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Digital TV News: black
Allen Media Group plans DTC streaming strategy with Quickplay
Sep 8, 2022 – Allen Media Group and Quickplay have announced an agreement that paves the way for Allen Media Group's direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming products, built using Quickplay's platform running on Google Cloud.
News categories: Quickplay, Allen Media, Paul Pastor, Byron Allen, Content Distribution, Digital TV, IBC2022, Streaming, USA, Worldwide
MultiChoice Group implements Irdeto Server Side Ad Insertion
Sep 8, 2022 – Irdeto has announced the rollout of Irdeto Server Side Ad Insertion (SSAI) by MultiChoice. Irdeto SSAI, launched to the market in January 2022, maximizes addressable live ad inventory of OTT video at scale while delivering a seamless ‘TV-like’ viewing experience.
News categories: Irdeto, MultiChoice, Shane McCarthy, Fahmeeda Cassim Surtee, Advertising, Content Distribution, Digital TV, South Africa
LG unveils new gaming UI, adds new cloud-gaming services
Sep 5, 2022 – LG Electronics (LG) is expanding the gaming experience on its latest TVs, adding Blacknut and Utomik cloud-gaming services to give users more choice, and a UI update that makes it easier to get in the game.
News categories: LG Electronics, Digital TV, Gaming, Smart TV, UX, Worldwide
Telestream integrates with Verimatrix Streamkeeper Multi-DRM
Aug 29, 2022 – Verimatrix (Paris: VMX) and Telestream have announced that Surveyor ABR Active, Telestream iQ's ABR streaming QoE and QoS monitoring technology, is integrated within Verimatrix StreamkeeperSM Multi-DRM.
News categories: Verimatrix, Telestream, Sebastian Braun, Joel Daly, Digital TV, DRM, QoE, Streaming, Worldwide
Sky Glass to launch in Ireland in August
Jul 27, 2022 – Sky Ireland has announced that Sky's TV, Sky Glass, will launch in Ireland on 25th August 2022. Sky Glass is the only TV with Sky inside, allowing customers to get Sky TV over WiFi – removing the need for a satellite dish or STB.
News categories: Sky, JD Buckley, Digital TV, Ireland, Smart TV, Streaming
Amogo Networx to launch FAST channels with Wurl
Jul 14, 2022 – Wurl has announced an agreement with Amogo Networx to launch the company’s Free Ad Supported TV (FAST) channels across various CTV platforms including Samsung TV, LG, Rakuten TV and Roku.
News categories: Wurl, Amogo Networx, Sean Doherty, Jr, Peter von Ondarza, Content Distribution, Digital TV, EU, Latin America, Streaming, USA
Crackle Plus launches FAST on the TCL Channel in the U.S.
Jul 12, 2022 – Crackle Plus (Nasdaq: CSSE) is to launch five FAST channels on the TCL Channel streaming platform in the US. The channels are Crackle, Crackle Classics, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Popcornflix and Truli.
News categories: Crackle, FFalcon, Philippe Guelton, Rebecca Wan, Digital TV, Smart TV, Streaming, USA
Crackle Plus extends measurement relationship with iSpot.tv
Jul 6, 2022 – Crackle Plus (Nasdaq: CSSE) has renewed its relationship with iSpot.tv. iSpot.tv will continue to provide its Unified Measurement to the brands working with Crackle Plus to quantify the incremental reach delivered over linear.
News categories: Crackle, iSpot.tv, Darren Olive, Stu Schwartzapfel, Advertising, Big Data, Digital TV, Streaming, USA
Metaverse Standards Forum launched
Jun 21, 2022 – The Metaverse Standards Forum brings together standards organizations and companies for cooperation on interoperability standards needed to build the open metaverse. The Forum will explore where the lack of interoperability is holding back metaverse deployment.
News categories: Metaverse Standards Forum, Neil Trevett, Gaming, Metaverse, Worldwide
- Smart speaker shipments exceeded 33 million in 2Q 2022
- iWedia to deliver Live TV app for Google TV and Android TV devices
- 35 million US internet households interested in cloud gaming subscription
- Japan SVOD revenue to grow at 10.1% CAGR during 2022-2027
- DAZN acquires Eleven Sports and Team Whistle
- Cignal TV enhances Cignal Play app with Quickplay
- UK entertainment and media companies hold their nerve despite economic headwinds
- TV5MONDE adds TV5MONDE Pacifique HD to its bouquet on AsiaSat 5
- NEXTGEN TV begins broadcasting in Roanoke-Lynchburg
- TripleLift and Zype to bring in-show programmatic ads to CTV
- OpenAP announces interoperability with FreeWheel, Magnite and Xandr
- Sky Stream IP-only STB to launch in the UK on October 18th
- MultiChoice launches DStv Streama STB in South Africa
- Skytel expands video services in Mongolia with Mirada
- Report from the CTA explores gaming's post-pandemic popularity
- Spectrum TV app available on XClass TVs
- Global pay TV subscribers to remain at around one billion
- Realtek and Irdeto develop RDK and Android TV hybrid STB
- Streaming dominates UK television landscape
- Sky NZ reveals IP-only solution for VodafoneTV customers


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BGMEA chief urges U.S. buyers to downplay factory auditing
Stressing the need for a smoother and more sustainable supply chain and garment sourcing, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association President Faruque Hassan urged U.S. buyers to minimize audits multiple factories in order to reduce costs for owners and to offer Bangladeshi clothing prices.
The president of BGMEA, currently visiting the United States to promote the export of garments from Bangladesh to the United States market, made the appeal during a roundtable conference in Washington on Friday.
The Embassy of Bangladesh hosted the roundtable to brief the U.S. government and relevant stakeholders on ongoing efforts to improve factory safety and worker well-being in the garment industry in Bangladesh and encourage more US imports of Bangladeshi ready-to-wear clothing.
Addressing the roundtable, Bangladeshi Ambassador to the United States, Mr. Shahidul Islam, said that the government has long undertaken various measures and initiatives to support the welfare of workers in the RMG industry.
The round table entitled “Seven years after the Rana Plaza: who does what? Senior US government officials attended, including Christopher Wilson, Deputy US Trade Representative for South Asia; William Jackson, USTR Textile Assistant; and Jennifer Larson, director for South and Central Asia at the US Department of State; Maureen Haggard, director for democracy, human rights and labor at the US Department of State; BGMEA Vice President Miran Ali, Ambassador Teresita Schaffer of McLarty Associates, representatives of the US-Bangladesh Business Council, the American Apparel and Footwear Association, Walmart, Target, as well as senior officials from the Bangladeshi Embassy.
The event was hosted while BGMEA President Faruque Hassan is currently visiting the United States to promote the export of garments from Bangladesh to the United States market.
In his presentation, Faruque Hassan highlighted various initiatives taken by both the government of Bangladesh and its association, including the establishment of the RMG Sustainability Council and the formation of a Tripartite Advisory Council to maintain workplace safety and promote human rights. and the welfare of garment workers.
He briefed attendees on the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic to the Bangladesh garment industry and how his association has supported workers during this difficult time, urged U.S. buyers to minimize multiple audits of factories to reduce costs for homeowners and highlighted the need for a smoother and more sustainable supply chain and apparel supply.
The president of BGMEA also acknowledged the generous contributions of the government through the stimulus plan in this regard.
In view of the increase in the minimum wage for workers and additional operating and production costs in Bangladesh, the president of BGMEA has called on American buyers to offer higher and fairer prices for Bangladeshi clothing.
He also urged the US government to consider a tariff reduction for Bangladeshi RMG products.
During the interactive session, USTR Assistant Christopher Wilson described the current US administration’s focus on the welfare of workers, both at home and abroad.
Citing the tariff issue as the prerogative of the US Congress, he stressed the need for constant and closer commitments between the two governments on labor and related issues.
Roundtable participants also discussed a range of other relevant issues, including empowering women workers in industry, Covid-19, and vaccine support for women garment workers.
Participants appreciated the roundtable as an effective and timely initiative to exchange information on the important issue of workers’ well-being which has both economic and human rights dimensions.
Ambassador Shahidul Islam concluded the roundtable by stressing the importance of having in-depth discussions and dialogues in all forums, including TICFA, to further promote trade and business between Bangladesh and the United States. .

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Kyndryl, an American multinational information technology infrastructure services provider, has secured the Best Companies Award at the Internet 2.0 Conference, in the UAE, which recognizes the excellent businesses in the technology industry.
The world’s largest IT infrastructure provider, Kyndryl designs, builds, manages and modernizes the complex, mission-critical IT systems that the world depends on every day.
Kyndryl is focused on delivering the most advanced business solutions for customers across more than 60 countries. It is investing in new partnerships with the world’s premier technology organizations and cloud hyperscalers.
“We are honored to be receiving Best Companies award, only months after our launch. In such a brief time, Kyndryl has made incredible progress with new customers and partnership signings, as well as through rapidly expanding our professional skills and capabilities. We are committed to being a trusted partner to our customers in the UAE and across the world and creating offerings that address their unique needs in powering their digital transformation strategies.”
Kyndryl became an independent, publicly-traded company on 4th November 2021 and has quickly expanded into high growth areas and industries where customers are demanding innovation.
The company’s recent developments include customer signings, strategic partnerships, and technology certifications. Kyndryl is also responding to a global base of customers that have local needs that are specific to the region where they conduct business.
Last year, Kyndryl won the Digital Transformation All-round Excellence Award in the UAE for its exceptional work in the digital transformation space.
The Internet 2.0 Conference, a premier tech event, aims to stimulate dialogue, fuel collaborations, and ignite tech-based innovations by bringing leading tech gurus, IT services providers, C-level executives, entrepreneurs, and investors under one roof.


