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There is an uncomfortable truth in the enterprise community when we talk about securing the business operation and introducing layers of security. Many enterprises find that security breach is inevitable and can affect anyone, even with the best security solution or with no security solution. The enterprises that are giving up on the security infrastructure as a solution to deal with data breaches; Because the recent data breach across industries have been overwhelming.
If you look at the stats from the last year, DNA testing firm MyHeritage Suffered a breach of data that affected more than 92 million people. In March the data exposed affected more than 87 million users on Facebook. Then we had the Ticketmaster with a breach that affected almost 40,000 people leading to revelations of payment data, addresses, names and phone numbers. Even one of the biggest airline in the history was affected by the breach that impacted close to 380,000 transactions.
The breaches haven’t painted a pretty picture for the consumers, as they don’t want their data to become a commodity in the market. The recent study was focused towards analyzing the consumer behavior with retail markets that have been affected by the data breach- almost 19 percent of the consumers will stop spending money at such retail spaces while 33 percent had stopped for certain time being. The data breach directly affects the revenue of the enterprise as the stock price plumb and service/product are discarded.
The current security regulations such as GDPR are making the enterprises find a solution that can give the users more control over the data. Enterprises believe that as the digital transformation is being achieved the surface area for the breach will increase, leading to the exploitation of data. Cloud and mobility solutions might sound good for the enterprises but without a security layer, the transformation might prove costly.
PREPARING FOR THE DATA BREACH
The survey conducted for all the enterprises that deal with sensitive user data has predicted that having a Chief Security Officer and the implementing the business continuity management will reduce the cost of data breaches per compromised record by almost $20 and $23 respectively. Also one of the most significant cost reductions came in from having a strong security posture that reduced the cost of a breach by almost $21 and with incident response plan it reduced the breach by $17 per compromised record.
To build an effective plan to minimize the after effects of the breach one of the main aspect many enterprises are looking towards exploring. An Incident Response Plan (IRP) will ensure appropriate steps are being taken if the security is breached. For enterprises protocol and IRP can be something or different depending on the data type and security for data.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE KEY COMPONENTS IN THE INCIDENT RESPONSE PLAN (IRP):
- Incident Response Team: The team will comprise of the individuals that can understand the complexity of a data breach. Employers that hold the position of Executive Management, IT admin, legal, operation, and PR the list will differ according to the enterprise. Each of the individuals will play a role in the IRP to ensure that an action plan is developed that reduces the breach after effects.
- Communication Plan: Implementing cohesive communication plans that maintain the speed and agility of contact during the breach between the team and external providers. The communication plan should also include the press release that will help to communicate about the breach with external agencies.
- Classifying the Data: The incident response strategy for the enterprise takes into account different types of data that are being stored by the enterprises. Categorization of the data helps to develop an IRP strategy to have an infrastructure in place for most sensitive data. Data can be divided into three levels Public, internal and sensitive.
- Training- Preparedness for any of the incidents will require a thorough training that will help in handling the data breach. The team should be well versed with all the required situations, the after evaluation, incident management and also deal with communication on different stages. All the enterprises should plan a constant response plan for the breach efforts.
- Testing: Before enterprise put the IRP in the formation, a need of an end to end testing will help to identify gaps during the actual data breaches. The enterprise can also identify the need of any other resource that can help in building better effectiveness of the team.
ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
The question is never can I prevent the attack? The digital transformation will induct many of the technology security gaps. But the enterprises need to entertain different constraints that find different security touch points of the system. The detection of the attack type and how quickly the response team reacts to the attack will also assist the enterprises to prepare at a different level.
Enterprises that deal with sensitive user data need to shift from only prevention strategy and move towards the after response strategy. Elaborate attacks that are targeted towards the data should actually look towards prioritizing the response reaction.
Cybersecurity is not just a quarterly process that needs to be deployed only once, the enterprises need to have a guaranteed plan in place that can prevent further security threats. On an average, a breach causes around $ 1.23 million enterprise revenue, if enterprises plan together and implement the necessary measures it can help in minimizing the attack repercussions. To know more about the Cybersecurity for enterprises you can download our recent whitepapers.


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Burnley businesses including one of Britain’s oldest sporting goods firms partner up
and live on Freeview channel 276
Surridge Sport, whose HQ is in Burnley, has joined forces with award-winning digital experts +24 for a creative marketing campaign.
Surridge boasts a long and proud history stretching back to the 1800s, including creating what is widely regarded as the first modern football, the SS Cobbler.
The six-figure marketing contract is set to help strengthen Surridge Sport’s position as an internationally renowned supplier of sportswear and equipment, including cricket bats, football kits and trophies to professional and grassroots sports teams, as well as universities, schools and retailers.
Sam Keenan, Head of Marketing at +24, said: “We are thrilled to be working on such an ambitious campaign for this iconic and historic sportswear company.
“Surridge Sport are a proud British brand, with a long history, and we are certain we will maximise the value of their heritage and industry-leading expertise, through our innovative digital, marketing and strategy suppport.”
This deal also includes brand development, which will position Surridge Sport at the top of their
highly competitive market.
The digital strategy will include social media, PPC and SEO, to increase brand awareness and drive
new business opportunities.
Surridge Sport will also receive creative support from +24, including video production, graphic design
and copywriting, to produce high quality content for web, social and traditional media outlets.
Charles Lord, Managing Director of Surridge Sport, said: “We are delighted to be working with +24’s talented team.
“It was essential to partner with marketing experts who completely understand the heritage and pedigree of the Surridge brand whilst at the same time, sharing our vision for the future as we expand into new markets offering the quality sportswear and equipment that is the trusted hallmark
of our company.”
Percy Surridge founded Surridge Sport in Lancashire in 1867, initially repairing old cricket bats.
The first Stuart Surridge cricket bats to go on sale were quickly adopted by the cricketing world, including the legendary W.G. Grace.
The SS Cobbler football, the world’s first non-lace up ball, was introduced at the FIFA World Cup in Sweden in 1958. The company went on to forge relationships with sporting legends, including Paul Gascoigne, Graham Gooch and many of the world’s top professional football and cricket players.

domain: news


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The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price is having a month to forget.
At the time of writing, shares in the retail conglomerate are trading for $54.95 – up 0.33%. Over the month, however, it’s been less cheery for the company – down 3.48%. For context, despite how turbulent it may have felt, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has actually increased 1.74% over the same time.
Let’s take a closer look at what’s going on.
What’s up with Wesfarmers?
The first major story that had a negative impact on the Wesfarmers share price was the news Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG) had also entered the fray to take over Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ASX: API) with a mostly scrip bid for the retail pharmacist.
Sigma put in a bid with an implied value of $1.57 per share – or $773 million for the company. As Motley Fool previously reported, Sigma put a higher bid to API’s board than Wesfarmers, albeit a mostly scrip one.
Sigma’s proposal would see API’s shareholders walking away with 35 cents of cash and 2.05 Sigma shares per API share they held at the time of the proposed merger. This valuation is based on Sigma’s share price at the time the offer was made.
Since that time, Wesfarmers has acquired a nearly 20% stake in API, buying out the portion owned by Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) for $1.38 per share. It has also agreed to pay Sol Patts any additional funds owed to it should its proposed merger with API be successful.
The Wesfarmers share price rose on this strong indication it would be successful in buying API.
What else is affecting the Wesfarmers share price?
Lockdowns are coming to an end in Australia. Sydney left its 15 weeks of COVID restrictions last Monday. Melbourne will leave on Thursday and the ACT is slowly exiting its stay-at-home orders.
Lockdowns have historically been good news for the Wesfarmers share price. The thinking goes with everyone stuck at home and their consumption options limited, people will spend their money on what they can and that includes shopping (either online or in-person) at Bunnings, Kmart, or Officeworks – all Wesfarmers brands. Wesfarmers shares rocketed 11% during the latest delta outbreak.
With lockdowns coming to an end, investors may be seeing the time of supercharged revenues also coming to an end – and thus want to sell on a high.
This could partially explain the falling Wesfarmers share price. Of course, correlation does not equal causation.
Wesfarmers share price snapshot
Over the past 12 months, the Wesfarmers share price has increased 14.0%. Year-to-date, it is up 6.74%. Both of these figures are lower than the growth rate of the ASX 200.
Wesfarmers has a market capitalisation of about $62 billion.


