Thanks for coming to my personal site. Most of the content on this site is also found on BIA/Kelsey’s Local Media Watch, which includes material from other BIA/Kelsey analysts. I am a Vice President with BIA/Kelsey, and focus on running the company’s conference division, and the Marketplaces research program.


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Emergent is offering a lower-cost license for the latest version of its Gamebryo game engine to the growing casual games sector.
Speaking exclusively to Develop prior to its press conference at Games Convention, Emergent CEO Geoffrey Selzer explained how the new pricing structure has come from observing the growth of the industry.
“Casual means a lot of things to a lot of different people. Casual developers are now doing games on Xbox Live and PSN and WiiWare, and what they’re really trying to do is go after a new market, but they’re still demanding the same type of technology. They’re still going up against all of the same challenges that you do when you’re launching a large-scale game. So this is our attempt to align our interests and the industry’s interests.”
But, posited Selzer, there’s convergence between the traditional gaming market and the casual gaming market not just in terms of the class of game that developers want to create – as time goes on the demands of gamers will similarly rise.
“I think that you’re going to see that that audience is going to have a great deal of demand about quality of visuals and quality of gameplay,” he explained. “How do you access that market without some level of technology solution that enables a rapid evolution of content in that environment? I think that not only are you going to see greater acceptance of middleware [in that market], but also greater demand, so the real trick is to evolve the economic models that make sense for both sides.”
In fact, the company thinks that the casual game development market has been entirely underserved when it comes to middleware. “I think people have thought that they could provide a watered-down version of their technology to that market and it’s going to serve them,” said Emergent’s marketing and communications manager Erin Dwyer.
“One of the things we wanted to make sure we did was that we didn’t water down the technology, but we created custom pricing models and structures around it so that it fits their budget and their timeline. They’re not necessarily making less of a game, it’s just that there’s different constraints and obstructions in their way.”
So while there may not be a glut of normal-mapped casual games right now, by providing those developers with tools used by big-budget boys, and adding in the partner tech integration possibilities such as Allegorithmic’s ProFX or Scaleform’s GFx, Emergent is hoping to get ahead of the game and kick-start the broadening of the already-vague ‘casual’ label – and, in turn, uncover a market ripe for tapping by middleware companies.


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Subaru sets million-vehicle annual sales target by 2021
Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI), parent company of Subaru, has just released its latest global business plan which establishes some fairly heady goals for the automaker -- including raising its worldwide volume figure from 657,000 to one million units by early next decade. The U.S. has been targeted to play a pivotal role in the success of this undertaking, as FHI's "Motion-V" five-year interim plan calls for Subaru's numbers here to rise from 264,000 to 380,000 by 2016. China is viewed as the other key country of opportunity in Subaru's quest to boost global sales to 900,000 during that period.
Using principles laid out in the Motion-V plan, FHI anticipates broadening the scope and raising the profile of the Subaru brand. This will come as the result of further leveraging its involvement with Toyota Motor Corporation and implementing other policies aimed at bringing about greater manufacturing efficiencies and technological advances intended to lower production costs by some 20 percent while increasing across-the-board fuel economy by an average of 30 percent. Under Motion-V's guiding principle "Confidence in Motion," Subaru also plans to press forward aggressively on the safety and environmental fronts. As for new product, in addition to the sport coupe it is co-developing with Toyota, the firm plans to launch two other all-new models as well as its first hybrid offering in 2013.


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Extortion using fake Facebook accounts on the rise
Kozhikode: More cases of extorting money from Facebook users by creating their fake accounts is being reported.
The fraud takes place after a fake account is created using the profile picture of a real user. The fraudsters will then contact the friends of the real user and ask them for money. Several such cases have been reported.
Kerala Police had issued a warning in September regarding certain fraudsters extorting money through Facebook. The warning was issued after fake accounts of retired police officers were created and money was extorted from their family and friends.
Usually, the money is asked in the pretext of an emergency. Those who send the money online will realise that they were cheated only when they contact the real person.
A Kozhikode native received a similar message from the fake account of one of his friends asking for money for an emergency medical purpose. However, he got suspicious with the use of polished English. He came to know of the fraud when he called his real friend and enquired about the matter.