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Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB – Get Rating) by 5.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,855 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 355 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kontoor Brands were worth $283,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kontoor Brands by 552.5% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 659 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Kontoor Brands by 81.7% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its stake in Kontoor Brands by 1,387.1% during the first quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 2,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 2,150 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Kontoor Brands by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 5,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Kontoor Brands by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. 99.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages have issued reports on KTB. TheStreet upgraded shares of Kontoor Brands from a “c” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Friday, May 13th. William Blair cut shares of Kontoor Brands to a “hold” rating and set a $43.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, July 25th. Williams Capital reissued a “downgrade” rating on shares of Kontoor Brands in a report on Monday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Kontoor Brands from $41.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Kontoor Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $40.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.83.
Kontoor Brands Stock Up 1.5 %
Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 5th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $679.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $655.65 million. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 8.46% and a return on equity of 138.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.
Kontoor Brands Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 9th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 8th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.97%. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.83%.
About Kontoor Brands
Kontoor Brands, Inc, a lifestyle apparel company, designs, manufactures, procures, markets, and distributes denim, apparel, and accessories under the Wrangler, Lee, and Rock & Republic brands in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Wrangler and Lee. The company sells its products primarily through mass merchants, specialty stores, mid-tier and traditional department stores, company-operated stores, and online.
- Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Kontoor Brands (KTB)
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It can be hard to keep track of all the changes happening in the Disney World hotels. But, missing an update can make for some big (and unwelcome) surprises when you check-in.
Most recently, we’ve seen Chef Mickey reopen at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, MAJOR changes to the menu and atmosphere at Narcoossee’s in Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, and updated rooms start to open at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn (plus a new coffee shop joined the party in the lobby!). And, now we’ve got an update on another restaurant at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort.
Back in January, it was rumored that Trail’s End Restaurant at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort would be closing. And — it’s official — as of today, April 17th, the table service restaurant is officially CLOSED for refurbishment.
And, by “refurbishment,” we mean it’ll never be the same.
According to Disney, the restaurant will reopen in summer 2023 as a marketplace-style quick service restaurant, NOT a sit-down restaurant. We’ll be on the lookout for more details as they are released.
Now, if you have a stay booked at Disney’s Fort Wilderness booked for the coming months, don’t panic! There are still plenty of other dining options here including P&J’s Southern Takeout and The Chuck Wagon food truck. Plus, there’s also the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue if you’re in the mood for a dinner show!
This closure will not impact any other restaurant at the hotel.
So, get ready for some new food at Disney’s Fort Wilderness soon! Stay tuned to The VacationEAR for the latest on this restaurant and other Disney hotel news!

domain: news


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Volkswagen Beijing Concept previews 2017 Touareg
Source : Volkswagen Beijing Concept previews 2017 Touareg
plug-in hybrid propulsion system concept previews, information along with also entertainment complex of the VW next generation of SUVs
Although Volkswagen refused to comment, the idea seems almost certain that will the concept previews the next generation of Touareg , which is actually scheduled to be launched next year.
uses a plug-in hybrid generating power that will produces 381bhp along with also 516 lb-ft of torque, along with also can run in full electric mode for up to 50 miles. within the most economical situation, This particular concept is actually also capable of more than 94mpg combined.
On the contrary, within the fastest way for the concept can accelerate by 0-62mph in six seconds along with also onto a top speed of 139mph, which refers to the next Touareg along with also be more efficient along with also faster than the current car.
as the idea will probably get information along with also entertainment sophisticated completely new system, because Beijing VW says the concept is actually characterized by a curved glass screen along with also internal digitalised dramatically. With This particular in mind, we can expect to see the design of the dash clean with very few buttons.
look at the overall philosophy of the automobile develops a completely new design Tiguan on a larger platform, with angular lines lights along with also wide shoulder straps crucial features of the automobile.
the automobile will make its world debut in Beijing in 2016 exhibition, which opens its doors on April April 25.
by Autocar via RSS


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Medical services disruption escalates with 27 surgeries canceled
[Editorial] Deepfake risks in election
US unveils new major sanctions package for Russia's war against Ukraine, Navalny's death
[Robert J. Fouser] Turning Seoul’s dead streams into parks
Temple that housed book on Hangeul launches Hangeul awareness group
Samsung Galaxy S returns with faster, more eco-friendly design
Tech giant holds first in-person unveiling event for flagship phones after 3 years of pandemic disruptionsBy Jie Ye-eun
Published : Feb. 2, 2023 - 03:00
SAN FRANCISCO -- Samsung Electronics on Wednesday unveiled its flagship Galaxy S23 smartphone lineup equipped with upgraded camera functions, faster processors and even sustainable features, touting it “the most powerful S series ever.”
The South Korean tech giant held the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2023 event at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco, with some 2,000 journalists and industry people in attendance. It was the first in-person unveiling of the S series phones after three years of pandemic disruptions.
The world’s largest smartphone maker in terms of shipments showed confidence in repeating the success story of its S series, consisting of three models -- the standard S23 with a 6.1-inch screen, the S23 Plus with a 6.6-inch screen and the largest S23 Ultra with a 6.8-inch screen.
The latest phones have drastically improved overall functions of camera and processor. Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chips, in particular, are designed to offer a more powerful mobile gaming experience, the company said.
Using artificial intelligence technologies, the enhanced camera system also allows optimal camera performance at night or low-light conditions, not to mention the enhanced selfie function. Of the quad camera module, the main 200-megapixel camera has been almost doubled from the 108-megapixel camera of the previous S22 smartphone.
Enhanced sustainability is another key feature of the new model. More environmentally friendly materials are used in the Galaxy S23 phones and their packaging as part of efforts to help tackle climate change, the company said.
"Consumers will not have to worry about choosing between performance and sustainability," Samsung’s mobile chief Roh Tae-moon said during the event. “Samsung Electronics will continue to introduce innovative products that can contribute to the Earth with the best performance in the future."
The company got rid of the sleek contour-cut outer design for the S23 Plus and S23 models. As for color choices for the S23 series, customers can choose from four colors: phantom black, cream, green and lavender. This year’s signature color is green.
More color options of graphite, sky blue, red and lime will be added for the Galaxy S23 Ultra, while graphite and lime will be available for the S23 and S23 Plus models for customers who will purchase the devices from the company’s official online shopping mall.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra model’s price ranges from around 1.59 million won ($1,292) to 1.96 million won depending on the size of the storage units. The price of the Galaxy S23 has been set to between 1.15 million-1.27 million won, while the Galaxy S23 Plus is priced between 1.35 million won and 1.47 million won.
In the meantime, Samsung's latest flagship laptops deployed the Book series' first Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, a new generation of AMOLED displays that has been used for Galaxy smartphones.
Samsung's flagship laptop lineup comes in three models -- the high-end Galaxy Book 3 Ultra, the standard Galaxy Book 3 Pro and Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360, a two-in-one laptop with a 360-degree hinge that flips from PC to tablet in a snap.
The Book 3 laptops also supports the multicontrol function, where users can control either their Galaxy phones or tablets using the laptop's keyboard and mouse.
By Jie Ye-eun
Korea Herald correspondent
Major hospitals experience disruptions as junior doctors' walkout enters 5th day
Parents of 7 first to receive W10m for childbirth in Seoul
FM Cho meets with UNESCO chief in Brazil


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Last week Optus announced it had begun selling plans for two more 5G-enabled phones – the Samsung S10 5G and the Oppo Reno 5G ” which brings its suite of 5G devices to three, including the Samsung Note 10+ 5G which drops in October.
On the surface this seems exciting, until you consider its 5G network is far from being completed. Despite these devices being sold to customers, Optus mobile 5G doesn’t even work indoors yet.
The disclaimer at the end of the most recent 5G press release states: “In-building 5G coverage is not currently available. Local conditions, including number of users, building materials and terrain may impact your ability to connect to the Optus 5G network and the speed you experience.”
In other words, the 5G capability on the phones does not work indoors.
However, this information is far less forthcoming on the telco’s own website. The lack of indoor coverage isn’t mentioned anywhere on the Optus 5G landing page ” even under the ‘coverage’ section.
Similarly, under ‘When and where will 5G be available?’ in the FAQ section of the landing page, there is no mention of the inability to connect to 5G indoors.
“Optus 5G will be progressively rolled out in limited areas of selected suburbs. When it is available, to access the Optus 5G network you will need a compatible device and Optus plan. Outside of 5G coverage areas, compatible devices will switch to the Optus 4G or 3G Network,” the site reads.
Here is the information contained on the 5G landing page at the time of writing:
It isn’t until you click on the ‘Coverage Map’ button that the issue is divulged in a pop-up.
When it comes to 5G-enabled device plans, the information regarding indoor coverage is once again buried in the terms and conditions:
It also appears like a full Optus mobile 5G rollout may be further away than initially anticipated.
Since Optus announced it would be carrying the Samsung S10+ 5G back in early August, the telco has been stating there would be more 5G news in the coming months.
Similarly, its most recent press release stated there would be further announcements regarding Optus’ 5G mobile plans “in the coming weeks”.
These statements, along with the release of three 5G phones implies that an official 5G network rollout is most likely happening soon.
This implication, as well as the buried coverage information, could very well entice people to grab one of these devices now on the assumption that they would have access to mobile 5G soon.
However, Gizmodo Australia understands the antenna systems that support in-building connectivity are older, don’t support 5G and aren’t likely to be upgraded until mid-next year. It is also understood that by the time Optus’ 5G rollout has been completed, the in-building coverage issue will be sorted.
This delay isn’t particularly surprising, as Optus has been focusing much of its 5G energy on fixed wireless. However, the telco won’t comment officially on timings regarding the rollout or exactly when people can expect its mobile 5G to work indoors.
“We have not disclosed details of our full roadmap as this remains confidential as it relates to in-building coverage. In-building coverage is only one element of our network rollout,” an Optus spokesperson said in an email to Gizmodo Australia.
If in-building coverage isn’t currently available, and most likely won’t be for quite some time, it begs the question – what is the justification for selling 5G phone plans?
Telstra released its first 5G-enabled device into market in May, so Optus might simply be trying to compete with the rival telco. Telstra also has patchy indoor 5G service, but currently has a more developed network than Optus. This is evident in their coverage map.
“Optus is excited to be offering the latest high-performance smartphones that will be 5G-capable mobile phones on some of the most competitive plans in market. Optus continues to focus on rolling out its 5G network with close to 200 mobile sites live. We will make further announcements on our 5G mobile plans coming weeks,” Optus’ Head of Product, Shawn Van Graan said in a press release.
One could argue that people may want a device that is future proofed — especially since they are the cheapest phones in market. There’s a chance they wouldn’t even notice or care about the difference between 4G and 5G speeds just yet. This is the story that is often spun to justify the general lack of high-speed internet in Australia. But if this was the case, you might as well opt for one of the non-5G variants.
The Oppo Reno, Samsung S10 5G and Samsung Note+ 5G all have non-5G models available, and there is very little difference between them.
Considering that similar devices are available on cheaper plans and the lack of official information available right now, we would recommend holding off buying a plan for an Optus ‘5G-enabled’ device. In the very least, you should wait until the telco divulges something more concrete about its plans and timeline for its 5G mobile network.
As Optus said itself, it will have more in the coming weeks, and we’re certainly curious about what it has to say about it all.