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Users with Blocked Accounts Turning to MyChargeBack for Help
By Evan Spicer
Director of Cryptocurrency Investigations
Crypto exchanges have been operating in an unregulated shadow world for years, able to do largely what they wanted with little recourse to any authorities in the event anything went wrong. And just as governments started to take the threat to their citizens’ financial security seriously and hold the exchanges to account, those very exchanges responded by making the lives of their customers even more difficult. Those same customers have begun turning to MyChargeBack for help in regaining access to their money.
Bitcoin appeared on the scene in 2009, revolutionizing the worlds of finance, investment and technology in one fell swoop. The world’s first cryptocurrency, bitcoin’s promise was to decentralize and democratize stores of value. Ostensibly immune to government control and artificial devaluation and inflation, and with scarcity hard-wired into its digital DNA, bitcoin certainly caught the attention of many investors.
Of course bitcoin did not remain alone on the scene for very long. It was quickly joined by Litecoin, Ripple, Dogecoin, Monero, Ether/Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and literally thousands of others. Most have crashed and burned, and even the ones that have stuck around for the long haul have been infamous for their wildly erratic and volatile value fluctuations.
In no time cryptocurrency exchanges appeared, creating a space in which people could convert their fiat (national) currency for crypto, and vice versa. Binance is the biggest such exchange in the world, whereas Coinbase and Kraken are among the biggest and most popular in the United States.
Crypto Under Attack
After years of “benign neglect,” the world’s governments and financial regulators have begun paying very close attention to cryptocurrencies in general and crypto exchanges in particular. No longer would they be able to operate under the radar, playing by their own rules with total disregard of international norms of financial conduct. At least that was the idea.
MyChargeBack for its part has been in the forefront of calling for more robust regulation of the cryptocurrency industry.
The United States banned Binance from operating there in 2019. Not wanting to lose out on such a lucrative market, Binance created a fully regulated subsidiary just for the U.S., but even that is banned in seven states, including some of the biggest.
The government of China, in this regard, was actually ahead of the curve when it effectively banned all cryptocurrency business on its soil way back in 2017. Among the results of that decision was that Binance, which was originally a Chinese company, had to find a new place to call home. It first went to Japan before being exiled yet again, finally finding its current home in the Cayman Islands, a major international financial tax haven.
In June of 2021, after months of speculation, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK financial regulator, banned Binance from selling any regulated financial services in that country, and forced them to post a warning for all visitors from the UK to its website.
Crypto Fights Back, with Collateral Damage
Throughout 2021 (and even stretching as far back as late 2020) reports started rolling in about customers with active accounts at the major exchanges finding that their accounts were frozen. Being locked out, they were unable to access their money, or even see the status or balance of their accounts. These events were a source of significant financial difficulty, as well as emotional turmoil, to thousands of innocent private individuals.
In the case of Binance, the troubles began for its American (and other) account holders in late 2020, and have continued into September 2021 at the very least. Many of these individuals had no history, warning, or even suspicion of illegal activity on their accounts. They were simply locked out with no explanation whatsoever.
Another wave of worldwide Binance account lockouts happened between May and July 2021, due apparently to a crash in bitcoin price. Some customers were unable to access their accounts for literally months. Customers of Coinbase, another major crypto exchange, experienced the same problem for probably the same reason in January 2021.
In June, 2021, apparently in response to The FCA’s actions, numerous UK citizens, as well as others around the world who held Binance accounts in pounds sterling, found themselves unable to make any deposits or withdrawals.
In some cases, this was happening ostensibly due to the customer being located in a country that was outlawing (or threatening to do so) that particular exchange, or the industry as a whole. So, lots of American, Chinese, and British customers were locked out.
Was this the exchanges’ way of “getting back” at the countries that were damaging their business model? Was it simple callous disregard for the needs and rights of their customer base, perceiving them to be largely faceless and interchangeable? Or were the exchanges even trying to — perhaps — get ahead of the curve by showing themselves to be extra-vigilant and cautious with the money of customers in the jurisdictions that were about to regulate them? Kind of like a shortcut to their notoriously lax compliance with KYC (know your customer) and AML (anti money laundering) requirements? Good luck finding an answer, because the exchanges have been rather tight-lipped about it.
In other cases, there appeared to be no rhyme or reason regarding the cause of the lockout. Quite often there was not even anyone to talk to, much less file a formal complaint. The exchanges are in effect acting as judge and jury, exercising total power over their accounts, and offering no remedy to those who have been wronged.
MyChargeBack Offers Crypto Solutions
It comes as little surprise, therefore, that these customers have been streaming to MyChargeBack looking for help. Among our new clients in recent months suffering from locked accounts and frozen funds are customers of the major international cryptocurrency exchanges Kraken, Bitstamp, and Coinbase.
It is only natural that MyChargeBack should become the destination of choice for such people. We are, after all, at the forefront of seeking out novel strategies and methodologies in the tracing and retrieval of cryptocurrency-related payment and account disputes. When seeking out strategies is insufficient, we develop technologies and best practices from scratch in order to always stay one step ahead of our clients’ needs.


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Abidjan: Dana Mroueh’s chocolate factory is a rarity for Ivory Coast and not only because the world’s top has cocoa grower produced precious little finished chocolate.
In the middle of the floor of her company Mon Choco’s factory sits a grinding bike, surrounded by trays of carefully sorted cocoa beans. Poured in a funnel, beans are transformed into a paste by a grinder activated through pedalling.
Mroueh, a 40-year-old Ivorian of French-Lebanese descent, oversees the process from the time the beans are selected to when they are transformed into candies, producing organic and environmentally friendly chocolate bars.
“We really want to have a minimal impact on the environment by using as little electricity as possible,” Mroueh said as she supervised a small team of employees in white coats sorting the beans. “My chocolate is made up of 70 percent cocoa and 30 percent brown sugar. We don’t add cocoa butter or plant oil. It’s only raw cocoa and sugar,” Mroueh said.
The cocoa industry is threatening to the environment, including by contributing to deforestation. Environmental campaign groups say that Ivory Coast is at risk of losing all its forest cover by 2034. But organic cocoa beans are difficult to find in Ivory Coast, where the overwhelming majority of farmers use chemicals and insecticides.
As a result, organic chocolate is expensive to produce and caters primarily to the European market. Mon Choco chocolate bars sell for around 1,500 CFA francs (USD 2.60), a price that is out of reach for most local consumers.
Mon Choco and other initiatives of the kind are developing in Ivory Coast but represent a niche market of only 5,000 tonnes of beans per year in a country that produces more than 2 million tonnes every year.


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If it feels like a lot of products and services have gotten more expensive in the past year, it's because, well, they have.
Consumer prices jumped 4.2% from March 2020 through April 2021 - the largest 12-month increase since 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced Wednesday morning. And just last month, prices spiked by 0.8% compared to the month prior.
The significant increases have some officials and experts concerned worried about the impact of this rapid inflation, and The Wall Street Journal calls out two key factors: Rising demand from consumers as the economic recovery continues as COVID lifts, plus a supply bottleneck (such as the global chip shortage).
The price increases, however, might not be as drastic as they seem. As CNBC explains, inflation was "unusually low" one year ago as the pandemic first began to tighten its grip on the country. Comparing current prices to those abnormally low ones can lead to "distorted" numbers for a few months because of base effects.
The Federal Reserve has also made clear it believes this spurt of inflation is only temporary.
Still, that doesn't necessarily mean much for consumers' bank accounts. So which goods and services have seen the biggest prices rises in the past year?
The cost of food is up 2.5% overall, with big increases for bacon and related products (+10.7%), citrus fruits (+7.8%), lettuce (+5.1%), uncooked beef steaks (+6.1%), dairy milk (+2.2%) and fresh cakes and cupcakes (+3.8%).
But energy-related products and used vehicles have seen particularly stunning rises. The price of used cars and trucks went up 21%, gasoline has seen a 49.6% price increase, and even electricity (+3.6%) and gas utilities (+12.1%) are up.
The rising price of used vehicles comes after automobile makers cut production and rental car companies slashed fleet purchases at the onset of the pandemic, per MarketWatch, reducing the overall supply of second-hand vehicles.
There has also been an increase in demand for vehicles due to a reduction in public transit use during the pandemic, with some putting their stimulus payments towards car purchases.
Other common commodities have also seen an increase, such as:
- Laundry equipment: +23.6%
- Home furniture and bedding: +7.8%
- Footwear: +3.9%
- Men's pants and shorts: +10.4% (despite men's apparel overall only going up 1%, and women's apparel overall actually going down 0.5%)
- Sewing machines, fabric and supplies: +8.9%
- Magazines and newspapers: +7.4%
- Cable and satellite TV: +4.1%
- Pet services, including veterinary: +4.8%
- Lodging away from home: +7.4%
- Food from vending machines and mobile vendors: +2.6%
It hasn't been all bad pricing news. Some products have gone down in price during the 12-month period measured, such as:
- Bread: -1.2% (with white bread specifically down 2.3%)
- Roasted coffee: -0.2%
- Baby food: -1.7%
- Soups: -1.1%
- Personal care products: -0.3%
- Video discs and other media, including rentals: -6.1%
- Musical instruments and accessories: -0.8%
- Nonprescription drugs: -0.6%
- Butter: -0.6%
- Potatoes: -2%


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The Thompson’s Company, a Cleveland, Ohio company issued a product recall for their Thompson’s® WaterSeal® Waterproofing Wood Protector and Masonry Protector in Aerosol Cans on January 14, 2020.
852,000 cans are affected. Recall # is 20-056.
This recall is due to posing a fire hazard.
“The contents of the cans can react with the package, causing rust to form along the can seam, which could spread to other areas of the can and create pinhole leaks. Leaking propellant poses a fire hazard when it comes into contact with sources of ignition. Leaking sealer can also result in property damage.” – CPSC.gov website
What to Do
Consumers should immediately stop using Thompson’s WaterSeal Waterproofing Wood Protector and Masonry Protector in aerosol cans, discard the products in accordance with local requirements and contact The Thompson’s Company for a full refund.
The Thompson’s Company received approximately 18 reports of leaking cans from retailers. No injuries, fires, or property damage were reported.
The Thompson’s Company toll-free at 888-304-3769 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, email at email@example.com, or online at www.thompsonswaterseal.com and click on “RECALL” for more information.
Lowe’s Home Improvement, Walmart, Menards, Home Depot and other stores nationwide from February 2014 through September 2019 for about $8.
Photo Credit: The Thompson Company
Product Recall Sources
For more information on which actual cans are being recalled, visit the CPSC.gov website (see recall below) for specifics.
(c) 2020 NW Fire Blog – Posted: 1/15/2020 – 2135 Hours PST