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The battle for ecommerce just got hotter
In the world of tech patents that shouldn’t have been issued, Amazon’s 1-click patent is king.
For twenty years, Amazon’s special button that allows customers to purchase an item with “just a single click” reigned supreme, allowing the then-tiny online bookseller to grab market share at the expense of its larger rivals.
Well, not anymore now.
Amazon’s 1-click patent expires this month, allowing any online retailer to create their version of the “1-click” functionality on their website.
The benefits can be huge — A recent survey by Shopify indicated that more than 21% of potential shoppers abandoned their cart as the checkout process was too cumbersome.
Following that logic, integrating 1-click into your checkout platform could potentially increase your revenue by up to 20%!
(And that’s not even counting the added boost from returning customers who are more likely to buy if their payment credentials are already on file — the much vaunted Second Purchase)
The real winners of this battle?
1-Click helped make Amazon what it is today. Why not use it to build your own ecommerce behemoth?
Give us a call today to talk!
P.S: NPR’s Planet Money did a pretty good piece yesterday on 1-Click.
Listen to it here:


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|The solution provider exec says mid-size firms can be "disruptive," yet need help with innovation.
|The prospect of external attacks on their systems send shivers down the spines of IT decision makers at small and mid-sized businesses in the U.S.
Todd Thibodeaux said cybersecurity and cloud-based SaaS offerings represent the most immediate moneymaking opportunities.
Times may change but email remains the top work communication tool. Also, expect more manufacturers to at least look at IoT over the next year.
As businesses rely on increasing volumes of data, they'll need more help in harnessing it and translating it into action.
Retailers feel a need for stronger security, schools are spending more on tablets, and blockchain could mean big savings in financial services.
Jack Ma, the co-founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, is pouring much of his personal wealth into the creation of one of Asia's largest philanthropic trusts, highlighting what many see as the dawn of a new era of giving among China's freshly minted billionaires.
Blog post by staffers at the Federal Trade Commission said laws that limit direct sales of automobiles from manufacturers, such as Tesla, are "bad policy."
United Technologies Corp. on Friday said U.S. regulators are investigating one of its nonemployee sales representatives who sold engines in China.
Pearson sounded an upbeat tone and reported a rise in first-quarter sales, as the U.K.-based publisher prioritizes courses and expansion.
Four U.S. TV shows that air on Chinese video websites have been taken down because of government regulations, China's state-run media said.
|The research firm upwardly revised its growth forecast from the first quarter to 2.4 percent, with software and services leading the way.
Social selling has been found to be a revenue enhancer for businesses, including solution providers.
In which industry do you see the greatest potential for sales opportunities this year? Take our one-question poll.
But first, conquer three challenges that solution providers' marketing and sales teams face in a hypercompetitive landscape.
|What's on the minds of IT directors at midmarket companies? Here's what five CIOs had to say at a recent panel discussion.
Here are four recent insights that can give you an edge with customers and help move your business forward.


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A tweet prompts fans to subscribe to Ubisoft's USA version of the YouTube channel for more updates on the upcoming sequel. Fans will have something to look forward to. That being said, despite the game lacking multiplayer, players can still expect things like microtransactions. South Park: The Fractured But Whole has been delayed so many times it's pointless to guess when it'll be out, but hopefully it's next release date will be its last.
Even better, Android Authority has obtained a photo of what it believes is a OnePlus 5 prototype, obtained from an anonymous source. The latest rumor has the OnePlus 5 getting unveiled in June with a launch not too far thereafter. A Weibo user has uploaded the prototype image calling it fake. As revealed in Antutu website, the specs and features of OnePlus 5 is definitely worth waiting for.
Here are the Intel Skylake X Core i9-7920X, Core i9-7900X, Core i9-7820X, and Core i9-7800X Mega-Tasking CPUs leaked. The higher-end Core i7-7740K has two threads per core enabled, while the lower end i7-7640K has just one thread per core enabled.
Shops also re-opened Wednesday morning. Police earlier said they had been notified of the fire in the terminal's departures hall. Changi Airport also coordinated with regional airports with flights arriving into Singapore to adjust their departure times to help manage the arrival load, it said.
The blog post also noted that some of the observed attacks use common "phishing tactics" including malicious attachments and that, "Customers should use vigilance when opening documents from untrusted or unknown sources". Businesses could face legal claims if they failed to deliver services because of the attack, said Edward McAndrew, a data privacy lawyer at Ballard Spahr.
Have you checked out these new features? Instagram rolled out more new features to the "stories" part of the app that will look familiar if you've ever used Snapchat . Face filtersFilters are available for posts uploaded to your Story and shared with friends. Instagram is also today rolling out more creative tools in the camera.
The report adds that Google has been working on the headset for over a year, which means work on it started even before the Daydream View was launched. Tango makes use of a variety of sensors to map a room and track the movement of a device through a room. The technology is seen as the next big thing for virtual reality and has the potential to drastically simplify the use of VR headsets.
While software-related IPs were also part of ZeniMax's accusations that weren't proven in their entirety, it's still unclear whether that will be enough for a case against Samsung. The company, who's known for developing popular games like Doom , Quake, and Fallout, is hungry for money and seeks damages from Samsung. Furthermore, the claim could potentially require Sammy to pay damages for "infringing of protected works" and " use of trade secrets ".
These styling upgrades are also available separately via the BMW M Performance options list and have been developed alongside the standard vehicle to add a bit of extra visual punch compared to the standard M240i. For the rear wheel drive optioned M240i, 0-60 miles per hour can be cracked off in just 4.4 seconds (4.2 for the all-wheel drive model), so long as you opt for the automatic, and get an electronically limited top speed of 155 miles per hour.
From May 25, 2018, though, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will introduce a single set of privacy rules across the EU's 28 member states, and raise the fines to €20 million ($22 million) or 4 percent of worldwide revenue. The regulator also accused Facebook of collecting data on users' browsing activity on third-party websites. In particular it has been observed that Facebook proceeded to a massive compilation of personal data of Internet users in order to display targeted ...
The unveiling could take place at COMPUTEX Taipei, an annual computer expo held May 30 to June 3. At stake will be the highly lucrative high-end PC gaming chip market. Of the two new Kaby Lake-X CPUs, the Core i7-7740K processor is the more powerful with four cores, supporting eight threads, 8Mb of L3 cache, and a base clock frequency of 4.3GHz with Turbo 2.0 pitched at 4.5GHz.
About 7.48M shares traded. It has underperformed by 4.39% the S&P500. The company's share price has outperformed the Nasdaq year to date by over 3.65%. Since November 23, 2016, it had 1 buying transaction, and 8 sales for $20.52 million activity. The company has a market cap of $171.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.68 and a beta of 1.36.
Brady said Google was not taking any critical vehicle tracking information with the new system. Could we see Android Wear 3.0 revealed then? It's a very Google solution to what other apps make really simple , but the end result is actually pretty interesting.
Now if you're a fan of Blizzard's FPS Overwatch and wouldn't mind getting a bit deeper into it, you'll be pleased to learn that Blizzard has recently put up "The Art of Overwatch" book for pre-order . Furthermore, Amazon is also listing Overwatch: Anthology Volume 1 , which collects all the comics depicting the backstory of the game's various heroes.
You can look at him season to season numbers-wise and say that nothing really stands out that's great, but to me, he's the greatest clutch hitter I've ever seen". In addition, they sent the father-to-be out in style with numerous of gifts which includes an 4-karat white gold career milestone ring. Yankees: 1B Greg Bird, who hasn't played since May 1 because of a bone bruise in his right ankle, still has not been cleared to resume baseball activities.
Democrats have accused Trump of attempting to thwart the FBI's probe and have called for some type of independent inquiry into the matter. In the Thursday interview, Trump said he supported an investigation into Russia's meddling of the election, saying, "If Russia or anyone else is trying to interfere with our elections, I think it's a disgusting thing and I want to get to the bottom of it, and I want to make sure it will never, ever happen".
With players set to begin slugging their friends this time tomorrow, Warner Bros. "In Injustice 2, players will get the chance to power up and build the ultimate version of their favorite iconic DC characters and fight their way across an epic Story Mode, ever-changing Multiverse, and online multiplayer guilds - all while earning rare and valuable gear to fully customize their characters".
On top of all of that, you can also set up the squeeze force level based on your preferences. The super shiny rear cover of the HTC U 11 also makes an appearance in various colors like Light Blue, Black, Red, White and Dark Blue. Ever since the HTC 11 U rumors started floating around, there wasn't much doubt about the internal storage size - 64GB and/or 128GB . The design ends up looking flashy if not glossy, with a 5.5 inch display at the front flanked by now-relatively-large bezels, a ...
The LG Stylo 2 Plus isn't the only T-Mobile device receiving a software update this week. macOS 10.12.5 - macOS 10.12.5 Sierra is available via Software Update, where it's a roughly 894 MB download. TMO staff are installing the update even now. Resolves an issue, affecting some enterprise and education customers, that may cause the system date to be set to the year 2040.
The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Inmarsat-5 F4 satellite took off around 4:20 p.m. California time. London-based Inmarsat , which has a Palm Bay office with about 200 employees, initially booked the mission on a Falcon Heavy rocket. "In maritime, our system is actually integrated". It's the private company's 6th successful flight this year. The National Reconnaissance Office bought SpaceX's launch services via a contract with Ball Aerospace, a Colorado-based satellite and instrument ...


