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Cold smoked salmon products sold in 10 states and D.C. were recalled because they may be contaminated with Listeria.
Health officials have linked an outbreak of E. coli illnesses to Fresh Express Sunflower Crisp Chopped Salad.
White Castle recalled some frozen hamburgers and cheeseburgers from grocery stores due to a risk of Listeria contamination.
Toxic metal from a vape heating coil caused a woman to develop permanent 'cobalt lung' disease after just 6 months of vaping, according to a new case report.
Two flour products from Hodgson Mill and UNFI were recalled due to a risk of E. coli contamination.
Trader Joe's and other stores recalled a variety of ready-to-eat sushi products due to a risk of Listeria food poisoning infections.
This is the second Thanksgiving in a row that federal health officials have warned people not to eat romaine lettuce due to an outbreak of E. coli .
Over 75,000 pounds of salads from Walmart, Target, Aldi, Sam's Club, Domino's, and more were recalled after an outbreak of E. coli was linked to lettuce.
Blackberries from Fresh Thyme Farmers Market are linked to a Hepatitis A outbreak that has sickened at least 11 people in Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Indiana.


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We all know that spirits are down as a result of the recession. What is coming out of recent retail figures though is that other alcoholic beverages too, are feeling the pinch. Rumours that South Africans are drowning their fiscal sorrows are greatly exaggerated.
Darron Swersky, joint MD of Picardi Rebel says that category sales in the past three months are as much as 20% down in some categories - especially premium products. “It is the first time in my 35 years in the liquor industry that I have seen a 2% negative trend in manufacturing, as recently verified by SAB Millers' figures.” There is also a migration away from premium brands. In the beer category, even though there has been a resurgence of beer drinking (mainstream brands) the premium brands are under pressure and those which are selling, are doing so because of very low prices.
Riaan MacGillicuddy, National Group Accounts Manager, South African Breweries says that although beer is quite resilient in difficult economic times, off premise outlets definitely perform better than broader on premise outlets. “In hard times, people tend to entertain and consume liquor at home.”
“And yes, spirits are definitely down,” says Swersky. “Whisky drinkers - a big sector of the market - are trading down, which means either dropping down a level on their preferred brand or switching out of the category completely.” It does not surprise Swersky that people are switching from expensive premium brands, he feels it has been a while coming. He says, “For the last 5 to 10 years the world has been driven by consumerism (and a little hedonism too) buying brands they cannot really afford - on credit. Consumer spending right now is more realistic and aligned with their ability to afford it.”
It seems it was not just Yeats who yearned for ‘a cool draught of vintage that hath been cooled a long age in the deep delved earth.' Wine consumption is on the up. Consumers are moving back to this old time favourite and as Swersky says, “Getting extremely good value out of wine buying at the moment.” He suggests consumers experiment and also trust the judgement of the retailer with respect to choice. With export orders down and world markets in Europe and Russia canceling orders, wine is being offloaded locally. “It's a great opportunity for consumers to try different wines at good prices.”
If sales are down and times are hard, how does the liquor industry stay afloat, during recessionary times? Innovative marketing and pricing seems to be the key.
And innovative marketing is the rationale behind Picardi's installation of in-store digital TV's in 45 of their flagship stores with the Ultra Liquor Group, following this trend with 149 screens recently installed in 30 stores countrywide. Chris Day, MD of Moving Tactics, the company behind the activation of the digital TV's, says, “As marketing budgets shrink and disposable income diminishes, the inexorable movement away from the traditional advertising medium continues.”
Swersky says, “It is interesting to see a change in buyer attitude. We are a diverse group - 90 stores in different sectors - and the main driving factor used to be convenience (location, parking, range, service). This has become of secondary importance now with price being the biggest factor. We try to offer consumers the best value we can but margins are very thin, much thinner than the food industry. We also know that although consumers want lower prices they are still looking for added value, be it a free mixer with a purchase, in-store tastings, a delivery or party service.”
In-store retail advertising is working, although the message is important. “It needs to draw your attention,” says Day. “It is an extension of a marketing campaign and must be used to close the deal. It is an effective, single point of contact for advertisers to increase communication with consumers. Where it counts. Brands create awareness through mainstream media but when a consumer walks into the store you have to give them a reason to buy your product - then and there
“In-store is a unique market so it is important for brands to realise its potential, to have a call to action and to attract attention, not just feature another advertisement. Retail digital TV in-store acts as 24-hour promoter, interacting with the brand and consumer. Feedback from dipstick research is proving that this is effective by changing buying choice where it matters - in store. Buy in from big brands like Distell, Brandhouse and SAB and informal feedback has been extremely positive,” says Day.
MacGillicuddy agrees. “We believe that retail digital TV is growing due to the fact that it drives a clear message amongst clutter at the point of purchase and engages the consumer by highlighting the best offer and key brand packs. But it shouldn't replace traditional advertising.”
So, while alcohol was previously seen to be recession proof, it is not only seeing a downturn, but there is significant change in buying habits. Not only do consumers want ‘more booze for their buck' but premium brands are stuck on the shelf for the moment.
But we hope that rumors of an upsurge in the economy towards the end of the year are true. That we can all drink a toast to the recovery of our economy with a glass of premium (vintage) French Champagne.

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Spokane home sales off to a strong start in January
Spokane County’s residential real estate market got off to a brisk start in January, with 378 sales of single-family homes and condos.
The number of homes sold increased 7.7 percent from January 2016, according to the Spokane Association of Realtors.
The average sales price was $206,351, an 8.8 percent gain. The median price was $195,000, an 11.4 percent increase.
“This is the best January we’ve had since about 2007,” said Rob Higgins, executive officer of the Spokane Association of Realtors.
Anticipation of rising interest rates may have motivated some people to start shopping for a home early in the year, locking in lower payments, Higgins said.
And, “if you’re thinking about selling your home, this is one of the better times of the year,” he said. “People who are looking this time of year are motivated buyers. They’re trudging through snow and cold to look at properties.”
The number of home seekers increases in the spring, but many of them are “tire kickers,” as opposed to people who, for various reasons, need to get into a home quickly, Higgins said.
About 1,150 homes were listed for sale in January, which represents a 25 percent decrease in inventory from January 2015.
Lower inventories are putting pressure on home prices, and they could put a crimp on the overall volume of home sales this year, Higgins said.
“We may not have the growth we had last year in sales, because inventories remain low,” he said.
More than 7,500 homes changed hands in Spokane County last year. The average sales price was $212,144 and the median sale price was $195,000.


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It’s 2018 and Nike and Jordan Brand are finally releasing women’s only collections. If you aren’t a sneaker head like most of us here at StyleCircle, you may not have seen the latest Nike Women’s release. The 1 Reimagined is Nike’s newest drop just for women. The release contains 10 newly reimagined and redesigned Nike classics. The release contains 5 personalities including Jester, Rebel, Lover, Explorer, Sage which emulate five ideals that are present in today’s progressive female fashion landscape, said the Nike designers. Each pack is a new design of an Air Force 1 and an Air Jordan 1. The line was designed by 14 amazing female designers at Nike, which has never been done before. The women that designed the collection contain a group of colour specialists, shoe designers, and shoe innovation designers.
Women’s shoe launches normally contain stereotypical female colour-ways and branding that marketers believe will entice the female market. These tactics they think will resonate are often infantilizing and miss the mark of where women actually are. The 1 Reimagined changes the landscape of women’s sneakers and has been called the 10 for women (Off White c/o Vigil Abloh). The designs are neutral and can easily be added to anyone’s wardrobe. The collection also has been recognized for achieving a number of firsts, including the tallest stack height on an Air Force 1 (AF1 Jester XX), the first-ever Air Force 1 Mule (AF1 Lover XX), and first ever corset lacing (AF1 Rebel XX).


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It appears Samsung mobile is on the verge of releasing a new (yet unannounced) smartphone, which has just surfaced on GfxBench. Benchmarked as SM- J250G, the device in question, without doubt, is one of the entry-level J2 family and appears to be a plus, prime, or pro variant of the Galaxy J2 (2017) which debuted in China and India some days ago.
The Benchmark listing reveals the SM- J250G is fitted with a 5-inch 960 x 540 pixels display and powered by a 1.4GHz Quad-core Snapdragon 425 chipset with Adreno 308 GPU coupled with 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable internal storage. Elsewhere on a GeekBench listing, the same device got a 666 score on Single-Core and 1750 in the Multi-Core test.
Gizchina News of the week
The listing further reveals that SM-J250G will come with a 5MP front-facing camera and an 8MP rear camera with auto-focus, face detection, HDR, LED flash and capable of shooting FHD(1920 x 1080) video. The device is expected to boot Android 7.1.1 Nougat with Samsung UI out of the box. We are not sure what the battery capacity could be, but it is expected to be slightly above what the base J2 2017 offered.
Elsewhere, the device is expected to come with dual-SIM support with connectivity options such as USB OTG, 4G, 3G, Wi-Fi 802 b/g/n, v4.1 Bluetooth, GPS and 3.5mm audio jack.


