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Todd McLemore roused his two sons before dawn to take them Black Friday shopping for the first time.
The Cypress resident usually shops online, but needed to go to the local Academy Sports + Outdoors on Friday morning to buy camouflage jackets for the boys and Labrador retriever before a family duck hunting trip this weekend. McLemore, a first time Black Friday shopper, snagged Magellan-branded camo for a buy-one, get-one half-off deal, saving him about about $150.
“Black Friday isn’t as hectic as I thought it’d be,” McLemore said.
His son, Sam, sounding a bit disappointed, added: “I thought there were going to be fights.”
People across the Houston area and the country went shopping on Black Friday — often early in the morning — lured by some of the deepest discounts of the year. Despite the rise of e-commerce and year-round deals, plenty of consumers still headed to malls and stores on one of the the biggest shopping days of the year.
Money in their pockets
An estimated 164 million American are planning to shop in-store and online between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, according to the National Retail Federation. The bulk of consumers — 116.4 million — are expected to shop on Black Friday this year, up slightly from 115.7 million last year.
“Consumers feel the economy is strong because they have more money in their pockets due to tax reform and wage increases since the recession,” said Ana Serafin Smith, spokeswoman for the retailers association. “We think it’ll be a strong retail holiday for retailers and consumers alike.”
About 500 shoppers waited outside the Target off Interstate 10 near Sawyer Heights before it opened at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving, eager to take advantage of deals on TVs, electronics and toys, said Cameron Dennington, executive team leader of operations. Farther northwest, shoppers waited up to three hours outside the Tory Burch store at the Houston Premium Outlets early Friday morning to take advantage of a 50 percent off sale on handbags, shoes and accessories. Similar crowds were seen at Katy Mills mall on the west side.
At the Academy store in Cypress, shoppers started lining up outside around 3:30 a.m. on Friday. By the time doors opened at 5 a.m., a crowd of about 50 was waiting, anxious to get inside and shop.
Store manager Scott Kruse said he wasn’t surprised by the crowds, which he estimated was a little larger than last year. Many shoppers were drawn to discounts on athletic apparel and gear, as well as firearms, which Academy does not sell online, he said.
“Black Friday, it’s a tradition,” Kruse said. “A lot of people turn it into a family event. I don’t think that’s ever going to go away.”
Still, Black Friday no longer carries the same weight it once did when the holiday shopping season truly began the day after Thanksgiving. Today, some retailers, such as Target, Walmart and Best Buy, open on Thanksgiving.
Many other stores offer deep discounts well before Black Friday to attract shoppers in an increasingly competitive market. Kohl’s, for example, held a one-day “Black Friday event” on Nov. 1, and began offering Black Friday deals earlier this week.
These trends, as well as the growth of online shopping, mean Black Friday is no longer a bellwether for the holiday shopping season.
On Black Friday last year, online spending hit $5 billion, up nearly 17 percent from 2016, according to Adobe Digital Insights, a market research firm. This year, Black Friday online sales are on track to hit over $6.4 billion, nearly matching last year’s Cyber Monday — the biggest online shopping day of the year.
“The significance of Black Friday as a single day is diminishing and may almost disappear in a few years,” said Venky Shankar, research director at Texas A & M University’s Center for Retailing Studies. “Millennials recognize Cyber Monday more than Black Friday.”
For inveterate bargain hunters, heading to the mall at the crack of dawn on Friday still offers two things online shopping just can’t: an adrenaline rush and a chance to spend time with family while standing in line or picking over bargain bins.
“There’s an experience behind it, instead of just doing it alone by yourself,” said Ashley Reichert, 31, of Westchase, who went shopping with her sister at the Galleria Friday.
Houston’s Black Friday event attracted shoppers from far and wide.
Rita Coker, 48, and her daughter, Madison Goolsby, 22, drove from Bryan at 1 a.m. Friday to take advantage of the wider range of stores in Houston. Ssu Ling Chen, a 27-year-old flight attendant for Taiwanese airline Eva Air, specifically requested for a flight route between Taiwan and Houston, just so she could shop here on Black Friday.
Chen and her fellow flight crew members took a Lyft from their Galleria-area hotel to the Houston Premium Outlets early Friday morning to buy presents for family in Asia.
“My family, they made a lot of requests, ‘Please buy these,’” Chen said, adding she brought an extra suitcase for family gifts.
Black beats red
For the past decade, Dennis Navarro has flown from his native Honduras to Houston every two months to visit family and stock up on some $5,000 worth of tactical gear and camouflage at Columbia Sportswear and Academy stores to sell at his outdoor clothing store in Honduras called Inasa. On Black Friday, however, the reseller spends $2,000 more so he can capitalize on Black Friday discounts.
Honduras has a similar Black Friday holiday called Fin de Semana Rojo, or “Red Weekend,” but the discounts aren’t nearly as deep, Navarro said.
“It’s a little tedious,” Navarro said of shopping overnight on Black Friday in the U.S. “But it’s worth it.”

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We know Drake Memes have taken over the internet for awhile, but that doesn’t mean him and the OVO team isn’t working. After debuting his “Hotline Bling” music video, Drake’s October’s Very Own clothing line debuts their 2015 Women’s Capsule Collection.
For the release, the Toronto-based streetwear delivers a new collection for women that compliments the previously released men’s wear. Continuing a cool clean look, the garments consist of mostly all black with subtle gold accents. For the women, they have created shirts, hoodies, leggings, shirt dresses, sweatpants and a velvet bomber.
The 2015 women’s collection is set to drop on November 21 at the Toronto Flagship Store and will be online on November 28.


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TikTok owner ByteDance continues its aggressive push in gaming with plans for 1,000 new hires in the coming year, targeting university students
TikTok maker ByteDance is once again looking to level up in gaming, listing close to 1,000 new gaming jobs in the coming year. The new recruitment drive continues ByteDance’s aggressive push into gaming, but analysts say the company’s gaming division is still too small to take on Chinese gaming giants Tencent and NetEase.
According to a new recruitment advertisement released on Monday, which targets university students, ByteDance is looking to fill 700 business-related positions and more than 200 technical positions with its growing gaming arm. The jobs will mainly fall under the company’s marquee gaming studio Zhaoxi Guangnian Information Technology, which has offices spread across Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai.
ByteDance’s moves to boost its gaming clout in recent months have been interpreted as the company looking to follow in Tencent Holdings’ footsteps by inducing millions of social media users to become paying gamers.
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Samsung has been trying to become a leader in the chipset market and seems to be slowly progressing towards that. With Huawei out of the market, at least for the time being, the South Korean company has an opportunity to make its mark and it seems to be doing that.
As per the latest report coming from Korea, Samsung and Tesla are joining hands to make chips using the 5nm manufacturing process for autonomous driving. With the ongoing expansion and increased adoption of electric vehicles and the shortage of chipsets in the market because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Korean giant saw the opportunity and has expanded its semiconductor business into automobiles.
The chipset is being reported to be in Research & Development (R&D) stage at the Samsung Foundry Division and it will be mounted on Tesla’s autonomous vehicles. As said, it is being made using a 5nm Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) process, which only a couple of companies can do — Samsung and TSMC
Samsung is already a partner of Tesla for producing the company’s current self-driving chips for hardware 3.0 computer. But the chip currently being used is manufactured using a bit older 14nm technology.
The South Korean giant recently reorganized its organizati onal structure and relocated some manpower in the Advanced Driving Assistance System (ADAS) which is focusing on autonomous drivingSamsung and Tesla works out, then Samsung could post a great threat to TSMC, which also entered into this sector last year with a 7nm chip.
- Blackberry partners Jaguar Land Rover on autonomous vehicles development
- Amazon’s Zoox fully autonomous, all-electric Robotaxi unveiled
- Samsung showcases its next-gen Digital Cockpit for smart cars
- Huawei HiCar partners with BAIC Blue Valley to launch a new smart car in H1 2021
ALWAYS BE THE FIRST TO KNOW – FOLLOW US!


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THE REAL COST OF UBER EATS
Did you catch our very own, Chef Mark Jensen, on Monday night's episode of ABC's Four Corners discussing the impact of Uber Eats on restaurants?
"Customers pay a $5 delivery fee to Uber, and Uber also takes a big cut of the sales from the restaurant.
'Well that’s the big thing with Uber and customers’ expectations. They actually think that they are supporting the restaurant industry by using Uber, but I don’t appreciate that the restaurant pays 35 cents in the dollar straight to Uber for their convenience. And the thing is we already work in a pretty tight environment, they’re really putting the squeeze on the restaurants.
It’s essentially eliminating bums on seats. Given recent times, there’s been very little growth in the business. I’d actually say that there’s been no growth in the business, so then now that you’re taxed 35 per cent, or essentially 35 cents in the dollar, that’s eating into your bottom line…'
- Chef Mark Jensen
Uber Eats and similar delivery services have even spawned what is called ‘dark kitchens’ that have no shop front.
'It’s not a bricks and mortar restaurant, there’s no tables, there’s no waiters, there’s no food in-house delivery service, so a restaurant, it just appears on an app. So that dark kitchen could be producing food for five, six, seven or ten, the sky’s the limit, different cuisines under the one kitchen.'
Mark Jensen fears the rise of dark kitchens could force traditional restaurants like his out of business.
'If I don’t have to then employ people - front-of-house people. If I don’t need to spend money on lavishing the restaurant and making a really holistic dining experience, all that money I can then save and just concentrate on food costs; essentially food costs, packaging, refrigeration and production, that’s all I have to consider.'
So that’s a real threat to the future of your industry.
'It’s a real threat to the future of restaurants full stop.'"