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Princess Cruises announces longest ever season
By Rebecca Bradbury | 25 Jul 2019
Princess Cruises has announced that 2021 will see its longest ever season sailing from the UK and Europe.
Tony Roberts, vice president UK & Europe of Princess Cruises, said: “Europe continues to go from strength to strength as the destination of choice for UK guests and we are thrilled to be able to offer our longest season in history.
“We will offer more choice than ever before, with UK guests able to take advantage of a huge range of fantastic destinations sailing from right on their doorstep.”
The season will include a total of nearly 500 days of cruising from the UK in Southampton across three ships: Grand Princess, Island Princess and Crown Princess. This marks a 9% increase on the respective 2020 season.
Meanwhile, Princess Cruises’ two newest ships, Sky Princess and Enchanted Princess, will be based in northern and southern Europe respectively, bringing the total of European cruise days up to almost 1,000.
New voyages for 2021
Grand Princess will be undertaking several new voyages, including a 24-day Canada & New England voyage, a six-day school half term cruise in May to Guernsey, La Rochelle (for Cognac) and Bilbao, and an eight-day Scandinavian voyage to Kristiansand, Aarhus, Copenhagen, Gothenburg and Oslo.
Spending a season sailing out of Southampton from June to October, Island Princess will similarly offer some new sailings. These include a 10-day Oktoberfest European capitals cruise and a 24-day Grand European Explorer cruise.
Crown Princess will sail the British Isles from April to October on 14 Southampton sailings, calling at destinations such as Liverpool, Dublin, Orkney Islands and Edinburgh.
After being delivered in October this year, Sky Princess will spend April to September 2021 sailing a Scandinavia and Russia roundtrip from Copenhagen.
While Enchanted Princess, which will be named in Southampton in June 2021, will sail across the Mediterranean from April to October via Rome, Athens and Barcelona, taking in the likes of Mykonos, Santorini, Kotor, Florence and Istanbul.
Every ship based in Europe during the 2021 season will feature the award-winning OceanMedallion, which has been designed to deliver an entirely new level of service.
Crown Princess was the latest ship to be OceanMedallion activated, going live with the technology in Southampton, UK, yesterday.
On OceanMedallion enabled ships, guests can expect innovations such as a faster, more streamlined check-in process, touchless stateroom entry, a family and friends locator, and an interactive voyage timeline among the innovative enhancements.
“Having five MedallionClass ships based in Europe, including our latest vessels, Sky Princess and Enchanted Princess, is a testament to Princess Cruises’ commitment to offering UK guests new onboard experiences, premium services and a wealth of holiday options,” adds Roberts.
All Europe 2021 voyages go on sale on 14 August. Princess Cruises’ Elite guests will be able to book from 9am on 13 August. On both 13 and 14 August, guests can pay a £1 deposit on any of the UK and Europe 2021 sailings.
For more information or to book, visit princess.com.


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Let's be real for a moment: After three Transformers movies, no one is really itching for a fourth one. We've been there, seen that -- as ballsy as Michael Bay is as a director, there's not much he can surprise us with anymore when it comes to the Transformers. Which is why I'm sort of excited about this latest news from Hasbro President Brian Goldner, who recently spoke at a conference and not only revealed a temporary Transformers 4 logo (see above), but also said the new film will feature all new robots and characters. So why are fans complaining about that?
Well they're complaining because Hasbro's main motivation behind the new cast of characters is so they can sell more toys. Since the previous Transformers movie didn't really include any new characters, they didn't sell enough toys (according to Goldner) -- and since Hasbro is, in fact, a toy company, these are things they care about. Naturally fans are pulling out the George Lucas card, claiming Hasbro, a toy company, is just in it for the toys, but I think they're missing the bigger picture here. Transformers 4 will do something new. It will include a new story, new characters and perhaps present Michael Bay with new challenges and a renewed motivation.
How is that a bad thing? Of course the toy company who created Transformers is going to care about pushing out new product, but they won't sell that product unless fans are entertained by the new characters Michael Bay and company introduce in the fourth film. So relax, dust off the Optimus Prime figure you have on your desk from Transformers: Dark of the Moon (you know he ain't going anywhere), and try to remember that when it comes to fourth, fifth and sixth installments in a movie franchise, anything new should be welcomed with open arms... and wallets, right Hasbro? (Wink, wink.)
Transformers 4 is currently due in theaters on June 27, 2014. [via Coming Soon]
Follow along on Twitter @ErikDavis and @Moviesdotcom.


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Boston Scientific launches $150M China expansion
- Staff Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
Boston Scientific Corp. is aiming for a piece of China's fast-growing health care market.
The Natick, Mass. medical device maker said Wednesday it will invest $150 million in a planned expansion into the Chinese market over the next five years.
The company plans to establish its own local manufacturing facility in China, as well as a training center for Chinese health care providers.
If successful, the company’s China gambit will add $500 million to Boston Scientific’s revenues in China by 2016, according to a news release. The release noted the target market in China is greater than $1 billion and is growing about 20 percent annually.
Outgoing CEO Ray Elliott said in a statement that the move will position Boston Scientific to become “a leading medical device company in China.” In June, Elliott said Boston Scientific’s search for a new chief executive will focus on international experience.
Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) has about 5,000 employees in Minnesota at its large Cardiac Rhythm Management Group in Maple Grove and Arden Hills.
>Click here to read the company's news release.
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Hurtigruten Celebrates 125th Anniversary By Naming New Hybrid Cruise Ship At Svalbard
Hurtigruten Expeditions celebrated the completion of 125 years of service by conducting the northernmost naming ceremony of a passenger cruise ship on Tuesday, at the port of Longyearbyen in Svalbard in the Arctic. The new hybrid battery-powered cruise ship was named MS Fridtjof Nansen.
The celebration at Longyearbyen, Svalbard was of special significance for the company as it first launched an expedition cruising from the same place in 1896. The Norway-based company is today the world's largest and leading expedition cruise line which has explored more than 250 destinations across the globe over the years.
MS Fridtjof Nansen was built at Kleven Yards in Norway along with its sister ship Roald Amundsen. They are the world's first hybrid battery-powered cruise vessels. The newest ship has been named after famous Norwegian polar explorer and Nobel peace prize winner, Fridtjof Nansen, and is the first-ever cruise vessel to be registered in Longyearbyen.
Daniel Skjeldam, Hurtigruten Group CEO, at the event, said, "We couldn’t be prouder acknowledging this important milestone by naming this engineering marvel at the spot where our founder Richard With pioneered modern-day expedition cruising.”
Fridtjof Nansen delivered in late 2019, is a 140 meter long, polar class 6 cruise ship capable of navigating at 15 knots in medium first-year ice during the summer and fall. Hurtigruten says that the smaller size, greater hull strength, and greener technology onboard aids the smooth exploring operations of the vessel.
The naming of MS Fridtjof Nansen comes shortly after the line resumed its revenue sailings after 13 months of an embarrassing attempt in July 2020. The company was also greatly criticized for mishandling and failing to report the covid-19 outbreak onboard Roald Amundsen, as acknowledged by the CEO.
The grand celebration also comes as an image makeover to garner attention among travelers. The company recently announced Canadian Sunniva Sørby and Norwegian Hilde Fålun Strøm as godmothers of Fridtjof Nansen.


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Full profile →'">
The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.
The duopoly that will result is bad for Americans from coast to coast and border to border. As the guardian of our nation’s airwaves, it is the intended role of the Federal Communications Commission to regulate interstate and international use of our nation's broadcast and telecommunications resources. Increasingly that is becoming mobile devices as Americans drop landline phones altogether. Whether it is your smart phone, your GPS device, your Apple iPad or iPhone, your connection is increasingly a wireless one, in your home and outside it.
When Apple gave ATT the exclusive rights to sell its iPhone a few years ago, AT&T initially thought it was a fabulous blessing. For sure, it aided in garnering new subscribers who were intent on having a slick smart phone. AT&T’s network creaked under the weight of the bandwidth demands it couldn’t meet, and for months it was a curse. Some subscribers were total bandwidth hogs. They watched movies, live sports events and used interactive applications that required extensive network time to work properly. They crowded out many users of regular phones whose calls were frequently dropped. Then there was the old joke: “can you hear me now?” as you turned a pirouette in place in the hope that the other party on the line could hear what you were saying. As more of us move to smart phones, the need for expanded network capacity is only accelerating.
This year Verizon was also allowed into the Apple tent. I’m not so sure it is bragging any longer about the comparative speed of its network or the superiority of its service. Recently Verizon announced new higher priced plans for Apple users.
All of this is directly relevant to the recently announced proposed merger between AT&T and T Mobile. The excuse given for this merger to be approved is that AT&T is in desperate need of additional frequencies and that is true. But then it asserts that T Mobile would provide them. That AT&T will gain any excess capacity from the also overloaded T Mobile network is quite a fiction designed to obfuscate the truth. T-Mo has little excess capacity to relinquish to AT&T if the merger is allowed to fly. Would somebody please explain to me how two pretty full networks magically create excess bandwidth if allowed to glue themselves together.
It has been decades since Judge Harold Greene broke up the monopoly position of AT&T. His goal was to provide consumers with more competition that would, in turn, lower rates. It worked. Ma Bell was broken up into several Baby Bells, almost all of which have now been merged away. It created a great opportunity for sheisters like Quest’s former CEO Joe Nacchio and MCI Worldcom’s CEO Bernie Ebbers to spin yarns about revenue and earnings growth for their companies that bore no relationship to reality. Both of these men are now in jail.


