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Sky-rocketing home prices fail to slow ‘Beijing dream’
published: 2017-03-14 06:55:30
Beijing has attracted millions of people from all over China looking for work. There are more jobs and better infrastructure in the sprawling metropolis, but living conditions are sometimes less desirable. Home prices in Beijing have also risen significantly in recent years, and buying even a modest home has become a luxury. CGTN’s Tony Cheng has the report.


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Online Travel Training founder and Managing Director Julia Feuell is understood to be discussing selling the ailing travel training business to an interested third party.
OTT shocked the industry when it suddenly announced it had ceased trading last week, telling clients in an out-of-office email message that it had brought in rescue and insolvency firm McTear Williams and Wood.
However, Travel Gossip has since seen an email from Julia stating that she has ‘shaken hands’ on a deal to rescue OTT from the administrators.
She said the deal will be signed ‘early’ this week.
The email goes on: “The new owners will be taking over the existing company entirely – including staff and all creditor liabilities.
“As you can imagine I am working hard to get them all the information they need to get the deal signed.”
Julia said the sale would enable OTT to offer the industry ‘even more relevant services’, adding: “The deal will ensure OTT thrives into a growth phase sooner than I could have enabled this.”
It is understood OTT is continuing to hire Head of Global Partnerships Angelica Diaz-Arnett, Head of Training and Commercial Kenny Smith and Head of Account Management Nida Kapadia, who are planning to attend WTM in London with Julia this week.
Travel Gossip has approached Julia and McTear Williams and Wood for a comment.

domain: news


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XRP United has officially launched a digital currency exchange based on Ripple’s XRP token. The platform aims to validate XRP as a base currency in the asset, commodities, and fiat currency markets.
Twitter user @BankXRP announced today the launching of ‘the first full XRP-based exchange.’
XRP United , as it is known, currently features three XRP trading pairs — with Bitcoin (BTC) , Ethereum (ETH), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) — and will be adding Monero (XMR) shortly in the future.
It should be noted that this exchange is in no way officially related to the actual Ripple company. Instead, it is operated by ‘XRP United Oü’ and appears to be registered with the Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) with licenses to ‘provide a virtual currency wallet service’ and ‘provide services of exchanging a virtual currency against a fiat currency.’
In its dramatic introduction trailer, XRP United, presumably in the future, claims that XRP used on its platform would be ‘fully exchangeable with any currency, asset, or commodity.’ Depending on when and if that actually happens, it could potentially give a significant boost to the price of the third-ranked, not-so-decentralized cryptocurrency.
The First Full XRP Based Exchange now LIVE
XRP United – Launch Video #xrpthebase https://t.co/CHyRCLdbG8 #Ripple #XRP
ON DISCORD https://t.co/1kVqSwCMpH pic.twitter.com/3M40tI8hER