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Gucci's latest fashion campaign, Love Parade, is a star-studded one, featuring Snoop Dogg, Miley Cyrus, Jared Leto and several others.
The Love Parade focuses on showcasing old Hollywood glam with an updated modern-day flair, through a new clothing collection.
"Surrounded by the cinematic aura of the #GucciLoveParade collection, @snoopdogg sits down to a boisterous banquet in a satin suit paired with a velvet neck bow and cowboy hat," the brand captioned the photo of the rapper wearing a vibrant ensemble while holding a small fork topped with a piece of cake.
With photo direction by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot, Gucci's latest campaign mirrors an eclectic, fun, stylish dinner party that was envisioned by the brand's creative director, Alessandro Michele.
When speaking about the inspiration behind the Gucci Love Parade campaign, Michele said in a statement: "I thought about how my mother raised me as a devout worshipper of beauty. About the gift of dreaming, which I cannot go without. About the aura of cinema, which generates mythologies."
Shortly after revealing a striking portrait of Snoop Dogg, Gucci later posted a photo of Miley Cyrus wearing an asymmetical hat with crystal-embellished ears and red nail polish as she ate a piece of yellow cake.
"In the performative space of the new #GucciLoveParade campaign, @mileycyrus blurs the boundaries between body and clothing, showcasing the interconnected allure between the two," the brand wrote in a post.
Gucci also said in its statement that the idea behind the setting is that the featured talent is on their way to celebrate the ritual of the banquet. "A feast that sees human beings and divinities sitting side-by-side at lavish tables," the company said in its statement. "The protagonists of our dreams as they might appear in our fantasies: Beanie Feldstein, Deng Lun, Jared Leto, Jungjae Lee, Li Wen, Miley Cyrus and Snoop Dogg give themselves to a liberating symposium that slides into the Dionysiac ritual of dancing."
The fashion house also released a video capturing the essence of the campaign.


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Car Design News has announced the winners of its annual Car Design Awards China competition at a special evening event held at Space 798 in Beijing. Hosted by Chris Bangle, the event was attended by global design professionals and the cream of the country’s design students. Click here to see this year’s results.
2018 was a great success once again and saw us receive 371 entries from 106 schools across China, confirming the contest’s importance in finding the very best design students in the country. Click here to see the 2018 School League Table.
The work of each of the finalists in each of the ten awards categories was showcased at the event, and provided a superb opportunity for China’s best new designers to discuss their work with prospective employers.
Uniquely, the Car Design Awards China contest gives students the chance to work to real design briefs set by the world’s best carmakers and judged by some of China’s top car designers, all of whom were keen to express how impressed they were with the quality of this year’s entries. Over the nine years that it’s been running this contest has kickstarted the careers of many designers who are now working in top studios, both in China and worldwide.
All the finalists’ work are shown here.


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The federal government's complex, overgrown system of export regulations is at long last getting a haircut, a step received warmly by Connecticut manufacturers.
President Barack Obama last week took the first hack at simplifying the country's export system, which remains largely unchanged since being enacted during the Cold War. Through an executive order on Friday, the president consolidated the responsibility for registration and licensing of certain goods to the State Department. Separately on Thursday, the president trimmed some less sensitive items from a list of closely regulated federal exports.
The existing rules closely regulate the comings and goings of goods and information related to technologies that are deemed particularly sensitive, like satellites and aircraft, and they serve an important national security function. But the administration and others say the rules' focus is too broad.
"It would be difficult for anybody who understands technology and secrets to look at this situation and not create some clarity around the things that really don't need to be protected," said Andrew Gibson, chief executive of AeroCision in Chester. "It's really a no-brainer."
Many expect the move to help manufacturers that are looking to export aerospace parts or highly technological components by giving companies a single point of contact — the State Department — and lowering the bar for what products require the closest of scrutiny. Depending on the product, exporters currently bounce between the Commerce Department, the Defense Department and the State Department.
Efforts to reform the export control system date to the fall of the Soviet Union, according to U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney. Those initial proposals failed, and the system has remained largely the same ever since.
Courtney expects the reforms, which need to be approved by Congress in 30 days, to move forward. "If you want a textbook example of wasteful government regulations, this takes the prize," he said.
The latest high-profile case for reform came in April 2010, when then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates gave a speech that laid out what he would like to see in new export regulations and identified the system's current problems. "We were wasting our time and resources tracking technologies you could buy at Radio Shack," he said, recalling his service at the Central Intelligence Agency.
Gates, in his speech, took aim at the thick bureaucracy involved with export control. In response, he proposed a broad consolidation of the existing export systems and a refocusing on the 5 percent of cases that require the close, careful attention of the government's increasingly limited resources.
"It makes little sense to use the same lengthy process to control the export of every latch, wire and lug nut — for a piece of equipment like the F-16 — when we've already approved the export of the entire aircraft," Gates said.
'Byzantine' Export Laws
When AeroCision first got into exporting, the company hired a consultant to guide it through the "Byzantine" export laws, Gibson said. The laws, which he called thoroughly unclear, encourage intensely conservative interpretations to ward off penalties. "You have to go overboard to be sure you're in compliance."
Gibson said he has been waiting for the government to take another look at the regulations "but never really counted on it because it hadn't changed in decades."
The company recently landed a contract with a European defense company and applied for the necessary licenses to export the part. The license took three months to get approved.
"It's nice that someone is reviewing these laws and making sense of them because some are really not needed anymore," Gibson said.
The way the law is set up currently is a source of much anxiety for manufacturers. Federal requirements for exports often mean longer lead times for sales and can require an extra employee to focus on compliance.
"There is a worry on the part of manufacturers who are just getting into exporting that it is very burdensome and it is going to take extra work and corporate dollars to have an employee that just focuses on export regulations," said John Fusco, a lawyer at Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP in Stamford, who also works with the Connecticut District Export Council.
Fusco said that some of the worry might just be fear of the unknown and that once companies get into the system it is less intimidating. "It imposes additional steps on the company," Fusco said, "but the regulations exist, and you have to comply with them."
Many said the regulations also can be a drag on companies as they compete with foreign firms for contracts.
Anne Evans, director of the U.S. Department of Commerce's regional office in Middletown, recalled a common scene at trade shows: foreign manufacturers openly advertising the fact that they don't have to work through the U.S. regulations.
They sell products with the added point that they don't have the added cost — in time and treasure — of complying with a sea of licensing and approvals. And how does that sales pitch work out for the foreign firms? "They're going to get those sales before the Connecticut company because nobody wants to do that paperwork," Evans said.
Mike Scotto, national sales manager for Alpha Q, a precision machining firm in Colchester, said that on a recent trade mission to France with U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal the foreign company's preference for non-U.S. manufacturers was made clear.
"For a commercial product it's not so bad, but when it's on the military side of it, they make a point that that work will remain in Europe," Scotto said.


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CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Best Buy Inc. stunned Wall Street Wednesday by announcing that it plans to repurchase as much as $5.5 billion of its shares over the next few years, easing investor concerns that the retailer was about use its excess cash to embark on major acquisitions.
At the same time, the Richfield, Minn.-based electronics giant hiked its quarterly dividend 30% -- its largest ever -- and said it would expand the number of its stores in the U.S. by 40%. As part of the buyback, Best Buy said it already has used a portion for an accelerated share repurchase program to acquire $3 billion worth of shares by February.
The moves underscore Best Buy's confidence in its strategies amid slowdowns in housing and in consumer spending that have led to what the company has called the first industry-wide "interruption" in six years.
"Our confidence in the company has never been at a higher level," Best Buy Chairman Richard Schulze told shareholders at the company's annual meeting in Minnesota. The company said it commands 20% of the North American consumer-product market share, which is growing at a time when the overall industry is struggling.
The buyback, as of Tuesday's closing price, is equivalent to about one-quarter of the company's outstanding common stock. Though the ASR program will deplete Best Buy's hefty cash trove and require some borrowing, the company said it will only have a "modest benefit" on this year's fiscal per-share profit.
Most of the ASR will be funded through cash and cash equivalents, which stood at about $2.8 billion earlier this month. But the company said it will retire its existing $200 million line of credit and replace it with a $2 billion, five-year revolving line that will be used for "general corporate purposes."
That was good news to both investors and analysts, who feared that Best Buy was earmarking the cash for a major acquisition -- a road that has proven bumpy for Best Buy in the past.
Home Depot sets buyback bar
On the fourth-quarter conference call in April, Best Buy executives indicated that they were looking to acquisitions as a meaningful way to grow the company -- a comment that was harshly criticized by investors and analysts. The executives' stated aims were questioned again last week after another major retailer, Home Depot Inc.
At an investor conference hours after the Home Depot announcement, Best Buy CFO Darren Jackson lamented that Home Depot has "set the high bar" for buybacks.
The $5.5 billion buyback replaces Best Buy's
Bernstein Research analyst Colin McGranahan called the new program a "good use of investor capital.
"After facing a nearly continuous barrage of investors concerned about its excess cash position, Best Buy moved more aggressively than we had expected," he said in a research note.
"The company's decision to immediately repurchase $3 billion in stock is, in our view, a positive move that improves overall balance sheet efficiency, cost of capital and efficiently returns cash to shareholders, without adding material risk through increased leverage in a dynamic -- and challenging -- consumer electronics sector," he added.
What's more, he said, "concern around major acquisitions should ease."
Best Buy also plans to increase its quarterly dividend to 13 cents a share from 10 cents payable on Oct. 30 to shareholders as of record on Oct. 9.
As for its presence in the U.S., Best Buy said the number of stores could approach 1,400, which is 400 more than originally forecast and well above the historic 10% gain in square footage. More stores also will be opened in Canada and about eight to 10 are slated for China.
Stifel Nicolaus analyst David Schick said that the aggressive buyback and stepped-up new-store openings programs are "important" to "assuage investors' fears of potential for massive acquisition."
"It is as if Best Buy is saying, 'We see a core North American business that will be larger than today and healthy, and we want to own more of it,'" Schick told his clients. Fewer shares outstanding also provides an immediate lift to earnings per share, particularly so because of the scale of the buyback.
Wednesday's announcements were the second set of surprises Best Buy gave Wall Street in barely more than a week. Best Buy disappointed investors June 19 when it turned in an unexpected 18% drop in fiscal first-quarter profit. See full story.
Though the company maintained its full-year forecast, it said then that it was worried about volatile consumer spending throughout the rest of the year.
"We're off to a perplexing start," CFO Jackson said at the annual meeting. "But we're making great progress with the customer."