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The Queensland Court of Appeal has recently handed down two major decisions, which clarify the application of the Queensland Security of Payment Legislation...
March 24, 2013
As all brand owners know, protecting your name and trade marks online is becoming increasing complicated as new internet domains are opened up on a regular basis...
March 22, 2013
Planning and Environment case updates - December 2012 and January 2013 cases
In recent months, two principals have been issued with Federal Court injunctions denying them the ability to select tendering contractors or subcontractors because..
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission released the findings of its industry review into unfair contract terms.
March 21, 2013
Our survey received 1,006 responses from across the aviation, rail and shipping industries, providing an authoritative and wide-ranging examination of current views
The Public Service Amendment Act 2013 (Cth) (the Amending Act) brings significant changes to the Public Service Act 1999 (PS Act) and commonwealth public sector employment. The reforms will come into effect on 1 July 2013.
March 20, 2013
Australia is China’s number one destination for outbound investment. Between late 2006 and June 2012, China invested approximately $US45.1 billion in Australia, wit
March 18, 2013
Since our last legal update the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) has continued to expand and develop. More methodologies have been approved, more projects have been..
March 14, 2013
Annual increases to superannuation guarantee contribution rates start from 1 July 2013 when the rate rises to 9.25%, and will continue until 1 July 2019 when the...
March 11, 2013
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Chef Mayra Trabulse celebrated the grand opening of her new vegan restaurant, Pura Vida Bakery & Bystro, in Nevada last weekend. Pura Vida offers 100 percent cruelty-free Caribbean and Southwest-inspired dishes, as well as baked goods, breakfast foods, and a catering service. Chef Trabulse prides herself on using premium ingredients and incorporating the principles of macrobiotic, raw food, and gluten-free diets into her meals, which are free of high-fructose corn syrup, GMOs, and hydrogenated oils. Ten percent of sales will be donated to local charities, such as Adopt a Rescue Pet.
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TRADING PLACES - Developing Bi-Lateral Trade and Investment Relationships with China
Date: 24 Jul
Time: 9:30am — 1:30pm
How can businesses in the UK benefit from working with China? That is the question the latest event hosted by the Leeds City Region China Business Club aims to answer.
Location: Addleshaw Goddard, Sovereign Street, Leeds LS1 1HQ
Timings: 09.30 registration for a 10.00 start -13.30 (including lunch)
Tickets: Early registration is recommended, click here to secure your place
A Chinese business delegation led by Mr. Ning LIN, Director General of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) UK Office & Executive Vice Chairman of China Enterprises Association in Britain (CEAB), will be visiting the region from the 23rd-25th July.
This morning session will offer attendees a chance to meet the delegation from the CEAB, which includes senior representatives of Chinese businesses currently only operating within London and now looking to explore the potential of the UK regions. Businesses include the Chinese Agricultural Bank, the Chinese Bank of Communications and PetroChina International. The event will also allow delegates the chance to partake in a Q&A session with intermediaries who are able to help make the possibilities a reality, including members of UKTI and Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership.
Tim Wheldon – Head of Leeds Office, Addleshaw Goddard
Rob Norreys - Director, Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership
Liz Cashon - Director of Inward Investment, Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership
Ning Lin - Director General China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, UK Office
Katie Lee -Director, China Relations, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI)
Colin Russell - International Trade Adviser, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI)
Giles Blackburne - Executive Director China Outbound, China-Britain Business Council (CBBC)
Hinrich Voss – Director of the Confucius Institute, University of Leeds & Chair of the Leeds City Region China Business Club


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On June 29, Super Salon, a cpmpany from Grupo Moreno, was proud to open the doors to a completely new concept of supplier Super Salon, located in the first area of Paseo de las Flores.
This retail local is the opening number 55, however, is the first to open under a premium concept in our country. For Super Salon is important to reinvent its image through a prototype of store tahat will be willing to attract a new range of costumers. For this reason, it has changed the architecture of the place, adding color and design to highlight the different range of products and playing with lighting and spaces.
Despite the new concept, Super Salon will keep the same range of products for nails, hair, spa and makeup, among others.


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Fusion-io Shares Whacked, but the Flash Madness Club Has a New Member
Shares of Fusion-io, the newly public company whose flash memory technology transforms typical servers into super-fast ones that get more work done, are getting hammered in after-hours trading following an earnings report that appears to have freaked investors out.
Shares are down more than $4, or about 13 percent. The freakout appears to be coming from gross margins that shrank to 51 percent from almost 59 percent in the prior quarter, and despite the fact that sales more than doubled sequentially to $84 million from $31 million before.
CEO David Flynn called me up a little while ago to talk about the results, and he reminded me that Fusion launched its new IO Drive 2. It’s a transition to a new product line that’s proving tricky. New products built on new technologies are always a little more costly to build up front, and that’s compounded by the fact that early adopters, when they buy the new stuff, take the lower-end version and not the more expensive and more profitable one.
Also, enterprise customers who buy the new stuff are always conservative and take longer to decide whether they want to buy it or not, he says. Even so, the company has sold 10,000 of the new drives.
But? There’s a new customer of record: Salesforce.com is now a Fusion-io customer, and has joined the likes of Apple and Facebook, which is using the flash-based chips in the servers running in its data centers around the world.
And Salesforce isn’t buying it directly from Fusion, but rather through one its OEM partners, which include Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Dell, though Flynn wouldn’t tell me which one it is.
Salesforce is one of six customers who bought more than a million dollars worth of Fusion’s stuff this quarter and of those, four were repeat customers, Flynn told me.
The Salesforce win is also important, Flynn says, because some have wondered whether Fusion’s technology, while popular with high-end enterprises like banks and Facebook, would make sense for applications that tend to be used in mid-tier businesses, which Salesforce’s mainline CRM application often is. The lower end of the enterprise software market is moving toward cloud-based software, which is often referred to as Software as a Service, or SAAS. “By helping those companies, we are indirectly driving business in the mid-range of the market. Apple and Facebook are in the SAAS business too, it’s just that their customers are consumers.”
One interesting fact that Flynn shared with me: His first job out of college was working for Oracle. His boss at the time? One-time Oracle exec and now Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. A small world it is, indeed.


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Apple's Beats brand in April unveiled the Powerbeats Pro, a redesigned wire-free version of its popular fitness-oriented Powerbeats earbuds.
Apple's iPhone XS, XS Max and XR Won't Ship With Lightning to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter
With the launch of the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, Apple is discontinuing this practice and will not include the Lightning to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter.
On the "In the Box" section of the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR tech specs, no adapter is listed. The three devices will ship with EarPods with Lightning Connector, a Lightning to USB Cable, and a USB Power Adapter.
Apple's new iPhone lineup also marks the discontinuation of the iPhone 6s and the iPhone SE, the last two iPhones that Apple sold with a headphone jack.
None of the headphones in the new lineup, which includes the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, iPhone 8, and iPhone 7, have a headphone jack.
Apple is continuing to sell the Lightning to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter separately for $9.


text: The beauty industry yesterday hit back at recent criticism over the use of a toxic bust-boosting gel, saying local beauty parlours had no access to the substance and so could not perform the surgery. 'No proper beauticians can perform surgery or PAAG [hydrophilic polyacrylamide] treatment,' the chairman of the Federation of Beauty Industry, Nelson Ip Sai-hung, said. 'Beauty centres cannot buy this product... we don't have the ability to do the treatment.' But his remarks were contradicted by a Department of Health statement last night, which said the department had received 154 enquiries about PAAG injections since last week, 72 of which said they had received the injection in Hong Kong or overseas. Of the 72 cases, 30 said they had experienced complications afterwards. The federation - together with the Hong Kong Association of Professional Aestheticians International, The Cosmetic and Perfumery Association of Hong Kong and International CICA Association of Esthetics - yesterday criticised the Consumer Council's report, which claimed an unspecified number of women had received PAAG treatment in Hong Kong. But Jacky Choi Ho-sang, the federation's honorary life president, would not rule out that some 'medical experts' who had access to PAAG might have linked up with beauty parlours. He also expressed concern that more such 'experts' - who may or may not have proper medical qualifications - had opened beauty centres in recent years. 'We're worried that some such organisations package themselves as beauty parlours to attract customers. We don't even know whether their doctors are registered,' Mr Choi said. He said the government should have clearer guidelines on the qualifications required for doctors to perform injections of bust-boosting gel and other potentially dangerous procedures. The president of the Hong Kong Association of Professional Aestheticians International Elsa Pun Pui- fun said she knew of cases where people claimed to be medical experts from the mainland and worked with local beauty parlours. She knew of a mainlander who identified himself as a doctor and approached a local beauty salon for referrals. The council report, released last Thursday, was based on research carried out by the Hong Kong Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (HKSPRAS). The beauty federation claimed HKSPRAS did not actually ask interviewees about where they had PAAG treatment. The Consumer Council's deputy chief Connie Lau Yin-hing confirmed that the report was based on HKSPRAS' findings, but said the purpose of the report was to warn the public about the treatment. The council also said it had received two enquiries about PAAG injection since Thursday.