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Microsoft still doesn’t reveal how well its consoles are selling, but the firm posted strong Xbox Live and Xbox Game Pass numbers in the most recent quarter.
“The launch of the Xbox Series X and Series S was the most successful in our history, with the most devices ever sold in a launch month,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in his post-earnings conference call comments. “We are gaining console share, as gamers recognize the value of our broader ecosystem.”
OK, so no hard numbers. It’s been that way for over 6 years.
But there were some new numbers. Mr. Nadella also pointed out that the total Xbox Live subscriber base had surpassed 100 million monthly active users, but he didn’t delineate between paying (Xbox Live Gold) and non-paying users.
And Xbox Game Pass, overall—remember, it consists of a family of three different subscriptions at various price levels—surpassed 18 million subscribers, up from 15 million in the previous sequential quarter.
Overall, Xbox had a fantastic quarter, but then of course it did: Microsoft launched two new consoles in the quarter for the first time ever, and in its first major console launch since 2013. And 2020 will go down as that one outlier on the video gaming growth chart, with gaming sales skyrocketing thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
And Microsoft did supply a bit of data about its videogame business overall. Gaming revenue was up 51 percent year-over-year (YOY). Xbox content and services revenues were up 40 percent YOY. This growth will continue for the short term as Microsoft meets overwhelming demand for the hard-to-find new consoles. Microsoft expects gaming revenue growth in the current quarter to hit roughly 40 percent, with Xbox content and services revenue in the mid-20 percent range.
Also interesting is how Nadella tried to paint this one-off time-period as some kind of broader consumer strategy and presence.
“We are pleased with the overall growth in our consumer subscriptions,” he said. “With Game Pass and more than 47 million Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers, we have a large and growing consumer subscription business. And we see significant growth opportunity in both these segments as they move to services and on-demand models.”
Tagged with Xbox Game Pass


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Access to law enforcement portals operated by Google, Meta, Tik Tok and Kodex Global is being sold online for $200–$500 per request or $5000+ for full account access. Binance, which uses Kokex to manage law enforcement data requests, has reassured users that their accounts remain safe, but fears remain over the potential for data leaks.
Kodex is an online portal designed to streamline communication between law enforcement agencies and businesses that hold sensitive customer data, helping them to efficiently and compliantly manage subpoenas and search warrants.
While some large companies like Google and Meta have built custom request portals, Kodex is used by financial technology companies including Binance, Coinbase, Fidelity and Stripe. It is also the preferred platform for the likes of Discord, LinkedIn, Tinder and more.
Access to Kodex was first advertised on Breach Forums on Friday, February 2. Although CCN has not verified their authenticity, screenshots shared by the seller Tamagami appear to show the user interface through which government employees make requests. What’s more, overwhelmingly positive responses on Breach – a well-known cybercrime forum – suggest that the offering is legitimate.
In comments made to CCN, however, a Kodex spokeswoman explained that the platform has safeguards in place to prevent abuse by compromised accounts.
“[We] operate under the assumption that access to a law enforcement email address is insufficient verification to trust someone because compromised email domains are a well-known threat,” she said.
Discussing the service being advertised online, she observed that “multiple flags were tripped in our system to suspend the account before any requests were sent.” The screenshots advertised online only show incomplete processes and there is “no evidence that a request was actually sent or that any data was ever returned,” she added.
Responding to news that Kodex access was being sold online, Binance stated that “our security team has assessed this,” and has confirmed that “there is no such leak from Binance systems. The crypto exchange’s customer support desk added that “user accounts remain safe.”
Binance’s apparent lack of concern could perhaps be explained by the fact that this isn’t the first time Kodex access has appeared for sale online.
While Binance and other Kodex users remain tight-lipped on the precise details of how they manage such incidents, so far, there is no evidence suggesting compromised accounts have led to any significant increases in fraud. As Kodex has noted, just because a service is offered, doesn’t mean illegitimate requests have been fulfilled.
That being said, criminals gaining access to a platform that is meant to be reserved for government agencies – even if their data requests are ultimately denied – is nonetheless alarming.


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Codugh has gone from fledgling start-up to groundbreaking innovator in less than three years. The key to its success is the Australian company’s development of fungible tokens that can seamlessly be exchanged for fiat currency.
In August, Codugh launched a CUSD token that runs within the company’s platform. Once users sign up for a Codugh wallet, they can convert U.S. dollars into one of seven cryptocurrencies: BSV, BTC, ETH, XLM, LTC, AXS and USDT. With more expected soon, Codugh CEO and co-founder Shashank Singhal says.
“The beauty of CUSD now that it has been implemented is that someone can have a fiat experience when using a cryptocurrency. That means you no longer have to be dealing with the fluctuations of the crypto market,” says Singhal, who launched Codugh in 2019 and won a CoinGeek Hackathon that year. “No one else in the world can do this.”
With CUSD, the base unit is $0.0001 USD, which facilitates microtransactions that will open new opportunities to reach consumers in developing economies and also for content creators to earn revenue in increments. Codugh (pronounced “co-dah”, a slang pronunciation for computer “coder”) is an API marketplace where software developers can exchange rights to use their coded scripts in return for digital currency. When developers license their APIs they can request payments, for the equivalent of as little as a fraction of a cent.
Codugh has its own digital wallet solution and customers who open an account can transfer their cryptocurrency from another existing wallet, such as Coinbase, to fund their Codugh activities. With its ability to integrate cryptocurrency into a user’s existing life, Codugh is positioned to be at the forefront of the digital cash economy that is rapidly changing how people bank and do business.
The innovation that makes CUSD possible is STAS. Codugh has utilized STAS to develop its token and build a seamless fiat-to-cryptocurrency exchange that is unique in the world.
“STAS is completely permissionless and that’s really important in this space. If you compare CUSD to USDC, you notice that USDC has been freezing a lot of coins if its monitors feel there has been suspicious activity. But with STAS you can’t do that. It runs natively on the BSV blockchain. The only way to freeze a transaction is if a group of miners decide to not mine that transaction. Running natively on BSV is the biggest advantage of STAS, because there are no extra steps that you get in Layer-1 or Layer-2, or any shenanigans that you have to put up with. And that’s the power of the decentralized ecosystem and the original vision of the blockchain,”
Singhal points out.
“All the miners will collaborate and if you’re not doing anything illegal then your activity isn’t stalled.”
The next steps for Codugh are to roll CUSD out into many more jurisdictions, which Singhal expects to happen within six months.
“Tech-wise, we’re 100 percent there,”
“We’re just waiting on some regulatory decisions but by the end of 2023, we believe we will have maximum coverage for our product.”