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The vacation rental giant Airbnb announced on November 16 that it had acquired the London-based accessible vacation rental startup, Accomable. The companies declined to disclose the price and terms of the deal, but did say that Airbnb would be working to immediately add Accomable’s roughly 1,100 accessible house and apartment listings to its portfolio.
Srin Madipalli co-founded Accomable two years ago with Martin Sibley after being frustrated by the lack of reliable accessibility information when looking for places to stay. Both Madipalli and Sibley have spina muscular atrophy. Accomable’s hallmark was detailed, verified accessibility features for all of its listings, something that Airbnb has struggled with.
Airbnb acknowledged those issues in a blog post announcing their acquisition of Accomable: “Previously, travelers with disabilities could only search for homes that were labeled as ‘wheelchair accessible’ when they were searching for an accessible place to stay. Guests weren’t getting the information they needed to find the right homes, nor the confidence that the home they selected would actually be accessible for them.”
Madipalli, along with his team, have transitioned from Accomable and are now working full-time with Airbnb to improve the accessibility of their listings. Madipalli will be Airbnb’s Accessibility Product and Program Manager in San Francisco.
Airbnb was already in the process of rolling out new accessibility features when it acquired Accomable. Now, the Accomable team will be working to make sure customers have the detailed information they need, including: how many stairs a listing has and if there is an elevator, the exact width of doorways, accessible bathroom features that will distinguish between a tub with grab rails and a roll in shower, and the height of beds.
Madipalli says he empathizes with those in the disability community who fear that the specialized accessibility features Accomable has worked so hard to apply will disappear and Airbnb will only implement a minor change or two without substantively changing their accessibility accountability.
“I know many in the Accomable community gained comfort from the fact that Accomable was created with a focus on accessibility and I am very sensitive to the fact that some in our community may be concerned that accessibility will again become an afterthought that is drowned out within a larger platform,” he says. “During our time at Airbnb, we were left in no doubt that Airbnb shares our mission and we are convinced that joining Airbnb provides the best opportunity to take our dream and mission to a global level, using the current reach of Airbnb’s community of 4 million hosts and 100 million guests to work together and make the world more accessible.”


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After Defying Lockdown Orders, Hobby Lobby Closing All Stores
According to Business Insider, Hobby Lobby, after defying state lock down orders to close some of their locations due to the coronavirus pandemic, is now temporarily shutting down stores nationwide. 'The announcement comes after the craft store quietly reopened stores in several states, in defiance of state-mandated lockdowns that called for the closure of nonessential businesses.'
The arts and crafts store will be furloughing 'nearly all store employees without pay. They are also 'ending emergency leave pay and suspending use of company provided paid time off benefits and vacation.' This is according to a statement issued on their website earlier today. The closures will happen at 8:00 PM on Friday, April 3.
Read their statement here.


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Last week, Republic Airways Holdings—which owns Chautauqua Airlines, Republic Airlines, and Shuttle America, and leases planes to major carriers like United and Delta—purchased not one but two airlines.
Assuming no higher bids materialize—and they’re not expected to—Republic will become the new owner of Denver-based Frontier, which is in bankruptcy, for $109 million. And for just $31 million, Republic will acquire Milwaukee-based Midwest. (To put that price into context, AirTran had tried to acquire Midwest in a hostile takeover. The final offer, rejected in August 2007, was around $445 million.)
Republic’s plan is to have both carriers continue operating separately, retaining their names, identities, and basic operating plans.
What will change is the relationship between Frontier and Midwest, which until now have had no marketing ties of any significance. Once both carriers fall under Republic’s ownership, they will codeshare and link frequent flyer programs.
According to Frontier’s news release, the codeshare agreement “will allow Frontier Airlines to sell tickets under a Frontier code and expand their networks to additional destinations currently served by Midwest. Frontier customers will now be able to reach more cities by connecting on Midwest through its Milwaukee hub. Midwest customers will also see an expanded network by connecting on Frontier and Lynx Aviation flights in Denver.”
The frequent flyer program tie-up will be along industry-standard lines. As described in the news release: “Both airlines’ customers will also be able to participate in each other’s respective frequent flyer programs—Frontier’s EarlyReturns program and Midwest’s Midwest Miles program, to earn miles and redeem them for free tickets.”
As is normally the case in such arrangements, the smaller airline benefits more than the larger partner. That’s simply because Frontier has more routes and flights than Midwest, so adding them to Midwest’s program has a greater impact on mileage earning and rewards opportunities than adding Midwest’s smaller network to Frontier’s program.
The news release is vague on start dates, but the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel reports that codesharing will begin on August 30, and that the frequent flyer links will be in place by the end of September.
While Frontier had been making progress in returning to financial health, Midwest has been teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. With increased competition from AirTran, and Southwest set to launch flights to its Milwaukee hub this fall, Midwest’s future was in serious doubt. So Republic’s intervention is a definite positive for Midwest customers.
The days of Midwest’s cushy seats and baked-onboard chocolate chip cookies may be coming to an end, but the airline has gained something better: a new lease on life.
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Aligning with its vision and mission for fostering rural prosperity, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has enhanced support to various sectors of rural economy for sustainable growth and development of Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh during 2021-22.
Cryptocurrency platforms are seeing a steady rise in the number of customers despite several risks and regulatory uncertainties. The prospect of earning high returns and the ease of investment is attracting people from across the country — metros to smaller cities. Can someone who invests in crypto also be led to other financial products?
A robust digital infrastructure, careful recaliberation of bank branches, increase in mobile transactions and a jump in number of bank branches has improved India's financial inclusion metrics, a report by State Bank of India (SBI) economists said.
Paytm Payments Bank has gained central bank approval to function as a scheduled payments bank, it said on Thursday, helping it to expand its financial services operations.
Addressing a summit, Nitin Gadkari said, "I have a plan to run buses, trucks and cars on green hydrogen that would be produced using sewage water and solid waste in cities."
Messaging platform WhatsApp on Wednesday said it has rolled out a pilot program across 500 villages across Karnataka and Maharashtra, aimed at empowering villagers with access to digital payments through 'payments on WhatsApp'. The announcement was made at Fuel For India 2021 - Meta's annual event in India.


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Inquirer.net/Asia News Network
Pizza is almost universally-loved—long-standing pineapple on pizza debate aside—so this is definitely good news for a lot of people. (Shutterstock/File)
Mornings just became a little more bearable after a nutritionist named Chelsey Amer stated that eating pizza for breakfast isn’t just for the severely hungover, but is actually a healthier option than a bowl of cereal.
“You may be surprised to find out that an average slice of pizza and a bowl of cereal with whole milk contain nearly the same amount of calories,” Amer explained in a report by the Chicago Tribune.
“However, pizza packs a much larger protein punch, which will keep you full and boost satiety throughout the morning.”
Pizza is almost universally-loved—long-standing pineapple on pizza debate aside—so this is definitely good news for a lot of people. Many expressed their excitement on Twitter:
This is about to change my life https://t.co/Irqm4tjXKU— Mike Murphy (@mcwm) January 30, 2018
Breakfast pizza is a gift from God— Tay-saur🐲 (@TaylorMckimmey) January 30, 2018
But before you decide to chow down on a slice every morning, here’s the catch: Amer also said that pizza isn’t a healthy food per se—just that it is a more balanced meal compared to a bowl of sugary flakes and milk. It definitely isn’t the healthiest breakfast option there is.


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The Samsung Galaxy M42 5G has reportedly been spotted on the NFC certification website and is expected to be launched in India soon. The phone may be the first Galaxy M-series phone with 5G connectivity. The phone has previously been seen on various certification websites and recently, a support page believed to be for the Galaxy M42 went live on the Samsung India website. As of now, Samsung itself has not shared any information on the phone.
The Samsung Galaxy M42 has been in the news for quite some time now and is expected to be the first Galaxy M series phone with 5G support. The phone has now been seen on the NFC certification website, suggesting that it will come with NFC support. The certification lists the odel number SM-M426B / DS, which is believed to be the Galaxy M42 where the DS stands for dual SIM.
Listing was first seen Verified by a tipster on Twitter with the pseudonym Blogger and independently by Gadgets 360.
By the end of March, a support page went live on the Samsung India website carrying the same model number. While the support page does not actually reveal any information other than the imminent Indian launch, the Galaxy M42 has allegedly made its way through several pre-launch certifications in the past.
It was reportedly spotted on the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) website, as well as the Wi-Fi Alliance and Bluetooth SIG certification websites last month. Since November last year, the 3C certification listing for the same model number has suggested that the Galaxy M42 will come with a 6,000mAh battery. At the time, it was believed that the phone could rebrand the Samsung Galaxy A42 5G launched in September 2020.
It should be noted that Samsung has not shared any information on the rumored Galaxy M5 5G, so this information should be taken with a pinch of salt.
What is the best phone under Rs. 15,000 in India right now? We discussed this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Later (starting at 27:54), we talk to OK computer creators Neil Peder and Pooja Shetty. Orbital is available on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, and wherever you find your podcast.