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Amara Raja Batteries Ltd (ARBL), the technology leader in industrial and automative batteries, has launched their retail store Powerzone at Mettupalayam in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu. More than 30 Powerzone stores have been launched throughout the country, providing complete power solutions to the consumer.
“Our target is to have at least one Powerzone outlet in every taluk headquarters in India in the next two years. About 50 Powerzones will be opened in Tamil Nadu by the end of December 2007. Going ahead, Powerzone will also offer other power-related products, which will be sourced from reputed international sources,” said Jayadev Galla, managing director, ARBL.
Ganesh Swaminathan, head, Automative-Marketing and Sales, ARBL, said that the number of Powerzone outlets will touch 500 by 2007-08, and that Powerzone products will be priced to match the current local offerings.
The Powerzone network of stores is a franchise model offering a ready-to-roll packaged business, fully supported by ARBL through investments in IT infrastructure, products and brand building, while the local business partner will bring in local infrastructure and product investment.
Powerzone retails automative and power-related products for rural households and shops. It claims to be a one-stop shop offering a platter of products, including batteries and home UPS.
– Bengaluru Bureau


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Sears, Roebuck and Co. is filling out its new merchandising management hierarchy with six executives in national posts, officials for the retailer have said.
The new national business managers will be responsible for focusing on specific areas to make the changing retailer, the largest in the country, more competitive and efficient with specialty stores that offer brand-name products at low prices, the company said Friday.
The appliances and electronics business will be led by William L. Salter, national project manager for ``Brand Central,`` Sears` appliance and home electronics area. Albert F. Dombrowski, general manager of New York region retail stores, will be in charge of the automotive business.
Ronald R. Van De Velde, general manager of the Pacific Northwest region retail stores will become the home fashions national business manager. Paul A. Baffico, general manager of the Mid-California region retail stores will head the home improvements business.
Men`s and children`s apparel will operate under Gary Ramsey, general manager of the Houston region retail stores. Donald S. Shaffer, general manager of the Detroit region retail stores, will be in charge of the women`s apparel group.
Region managers, of which there will be 10 with one in Chicago, and district managers will report to the national business manager of their particular area. An average each region will comprise eight districts, said Sears spokesman Ernest Arms.
The managers will take their posts on Aug. 1., he said, adding that they will all move to Chicago.
``They were the primary candidates because of their experience,`` Arms said.
Last week, Sears disclosed a reorganization of its Merchandise Group that the company said will lead to the elimination of 800 jobs and cut costs by $75 million a year. The field organization of managers will be trimmed to about 6,900 employees from 7,700.
One objective is to create a product-line chain of command. Store managers will no longer be responsible for each product line but will focus on overall store services.
The change is part of Sears` strategy to cut costs while boosting the appeal of its stores and product lines. Sears is promoting a new theme of
``everyday low prices`` on brand-name goods. In addition, Sears plans to sell the Sears Tower in Chicago, where its corporate offices and merchandising headquarters are located.


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Four Chinese corporations raised about $1.5 billion in July by issuing shares on the Six Swiss Exchange through a brand new China inventory join program.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
BEIJING — Chinese corporations trying to elevate money abroad have turned to Switzerland — and gotten speedy regulatory approval to take action.
That’s in keeping with Baker McKenzie, which mentioned it acted as authorized advisor for the primary 4 Chinese corporations to record shares through a brand new inventory join program with Switzerland on July 28. The corporations raised about $1.5 billion.
The China securities regulator authorised the brand new share issuance in “just some weeks,” mentioned Wang Hang, a associate at Baker McKenzie’s capital markets observe in Beijing. He famous the approval course of for different share issuances might take just a few months and even half a yr.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission didn’t instantly reply to a CNBC request for remark.
The newest listings aren’t preliminary public choices, however replicate a brand new channel for Chinese corporations listed on the mainland China A share market to boost capital abroad.
The 4 corporations — GEM, Gotion High-tech, Keda Industrial Group and Ningbo Shanshan — issued world depositary receipts (GDR) on the Six Swiss Exchange as a part of a brand new China-Swiss inventory join program with the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges. The 4 corporations function in new power or manufacturing industries.
Chinese corporations’ entry to abroad capital markets has come underneath elevated scrutiny for the reason that high-profile suspension of Ant Group’s deliberate IPO in late 2020 and Beijing’s crackdown on Didi in the summertime of 2021.
On the Chinese facet, new rules round person privateness and nationwide safety have raised the bar for abroad public choices. Potential failure to succeed in an audit settlement with the U.S. threatens the delisting of many Chinese corporations from New York inventory exchanges.
But corporations trying to record in mainland China and Hong Kong usually face extra stringent necessities than within the U.S. market.
An EY report discovered that as of June 14, greater than 920 corporations had been in line to go public in mainland China and Hong Kong. That was little modified from March.
Chinese corporations lining up
While Chinese corporations await readability on a quicker IPO course of, some which can be capable of are turning to Switzerland.
A shopper considering a Hong Kong IPO determined to prioritize a GDR itemizing in Switzerland, and pursue a Hong Kong itemizing later, Wang mentioned, citing a dialog the morning of Thursday, July 28.
Since information of the forthcoming China-Swiss join program earlier this yr, “no less than 13 Chinese listed corporations have already introduced their intention” to supply shares, Wang mentioned. “There are different corporations planning for that however have not made the announcement.”


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Innovation: offering companies 5,000 selected and verified providers offering around sixty services, in particular for marketing, web development and customer relationship management (CRM).
Posted yesterday at 11:00 am
In May 2017, four young Montrealers from diverse backgrounds, who had in common, above all, having founded companies and obtained a Qualité Étudiants franchise that offers painting or window cleaning services, decided to found what was called the B2BQuotes era. The inspiration actually comes from one of them, Michel Jodoin, who had been CEO of Soumission Rénovation since 2013. Instead of offering quotes for renovations, we decided to offer an equivalent service to companies. Mathieu Plante became CEO, Jeff Carrier Director of Service Providers, and Francis Desrochers later COO. Michel Jodoin is now involved part-time.
In 2021, we are changing the angle of attack: instead of just being a provider of providers, we want to better support client companies by favoring partnerships. B2BQuotes becomes helloDarwin and today has a dozen employees in its offices on Saint-Laurent Boulevard, neighbors, in addition, to Soumission Rénovation, still run by Mr. Jodoin.
The helloDarwin company has built over the years a catalog of 5,000 companies that offers around sixty services in nine areas, from marketing strategy to web application design, through telecommunications, web marketing and operation tracking software. . Each supplier has its file with its precise specialization, its evaluations, the validity of its registration, its price list and its availability. From the lot, we discard about fifty a year for various reasons.
Every month, around 500 clients contact helloDarwin for projects with an average value of around $15,000. helloDarwin advisors refine these projects and retain about half of them. In 48 hours, we promise, the client contacts three suppliers who agree to pay between 2 and 3% of the contract amount for this opportunity to meet us. Clients, like suppliers, stand out for their professionalism and the rigor of their operations.
It is not a formula where the provider sends a quote, and that’s it. Customers do not choose according to price, but according to the best fit.
Mathieu Plante, CEO of helloDarwin
The criteria vary according to the size of the providers and the cost of the contracts offered, he says. “We are inclusive. We have lg2, but we also have self-employed, and then there is the customer feedback. »
The three companions demonstrate this with their liveliness during the interview with Press : There is no shortage of development projects. Prioritizing them is a big challenge, Mr. Plante believes. “We have limited resources. You have to figure out how to always be in the right priority, when you have to know how to get the record out. »
Although algorithms are used to some extent to match suppliers and customers, most of helloDarwin’s reputation is based on very human interactions. The need for impeccable customer service is unavoidable, explains Francis Desrochers. “If you look at our ratings, it’s 5 stars. We really differentiate ourselves by being a placement service. When there are errors, the response time is fast and they are done by humans. »
helloDarwin wants to go further in the projects of its clients, before and after their presentation. “We want to be able to get into project planning, that’s the stage we want to help consolidate,” explains Mr. Desrochers.
Subsequently, it is the management of the relationship between the supplier and the client that is in the spotlight.
If the coupling is essentially based on the supplier’s experience and the nature of the project, the company “wants to go further and take into account the values of the companies”, continues the director of operations. Inclusion, environmental awareness, the place of women in company management can become criteria for a successful association. “It’s something that’s in high demand,” says Jeff Carrier. We do it manually, we would like to do it even more. »


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Just a quick update for those anxiously awaiting (along with us) the opening of the Ritchie Market Roastery & Cafe. While our founder Poul Mark has been working with Greg Zeschuk for over 2 years on this project, it is still a couple of months away. While originally scheduled to open in early January, the wet summer in Edmonton, and a number of changes to the project along the way have created delays. We are now hoping to be open mid to late February. This amazing hub of hospitality will play host to the Blind Enthusiasm Brewery, a great neighbourhood bistro, Acme Meats, Creekside Cyclery and the new mothership to Transcend Coffee. We thought we would post a rendering of what our new roaster (currently in production in Germany) will look like once installed in the all glass new roastery.
We are very excited to share this amazing new building with you. Stay tuned for more updates in the coming weeks.
News ReleaseFor Immediate ReleaseEdmonton, AB – Tuesday, October 25, 2016 – Transcend Coffee Corp. – an Edmonton based coffee importer, roaster, retailer and educator – today announced its recent decision to utilize organic milk from a local dairy supplier – Rock Ridge Dairy located near Ponoka Alberta.“We have wanted to use a local and sustainable dairy product for years,” says [...]
Our friend Chris Tse of Blitz Conditioning posted this great little video. What a view to enjoy Transcend Coffee!
Our friend @Christse_ shared this amazing video of a hike he recently did, and where he enjoyed some tasty coffee with an epic view!
The Business Circle: Servus Credit Union features our founder and some of the lessons he has learned
Servus Credit Union has recently published a new series called the Business Circle, featuring businesses in Alberta and the lessons their owners have learned from running their businesses. Our founder, Poul Mark, was one of the business leaders featured in the series.
Posted by The Common on Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Our current regional manager is leaving us to go live in Europe for a few years. Alas, we are sad to see her go, and now are looking for her replacement. If you have experience in managing multiple cafes, or other retail locations and are interested in joining a dynamic and growing organization that is [...]