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Hello and welcome to another instalment of This Week in Retail. Our intrepid TWIR reporters have combed the internet to give this week’s issue a distinctly international flavour, as we look at the latest retail trends in Hong Kong, Russia, the US and Australia. If all that sounds a bit too exciting, then don’t worry – we also have a story about £2 bras from Primark.
But first, let’s touchdown in China, where the general population are recovering from the annual online shopping frenzy that is Singles’ Day, which took place on Monday. This year’s edition churned out some staggering figures that make the upcoming Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend look more like a village hall car boot sale in comparison. Here’s a few eye-watering stats:
- Chinese consumers racked up 1 billion USD up in sales in the first 68 seconds
- The day ended with a record 38.4 billion USD in total sales, up 26% from 2018
- 90% of orders were placed using smartphones
- 200,000 brands from 78 countries participated in the event
- Alibaba’s cloud platform was processing 540,000 transactions per second at one point on Monday morning
- Greenpeace estimates that 250,000 tons of waste packaging will be generated – that’s an awful lot of carbon to offset
While discount-weary Western retailers and consumers have cooled towards Black Friday in the last couple of years, the Singles’ Day phenomenon shows no sign of abating in China, despite national economic growth slowing to a 30-year low. While Black Friday-Cyber Monday is essentially about retailers offloading big-ticket white goods and high-end technology items before Christmas (with high initial margins leaving room for heavy discounts), the reach of Singles’ Day seems a lot broader. Some consumers are taking the opportunity to make a “lifestyle upgrade” purchase, while others are simply stocking up on essentials – a year’s supply of shampoo anyone? Everything is discounted, from Porsches to toilet roll. As ever with Chinese consumers, luxury brands are front and centre on Singles’ Day. After a successful foray this year, Burberry may look to reorient itself further towards the China mainland and away from political unrest and economic uncertainty in Hong Kong, where 8% of Burberry’s total global sales are currently generated.
E-commerce is also catching on in Russia, where a 26% expansion in the online shopping market this year alone has seen retailers like Ozon, Wildberries and Apteka.ru enjoy remarkable success, despite the logistical challenges of operating in such a huge and sparsely populated country. Similar logistical challenges in the US could explain Amazon’s slowly-but-surely approach to entering the grocery market, with speculation that it is struggling to adapt its supply chain network of enormous out-of-town distribution centres to the shorter lead time demands of grocery. Amazon snapped up Wholefoods back in 2017 but the anticipated clicks-to-bricks ultra-convenient grocery revolution has not yet materialised, with only a handful of Amazon Go stores currently operating worldwide.
Back in the UK, Lidl has announced ambitious plans to open another 230 new stores over the next three years. The decisiveness and clear market strategy of Lidl and its great rival Aldi have pushed their combined market share up to 13.9%, with the big four falling from 68.8% last autumn to 67.6% this year. Stiff competition back home has encouraged Sainsbury’s to look to new international markets, this week announcing a strategic sourcing partnership with Australian supermarket Coles. With the squeeze well and truly on, Christmas will be more important than ever for the big four, who will be gearing themselves up to grab as big a chunk as possible of the £11bn expected to be spent on groceries in December in the UK. As is now tradition, John Lewis has fired the festive starting gun and the race is on!
Consultant, Retail Supply Chain (Operations Transformation)
Ed has a proven track record of helping multiple major international retailers through large scale business transformation programmes, with a strong interest and recognised expertise in Business Process Design, across Grocery and GM.
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Salt-filled sandwiches! Lunches from High Street chains have same amount as ten packets of crispsWrap from EAT contained 4.8g of salt while Pret a Manger wrap had 4.6gA 32.5g bag of Walkers Ready Salted crisps contained less than 0.5gResearchers found high salt levels in more than half of 664 tested dishesThree Pizza Hut dishes contained maximum daily allowance of 6g of saltAverage salt consumption in UK is 8.1g amid calls for suppliers to cut levels
23:00 GMT, 12 March 2013
23:18 GMT, 12 March 2013
Sandwiches sold by leading High Street food chains contain as much salt as ten bags of crisps, health campaigners have warned.
A Peking duck wrap from EAT was found to contain 4.8g of salt, while a Swedish meatball hot wrap from Pret a Manger contained 4.6g of salt.
In contrast, a 32.5g bag of Walkers Ready Salted crisps contained less than 0.5g of salt.
High levels: A Swedish meatball hot wrap from Pret a Manger contained 4.6g of salt according to a study carried out by Consensus Action on Salt and Health
Tests: Study by Consensus Action on Salt and Health found high salt levels in more than half of 664 tested dishes. A Peking duck wrap from EAT was found to contain 4.8g of salt
Research by health campaigners found
high salt levels – more than a third of the recommended daily intake –
in over half of 664 tested dishes, with many restaurants as guilty as
popular sandwich chains.
study published by Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash) found
that three different dishes from Pizza Hut contained more than the
entire maximum daily recommended allowance of 6g.
Average salt consumption in the UK is 8.1g a day.
health minister Anna Soubry has called on food suppliers to cut the
amount of salt they use to reduce deaths from heart disease and stroke.
The proposed strategy will create stricter salt limits for manufacturers of convenience foods such as sandwiches and microwave meals.
Meanwhile, fish and chip shops and other takeaway food outlets will be given maximum levels of salt that can be sprinkled on each serving in a bid to limit consumption.
The minister boasted that Britain is a
‘world-leader’ in salt reduction, with a 15 per cent drop in
consumption in the past decade, but more ‘needs to be done to reach our
goal of no more than 6g a day’.
Miss Soubry said: ‘We need more companies pledging to reduce salt levels, particularly in the catering and take away sector.
is because eating too much salt can have a serious impact on people’s
health.’ The Department of Health wants more companies to sign up to its
A spokesman for Pret said: ‘Pret is committed to meeting the Food Standard Agency’s targets.’
EAT has also signed the salt-reduction pledge.
a national scandal that there is still so much salt in our food,’ said
Professor Graham MacGregor, of Cash. ‘Salt puts up our blood pressure,
and as a result, thousands of people die unnecessarily each year from
strokes, heart attacks and heart failure.’
High: Three different dishes from Pizza Hut contained more than the entire maximum daily recommended allowance of 6g


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Blockchain fintech we.commerce, which manufacturers itself as “a digital one cease store” for provide chain commerce, is shutting down its operations.
In keeping with Irish Unbiased, the corporate has proposed to nominate PwC as a liquidator.
The enterprise – “the world’s first enterprise-grade blockchain-enabled commerce finance platform” – was arrange in 2017 by 12 banks, who’re shareholders. These embrace CaixaBank, Deutsche Financial institution, Erste Group, HSBC, KBC, Nordea, Rabobank, Santander, Societe Generale, UBS and UniCredit.
It was commercially launched in 2019.
Based mostly on Hyperledger, we.commerce affords to attach small and medium companies (SMBs) to banks, by streamlining historically paper-based transaction duties akin to letters of credit score and the financing for cross-border and worldwide commerce.
The corporate additionally gives merchants with entry to insurance coverage, credit standing, financing and logistics providers, and the community itself can be utilized as a search engine for brand new companions.
IBM joined the consortium in 2020 and took a 7% stake within the enterprise.
The enterprise continued to battle, nevertheless, and half of its workforce was laid off later that yr.
The corporate says its know-how is at present licensed by 16 banks throughout 15 international locations. Amongst licensees are UniCredit in Germany, EuroBank in Greece, and ČSOB, Komerční Banka and Česká Spořitelna within the Czech Republic.


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Spotify is facing a $1.6 billion lawsuit from Wixen Music Publishing, the publisher that represents artists like Tom Petty, Missy Elliot, Stevie Nicks and Neil Young, The Hollywood Reporter first reported. The suit, filed December 29, alleges copyright infringement, specifically alleging Spotify is using thousands of its songs without a proper license. The lawsuit seeks at least $1.6 billion in damages and injunctive relief.
Before Spotify launched in the U.S., the company made deals with major record labels to obtain the appropriate rights to the sound recording copyrights in the songs, the lawsuit states. What Spotify failed to do, according to the lawsuit, was “obtain the equivalent rights for the compositions.”
The lawsuit goes on to say, “As a result, Spotify has built a billion dollar business on the backs of songwriters and publishers whose music Spotify is using, in many cases without obtaining and paying for the necessary licenses,” the lawsuit alleges.
Wixen also alleges Spotify has “knowingly, intentionally, and repeatedly” reproduced those songs over the internet to California residents.
This suit comes following a proposed $43 million settlement involving music rights holders and Spotify in a class-action lawsuit, Ferrick v. Spotify. That suit, Wixen alleges, “does not adequately compensate Wixen or the songwriters it represents.”
In that settlement, Spotify admitted to failing to obtain necessary statutory licenses to reproduce and/or distribute musical compositions on its platform, the lawsuit says.
“Consequently, while Spotify has become a multibillion dollar company, songwriters and their publishers, such as Wixen, have not been able to fairly and rightfully share in Spotify’s success, as Spotify has in many cases used their music without a license and without compensation,” the lawsuit states.
I’ve reached out to Spotify and Wixen. I’ll update this story if I hear back. The case is Wixen Music Publishing, Inc. v Spotify USA.


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PETROL prices could go up for the first time in 10 months following a sharp fall in the value of the Turkish lira this week, which saw the British pound almost hit 5TL – but a Price Stabilisation Fund could be used to avert this and other hikes.
For more see Cyprus Today... In shops now!
Attention! Any person who sends any financial, legal, criminal, administrative liability content resulting from criminal, illegal, threatening, offensive, insulting, profane, humiliating, degrading, vulgar, pornographic, anti-moral, Member / Member's.


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Credrails Raises Seed Funding Round
The Kenyan Open Finance Infrastructure Startup is building the open finance rails for Africa, connecting bank, mobile money and offline data into a single API that it then exposes to other businesses to build a variety of use cases, such as lending analytics, KYC and KYB.
Credrails has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding as it works towards connecting the whole of Africa to its API.
This API connected every African country, allowing developers to build for Africa with ease and quickly. The startup already has physical operations in Nigeria, and has access to 250 million accounts in 33 countries. It is working towards connecting all of Africa, a goal boosted by an undisclosed amount of seed funding secured last month. Investors include SoftBank and Unicorn Growth, as well as Samos Ventures and Precursor.
Clara Odero, Credrails CEO and Co-founder, told Disrupt Africa. “The future of financial services rests on developers’ ability to build revolutionary products whilst rapidly improving existing offerings. Credrails enables these with open and robust access to rich data sources. Credrails solutions also promote interoperability across services, leading to faster and more affordable movement of money around Africa and beyond.”
“Credrails exists to make it easier to access the entire African market, versus the top four or five markets on the continent, by connecting each country’s financial services into a single API. We are getting a lot of requests from customers as well from across markets, and we are using that to plan our growth,” Odero said.
Credrails has seen 400 per cent month-on-month growth since it launched in August 2020, and plans to be active in five markets by the end of 2022.