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Ocean Network Express (ONE) has recorded its first full-year profit since launching in 2017, despite a loss-making final quarter as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) began to drag down container volume.
The Singapore-based merger of Japanese carriers NYK, MOL, and “K” Line reported a $105 million net profit for the fiscal year ended March 31, improving on a $586 million loss in the previous year as revenue rose almost 10 percent to $11.8 billion.
ONE’s Asia-North America volume fell 12.2 percent year over year to 2.6 million TEU, while Asia-Europe volume rose 16.87 percent to 1.8 million TEU, the carrier said in an earnings statement Thursday.
The merger of the container shipping units of the three Japanese carriers has also netted considerable synergy effects, with a three-year target of $1.05 billion achieved in two years.
An increase in low-sulfur fuel prices as a result of the IMO 2020 mandate that began Jan. 1 were offset by the subsequent drop in bunker costs through the calendar first quarter, resulting in ONE reporting no change in the average bunker price per ton compared with the previous financial year.
But ONE will have little time to enjoy its first positive result. The carrier has warned of difficult times ahead as the global economy rapidly deteriorates and expects this to have a serious impact on the supply chain.
“Demand is declining in large consumption regions such as Europe, North America, and many other locations, and we executed a considerable scale of void sailings in April to meet decelerating cargo demand,” the carrier noted.
Data from Sea-Intelligence Maritime Consulting shows that more than 400 sailings have been blanked on deep-sea trades. On the Asia-Europe and trans-Pacific trades alone, the amount of weekly capacity removed in the past week increased from 3.1 million TEU to 3.4 million TEU. The analyst estimates that the total lost volume in 2020 could reach 7 million TEU.
Demand matching pays dividends
The ability to quickly reduce capacity to match falling demand can be seen in ONE’s load factors on the trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe trades. In the January-March period when the coronavirus began to drag down volume, average ship utilization on Asia-Europe was 100 percent, and 92 percent on the Asia-North America route. While ONE did not give an average rate per TEU, the ONE index shows average freight rates up strongly through the first quarter.
Cosco Shipping and OOCL, subsidiaries of Cosco Shipping Holdings, have shown the same ability to maintain a tight group on rates through the management of capacity. Group revenue for the Chinese carrier of $5.1 billion was up almost 3 percent in the first quarter year over year, and revenue per TEU across all trades improved by $43 to $949 per TEU.
Those capacity management skills will be urgently needed as manufacturing PMI readings for April indicate a significant weakening of global manufacturing. The impact of the coronavirus globally led to a substantial drop in export sales in April, with orders plunging on weaker foreign demand, according to the Caixin China General Manufacturing PMI.
Peter Sand, BIMCO chief shipping analyst, said in a market update Thursday that manufacturing PMI readings served as a bellwether for container shipping volume for the months ahead, and the latest data suggested 2020 would be a stern stress-test for carriers.
“Supply chain disruptions are on retreat, which is certainly a positive development, but with slowing consumer demand for finished goods, seaborne container volumes are set to remain low or outright decline in 2020,” he said.


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Bank solutions for pre- and post-data breach
WASHINGTON — As high-profile data breaches continue to pose a challenge to private and public sector organizations, the American Bankers Association is endorsing a new tool to help banks stay a step ahead of the growing threat. CyberScout’s DataRiskStages earned the ABA endorsement for its comprehensive pre- and post-data breach services after an extensive review. According to a recent Morning Consult survey, Americans trust banks the most to keep their personal information safe. CyberScout’s new product can further bolster customer confidence in banks.
Before a breach occurs, DataRiskStages helps banks comply with local and national data breach laws, develop incident response plans and offer other staff awareness tools. In a post-breach situation, DataRiskStages provides an assessment of the breach and recommended remediation. The program – available in both packages and a-la-carte pricing – also offers assistance with drafting notification letters, public relations consulting, call handling assistance, and templates for a customer FAQ and other needed documentation. Bank employees gain access to fraud resolution services through the program.
“We’ve heard from banks of all sizes that maintaining customer trust is a top priority,” said Robin Gordon, senior vice president, ABA Endorsed Cybersecurity Solutions. “Our goal with this endorsement is to provide a thorough evaluation for our members and deliver a solution that complements banks’ existing fraud initiatives by protecting and educating what matters most, their customers.”
As part of ABA’s standard due diligence process, ABA experts, with help from Cornerstone Advisors, evaluated seven companies that offer data breach services. ABA’s team selected CyberScout’s DataRiskStages because it offers a comprehensive, effective, and affordable data security program that is highly accessible to community banks.
“We are honored by the ABA’s confidence in CyberScout,” said Adam Levin, chairman of CyberScout. "Financial institutions are attractive targets for cyber criminals, and the recent Equifax breach offers a cautionary tale. Banks must stitch privacy and data security into the fabric of their corporate culture in order to vigilantly protect customer data. If protections fail, the institution must respond urgently, transparently and with empathy to keep customers’ trust and protect the bank’s reputation."
CyberScout was founded in 2003 by Adam Levin, a consumer advocate, author and former Director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, a division of the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety. More than 60 banks – from a $150 million institution to a $70 billion institution – have implemented the firm’s services in the last three years.
ABA members interested in learning more about CyberScout’s DataRiskStages can join a webinar on Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. ET. To register for the webinar visit: http://abameet.adobeconnect.com/cyberscout/event/event_info.html For more information about ABA’s endorsement of DataRiskStages, visit: https://www.aba.com/Products/Endorsed/Pages/cyberscout.aspx
The American Bankers Association is the voice of the nation’s $17 trillion banking industry, which is composed of small, regional and large banks that together employ more than 2 million people, safeguard $13 trillion in deposits and extend more than $9 trillion in loans.


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Goodyear has posted a second-quarter 2020 net loss of US$696m compared to net income of $54m a year ago.
“Although our first-half results were greatly affected by difficult industry conditions as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the decisive actions we took to safeguard our business helped mitigate the impact on our results,” said Goodyear chairman, CEO and president, Richard Kramer.
“While we are encouraged to see industry demand gradually recovering in most major markets, our plans for the second half consider the challenges and uncertainties that remain. We continue to focus on the well-being of our associates, servicing our customers and supporting our brands while appropriately managing our costs and working capital.
“We are also committed to supporting the strong growth we are seeing in our e-commerce and mobile installation businesses. These investments in distribution will strengthen our leadership position and support our long-term growth prospects as consumer buying behaviour continues to evolve within the tyre industry.”
Goodyear’s second quarter 2020 sales were US$2.1bn, down 41% from a year ago.
The decline was driven by lower industry volume and reduced sales from other tyre-related businesses. These factors were partially offset by improvements in price/mix.


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There is already a disturbing trend of profiteering among the Tea Party movement, from Glenn Beck’s Goldline scheme to conferences that cost $550 per ticket. Another such scheme unraveled in Ohio today, involving a discount program for Tea Party members at businesses near Dayton. Local businessman Donald Hutchison, who will speak at the Tea Party gathering in Washington, DC on Sept. 11, started the “Tea Party Exchange” last year, in which about 30 local businesses agreed to give discounts to local Tea Party members. The businesses, which believed they would see increased patronage, paid $150 to participate in the program. Yesterday, however, Hutchison abruptly shut down the program, and there is “no word” on whether the participating businesses will get their money back. Bill DeFries, owner of the local Beef O’Brady’s Family Sports Club and participant in the Tea Party exchange, is not pleased:
“I feel like I was hoodwinked,” said DeFries. “I think he was trying to make money.”
“I think he should refund everybody their money, including me,” said DeFries, who didn’t get a single TPX customer since he joined June 1.


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Nikon D7200 officially unveiled with several enhancements over the D7100
Nikon has unveiled a new high-end DSLR camera with an APS-C sensor in the body of the D7200. The sought-after Nikon D7200 comes packed with a slew of improvements over the D7100, such as enhanced low-light capabilities, WiFi, and NFC. However, there is no 4K video recording, unlike some gossip talks have predicted.
Nikon D7200 announcement to take place within three weeks
Nikon will allegedly hold a product launch event before March 13, 2015. Among other things, such as the 1 J5 mirrorless camera, the company’s fans will witness the official Nikon D7200 announcement. The new DSLR camera will replace the D7100, roughly two years after its introduction back in February 2013.
Nikon D7200 and 1 J5 names show up on Russian website
Nikon has registered a slew of cameras on the website of a Russian certification agency. Most, if not all these models, are rumored to be announced at the CP+ Camera & Photo Imaging Show 2015 in mid-February. Among the list of registered devices we can find the Nikon D7200 DSLR and the Nikon 1 J5 mirrorless camera.
New Nikon D7200 details come to surface ahead of launch
Trusted sources have been able to leak more Nikon D7200 details, revealing that the upcoming DSLR camera will come packed with built-in WiFi and a tilting display on its back. The new information is mostly on par with previously-leaked specs, but there are some notable changes from what we used to know.
First Nikon D7200 specs leaked on the web
Nikon could announce a replacement for the D7100 DSLR sometime within the next few months. Until then, the rumor mill has leaked the list of preliminary Nikon D7200 specs, which is said to include a brand new DX-format sensor made by Sony as well as a new and impressive autofocus sensor with 72 focus points.
Nikon D7200 DSLR camera replacing D7100 this summer
Nikon is rumored to reveal a plethora of new cameras by the end of 2014. One of them is the Nikon D7200, a DSLR that will serve as a D7100 replacement. Inside sources are claiming that the device will become official this summer. Meanwhile, the company is also working on other cameras, such as the D800s, D9300, and D2300.