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With the arrival of Spring time and longer, warmer days comes new fashion and beauty trends. The first of the SS17 fashion shows have started to grace the major cities all over the world, but what is going to be on trend this year? A brand new guide from Ellisons looks a little closer at the makeup styles that are set to make a splash this year.
Throwback to the 90s
Bright colours have been a constant fixture on the runway for SS17, paying homage to the infamous 90s look. But it’s not just the clothing styles that are synonymous with the era, makeup artists are going brighter and glossier than ever. Forget the matte nudes that dominated the landscape for the previous twelve months, it’s all about high sheen lip gloss to give the illusion of fuller lips in 2017.
Read more after the jump:
Natural looking skin has been an emerging trend for a while now but more designers and makeup artists have opted for makeup free models on the catwalk this year: at Michael Kors and Vera Wang, amongst others, makeup was used sparingly, only to cover blemishes. Shying away from heavily applied makeup, neutral skin tones with a healthy glow are set to be a favourite this year.
Moving away from the all-matte-everything of last year, an omnipresent look at each show this year was healthy looking, dewy skin. Again, reminiscent of the vibrant 90s look, a rosy glow creates a youthful and vibrant look. In some instances, lipstick was applied in place of blusher to achieve that desirable glowing look.
Much more relaxed than the precise cat-eye flick, smudged eyeliner is undeniably in this season. The ‘unfinished’ look was adorned by models in a number of notable shows in a dark, ashy colour palette, creating a beautifully sultry look. Marc Jacobs on the other hand opted for a lighter, brighter take on the smudgey eyes which makes the eyes really stand out.
Glitter has been big in certain circles for years, but this year, the catwalks were positively shimmering. Breaths taking glittery lips were a talking point at DKNY, whilst models sported glitter on their faces and eyes in other shows. The heavy presence of sparkles at this year’s shows suggests that trends are shifting towards a more fun loving aesthetic than seen in previous years.
Images from Gloom by Javi Salinas for Design SCENE


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Social reading platform BookShout! unveiled its newest features at the Frankfurt Book Fair today, and it’s sure to raise some eyebrows in the publishing industry. The new app, originally available for iOS and now Android and web-based as well, allows readers to read their previously purchased digital titles in one location, regardless of which digital platform was used for the purchase.
One of the frustrations that consumers have felt with digital publishing is the artificial constrictions placed on the content by the retailers, meaning that an ebook purchased from Amazon will only be readable on an Amazon device or app; the same is true of other e-readers from other platforms. Opposition to DRM from a number of critics has focused on the walls that retails build around the content, preventing the consumers from accessing their purchased titles on other devices or platforms.
BookShout! has developed the technology to legally remove the barriers to reading. Once consumers purchase the title, regardless of their preferred retail platform for purchase, they can access their titles through BookShout!. Additionally, BookShout! maintains a market place for digital titles and will allow consumers to purchase content there.
While this may upset some retailers who enjoy the artificial mandate that requires their customers to purchase ebooks from them in order to be compatible with their device, BookShout! CEO Jason Illian assures that this is a legal technology, unlike file sharing sites. More importantly, BookShout! has the support of some big names in the industry, including four of the Big Six publishers and O’Reilly’s Tools of Change.
“This is a great day for readers and publishers,” said Tools of Change President Joe Wikert in a press release today. “We are 100 percent supportive of BookShout!’s push to free readers and empower publishers. We will continue to work with BookShout! to allow readers to experience and define e-books in new ways.”
Illian agrees. “We believe customers who have purchased books should have the right to access the content they have paid for, the right to choose the medium or hardware on which they prefer to access that content, and the right to own and interact with others around that content.”


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Electronic Arts has said that it will fall short of its profit and revenue forecasts for fiscal 2009, blaming slow demand at retailers over the holiday period and the delay of Harry Potter
. Nintendo's dominance on the Wii also got a mention...
"We are disappointed that our holiday slate is not meeting our sales expectations", said EA's CEO, John Riccitiello, in a statement. "Given this performance and the uncertain economic environment, we are taking steps to reduce our cost structure and improve the profitability of our business." This could involve trimming back its games portfolio and further lay-offs following the 6% October culling.
In a conference call EA execs said key titles had under-performed and noted that one key retailer had cut its orders to avoid over-stocking goods. "By itself one retailer can be as much as $60 million in revenue ... it's a large swing factor for Q3", said Riccitiello.
Further to that, execs said there will be a "material double digit reduction" in the unit sales of releases to retailers.
In the UK, while franchises such as FIFA
and Need for Speed
have performed reasonably well in the All-Formats Charts, newer EA properties such as Mirror's Edge
and Rock Band 2
have failed to set the world on fire.
EA already cut its outlook significantly back in October, dropping it from $1.30 (£0.88) to $1.70 (£1.15) earnings per share to between $1.00 (£0.68) and $1.40 (£0.95). The news that it will not meet those expectations knocked its shares by 10.4% to $17.34 (£11.73) in overnight trading. That came after an 11.52% drop earlier on during regular trading.
The publisher said it will not provide new guidance prior to its third quarter results being published in February.
The Wii also got a nod. "There's no question that having the lead platform with two-thirds of the unit sales occurring to the first party owner is a really unusual thing", said Riccitiello. "It's a challenge.” Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America, recently said that third-party publishers don't 'get' the Wii
It should be pointed out, however, that EA didn't lay blame squarely on Nintendo, with Riccitiello pointing out that the Wii is not a new factor in EA's outlook warning.
While one of the world's biggest publishers reducing its expectations at Christmas certainly doesn't bode well for the games industry, it's not all doom and gloom. Take-Two recently said that holiday sales have been better than expected
, while Microsoft has echoed the sentiment.Source: Reuters


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PARIS — Traceability and craftsmanship were among buzzwords for buyers attending the recent Première Classe Tuileries accessories trade show, with premium European accessories brands enjoying a strong presence at the event. Buyers are willing to pay for savoir-faire and tradition, exhibitors said, but they are placing small orders and imposing unreasonably short delivery times.
Exotic skins were in rich supply, from a new line of python belts at Maison Boinet to glistening black stingray iPad holders at Manufacture Jean Rousseau, a French luxury watch straps specialist, which launched a leather goods line six months ago. The brand, which has its own tannery and manufacturing site based in France’s Franche-Comté region, which borders Switzerland, had an on-site artisan creating card holders at its stand.
“We are looking for classics, items that promote craftsmanship. It’s important to explain to people how and where designs are made,” said Sandy Bontout, a buyer for Zalando Group.
Nicole Sewall, apparel and accessories buyer for the Anthropologie-owned wedding and special occasions e-commerce site, Bhldn.com, echoed: “For our customer, she wants to know who the designers are. We always set aside a budget for this salon as you get better design, better quality and creativity.”
She especially liked the ceramic animal jewelry creations by Spanish newcomer Andres Gallardo, and the “graphic but fine” handmade filigree designs by Mallarino. The latter brand is based in Paris but works with artisans in Colombia from where sibling founders Lucia and Isabella Bueno-Mallarino hail.
Sophie-Charlotte Van Robais, director of heritage Bordeaux, France-based hunting brand Alexandre Mareuil, which launched its leathergoods line three seasons ago, said clients appreciate the fact the company has its own atelier. Highlights from the spring-summer 2013 collection included a leather bucket bag with a canvas closure and a silk scarf decorated with hunting illustrations by Esther Bonté.
For bags, general trends included pastels, metallics, safari, camouflage and mixed media. Jewelry fell into two camps: either ultrafine or big, colorful and clunky, with rose gold and ceramic among continuing themes.
“Handbags are still classic, with a lot of pastel colors,” said Kusule Ushe, a buyer for Isetan, Japan.
Naomi Bartee, an accessories buyer for Barneys Co-Op in New York, said: “I’m seeing longer lengths on necklaces and there is more colorful jewelry, incorporating colored stones. For bags, the minimalist look is still key — Dear Celine is still setting the tone.” For materials, she saw a lot of patch-working and plays on surface contrast, such as leather with canvas or solids mixed with print.
Buyers were competing for exclusives for cult London costume jewelry brand Mawi’s just-launched line of loud bejeweled glitter clutches.
“Everybody wants light and easy but interesting, and bags that close,” commented Doris Pang, sales director at Jérôme Dreyfuss, which continues to raise the bar in terms of textile research. New styles included a mixed-media bag combining croco-effect calf, elaphe water snake and canvas. “Buyers are going for extra special pieces, there are no more seasons, the leopard designs are still strong,” added Pang.
Jocelyn Whipple, a specialist in sustainability who was sourcing for Livia Firth’s green concept store, Eco Age, which is based in West London, lauded the oversized eco-friendly hand-woven totes by Antonello, which is based in London but works with cottage industry weavers based in Sardinia. “What I look for is attention to workmanship and celebration of craft,” said Whipple.
While many of the show’s small accessories designers were concerned with going upscale, it didn’t always play in their favor, with buyers at times balking at prices.
Lingering in front of a classic-shaped handbag in camouflage canvas by Italy’s IP & Mr Famous, Naohiro Takeda, owner of Baycrews that co-owns Madame Figaro, a Tokyo-based multi-brand store, said: “By the time we convert the price it will bring it up to $900. You can buy a Miu Miu bag for that.” Business is still tough in Japan, he said.
Likewise, Dania Ghandour, a buyer for Cream, based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, loved Austrian brand Andy Wolf’s “on trend” sunglasses range but was put off by the price tag. “They’re the same price as Prada and Chanel,” she exclaimed.
Livia Stoianova, co-founder of On AuraTout Vu, said buyers were more hesitant than usual about placing orders, pushing for discounts and requesting very short deliveries. “People no longer want to order for the long term. Some want deliveries in two to three weeks. I’ve even had a few clients wanting to take product away with them, and that’s new. It puts huge pressure on designers for production.” Demand was still strong for high-end product, however, she said, such as a crystal cuff retailing at around $1,000.
“It’s tough out there and summer was slow with the Olympics but we’ve seen strong sales growth,” commented Katie Wade, buyer for accessories, lingerie and swimwear for Cocosa, an online designer discount store owned by Mohamed Al Fayed.
First-time exhibitors at the salon included hosiery designer Nicholas Messina, who had just launched his Bar-a-collants.com e-commerce platform for his France-made collection of tights and stockings with handmade seams. Messina presented collaborations with fashion and footwear designers Steffie Christiaens and Fred Marzo on two designs, with new hook-ups to be introduced each season.
“Since the Eighties, not much has happened in the hosiery universe. I wanted to introduce my take on it,” Messina said.
For its next men’s wear collection, @roberto_cavalli will show as a special guest at #PittiUomo, running from June 12-15. The brand, which has Florence in its roots, will relaunch its men’s wear collection, which will be presented separately from women’s wear for the first time since Paul Surridge was appointed creative director in May. #wwdnews #wwdfashion (📷: @aitorrosasphoto)
“I was making the guacamole when my scout saw me,” says model @stuckinteenage on being discovered just six months ago while working at @chipotlemexicangrill. Since then Williams has signed with @dnamodels, walked in her first show at @calvinklein and landed on the cover of @vogueitalia – a high point of any model’s career. To read @lisajlockwood’s full interview with the model on her experiences thus far, head to WWD.com – link in bio. (📷: George Chinsee)
“I love the idea of dialogue, period. It’s where I’ve always gotten my inspiration from: hearing other women speak, their journeys and their paths,” said @hereisgina, who delivered the keynote speech at the @sxsw conference for @createcultivate, the online platform and conference series for women. For her two panels, Rodriguez chose female empowering, female-led and female entrepreneurs to focus on. Head to WWD.com to read more about her thoughts on Time’s Up, growing up in a family of women and why we “need a girls’ club.” #wwdeye #sxsw (📷: @jgreenery)
Leading luxury brand are shaking things up to keep up with streetwear. Case in point: the arrival of @mrkimjones as artistic director of @diorhomme. Jones, who succeeds @Kris_Van_Assche, is seen as one of the handful of designers who can actually straddle the luxury and streetwear worlds — which could lead to even more changes at established brands. What could this mean for the rest of the menswear landscape? Head to WWD.com to find out what experts predict #wwdfashion (📷: @franckmura)
“It’s like buying groceries. You’re going to buy the best mango, the best mozzarella, the best things. You have to, or others are going to take it all,” said @gabrielahearst on why she uses only the finest fabrics. Last week, Hearst received her first @cfda nomination for Womenswear Designer of the Year, and earlier this month she opened a permanent showroom in Paris. To read @jessiredale’s interview with the designer and find out why this is shaping up to be a big year for her, head to WWD.com. #wwdfashion (📷: @francoisgoize)
“It’s an interesting thing, playing a younger version of your mother. It’s an interesting concept. I adore my mom and love her in every capacity, but it was just something that had never crossed my mind,” says @anniemstarke on playing a young Joan Castleman in “The Wife.” The same role will be played by her mother Glenn Close. Read more about her growing up in the film industry as the daughter of producer John H. Starke and Close and what she has planned for the future #wwdeye (📷: @nataliamantini)
@asics is launching a new streetwear sneaker inspired by its latest ambassador, @steveaoki. The Hyper-Kenzen x Aoki, which will launch at @footlocker stores exclusively tomorrow, is a slip-on style that incorporates the brand’s proprietary Gel technology through beads integrated into the midsole for comfort and endurance. Read the full story on WWD.com.