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Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc Expects 2019 to Be a “Year of Extraordinary Growth”
Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc (OTCMKTS:EMHTF, CVE:EMH) is an under-the-radar cannabis company that is finally coming into its own. Along with having many supply agreements, great revenue growth in the past quarter, and rising sales, Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc is increasing its production capacity and continuing to find new ways to improve.
EMHTF stock is up 31% year-to-date and continues to have great momentum. The Emerald Health Therapeutics stock price should soar in the second half of the year, with momentum carrying on into 2020. When it comes to value, few cannabis companies can beat Emerald Health right now.
Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc Overview
Emerald Health is a diamond in the rough. The company is a licensed producer and seller of cannabis and cannabis oil for the medical and recreational markets in Canada. (Source: “Emerald Health Therapeutics
Corporate Presentation,” Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc, last accessed May 16, 2019.)
A vertically integrated, seed-to-sale company, Emerald is helmed by one of the industry’s most experienced and qualified management teams in life sciences, cannabis cultivation, large-scale agri-business.
And it has a lot to oversee. Emerald’s 50/50 joint venture, Pure Sunfarms Corporation, includes two 1.1-million-square-foot licensed commercial production facilities with a combined production capacity of 150,000 kilograms (roughly 330,700 pounds), with targeted costs below $1.00 per gram.
Pure Sunfarms completed planting the final quadrants of its 1.1-million-square-foot Delta 3 greenhouse in April, which will reach its full production rate of 165,350 pounds per annum by mid-2019.
Subsequent to the end of 2018, Pure Sunfarms acquired the nearly identical 1.1-million-square-foot Delta 2 facility and is moving forward to convert the facility.
Once completed, it will at least double annual cannabis production to roughly 330,700 pounds. The first harvest at Delta 2 is expected to be completed in mid-2020 with full run-rate production in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Emerald also entered into an agreement with Pure Sunfarms to purchase 25% of cannabis production from 2020–2022.
Quebec-based Verdélite is the company’s 88,000-square-foot purpose-built licensed cannabis production facility, with 23 independent growing rooms, 200 cannabis strains, and 12 processing and packaging rooms.
With a growing capacity of 5,000 kilograms (roughly 11,025 pounds), this subsidiary is expected to be in full production by mid-2019.
Emerald has provincial and territorial supply agreements in place to sell its cannabis products in nine provinces and territories in Canada. These agreements cover roughly 95% of the Canadian population. Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc is working on shoring up the rest of the country.
Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc Stock
|EMHTF Stock Information|
|Market Cap||$392.6 million|
|Shares Outstanding||136.9 Million|
|50-Day Moving Average||$2.93|
|200-Day Moving Average||$2.69|
(Source: “Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc. (EMHTF),” Yahoo! Finance, last accessed May 16, 2019.)
Like the broader market, Emerald Health Therapeutics stock took a big hit during the fourth quarter sell-off. The company has had a better go of it in 2019, up 31% year-to-date.
Chart courtesy of StockCharts.com
But it’s not really EMHTF stock’s current price that’s exciting; it’s what is coming up for Emerald, as mentioned in the previous section. All of that should help Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc boost its revenue in the second half of 2019.
Fourth-Quarter Revenue Triples Year-Over-Year
On May 1, Emerald Health announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2019.
Fourth-quarter revenue of $1.1 million was more than triple the prior quarter and year-over-year. First-quarter 2019 sales were even higher, at $2.6 million. (Source: “Emerald Health Therapeutics Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2018 Financial Results; Highlights Sales Growth in Q1 2019,” Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc, May 1, 2019.)
Fourth-quarter revenue from the company’s Pure Sunfarms joint venture came in at $4.9 million, with first-quarter sales expected to top $14.0 million. Emerald recorded $1.4 million of income from Pure Sunfarms in the fourth quarter.
Emerald’s fourth-quarter net loss swelled to $13.9 million ($0.10 per share). In the fourth quarter of 2017, Emerald posted a net loss of $4.0 million ($0.04 per share).
During the fourth quarter, Emerald completed its first shipments of recreational cannabis to British Columbia, Newfoundland, and Labrador. In 2019, it has delivered its first shipments to Ontario, Alberta, Yukon, and Prince Edward Island.
The company completed its first shipment of cannabidiol (CBD) oil for the recreational market in April 2019 and expects its cannabis oils to be a significant source of revenue in 2019.
Avtar Dhillon, MD, President, and Executive Chairman commented:
By further building upon our intellectual property and strategic partnerships, as well as our own internal expertise, we are working hard to increase market penetration through the development of new and differentiated ingestible and non-combustible products if, as expected, they become allowable before the end of 2019. This will coincide with the ongoing and substantial expansion of the adult-use retail system – creating significant opportunity for the company in 2019 and what we anticipate to be a year of extraordinary sales growth for Emerald.
Everything is in place for Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc to become one of the leading low-cost cannabis players in Canada. Its fourth-quarter revenue growth was great but the near term holds even greater promise.
In addition to selling significantly larger quantities of recreational cannabis, Emerald is developing ingestible and non-combustible products. It believes this will create a significant opportunity for the company in 2019, which will “be a year of extraordinary sales growth.” (Source: Ibid.)


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British luxury car brand Jaguar Land Rover is in a race against time. As the British government put an immediate bailout for the car maker on hold, the company’s Indian owner stepped in to make a capital injection.
Tata Motors has reportedly agreed to inject “tens of millions of pounds” immediately into Jaguar, giving the British government more breathing space to come up with its own rescue package.
“Tata invested more than 1.0 billion pounds [$1.5 billion] to buy Jaguar Land Rover and it has provided hundreds of millions in funding ever since,” said a Jaguar spokesman, who refused to confirm the injection of capital.
United Kingdom Business Secretary Peter Mandelson said the government had already engaged in talks with the Indian-owned company about offering state help. (See “Jaguar Land Rover Driving For Dough.”) He also said the U.K. government was not offering an “open checkbook” for the industry.
Jaguar Land Rover, which Tata bought for $2.3 billion (based on historic exchange rates) in June, has been cutting production at its three main factories in the United Kingdom, where it employs 16,000 people.
Some analysts have argued that Jaguar Land Rover is a key contributor to the U.K. economy and say bankruptcy could have cascading effects across the industry and its suppliers, while others have questioned its social function and said Tata Motors is perfectly capable of providing the cash needed for it to survive.
The British government has reportedly hired accountancy KPGM and investment bank NM Rothschild to advise it on Jaguar Land Rover; the maker of the 4.2 liter V8 Petrol Supercharged Jaguar, which costs about three times the average annual salary, is reportedly seeking some 500.0 million pounds ($743.0 million) in loans. The Financial Times reported Monday that Tata Motors would immediately provide “tens of millions of pounds” to Jaguar, giving British authorities extra time to hammer out their own rescue package.
Reuters contributed to this article.


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Not many companies actually pay people to use their services. But credit card issuers are so eager -- or desperate -- to sign up new customers that they're willing to do exactly that.
In fact, upfront cash inducements are becoming the "enticement of choice" on new credit card offers, according to Mintel Comperemedia, a direct marketing and research firm in Chicago.
Incentives of all kinds are so popular that 59 percent of new credit card offers in the first four months of 2011 included some kind of sweetener, the company said in a statement. That was up sharply from 30 percent of offers that included incentives during the first four months of 2007.
Airline miles and rewards points were still the most popular incentives, used as a lure on 25 percent of the new credit card offers during the recent period, but additional cash was a close second at 23 percent. In the first four months of 2007, only 1 percent of new credit card offers included an additional cash incentive.
Moreover, in the most recent period, cash was offered as an incentive not only on cash-back cards, but also mileage cards and cards that didn't offer rewards.
In some cases, the cash incentive is so attractive -- as much as $300 -- that consumers might apply for a card just to get the incentive with no serious intention of using the card in the long term, according to Andrew Davidson, a senior vice president at Mintel Comperemedia.
"The challenge for issuers will be getting these incentive-driven switchers to change their spending behavior and become loyal cardholders," Davidson said.
Cash incentives are certainly an attractive inducement, but consumers should always consider carefully before accepting a new credit card offer. Read the terms of the card agreement and be aware of the annual fee, interest rate and other fine print. If you don't need another credit card in your wallet, don't sign up for one just to collect the upfront cash incentive.
Follow me on Twitter: @marciegeff