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Following up on last year’s impressive comparison of personal AI solutions, Loup Ventures today released the results of its 2019 Digital Assistant IQ Test, and there’s good news if you enjoy giving voice commands to your phone, tablet, or speaker: All of the leading digital assistants are getting better at their jobs.
Using a test comprised of the same 800 questions across each AI system, Google Assistant once again led the pack, understanding a full 100% of the questions it was asked, just like last year, and correctly answering 92.9% of them. That’s up from 85.5% correct last year, and rapidly approaching a level of accuracy where errors won’t be a common occurrence.
By contrast, Apple’s Siri jumped in both categories, rising from a 99% understanding level last year to 99.8% this year, and 2018’s 78.5% correct answer level to a 83.1% correct level for 2019. Another way of looking at that — even though it may conflict with real-world Siri user experiences — is that Siri is nearly as likely to respond correctly this year as Google Assistant was last year.
Amazon’s Alexa once again took third place, but made major strides this year, understanding 99.9% of the questions and answering them correctly 79.8% of the time, better than last year’s Siri performance. That’s a sharp rise in correct answers for Alexa, which jumped from a surprising low of 61.4% last year, and Loup notes that it’s the largest jump it has seen between years since it started recording results.
Notably, Loup left out Microsoft’s Cortana this year, which isn’t hugely surprising as the fourth-place AI has been disappearing from Microsoft’s products and third-party accessories. Cortana had only answered 52.4% of last year’s questions correctly, which is to say that you’d be just as well off flipping a coin or guessing if your question could be answered in a binary fashion.
Read more here:


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Everyman, the boutique cinema operator, has signed for a 3 screen cinema at Broadgate’s 1FA, London EC2 – marking another significant step in the campus’ evolution into a vibrant, mixed use neighbourhood for workers and visitors.
Offering a premium experience where customers can enjoy an array of films, special events, launches and live cultural broadcasts, Everyman will take 11,000 sq ft across the ground and lower ground floors of the building and will open in 2019.
Other recent signings at Broadgate include Eataly, the Italian marketplace, which has chosen 135 Bishopsgate to open its first UK location in 2020; Inception Group, which will launch its first City bar, Mrs Fogg’s, in Broadgate Circle later this summer; and Mimecast, the UK-founded cybersecurity company, which is taking 79,000 sq ft at 1FA when its refurbishment completes next year.
Crispin Lilly, Chief Executive, Everyman, said, “We think this amazing and innovative development in such an exciting part of London is a perfect fit for Everyman. We particularly like Broadgate’s focus on people and the experience, whether this is through its use of public squares and outdoor dining or its ambition to become a landmark retail destination.
“Everyman’s success is rooted in our absolute focus on the customer experience whether it is from our unique and welcoming bars, quality food and drink, or most importantly, our terrific venue teams. Everyman customers have high expectations and our ongoing challenge is to meet or exceed them. We believe our cinema will become a key part of the evolving social scene around 1FA.”
Claire Barber, Head of Central London Retail and Meadowhall, British Land said: “Everyman is exactly the kind of brand that we’re looking to join us at Broadgate as we focus on the campus’ evolution into a vibrant, mixed use neighbourhood.
“Perfectly complementing the campus’ increasingly diverse selection of restaurants and bars, Everyman will be a major draw for visitors throughout the week and will provide another evening venue for our customers on campus.”
1FA is undergoing a major refurbishment to deliver 247,000 sq ft of new offices and 42,000 sq ft of space for the new Everyman Cinema, retail and restaurants. These progressive plans, which include the addition of a roof terrace, are designed to specifically appeal to innovative businesses looking for modern, quality space in an excellent location.
Broadgate, which is the largest pedestrianised neighbourhood in London, is a large, 32-acre office and retail estate in the City of London, owned by British Land and GIC and managed by Broadgate Estates.


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You are here
DALLAS -- After offering video game titles and prepaid gaming cards on a small scale for the past several years, 7-Eleven Inc. will blast into video game retailing with a line-up of seven of the top video game titles and a comprehensive selection of prepaid gift cards for Massively Multi-player Online Games (MMOG).
The core video game players are also the core customers of 7-Eleven—males between the ages of 18 and 34. In the past, the convenience chain has targeted this group with Slurpee beverage promotions with top-selling game franchises like Microsoft’s Halo and EA Sport’s Madden.
"Video games aren’t just for kids anymore, and they’re not just sold at big box and game stores either," Michael Jester, 7-Eleven category manager for gaming and electronics, said in a statement. "We can compete with the major players and offer consumers a more convenient place to purchase games and accessories. They can pay a deposit and reserve their copies ahead of time and pick them up starting midnight on the release date at locations closer to their homes."
7-Eleven will stock seven "AAA" games—known in the gaming industry as those titles that are the top-selling, most anticipated and appeal to serious and casual gamers alike—with suggested retail prices of $59.99 for Xbox 360 and PS3 games; $49.99 for Nintendo Wii games; and $39.99 for PS2 titles, according to the company.
The games are: Guitar Hero: World Tour-Band Kit (Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2, Nintendo Wii); Fallout 3 (Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PS3, personal computer); World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (MMOG on PC only); 007: Quantum of Solace (Xbox 360, PS3 and PS2); Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360); WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 (Xbox 360, Sony PS3 and PS 2); and Call of Duty: World at War (Xbox 360, PS3).
"This is not just a holiday promotion for us, but a brand new product line-up that will be available year-round," Jester said. "We may not be a total entertainment destination yet, but we’re hoping to expand our selection beyond the high-dollar, hot-selling games to include options for all budgets, such as value-priced video games as well as DVD movies. For consumers wanting convenient one-stop shopping for at-home entertainment along with groceries and gas or who just want to avoid big-store shopping inconveniences, their local 7-Eleven store is open and ready."
In addition, 7-Eleven will continue to stock a broad selection of online game gift cards to make virtual purchases in MMOG or pay for monthly subscriptions, the company stated. These online games feature virtual worlds and enable players from around the world to communicate, cooperate and compete together.
"MMOG got their start in Asia, but have gained a worldwide audience of millions," Brian Haynes, 7-Eleven category manager for services, said in a statement. "In November of 2007, 7-Eleven was the first convenience retailer in the U.S. to introduce the Nexon gift card, its first foray into the world of MMOG."
The number of prepaid game cards available at participating 7-Eleven stores has expanded to approximately 20 different cards in varying denominations this year, and the retailer will place a major focus on the growing segment next year, the company stated. The 7-Eleven prepaid game card selection includes Sony PlayStation Network and Microsoft Xbox Live, as well as the games Nexon, Habbo, Gaia, Guild Wars, gPotato, Runescape, Aeria, City of Heroes, Exteel, ijji, IMVU, Neopets and Sims2. In addition, 7-Eleven and Slurpee appear in some games where players can receive a free Slurpee Machine to place in their virtual room, according to the company.
"We think video games will be a great year-round seller for us," Jester said. "Whenever a big-name game is released, it creates instant demand, and we plan on being there to meet it."


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By Matt Koehler
Last month, I spoke to Dianne Lee at The Press about their community initiative of making face shields and two kinds of face masks, and giving them away for free. Since speaking with the part owner and spokesperson, The Press has increased their efforts to produce even more masks and face shields per day.
I reached out to The Press to find out more about their continuing efforts to help the community during this unprecedented pandemic. This is what Lee had to say.
What has been the community response from your efforts?
Amazing support. We’ve had people calling to make donations or wanting to buy masks in bulk.
How many masks and shields have you distributed so far? And to whom?
Face shields are only 100 but currently 10,000 masks. We’ve donated to individuals, senior living homes, Children’s National Hospital, police departments, court houses specifically for victims of domestic abuse, custodians, security guards, concierges, and leasing offices.
How have you ramped up your initiatives since we last spoke?
We converted our retail store to a small mask production facility. No one is allowed in the store except employees. This is at our Mosaic District location. We have gone from making 100 masks a day to an average of 400-500. One day we made 699. This is a huge feat because these are home made.
Have you had requests from hospitals/ first responders and the like for more masks or shields?
Yes, they are in need of PPE. We just received a call today, on a Sunday from a government agency as well.
On that note, how much longer do you think you will keep these initiatives going?
We were planning to slow down but see that as more openings are being planned people are sourcing more masks. We thought we would be slowing down but might have to continue.
I saw that you’ve been able to bring some employees back to part time/full time? Were you able to do this because you started covering the cost of your masks and face shields – not for profit, though, right?
We as owners make zero profit but cover the costs of our employees labor in the mask making process. We were able to receive community support with dry cleaning and laundry so we opened our Calvert location [and our] Wharf location, in addition to our Fairfax and Capitol Hill locations. We were able to open all our stores!!
How’s business been going? Did I hear that you’ve gotten donations or more business since last month?
We have! We were able to fine tune our cleaning process with an amazing solvent called Trebon from Kreussler. It’s our go to cleaning solvent for uniforms which is in high demand for police uniforms […]etc. We’ve seen an increase in wash and fold and household items as well.
Do you have any thoughts on whether opening up the economy, i.e. more businesses slowly and partially opening their doors to customers, is a good idea?
The Press Dry Cleaner has been in DC for almost 10 years now. We always tell our staff, we’re here to serve DC. Ask of DC […] As a business owner we want to see the economy opening back up but as someone who makes donations and deliveries for PPE, I am still wary.
Any final thoughts?
I have seen a huge difference in our community with the way masks are being perceived. In the earlier phases of the pandemic, I was yelled at by someone in DC for walking away from her while we were both wearing masks. She said it was insulting. Now I see almost everyone wearing masks and “dodging” me as we practice social distancing.