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The FTSE 100 (FTSEINDICES: ^FTSE) slipped further today, dropping 52 points to 6,408 by mid-morning to reach a two-month low.
Tesco reported a drop in profits and saw its share price fall 3%, and the miners are also slipping further today as metals and other commodities prices continue to weaken in the wake of disappointing manufacturing figures from China.
To find much in the way of winners today, we need to look outside the top FTSE index. Here are three FTSE 250 companies whose share prices are on the up:
Shares in oil and gas explorer SOCO International (LSE: SIA) gained some ground this morning, picking up 10.3p (2.6%) to 408p on the back of a Vietnam operations update.
Results from the company’s exploratory TGT-10XST1 well in the Te Giac Trang field have exceeded expectations, with a combined flow of more than 27,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day from the three zones tested.
Chief executive Ed Story was moved to say: “This has turned out to be a great well, representing one of the most prolific individual wells ever tested in Vietnam“.
A first-half update from Electrocomponents (LSE: ECM) sent shares in the electronics distributor up 5.7p (2%) to 285p, taking the price up more than 40% over the past 12 months.
A 4% sales improvement in September helped push total turnover for the half up 1%, with international sales responsible for the gain — in the UK, revenues were down 3%. Sales via eCommerce gained 6% and now account for about 57% of the total.
Chief executive Ian Mason said the firm’s strategic priorities are “to grow market share and improve our financial performance over the medium term“. Results for the six months should be with us on 14 November.
Domino’s Pizza (LSE: DOM) reported “solid progress” within its third quarter this morning, and the share price responded with a 21.5p (3.7%) jump to 611p.
Sales for the quarter rose by 10.4% to £141m, with year-to-date sales up 11.1% to £438m. Even though warm weather is apparently not good for consumption of the cheesy-bread-based comestible, like-for-like sales were still up 4% with a strong end to the quarter.
The firm opened eight new stores in the UK during the period, taking its total new openings to 23 for the year so far. There should be around 50 new stores opened by year-end.
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Battery investment specialist, Charley Grimston, welcomes the news announced on Tuesday (14.07.20) by Kwasi Kwarteng, Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth, that planning laws would be relaxed to allow large energy storage units to be built more quickly.
“These are exactly the sort of infrastructure and investment projects the UK needs. The ability to build more large-scale batteries will supercharge our renewable energy market, allowing us all to enjoy cleaner air as more of our energy comes from green sources. It also opens a door for investors looking for new opportunities in our post covid world, and is of course a very welcome boost for British battery manufacturers, ” Charley Grimston said.
Charley Grimston is one of a handful of experts in the UK who specialise in the investment and insurance side of the renewable energy market relating specifically to batteries.
His company, CNC Asset, developed the first extended warranty products for the renewable market ten years ago. Charley is also co-founder and CEO of Altelium, a company which specialises in lithium ion battery information, and was awarded a million plus grant from Innovate UK in 2018 in recognition of its importance in supporting the UK lithium ion market through applied data analytics.
Charley is also a member of the British Standards Institution (BSI) steering group developing the UK standards for the safe and environmentally conscious handling of battery packs and modules.
In addition to providing the opportunity for immediate investment in new storage facilities, the announcement from minister Kwarteng also gives a boost to the electric car market as Charley explains:
“Many years down the line from now, people will be able to sell the electric batteries in their cars. The individual, best functioning cells in their car battery can go on to become part of a new large super battery. This second life use is of course very important from an environmental point of view but also from a financial point of view, boosting the cash value of used electric vehicles.”
Charley concludes: “British battery manufacturers will also be delighted at this announcement as it provides the opportunity for their market to grow quickly. I see this as a rare example of red tape being cut which will bring both immediate and long-term benefits to the country. It’s just what we need at this time.”


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Tourism Measures Announced By Government
Comprehensive Package Of Tourism Measures Announced By Government
The Minister of Tourism Mark Burton today announced a series of new initiatives, which brings to around $5 million the amount of additional government funding support provided for tourism this summer.
The latest initiatives involve the expansion and enhancement of the Qualmark rating system, and funding support for Maori tourism, regional tourism organisations and local government.
They follow on from the government commitment to establish a Ministry of Tourism, $2 million of additional funding for tourism promotion in the vital Japanese market, funding to leverage projects off the Lord of the Rings trilogy and America's Cup, and the announcement in December of enhancements to Tourism New Zealand.
"Taken together, these measures represent the government's initial response to the New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2010, which I released last year," Mark Burton said. "I expect to announce up to $1.5 million of further funding initiatives in support of Tourism Strategy in the coming months."
The government has agreed to invest an additional $2.5 million in Qualmark over the next two and a half years.
Qualmark is an independent classification and quality rating system for accommodation and tourism retail businesses. It is funded by its two owners – the government, through Tourism New Zealand, and the NZ Automobile Association – and by revenue from licence holders.
The government cash injection will be used to significantly expand the current grading system to include adventure tourism, transport activities and retail, eco-tourism and attractions and to provide a business certification process to encourage best business practice adoption in the tourism sector.
"Qualmark provides visitors with a reliable standardised quality assurance system. This is essential to our positioning of New Zealand as a quality destination," Mark Burton said. "And by linking the marketing advantages of belonging to the Qualmark system to the adoption of best business practice, individual businesses and the tourism industry as a whole will benefit."
The government is also funding three public/private sector partnership arrangements.
$169,000 has been allocated to assist Local Government New Zealand in responding to the recommendations of the Tourism Strategy.
"Currently the level of local government investment in, and understanding of tourism, varies considerably around the country. The funding provided will assist local authorities to realistically consider the role of tourism as an economic driver in their area. The money will be used among other things for tourism training programmes for mayors and councillors, the establishment of a local government tourism working party and the staging of a national symposium on Tourism and Local Government.
"We hope to create a long term commitment to the tourism sector from the entire local government sector, through broadening appreciation of just how vital the industry is for regional development and the whole New Zealand economy," Mark Burton said.
$32,000 will be provided to enable regional tourism organisations to establish a working group to advance their response to the Tourism Strategy recommendations.
"Among the issues to be canvassed are involvement and cooperation in destination marketing and management, possible provision of common back office support to reduce costs and the future role and structure of RTOs," Mark Burton said.
In response to Tourism Strategy recommendations aimed at increasing Maori participation in the industry, $25,000 is being allocated to fund the Maori Tourism Advisory Group.
"Obviously, making progress on the recommendations affecting Maori requires Maori support and input, and the Maori Advisory Group has already shown itself, during the development of the Strategy, to be well equipped to take a leading role in providing advice on how Maori can best participate in, contribute to and benefit from tourism," Mark Burton said.
The Government has also acted on the recommendations of He Matai Tapoi Maori: A Study of Barriers, Impediments and Opportunities for Maori in Tourism.
This report, initiated by the Minister of Tourism and the Minister of Maori Affairs, was released publicly in October 2001.
"Arising from the report's recommendations, we will be developing a market research programme for Maori tourism and facilitating increased representation of Maori interests on key tourism bodies. The government has also agreed to look into ways and means of effectively promoting business enterprise culture amongst Maori, at methods to improve communications between agencies working with Maori in tourism and at ensuring that existing business assistance programmes meet the needs of Maori.
"The government has responded in a comprehensive way to the recommendations of the New Zealand Tourism Strategy and He Matai Tapoi," Mark Burton said.
"When, as the newly appointed Minister, I initiated this work, in cooperation with the industry, some questioned the need for such an extensive review of a sector, which was enjoying boom times. As I said then, it is better to look to the future when times are good, so that you are able to respond when challenging issues arise.
"The extensive work this government has done to establish strong partnership links with the tourism sector, places New Zealand in a very strong position to work through the challenges currently facing global tourism.
"And in the medium to long-term, while there is still a great deal more to do, I believe we have set the foundations for the development of a sustainable tourism industry, which will benefit all New Zealanders," Mark Burton said.