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People line up for t-shirts at a Robinhood online brokerage pop-up kiosk along Wall Street after the company went public with an IPO earlier today on July 29, 2021 in New York.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Find out which companies are making the midday headlines.
Facebook – Shares of Facebook fell 4% after the social media giant said it was underestimating advertising performance on iPhones. Facebook said Apple’s privacy measures in its iOS operating system were behind the underreporting.
Robinhood – Robinhood shares jumped 10.9% after the trading app announced it was testing “crypto wallets” with some clients next month. The move is Robinhood’s latest expansion into the cryptocurrency space.
APA, Devon Energy, Occidental Petroleum – Energy stocks were among the top winners on the S&P 500 as crude oil prices rose. APA gained 7.2%, Devon Energy rose 6.8% and Occidental Petroleum added 5.2%.
General Mills – Shares of General Mills rose 3.3% after the food company’s quarterly profits hit the streets. General Mills reported adjusted earnings of 99 cents per share, against an analyst consensus of 89 cents per share, according to StreetAccount. Quarterly revenues also exceeded expectations.
Adobe – Adobe shares fell 3.1% despite the software company’s quarterly financial results beating Wall Street expectations. The company reported earnings of $ 3.11 per share on revenue of $ 3.94 billion. Analysts expected earnings of $ 3.01 per share on revenue of $ 3.89 billion, according to Refinitv.
FedEx – Shares of the delivery company plunged 9.1% after the company issued a downward revision to its guidance for the year on Tuesday. FedEx said its quarterly results were affected by labor shortages, which slowed packages and pushed up costs ahead of the peak holiday season.
Stitch Fix – Shares of the online fashion styling company climbed 15.7% after its strong quarterly results. Stitch Fix reported earnings per share of 19 cents, down from an expected loss of 13 cents, according to Refinitiv. Revenue reached $ 571 million, beating estimates by $ 548 million.
SoFi – Shares of financial services startup SoFi jumped 11% after Jefferies launched stock hedging with a price target of $ 25, more than 64% above its closing level on Tuesday . Analyst John Hecht said he has multiple avenues for growth, citing his “synergistic business model” and the recently acquired technology platform Galileo.
Disney – Disney shares rose 1.5% after Credit Suisse said Tuesday’s sell-off of the share was overstated and said it was maintaining its outperformance rating. The bank has a price target of $ 218 per share, which is 27% above its closing price on Tuesday.
SunPower – SunPower shares jumped 5.5% after Evercore ISI launched the stock’s hedge with an outperformance rating. The company said the solar installer has been overlooked by investors in recent years and is now trading at a lower price than its peers.
Incyte – Shares of Incyte fell 8.5% after the Food and Drug Administration approved the drug company’s eczema cream, but with boxed warnings.
Simon Property Group – The mall operator’s shares rose 2.6% after Argus Research upgraded Simon Property to buy holdback. The company said in a note to customers that Simon is rebounding faster than expected after the pandemic shutdowns of 2020.
– TBEN’s Maggie Fitzgerald, Yun Li, Tanaya Macheel and Jesse Pound contributed reporting
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Does milk “do a body good,” as the marketing slogan promises?
There’s a big debate about whether cow’s milk delivers a range of problems along with its measurable dose of protein and calcium. But for millions of Americans, it’s not a close call. Their digestive systems are intolerant to milk – lactose intolerant to be more precise.
That’s why there’s growing concern about the dairy industry monopoly over the school lunch program because lactose-intolerance disproportionately affects Black, Asian, Latino, and others of non-European descent. In fact, 70 to 95 percent of Black, Pacific Islander and Asian, Native American, and Latino individuals suffer adverse symptoms after consuming dairy. Failing to provide alternative and nutritious beverages to these kids is unhealthy, unfair, and wrong.
Many kids throw the milk away, generating volumes of food waste and shortchanging kids of essential nutrition. Or they consume it and suffer the consequences, complicating their ability to absorb their school lessons. Animal Wellness Action and the non-profit nutrition group Switch4Good are working to make milk alternatives more readily available to schoolchildren, seeking to unwind this tone-deaf, stomach-churning food plan in our nation’s schools
Fortunately, there’s an easy answer. In 2020, the US Dietary Guidelines recognized fortified soy milk as a nutritional equivalent to dairy cow milk. But nutritional equivalency and cafeteria availability are not the same thing, and schools have failed to make soy milk readily available. To provide all students with a nutritional beverage that won’t make them sick — and to respect public schools’ tight budgets — USDA should implement a policy that makes soy milk readily available at all public schools and reimbursable at prices similar to cow’s milk.
Today, on the Animal Wellness Podcast, we talk with Dotsie Bausch, executive director of Switch4Good and Olympic Silver Medalist in cycling, and Dr. Milton Mills, an expert on this very issue of lactose intolerance and child nutrition.
Wayne Pacelle and Marty Irby from Animal Wellness Action join host Joseph Grove.


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Corporate suspensions or cancellations especially of international business travel in the past two weeks have increased sharply due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to a Global Business Travel Association membership survey released Tuesday.
About 41 percent of respondent companies have canceled or suspended all international travel due to concerns over Covid-19, according to the survey, which was fielded March 4-6. GBTA’s survey includes 1,095 member companies throughout the world; 46 percent of respondents were travel managers, 6 percent procurement or sourcing professionals, 32 percent suppliers, 10 percent travel management companies and 7 percent other categories.
Only 7 percent of respondent companies had reported international travel cancellations in a Feb. 24 GBTA survey. About 13 percent of respondent companies in March reported canceling or suspending all domestic travel, compared with 2 percent in the prior survey.
Chart: Suspension Rates for International & Domestic Travel
“Coronavirus is significantly impacting the business travel industry’s bottom line,” GBTA COO and executive director Scott Solombrino said in a statement. “As the virus continues to spread across the world, business travel is slowing at an alarming rate. The impact to the business travel industry—and to the broader economy—cannot be underestimated.”
Across all global regions, respondent companies have canceled average of 43 percent of business trips previously booked for March due to the outbreak. About 73 percent of respondent companies reported canceling at least a “few” meetings, events or conferences, with 30 percent canceling “many” such events.
The effect of the international business travel restrictions is most keenly felt on trips to China, which 95 percent of respondent companies have banned, as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan, travel to which has been banned by 87 percent and 79 percent, respectively. About three-quarters of respondent companies have done likewise on business travel elsewhere in Asia.
Chart: Suspension Rates for China & Other Asia-Pacific Travel
Cancellations and suspensions of business travel to regions other than Asia also have jumped. About 51 percent of respondent companies reported suspensions or cancellations of all or most business travel to Europe, 8 percent more than in February.
Chart: Travel Suspension Rates for Other Global Regions
About 55 percent of respondent companies reported new trip-approval procedures, up from 43 percent in the prior survey, and 62 percent have modified their travel safety and security policies, up from 51 percent.
Suppliers also are feeling the pinch. Fifty-nine percent of supplier respondents reported that the coronavirus outbreak has made a “significant” impact on their company’s revenue, and another 27 percent reported a “moderate” impact to date.
This content was originally published here.


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Chinese stocks declined amid falling producer prices
Shanghai Composite index dropped by 0.42% to 2,943.75 points, while the CSI300 blue chip index dropped by 0.18% to 4,039.71 points.
Producer prices in China dropped to a maximum of 4 years in May, indicating pressure on the manufacturing sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which reduced trade flows and weakened global demand.
Financial sector sub-index fell 0.92 percent, the consumer goods sector dropped 0.21 percent, the real estate index declined 1.27 percent, and the health sector grew 1.77 percent.
The index of ChiNext Composite startups increased by 0.94%.
The decline was led by Shanghai Fengyuzhu Exhibition Co Ltd, Chengdu Xuguang Electronics Co Ltd and Tibet Rhodiola Pharmaceutical Holding Co., which lost 9.59%, 7.38% and 6.93% respectively.
The Hong Kong index dropped 0.03% to 25,049.73 points, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises index added 0.22% to 10,143.48 points.


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Canadian auto sales “disappointed” in 2019, report saysby Canadian Plastics
This marks a second consecutive year of auto sales declines following the 2017 high, a new report from Scotiabank says, and auto sales are in for another bumpy ride in 2020.
U.S. Senate passes new North American trade dealby Canadian Plastics
After President Trump gives his signature to the three-nation pact, it needs only Canada’s approval to take effect.
U.S., China sign “phase one” of trade dealby Canadian Plastics
The U.S.-based Plastics Industry Association praises the signing as a “step in the right direction”.
Canadian auto sales were down in December, report saysby Canadian Plastics
The new report by Scotiabank also notes that U.S. auto sales dipped even more sharply in December.
Quebec increasing minimum wage to $13.10 per hour on May 1, 2020by Canadian Plastics
The 60-cent per hour increase will affect 409,100 Quebecers, including 235,700 women, according to a ministry press release.
Ontario investing $3 million in training pilot for automotive, advanced manufacturingby Canadian Plastics
The program will provide short duration training to help unemployed, underutilized workers, or those at-risk of being laid off.
Deal on USMCA trade pact reached by Trump, Democratsby Canadian Plastics
House Democrats have reached an agreement with the Trump Administration over the new North American deal, which replaces NAFTA.
Primary plastics machinery shipments in North America down in Q3by Canadian Plastics
Compared to last quarter, total shipments of injection molding and extrusion machinery dropped by 0.5% to US$293.7 million in the third quarter of 2019, new figures from the Plastics Industry Association show.
U.S. industry group wants tariffs on Chinese molds reinstatedby Canadian Plastics
The American Mold Builders Association has formally asked the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to bring back the 25 per cent tariff, which was put on hold last December.
Canadian auto sales dipped again in October, report saysby Canadian Plastics
Auto sales fell back modestly by 0.6% year-over-year in October, a new report from Scotiabank says, with flat fleet sales providing little offset to a continued decline in retail performance.
North American robot sales up in 2019by Canadian Plastics
According to new figures from the Robotic Industries Association, the largest driver of this growth was an increase in orders from automotive OEMs, followed by plastics and rubber, and food and consumer goods.
Canadian manufacturing sales down slightly in September, StatsCan saysby Canadian Plastics
Sales in the machinery industry increased 5.5 per cent to $3.7 billion, however, which was the largest monthly increase since May 2018.
Canadian auto sales fell back “modestly” in October, report saysby Canadian Plastics
U.S. auto sales also posted a decline in October, according to a new report from Scotiabank.
North America automotive tooling spend to drop to US$6.8 billion, report saysby Canadian Plastics
The key factor driving this reducing tooling spend is the decreased number of North American vehicles that will be sourced for production in 2020, the report from Harbour Results says.
U.S. plastics industry maintained trade surplus in 2018, reports sayby Canadian Plastics
The size of the U.S. plastics industry expanded in 2018 while also maintaining a trade surplus of $500 million as consumption of plastics products continued to grow in the U.S., according to two new reports from the Plastics Industry Association.
Canadian auto sales posted modest increase in August, report saysby Canadian Plastics
U.S. auto sales also grew at a robust rate in August, according to the latest Auto News Flash from Scotiabank.
N. American plastics machinery shipments up in Q2, report saysby Canadian Plastics
Statistics compiled and reported by the Plastics Industry Association’s Committee on Equipment Statistics says that plastics machinery shipments increased 8.2% in Q2 2019, following a 27.6% decrease in Q1.
Canadian wage growth climbs to highest mark since 2009: StatsCanby Canadian Plastics
But the unemployment rate moved up to 5.7% as Canada shed 24,200 jobs, the agency also said.
Canadian auto sales picked up in July: Scotiabankby Canadian Plastics
But U.S. auto sales decelerated in July, a new Scotiabank report says, as volatility in that market continues.
North American tooling industry continues to slow: reportby Canadian Plastics
North American capacity utilization at its lowest mark since 2016, the Q2 2019 Automotive Tooling Barometer Survey says.