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Tuesday, 21 June 2016
Latest V12 rolls off the line at Niehl
The Aston Martin Engine Plant (AMEP) in Cologne, Germany, has launched production of its latest engine, a 5.2L twin-turbo unit for the DB11.Designed in-house, this new down-sized engine develops 608PS and 700Nm of torque. Aston Martin claims this makes the DB11 the most powerful production DB model.
Aston Martin claims also a top speed of 200 mile/h and a 0-62 mile/h time of 3.9 s.
The latest engine has intelligent cylinder bank activation and stop-start technology to offer improved efficiency.
AMEP is a dedicated, state-of-the-art facility created for the production of Aston Martin power plants. When the facility, located in a separate building at Ford Motor Company’s Niehl Engine Plant in Cologne, was opened on 28 October 2004, Aston Martin said that for the first time it had a purpose-built engine production facility.
The plant is equipped to work solely on Aston Martin engines and the building carries the marque’s corporate identity. Workplace for over 100 highly-trained employees, the 12,500 square metre production hall has four distinct areas: machining engine cylinder blocks, machining cylinder heads, an assembly area where specialist technicians hand-build engines, and a final area for receiving components and shipping completed engines.
Production of 6-litre V12 and 4.7-litre V8 engines will continue at AMEP.
To ensure the highest levels of quality and consistency, one engine assembly technician will build each engine, following the process through from start to finish.
According to Aston Martin it takes a total of eight hours to build one V12 engine and AMEP has a production capacity of 8,000 engines a year.
Once completed, each engine undergoes stringent cold and hot testing within the AMEP facility, and only when it has satisfied the various test criteria is it released for shipment to the Aston Martin assembly plant in Gaydon, Warwickshire, UK.
Brian Fitzsimons, Aston Martin chief engineer, powertrain, says: “To see this new engine go into full production at AMEP makes me very proud. Designing and developing the 5.2L twin-turbo power plant has been an all-consuming passion for me and my team. Knowing that the end result would be built with meticulous care in a truly state-of-the-art facility such as AMEP was an added motivation. It’s a hugely exciting time to be an engineer at Aston Martin, not least because this is just the beginning for the new twin-turbo V12.”
Dr Andy Palmer, Aston Martin president and chief executive officer, noted: “AMEP is one of our great success stories and one of the jewels in the Aston Martin crown. To have the ability to design and then manufacture our own high-performance engines in-house is something very special. It gives us ultimate control of quality and that all-important character for which Aston Martin cars are renowned. I have no doubts that our new twin-turbo V12 is the start of an even greater era of success.”
Recommended retail price for the DB11 is from £154,900 in the UK, €204,900 in Germany and $211,995 in USA, first deliveries of the DB11 are scheduled to begin during the fourth quarter of 2016.
The V12 DB11 is one of a series of cars Aston Martin is working on to reinvent the business as luxury car maker for the modern age. The range includes the all-electric DBX the company will build in a vacant plant in St. Athan, in the Vale of Glamorgan from 2020 onwards.
Dr. Palmer has secured £500 million with which to turn round the business and has six years in which to do it. Last year, he raised another £200 million by issuing preference shares to investors. He believes that by having a series of models – maybe as many as seven – he will be able to avoid the downward spirals of the past.


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Silca is attending the yearly Convention of the European Locksmith Federation (ELF) with ground-breaking new products and solutions for the key cutting and locksmith business.
Silca is attending the 2014 Convention of the European Locksmith Federation, the international association of locksmiths and professional key cutters, which is taking place from 22nd to 25th of May 2014 at the Firenze Fiera Congress Center in Florence.
Silca has chosen this worldwide important event devoted to the security business, which coincides this year with the 30th anniversary of the organization, to showcase its latest ground-breaking products and introduce to the wide audience its pioneering automotive solutions. On this prestigious occasion, visitors and attendees of the training courses will be able to see with their own eyes and interact directly with Silca’s cutting-edge automotive solutions and transponder devices, testing first-hand the company’s plenty proposals dedicated to the vehicle key duplication business.
However, Silca is not only going to exhibit innovative products, but is also holding a seminar targeting key cutters new to the profession and expert locksmiths operating in the automotive trade. The training session, entitled “The transponder key programming training and new automotive solutions for locksmiths”, is taking place on Friday 23rd of May from 4.00pm to 6.00pm in the Sala Adua 2 of the Palazzo degli Affari.
Entrance to the 2014 ELF Convention is free upon registration on the following link: http://www.elf2014.com/form2_21.html
We are looking forward to meeting you at Stand 18/19, 2nd Floor, in the Firenze Fiera Congress Center!