text: Japan’s stock market tumbled after reports emerged that Shinzo Abe, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, would resign due to health concerns. The prospect of Abe’s resignation has spooked investors with his signature monetary (low-interest rates) and fiscal policy (collecting tax/revenue and splashing it) programme, Abenomics, might come to an end with his departure. Now here's your weekly round-up of the business and finance news you need-to-know. | In a flash The $200bn-Dollar Ant EmpireTeam Micro-Mart Enter The TikTok RaceAmerican Housebuilders Keep Building Gains The $200-Dollar Ant Empire | What happened and why... Ant Group - a colony of hard workers and Alibaba's online payments arm - is lining up a record-breaking IPO that would value the Chinese fintech at record-setting $200 billion. 🏗 How they built an Ant empire... In 2011, Ant Group (then known as Alipay) separated from Jack Ma's Alibaba to keep Chinese regulators off their backs.Since 2011, the Ant has not stopped growing. Valued at $150 billion in 2018, it netted $2.2 billion in profit in the last quarter of 2019. But this is about more than just payments. With 6-legs, this expanding empire can spin more than just a payment plate... Bread & butter... Their payments app, still known as Alipay, is big and getting bigger. With 1.2bn global users, Alipay saw 580 million people in China make a purchase via Alipay in a six-month period. Money markets... Yu'e Bao, is another string to the Ant bow and is the world's largest money-market fund with over ~600 million users. The fund has now become a home for standard Chinese checking accounts. Open Sesame... Sesame Credit, a controversial (or just immoral) third-party credit rating system - compared to Black Mirror - is part-owned by Ant group. With Alibaba listing in both New York and Hong Kong back in 2014, investors had been expected another stroll down Wall Street for a slice of the Chinese pie, but Ant had other ideas. The payments-giant opted for a Shanghai-Hong Kong dual listing over the bright lights and deep pockets of New York City, for two obvious reasons... You're a nobody (give it a New York accent)... With ~900m of their 1.2bn customers based in China, Ant is hoping customers will quickly become shareholders too. Not something New York could deliver.And then there's the Trade War... what is it good for? Absolutely not IPOs. With government-ties and an ongoing trade war with America, Ant Group has dodged American capital markets and stayed closer to home. | The Takeaway ⛓ Draw-bridging economies... Ant Group is yet to drop a timeline on its listing, but the decision to list close-to-home is another step in the direction of a draw-bridging global economy. It's a big boost for the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Shanghai but more than anything, it's another marker in the divesting of the world's two biggest economies. Walmart Comes To Microsoft's Rescue | What happened and why... With time-ticking on TikTok's 90-day ultimatum to sell the company's US-arm or face a ban in the country, retail-giant, Walmart (+5.49%), have entered the race and teamed up with Microsoft in the process. The video-sharing phenom owned by Chinese tech-giant, Bytedance, has been under glaring scrutiny over its China ties. In June, India fully banned TikTok over national security concerns. Then in July, President Trump said he would ban TikTok unless Microsoft can prove that it can move American TikTok data to the US by 15th of September. That tight deadline forced some snap decisions on Thursday... 🎤 Mic drop... American TikTok boss, Kevin Mayer, resigned ahead of the impending ban by US President Donald Trump, with the political pressure proving too much.💸 Enter #TeamMicro-Mart... Walmart and Microsoft’s joint bid is set to compete with Oracle, whose bid to acquire TikTok is reportedly being backed by venture capital firms General Atlantic and Sequoia Capital. So what does an old-timer like Walmart want out of a Gen-Z entertainment platform like TikTok... Eyeballs... Of the ~800M TikTok users,100M is based in America. TikTok’s integration of e-commerce and advertising is a “clear benefit to creators and users” of the platform.Magic Marketplace... TikTok would enable Walmart to grow its online third-party marketplace while expanding its own reach to online customers. #TeamMicroMart and Oracle are going head-to-head for TikTok’s operation in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. No price has been officially set but analysts are speculating at a sale in the region of $30 billion range. | The Takeaway We had wind of Walmart some weeks ago, with the retail-giant reportedly working with Japanese conglomerate, SoftBank, on a potential deal. Walmart’s lack of cloud infrastructure— or equivalent to Microsoft Azure— made the deal a non-starter. With Trump's focus to keep TikTok user data inside the country.☁ Every cloud... One of the pluses for advertisers and businesses is this deal would make American digital advertising a 'slightly' more competitive market against the existing backdrop of the dominant Facebook and Google. Housebuilders Keep Building Gains | What happened and why... The stock market narrative during the pandemic has been; Tech: Wins | High Street: Lose. While observers have been tied-up chasing the next working-comms giant, American housebuilders have not stopped building and growing. 🧨 Record highs... Shares in US homebuilders have surged to record highs, skipping past the levels hit during the previous housing bubble. Let's put some more perspective on these gains... Setting the benchmark... The Dow Jones Home Construction index - a benchmark for investors' housing appetite - is up 29% this year.Pace-setters... The four largest homebuilders in the S&P 500 — DR Horton, Lennar, NVR, and PulteGroup — all hit record highs this month. And to put a tech perspective on things for all the silicon-junkies out there... DR Horton, the largest listed US homebuilder, is outpacing the likes of Microsoft and Google throughout the S&P's bounce-back rally. With the highest net sales in the company's history, the company’s stock has gained 44% this year. ⚡ What set it off... US interest rate cut... The big driver behind this jump in sales is the swift cut in US interest rates.The US Federal Reserve cut rates to nearly zero in March as part of sweeping crisis measures... a move that has US 30-year mortgage rates at an average of 2.8% for the first time. | The Takeaway Home buying has bounced back strongly after a drought of activity following the outbreak of coronavirus. New home sales in July hit a 'seasonally adjusted' annual rate of 901,000. That's the highest tally since 2006. But something has to give soon.


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CHICAGO and JERSEY CITY, N.J., June 27, 2019 — Granite Creek Capital Partners, L.L.C., a private investment firm that partners with businesses, has announced its investment in Royal Biologics, a medical device company focused on next-level regenerative medicine technologies. Royal Biologics is the first healthcare investment of Granite Creek’s FlexCap II private investment fund.
Royal Biologics, a pioneering manufacturer and distributor of devices used in stem cell and other surgical procedures, develops, licenses, produces and distributes biologics, orthobiologics and orthopedic implant products. The company’s overarching goal is the use patients’ own bioactive cells to promote healing.
The Granite Creek investment will be strategically utilized to bring new talent to Royal Biologics, expand the company’s operations, advance product development and innovations, and pursue strategic acquisitions. Jim Clark and Mark Radzik, Partners at Granite Creek, will serve on the Board of Royal Biologics.
As a result of its recently closed $200 million FlexCap II fund, Granite Creek is well positioned to invest in 15-20 companies engaged in manufacturing, business services, healthcare and agribusiness. Granite Creek engages with the leadership of its portfolio companies in meaningful ways and serves as a trusted advisor and partner to each company.
“Salvatore Leo and Demetri Soteropoulos, the founders and leaders of Royal Biologics, have built an exceptional business that stands out for its innovations and service,” said Mark Radzik, Partner at Granite Creek. “We are proud to partner with such a results-driven organization and look forward to supporting the company’s continued investments in its product portfolio, distribution network, and management team as it reaches its next stage of growth.”
“We are very excited to partner with Granite Creek Capital Partners,” said Salvatore Leo, CEO at Royal Biologics. “We feel their experience in health care and their track record of scaling businesses aligns with our core values for future expansion.”


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Singapore/Melbourne/Hobart January 18th, 2021 – Singapore- and Australia-based content marketing agency Immedia is proud to announce it has secured a series A round of financing in partnership with Saxby Capital and Intuitive Australia. The new investors will join Immedia’s founders to form a new holding company – Immedia Holdings – which will become the parent company for both Immedia Content and Contrend, the game changing AI/ML-driven MarTech platform that enables all businesses to join the digital revolution, delivering value to any type of business, quickly and powerfully.
The new investment will enable Immedia to complete the development of Contrend and further expand globally into new markets in 2021, disrupting the global content marketing industry. Through Immediate, a first-to-market SaaS platform which identifies what the “90% hidden audience” wants. It identifies competitor strategy, recommends optimum content, and predicts audience trends, ensuring our customers are always ahead of the pack. Multinational companies including Standard Chartered Bank, KPMG, and others have already started seeing the benefits of using the Contrend platform.
Peter Bakker – Managing Director & Partner – “As the world rapidly digitised in 2020, Immedia is and remains at the forefront of digital content marketing. Our unique approach to data and insights through our innovative Contrend platform, paired with our editorial team will enable our clients to optimise their content marketing strategies in 2021 and beyond. The investment by our new partners reaffirms the confidence in our business as the future of the content marketing industry”.
Richard Jones – Chief Technology Officer & Partner – “The investment is recognition of the huge opportunity which IMMediate offers to improve the effectiveness of digital content, through the creation of new, unique metrics and actionable insights. Our investors know that now is the time for the Contrend platform; as companies around the world embrace digitisation and expect the best from the content they create. The year 2021 is going to be an incredibly exciting time for everyone involved with Immedia, from our fantastic team of editors and developers, to our clients, and our investors.
“Contrend will redefine global content marketing, by assisting marketers to move to a data-driven, audience-centric approach to creating content. It will disrupt and transform the global content marketing industry, an industry that has for too long been dominated by strategy developed from short-term brand-driven campaign metrics, the noise of social media and PR-centric social listening platforms. Contrend helps cut through the noise to maximise content marketing ROI”.
Bradley Saxby – Managing Director, Saxby Capital – “We’re excited to be investing into and backing Contrend. The groundbreaking technology the platform brings along with the established content arm of the business will enable Contrend to grow into a global content marketing powerhouse”.
Peter Nesveda – Managing Director, Intuitive Australia – “Investing into and assisting Contrend which is truly a global growth opportunity and working with an experienced team who have had significant success previously, ticks a lot of boxes for Intuitive Australia. The groundbreaking disruptive move into the digital marketing sector which is reshaping how businesses do business via Immedia, is a compelling one and will provide my firm with the opportunity to expand our portfolio into this hot sector of the market. As the world rapidly moves into the digital space, so does Intuitive Australia and with this investment we believe we are at the forefront of this sector of the market”.
About the Company
Immedia Holdings is the parent company for wholly-owned subsidiaries of Singapore- and Australia-based Immedia Content and Contrend.
As pioneers of the content industry, the team behind Immedia Content brings a wealth of international content and strategy experience. The Contrend platform coupled with a global network of specialists, Immedia Content helps redefine the benchmark for the content marketing industry and deliver tangible results to our clients.
Contrend is a scalable AI- and ML-driven content marketing platform that creates new audience engagement metrics with actionable recommendations and predictions to increase the effectiveness of content across multiple complex markets, Contrend delivers maximum audience engagement, conversions, leads and long-term ROI.
For more information:
+65 9757 3729 (SG)
+61 (0)478 844 966 (AU)


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Windows phone mango hasn’t even been released yet and here we are talking about Tango and Apollo. In case you missed it, here’s our Tango and Apollo coverage. Tango is supposedly a minor update, similar to NoDo update push while Apollo is said to be the major update, which is in tune with 1 major upgrade per year cycle, supposedly called Windows Phone 8. Now there’s no conclusive proof of Tango being minor and Apollo being major upgrade. In fact, we have been hearing reports of Tango update being pushed out only to developing nations as it is being developed for low cost handsets in mind. Still sounds ridiculous to me.
ZDNet discovered something really interesting today which sort of goes in sync with what Mary Jo Foley dug up a while ago. According to the post, Tango1 is targetted for low cost devices which will come with pre loaded Tango. So Mango might just be upgradeable to Tango. Instead theywill run on seperate devices. Tango2 will essentially be an update to Tango1.
Here’s the job listing that makes all three rumored code names official:
Here’s something very interesting. Microsoft Intern Arunabh Verma has implemented Voice Compose and Voice Read out loud for native email clients just like the pre existing voice integration for messages. He specifically mentions that this feature has been implemented for Windows phone 8.
There’s more to it. There is apparently a rumor suggesting that Windows 8 will run on mobile devices as well. Take it with a pinch of salt.
So lots of official confirmnations today. Looking forward to more feature leaks in the near future. Stay tuned here for more updates on both Tango and Apollo. We are keeping a close eye on Tango because if it’s low cost device target model is true, it could be disruptive in my native country. Just what Microsoft needs right now.