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Syracuse, NY -- Is it the time of the year or finally, the time of the season? In this week's Store Front e-Newsletter, we told Friends of Store Front about Taco Bell getting healthier by starting to eliminate a lot of the salt in its restaurant offerings. Now, Walmart gets on a health kick, enlisting, today, First lady Michelle Obama. Read on...
From Retailing Today:
Walmart on a health food mission
WASHINGTON -- Walmart joined First Lady Michelle Obama in Washington today to unveil a comprehensive effort to provide its customers with healthier and more affordable food choices.
The program will involve five key elements:
- Reformulating thousands of everyday packaged food items by 2015 by reducing sodium 25% and added sugars 10%, and by removing all remaining industrially produced trans fats. The company will work with suppliers to improve the nutritional quality of national food brands and its Great Value private brand in key product categories to complete the reformulations;
- Making healthier choices more affordable, saving customers approximately $1 billion per year on fresh fruits and vegetables through a variety of sourcing, pricing and transportation and logistics initiatives that will drive unnecessary costs out of the supply chain. Walmart will also dramatically reduce or eliminate the price premium on key “better-for-you” items, such as reduced sodium, sugar or fat products;
- Developing strong criteria for a simple front-of-package seal that will help consumers instantly identify truly healthier food options such as whole grain cereal, whole wheat pasta or unsweetened canned fruit;
- Providing solutions to address food deserts by building stores in underserved communities that are in need of fresh and affordable groceries; and
- Increasing charitable support for nutrition programs that help educate consumers about healthier food solutions and choices.
"No family should have to choose between food that is healthier for them and food they can afford," said Bill Simon, president and CEO of Walmart U.S. "With more than 140 million customer visits each week, Walmart is uniquely positioned to make a difference by making food healthier and more affordable to everyone. We are committed to working with suppliers, government and non-governmental organizations to provide solutions that help Americans eat healthier and live a better life."
My comments: I'm not going to jump onto a soapbox on this -- and Taco Bell's moves -- but hey, what's the DOWN side in these pronouncements? Who DOESN'T want healthier food and healthier food choices available and clearly spelled out? And, of course, this is also profit-driven for Walmart (and Taco Bell, if people perceive their food products as being at least a bit healthier than they were before).
And that one point Walmart makes -- it will build stores in underserved communities -- can ring a lot of bells. We have some underserved communities right here in Central New York, Walmart.
That is all.
Talk to me.
Feedback: Hit "post a comment," or send something here.
- The latest edition of the free Store Front e-Newsletter will be shipped next week to all Friends of Store Front. Become a Friend. Click here, send the e-mail, wait for an e-mail reply, ship that back and you're on the list.
- Get Store Front news flashes, updates and assorted whatnot via Twitter. Go to Twitter.com and sign up, then hunt for StoreFrontPS


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Trying to set up SMS sharing from your iPhone to an iPad or Mac and running into issues? Give this fix a try.
Marvel Studios announces release dates for sequels to its Captain America, Thor, Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy films, plus first details on upcoming films for Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange and the Inhumans.
Fall forward into one of these upcoming tablets.
Retailers take sides in the battle of mobile payment technology, with some disabling NFC sensors in favor of an app that tracks customer data. Also, Amazon takes on Chromecast, and Fitbit launches new wristbands.
The Senate Judiciary Committee votes to repeal the cell phone unlocking ban, which could set the stage for allowing consumers to take any mobile device to any wireless carrier.
Ringly, a stylish smart ring that alerts wearers of calls, texts, and emails, gives a whole new meaning to the idea of being wedded to your tech.
Apple Pay is already easy enough to use, but with a few tips you can tailor the experience to fit your needs.
Proposed rule change would guarantee that so-called "over-the-top" Net services have access to the same sort of premium programming the other systems enjoy.
Can a game really have something for everybody? As the latest expansion prepares for launch, we speak to Ion Hazzikostas about the history and future of the game that has ruled the MMO roost for an entire decade.
CEO John Chen says the company is committed to earning back your business with its next phone -- the BlackBerry Classic.


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‘Huge opportunity’: Agriculture heavyweights call for Federal backdown on Qatar Airways flights decision
Farmers have called for a Federal Government back down on its decision to block Qatar Airways from running additional flights into Australia, saying it could provide an “opportunity” to increase boxed meat and other exports to the Middle East.
Agriculture figureheads have joined business groups and the tourism sector calling for the Federal Government to approved Qatar’s request for additional flights into Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, which some believe was designed to protect Qantas.
The calls come at a time when the Albanese Government has been talking up the “enormous potential” for boxed meat exports as it pushes on with plans to phase out the nation’s $92 million live sheep export trade.
Qatar was the third biggest market in the Middle East and North Africa region for Australian chilled beef and boxed sheep meat exports in 2021-22, taking 8 per cent of beef and 13 per cent of sheep meat at a value of about $135m.
It was also once one of Australia’s biggest live sheep customers — taking 500,000 sheep a year — but as of July had not imported any live sheep from Australia in the 2022-23 financial year, with a ban on exports in place from May 22 to September 22.
WAFarmers president John Hassell said allowing additional flights from Perth to the Middle East would provide an “opportunity” for the nation’s diverse agriculture industry as well as boosting tourism across the country.
“It’s an opportunity for extra freight, not just for livestock, but for frozen and chilled meat as well as any ag produce,” Mr Hassell said.
“At the moment we get the impression he wants to kill it.”
Mr Hassell said he had called on WA Premier Roger Cook to “go into bat for WA” because things were already “dire for the sheep and cattle industry” with low prices on offer at the State’s saleyards, as well as for wool.
Mr Albanese defended his decision to block additional Qatar Airways flights in Federal Parliament on September 4, saying there was nothing stopping Qatar Airways from increasing its capacity to Australia, either by flying through secondary airports, or flying larger aircraft.
He said the Federal Government supported competition, but global aviation was “not a free-for-all”.
Pastoralists and Graziers Association of WA president Tony Seabrook said the decision was “absurd” and farmers were “incensed”.
“We should be doing everything we can to improve and increase trade with the Gulf state,” Mr Seabrook said.
“It’s counter to what they (the Federal Government) are talking about doing.
“It’s a really petty, small-minded decision.”
WA Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis said the issue was a Federal Government one and there was no restriction on international air cargo capacity between Qatar and Australia.
“I believe anything that promotes the diversification of products and market access is a positive for industry,” Ms Jarvis said.
Nationals senator and shadow transport minister Bridget McKenzie has also delved into the debacle calling on the Prime Minister and Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Trade Minister Don Farrell to reveal what advice or briefings they received from their departments regarding the Qatar decision.
Ms McKenzie has lodged orders for the production of documents from the ministers, which she hopes will shed light on what prompted the Government to take its position.
The pressure on the Federal Government has spilled over on to Qantas, forcing an earlier than expected exit for chief executive Alan Joyce to make way for incoming chief executive Vanessa Hudson to take over the position on September 6, rather than in November.
Episode 3 cofounder and market analyst Andrew Whitelaw predicted in June that air freight availability would “much higher in 2023” after reaching its lowest level “since at least 2009”.
“It was rising strongly, but since COVID, the volume has not regained,” Mr Whitelaw said.
“I wonder if part of this is the increase in the number of flights overflying the Middle East (direct flights to London), which is reducing the space available to get goods into the Middle East.
“It is important to note that most air freight will be piggybacking on passenger flights.”
The Federal Government provided $1 billion in subsidies for Australian exporters to keep international air trade routes open during COVID-19 through the International Freight Assistance Mechanism, which ended in June last year.
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An innovative precision farming system developed by two Greek engineers was taken over by Italian-American multinational corporation CNH Industrial, in a $110-million deal that was publicised this week.
Augmenta, founded in 2018 by University of Thessaly alumni George Varvarelis and Dimitri Evangelopoulos, was created with a vision of transforming agriculture through automation and autonomy.
Its farming system consists of a plug-in device installed on agricultural machinery, such as tractors, to provide real-time field scanning for wiser use of resources, aimed at maximizing production and product quality.
In just five years since its launch, Augmenta’s products and services around crop input management and farm analytics have been in use across geographies in Europe, CIS, North and South America, and Australia.
Following its takeover by CNH Industrial, Augmenta said it will retain its employees and strategically invest in its location in Athens, Greece as an innovation hub.
Farming solution by Greek engineers responds to food crisis, environment concerns
The Greek-founded company’s stated mission is “to augment the capacity of arable land in a way that is beneficial for both farmers and the environment,” by enabling the former to easily optimize their inputs, have complete control over them, operate their farms sustainably, and secure or even increase their yield.
Augmenta’s device mounts on top of the roof of agriculture machinery and enables farmers “to smart apply in real-time as they go a range of in-season inputs”, in different zones for various crops, the company explained in a January announcement.
On a first level, the system helps farmers increase their production, and their profits, while product quality is also improved.
In addition, it saves on fertilizers, which benefits the environment, and maximizes food production, which is crucial as global food demand is reaching unprecedented levels due to population growth.
Two-year partnership sealed with $110-million takeover deal
Agricultural machinery giant CNH Industrial became a minority strategic shareholder and joined Augmenta’s board of directors in 2021.
On March 13, 2023, it was announced that CNH Industrial acquired 100% of the shares of Augmenta Holding SAS for $110 million.
“We are extremely excited to become part of CNH Industrial and continue building deep technological solutions together that enable a more sustainable future for farms of all sizes, as well as the environment,” commented George Varvarelis, co-founder and CEO of Augmenta.
“Our beyond-state-of-the-art ag perception stack combined with CNH Industrial’s high-quality ag equipment and tech stack will give a material advantage to farmers in their daily farming practices, resulting in increased efficiency, precision, and profitability”.
Following the takeover, Augmenta will integrate into CNH Industrial subsidy Raven, as part of the company’s precision technology portfolio.
The two companies -Augmenta and Raven- have been working together for several years as traditional business partners.