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Antimony trioxide market stalls
Published: Wednesday, 06 September 2017
The stronger Chinese Renminbi against the US dollar has helped to support antimony trioxide FOB China prices despite weak global demand. But low consumption has weighed on the European business, while the US market was partially affected by hurricane Harvey.
Global antimony trioxide spot prices have kept unchanged
this week as depressed demand worldwide outweighed bullish
offers from suppliers.
A number of suppliers told IM that market
condition remained disappointing despite the end of the quiet
"It is not possible for demand to improve this year....


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JW Filshill has completed its relocation from Hillington to its purpose-built distribution centre and head office at Westway Park near Glasgow Airport.
The move – a £5 million investment – marks an important step in its goal to hit £350 million turnover by February 2031 and follows last year’s acquisition of the independent Iain Hill Ltd wholesale business, which bolstered Filshill’s modern fleet of vehicles and strengthened its pool of experienced staff.
Chief executive officer Simon Hannah said that the new 120,400 sq ft depot at Westway Park will now enable the wholesaler to increase its operational capacity and open more stores from Wick down to Doncaster. The fifth-generation family business presently supplies 216 KeyStore convenience stores across Scotland and the north of England plus national accounts including the Scottish Prison Service. It also has 1,600 independent customers.
Its initial targets (in the year to February 2024) are to sign up around 30 new KeyStores, increase turnover from £200 million (2022) to £219 million, deliver 11 million cases of product (10.5 million last year), and achieve 95% deliveries on time and 95% availability (an improvement from 93% for each KPI last year).
The wholesaler has also refreshed its KeyStore branding, which now features on five of its vehicles and two KeyStore shops, with a plan to roll this out to other stores over the next few years. The new KeyStore branding will also appear on the Filshill website, which will be relaunched in July.
Commenting on the new premises and its importance to the company’s growth plans, Hannah said: “Operating out of these bespoke premises, which have been designed to our exact specification as part of our 10-year growth strategy, will improve our efficiency and productivity as we invest in the long-term success of the company, protect future revenue streams and increase customer satisfaction.
“We are an award-winning wholesaler with ambitious growth plans, and our new distribution centre puts us in an ideal position to achieve our ambitions, expand the KeyStore estate, and work in partnership with our customers and suppliers for mutual benefit.”
Hannah added: “While we are disappointed that the pandemic and unforeseen planning issues delayed our move to Westway Park, we are delighted to now be fully operational as a business from what is one of the most modern and efficient food and drink distribution depots in the UK.
“We will use the facility to drive unrivalled operational efficiency and promote the keenest prices as we aspire to become the most frictionless wholesaler in Scotland for our customers and suppliers to do business with.
“Incorporating the high-level skills of our people across the business and the most up-to-date technology and equipment, Westway Park marks the start of a new phase of a journey for the Filshill family that started in Paisley in 1875.”
The 16-metre-high warehouse has 12 loading docks and an innovative four-floor pick tower which can hold approximately 1,520 pallets. There is also standard storage racking with capacity to hold 8,650 pallets.
Gravity-fed live racking benefits from a semi-automated shuttle system which holds 1,155 pallets of Filshill’s fastest-selling products, generating significant operational efficiency. This is a first for wholesaling in Scotland, according to the company.
The new premises have 211 solar panels covering 400 sq m of roof space, and there are electric vehicle charging points. A wildflower garden is being created and beehives are being put in place.
The distribution centre has also been designed with the comfort of staff in mind, with the offices created to make the most of natural light and provide employees with a comfortable working environment that will help boost both productivity and mental health.
Filshill’s 10-year strategy focuses heavily on engagement with its 216-strong workforce on health and wellbeing, particularly with regard to mental health. “This remains at the heart of our strategy, and we recognise that as a responsible employer we need to do this not only for our employees and their families but also because of the positive impact it has on our business and our customers,” said Hannah.
“Our safety-first culture is a cornerstone of everything we do and our workforce retention and ability to recruit has been positively impacted by these initiatives. The new working environment at Westway will further cement this commitment.”
He added: “We are a business for families, not a family business, and that’s an articulation that more clearly defines our culture as opposed to our ownership structure. It is really important to us that people are proud of being part of this business.”
Filshill saw turnover increase to £200 million – up 4.4% from £191 million – in the year ending 31 January 2022. Operating profits increased from £2.3 million to £2.7 million, and gross profit was £17 million. Net assets grew to £17.1 million from £15.2 million the previous year.
Published Date: March 29, 2023


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One month after Apple TV+ signed a deal to move the classic Peanuts holiday specials from broadcast TV to its streaming platform, the company has relented and will allow two of the programs to air on linear TV after all.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and A Charlie Brown Christmas will run ad-free on PBS and PBS Kids in addition to streaming on Apple TV+, as part of an agreement between Apple and PBS. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving will air Nov. 22 on PBS and PBS Kids at 7:30 p.m., and A Charlie Brown Christmas will be broadcast on Dec. 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Prior to today’s announcement, the only way to watch the Peanuts holiday shows would have been to stream them on Apple TV+, which costs $5 per month.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving began streaming today on Apple TV+ for subscribers and will also be available for free from Nov. 25-27. A Charlie Brown Christmas starts streaming Dec. 4 on Apple TV+ and will stream for free from Dec. 11-13.
Last month, Apple TV+ struck a deal between Apple TV+ with media company WildBrain, Peanuts Worldwide LLC and Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Inc. to become the new home for the classic holiday specials, including It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
It was a big coup for the streaming service, given that broadcast TV had aired the specials each year to great success for the past several decades. ABC had the broadcast rights to the specials for the past 20 years. Prior to that, the specials aired on CBS.
The partnership, an expansion of Apple TV+’s earlier dabbling in Peanuts programming, means that new original series and specials will be coming to the streamer in the future, including specials celebrating New Year’s Eve, Earth Day, Mother’s Day and back-to-school season.
The streamer ordered a second season of Snoopy in Space, which debuted in Apple TV+’s November 2019 launch and was nominated for Daytime Emmys. The streamer is also working on The Snoopy Show and a documentary film about the Peanuts gang.


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Our favorite scary flicks from ‘Us’ to ‘MIDSOMMAR’ — and where to watch them.
Well above HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones.’
But you’ll have to be a Prime subscriber too.
The anime series will follow Manji on his gory mission.
Amazon Prime Video
Proving that we are all Meek.
Co-produced with the original movie’s producers.
The series arrives this week.
Featuring an interview with Seth Rogen and behind-the-scenes clips.
Coming to Amazon Prime Video in August.
Some scenes are pretty graphic.


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Insiders are saying that Sony is already working on PlayStation 5 games
I only have one question – will games be more or less expensive?
We’ve not seen much of Sony this last year, the company’s annual PlayStation Experience event was skipped at the end of last year and it opted out of E3 in June of this year, as well. That will make it the only E3 without the PlayStation brand, which usually closes out the presentations.
With only a few of its already-announced games still outstanding, we’ve been theorizing that the absence meant that internal gears had shifted to development for the still-unannounced PlayStation 5 console.
That theory seems to be borne out by a post on gaming forum ResetEra, from industry analyst Daniel Ahmad (ZhugeEX). Amongst the overall forecast of a strong year for Sony’s PlayStation brand, is some talk about the lineup for the second half of the year being “in flux.” Does that mean the PlayStation 5 announcement isn’t far away? Are there any other reasons you could think of for the games currently slated for the back end of the year to be changed in some way?
Certainly, if you were planning on releasing them on current and next-gen systems you might push the release dates out to mesh with the new console’s release.
What does this mean for games in the foreseeable future?
With Daniel also saying that most of Sony’s first-party developers are focused on next-gen right now, that suggests not many more PS4-only releases in the near future. Perhaps, some of those games will get the treatment The Last of Us got with the PS3/PS4 transition period, where the game was released on the older console then re-released and remastered for the more powerful next-gen system.
With the exception of Days Gone, the rest of Sony’s already-announced first-party games are still without a concrete release date. The Last of Us: Part II and Death Stranding are going to be blockbusters no matter which console they release on, the question is will they be cross-generational releases?
With PS5 dev kits reportedly out in the wild, it looks like we won’t have too long to wait to find out.
- Here are the games you need to be playing in February
- GameStop stock drops 25% as the company stops looking for a buyer
- Here are your free Xbox Games with Gold for February 2019
- You can now use Bluetooth controllers with Fortnite on Android and iPhone
- Metro Exodus curves Steam and heads to the Epic Games Store


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2018 XBIZ Awards Categories Announced, Pre-Nom Period Begins Sept. 1
XBIZ has unveiled its official categories for the 2018 XBIZ Awards, when the incomparable Jessica Drake will host the adult industry's biggest night, presented by MyFreeCams.com.READ MORE
XBIZ™ is the adult industry's leading publisher of business news and information, providing up-to-the-minute coverage of the industry at XBIZ.com and in three trade publications — XBIZ World for the digital media market, XBIZ Premiere for the retail market and XBIZ Sensuals for the intimate products market.
In addition, XBIZ hosts five annual trade events including the adult industry’s biggest night, the XBIZ Awards. XBIZ is frequently cited in the media for coverage of the industry and has been published in CNN, Fox News, Newsweek, MSNBC, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Wired, CNET, ABC, USA Today and Los Angeles Times among others.