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Not so smart ministers: Government-sponsored smart meter rollout is a shambles, says VICTORIA BISCHOFF
Smart meters have become a Marmite option for millions.
Some households delight in poring over every detail of their energy usage. Others would rather stick pins in their eyes than agree to a Big Brother device that stalks their power consumption.
But, whatever your preference, the Government-sponsored rollout is indisputably a shambles.
Last week, the spending watchdog revealed that plans to offer every household a smart meter by 2020 were doomed. Its language left no room for doubt — the Government's original goal 'will not be met', said the report.
Last week, the spending watchdog revealed that plans to offer every household a smart meter by 2020 were doomed
The scheme has been plagued by delays and the technology is still not even close to being ready.
Now, we have in people's homes millions of meters that stop working upon switching supplier — and, as we reveal on page 35, there is no end in sight to this problem.
The findings of the National Audit Office follow repeated calls from consumer groups such as Citizens Advice imploring for the deadline to be pushed back. Yet ministers refuse to see sense and admit that their plan is just not realistic.
Indeed, energy minister Claire Perry has effectively ignored the report and said she 'didn't want to slow down'.
Yet her insistence on rushing to meet the target is actually pushing up the cost of the scheme and, therefore, our bills.
Ministers argue that if they move the goalposts, suppliers will underinvest in the scheme.
It seems more like stubbornness. Forcing the scheme forward when officials knew the newer model of the meter was not ready was foolhardy. I'll certainly be waiting until my supplier offers the new version before getting one.
And if you really want to watch the pennies this winter, consider technology such as Hive or Nest, which allows you to control your heating via your mobile phone.
Probate fee fury
while we're on the subject of Whitehall obstinacy, the Ministry of Justice needs to take its head out of the sand.
Its decision to hike probate fees is an abuse of power and a sneaky attempt to levy a backdoor tax.
Don't take my word for it. Every legal expert and consumer group we have spoken to has been horrified at the decision to increase the cost of obtaining probate — essentially a simple rubber-stamping exercise — from a flat £215 fee to as much as £6,000.
A House of Lords committee has also attacked the move and urged ministers to reconsider.
Bereaved families have a difficult enough time of it as it is.
Britain's inheritance tax and probate system is so baffling that one in ten relatives is already forced to spend more than 100 hours sorting out the estate of their loved one, according to an official report.
Introducing another layer of complication by hiking probate fees will only add to their already crushing burden.
Fight goes on...
Many of you have written recently to ask about Money Mail's Unlock Our Pensions campaign. You want to know if we plan to continue the fight for fairness pursued by my predecessor, Dan Hyde. Absolutely — it is an utter disgrace that five million pensioners are locked into annuity contracts that give them small monthly payments of just a few pounds for life.
A lump sum, meanwhile, could transform their lives, by allowing them to pay off debts, buy a car or carry out home improvements.
So keep your letters coming and we will carry on our work behind the scenes. As soon as we have an update, you'll be the first to hear.
Money Mail reader George Smith sent me around 20 examples of scam emails this week.
All of them appear to be offering discounts from legitimate retailers such as Argos, Amazon and Tesco — but look closely and it is clear they are junk. 'Congratulations. Get your £50 Tesco gift card,' reads one. 'Complete our quick survey to see if you qualify,' it goes on.
Never respond to emails asking for personal information. You don't know for what sinister purposes your data could be used.
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It wasn’t that long ago that the idea of a screen on a telephone that would allow you to see the person you’re talking to was something that seemed like futuristic Sci-Fi, but yet here we all are now walking around with mini computers in our pockets. Just when you thought smartphones couldn’t get any smaller, thinner, sleeker or more light-weight – how about an invisible phone?!
Humane, a startup founded by Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, both of whom were part of the original design team for the first iPhone, with Chaudhri also having been a former head of design at Apple, has developed a new wearable gadget that has some AI-powered features that seem almost as unreal as a telephone with a screen seemed, way back in the day of wall-mounted, corded telephones.
A prototype of this device was demoed by Chaudhri during a TED Talk, last week at the 2023 annual TED conference in Vancouver, Canada. He wanted to share his vision for a future with AI where devices have a subtler presence in the form of wearables, and where screens are optional.
Among its most notable features, it includes a camera that can identify objects, and it can translate your voice into any language. You can also make calls that use a projected display on the hand, making it literally an invisible phone.
This device has not been officially announced or released to the public. But Zarif Ali, a Toronto-based freelance journalist, tweeted a visual of the demo in which Chaudhri took a call from his wife in the middle of the demo, simply by using his hand with a projection.
We don’t really know too much more information about this gadget. It doesn’t have a name, nor is there an expected release date. Humane has yet to release any more information about this device. So for right now, it’s a wait-and-see as to whether this new AI powered “invisible” phone/personal assistant will be the next generation of mobile device.


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In October, Stefan Ingves, the governor of Sweden’s central bank, Riksbank, wrote in an economic note on the future of payments that a digital currency issued by the authority would be an “evolution, not revolution” in the way people use money.
In August 2020, Mathias Melendez, 22, from San Antonio, Texas, stumbled upon a Facebook ad of Life.Church Online, the cyberchurch of the American evangelical multi-site church Life Church.
162 million people, or 30% of the workforce, across the US and the EU-15 countries are gig workers. In 2018, the total spending on the gig economy around the world reached a staggering $4.5 trillion. Meanwhile in the US, 80% of large companies are planning to switch to a “flexible workforce”.
Four years ago, Frank Pasquale, Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School, catalyzed a debate over algorithmic and corporate power with the publication of his highly acclaimed and highly critical book, The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms That Control Money.