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News & Updates
Mitsibishi joining forces with Police.
Mitsubishi's Lancer Evolution joins forces with Victoria Police.
Official MLGA Vic Meet - Sat 9th August
Date: Sat 9 August 2008
Time: 2pm - 5pm
Location: Lorimer St, Docklands
2008 Lancer, coolest car under $18K
2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Named One Of Top 10 Coolest New Cars Under
By Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com
Lancer Wins 2008 Vehicle Satisfaction Award.
Owners praise the 2008 Lancer! Based on approval ratings ranging from vehicle operation, comfort, and safety to overall experience....
Mitsubishi iMiEV electric car.
During media days for the 2008 New York auto show, Mitsubishi drove its electric iMiEV ...
Have comments or questions?


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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tesla’s net income slumped in the third quarter versus a year earlier, as price reductions helped drive strong sales growth but also ate into the automaker’s profit margins
The Austin, Texas, maker of electric vehicles, solar panels and batteries on Wednesday reported net income of $1.85 billion for the July-September quarter, a 44% decline from a year earlier. Earnings per share fell to 53 cents from 95 cents.
Excluding stock-based compensation, Tesla’s adjusted net income fell to $2.32 billion, or 66 cents per share. On that basis, Tesla’s earnings fell short of analysts’ consensus estimate of 73 cents per share, according to FactSet.
Total revenue rose 9% to $23.35 billion. Analysts had forecast $24.19 billion.
Earlier this month, the company reported that it sold 435,059 vehicles during the July-September period, an increase of 27% from the same stretch last year. Even so, Tesla’s deliveries came in below the 461,000 vehicles analysts had predicted the company would sell during the quarter, according to FactSet Research.
The third-quarter sales also marked a step back from Tesla’s 466,140 vehicle deliveries during the April-to-June period, something Tesla blamed on planned downtime to upgrade its factories.
Tesla has been slashing prices most of this year to keep attracting buyers who now have a wider selection of electric vehicles as more automakers shift away from gasoline-powered cars and trucks. The discounts range from $4,400 on Tesla’s top-selling vehicles to as much as $20,000 on its most expensive models.
The latest round of cost cutting trimmed Tesla’s operating margin, which represents how efficiently sales are turned into pretax profits, down to 7.6% in the third quarter. That’s down from 17.2% a year earlier. The measure also declined sharply in the first two quarters of this year.
In addition to lowered electric vehicle prices, increased expenses related to Tesla’s Cybertruck and the development of an AI-trained “humanoid robot” also hurt the company’s bottom line.
As usual, Tesla’s third-quarter sales consisted primarily of its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, which have been made even more attractive by lowered prices. Despite large price cuts, sales of the aging models S and X fell 14% year over year to 15,985.
Looking ahead, the company reiterated its plans to produce around 1.8 million vehicles this year. And said its long-awaited, Cybertruck electric pickup is on track to begin deliveries this year.
During a conference call with analysts, CEO Elon Musk said the company will end up producing roughly a quarter-million Cybertrucks a year. He clarified that he doesn’t expect Tesla will reach that production level for the futuristic-looking vehicle next year, but “probably” sometime in 2025.
“I just want to emphasize that while I think this is potentially our best product ever … it is going to require immense work to reach volume production and be cash flow positive at a price that people can afford,” Musk said.
Tesla’s shares closed 4.8% lower Thursday. They were up 2% in after-hours trading following the release of the earnings report.


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Social media users are calling out a customer’s bigotry who asked the restaurant to not send a Muslim delivery person.
The customer had added the request in the instruction section while ordering food on an app-based delivery platform Swiggy.
The head of an organisation of workers, Shaik Salauddin published the screenshot of the order request on Twitter and urged Swiggy to take an action. Salauddin said that they wanted to deliver food to “one and all” regardless of their religion.
“Dear @Swiggy please take a stand against such a bigoted request,” he tweeted.
“We (Delivery workers) are here to deliver food to one and all, be it Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh.”
While the app has not responded yet, many on Twitter have expressed outrage at the discrimination.
A Congress MP from Karnataka voiced himself on the microblogging platform saying, “Platform companies cannot sit back and watch as gig workers face such blatant bigotry in the name of religion.”
Netizens have expressed their disappointment in the comment section of the post.
Senior editor at News18, Pallavi Goswami said: “This man must be black listed – no one should deliver here.”
“Name and shame him/her. If they’re so shameless and make this request, then there is no harm in naming them,” said a user.
NDTV reported that the incident was not new. In 2019, another app-based food delivery service Zomato received a similar request. Zomato was praised for the step it took against the man who cancelled the order because the delivery person belonged to a different religion.


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- Teacher who survived Sandy Hook has book deal
- Jury awards Jesse Ventura $1.8M in case vs. ‘American Sniper’ author Chris Kyle
- Government OKs Arab-owned company to operate U.S. cargo port
- Defense lawyer: McDonnell’s wife had ‘crush’ on CEO
- Chinese hackers stole ‘huge quantities’ of sensitive data on Israel’s Iron Dome
- House unveils bill to speed deportations of illegal immigrant children
- Californians protest middle school for hiring white man to teach cultural studies
- Killer’s sentencing overturned because mother couldn’t find seat in courtroom
- Hillary: ‘Dead broke’ comment was ‘inartful,’ but insists it was ‘accurate’
- Fla. mom arrested for allowing 7-year-old son to walk to park alone
HP says fraud prompted $5B overpayment for co.
Question of the Day
NEW YORK (AP) - Hewlett-Packard Co. said on Tuesday that it’s the victim of a $5-billion-plus fraud, claiming a British company it bought last year lied about its finances.
HP CEO Meg Whitman said executives at Autonomy Corporation PLC “willfully” boosted the company’s figures through various accounting tricks, which convinced HP to pay $9.7 billion for the company in October 2011.
The revelation is another blow for HP, which is struggling to reinvent itself as PC and printer sales shrink. Its shares hit a 10-year low in morning trading.
Among other things, Autonomy makes search engines that help companies find vital information stored across computer networks. Acquiring it was part of an attempt by HP to strengthen its portfolio of high-value products and services for corporations and government agencies. The deal was approved by Whitman’s predecessor, Leo Apotheker, but closed three weeks into Whitman’s tenure as chief executive. Whitman was a member of HP’s board of directors when Apotheker initiated the Autonomy purchase.
Among the tricks used at Autonomy, Whitman said: The company had been booking the sale of computers as software revenue claiming the cost of making the machines as a marketing expense. Revenue from long-term contracts was booked up front, instead of over time.
As a result, Autonomy appeared to be more profitable than it was, and seemed to be growing its core software business faster than was actually the case. The moves were apparently designed to groom the company for an acquisition, Whitman said.
Once HP bought the company, Autonomy’s reported results quickly declined. Autonomy CEO Mike Lynch continued to run the company as part of HP, but Whitman forced him out on May 23 because it was not living up to expectations.
“Little did I know that there was more than met the eye,” Whitman said.
With Lynch gone, a senior Autonomy executive volunteered information about the accounting shenanigans, prompting an internal investigation, she said.
The case has been referred to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the UK’s Serious Fraud Office, she said. The company will also try to recoup some of the cash it paid for Autonomy through lawsuits.
In a statement to the Financial Times, Lynch said “The former management team of Autonomy was shocked to see this statement today, and flatly rejects these allegations, which are false.”
On a conference call with Whitman following the earnings report, analyst Ben Reitzes of Barclays Capital asked who will be held responsible internally for the disastrous acquisition.
Whitman answered that the two executives that should have been held responsible _ Apotheker and strategy chief Shane Robinson _ are gone. But the deal was also approved, essentially, by the current board.
“Most of the board was here and voted for this deal, and we feel terribly about that,” Whitman said. “What I will say is that the board relied on audited financials. Audited by Deloitte _ not `Brand X’ accounting firm, but Deloitte. During our very extensive due diligence process, we hired KPMG to audit Deloitte. And neither of them saw what we now see after someone came forward to point us in the right direction.”
Apotheker told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he was “stunned and disappointed” to learn of the allegations against Autonomy, and pointed out that they had gone undiscovered by HP’s auditors, executives and directors.
Deloitte UK said it could not comment on the matter because of client confidentiality rules.
HP shares traded down $1.74, or 13 percent, at $11.56 in morning trading. Just after the open, they hit $11.35, the lowest level since 2002.
HP’s net loss for the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended Oct. 31, amounted to $6.85 billion, or $3.49 per share. That compares with net income of $239 million, or 12 cents per share, in the same period last year.
It was the second mammoth loss in a row for HP. In the third fiscal quarter, it lost a record $8.86 billion, or $4.49 per share. That was due to a charge for another acquisition _ that of Electronic Data Systems, a technology consulting service that it bought for $13 billion in 2009. In that case, HP didn’t blame improper accounting, just results that didn’t live up to expectations.
Excluding the charges in the latest quarter, HP earned $1.16 per share in the latest quarter, just above the average analyst forecast of $1.14 per share, as polled by FactSet.
HP’s revenue was $30.0 billion, down 7 percent from last year. That was below analyst expectations at $30.5 billion.
The Palo Alto, Calif., company stuck to its previously given earnings forecast for the fiscal year that just started, but it issued a forecast for this quarter that was well below analyst expectations. It expects earnings, excluding items, to be 68 cents to 71 cents per share, while analysts were looking for 85 cents, according to FactSet.
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20 gadgets that changed the world