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A Fresh Twist on Soda
by Shannon Mullen
Photographs by Katie Noble
Bill Creelman thinks he must be nuts. For one thing the founder of Spindrift Soda is trying to sell his new line of natural, carbonated fruit beverages during an international war on sugary soft drinks. What’s more, he insists on using only the freshest juice he can find. “There are only three fresh-squeezed juice producers in the United States,” Creelman says. “No one in their right mind would try to do this on a commercial level.”
But that’s exactly what Creelman is up to these days. He started Spindrift last spring after he sold Stirrings, a company he co-founded a decade ago to make all natural, gourmet cocktail mixers.
As a beverage consumer Creelman’s gone full circle. He spent his childhood drinking unpasteurized milk on his family’s farm in Leverett, Massachusetts, but as an adult he started swilling three or four diet sodas per day. In recent years, when soda came under attack by everyone from his mom to the United States Congress, Creelman decided to cut it from his diet and give the country’s largest beverage category a makeover.
“No one’s ever done a fresh soda,” he says. “There may be someone out there, but almost without exception sodas are made from syrup or concentrate.”
He’s discovered, though, that making a healthier alternative with fresher ingredients costs more, and takes longer. Creelman calls it “fulltime, full body” work.
Each week he gets deliveries of lemon, grapefruit, blackberry, orange and mango juice, shipped cold from his suppliers in one-gallon containers soon after it’s squeezed. The juice is then mixed by hand in small batches with triple-purified, carbonated water at a bottling plant Creelman contracted with inWorcester, Massachusetts. He chose the facility over a less expensive plant in California, so he could keep his operation local, and its carbon footprint relatively small.
Once the soda is bottled it’s stored and delivered cold to maintain freshness. Currently Spindrift is sold in select small cafés and gourmet markets in and around Boston plus a handful of other locations in New Hampshire, Connecticut and Maine.
“We feel like we need to cut our teeth locally, and consumers here are very honest,” Creelman says. He uses the words “us” and “we” a lot, but so far Spindrift is a one-man operation. Besides staying close to home, for now Creelman also wants to keep the company small enough to stay in business.
He has solid entrepreneurial instincts for an English major who never saw himself running a company, much less three of them. Before Spindrift and Stirrings, there was Nantucket Offshore Seasonings, which he partnered with and eventually purchased in an herbal homage, of sorts, to summers he spent on the island working as a com mercial fisherman.
Creelman says those days on the wind-whipped North Atlantic inspired him to choose the word spindrift, a nautical term for sea spray blown from the tops of waves, for the name of his new company. In selling the day’s catch to top chefs through the back doors of their restaurants, fishing was also his introduction to the food industry and its high premium on freshness.
Creelman says the rules for what we drink shouldn’t be any different, and he thinks his product fills a gap in the market for carbonated beverages between sugary fruit drinks and sodas full of syrup. “I think of myself as being on a sort of crusade,” he says. “Educating people about what’s in the soda they’re drinking every day, without being judgmental, and offering an alternative.”
Creelman spent the better part of a year perfecting his recipes to find the right proportions of carbonated water, pulpy fruit juice and unrefined cane sugar.Most of the fruit that provides his juice is grown domestically (the mangoes are flown in from India), and he takes great pride in the fact that he could tell his customers what tree the Eureka lemon in their sparkling lemonade came from.
The other Spindrift flavors currently on the market include sparkling grapefruit, mango-orange and blackberry. Creelman says he’s also developing a sparkling cranberry-raspberry soda that he’ll make with Massachusetts cranberry juice (not from concentrate) and a sparkling half-and-half soda made with lemon juice and freshly brewed black tea.
Creelman says some area colleges are selling his products as a soda alternative, and he’s getting inquiries from high schools now too, despite a push by Boston health officials to curb consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in the city.
As for his own intake, Creelman admits it wasn’t an easy transition but he’s officially off all sodas except Spindrift, and his favorite flavor is blackberry.
For your nearest Spindrift retailer go to www.sprindriftsoda.com.
Shannon Mullen is a film producer and freelance public radio reporter whose work airs regularly on several NPR programs. She also contributes to Boston Magazine and other local news outlets. Her culinary experience includes stints as chef aboard a 1929 wooden motor yacht based in Newport, Rhode Island, and as garde manger in the kitchen of a French bistro in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.


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Daily News: Monday 6/19/2017
Overall Third Place Team Disqualified for Failing Tech Inspection
Officials at the 24 Hours of Le Mans have announced today that the #13 Rebellion LMP2 Oreca 07-Gibson will be stripped of its overall third-place podium finish. Officials came to this decision after the team failed a post-race technical inspection, which is required by all finishing teams. After the race, cars are parked in Parc Ferme—literally ‘closed park’ in French—where teams are no longer allowed to touch the cars, and technical inspectors will go through ensuring all rules were followed.
Despite the rules, members of the team were seen fiddling with the car in Parc Ferme, and as it turns out were trying to cover a hole with duct tape. This hole was formed by the team to access the starter motor for an early race repair, rather than taking off the entire rear of the car. They then sent the car out with this hole, which then constituted an illegal body/aero modification. Covering it up with duct tape is a final nail in the team’s coffin.
While time-saving the repair ended up costing the team their finish. While unfortunate for the team and the drivers, this is why tech inspections exist, and is a prime example of such inspections working.
2017/2018 Formula E Schedule Announced
Following the FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in Geneva, the 2017/1028 FIA Formula E Championship schedule has been released. The schedule for the 4th ever year of Formula E’s existence shows thought and expansion being expended on the series, as the new schedule is more compact time-wise, while also featuring the most races of any season. This is achieved through the addition of three new cities—Santiago, Sao Paulo, and Rome—as well as the addition of more double-header events at existing stops.
The 2017/2018 series begins on Dec 2 in Hong Kong—for the fourth year in a row—continuing into Asia’s first Formula E double-header event with an event on Dec 3. The series will feature its penultimate event in New York, featuring the iconic backdrops of the city and the river, with the series concluding in Montreal on July 28th and 29th. These new stops show that Formula E is growing—with the South American cities introducing the continent to the series—and will more than likely continue to do so.
VW Microbus Confirmed for Return
At the Detroit Auto Show in January of this year, Volkswagen showcased an all-electric Microbus concept called the ‘I.D. Buzz’ concept, and in an interview with the U.K.’s Auto Express VW board member Herbert Diess seemed to confirmed production of the concept. Speaking of the Beetle he said, “Emotional cars are very important for the brand. […] We will also have the Microbus that we showed, which we have recently decided we will build”. This reveal during the interview was certainly unequivocal, and will certainly be well received by VW Microbus fans.
Not much is known beyond what the concept showed us. The vehicle will be built on VW’s corporate EV structure, MEB, and should be large enough to feature 200+ miles of range in the batteries it can store. The Microbus is almost certainly slotted for the US market, not only because there is a strong Microbus culture here, but also because VW agreed in its Dieselgate settlement with the EPA to invest billions in EV’s in America.
Look for more details in the coming months.
Honda Civic Type-R Family Will Grow
Civic Chief engineer revealed yesterday in an interview with Automotive News that Honda is considering expanding the Civic Type-R line-up with more individual models. He said, “We’re hoping that by gradually putting out more [variants] that we’ll be able to maintain a more stable sales volume”. This sounds smart, and he continued to hint that a more powerful version could be first, followed by a softer “grand tour” model, with an AWD model not off the table, so as to compete with the Subaru STI and VW’s Golf R.
Matsumoto also said the first Civic Type-R was very specifically set-up how it is—FWD, manual, powerful—to conform with the ‘Type-R’ familiar so familiar and beloved by enthusiasts and fans. Considering the hype the Type-R generated around the world, it certainly worked. Look for updated variants in the coming years.
10th-Generation Honda Accord Debut Date Detailed
The mechanical details of the new 10th-generation 2018 Honda Accord have been generally known about for a while now, as I have reported before, but Honda has announced the cars full reveal to be July 14th at 11am Eastern time. At this point, Honda will reveal what they have dubbed “the most fun-to-drive, premium and dramatically styled Accord ever” to the world, with sales commencing at a later time. If you cannot attend the Detroit-based reveal, Honda is livestreaming the event on YouTube at THIS address.
Stay tuned until July 14th for more Accord news.
Stephen Hyden View All
I recently recieved a degree in History from the University of Nevada, Reno.
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Buckman opens in Chennai5 February 2001
Buckman Laboratories, who supply a wide range of speciality chemicals to the world's leading industries, have opened their new technical service centre at Chrompet, Chennai, Southern India. In his welcoming address Dennis Dalton, managing director of Buckman Laboratories (Asia) Pte Ltd, said Buckman's choice of India for this investment should send a strong note of confidence to the Indian tanning industry and its future in the global leather market. He said it was Buckman's aim and mission to help Indian industries better their position in the market. In his inaugural address Mohamed Hashim, chairman of the Council for Leather Exports, gave a brief description of Buckman Labs before adding that the company have been serving the Indian industry for several years and have contributed much to its expansion. He expressed a strong hope that with their ever expanding range of speciality chemicals, Buckman Laboratories would be able to serve the industry with a complete range of products and services from Beamhouse to finishing. 'Investment in this new facility marks Buckman Laboratories' commitment to the Indian leather Industry', he remarked.


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Vogue Fashion's Night Out - 8th September 2011
Coco de Mer's collaboration with The Box for Vogue's 'Fashion's Night Out' last week was a huge success!
Dancers from London's coolest club, The Box treated passers-by to a sizzling window performance at our Covent Garden store on Thursday night.
If you missed it enjoy this sneak-peak of what takes place during Fashion's Night Out.
Keep an ear out for further news, we are producing a customised Coco de Mer gift set which will be available exclusively at The Box and will be launching our unique Salons at The Box in October.


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Social media has created a whole new way for celebs to share their favourite products with fans and followers, but it turns out celeb-endorsed foods are almost always bad for our health – and the health of our kids.
That's the major finding from a study out of NYU Langone Medical Center in New York which evaluated how certain foods and non-alcoholic beverages endorsed by famous musicians impact our health.
The research team created a list of 163 celebs popular among teens – including Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Calvin Harris, One Direction, and Beyonce – using Billboard's Hot 100 lists from 2013 and 2014 and Teen Choice Awards nominees, and determined that those celebs made almost 600 product endorsements during the study period across fragrances, makeup, food, beverages, and retail.
To narrow things down, researchers only considered endorsement by the 65 celebs who had inked endorsement deals with food and beverage companies – and found they were associated with almost 60 different food and beverage brands owned by 38 parent companies.
They then analysed and ranked the nutritional value of the 26 food products that had been endorsed, and the results weren't pretty: most of those products were fast, sugary, or intended for dessert.
A whopping 81 percent of foods analysed were considered by researchers to be "nutrient poor", and found almost 50 of the 69 beverages promoted by celebs contained concerning amounts of sugar.
Sadly, a measly one endorsement was considered to be beneficial for our health: pistachio nuts.