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UnitedHealth hiked its 2015 forecast after soaring past Wall Street's first-quarter expectations with a performance fueled partially by growth outside health insurance.
In a quest to be more green, Apple says it is investing in Chinese solar power and preserving forests that make environmentally friendly paper.
Netflix is enthralling viewers and investors alike as popular original programming such as "House of Cards" lure subscribers at a quickening pace.
Etsy priced its shares at $16 ahead of its Thursday Wall Street debut for the online marketplace known for handicrafts and strong social values.
A website devoted to adultery is out to woo investors with a public offering of stock in Britain.
Netflix on Wednesday reported an unprecedented jump in subscribers in the first quarter of this year, pushing the streaming television service membership above 60 million.
One startup founder is making his own effort to respond to the issue of income inequality—cutting his own pay while seriously boosting that of his employees.
French website BlaBlaCar said Wednesday it was swallowing up its German and Hungarian rivals, cementing its spot as Europe's king of ride-sharing as more and more cash-strapped travellers look to share car ...
Sealed Air Corp. is buying Intellibot Robotics LLC in a move to expand its floor cleaning business.
A Chinese manufacturer of self-balancing two-wheeled scooters has bought Segway, only months after its US rival filed a complaint alleging it had copied its designs.
Nokia is to buy ailing French telecom company Alcatel-Lucent for around 15.6 billion euros ($16.5 billion) through a public exchange of shares in France and the United States, in a bid that will see the newly ...
Cultures will clash this week as Etsy, the online marketplace known for artisan goods and strong social values, makes its Wall Street debut.
European regulators are poised to file a complaint alleging Google has been abusing its dominance in Internet search to thwart competition and innovation, according to memo that the company sent to its employees Tuesday.
US technology giant Intel said Tuesday its profits edged higher in the first quarter, as gains in its data center operations help offset weakness in the personal computer market.
The Crackle video streaming service, known best for Jerry Seinfeld's motorized interview series with fellow comics, says it wants to be more like a traditional television network.


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Canada’s first-ever virtual, augmented and mixed reality hub has opened in Vancouver.
Known as the BC Tech Cube (or “The Cube”), the space is designed to help create new startups and grow the 3D technology development in the city.
The 6,000-square-foot hub is an extension of the BC Tech Innovation Hub and is located in the Railtown district of Vancouver.
According to the BC Tech Association, the 3D market has benefited the province with 17,000 created jobs and 2.3 billion in revenue.
“By providing entrepreneurs with the tools, support and environment, we’ll be able to supercharge the growth of BC’s burgeoning AR/VR/MR sector and reinforce our reputation as one of the top ecosystems to grow a tech company,” said Bill Tam, CEO of the BC Tech Association, in a press statement.
The organization also says The Cube will provide members with access to the “latest tech gear, business-building workshops, mentorship and technical training programs, industry events held at the hub and access to investors, customers and talent.”
Furthermore, the workspace will feature a fifty-desk open office, as well as private offices, virtual reality gear and a specially-built green room.
“Congratulations to the BC Tech Cube for bringing together British Columbia’s top talent in 3D development and helping grow the industry,” said Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains in a press statement. “In today’s knowledge-based economy, it is precisely this spirit of innovation and collaboration that will help us build the economy of the future, creating the jobs of today and tomorrow, and ensuring Canada’s success.”
This article was originally published on MobileSyrup


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There's nothing subliminal about Renesas's strategy: With an emphasis on automotive, cloud computing and social infrastructure and 'green' industries, it is aggressively out to influence the influencers - -- those 80% of design decision makers that reside outside of Japan, primarily in America.
There’s nothing subliminal about Renesas’s strategy: With an emphasis on
automotive, cloud computing and social infrastructure and ‘green’
industries, it is aggressively out to influence the influencers - --
those 80% of design decision makers that reside outside of Japan,
primarily in America.
But don’t narrow your filters too much just yet: based on the
discussions, technology and design activity on display at DevCon this
week, from smart energy, wireless, sensors, touch control, displays and
haptic feedback, to development kits, books, contract manufacturers and
other tools to help you get started, this is a message you may want to
Speaking at the opening keynote on Monday, Dan Mahoney, Renesas’s
president and CEO, said that the overarching strategy is, “to develop
system-level solutions for target market segments,” and to that end it
is marshalling its sales, development, marketing and distribution
“Sixty seven percent of our staff is marketing, application engineers
and development engineers,” he said. Pinpointing distribution and a
sharp focus on “the long tail”, he added that 80 percent of the
company’s business comes from 32 customers in the U.S. “We want to
replace that with thousands of longtail customers in the U.S.,” and to
help with that the company has cut its distribution channels from 10 to
four, “for focus,” he added.
That focus and depth is epitomized, in many ways, by the company’s
deepening partnership with the likes of Avnet and Arrow, partnerships
that dovetail nicely with the company’s surging emphasis on global
support and what could be termed point-of-load execution. “Customers can
now access a seamless distribution channel wherever they operate,” he
In the context of cloud computing, Mahoney also went out of his way to
talk up the Renesas purchase of Nokia’s wireless modem division.
“This acquisition will make connectivity our middle name,” he said.
Technology to support strategy
To support the strategy, the company is relying, among other things,
upon its strength in microcontrollers, coupled with a renewed emphasis
on analog and power. While Tad Keeley, a senior director at Renesas,
acknowledges analog and power may have taken a back seat relative to
microcontrollers, that’s about to change. For more on Renesas’s push
in this area, see Dylan McGrath’s report:Renesas eyes growth in analog ICs.
In the meantime, the microcontroller group is not standing still and
Renesas believes overall reliability and support will be its calling
card. For example, in the case of the V850, Mahoney said the company has
moved from measuring failure rates in parts per million, to parts per
billion. “To capture the vanishing failure rates,” he said.
This reliability factor cannot be underestimated as Renesas prepares to
put the squeeze on Freescale, which dominates in automotive-based MCU
applications, especially under the hood. It is also banking on its MONOS
memory technology, vs. SST-based flash, as a differentiator in terms of
scalability, speed and power consumption, according to Jim Trent, vice
president of Renesas’s automotive business unit.
To underscore its microcontroller expertise, the company used DevCon to
talk up the RX architecture that it announced nine months ago, while
also announcing a new site to help designers select the right MCU and
get the necessary community and technical support. For more on that, and
its possible implications, see: Renesas simplifies MCU selection: What now for independents?
According to Ritesh Tyagi, Renesas’s director of MCU products and
solutions marketing, the new RX MCU platform enables 20 to 30%
improvement in processing efficiency for the same code. In many ways, he
said, it’s not so much about power as how fast it can execute (though
the two are clearly related.)
Biz plus buzz = success
While Renesas is clearly intent on using DevCon to clarify its business
and technology plans, it didn’t waste the chance to combine biz with
buzz: The show floor was bopping with innovation that not only served to
underscore its commitment to technology, but also its mantra that
support for the ecosystem was paramount.
Support: Micriµm’s table was standing room
only, and not just because it was next to the food. It announced a new
edition of its muC/OS-III book with 200 new pages devoted to the Renesas
Touch Control: Move over CapSense! (Atmel).
Renesas showed off its capacitive touch control technology that it
licensed from Omron and is now implemented as a dedicated Sensor Control
Unit embedded in its MCUs. The SCU is ‘just another peripheral’ but
off-loads the touch processing from the MCU, to enable to either go into
sleep mode or do other tasks.
Touch Feedback (haptics): Immersion Corporation
showcased its haptic-feedback TouchSense 2000 platform. If you haven’t
seen it (or touched it), it’s just plain cool! It uses a single
vibrating motor to provide the feedback, but the trick is to distribute
the vibration evenly across all the keys. A good analogy might be the
even distribution of light for a backlit display from a point source
like an LED. The $1,300 Libretto W100 uses the technology.
Smart Energy: Renesas put on a full-fledged
home-automation and smart energy scaled-down model display, complete
with dolls. One key point about its approach to smart meter architecture
is that the metering itself should be treated separately. The rest of
the system is where the MCU comes in, controlling the communications,
memory and of course security. All three are constantly in flux and are
where differentiation truly resides for the OEM.
Wireless: Redpine Signals (why doesn’t Renesas
just buy them already?) was showing of a new starter kit combining
802.11n Wi-Fi with Renesas’s R8/RXN MCUs.


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Huawei is probably not expecting the U.S. government to change its mind anytime soon and so they have been inking deals with various companies as alternatives to all the services they can no longer access. The latest one that has been made public is with Dutch navigation and digital mapping company TomTom. The deal between the two companies will see Huawei use their maps and services for their own smartphone apps since they are not able to use Google Maps and other Google services.
Reuters reported that TomTom spokesman Remco Meestra said that they were able to finalize a deal with Huawei Technologies a while back but they are only able to make it public now. The deal means Huawei will be able to use their maps, traffic information, and navigation software for their own smartphones. But aside from that, no other information provided and the spokesperson refused to discuss the details of the deal.
If you’ve been living under a rock and do not know Huawei’s troubles, U.S. President Donald Trump effectively blacklisted the Chinese company for having close ties to the Chinese government and for suspicion of spying on U.S. citizens. This means U.S. based companies like Google have banned them from using their products like the official Android operating system and things like Google Maps and other Google products.
This continued blackballing has forced Huawei to look to other companies and to develop their own operating system as well. How users will respond to not having Google officially on their devices remains to be seen as people have gotten used to Android and Google products for conducting their everyday business on their smartphones.
TomTom sold its telematics division to Bridgestone in 2019 to be able to focus on their digital map-linked business. They have also moved away from selling devices so having a deal with Huawei could be beneficial for both of them.