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Get Safe Online week has been taking place between 22 and 26 October, with a roadshow taking in five major British cities – Cardiff, London, Leeds, Edinburgh and Belfast – and with experts including Experian giving tips about how best to stay safe online and how to guard against the threat of identity theft.
So many of us live so much of our lives online now, prime examples being social media, online shopping and online banking. Yet when it comes to choosing passwords, many of us fall prey to not wanting to have to remember something too difficult: choosing convenience over complexity.
Experian research has shown that the average Briton now has 26 different online accounts, protected by just five different passwords.
Nearly 20 million pieces of personal information were illegally traded online between Jan and June 2012. And some 90 per cent of the data traded consists of password and login combinations.
In fact, up to 30 per cent of people use the same password for everything they do online on a daily basis. And should that single password fall into the wrong hands, you could be rolling out the welcome mat to a cyber-thief.
Were a fraudster to get access to your personal data, then any password that includes your first name, surname, birthday, home town, wife’s name, child’s name, pet’s name and so on could potentially be fair game.
Experian recently ran a ‘Life in a Box’ online security experiment, with a volunteer who lived his entire life online for five days. The results were eye-opening to say the least, and have provided us with some great tips to share – with three top tips standing out from our findings.
Use a strong password and make sure you don’t use the same password for all your important accounts.
If in doubt, don’t click. If an email or website looks dubious, or that it may not be from the people they say they are, then leave well alone.
Check to see if the padlock icon is visible when interacting when any sites that require personal or private data, including usernames or passwords
Keep your passwords safe:
1. Avoid the obvious
According to Experian CreditExpert research, 20 per cent of us use the name of a pet as our password. Avoid using memorable words like these, especially those that may be on your profile or used elsewhere in your account details, such as a security question.
2. Find the right length
Try to keep passwords at least eight characters in length – 10 or more is preferable. The longer the password, the harder it is to crack.
3. Mix it up
Try to include upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters. Rather than words, use the initial letter of a memorable sentence. “I need to choose a new password right now” could become “In2c@nPrN”.
4. Find a system
Having a unique password for all your accounts can be daunting, but a good approach can be to base passwords on lyrics of your favourite songs or lines from films, giving a sequence of passwords that you can work through.
5. Protect your information
If you’ve tried all these tips and still feel you’d like more protection, then consider a web monitoring service such as a 30-day free trial with Experian’s CreditExpert, which alerts you if your personal data is found online somewhere it shouldn’t be. You can also visit www.getsafeonline.org to get free, practical and unbiased advice.


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Romford trader’s counterfeit goods costs £24,719
PUBLISHED: 09:00 05 March 2012
»A trader convicted of selling counterfeit designer goods in Romford has been ordered to pay back £24,000 in earnings.
Barbara Hubbard was caught with more than 2,300 illegal goods after being visited by Havering Council officers at a car boot fair.
The 48-year-old pleaded guilty to offences under section 92 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 and was sentenced at Basildon Crown Court last April.
She was banned from working at any market or car boot sale in England and Wales and given a suspended six-month prison sentence.
Hubbard was also electronically tagged and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
Last week, Crown Court Judge Jonathan Black ruled that Hubbard must pay back £24,719 under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Hubbard first came to the attention of trading standards officers when they visited her stall at the Bonzer Boot fair in Romford and bought branded items including a Tiffany money clip and a Cartier watch.
Officers subsequently seized items at Hubbard’s stall, from her van and at her home.
They found counterfeit jewellery, handbags, sunglasses, purses, caps, belts, key rings, hair straighteners, watches, umbrellas, suitcases and clothing at her home in Antill Road, Bow.
Gucci and Dior
The counterfeit brands included Chanel, Gucci, Ugg, Rolex, GHD, Louis Vuitton, DKNY, Christian Dior, Prada, Swatch and Dolce and Gabbana.
Havering Council deputy leader Cllr Steven Kelly said: “We will continue to pursue the ill-gotten gains of traders who think they can make money illegally by selling counterfeit goods. My message to illegal traders is clear: we will catch up with you, use the powers available to us and make sure you feel the full force of the law.”
If you value what this story gives you, please consider supporting the Romford Recorder. Click the link in the orange box below for details.


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US authorities unveiled a broad set of rules on e-cigarettes and cigars, prohibiting their sale to minors and requiring makers of the products to get federal marketing authorization.
The action, announced by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday, brings regulation of e-cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and hookah tobacco in line with existing rules for traditional cigarettes, Reuters reported.
The new rules take effect in 90 days.
Under the new regime, companies will be required to submit e-cigarettes and other newer tobacco products for government approval, provide the FDA with a list of the product ingredients and place health warnings on packages and in advertisements.
Sylvia Burwell, US Secretary of Health and Human Services, called the rules a first step toward breaking the cycle of nicotine addiction among the youth.
“Millions of kids are being introduced to nicotine every year, a new generation hooked on a highly addictive chemical,” she said.
E-cigarettes are handheld electronic devices that vaporize a fluid typically including nicotine and a flavor component.
“Vaping” has become an alarming trend in recent years. According to the FDA, about 16 percent of high school students used e-cigarettes in 2015.
Under the new rules, the FDA will require age verification by photo identification, ban sales from vending machines except in adults-only locations and stop the distribution of free product samples.
Health advocacy groups hailed the move, while industry officials said the regulations could hurt smaller companies due to the costs involved in the regulatory process.
– Contact us at [email protected]