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Last year Oppo introduced a super-fast charging technology called superVOOC. Oppo Reno Ace, launched in October 2019, was the first phone to come with 65W superVOOC 2.00 fast charging support. This new fast charging technology can fully charge the Reno Ace smartphone in just 25 minutes and goes from zero to 100 percent. The 65W fast charging launched earlier was much higher than what the competition was offering. While Vivo and Xiamoi also claim to develop 120W fast charging technology, they haven't started to use it in the mass production just yet.
Rumors suggest that the company is working on the development of the next-generation of SuperVOOC that will have a power output rating of 80W. That would be an instant increase of 18.75% over SuperVOOC 2.0's 65W. On the Chinese social media website Weibo, a Chinese blogger named Really Assen revealed that OPPO is going to launch SuperVOOC 3.0. He said, that it's been a long time for half an hour (the time it takes to charge with the SuperVOOC 2.0), it's still not fast enough, you have to cut it in half.
SuperVOOC 2.0 charges at 10V and 6.5. With SuperVOOC 3.0 OPPO will go with a higher voltage similar to what we already saw on the 120W Xiaomi charger. So SuperVOOC 3.0 chargers should have a voltage output of 20V and current output of 4A to achieve a maximum power output of 80W. We are expecting the technology to be launched at the end of next year. We don't know the date yet, but its predecessor technology was launched in October, so we can take the info with a pinch of salt until more solid evidence surfaces.


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At this time of year, people become targets with all the new presents that just arrived to their homes. Now that you’ve ripped through the new gifts that you received for Christmas – bicycles, TV’s and other technology — it’s time to discard the boxes and other packaging they arrived in. You won’t have room for many of those boxes in your regular trash receptacles, but putting them out on the curb can make you a target for thieves who now know what’s inside your house, ripe for the pickings. Below are some tips for keeping your home, and those new Christmas treasures, safe. But you can also help by watching out for your neighbors; if you see anyone suspiciously opening the lids of trash cans on the curb and rooting through them to see their contents, report it to the police immediately.
SAFETY TIPS REGARDING GIFTS
- Take the boxes to a recycling drop-off location
- Get a box cutter and cut those boxes up so that they fit in your regular trash receptacles
- Put those box pieces at the bottom of your trash cans, under other trash
- Don’t leave your new gifts visible through the windows of your home
- Make sure you leave lights on when you leave your house at night, even if it’s just for a few minutes
OTHER POST-CHRISTMAS SAFETY TIPS
- Never burn wrapping paper or your Christmas tree in the fireplace. The rapid burning and excessive heat can damage the firebox and chimney, creating a serious fire hazard
- Discard your tree soon after Christmas before it becomes a fire hazard, and don’t put it in your garage or lean it against your house.
DON’T FORGET THE PETS
- Keep stockings as well as Christmas left-overs out of your pet’s reach. Most people know that chocolate can be toxic to your pets, but onions, garlic, grapes, raisins, and candy, especially sugar-free candy, can also be toxic to your furry friends.
- Remember that turkey and chicken bones can cause internal damage to your pet.
- Holiday plants such as poinsettias, mistletoe, holly, and lilies are very dangerous if your pet ingests them.
(Sources: WDSU News and Big Bear News)


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Cicero, N.Y. — Chipotle is set to open a new location at the former Panda Express site in Cicero.
Work is already underway on the site, located at 7944 Brewerton Road, near Wegmans. Cicero Planning Board Chairman Mark Marzullo confirmed the work at the property is for a Chipotle and the chain's corporate jobs site is hiring for positions at the new restaurant.
A spokeswoman for the company said the new location will open sometime in the fall.
Chipotle, a fast casual Mexican chain, already has Syracuse-area locations in Clay, DeWitt, Camillus and on Marshall Street near Syracuse University.
Both Syracuse-area Panda Express locations closed last year. The other location near the Fairmount Fair plaza in Camillus is getting transformed into a Starbucks.
And speaking of Starbucks, the new Cicero location for the coffee chain is open for business. It’s just down the street from where the new Chipotle will be located.


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SHOPS in Limerick have reported a "hectic trade" across the city since the post-Christmas sales began, and the larger department stores that opened on St. Stephen's Day - some for the first time in their history - have reported a "brisk trade" on the day itself.
Queues formed outside Brown Thomas from early on St Stephen's morning, as the shop opened at 10am on the traditional holiday for the first time in its history.
Debenham's and Penney's followed suit in opening on St Stephen's Day, more traditionally a busy shopping day in the UK.
Liam Dwan, general manager of Brown Thomas in Limerick, said the store "couldn't afford not to open".
"Customer demand has forced us to open," said Mr Dwan. Limerick Chamber chief executive Maria Kelly said she "fully supported" this new trend.
"According to anecdotal evidence, shops that traded last year on Stephen's Day had an extremely successful day," she said. "In Limerick it is not traditionally a shopping day, but these times I can understand why they would decide to do it."
However this decision was not met with full approval from retailers in the city.
Tony Connolly of Connolly Menswear on Patrick Street, said that, in his opinion, "there is absolutely no need to open on St. Stephen's Day".
"If everybody was prepared to agree with that, nobody would lose out on anything, but it seems to be driven by the department stores all the time, and it is putting more and more pressure on the independents," explained Mr Connolly, who has been in the retail business for 40 years.
He added: "We are very pleased with sales over the last few days, it was much better than expected and we have been hectic thankfully. I am hoping for a good week and I would be very optimistic."
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Amazon may literally be planning to gobble up the whole world.
The online giant just took a big bite out of the supermarket sector today with the announcement that it will acquire Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion, which includes the food chain’s net debt.
“Millions of people love Whole Foods Market because they offer the best natural and organic foods, and they make it fun to eat healthy,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO. “Whole Foods Market has been satisfying, delighting and nourishing customers for nearly four decades – they’re doing an amazing job and we want that to continue.”
Whole Foods will continue to operate under its own brand name and source from its existing vendors.
Amazon has been nibbling around the edges of both brick-and-mortar and the grocery market lately with the rollout of its bookstores and the debut of Amazon Fresh Pickup, which allows Prime members to shop for groceries online and pick them up at drive-through locations.
This move, however, is Amazon’s first major play in physical stores, and it puts it in direct competition with Walmart and Target, which have been battling for grocery dominance. For Target that has meant putting more emphasis on communicating its low-price position. With the acquisition of Jet.com, Walmart has been strengthening its e-commerce business, with online grocery a top concern. Even chains like Meijer and Wegmans are teaming up with delivery companies to compete.
Meanwhile the sector is getting squeezed by an influx of value-based German hypermarkets, with Lidl and Aldi both making major plays for the U.S. Aldi said last week it would invest $3.4 billion to expand from 1,600 stores to 2,500 by the end of 2022, making it the third largest grocery store in the U.S. For its part, Lidl is just starting to carve out its place in the American market with 20 stores set to open this summer and plans for 80 more along the East Coast in a year. Both stores, which dominate the European markets, are poised to take share here based on their focus on low-priced, private-label goods. Both Aldi and Lidl also offer apparel, home goods and other necessities outside of the traditional grocery assortment.
The acquisition just comes as tensions between Whole Foods and its investors had come to a boil. The food chain’s co-CEO and co-founder John Mackey, who will stay on under Amazon, recently called activist investor Jana Partners “greedy bastards” in a profile in Texas Monthly. Mackey had been receiving pressure from the firm to sell, which he said was only in Jana Partners’ best interest.
No word on how Amazon will transform Whole Foods or its plans to tie its online business into these physical locations.
The transaction is subject to approval by the grocer’s shareholders as well as the typical regulatory approvals. It’s expected to close by during the second half of 2017.
Whole Foods launched in 1978 and today has 465 stores in the U.S., Canada and the UK. In FY16, the company posted sales of $16 billion.
Retailers are clamoring to redesign their loyalty programs in an effort to boost revenues as well as amass a cache of valuable consumer data.Read more
Public hearings on what’s to become of the North American Free Trade Agreement once negotiations kick off began Tuesday, and those speaking on behalf of retail held little back.Read more
Though it’s teetering somewhere between dead and alive, it seems there’s more than one way to skin a BAT.Read more
In today’s competitive sourcing arena, Peru is an ideal destination for producing high-quality apparel, given its 5,000-year history in textiles and ability to adapt to current market needs.Read more
The European Commission has fined the tech giant for promoting paid results over others in its shopping comparison service Google Shopping.Read more
Debt is making it difficult for longstanding apparel brand Eddie Bauer to transform and improve performance in the current retail environment.Read more
Womenswear is changing it up and taking a more one-style-doesn’t-fit-all approach for S/S’18.Read more


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BEIJING, March 25 (Xinhua) — Research and development spending by south Korean companies increased by nearly 4 trillion won (about 24.1 billion yuan) in the first three quarters of this year from a year earlier, according to a data released Wednesday by Score, the CEO of South Korea’s business assessment agency, Yonhap reported.
Data show that a total of 211 of South Korea’s top 500 companies disclosed this year’s research and development expenses, a total of 39.2274 trillion won. During the same period, sales of top 500 companies decreased from 1265.0287 trillion won to 1254.9629 trillion won, but the share of research and development expenses in sales increased from 2.79 percent to 3.13 percent.
In terms of the proportion of research and development spending by major companies, the portal NAVER accounted for the highest share, at 25.96 per cent, with Celltrion coming in second with 25.57 per cent. This was followed by Netmarble, Korea-Us Pharmaceuticals, gaming company NC Soft, Kakao, Big Bear Pharmaceuticals, Zhong Gentang,SK Hynix and Green Cross. Samsung Electronics was ranked 16th with 8.97 percent.
In terms of the industry, the pharmaceutical industry was 13.16%, followed by information communications and power electronics, services, automotive and parts, shipbuilding and machinery and equipment. The lower-ranked petrochemical, state-owned enterprises, construction, food, steel, transportation, circulation and other industries are less than 1%.
In addition, the company with the largest research and development expenses was Samsung Electronics, which invested 15.2877 trillion won in the first three quarters of this year, up 14.6% year-on-year. LG Electronics,SK Hynix, Hyundai Motor, LG Display, NAVER, Kia Motors are all more than 1 trillion won.