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Hyundai is recalling 239,000 cars in the U.S. because the seat belt pretensioners can explode and injure vehicle occupants. Three injuries have been reported, two in the U.S. and one in Singapore.
In a letter to the Korean automaker, government regulators said that the driver’s and front passenger’s seat belt pretensioners can explode upon deployment and send shrapnel throughout the vehicle. Pretensioners tighten the belts in preparation for a crash.
The recall, which expands and replaces three previous recalls, affects roughly 61,000 2019-2022 Accents, 166,000 2021-2023 Elantras and 12,000 2021-2022 Elantra HEVs, or hybrid electric vehicles, according to a recall notice from the the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.
Vehicles repaired under the previous recalls will need to be brought to dealerships again for the new remedy.
Owners of the affected vehicles will be notified by first-class mail by and can go to a dealership, where the seat belt pretensioners will be fit with a cap at no cost. Vehicles that are no longer covered under a Hyundai warranty are eligible for repair. The automaker also will reimburse owners for out-of-pocket expenses they incur to get the defect fixed.
Hyundai is expected to notify owners by July 15, NHTSA said. For more information, owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460 and reference recall number 229. They can also call the NHTSA vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or go to www.nhtsa.gov.
Earlier this month, Hyundai recalledin the U.S. because fuel hoses can leak in the engine compartment and cause fires. That recall covers certain 2013 and 2014 Sonata sedans, many of which were recalled for the same problem in 2020.


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Thursday, October 16, 2014
Naples, Florida (October 13, 2014) – Customer Finder® Marketing, a leading Naples internet marketing firm, proudly announces that it is now a certified Google Partner. With this accreditation, the agency can provide better results for Google AdWords campaigns, thereby ensuring an even healthier return of investment for clients. The Google Partner qualification is granted only to firms that employ best practices in pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. To earn it, the agency must pass one fundamental exam and three advanced exams, namely: the Search Advertising Advance Exam, the Display Advertising Advance Exam, and Video Advertising Exam. In the case of Customer Finder® Marketing, our personnel have taken and passed all four examinations, ensuring we can provide the best lead generation in the PPC field.
Friday, October 10, 2014
Marketing in its conventional form has had its fair share of misconceptions in the past, and its web-based approach is no exception. Here are some of the most common myths about the practice of online marketing.


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Customer Service a Family's Priority
By Amanda Bouc, firstname.lastname@example.org
MANHATTAN, Kan. – For the Floersch family, there’s no such thing as a ‘typical day.’
As the owners of Ray’s Apple Market, a local grocery store serving Manhattan, Kan., Mike, Aaron and Tom Floersch strive to provide “modern stores with old-fashioned service.”
The trio is following in the steps of Ray Floersch, the father of Mike and Tom and grandfather of Aaron, who started the business nearly 48 years ago. These grocers work to remain competitive with other chain grocers in town by maintaining relationships with their customers and the local community.
“We were brought up that way,” Mike Floersch said. “We think it’s a basic; it’s a thank you for shopping with us.”
The roots of customer service run deep in the family-operated store and are emphasized during employee training and store management. For example, employees of the store will carry-out groceries for shoppers and prioritize conversation with the consumer – two practices the Floersch’s say make their grocery store unique.
“We have the eight-foot rule. If somebody is within eight feet of you, you speak to them,” Mike Floersch said. “It’s what we expect when you come and work for us.”
But friendly relationships with customers are only the beginning of this store’s focus on the consumer.
Ray’s Apple Market is a full-service grocery store, and also has a bakery, deli, coffee shop, free Wi-Fi, and video kiosk. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the deli provides all-you-can-eat dinner deals, with chicken, ribs and various sides, as well as daily specials of home-cooked favorites, such as 15-20 preservative-free homemade salads, while the bakery produces an array of homemade breads.
The store’s meat department is also internal, with all of the cuts and packaging taking place within Ray’s, Mike Floersch said.
And, if there is a grocery item a customer wants but the store doesn’t have, they will special order it for that customer, he said.
The store’s services also extend beyond foods, as the Manhattan stores sell Kansas State University and Manhattan merchandise, and offer a dry-cleaning drop-off and pick-up service with a local provider.
To illustrate gratitude for its customers, Ray’s Apple Markets also has hosted various events in the store, such as a customer appreciation carnival, free ice-cream social, and “Donuts with Dad,” a Father’s Day celebration in which children could decorate donuts with their fathers. The store also has brought in the Easter Bunny and Tow Mater, the famous truck from the movie “Cars.”
While these events are hosted to attract customers, they are also held to thank local customers and “put a little more fun into grocery shopping,” Tom Floersch said.
Though the focus is on the customer, significant attention also is directed toward impacting the community. As the owners of the store, Aaron Floersch said it was easier to make decisions regarding community donations or requests because the request didn’t have to travel to the corporate level.
“We support a lot of things people don’t even know about. It’s a lot of little things,” Mike Floersch said. “We try and stay connected to our customers’ needs.”
For example, earlier this month the store provided grocery carts for a food collection event and gave tours of the store to elementary students.
Ray’s Apple Markets also uses its deli to assist organizations with fundraising, allowing groups to take home a portion of the night’s profits.
And while features and events are the norm at Ray’s Apple Market, this family trio prides themselves most in the quality of their groceries, Mike Floersch said.
“We have a passion for the business. We feel like if you put your heart and soul into it and mean what you say, people will return,” Mike Floersch said.
“We do it the best we know how.”
The Floersch family also provides hometown service in Ray’s Apple Markets located in St. Marys, Clay Center, Seneca, and Council Grove in Kansas, and in Fairbury, Neb.
Picture Caption: Aaron Floersch helps assemble a 40-foot sub-sandwich for a special promotion at Ray’s Apple Market in Manhattan, Kan. The sandwich was sold by the foot for $3.99.


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Keyword: Signature Travel Network
Signature Travel Network is rolling out plans for a new messaging tool and turnkey cruise booking engine at a series of six regional management meetings and educational forums held around the country this week. Here’s what else is on the agenda.
It was a tough week for travel advisors and their consortia/host/franchise organizations in dealing with the pull-back of cruises from Cuba, after the U.S. government changed policies for travel to that island nation. Here's the latest.
Signature members, along with other travel organizations, all contributed to leave a legacy of education for more than 50 students through Micato’s AmericaShare School Sponsorship Program. Learn more here.
ASTA’s Washington state members were instrumental in the grassroots campaign to save agencies $14 million annually. Read more here.
OASIS Travel Network’s new, top-level Diamond Program is only open to agencies and advisors with a minimum of $1.5 million annual cruise and land sales. Get the details here.
The inaugural event took place April 10 in Dallas, Texas. Here’s an inside look.
It’s been another busy week of executive moves in the travel industry, particularly in the cruise sector. Here's what you need to know.
Signature Travel Network has announced the restructuring of its marketing and preferred partnership departments. Get the details here.
Seven OASIS Travel Network Agents were invited into Signature’s new Travel Expert Select Program, which connects A-list clients with travel professionals.
The cruise company celebrated achievements by offering a plethora of awards, including the President's Award and Chairman's Award. Check out more.


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M&A activity in the beauty industry has been strong in the first half of 2015 and there are no signs the market is slowing down any time soon. In just the past two months we’ve seen Frederic Fekkai, Kate Somerville, Too Faced, Rochas, Bourjois and This Works snapped up by either multi-national companies or investment firms. Indeed, all eyes are on Indie brands, who are being favored by consumers for their transparency, unique social savvy and access to founders. Here, CEW has identified three Indie brands we think have the innovation and staying power to become the next Glamglow.
Founded by chemical engineer Jenny Frankel, NUDESTIX aims to embody the effortless lifestyle trend consumers are beginning to seek, especially Millennials. In order to speak to the needs of the younger consumer, Jenny partnered with her daughters, Ally and Taylor, to launch a line of streamlined makeup crayons designed to provide quick and easy nude looks that work for all faces.
“NUDESTIX is a brand that a beauty executive with 20 years of experience would typically not create, because we don’t think they have insights to the up and coming generation,” said Jenny. “This consumer has been influenced by technology, has access to curated lifestyles and needs her makeup to be cool, effortless, fast and fun. Most importantly, it has to be mobile.”
Skin Inc, Skin Supplement Bar
Customized, hyper-personalized beauty is where forecasters say beauty is headed, and Singapore-based Skin Inc aims to deliver just that with the world’s first Customized Serum Bar. Consumers can create their very own custom-blended serum after filling out a questionnaire to identify their individual skin’s needs on the brand’s site, iloveskin.com. Created in 2007, Skin Inc also operates flagships in Singapore and throughout Asia and Europe.
“The brand was inspired by my personal frustration with complex skin care regimens which seemed to be one size fits all rather than being custom fit to me,” said Founder Sabrina Tan. “After all, your skin is unique, and so should your skin care to get effective results without the fuss.”
Companies that are thinking bigger and finding new ways of using products and techniques to improve well-being through beauty will be sought after by beauty consumers, experts say. To meet this need, Dr. Roshini Raj, a gastroenterologist, developed Tula, a skin care line completely based on probiotic technology.
“As a gastroenterologist I’m fascinated with probiotics and wanted to create a skin care line that was innovative and effective and spoke to the concept of inside/outside beauty, while offering women optimal skin health,” said Dr. Raj.
Tula, which means “balance” in Sanskrit, was co-founded by Dr. Raj, Ken Landis—one of the co-founders of Bobbi Brown—and Dan Reich, and launched in July 2014. With headquarters and labs based in New York, Tula took only one year from concept to being retail ready. Sold exclusively on QVC.com, they released five products, including a serum, a day and night moisturizer, an eye cream, a cleanser and a collection of travel-sized items.
All three entrepreneurs will take part in a panel at CEW’s upcoming Newsmaker event, Beauty Disruptors: Indies, to be held Wednesday, June 24 at the Harmonie Club in Midtown Manhattan. They will discuss how they’re staying one step ahead of the industry by innovating for tomorrow’s beauty consumers; key drivers of their success; and growth plans for their brands.
Keynote speaker Vennette Ho, Managing Director, Financo, will discuss the M&A activity in beauty and the factors that make a brand attractive for acquisition. Additionally, event attendees will receive two exclusive reports – one from Financo and one from social media brand experts Tribe Dynamics – on beauty industry insights.
The event kicks off with a cocktail networking session at 5 p.m., followed by the program at 6:00 p.m. Individual CEW member tickets are $175; non-member tickets are $275. To register to attend this event, click here.