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In India, the smartphone grew at 21% in Q3, according to the research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), driven by sales of 4G phones. In addition to this mobile driven e-commerce has been steadily growing with e-commerce websites like Snapdeal, Flipkart are seeing close to 70% of their business order from GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) from mobile, according to 2015 Mary Meeker report. In such a scenario, it is no surprise that India’s digital wallets are mushrooming as there is space for growth.
Digital wallet is morphing beyond recharges or pay for everything from online food delivery to cab rides and even booking a new home. A payment wallet is a digital/ electronic form of physical wallet that you can use to make payments, transfer money, and perform most activities that you can with cash. The benefits of using a mobile wallet are multi-fold. One does not have to haggle for change, nor worry about a trip to a nearby ATM to withdraw cash. It is a secure, convenient and efficient way to pay for things without having to carry multiple credit or debit cards or even wads of cash and coins. Mobile wallet adoption in India has risen significantly in the last couple of years as smartphones and mobile internet have become an inseparable part of our daily lives. With better phones and faster data connections, transacting through a mobile wallet is an easy affair.
Broadly, there are four kinds of wallets in India:
- Open wallets are the ones that allow you to buy goods and services, withdraw cash at ATMs or banks and transfer funds. These services can only be jointly launched with a bank. M-Pesa by Vodafone and ICICI is one such example
- Semi-open wallet like Airtel Money, allows you to transact with merchants that have a contract with wallet provider. You can’t withdraw cash or get it back
- In closed wallets, money is locked with the merchant in case of a cancellation or return of the order, or gift cards
- Semi-closed wallets like Paytm, do not permit cash withdrawal or redemption, but allow you to buy goods and services at listed merchants and perform financial services at listed locations
India has about 150 million wallet users, according to a market research firm and consultancy. PayU Money, Paytm, MobiKwik, Oxigen and My Mobile Payments have captured around 70% of the market revenue, in no particular order. The penetration of mobile payment apps among users is similar across towns of all sizes, at 60% of those in large towns and 58% of those in small towns, but usage is higher among small town users, with these consumers spending 109 minutes a month on mobile wallet apps.
Paytm has over 100 million wallet users, which is double the penetration of Visa and Maestro combined (in India). Over and above this, in a country such as India and BRIC nations, the remittance market is immense.
To understand how big is the market consider this, Paytm, the market leader in this space, reaches just 40% of the smartphone users in India. Yet those users have deposited more than Rs 100 crore to their Paytm mobile wallets. There are over 40 mobile wallet services active in the country, with almost every bank also planning one of their own to take market share away from the likes of industry leaders Paytm and Freecharge.
Paytm: With around 130 million wallet users, Paytm is unarguably the largest player in the market. Launched in 2014, the Company completes 90 million transactions per month. Just 4 months into launch of movie ticket bookings, the platform is already booking 1 lakh movie tickets a day.
Freecharge: Founded in 2010, FreeCharge claims to be strong in the mobile space with 20 million registered users. It is not a mobile wallet but a mobile recharge platform. The company recently was acquired by Snapdeal for $400.
Mobikwik: Started in 2009, MobiKwik claims to have 12 Million users. The MobiKwik Wallet claims to enable users to pay in a flash for their recurring mobile recharge, bill payments and online purchases on popular e-commerce websites (and apps) including eBay, Snapdeal, ShopClues, MakeMyTrip, redBus, BookMyShow, Domino’s Pizza, Fashionandyou, American Swan, Abhibus, Purplle, HomeShop18, Naaptol, Pepperfry, Yepme and Infibeam.
Other wallets include Citrus Pay, mRupee, Oxigen, PayUMoney, Vodafone M-pesa, Airtel Money, Novopay and Momoe.
Banks Entering Into Arena: Banks are taking the battle to mobile wallet companies, armed with their readymade payment systems, wide merchant network and an on tap customer base, attempting to reclaim a turf which just a couple of years ago was their territory. In the past year, large lenders like ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank, which together control around 40% of local banking assets, have launched new payment instruments as they seek to prevent customers from moving money to newly emerging non-bank companies.
SBI’s Buddy, ICICI’s Pockets, HDFC Bank’s PayZapp and Axis’ Lime are the new kids on the block, challenging the likes of Paytm, MobiKwik and Citrus Pay.
While wallets have had to spend millions to get their branding done, banks are leveraging their existing brand value to lure customers away from wallet players. Tie-ups with new tech innovators are also keeping bank costs low.
Threat From UIP: The National Payment Corporation of India is launching their Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a customer is no longer required to give their personal credentials like account details, security pins. UPI with its mobile first payments design moves towards interoperable and instant payments. The interface allows customers to make payments through a single identifier like Aadhaar number or virtual address.
However, it could turn a little sour for wallet start-ups like Freecharge, Paytm, PayU and Oxigen Wallet. This is because the regulations don’t allow wallet-to-wallet interoperability. For example, one cannot make transactions from a Mobikwik to a Paytm. This is applicable for semi-closed wallets like Vodafone’s m-pesa and Airtel Money. In order to operate on the platform, these start-ups might have to partner with the 15 odd banks that are partners with the platform. It doesn’t make things any easier for companies with payment bank licenses like Paytm, since they don’t have their wallet registered under their payment bank.
Wallet companies say banks cannot ensure enough attention to this business to make a difference. They point out to the fact that spending through debit and credit cards is still nascent despite an exponential increase in cards issued. Reserve Bank of India data show that the number of outstanding debt and credit cards has increased more than three times in six years to 669.61 million in January 2016. However, people still prefer to pay in cash after withdrawing it from ATMs
Mobile payments in India are estimated to grow from $86 million in 2011 to $1.15 billion in 2016, with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 68%, according to estimates. According to TechSci Research report, “India Mobile Wallet Market Opportunities and Forecast, 2020”, mobile wallet market in India is projected to reach US$ 6.6 billion by 2020. The mobile wallet market in India is projected to exhibit exponential growth during the forecast period, on account of rising smartphone penetration rate, growing mobile internet user base and increasing government support. In addition, mobile wallet companies operating in India are also offering attractive deals and incentives to attract new users. In recent years, wallet companies have increasingly formed collaborations with service providers and financial institutions to offer a robust and seamless mobile wallet platform to the users. Usage of mobile wallet is growing across various applications such as money or banking transactions, mobile recharge & bill payments, ticket bookings, utility applications, etc. In addition, approval of payment bank licences of major companies such as Paytm, Vodafone, Airtel, etc. is projected to drive growth in the number of banking transactions through mobile wallet over the next five years.
Sources: Secondary Research, News Articles and Research Reports


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According to a report published by retail research organisation RetailX, UK E-commerce will reach a value of €222.5 billion this year. This is an increase of 10.96% in comparison to the situation last year. The report also revealed that the most popular delivery providers in the UK are Royal Mail (52.7%), Hermes (16.1%) and DPD Group. The findings of the study also show that clothing is the most popular product category, accounting for 60% of product orders.
Last week J&P published news that online supermarkets in the UK have seen an increase of 221% in their transaction numbers as a result of the coronavirus crisis. It could be argued that the general increase in E-commerce activity due to COVID-19 could also contribute to the UK’s E-commerce market rising to a value of €222.5 billion.


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“The more often they check their glucose, the healthier and more engaged they will be,” Dyer said. The app delivers “a positive effect for doing a behavior.”
Games also can draw on crowdsourcing to solve problems and effect change.
Nissan Motor Company Ltd. developed an app for its Leaf electric car that teaches drivers how to improve their use of the vehicle’s eco mode and save battery charge. Users can compete with other drivers.
The Nike+ app from sports gear maker Nike Inc. lets runners track activity, set goals and challenge friends on Facebook and Twitter directly through the app. It offers coaching and rewards, too.
But as companies begin to gamify tasks, marketing experts say traditional marketing principles still apply.
“It’s still really important to understand the objective and what the audience is like,” said Lorraine Frias, an interactive marketing manager at BI Worldwide.
But merely adding badges and leader boards does not gamify a task.
“Socialization and sharing is a much more important and incisive layer of gaming than badging,” Frias said.
Here’s why: As companies turn to gaming mechanisms to push change on internal behaviors (like filing those expense reports on time), interactions among employees can deliver better results.
For instance, national call center operator LiveOps Inc. used gamification among workers to reduce caller wait times by 15 percent and boost sales between 8 percent and 12 percent.
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, the company awarded agents with virtual badges and points for tasks such as keeping calls brief and closing sales. Leaderboards allowed the agents to compare their achievements to others, the newspaper reported.
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A new study from Juniper Research, experts in fintech and payments, has found that the total volume of virtual card transactions will reach 175 billion by 2028, rising from 36 billion in 2023.
Growing by a significant 388%, the market will be accelerated by the adoption of API (Application Programming Interface) virtual card issuing platforms.
With the stoppage of international transactions on Naira-denominated cards by Nigerian banks, many Nigerians have switched to virtual card platforms to be able to carry out international transactions, thus adding to the global virtual card market.
This has pushed the growth of organisations like Payday, Chipper Cash, among others, that are offering virtual card services.
A virtual card uses a randomly generated and generally temporary card number linked to a payment account, which is used to process payments in lieu of genuine payment details.
Virtual cards provide a secure and fast way to distribute funds, while effectively managing spending limits.
API platforms to drive growth
The report identified easy-to-use API platforms, which allow businesses to establish a virtual card programme that they can deploy easily and scale alongside their needs, as a key development driving virtual card growth.
Commenting on the report, the research author Daniel Bedford said:
- “By offering Banking-as-a-Service APIs featuring virtual cards, vendors such as Stripe empower businesses to launch their own virtual card programmes. We recommend that virtual card vendors focus on API-enabled models, to maximise the flexibility virtual cards provide.”
API integration key for success
Another key success factor identified by the report was the readiness of a virtual card platform to easily integrate within an organisation’s own software and established infrastructure.
“For example, procurement-focused virtual cards need to integrate with accounts payable software in order to automate renewals, log payments and generate digital receipts.
Virtual card vendors must therefore integrate with a wide range of third-party software systems across key verticals of interest, in order to maximise their success,” Juniper Research stated in the report.


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Caterina Fake Startup Pinwheel Forced To Change Name After Lawsuit
Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake’s new location-based startup Pinwheel, which is still in private beta, is probably going to be forced to change its name. TechCrunch reported yesterday that a court in New York granted the similarly sounding Pinweel, a mobile photo-sharing site, a preliminary injunction. The central claim was trademark infringement.
The main idea here is that the lesser-known but pre-existing Pinweel will be irreparably damaged by the potential consumer confusion over the two similar-sounding companies. The case is still in process but granting a preliminary injunction is a quasi-ruling on the merits.
This morning Fake’s site (Pinwheel.com) redirects to 2bkco. While she might prevail on appeal it may be more pragmatic to find another name and move on. Even though there are thousands of beta users of Pinwheel most people haven’t yet heard of the site and there isn’t a great deal of “brand equity” established.
In one sense it’s much better that this happen now than a year or two from now, when there would be a great deal more “equity” and effort tied up in the Pinwheel brand. One thing Fake could do is put the URL up for sale and let adversary Pinweel competitively bid on it against others. Take that! It’s a great URL and probably would bring a number of offers.
In an analogous situation, litigation between Facebook and tiny startup Timelines is still going on. Timeliness is also a time-based photo-centric site. The startup has offered to sell the trademark and the URL to Facebook (and make the litigation go away) but strangely the case hasn’t settled. I suspect that if Facebook pursues the case to trial it will lose.