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Home Depot is doubling down on its home improvement business, announcing it is buying back HD Supply, a company it had spun off in 2007 that specializes in serving the professional and commercial builder trade.
For Depot, the industry’s larger player and a retailer that has been on a recent hot streak with the boom in the home remodeling and redecorating business, it’s a move calculated to build up its share in the contractor industrial supply business. The deal, for about $8.7 billion, reunites the two companies which split 13 years ago when Depot sold HD to a group of private equity investors. Since then it went public and has focused on distributing commercial and industrial products.
As such, it was originally a good fit for Home Depot that had been growing under one-time CEO Robert Nardelli but when the company changed top management, it was decided to spin it off.
Now, with the company’s eyes on ways to grow beyond the housing market it once again looks like a good fit. According to press reports, the purchase will add about $3 billion to Home Depot’s top line.
Over the past few years Home Depot has dramatically expanded its home furnishings and décor business, both internally and through acquisitions, and now says it does over $1 billion a year in those products. It has also invested heavily in its online business which now accounts for some 15% of its total annual revenue of more than $110 billion, making it the second largest retailer in the country after Walmart. The company announces its third quarter results on Tuesday this week and analysts are bullish on what to expect.
As hot as Home Depot has been — its second quarter this generated its best sales growth in nearly 20 years — it has a rejuvenated competitor, Lowes, breathing down its neck. Still significantly smaller, Lowes has experienced even more growth and has aggressively been launching initiatives to grow even further. There were even rumors earlier this month that it was pursuing HD Supply too although it denied them.
Now with its new acquisition, Home Depot will have expand its efforts going after the commercial and professional sectors of the business. The Covid pandemic has not been kind to so many people and businesses in this country. But for Home Depot it’s been anything but.


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At the 2016 Google I/O developer’s conference, VP of virtual reality, Clay Bavor, took the stage in order to shine a more revealing light on the recently revealed Daydream platform. After drawing the crowd’s attention to the GoPo Odyssey VR camera on the stage, Bavor ended his speech by announcing two new VR film partners for Daydream: A Chinese company known as Yi Technology, and IMAX.
Bavor announced that Yi Technology is working on a 4k VR “action cam” while Google and IMAX will be working together to create a VR camera for Hollywood.
IMAX is an already well established production brand that has gone further than perhaps any other company towards the goal of creating presence in the theater.
“IMAX is known around the world for its immersive visuals and audio,” Bavor said from the stage. “We’re really excited about what we’re going to be able to do with them.”
The IMAX partnership centers around Google’s “Jump” VR video creation platform. Jump does refer to an actual camera that Google has built to capture omni-directional, 360, 3D stereoscopic video. But it is also a larger term for the companies established production process for creating this type of content.
It is into this pipeline that IMAX will be stepping through its partnership with Google. Bavor did not confirm the exact details of the partnership, but by emphasizing the use of the Jump platform the implication is that Google will be combining its VR know-how with IMAX’s vast hardware knowledge.
The results could be a camera that has the potential to dramatically alter the established cinematic landscape.
Samsung has announced plans to establish its own VR-only movie studio, but so far the technology has yet to break into old Hollywood and your local multiplex. This Google/IMAX camera could be the first step towards big-budget, wide release VR films.


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Kia is weighing the decision to launch either a new rear-wheel-drive sports model or compact SUV ans it tries to become a major player in the European new car industry.
Read This Article
Kia announced this week that it has teamed up with NBA basketball player Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers to be its latest spokesperson for the brand.
We like how SUVs and crossovers offer height to see ahead, and offering plenty of space for when you need to haul those 3-5 extra people.
We caught the 2015 Kia Sedona minivan, known internationally as the Carnival, testing in its native South Korea without much covering.


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Trustpilot, one of Europe’s fastest-growing internet start-ups, has hired bankers to secure new funding as a precursor to an eventual stock market flotation.
Sky News has learnt that the online review platform for consumers and businesses has engaged Morgan Stanley, the Wall Street giant, to raise tens of millions of pounds from investors.
Trustpilot, which was founded in 2007 by Peter Muhlmann, a Danish entrepreneur, is one of the best-known names in Europe’s internet economy.
When it last raised money a year ago, the company reported a recurring revenue run rate of $50m (£39m), with 34 million reviews of 180,000 businesses being viewed nearly two billion times each month.
It was unclear on Monday exactly how much Trustpilot would seek to raise in its latest funding round, or the timing or venue of an eventual initial public offering (IPO).
Trustpilot has indicated its long-term interest in going public, a move that would see it join the ranks of other big-name technology start-ups which have joined the stock market.
The company’s existing crop of investors include the likes of Index Ventures, Northzone and Vitruvian Partners.
Its revenues are generated from selling software as a service (SaaS) to companies which pay for premium services relating to data insight and the display of their reviews on Trustpilot’s site.
To date, Trustpilot has raised roughly $140m from investors, and sources believe its latest fundraising could elevate its valuation to well beyond unicorn status – the term given to tech start-ups worth at least $1bn.
A Trustpilot spokesman declined to comment.


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ADM acquires 50 percent stake in sweeteners and starches business of Aston Foods
05 Mar 2018 --- Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) has announced an agreement to acquire a 50 percent equity stake in the sweeteners and starches business of Russia-based Aston Foods and Food Ingredients.
“ADM has substantially added to our global sweeteners and starches capabilities with acquisitions serving the European Union, Middle East and North Africa markets, and now we are expanding to serve the growing Russian food and beverage industry,” says Pierre Duprat, president, ADM Europe, Middle East and Africa. “Aston is a key player in this important market, and we look forward to joining them and bringing our experience and capabilities to help our new jointly-owned business grow.”
Under the terms of the agreement, ADM will become 50 percent owner of Aston’s corn wet mills in Ibred and Novlyanka, which are strategically located close to major customers in the Russian food and beverage industry.
“This investment is the latest in a series of important additions and enhancements we have made to grow our global Corn business,” notes Chris Cuddy, president of ADM’s Corn Processing business.
“Last year, we completed our acquisition of Chamtor, opening up access to key markets in Western Europe. In 2015 and 2016, we acquired corn facilities in Hungary, Bulgaria, Turkey and Morocco, then launched a significant expansion effort to enhance our capabilities in those businesses. And we’ve grown significantly in Asia, with our sweetener facility in Tianjin as well as several animal feed plants. Taken together with this expansion into Russia, these global additions represent a substantial transformation of our Corn business as we continue our geographical growth and diversification.”
ADM is targeting a close for the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, late in the second quarter of 2018.
FoodIngredientsFirst has reached out to ADM for further information.


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Sat, Jun 23, 2018 | Updated 08.24AM IST
LAST UPDATED : Sep 06, 2016, 11:11 AM IST
Blass adds that the Huawei-made 7-inch tablet will feature a 4GB RAM, an extra gigabyte more than the one used in the 2012 version.
Google is reportedly working on an 8.9-inch tablet that will hit the market late this year.
Internet grapevine is abuzz with alleged specs of the upcoming Google Nexus 8, which is being manufactured by LG.
Just as it got done with the launch of Nexus 5 smartphone and Android 4.4 operating system, Google is again in the news for another Android product.
According to Digitimes, Google is likely to adopt Intel’s Bay Trail-T processor platform for the upcoming Nexus 8 tablet.
HTC Volantis is the 8.9-inch Nexus tablet(2048x1440p) with a 4:3 ratio.
Samsung is working on a new 8-inch tablet that will square off against the likes of Apple iPad mini and Google Nexus 7.
We try to solve your dilemma by pitting the three 7-inch flagship tablets against each other, picking out a winner.
The images show that Nexus 8 will look exactly the same as Nexus 7, with only the bigger screen size as the main physical change.
Big tablets. So hot right now. Much like the 'big smartphone' revolution from 2011, tablets seem to be undergoing something similar.
The alleged premium tablet was spotted on South Korea's certification agency, sporting the same model number “0P8210000.″
HP has launched Stream 11.6-inch notebook, HP Stream 8 and HP Slate 6 VoiceTab II tablets, and palm sized desktop HP Pavilion Mini in India.
The flounder was spotted on Chromium, a Google site used for tracking bugs in the Chrome browser.
Technology website The Verge has reported that an upcoming Nokia tablet is codenamed Illusionist and will feature an 8-inch screen.
We got a chance to spend some time with the top-of-the-line Digiflip Pro XT911 tablet that features Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity.
Asus has launched its latest tablet - the ZenPad Z8, in the US. Priced at $249.99, the tablet will be available in Black colour and will go on sale starting June 23.
Is Acer Iconia W4 the first 8-inch Windows 8 tablet worth buying? We find out.
Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia is in talks with its partners to develop a tablet that will help it take on market leader Apple’s iPad.
Asus has had a good tech splurge over at Computex, unveiling a bunch of new products for the coming year, and it's particularly proud of its Memo Pad 8.
In this two-part series, we present to you the best tablets in India. This week, it’s all about the budget slates that can be picked up for under 20,000.
Copyright © 2018 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service


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Malaysia Airlines Offers Refunds on All 2014 Flights
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Like most people, I’m still struggling to comprehend the tragedy that is Malaysia Airlines flight 17. Unlike the last Malaysian Airlines tragedy where endless questions remain unanswered, this incident looks to be exclusively the handiwork of terrorists, and the full effects are yet to be seen.
This incident could have happened to any airline, and arguably there isn’t much that Malaysian could have done to avoid getting shot out of the air by a missile. However, they recently announced a customer refund policy that will likely cause huge losses for the already struggling carrier. Today through Thursday, July 24, 2014, Malaysian Airlines is offering its passengers the opportunity to cancel or postpone all tickets that are valid for travel until Wednesday, December 31, 2014, including those booked as non-refundable.
The following policy is effective immediately and will be honored until Thursday, July 24, 2014:
– Passengers who wish to postpone or cancel their travel plans (including those booked with non-refundable tickets) can obtain a refund;
– Members of Enrich, Malaysia Airline’s frequent flyer program, will also receive fee waivers for any changes to their travel itinerary, as well as refunds of miles should they choose to cancel their redemption tickets.
Passengers are encouraged to contact Malaysia Airlines’ call center if they wish to to cancel or change their bookings.
Note that since the MH17 tragedy, Malaysia Airlines has continued to operate daily services between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur – the route taken by flight MH17 – but it and all of the airline’s flights that formerly passed through Ukrainian airspace have since been rerouted. The flight number MH17 has been retired and replaced with MH19 AMS/KUL.
Our thoughts and prayers go to the families and friends of everyone on MH17.
Welcome to The Points Guy!