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DURBAN – JSE-listed Transpaco’s full year earnings are expected to decline by at least 45 percent for the year to end June, hit by a prolonged strike, depressed consumer environment and a weak South African economy.
Transpaco, a manufacturer, recycler and distributor of paper and plastic packaging products in South Africa, said on Tuesday that it expected its earnings per share (eps) and headline earnings per share (heps) to decline by between 40 and 45 percent for the year to end June.
The group expected its eps to be between 164.34 cents and 179.04c a share, down from last year’s 298.8c. It anticipated that its heps would be between 164.34c and 179.04c, down from last year’s 297.4c.
“An unprecedented prolonged three-month plastic industry strike impacted Transpaco during its busiest period … coupled with a depressed consumer environment,” the group said.
The strike was felt in the six months to end December period when it reported a 33.4 percent decline in profits to R36.8 million, down from R55.3m in the previous year.


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More Than a Quarter of UK Adults Now Own an Exercise Tracker
More than a quarter of UK adults* now own an exercise tracker of some kind, with a third of those in possession wearing theirs every single day.
The ‘Fitbit fad’ previously foreseen to be sweeping the nation in 2017 appears to have become a firm reality over 26% of Brits surveyed admitted to owning a fitness tracker of some kind, and 34% of owners claiming to wear theirs seven days a week.
New research conducted on behalf of Compare Cover, the life insurance comparison website, also shows around a third of us are willing to spend up to £200 on our exercise tracker in a bid to improve our fitness levels.
Residents based in London, are mainly using theirs to monitor sleep patterns, however, whilst those based in Northern Ireland are most likely to use theirs in a bid to aid weight loss over anything else.
Compare Cover‘s Business Development Director, Mike Preston, said: “It’s interesting to see that, where advances in gaming and technology have previously been blamed for decreases in physical activity, the availability of fitness-based digital solutions seems now to be supporting a wide demographic in achieving their chosen goals physically.
“Contrary to wider discussions around fitness trackers and their popularity emerging merely as a passing phase, our study appears to show that consumers of all ages – and on a fairly large scale – have firmly incorporated the benefits wearable fitness technology could bring into their daily lives.”
Compare Cover, which has been helping people with their insurance needs since 1999, found that in the UK the Fitbit brand is still a runaway favourite. More than 26% of respondents chose the Fitbit Charge compared to almost 15% who opted for the next most popular model, the Samsung Gear.
Consumers aged 18 to 24 admitted to changing the model they own more frequently than anyone else – with 16% claiming to upgrade or switch their tracker more often than every three months. -. Those in the same age bracket were also the most likely to use their tracker purely as a fashion accessory and also had the highest rate of respondents (more than 13%) who admitted to owning a fitness tracker but never actually wearing it.
Investment in wearable fitness technology was otherwise highest among 25 to 34-year-olds, with more than a third (37%) happy to spend between £100 – £200 on their chosen tracker, while the over 55s were most likely to wear theirs every single day, with over 39% within this age bracket claiming to do so.
Even though the overall split of ownership was equal between men and women, almost half of men (49%) buy a new fitness tracker because they want the latest model, or when there is new functionality available, compared with just over a quarter (27%) of women.
Mike added: “Looking after our overall health and wellbeing is part of the wider basic human need to preserve and protect all of those things we hold most dear to us in life, with the strength in fitness tracker figures seen here supportive of this.
“Safeguarding ourselves and our loved ones against future complications manifests itself in so many different ways, and is also one of the reasons insurance cover is now so widely accessible in a huge variety of different disciplines thanks to ongoing technological developments emerging generally, as well as in the fitness market.”
Compare Cover has produced an infographic about the “4 Ws of Fitness Tracking“.


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New social and environmental reporting rules for large companies
From 2024, large EU companies and non-EU businesses with substantial activity in the EU market will need to publicly disclose information on the way they operate and manage social and environmental risks.
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive will make businesses more accountable by obliging them to disclose their impact on people and the planet. This aims to end greenwashing and lay the groundwork for sustainability reporting standards at global level.
The new EU sustainability reporting requirements will apply to all large companies (with over 250 employees and a 40 million euro turnover, as defined in the Accounting Directive), whether listed or not. Companies will have to report on their impact on the environment, human rights, social standards and work ethics, based on common standards.
Read more here


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India is brimming with digital opportunities in almost every business segment. Why then should the food delivery business be left out? As per the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) data, the food delivery market in India registered a growth of 40 per cent, reaching Rs 350 crore in 2014. It accounted for 17 per cent of the overall online services market which stood at Rs 2,025 crore.
Clearly, there is a growing demand that needs to be addressed.
The posterboy of Indian online restaurant space, Zomato, has been a category leader when it comes to restaurant discovery. Cashing in on its popularity and sensing a viable business opportunity, it entered the food delivery space in April this year. Zomato currently claims to back over 12,000 restaurants across 14 cities in India. Meanwhile, its major competitor, Rocket Internet-backed food delivery platform Foodpanda, claims to have 12,000 restaurant partners and is present in over 200 Indian cities as of August 2015. The brand has an annual marketing budget of around Rs 30 crore and has been heavily promoting itself across mass media.
Moreover, other players operating in the space such as the food technology company Faasos, and Swiggy and TinyOwl are offering competition as well.
The second campaign, touches upon the universal love of mothers who forever want to feed their children home-cooked food. In this case though, the son (played by Vikrant Massey) chooses to spend quality family time with his mother (played by Shilpa Tulaskar) by ordering food from the Zomato app.
Speaking about the campaign execution, Pramod Rao, SVP, growth, Zomato, says, "If there is one thing that brings people together the way sports does, it's food. We wanted our TV commercial for our online ordering product, to be as real as possible -- something that revolved around what brings us together at homes."
Both campaigns will go on air mid-November.
Our experts have a divided opinion about the Zomato Order campaigns.
Anish Varghese, group creative director, Isobar, says that while Zomato focusses more on the Ghar jaisa khana angle, it lacks the witty shareability associated with the brand's previous campaigns.
But, Varghese feels that featuring both the TG (children) and parents will attract older consumers to Zomato as well. The TVC, he feels, clearly conveys how youth can inspire older consumers through 'time saver' app.
Giving a thumbs up to the campaign, Pratik Gupta, founder, Foxymoron, finds the mother-son story more relatable.
"The context is right because we tend to order food from these apps only when we are with friends, rather than with family. Both TVCs are a really good attempt at communication especially during the festive season. Their modern and bold approach (father has been separated and living alone), has taken Zomato in the edgy space," he quips.
Gupta also rues how the other players in this category have resorted to humour in order to send their message across. "In my opinion, humour has become an overtly used category. Beyond a point, consumers remember the message, but there will be no brand recall," he notes.
He echoes Varghese's sentiments stating that the campaign will create an intrigue among older consumers who would want to know more about Zomato.
For feedback/comments, please write to email@example.com


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AT&T had a lot of exclusives for the network, and one of the most awaited exclusives happens to be a Windows 8 smartphone from a brand that is dying to rise back to stardom. Nokia had a rocky denial stage when they were left behind by the smartphone age, but now they are back with a vengeance and is hinging all hope on the new Lumia smartphone series.
The Nokia 920 is the first real smartphone of the bunch meant to combat the increasing popularity of iOS and Android through the new Windows 8 operating system. Nokia’s newest flagship does not hold back in features, and even ports part of the full power of one of their crown jewels in the business: the PureView camera.
The PureView camera was first seen on the Nokia 808 Pureview. It used a massive 41 megapixel camera to take the clearest shots possible even in dim lighting. It was fully capable of lossless zooming as well as very stable image capture.
The PureView camera may feel a bit less than the original on the new Nokia Lumia 920, but there is no helping it since the camera was developed to run on Symbian devices. Maybe one day, Nokia will finish fully porting the specifics of the original software to be compatible with Windows. For now, we get the similarly branded PureView camera with OIS technology on the Lumia 920.
Users who have finally laid their hands on the device say that the premium feel of the solid smartphone with rounded edges and smooth glass make the device a worthy phone for those looking for a new life and style in today’s smartphone models. The Lumia 920 is protected by Gorilla Glass 2, and is expected to be highly scratch resistant.
It was pointed out that the Windows 8 version that comes with the AT&T release is not the final version of the operating system. It is expected that patches and bug fixes will continuously be shelled out for the device during its lifetime. None the less, the smartphone felt very zippy, with very few load time problems seen in even the best smartphones in the market. The dual core Snapdragon processor does its job well coupled with the natural speed and smoothness of the Windows 8 operating system.
The highlight of the smartphone is of course its camera and its many Nokia specific features, such as Nokia City Lens and several photo enhancing and editing tools to make full use of the powerful PureView camera sported by the phone. While the PureView camera was hyped the wrong way by the company by lying flat out, the camera indeed had its merits. While it may not be as perfect as the ones on the official launch video, the camera’s final form has been proven to really provide great image stabilization during videos as well as take clear images in low light conditions.
With a zippy interface, and a powerful camera, Nokia’s Lumia 920 delivers in its own right. I would say it could have arrived sooner and on more networks, but still, the waiting was, even for a little bit, worth it.