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Industry demands cut in excise duty on dairy products
Reliance Dairy Foods CEO Anup Kalra, Agrinnovate India CEO Harsev Singh, Ayurvet Managing Director Priyanka Mittal, were among other private players present.
As more people buy dairy products, more investors bet on these stocks
Prabhat Dairy was the best performing stock on Wednesday, up 20%. Umang...
Double whammy for dairy farmers
Apart from the majority of dairy farmers in the unorganised sector, some in the organised sector who are also...
iD Fresh Foods partners with Nilgiri Dairy Farm to produce dairy products
iD entered four more cities— Coimbatore, Cochin, Palakkad, Trichur—in July, bringing its total presence to 14 cities.
Even dairy products can make you fat
Phthalate exposure can be closely associated with the rise of different types of disease development.
Ramdev aiming to test waters in dairy, baby-care products
Supporting RSS's advocacy of cow protection, the yoga guru said the company is coming up in a bigger way for improving and conserving indigenous cow breeds.
Merial, Zoetis ink pact for dairy products in India
Merial, the animal health division of Sanofi, has inked a pact with Zoetis India to sell its medicines and vaccines for dairy cattle in India.
Mother Dairy reaps bonanza via cash card
Earlier, the customers wanted to finish their old notes, but now they are seeing the benefit of having a card,” said Sandeep Ghosh, biz head.
Proterra keen on selling 23% stake in Dodla Dairy
Proterra has appointed investment bank Edelweiss to scout for buyers and the final bids are expected soon, said another person involved in the deal.
Global warming to impact milk production: National Dairy Development Board
Though milk production has been increasing with output of 160 MT, the impact of rising temperatures, could eventually lead to a decline in per-capita consumption.
Prabhat Dairy appoints Muthar Basha to head Consumer Business
Basha has over 25 years of Sales and Customer Marketing experience was earlier the head of sales at Global Consumer Products Limited.
Dairy companies make a `cheesy' attempt to win desi palates
First movers among the Indian dairy players such as Amul and Parag Milk Products have reported impressive sales by launching `desi' flavoured cheese products.
Patanjali to foray into dairy sector: Ramdev
"Patanjali is set to enter the dairy business and in this financial year, production will start in three dairy plants - one each in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh."
Private dairies adopt small format parlours model, eyeing better margins
Heritage Foods, which currently has around 1,600 milk parlours, is currently reporting sales of about Rs 7,000 a day per parlour.
Digital payments at Mother Dairy, Safal rise multi-fold: Govt
Mother Dairy is presently accepting payments through SBI Dairy Smart card and PayTM mode. It is also exploring other digital modes like Aadhar enabled payment service (AEPS).


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WEST DES MOINES – Kum & Go and Casey’s General Stores Inc. announced Sept. 11 they have signed an asset purchase agreement for Casey’s to acquire 22 convenience stores from Kum & Go. The stores are located in Iowa, Missouri and North Dakota.
The Kum & Go located at 400 S. Main St. is on the list of those being purchased by Casey's.
Two Kum & Go Stores located at 903 N. Sumner Ave. and and 301 W. Taylor St. in Creston are also on the list of those being purchased by Casey's.
There are currently three Casey's stores in Osceola.
“Our company is committed to carefully-planned, strategic growth – that’s evidenced by the fact that we’ll open 40 new stores this year alone,” said Kyle J. Krause, Kum & Go president and CEO. “It’s our continued desire to consolidate and strengthen our asset base and offer a consistent brand to our customers in Kum & Go’s core markets. The sale of these properties, in addition to our new store growth, brings us one step closer to carrying out that strategy.”
There is no word at this point on which, if any, Kum & Go or Casey's stores will be closed because of the deal.
“These stores are an excellent fit to our existing store base and will allow us an opportunity to operate in a new state,” said Robert Myers, president and CEO of Casey’s. “We expect this acquisition to be accretive in the first year of operation and enhance future earnings as we integrate our prepared food operations.”
The acquisition is subject to certain regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, including the receipt of satisfactory inspection reports related to the stores. The transaction is expected to close in November.
Both chains are based in Iowa. Kum & Go has more than 400 stores while Casey's has approximately 1,700.


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Former JP Morgan exec to join Digital Asset as a senior product manager in the company's Sydney office.
Tag: Digital Asset
Partnership set to provide proof of concept for blockchain tech in Swiss financial markets.
Blockchain startup Digital Asset signals growth intentions with high profile hires.
ASX has increased its initial investment in blockchain firm Digital Asset from 5% to 8.5%.


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Released in 1950 as part of the Alice In Wonderland series, sales of the curious puppet paled in comparison to those of more recognisable Alice characters. Pelham factory records from 1954 suggest that across each month, an average of just two of the Fish Footman puppets were sold.
This example, minus its box, appeared for sale at Hansons (20% buyer’s premium) in Etwall, Derbyshire, on January 23 where it took a double-estimate £1400.
Only a handful of examples have appeared previously at auction. One in its original box took £580 at East Bristol Auctions in 2015 and another sold for £1300 during Bamfords’ 2016 benchmark three-part sale of over 1500 Pelham puppets formed by well-known Lincolnshire collector Kaye Casey.
That trio of Derby sales included a record for any Pelham puppet: the £4100 bid in 2015 for 6ft 9in (2.05m) model Bimbo the Giant Clown that was used by Bob Pelham to promote the brand from the early 1950s.


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ITB Berlin has revealed it will launch a co-branded travel trade show in India.
Named Bharat International Tourism Bazaar, it will be first pure outbound show for the Indian market and will be held in New Delhi from October 3rd- 6th, 2016.
It is an alliance that focuses on the power of the Indian traveller, and the show will be organised by Cross Section Media, the country’s first mover in business-to-business travel marts, and itself launched over twenty years ago.
Tourism in India is developing, with a growth in GDP of over 7.5 per cent, a growth that is widely expected to continue for some years.
Its travel and tourism sector is also showing impressive gains, and in the first quarter of 2016 registered the fastest growth in air travel globally.
Indian domestic air travel is expected to exceed 100 million movements per annum in 2016, while there were 18 million outbound international flights last year, growing almost 15 to 20 per cent year on year.
The Indian market is eager to acquire new products and new destinations - BITB is the perfect platform for both old and new entrants into the Indian outbound market.
BITB will bring new streams of business, such as online and technology in travel, weddings, MICE, Luxury, and other niche segments, with corresponding buyers - these are the segments that are presently driving Indian travel and tourism.
Traditional segments will also bring exhibitors and these would include cities and states, destinations, airlines and airports and hospitality.
Big tickets partners will host strong accompanying conferences that will bring some of the finest thought leaders in these businesses.
BITB promises to be business-to-business with a difference, and is expected to bring over 12,000 attendees, comprising industry and government, from within India and around the world.
Bharat International Tourism Bazaar is focused on building strong partnerships that will go into ensuring meaningful conferences and companion events, that reach out to a wider audience through mainstream media in print and television.
Each segment is being supported by leading players in their niche.
These are key drivers from within India, and overseas, and will bring strong content, the pull for both buying and selling; in short, Bharat International Tourism Bazaar promotes and stimulates the market.
Find out more on the official website.


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China Mobile has chosen Alcatel-Lucent’s lightRadio 4G TD-LTE overlay for the nationwide rollout of what will be the world’s largest 4G network.
China Mobile has been actively carrying out large-scale TD-LTE live network trials in China for more than three years and is now scaling the deployments.
According to a press release, this additional award to Alcatel-Lucent accounts for 11 percent of CMCC’s strategic plan to deploy more than 207,000 TD-LTE base stations in China by the end of 2013.
China Mobile has more than 750 million subscribers, which accounts for more than 60 percent of the total mobile subscriptions in the country.
Just last month, China Mobile declared $3.2 billion worth of vendor contracts for its TD-LTE rollout. Huawei and ZTE snagged 50 percent of the total, while Nokia Siemens and Ericsson each landed 11 percent shares of the project. Alcatel-Lucent secured a 13 percent share of the business.


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Please note: The 2023 Green Truck Summit is SOLD OUT. Please email email@example.com to be placed on a waiting list.
NTEA is pleased to welcome Jennifer Rumsey, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Cummins Inc., as 2023 Green Truck Summit keynote speaker. Green Truck Summit will be held Tuesday, March 7, at JW Marriott Indianapolis (Indianapolis, Indiana), in conjunction with Work Truck Week 2023.
As president and CEO of Cummins, Rumsey oversees the strategic direction, growth initiatives and global operations for the 103-year old, Indiana-based company. Cummins is the world’s largest independent manufacturer of engines and related technologies, and a provider of global service and support in 190 countries across a network of approximately 9,000 distributor and dealer locations with nearly 60,000 employees worldwide.
Rumsey has focused her 25-year career on advancing technology and bringing products to market that power customers’ success and make a positive difference in the world. She co-authored Cummins’ Destination Zero strategy, the company’s strategy to go further, faster to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) and air quality impacts of its products and reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Rumsey is passionate about building high-performing, diverse teams and has dedicated her time at Cummins to the development of others and creating a welcoming environment where innovation thrives.
Rumsey assumed the role of president and CEO in August 2022. She has served in several leadership positions across the company, including most recently as the president and chief operating officer (COO). As COO, she successfully and strategically navigated the company’s global operations during unprecedented supply chain constraints, delivering record revenues and dramatically improving product quality and Cummins’ market position.
Rumsey is on the Board of Directors of Cummins Inc. and Hillenbrand. She is a member of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the Purdue Engineering Advisory Committee and Women in Trucking Association. In 2020, Rumsey was recognized by SWE for her contributions to engineering and efforts to create environments that attract and retain more women engineers. In 2022, she was inducted as a SAE Fellow, the organization’s highest grade of membership that recognizes and honors long-term members who have made a significant impact on society's mobility technology through leadership, research, and innovation.


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London, 2016-Dec-05 — /EPR Retail News/ — Work on the first stage of a major speculative development in the Black Country will begin in the first week of December, London & Cambridge Properties (LCP) has announced.
Construction workers will be on site behind LCP’s headquarters on its flagship business estate in Kingswinford to bring forward the industrial and warehouse units on a site now named Prime Point.
Completion of the units is expected in November 2017.
The configuration of the four industrial and warehouse units totalling 130,000 sq ft, means that potential tenants can take units between 10,000 and 40,000 sq.ft, said Andrew Preston, industrial portfolio manager at LCP.
“Void levels on the estate are low and we are receiving enquiries every week from companies looking for units in this size range, so we believe that this first phase will be very popular with businesses looking to relocate to the area,” he said.
“This is a significant investment for LCP that will be a real boost for the local economy. We are excited that the first phase will be underway shortly and look forward to welcoming new tenants to The Pensnett Estate.”
The Pensnett Estate is one of the largest secure business estates in Europe, and home to 160 businesses in over 2.4 million sq ft of commercial property. Three years ago, LCP invested £1.5 million in Progress Point, a speculative development on the estate comprising 21,000 sq ft of high quality warehouse and industrial space.
The Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership (BCLEP) has been supporting LCP with the latest development. The contractor for the development is Telford-based McPhillips and LCP will be marketing the development.