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MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Hundreds of shoppers showed up for the grand opening of The Palace clothing store on Saturday.
The owner, Shun Quainter, is a 25 year-old Army sergeant and Clayton State University business student. Quainter says that people discouraged him from starting a new business during the pandemic. However, it gave him a push to follow his dreams, saying, “Well you know, I’ll just show you.”
While some businesses in the area suffered during the pandemic, Quainter saw opportunity.
The Palace sells accessories and clothing from size small to 4XL. Each corner of the store features a trend, and the shopping experience is described as ‘a vibe’.
The Palace is located at the Shoppes at River Crossing next to J. Jill and is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m.


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Recently updated, the Google Shopper app for iOS devices can now track down deals and offers at local restaurants and other stores, letting you redeem them through your device.
iPhone owners who use the Google Shopper app to find their favorite products can now hunt for special deals at local restaurants and other businesses.
Updated last week, Google Shopper 1.5 now sports a tab at the bottom called Offers. Tapping on Offers brings up a list of special Google Offers being promoted by local merchants eager for your business. Tapping on each deal or offer then displays the business name, location, details of the deal, and its expiration date.
For example, in the deals I found, a local sports store was offering 25 percent off a bike, while a nearby gym was kicking in a free trial class.
You can save each deal, in which case it appears in your My Offers section. You can then redeem the offer by bringing your mobile device to the different restaurants and other businesses and showing them the offer screen.
In a blog published yesterday, Google said that its Google Offers are currently available in Portland, Ore., the San Francisco Bay Area, and New York, with other cities to follow, though I was able to find several redeemable offers in an area outside of New York City.
Google Shopper is compatible with the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.


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(Reuters) - Visa Inc (NYS:V), the world's largest credit card company, reported a 28 percent fall in quarterly profit due to a higher income tax provision.
Visa shares traded 2.4 percent lower in after-hours trading.
Net income attributable to Visa fell to $1.19 billion, or $1.85 per Class A share, from $1.66 billion, or $2.47, a year earlier.
Total operating revenue rose 9 percent to $2.97 billion.
Analysts on average, had expected the company to earn $1.85 per share, on revenue of $3.02 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The company maintained its full-year forecast for percentage growth per share in 2014 in the mid-to-high teens.
Visa's results were hit by a $574 million income tax provision, compared with a benefit of $74 million a year earlier. The company gave no reason for the bigger tax provision.
Visa's payment volumes rose 13 percent to $1.1 trillion in the quarter.
The company also announced a new $5 billion share buyback.
Shares of the company traded at $199 in after market trading. They closed at $203.82 on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Don Sebastian)


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Hotels In Border Counties To Feel The Effect Of Brexit In 2017, Says IHF President
Despite Irish tourism hitting new highs in 2016, regional destinations and businesses are to be the worst affected this year as a result of Brexit, according to Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) president...
Despite Irish tourism hitting new highs in 2016, regional destinations and businesses are to be the worst affected this year as a result of Brexit, according to Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) president Joe Dolan.
Dolan, who operates the Bush Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon in Co Leitrim, had previously said that it was critical to rebalance the "inequitable spread" of tourism and that the industry does not expect growth rates from Britain to be sustainable. Speaking to fora.ie he commented that smaller hotels in the likes of Donegal, Longford, Cavan and Monaghan should be worried as they rely heavily on short-break visitors from Northern Ireland.
"The UK market is our closest, largest market. They’re not the highest spending [market], but they penetrate every parish in Ireland. Their regional penetration is much higher than the Americans or mainland Europeans, who might go out to the more traditional tourism spots," said Dolan.
He was more positive towards the issue of Dublin's chronic lack of hotel rooms, saying it is of "a temporary nature" and will "iron itself out" in 2018 and 2019 when additional hotel developments are completed. However, he pointed out that the main problem facing hotel development is the site costs as "you're competing with office developments and apartment blocks which generate a higher and faster return on your investment".
Although he praised the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s Ancient East and Dublin A Breath of Fresh Air, the hotelier said he would like to see a rise in Tourism Ireland's €53 million marketing budget as "you’re competing with emerging destinations with big money and we’re competing on very mediocre marketing budgets".
Another issue facing the IHF was accommodation providers such as Airbnb, which he said have "no quality assurances" and leave guests with "a lack of adequate redress if something goes wrong".


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Samsung has launched an impossibly tiny Bluetooth earpiece that’s more like a hearing aid than a wireless connectivity gadget. The WEP500 is likely to appeal to users searching for supremely minimalist Bluetooth kit, with the only drawback being the ever-present danger of it falling out and going the way of stray contact lenses …
Didn't Spock & Uhuru have these in Star Trek TOC?
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- Murdoch Facebook gloat: You're like my $580m, 'CRAPPY' MySpace
- Tablet? Laptop? HP does the splits with Tegra-based SlateBook x2
- NASA signs off on sampling mission to Earth-threatening asteroid


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What you need to know
- Spotify is testing a new feature.
- It will allow users to vote in interactive polls in real-time.
- It will first feature in Spotify-exclusive original shows.
Spotify is testing a new feature that will allow users to vote in real-time in interactive polls whilst listening to podcasts on its app.
As reported by The Verge:
Spotify's newest interactive podcast test brings a popular Instagram feature to the platform: polls. Similarly to Instagram, respondents and hosts can see the poll results in real-time, although unlike Instagram, answers are anonymous. You'll only be able to view the results if you vote.
Testing will reportedly begin on a couple of Spotify-exclusive original podcasts, including The Rewatchables and Crime Countdown, and you should already be able to see the feature. The Verge says about 90% of Spotify users should see the feature on the iOS and Android app first, but that this will eventually roll out to all users eventually.
The report further notes that it is unclear whether Spotify will let other third-party shows use this feature.
Polls show up at the bottom of a show's episode page, or on the Now Playing page, and you can see the results in real-time after you've voted.
Recently, Spotify rolled out testing of a new feature that should let some users stream music on the platform directly to Apple Watch.
Spotify also added listings for virtual concerts earlier this month, something it says is necessary due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing cancellation of concerts:
With many tours postponed until 2021, the necessity for these virtual events is set to continue, and we want to make it easy for Spotify listeners to learn about virtual events for the artists they love, and for artists they're discovering for the very first time. In light of this, we've leveraged our partnership with Songkick—the live stream concert discovery app—and Ticketmaster to make it happen.
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.
HomePod mini fans in Mexico and Taiwan can now place their orders
Apple's HomePod mini is now available in two more countries, but a third will have to wait a little while longer.
Check your apps are M1-safe with this free tool from iMazing
Want to know which apps are compiled with Apple silicon in mind? Silicon will tell you and it won't cost you a penny.
Flighty's COVID-conscious update adds new cancellation alerts and more
Flighty has been updated to give fliers the tools they need this COVID-filled holiday season.
Bring the smarts to the great outdoors with these HomeKit outdoor plugs
Have an epic holiday light display that you always forget to turn on? Let automation and Siri handle it for you with the best HomeKit outdoor smart plugs.


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BenQ Ships New DVD Re-Writer with LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling Technology
BenQ announced it has begun shipping the new BenQ DW1625, a DVD+RW double-layer compatible drive with LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling Technology, as part of a new line of LightScribe-enabled DVD drives.
Utilizing Hewlett-Packard's patented technology, BenQ's LightScribe-enabled DVD drives enable consumers to burn customized, silkscreen-quality labels directly onto the surface of CDs and DVDs.
The BenQ DW1625 features 2.4X DVD+R double-layer write, 16X DVD+R write, 4X DVD+RW write, 8X DVD-R write, 4X DVD-RW write, 16X DVD read, 40X CD-R write, 24X CD-RW write, and 40X CD read speeds.
Available now, the BenQ DW1625 has an estimated price of $119.


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DEARBORN (WWJ) – It was the party heard around the world, as the Ford Mustang celebrated its 50th birthday.
Ford held celebrations Thursday in a number of locations, including Las Vegas, Melbourne, Beijing and at the company’s headquarters in Dearborn.READ MORE: Businesses Make Changes To Keep Customers Safe Amid Boil Water Advisory In SE Michigan
“For me, the Mustang just represents fun in the sun,” said Leonard Qualioto, who brought his mint-condition 1965 Mustang convertible. “Just having a good time, being happy and free.”
Qualioto, who’s owned three new Mustangs over the years, purchased the classic over the winter. He admitted to pushing the season by doing some open air driving during the spring. But, he’s eager to see the summer come, especially the Woodward Dream Cruise.
Ford employees and retirees brought hundreds of Mustangs to the parking lot in front of the company’s Dearborn headquarters. Other classic Mustangs were placed in the company’s hallways, where newer models are normally displayed.
Much of the attention was focused on the classics.READ MORE: Detroit Police Search For Suspect Accused Of Carjacking Woman
“There’s something for everybody in a Mustang,” said Bruce Rinkey, who brought his 1967 Mustang. “You can keep it simple. You can go crazy. It’s a people car, and I think it connects well with people.”
Ford also attracted attention with a Mustang perched on the observation deck of the Empire State Building, and huge drive-in events involving Mustang clubs in many cities.
The party moving online as Ford exceeded its goal of getting fifty thousand people to send an “electronic birthday card” to Mustang.
Final tally, 55,750 messages.
“Mustang is an inspirational car,” said Steve Ling, car marketing manager at Ford. “It’s no surprise its fans worldwide have been inspired to make history on this very special occasion.”
Ford has already revealed an all new 2015 Mustang, that will be in dealerships in the fall. They are also planning to build 1964 special-edition “50th anniversary” Mustangs.MORE NEWS: Michigan Reports 23,165 New COVID-19 Cases, 103 Deaths Over The Last Week


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Force is going to make the most luxurious van, this new vehicle will be 17 seater and feature loaded
Force Urbania: Force Motors is about to bring a new van in the market. If the company is to be believed, the production of the next generation shared mobility platform Urbania has started. This van is going to come with three different seating capacities, the first look of which has been released by the company.
The company says that world class features are being installed in it, so that it will be very convenient for 17 people to travel together. For this, the company is also investing Rs 1,000 crore in this project.
The company introduced its shared mobility platform T1N (codename) at the last Auto Expo. But due to the Corona epidemic, the company had to postpone its plans at that time. This is the reason that the launch of this van of the company got delayed.
Now the company has introduced this platform under the name Urbania. The company has released the first look of this van from which its exterior, interior and some special features can be seen.
The company has created new manufacturing facilities for this platform and has also started serial production of the vehicle. Force Motors said in a release that in the coming few days the company will send the first batch of vehicles to the dealership.
The company says that the Urbania is the first vehicle in the segment in the country to offer airbags for the driver as well as the co-driver. At the same time, the company also offers facilities like crash and rollover compliance.
The post Force is going to make the most luxurious van, this new vehicle will be 17 seater and feature loaded appeared first on Times Bull.