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We've already seen the production-ready 2013 SRT Viper. In fact, we named it Best In Show after it officially debuted at the 2012 New York Auto Show earlier this month. But what we haven't seen is the full color palette that will be offered, and our spy photographers recently caught a Viper prototype out testing sporting a fresh coat of yellow paint, as well as some new, more sedate wheels.
As for that color, we aren't sure how we feel about it just yet, granted, we'll want to see it in person and without all of the hastily bolted-together panel gaps of this prototype. Moreover, we'd like to see how the new SRT looks in a proper GTS white/blue paint job. Be sure to let us know what you think of the new yellow paint in the comments.
The don't-call-it-a-Dodge Viper officially launches this year, boasting 640 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque from its monstrous 8.4-liter V10. We're eagerly awaiting our first stint behind the wheel, but for now, this new batch of high-res photos will have to suffice.


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All employees must now be tested at Canada Post facility in Mississauga as COVID-19 outbreak grows
All employees working at Canada Post’s Gateway facility in Mississauga must now be tested for COVID-19 as the facility battles a large outbreak.
As of Saturday, the postal service says 273 people who work at the site have tested positive since the beginning of the month.
Canada Post says regional health authority Peel Public Health directed the mandatory testing at the Gateway facility, and employees who have already been tested must be assessed again.
The initiative began Friday and is set to scale up over the next week.
The company announced the death of a COVID-19 positive employee on Wednesday amid the growing outbreak.
More than 4,500 people work at the site that's a major mail delivery hub, and Canada Post has advised the public to expect service delays.
- BREAKING: Canada Post employee dies of COVID-19 following massive outbreak at Mississauga Gateway facility
- Eight employees test positive for COVID-19 at Canada Post facility in Mississauga
- Canada Post reports more cases of COVID found at Mississauga's Gateway facility
- COVID outbreak sends 350 workers home at Mississauga's Gateway facility that will disrupt mail service across Canada
- Canada Post workers self-isolating after outbreak at facility in Mississauga
- Mississauga men celebrating big lotto wins as the machine froze
- BREAKING: Mississauga and Brampton to enter the grey/lockdown zone of the province’s COVID-19 framework
- Here’s what Mississauga residents can and cannot do under grey lockdown restrictions
- Here’s where restaurants in Mississauga do their shopping – Mississauga’s Largest Cash and Carry
- Loopholes still allow international travellers to "collect your luggage and leave" at Pearson Airport in Mississauga


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Mulberry’s fifth annual Turner Trade Day and Community Yard Sale will be Saturday at the Turner Community Building.
About 16 booths have already been rented for the sales event, said organizer Travis Steele. Last year, 22 vendors signed up for the sale, he said.
Shoppers can find everything from antiques, and home and garden items to baked goods and crafts. Some items include antique farm implements, and old chicken nests that have been repurposed as potato bins, Steele said.
About 300 people visited the sale last year, he said.
"It’s a good day of visiting for people to come around and get reacquainted," Steele said.
Members of the Turner Extension Homemakers Club will be on hand selling baked goods, snack foods and drinks.
The event is being held inside and outside the community building at 11601 Mintha Lane, with plenty of parking available, Steele said.
Organizers are holding the event in May this year to avoid the hot weather, Steele said. Previous years had the seen the event held in mid-summer, but last year it was so hot the vendors had to pack up at 1 p.m., he said.
This year the event opens at 7 a.m. and will stay open until it "peters out," Steele said. He expects that to be at about 4 p.m.
Booth spaces are still available. A 12-f00t by 10-foot outside space rents for $10 and an inside 8-foot by 10-foot space rents for $15.
Proceeds from booth rentals go toward maintenance of the Turner Community Center building and grounds, which was previously the old Turner schoolhouse, Steele said.
Game nights, women’s quilting and suppers are held at the center weekly, he said.
For more information or to rent booth space, contact Steele at (479) 997-8068 or (479) 997-5402, or Max Donnohue at (479) 997-1590 or (479) 806-3180.


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Through a press release, Sony PlayStation has officially disclosed the new spot “Play Has No Limits” broadcast for the first time during the last Showcase
The latest PlayStation Showcase has made a lot of talk about itself for the many news and announcements shown. A teaser trailer for the remake of Knights of the Old Republic has rekindled the dormant soul of the fans, we then moved on to Forspoken, Project Eve and Gran Turismo 7, concluding with a highly anticipated God of War Ragnarok and the newly announced Marvel titles dedicated to Wolverine and Spider-Man 2. In short, a lot of meat on the fire for a Sony that promised a 2022 of fire, but which seems to leave this last part of 2021 and the fateful “Christmas holidays” uncovered. We’ll see what’s cooking.
Meanwhile, through a press release Sony has disclosed the spot that was shown at the opening of the last showcase. “Play Has No Limits” is the new motto of PlayStation and the title of the commercial that takes the viewer on a journey through a strange city. A city that shows what can happen when the game is raised to an unprecedented level. The commercial triggers, according to Sony’s words, the feeling of euphoria that comes from the incomparable PlayStation gaming experiences, as dozens of characters move around a city conceived as a chessboard.
Sony officially discloses the new PlayStation Spot: “Play Has No Limits”
The commercial tells the story of two rival Kings, who clash in an epic setting following the exploits of a Pedestrian as he makes his way through the city. If you are curious to (re) watch it, we left it right up here. For all additional details, you can take a look at the official post on the PlayStation Blog signed by Eric Lempel, SVP of SIE and Head of Global Marketing.
Have you seen the new Sony PlayStation commercial titled “Play Has No Limits”? What do you think about it? Write it to us below in the comments, we will continue to keep you updated with all the news, guides and reviews on videogame and tech! And if you are interested in game keys at advantageous prices, we recommend that you take a look at the InstantGaming catalog!


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Expanding on the success of the firm’s virtual call center model in Detroit, Michigan, the Baltimore launch provides opportunity for career growth, and financial wellness for local residents from underserved neighborhoods October 20, 2023 […]
Over half of UK workers worry about potential job displacement as ChatGPT gains popularity in various industries.
The post AI Platform ChatGPT Raises Concerns Of Job Redundancy In IT And Business Services appeared first on Zenger News.
Some 30 Jews and Christians gathered across the street from a Target store in Midtown Miami on June 1 to protest the retail corporation’s LGBTQIA+ Pride merchandise for children
The post Miami Jews, Christians Protest Target’s Pride Merchandise For Children appeared first on Zenger News.
A mistake lead to an intern’s lesson in communication as she sent a test email to HBO’ subscribers.
The post HBO Intern’s Mortifying Mistake Sparks Online Solidary With Dear Intern appeared first on Zenger News.
The coworking space company is still dealing with the aftermath of the post-Adam Neumann era as cashflow is yet to come.
The post WeWork’s CEO Steps Down As The Company Struggles To Find Its Footing Seeking Profit appeared first on Zenger News.
Louisville entrepreneur Dave Christopher is teaching minority start-ups the keys to success.
The post Kentucky City’s Incubator Seeks To Produce More Black-Owned Businesses appeared first on Zenger News.


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A report published today on the state of the Welsh dairy industry will help farmers improve the performance and resilience of their businesses and prepare for the future post Brexit
In 2017, the Welsh Government provided £3.2 million of European conditional aid to Welsh dairy farmers through two schemes focusing on farm business benchmarking and herd milk recording.
An encouraging 75% of dairy farmers took up the opportunity – the highest level of uptake in the UK. Along with aid funding, farmers also received a bespoke report showing the strengths and weaknesses of their business with a comparison with other dairy farms.
Invaluable data produced from the benchmarking scheme was used to produce a report (external link) providing a snapshot of Welsh dairy farm performance. Key findings include:
- The importance of farmers constantly measuring the financial performance of their business to help them become more efficient;
- the top performing farms demonstrate that profitable dairy farming is possible with excellent returns, even in difficult trading conditions;
- some farms, have costs of production which are higher than the milk price has ever reached;
- farmers should take advantage of the plentiful supply of grass and maximise the milk they produce from grass and forage;
- farmers who have made a conscious choice about their production system tend to be more profitable; and
- maintaining high standards of animal health and welfare reduced the financial impact of diseases and can give the industry a competitive advantage.
Support to help dairy farmers address the issues identified in the report is available through the Welsh Government’s Farming Connect programme and via the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) Dairy.
Welcoming the report, Cabinet Secretary said:
“The approach we adopted to providing aid to our dairy farmers has provided us with useful data on the performance of the industry in Wales.
“The report published today will go a long way to help farmers improve the performance of their business by reducing their costs of production. This will improve the efficiency of our dairy farms, allowing them to become more resilient to business risks and milk price volatility.
“As a government, our priority is to work with everyone affected to prepare for a world outside the European Union and for a resilient agricultural sector. This report will provide invaluable information to help us decide how best to support the dairy sector to prepare for the future.
“While the report shows profitable dairy farming is possible, I am particularly concerned that some Welsh dairy farms have costs of production which are higher than the milk price has ever reached. That is why I am in the process of tailoring the support we offer these farms to help them re-evaluate the structure of their business and use their benchmarking report to see where improvements can be made.
“It is clear from the report that by becoming more efficient and focusing on producing milk at a lower cost of production, all farms can become more profitable, no matter what the milk price is.
“Brexit presents significant challenges to the agriculture industry but also opportunities. The industry, and individual farmers, must start to plan now for the future.
“The long term outlook for the dairy sector is good with global demand forecasted to increase year on year. Our dairy farmers need to be competitive and market focused to compete with the best in the world. If this happens then I firmly believe our dairy farmers have a bright future.
“I encourage all Welsh dairy farmers and the wider industry to use the available data to help them prepare for the post Brexit world; to help make their businesses both resilient and prosperous.”