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People in China have rushed to book overseas travel after Beijing announced it would reopen in January.
Passport applications for Chinese citizens wishing to travel internationally will resume from January 8, the immigration administration said.
It follows an announcement on Monday that ended almost three years of strict quarantine rules for arrivals.
Travel sites have since reported a spike in traffic.
According to BBC, Chinese tourists will not have unfettered access to all countries.
Japan – one of the most popular destinations for Chinese travelers – has announced that all travelers from China must show a negative Covid test on arrival, or quarantine for seven days, because of the surge in cases there.
India has also said travelers from China (as well as some other countries) must show a negative Covid test when they arrive – though this was announced before Beijing’s easing of restrictions.
The easing of travel rules in China – the last part of the country’s zero-Covid policy – comes as the country battles a new wave of infections.
Resentment against the government’s policy, which sparked rare public protests against President Xi Jinping in November, led to a relaxation of Covid restrictions across the country.
But an increase in Covid cases followed, with reports of hospitals overwhelmed and a shortage of drugs.
The announcement on outbound travel on Tuesday came after Monday’s news, which axed quarantine rules for travelers arriving in China. It also scrapped a cap on the daily number of flights.
On the same day, the National Health Commission announced that Covid would be formally downgraded to a Class B infectious disease on January 8.
Before the relaxation of travel rules, people were strongly discouraged from traveling abroad. The sale of outbound group and package travel was banned, according to marketing solutions company Dragon Trail International.
Within half an hour of Monday’s notice that China’s borders would reopen, data from travel site Trip.com – cited in Chinese media – showed searches for popular destinations had increased tenfold year-on-year.
Macau, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and South Korea were the most popular destinations.
Writing by Fany Olumoye; Editing by Tony Okerafor


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Stephane Richard, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of France Telecom and one of the renowned member of the worldwide Orange network in an exclusive interview with one of the media companies, discussed about the future for RIM, the challenges Microsoft Nokia could encounter, net neutrality and how to meet the cost for up surging needs of consumers.
Unexpectedly, he also talked about Apple’s intentions to eliminate the use of SIM cards from phones, which will make the next generation of iPhone much smaller and slimmer. Stephane Richard also confirmed that the giant iPhone manufacturer, Apple had been engaged in talks with the Orange networks to replace the SIM card with a software technology solution, what is referred to as electronic SIM (e-SIM) in telecommunication industry. Nevertheless, Orange networks do not agree with Apple’s idea of rendering SIM card useless and has termed the move misplaced and bad. The major concern of Orange network is the issue of security and authentication offered by the ordinary SIM card. Eliminating the use of the physical SIM card will therefore jeopardise the security of both the user and that of the state. In foreseeing the benefits of the concerns raised by the Orange networks, Apple embarked on a project in partnership with the Orange networks to reduce the size of SIM cards.
The aim of the project arose out of the need of space which was required by Apple to expand the memory and other feature of the new iPhone 5. Stephane Richard added that the next generation of iPhone, which is read to imply that the iPhone 5 will therefore be much smaller and thinner. Considering these aspects, the volume inside the phone casing will therefore go at a premium, and in case the SIM card is eliminated, the iPhone 5 would accommodate a lot of features making it the most powerful phone in the market.
The issue of eliminating the SIM card is nevertheless unforeseeable. For this reason, Apple will have to contend with the idea of reducing the SIM card size as the best alternative for its project. The expected new iPhone 5 features are still vague and are considered as rumours. Although still considered as rumours, the expectation is that the iPhone will have a slim and thin look with a larger graphics with an edge to edge display.
On the other hand, if the information regarded as a rumour at moment is a fact, then the new iPhone 5 will have a tapered look with a four inch edge to edge display. Apple has also recently invested heavily of a number of glass cutting machines and it is believed that the iPhone 5 glass cover will be made from this machines. With the small size of the iPhone, Apple will have to maximise on the small space available in the iPhone. As the small size inside the iPhone casing may impact negatively on the output of this project, eliminating the SIM card seemed a sure way of making the project successful.


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This year will see the introduction of the new plastic Jane Austen £10 note. Following on from the recent new plastic £5 note it is expected to carry across similar features, such as a variety of security features like the see-through window displaying the £ symbol, the 3D coronation crown displaying a multi coloured rainbow effect when tilted, and much more.
Just like the £5 note it will be made of a Polymer (animal fat and all…) The note brags to be better for the environment as it is longer lasting than the traditional paper note meaning less will be produced, and when it reaches the end of its life as money it can be recycled into a new plastic product.
It was confirmed by the Bank of England that the new £10 will commemorate Jane Austen, whose 200th year anniversary of death is in July this year. The late author will be the only female aside from The Queen to appear on a note once the old £5 notes are withdrawn from circulation. Although the choice hasn’t come without some controversy, as the selected image of the author did come under scrutiny for having been ‘airbrushed’.
The new note will feature many well-known features from Jane Austen’s work such as the famous quote “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!” from Pride and Prejudice as well as Jane Austen’s writing table used by the author at her residence at Chawton cottage. The full design of the new £10 note is set to be revealed at Winchester Cathedral on July 18th during an anniversary ceremony for the late author.
The Bank of England has printed over 250 million notes ready, however these will not be launched until September 2017.


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Market intelligence company Millennium Research Group (MRG), reckons the 2013 Japanese launch of transcatheter aortic valve implants (TAVI), will spur accelerating growth in the market.
Frequent visitors to our pages will know that TAVI devices, unlike conventional heart valves are placed percutaneously, minimizing the trauma to the patient. This allows heart valve replacements to be performed in candidates who were otherwise ineligible for surgical options due to comorbidities or other factors.
As a result, the company’s researchers say adoption of TAVI devices will be rapid, forecasting they will be used in about 30 percent of total heart valve replacements performed in Japan by 2021.
Although the focus for the next few years will be on transcatheter devices, the conventional heart valve market nonetheless remains large and lucrative. The sizable over-65 demographic combined with rising rates of diabetes and obesity in Japan has created a growing patient pool for heart valve treatments, and many eligible patients will continue to undergo conventional surgical replacement or repair, especially while TAVI remains a relatively new procedure.
The market will, however, be somewhat hindered by lagging economic recovery from the earthquake and tsunami of 2011 and the global economic downturn; this will hinder hospital budgets, particularly in the next few years. While this will impede growth in the surgical heart valve device markets, price erosion will be more than offset by the rapid adoption of premium-priced TAVI devices, resulting in the Japanese heart valve device market growing at a strong pace overall.
MRG’s report, is entitled: Japanese Markets for Heart Valve Devices 2013. It includes unit, procedure, average selling price and revenue information, along with market drivers and limiters and a competitive landscape for heart valve replacement and repair devices in Japan.
“After the US and Europe, Japan represents the next frontier for TAVI devices,” said MRG Senior Analyst Ian Swanson. “Edwards Lifesciences continues to be first-to-market with these products, providing the company with an extremely powerful competitive advantage. Although Medtronic is not too far behind, Edwards Lifesciences holds a particular advantage in Japan where it will offer its smallest-sized version of its SAPIEN XT TAVR device, which is ideal for Japanese patients.”
Source: Millennium Research Group


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Sao Paulo, Brazil, 25 Jan – Brazilian leather exports exceeded US$2 billion for the first time in 2007, with China as the main market, according to the Brazilian association for the leather curing industry, CICB.
China absorbed 33 percent of sales of Brazilian leather essentially for the Chinese furniture and car industries.
The second biggest market for Brazilian leather (28 percent) was Italy (28 percent), followed by the United States (11 percent).
“For the first time our sector exported more than the footwear sector, having contributed over 15 percent in obtaining foreign currency for Brazil,” the chairman of the CICB, Luiz Bittencourt told Macauhub.
“China was always our main market and the best thing is that this rise caused no loss to the supply of our domestic market, despite the footwear sector having reduced its use of leather an increased the use of synthetic materials, which are cheaper,” he said.
Brazilian leather exports in 2007 rose 17 percent against 2006 – from US$1.87 billion to US$2.19 billion, according to the CICB.
For 2008, Bittencourt said he expected, “the international market to continue active and the sector to continue generating increasing revenues for Brazil.”
The CICB (Centro das Indústrias de Curtumes do Brasil) is a federative association and represents around 800 industries employing over 50,000 people, with an estimated GDP of US$3.5 billion. (macauhub)


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Everything Everywhere plots branded ecommerce store
Everything Everywhere is to bolster its presence as a consumer-facing brand with a dedicated ecommerce site, following a major internal review at the T-Mobile and Orange-owner.
The mobile group, formed from the merger of the two networks last year, has already expanded the Everything Everywhere brand through high-street stores that sell both T-Mobile and Orange lines.
It is looking to replicate this strategy online, and is asking digital agencies to submit ideas on how to build a consumer website to help it drive traffic to its T-Mobile and Orange sites.
Everything Everywhere currently has 24 stores in the UK, and plans to open a further six by early next year.
The activity comes after Everything Everywhere’s recently appointed chief executive, Olaf Swantee, reportedly described the brand name as ‘silly’.
It has been speculated that the Everything Everywhere brand could be axed, but the company says it has no plans to replace it. A spokesman claimed it is ‘maintaining momentum’ by continuing to focus on both its brands.
In its latest financial results, Everything Everywhere reported a 4.3% fall in revenues to £1.7bn over the three quarters to 30 September.
This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk
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