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After launching the game in US, Australia and New Zealand, Nintendo had halted the launch of Pokemon Go in a number of other territories due to server issues. However, that didn’t stop the game from becoming the latest phenomenon for people who want something different.
Niantic Inc., the developers behind the augmented reality Pokemon title are going hard at work, trying to polish it further. One thing that has been confirmed to be on the cards in Pokemon Go trading feature.
While the game didn’t launch with an option for the users to trade Pokemon with others, the chief executive officer of Niantic Inc., John Hanke, has promised that it is one thing that the mobile game will get it in a future update.
According to Hanke said about Pokemon Go trading feature that “It’s kind of a core element,” which should give some peace of mind to everyone who is thinking thee feature might get exploited and end up breeding unfair competitive scenarios.
Clearly, if the feature is of prime importance it will undergo rigorous testing before getting released.
Regardless, being able to get Pokemon from your friends as well as other community members you don’t know – or vice versa – has a very lucrative prospect for the overall experience of the game. This is especially true because it goes in line with the numerous suggestions of social interactions that the app has to offer.
Hanke did not divulge anything about the exact time when they plan to release the feature, neither did he discuss specifics about how they are planning to make it work and avoid any exploits.
The Pokemon Go trading feature, just like trading features in a number of other examples, would come with an inherent risk of people trying to use it to push away players who are at a lower level.
Then there also are markets like eBay where people could trade Pokemon with the highest bidders which is essentially another exploit of the system.
We’ll be looking forward to see how the developers ensure they will overcome this and other probable issues with the Pokemon Go trading feature.


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NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers are pulling back on spending on discretionary items like clothing and home goods as gasoline and groceries eat up more of their paychecks.
Those pressures led many retailers on Thursday to report only modest revenue increases in May, the latest sign of the economy hitting a soft patch.
Retailers that cater to wealthy shoppers and warehouse clubs like Costco that also sell gas reported the biggest gains.
Most of the spring, consumers seemed to shrug off rising prices. Now, gasoline at more than $1 per gallon more than last year and higher grocery bills are “finally taking a bite and affecting sales,” said Ken Perkins, president of research firm Retail Metrics. “It definitely raises the caution flag going into the summer.”
Revenue rose 5.4 percent overall at stores open at least a year among 27 retailers, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. Excluding gasoline, the figure rose 3.7 percent.
That was within the 3 percent to 4 percent range expected, said Mike Niemira, ICSC chief economist and director of research.
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Artificial intelligence (AI) features will become a critical product differentiator for smartphone vendors that will help them to acquire new customers while retaining current users, according to Gartner, Inc. As the smartphone market shifts from selling technology products to delivering compelling and personalized experiences, AI solutions running on the smartphone will become an essential part of vendor roadmaps over the next two years.
Gartner predicts that by 2022, 80 percent of smartphones shipped will have on-device AI capabilities, up from 10 percent in 2017. On-device AI is currently limited to premium devices and provides better data protection and power management than full cloud-based AI, since data is processed and stored locally.
“With smartphones increasingly becoming a commodity device, vendors are looking for ways to differentiate their products,” said CK Lu, research director at Gartner. “Future AI capabilities will allow smartphones to learn, plan and solve problems for users. This isn’t just about making the smartphone smarter, but augmenting people by reducing their cognitive load. However, AI capabilities on smartphones are still in very early stages.”
10 Uses for AI-Powered Smartphones
“Over the next two years, most use cases will still exploit a single AI capability and technology,” said Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner. “Going forward, smartphones will combine two or more AI capabilities and technologies to provide more advanced user experiences.”
Gartner has identified 10 high-impact uses for AI-powered smartphones to enable vendors to provide more value to their customers.
“Digital Me” Sitting on the Device
Smartphones will be an extension of the user, capable of recognizing them and predicting their next move. They will understand who you are, what you want, when you want it, how you want it done and execute tasks upon your authority.
“Your smartphone will track you throughout the day to learn, plan and solve problems for you,” said Angie Wang, principle research analyst at Gartner. “It will leverage its sensors, cameras and data to accomplish these tasks automatically. For example, in the connected home, it could order a vacuum bot to clean when the house is empty, or turn a rice cooker on 20 minutes before you arrive.”
Password-based, simple authentication is becoming too complex and less effective, resulting in weak security, poor user experience, and a high cost of ownership. Security technology combined with machine learning, biometrics and user behavior will improve usability and self-service capabilities. For example, smartphones can capture and learn a user’s behavior, such as patterns when they walk, swipe, apply pressure to the phone, scroll and type, without the need for passwords or active authentications.
Emotion sensing systems and affective computing allow smartphones to detect, analyze, process and respond to people’s emotional states and moods. The proliferation of virtual personal assistants and other AI-based technology for conversational systems is driving the need to add emotional intelligence for better context and an enhanced service experience. Car manufacturers, for example, can use a smartphone’s front camera to understand a driver’s physical condition or gauge fatigue levels to increase safety.
Continuous training and deep learning on smartphones will improve the accuracy of speech recognition, while better understanding the user’s specific intentions. For instance, when a user says “the weather is cold,” depending on the context, his or her real intention could be “please order a jacket online” or “please turn up the heat.” As an example, natural-language understanding could be used as a near real-time voice translator on smartphones when traveling abroad.
Augmented Reality (AR) and AI Vision
With the release of iOS 11, Apple included an ARKit feature that provides new tools to developers to make adding AR to apps easier. Similarly, Google announced its ARCore AR developer tool for Android and plans to enable AR on about 100 million Android devices by the end of next year. Google expects almost every new Android phone will be AR-ready out of the box next year. One example of how AR can be used is in apps that help to collect user data and detect illnesses such as skin cancer or pancreatic cancer.
Machine learning will improve device performance and standby time. For example, with many sensors, smartphones can better understand and learn user’s behavior, such as when to use which app. The smartphone will be able to keep frequently used apps running in the background for quick re-launch, or to shut down unused apps to save memory and battery.
Smartphones are able to collect data for behavioral and personal profiling. Users can receive protection and assistance dynamically, depending on the activity that is being carried out and the environments they are in (e.g., home, vehicle, office, or leisure activities). Service providers such as insurance companies can now focus on users, rather than the assets. For example, they will be able to adjust the car insurance rate based on driving behavior.
Restricted content can be automatically detected. Objectionable images, videos or text can be flagged and various notification alarms can be enabled. Computer recognition software can detect any content that violates any laws or policies. For example, taking photos in high security facilities or storing highly classified data on company-paid smartphones will notify IT.
Personal photographing includes smartphones that are able to automatically produce beautified photos based on a user’s individual aesthetic preferences. For example, there are different aesthetic preferences between the East and West — most Chinese people prefer a pale complexion, whereas consumers in the West tend to prefer tan skin tones.
The smartphone’s microphone is able to continuously listen to real-world sounds. AI capability on device is able to tell those sounds, and instruct users or trigger events. For example, a smartphone hears a user snoring, then triggers the user’s wristband to encourage a change in sleeping positions.
Inlaks CEO, Femi Adeoti, Wins Top CEOs & Next Bulls Award
Femi Adeoti, managing director and CEO, Inlaks, Africa’s foremost Information Technology and Infrastructure solutions provider in West Africa, has been announced as a winner of the 2020 Top CEOs & Next Bulls Awards organised by Business Day Media Limited in collaboration with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
The MD/CEO whilst receiving the award dedicated it to the management and staff of Inlaks for their relentless service even during these trying times.
He also appreciated the board of the organization that drove changes within the organisation particularly in the pandemic which led to the company being recognized and the customers who have continued to support Inlaks while being ambassadors of all Inlaks’ solutions.
The CEO and Next Bulls awards, the sixth in its series, recognizes the CEOs of listed companies creating competitive shareholder value through sound strategy, disciplined execution and world class governance. In addition, it celebrates chief executives of quoted companies that have demonstrated the most impressive gains in both share price and service delivery.
Themed “Advancing Against all Odds,” this year’s award particularly recognised businesses that have been thriving in spite of the global harsh economic realities.
According to the organisers of the award, the indomitable Next Bulls are the CEOs raging forward at a time when many businesses are choosing to retreat, thus acknowledging Adeoti’s good leadership in the area of corporate governance, innovation and service delivery.
The CEOs award celebrates the CEOs of successful, privately-owned indigenous companies built by Nigerians, led by Nigerians and poised to lead their categories on the continent.
Established in 1982, Inlaks is Africa’s leading Information Technology systems integrator with presence in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia and Cameroon. As solutions provider, it offers core banking, agency banking, fraud management, cyber-security, cloud, data centre, enterprise risk management and software solutions.
Part of the criteria for selecting winners of this year’s awards held virtually on September 5, are stock price appreciation, Profit After Tax (PAT) growth, an unblemished regulatory compliance record, and positive marketplace reputation among customers in the period under review.
Winners are also selected based on significant interest shown by active and informed investors on the Nigerian Stock Exchange to invest in their stock should their boards ever decide to take them public.
Transcorp Hotels Hard Hit by COVID-19, Mulls Restructuring
The novel COVID-19 pandemic has caused the African Hotel and Tourism industry to lose over $50bn in revenue.
Amidst this, Transcorp Hotels Plc has suffered unprecedented losses and is looking to restructure the business strategy of its hotels and optimize its operations.
The management of Transcorp Hotels Plc has announced that it will be taking steps to ensure business continuity in the wake of the losses recorded due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
To this end, the hotelier is diversifying its portfolio and reducing its workforce as part of its cost management initiatives.
Mrs Dupe Olusola, managing director, Transcorp Hotels Plc, disclosed this during a Press Conference on Thursday saying “The impact of COVID-19 on the business is like nothing the company has ever witnessed. The hotel and hospitality industry in Nigeria has never faced a crisis that brought travel to a standstill, including the Ebola Virus Outbreak of 2014 and the recession of 2015. The slow pick up of international travel, restriction on large gatherings, the switch to virtual meetings and fear of the virus, has drastically reduced demand for our hotels and occupancy levels to its lowest of less than 5%.”
According to her “Despite the losses incurred we have fulfilled our obligations to staff. At the inception of the pandemic, we maintained a 100% salary payment to our over 900 employees in March and April. We also activated various cost-saving initiatives such as renegotiations of service contracts and restructuring of our loans. We suspended further commitment to buy fixed assets and operating equipment as well as reducing our energy consumption and maintenance costs. Despite undertaking these, it has become apparent that more fundamental changes need to be made for the business to survive. To this end, our workforce headcount will be reduced by at least 40%, and our reward system will be optimized.”
Mrs Olusola further disclosed that negotiations are ongoing to ensure that our colleagues who will be impacted are adequately compensated given the peculiarities of the economy at this time.
A health insurance package to reduce their health burden costs, especially during the pandemic, amongst other payment settlements, will be activated.
Equally, all Executives of Transcorp Hilton Abuja have now taken a pay cut.
As one of the leading hospitality brands in Africa, Transcorp Hotels Plc has stated its commitment to uphold service standards and ensure that all guests continue to experience the warmth and hospitality that it is known for.
LCCI Announces Date for Virtual Edition of ICTEL Expo
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), the premier Chamber of Commerce and a leading voice in the organised private sector (OPS) in Nigeria, is set to host the 6th edition of the Information, Communication, Technology and Telecommunications (ICTEL) Expo.
The tech event is scheduled to take place virtually on Tuesday 22ndand Wednesday 23rd September at 9am daily. To this end, interested participants are urged to register online via www.ictelexpo.com.ng
Muda Yusuf, director general of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said: “The ICTEL EXPO is positioned to be a veritable platform for both operators and regulators to network, showcase and explore with technology with the view to repositioning the ICT sector of the economy.”
Yusuf added “that this year’s edition promises to be the best ever in the series with the theme “Exploring Opportunities in the Digital Economy” This is intended to create a platform to discuss strategies for economic diversification and business sustainability with particular focus on ICT, especially with the current challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. There would also be virtual conferences and exhibition during the two-day event.
Yusuf also emphasized that relevant agencies and departments of Government will be exhibiting and attending to other exhibitors and participants.
He stated that the Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies that have confirmed attendance to participate are Ministry of Communications; Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) amongst others.
In addition, the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Pantami and the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof. Umar GarbaDanbatta, are expected as Special Guests.
Mrs. Funke Opeke, managing director, MainOne Cable and chairman, Presidential Committee on National Broadband Plan, is expected to deliver the Keynote Address on the first day.
While Mr. Victor Eburajolo, deputy group managing director, Kewalram Group, will be delivering the Keynote Address on the second day at the virtual Expo.
Yusuf stated that “so far, so good the excitement that the virtual Expo has generated has been phenomenal and we are indeed happy about it.”
NCC Threatens Illegal Users of GSM Boosters with Arrest, Prosecution
FG Launches Central Database for Stolen Asset Tracing
NCC Holds First Virtual Bi-Annual Meeting with Telcos
Ericsson Launches Integrated Packet Core Firewall to Boost 5G Core Security
Anambra Indicates Interest to Host NITDA’s South-East Zonal Office
Senate Alleges Multi-Billion Naira Fraud in NTA, Startimes Deal
IHS Holding Mulls Africa’s Biggest IPO worth $7Bn in US
New Regulatory Agency Coming for Nigeria Postal Sector
Pantami Excited as ICT’s Contribution to Nigeria’s GDP Increases to 17.83%
Chinese Phones with Built-in Malware Sold in Africa
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Buying and selling online from South Africa has become sort of a risk in this day and age, specially if you want to buy from places like e-bay. This will hopefully not be the case for long anymore as PayPal is currently in talks with FNB and the South African Reserve Bank.
What is PayPal you ask? PayPal is the safer, easier way to pay and get paid online. The service allows anyone to pay in any way they prefer, including through credit cards, bank accounts, buyer credit or account balances, without sharing financial information. Gone are the days of entering your credit card details to buy something online, you will just buy with your PayPal account and PayPal will ensure that the transaction goes smooth.
About two weeks back news has gone viral on social networking site Twitter where it was divulged that FNB is currently in talks with PayPal to allow transactions from South Africa. Later on head of corporate communications at FNB released an official statement that First National Bank is indeed in discussions with PayPal and the South African Reserve Bank.
Upon entering the FNB website users are now also greeted with a pop-up window with the statement that it is confirmed that FNB is in talks with PayPal and that further information will be released in due course.
This is a really exciting announcement by PayPal and FNB as the introduction of PayPal in South Africa will open up so many new potential opportunities and bring a huge influx of cash into South Africa through online purchases.
What do you think? Will you be using PayPal when it is confirmed that it will be available in South Africa?