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Toronto, Canada, June 21, 2007 – For the third year in a row GlobalTrade Corporation (GTC) has won Euromoney’s Trade Finance Magazine Best Independent Trade Platform/System Provider AWARD for its @GlobalTrade Platform. The Trade Finance Awards for Excellence recognizes the best of breed, innovation, and success in the trade finance industry.
@GlobalTrade™ platform offers unprecedented functionality that enables corporations and banks to save both money and time while reducing risk and improving monitoring and control. Its modular design, pre-configured for various trade-finance applications, reduces the time and cost of implementing standard and customized systems. The platform has been designed and tested to work with multiple companies and banks. A corporate head office can connect ‘right out of the box’ with its subsidiaries and factories, as well as with its multiple banks and logistics providers.
Trade Finance Editor Jonathan Bell said, ‘Voting in this category increased markedly in this year’s poll with renewed interest from several trade software and platform providers. The fact that GlobalTrade Corporation saw off these suitors for this award is indicative of the key milestones that the company has achieved in the market in the course of the past year. Crucially, GTC increased its vote on previous years to capture this award.’
‘The flexibility to meet specific requirements of large corporates and simple connectivity options for their banks and service providers immediately create real measurable benefits for everyone who uses GlobalTrade Platform,’ said Nick Pachnev, GTC’s CTO.
‘Through the alliance with Unicredit Group, now the second largest financial institution in Europe our company has been able to increase market awareness about its products and win new business,’ said Jacob Katsman, GTC’s CEO. ‘Our company is very proud to be voted by its clients and partners the Best Independent Trade Platform Award for the third year in a row.’
About GlobalTrade Corporation
GlobalTrade Corporation develops innovative, collaborative software products for global trade finance. Under the trademark @GlobalTrade™ the company services both corporates that require multi-party information exchange and document management systems enabling visibility, better risk control and cost savings, and financial institutions that require innovative solutions to increase market share and protect their existing customer base.
+1 416 661 8520


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Easter sunshine brings shoppers to British high streets
Sunny weather encouraged British shoppers onto the high street over Easter, with footfall across retail destinations rising 6.5 percent on Friday, 1.2 percent on Saturday and 8.4 percent on Monday morning, research company Springboard said.
Town and city centre stores benefited from the uptick in demand rather than shopping centres and retail parks, which saw footfall decline on Friday and Saturday, Springboard said.
"Consumers clearly wanted to be outside enjoying the sun rather than visiting covered malls," Springboard Insights Director Diane Wehrle said.
"Even in retail parks, where shoppers gravitate to buy garden furniture and plants, footfall declined by 2.4 percent on Good Friday and 1.3 percent on Easter Saturday from the same days last year."
Strong consumer spending in recent weeks has supported the British economy while companies cut investment ahead of Britain`s scheduled exit from the European Union in March, a deadline that was subsequently extended until October.
Retail sales volumes rose 6.7 percent in March, the biggest surge in nearly two-and-a-half-years.
(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
Get Latest Business News, Stock Market Updates and Videos; Check your tax outgo through Income Tax Calculator and save money through our Personal Finance coverage. Check Business Breaking News Live on Zee Business Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe on YouTube.


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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As more and more people go online to find their four-legged companions, crooks are leaving prospective pet owners penniless and puppy-less.
A recently released BBB study showed 80 percent of sponsored advertising links in searches for pets are for fraudulent sites.
One such site was reported in the Kansas City area by a victim who paid but never received a puppy. The website for Miley's English Bulldogs features precious puppies that could be yours at a discount.
"Fifty percent puppy discount. Too good to be true," Aaron Reese of the BBB said while scrolling through the site.
Our call to the Colorado number listed on the Miley Bulldogs Facebook page went unanswered. Further searches showed some of the puppy pictures were actually pulled from Pinterest, and a photo of owners "Maria and Mirach Filipova" was stolen, too.
"That one I am aware of, and I've already filed a dispute with their hosting company," Dawn Castillo, who is actually in the photo, said.
Castillo and her husband own Castlewood Bulldogs, a legitimate breeding business. She told 41 Action News scammers steal their photos almost every week.
"Some will even keep our names and just change the contact information, so yeah, it's pretty unnerving," Castillo said.
The BBB found it's not only unnerving but also way more sophisticated than they initially thought.
"We do now know that it's way more organized than we thought it was. It is part of an organized crime group," Reese said.
To make sure you don't fall victim to scammers, the BBB recommends buyers:
- Google image search the pictures of dogs to make sure they're not stolen
- Never wire transfer money for a pet
- Be wary of sites with no contact information posted