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Ian Payne 4am - 7am
What does a national 'fire break' in Wales mean for you?
23 October 2020, 19:31 | Updated: 23 October 2020, 19:39
People in Wales have entered a two-week 'fire break' lockdown in an attempt to curb the spread of Covid-19 - but what are the rules and who do they apply to?
Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford announced on Monday that the country would need to go much further to slow the rising number of infections, hospitalisations and deaths.
He laid out a set of measures similar to the first lockdown in March, which helped bring down the infection rate in the majority of areas.
Over the Summer, however, the number of Covid-19 cases slowly began to rise as non-essential shops and hospitality reopened, which is now causing a significant number of hospital admissions and, consequently, deaths.
How long does the 'fire break' last?
The lockdown will last for 17 days and came into force on Friday 23 October at 6pm.
It will end at 12.01am on Monday 9 November.
The First Minister insisted the end date will be stuck to by the Government after fears they could extend it further.
What has closed?
Pubs, bars and restaurants are some of the many thousands forced to shut their doors on Friday - except for takeaways.
All non-essential retail, leisure, and tourism have also closed, including clothes shops, furniture shops and car dealerships.
All entertainment venues, such as cinemas, theatres and bowling alleys, are now closed for two weeks as well.
Only grocery shops and supermarkets are staying open but have been told to prevent customers from buying non-essential items.
Food shops are also banned from selling alcohol after 10pm each day - including online deliveries.
What is staying open?
As well as supermarkets; banks, pharmacies and post offices are remaining open.
The Welsh Government advises, however, to avoid visits to these essential businesses wherever possible.
Childcare facilities are also staying open to provide much-needed support to parents.
While there are no set rules on how far people can travel, it is strongly advised to stay as close to home as possible.
People react as Wales begins it's 17 day "firebreak"
What about schools?
Primary schools will remain open throughout the lockdown, except for half-term from 26 to 30 October when they would be shut anyway.
Secondary schools, however, are now closed until after half-term, when they will re-open for children in years seven and eight only until the end of the two-week lockdown.
Colleges are being asked to provide online-only lessons during the lockdown, while Universities can offer a 'blended' approach of online and in-person lectures.
Any child or student sitting exams, however, can go into their respective schools, colleges or Universities to take them.
Do I have to stay at home?
People are being asked to stay at home as much as possible for the full two weeks.
They can, however, leave the house as much as they like for physical exercise.
Can I see anybody outside my household?
For most people, no. Those who live alone or single parents can form a support bubble with other another household in the same circumstances.
For exceptional circumstances, such as childcare or death of a loved one, there is an exemption.
Are there travel restrictions?
Travel has been limited to 'essential only', meaning that you must not travel outside your local area without an excuse, such as work.
People are also banned from travelling abroad unless they have a reasonable excuse.
Those with pre-booked holidays have been asked to talk with their travel agent to discuss repayments.
How will the rules be enforced?
Extra police officers will be patrolling town and city centres throughout the lockdown, as they have been for several months.
Forces have been given to power to fine people as well, with penalties starting at £60 and up to £10,000 for serial offenders.
In extreme circumstances, however, officers are able to arrest people who are refusing to comply with rules which are strictly against the law.


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To launch in two variants.
Suzuki is gearing up to launch the Ertiga Dreza in the Indonesian market, and seen here are its first images.
Designers have given the MPV an all-new front fascia with a redesigned grille and front bumper, an all-new chrome lip, LED daytime running lights and new foglight enclosures. Over to the sides, the Ertiga Dreza gets a new alloy wheel pattern and a new side sill guard, while the rear sees a new bumper with a chrome garnish, a new spoiler with a high-mounted stop light and the 'Dreza' emblem.
Suzuki will launch the Ertiga Dreza in two variants: Dreza and Dreza GS. While the Ertiga Dreza will be available in Black, Grey and White, the GS will additionally get a new Violet shade. In comparison to the standard Ertiga which measures 4,265 mm in length, the Ertiga Dreza measures 4,325 mm, which could be courtesy of the new bumpers.
Inside, the Ertiga Dreza gets a wood panel for its instrument cluster, a new two-tone seat upholstery, and a 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android 4.1 with iOS support and navigation. On the safety front, ABS and EBD will be standard on the MPV.
There are no changes to the mechanicals: The Suzuki Ertiga Dreza will continue to be powered by the 1.4-liter K-Series petrol engine paired to a 4-speed AT. The Ertiga for Indonesia is exported by Maruti Suzuki from India as CKD kits. Maruti could showcase the Ertiga Dreza for the Indian audience at the forthcoming Auto Expo 2016 to gauge feedback on launching the model.
[Source - AutonetMagz]


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MUNICH, Bavaria (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — German automaker BMW has announced the addition of four audio applications to its onboard 'infotainment' system.
The new approved application partners include Rhapsody, TuneIn, Glympse and Audible. Rhapsody and TuneIn are both music services – Rhapsody focuses on streaming and is competitor to Spotify while TuneIn is a digital 'net radio service. Glympse provides location-based services and Audible, now an Amazon company, is one of the largest purveyors of audio books.
The new BMW apps will allow users to browse their library through their BMW, listen to internet radio and streamed music and share their location with friends and colleagues.
Previews of the four apps will be offered later this year. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers


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July 7: Muktinath Bikas Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Khalti Digital Wallet to facilitate digital payments to its customers.
Issuing a press statement, Khalti said that Til Bahadur Gurung, chief operating officer of Muktinath Bikas Bank, and Dhruba Adhikari, director of Khalti, signed the agreement amid a function in the capital on Sunday, July 7.
“The partnership will enable Muktinath Bikas Bank customers to load their Khalti accounts through mobile and internet banking service,” as per the statement.
Speaking at the function, Muktinath Bikas Bank’s COO and Til Bahadur Gurung said that the tie-up with Khalti can make everyday payments from their smartphone using Khalti.
Likewise, Khalti’s Director Dhruba Adhikari said Muktinath Bikas Bank users need not withdraw cash to pay for goods and services. “They can simply pay via Khalti. The initiative would help consumers go cashless in payments and facilitate hassle-free transactions,” he added.
Khalti provides various utility bill payment services, mobile recharge, DTH recharge, domestic flight booking, movie ticketing, event ticketing, hotel booking, newspaper subscriptions, payments at online shopping sites, and insurance premium payments among various other digital payments services.


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While the Detroit 3 set off to Washington D.C. to beg for a bailout package, about 1,000 new Honda employees clapped along to Van Morrison's "Bright Side of the Road" blaring from speakers.
Imagine that, an automotive celebration just a few hours away from Detroit in southeastern Indiana.
The celebration of Honda's sixth assembly plant in North America seemed a continent away from troubled Detroit, where each day seems to bring more bad news for General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC.
Festivities in the farmland
Honda Manufacturing of Indiana LLC stopped the Honda Civic assembly line Monday morning so that its employees could hear Fukui speak. When the line came to a halt, the employees, dressed in their white outfits and green caps, poured into the aisles and headed to the festivities in a corner of the factory.
Rather than shuttering assembly plants and laying off thousands of employees, Fukui dedicated Honda's new $550-million investment on what was 1,700 acres of farmland just two years ago.
Fukui, dressed himself in Honda whites, lauded the plant's "diverse team of associates" and spoke of "Civic Pride." He was referring both to Honda customers who are buying made-in-Indiana Civics and to the ability of Honda employees to meet the growing needs of consumers for fuel-efficient, four-cylinder automobiles.
As the Detroit 3 battle to try to remain in business next year, Honda's Fukui reminded employees and government guests that this gala was just a jumpstart on Honda's 50th anniversary of business operations in America, another celebration to look forward to in 2009.
Employees watched as Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels choked up as he recalled how he sat in a Tokyo hotel room on a spring night in 2006 waiting for the call from Honda with news that Indiana won the big prize.
They cheered as the Indiana plant's Japanese president Yuzo Uenohara drove a dark 2009 Civic up to the podium, carrying three beaming employees with him.
It was an automotive moment all too rare in these last few years.
"A challenging time"
In Fukui's only nod to the economic turmoil in the United States and his competitors' plight in Detroit, he noted that the new assembly plant has begun operation "at a very challenging time" with a "difficult economy and increasing competition."
But Fukui added that these challenging times also represent opportunity for Honda and its fuel-efficient Civic.
When the festivities concluded, Fukui was whisked away from a large contingent of newspaper, TV and radio reporters.
Fukui left perhaps the day's most important message to a corporate affairs officer attending from Honda's offices in Torrance, Calif.
The message: While Honda celebrates, it does understand the need by the U.S. Congress to examine some form of support for the Detroit 3. Honda supports measures that would maintain the short- and long-term viability and stability of the auto industry.
But Honda also knows, it's good to be on the bright side of the road.