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The Tyuno Project: "Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy 15 are two anticipated games for the games for the next-gen console. But when exactly will these games actually come out?"
"Evolution of Action games thanks to the Gamers. Something beyond God of War Quick time Event. PVP on top of an Airship crossing Continents, where falling from the Sky do not end the battle, Continues the Battle, on top falling Sky Scraper, into the Lava Pit, with molten magma showering above you." Final Fantasy 15 can technically come in 2014, not the full game, just the "Multiplayer" component. By taking example from "Tekken Revolution" F2P model, Final Fantasy 15 can do the same, to raise funding from micro-transaction, that will help hire-more-people which will help speed-up accelerate, Final Fantasy 15 development. This also helps improve FF15 Complex-Gameplay, and with the help of Gamers, FF15 can avoids "Button-Mashing" problem of Action-Game. Gamers feedback will help & make FF15 Action-Gaeplay more Intricate, more Intelligent, More Chalenging, and includes the need for Strategy & Tactics. Summary, Final-Fantasy-F2P-Dissidia-Sty le+micro-transaction, will raise money, to hire more people, to accelerate game development, improving Gameplay at same time thanks to the Gamers.
Well FFXV was "VersusXIII", getting the multiplayer first, will surely help accelerate its development & improve gameplay. F2P Dissidia like Tekken Revolution is not a bad idea.
FFXV 2014 pushing 2015. KH3 2015+
I really hope FF15 comes out very soon. My patience is running dangerously low. KH3...now that my excitement for FF15 is extremely high, I don't think I care for KH3 anymore. But that's just my opinion.
N4G is a community of gamers posting and discussing the latest game news. It’s part of NewsBoiler, a network of social news sites covering today’s pop culture.


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Planet Fitness (PLNT) PT Set at $41.00 by Roth Capital
PLNT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Zacks Investment Research cut Planet Fitness from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, December 27th. Imperial Capital boosted their price target on Planet Fitness from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Piper Jaffray Companies reissued a buy rating on shares of Planet Fitness in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Guggenheim reissued a buy rating on shares of Planet Fitness in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on Planet Fitness in a research note on Monday, November 20th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $36.38.
Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) opened at $37.71 on Thursday. Planet Fitness has a 1-year low of $18.32 and a 1-year high of $38.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $3,709.27, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.71, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of -5.00, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.56.
Planet Fitness declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $80.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
In related news, CFO Dorvin D. Lively sold 105,443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.50, for a total value of $3,321,454.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 67,273 shares in the company, valued at $2,119,099.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Rondeau sold 120,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.47, for a total value of $4,136,400.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 688,674 shares of company stock valued at $22,503,951 over the last quarter. Insiders own 19.87% of the company’s stock.
Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Xact Kapitalforvaltning AB acquired a new stake in Planet Fitness during the fourth quarter worth about $283,000. MetLife Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Planet Fitness during the fourth quarter worth about $1,369,000. Castleark Management LLC increased its stake in Planet Fitness by 50.4% during the fourth quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 448,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,529,000 after acquiring an additional 150,225 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in Planet Fitness during the fourth quarter worth about $733,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Planet Fitness by 234.7% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 178,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,177,000 after acquiring an additional 125,080 shares during the last quarter.
TRADEMARK VIOLATION WARNING: This report was posted by Daily Political and is the sole property of of Daily Political. If you are accessing this report on another domain, it was illegally stolen and reposted in violation of United States and international copyright & trademark law. The legal version of this report can be viewed at https://www.dailypolitical.com/2018/03/04/planet-fitness-plnt-pt-set-at-41-00-by-roth-capital.html.
About Planet Fitness
Planet Fitness, Inc is a franchisor and operator of fitness centers in the United States. The Company operates through three segments: Franchise; Corporate-owned stores, and Equipment. The Franchise segment includes operations related to the Company’s franchising business in the United States, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Canada.
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Whether you’re motivated to book a vacation to venture somewhere new or savor the bragging rights, one travel company claims that the Instagram-crazed millennial generation’s preference for “ego travel” over traditional experiences is disrupting the travel industry as a whole.
On May 14, The Independent reported that British agency Thomas Cook is “exploring options” for the possible sale of its sinking franchise geared toward 18 to 30-year-olds, as millennials would rather visit an exotic, photo-op-filled locale over reveling in one of the island party vacations of days past.
“[These] holidays proved to be a roaring success throughout the 1980s and 1990s, sending up to 100,000 people to Mediterranean destinations every year at its peak. But the brand’s USP also became its downfall, as tabloid exposés of humiliating drinking games and sexual misdemeanors were splashed across front pages,” the outlet muses. “For a while, its bad reputation became part of its appeal, but changing tastes may finally put the enfant terrible of holidays to bed.”
Confirming suspicions, 52 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds polled in Thomas Cook's Holiday Report 2018 said they would be influenced to choose a hotel based on how it could promote their social media posts. They’re not alone, either — 15 percent of those 55 and older agreed they’d consider booking on a hotel given what social media posts they could share to make friends jealous.
These findings concur with Eventbrite’s highly cited poll, which found that 72 percent of millennials would rather spend money in experiences than material things. Likewise, 47 percent of millennials surveyed by Reality Mogul said they would rather spend money on traveling than on a home.
“The news about Thomas Cook’s 18-30 Club is the end of an era for the travel industry, but also an indicator of how holidays have evolved over time for this age group," hostel executive Alastair Thomann told the Independent. "We’ve noticed a trend in young travelers choosing their next destination based on both the social and cultural experiences on offer, as well as the quality of images they will be able to post on their channels."
“Experiences like food, culture and music have now moved to the top of the priority list,” he added.
Meanwhile, backlash against the notion of “ego tourism” has since struck a nerve with some on Twitter.
"Thomas Cook blames the rise of 'ego travel' and Instagram for driving young people away from cheap package clubbing holidays and toward more photogenic travel opportunities. How is this a bad thing that we're seeing nice places instead of clubs?” one critic clapped.
“'Ego travel' or: 'wanting to go somewhere nice[?]'” another mocked the company’s spin on a “ludicrous thing.”
"It's now about the 'instagrammability' of destinations," another lamented.
Thomas Cook did not immediately return Fox News’ request for comment.


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According to a report, the Android Auto for Phone Screens app that was used as a makeshift solution to get Android Auto benefits in older cars will stop working soon.
Recently, Google announced that it is working on an updated version of Android Auto that will include a new user interface as well as suggested responses based on contextual suggestions from Google Assistant. According to a separate report, beta testers of Android Auto have reported problems with the app's setup process and wireless connectivity.
Reports from 9to5Google and Reddit suggest that the Android Auto for Phone Screens app is displaying the message 'Android Auto for phone screens will stop working soon.'
Although Google has not released an exact date of closure, the message seems to indicate that the experience will cease to exist shortly. Google confirmed last year that the standalone app will be shut down beginning with Android 12.
The beta testers of Android Auto have reported various issues on Reddit (via Android Police). It appears that Google is testing a new setup process for Android Auto.
Some Android Auto users report that their phones flash a message about a setup process that doesn't seem to work through a wireless connection. When connected to a car, however, the process works fine.
Google announced a few weeks ago that it is working on an update to Android Auto, and this setup process is expected to be included in that update. Android Auto will have a new user interface that will combine navigation, media, and communication on one screen.
Additionally, this version includes contextual suggestions for messages and music recommendations from Google Assistant. According to Google, this will make driving safer.
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Earlier today, Gruppo Campari announced its half-year results, with a stronger second quarter propping a poor Q1. Here, just-drinks takes a...
Earlier today (12 March), Gruppo Campari announced its full-year results, making a recovery after a difficult first half. Here, just-drinks...
Earlier today, Gruppo Campari announced its year-to-date results, making a recovery in its third quarter. Here just-drinks takes a look at t...
Gruppo Campari is seeing “two different Brazils” as its premium brands prosper, while its lower-end portfolio suffers, according to the grou...
Having not made a major acquisition for a couple of years, Campari was back in the spotlight last month when it acquired Wild Turkey Bourbon from Pernod Ricard. Campari CEO Bob Kunze-Concewitz spoke with Olly Wehring about the acquisition, the progress of other brands, including Skyy Vodka and Glen Grant Scotch whisky, and the impact of the recession.
Gloomy talk of a global economic slowdown have so far failed to dilute growth in the US vodka category. One of the better known contenders in the segment – if only for its ocean blue-coloured bottle – is Skyy vodka. In this month's just-drinks interview, Olly Wehring grills the president & CEO of Skyy Spirits, Gerry Ruvo, over the rise of the company's namesake vodka brand, what the future holds for the Campari-owned unit, and how much longer vodka's moment in the US sun can last.
Campari has readied another two variants from its Skyy Infusions flavoured vodka range.
Gruppo Campari has raised the curtain on a new US$43m packaging facility at its Wild Turkey distillery in the US to meet growing global demand for its spirit brands.
Gruppo Campari has launched a limited-edition Skyy Vodka bottle to mark its sponsorship of Emirates Team New Zealand in the America's Cup.
Campari has teamed up with swimwear label L*Space to launch a limited-edition bottle for its Skyy Vodka brand.
Campari has unveiled the TV campaign behind its latest flavoured vodka, Skyy Infusions Moscato Grape.
Here's a round-up of the big stories on just-drinks last week, featuring Carlsberg, SABMiller, Campari, Monster Beverage Corp and the Australian wine industry.
The IWSR Company Profile 2014 – Campari
Analyses of the leading companies in the alcohol industry...
Global Spirits Market: News and Events December 2013
The report provides a review of the latest news and key events in the global spirits market during December 2013. Summary Using this report, marketers will effectively gain an insight into the latest...
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- Pernod takes positives from China Cognac bounce
- Heineken to cut jobs in global shake-up
- Bacardi bags a Bourbon with Angel's Envy buy
- Bacardi Brown-Forman here to stay
- Moet Hennessy sells Scotch Malt Whisky Society
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- Global rum insights - market forecasts, product innovation and consumer trends research
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- Heineken N.V. - Strategy and SWOT Report
- Global non-Scotch whiskies insights - market forecasts, product innovation and consumer trends research
- Champagne: Less Than Bubbly


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Yahoo has just announced a complete redesign of Flickr at its New York City event — the new site is live now and it comes with one terabyte of free photo space. Yahoo SVP Adam Cahan just made the announcement and said that "Flickr had become about words, little images, blue links. It was not about the photo anymore." But the new photostream changes that, will full-resolution images and a clean homepage with all the emphasis on images — it looks a lot like the Instagram web profile header.
In short, Flickr's done away with nearly all of the white space on Flickr, across every page you visit. Other new features include iPhoto-style slideshows (complete with music), full-bleed photos with significantly-reduced UI elements, and extensive sharing options — you can push photos out to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or Pinterest. It's a massive redesign, and it came together pretty fast — Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer said that the company talked about this project in March and "rallied as a full company" to get the project done in this quarter.
Flickr now has the tools to compete with the likes of Facebook and Google
However, the big news is the free space — "we want all of your images," said Cahan. He said it was 70 times bigger than what other sites offer, and said it could store 537,731 photos in "full quality." Yahoo directly mentioned the 15GB of storage space "other" companies offer, and it was a pretty direct shot at Google — a company that has made no secret recently about making photos a key part of its services.
Yahoo also announced a new Android Flickr app, which matches the capabilities of the recently-updated iOS app. "Upload once, send to any device, any screen, any friend, any follower, on any service, and make it absolutely beautiful," said Cahan. Along with this new service, Flickr is revamping its Flickr Pro service. Previously, free Flickr users could only display 200 photos at a time, while paid users had unlimited storage and display capabilities as well as analytical data about your photos. However, Yahoo introduced a few new paid options — for $49.99 a year, all ads on the site will be removed, and you'll get access to the standard set of Flickr analytics. For $499.99, you can double your storage space to 2TB. All in all, it looks like a long overdue and hugely-needed update — but now Flickr has an arsenal of new tools to take on sites like Facebook and Google.