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Google's Redesigned Google News App Reaches iPhones
Google's overhauled version of Google News is now available to iPhones and iPads via the iTunes App Store. The new version of the app uses machine learning to personalize the experience for each user. The app contains four main tabs along the bottom that take users to their recommended stories, top headlines, favorite sources, and subscriptions. In addition to offering personalized recommendations, the new Google News offers links to multiple accounts of the same story to offer perspective and help further comprehension. Google News is free to download from the App Store. Google hasn't said when the app will reach Android devices.
Google News to Highlight Local Sources
Google has updated its Google News product across all platforms with improved visibility of locally-sourced stories. The local source tag in Google News highlights local news outlets that have covered large, national news stories.
Google News & Weather to Show More News & Weather
Google today said it has added more stores to the home screen of its News & Weather app for mobile devices. Specifically, the home screen will list an additional 200 stories in a section called More Headlines.
Sony Debuts News Suite App for Android Phones
Sony today announced News Suite, a free news app for Android handsets. The app is a dramatically overhauled version of Sony's older SocialLife app.
Google to Power Google News with Artificial Intelligence
Google today refreshed its Google News product with new features powered by artificial intelligence. News will scan everything on the web and match what it finds with user preferences and favored sources to create new summaries and suggestions.
Google Overhauls Its News Reader App, Brings It to the Web
Google today announced a wholly refreshed version of Google Play Newsstand that reimagines the newsreader and expands its availability beyond smartphones and tablets. To start, Google is relying on machine learning to make more personalized recommendations for readers.
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Lenny Kravitz Builds Out a “Futuristic” $300,000 Electric Cadillac
Lenny Kravitz grew up being transported—physically and metaphorically—by Cadillac cars. “My grandfather, he always had Cadillacs. He changed them out every few years,” the musician, composer, photographer, actor, and AD100 designer told VF during a recent visit to Metro Detroit. “He was a hard-working man, had five jobs, grew up in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. But Cadillac was his thing. And he used to pile all of us in the back, like five or six kids, and he would take us out of Brooklyn. He wanted to expose the neighborhood kids to art, to the museums, to theater, to sports. So the Cadillac was his vehicle to put us all in, and take us to expose us to all of these wonderful things.”
Inside the famed Eero Saarinen “Design Dome” vehicle-viewing stage at the General Motors Technical Center, Kravitz was in the back of a Cadillac once again. But this wasn’t one of the gas-guzzling Sedan de Villes or Fleetwood Broughams of his youth. It was the all-new, battery-powered, zero-emissions Celestiq sedan, the brand’s imminent flagship. Hand-built, the Celestiq is expected to cost around $300,000. And the price will go up from there thanks to available multifarious material customizability of nearly every interior appointment—fabrics, woods, leathers, metals, and carbon fibers can be individually selected, and pierced, etched, or 3D-printed to a client’s specifications.
Given Kravitz’s personal history, this notion of a range-topping electric Cadillac—particularly one as long as the marque’s snorting Escalade SUV, with a bulbous hatchback profile that resembles a Syd Mead fantasy—seemed anathema, initially. “When I first got here, it was a little jarring because it’s such a futuristic vehicle. And I’m very much into the classic, vintage cars and lines,” he said. But he warmed up. “As I spent more time with the vehicle, I see that it really does respect the heritage.”
As part of his collaboration with Cadillac in launching the Celestiq, Kravitz will be spec’ing his own custom version of the electric vehicle, in collaboration with Michael Simcoe—General Motors’ vice president of global design—and his team. Kravitz already has some ideas. “I think that this car is going to go to Paris, where I have my house,” he said.
His home in Paris is, like most of his residential designs, very eclectic. “It has a lot of African art mixed in with a more European sensibility,” Kravitz said. And he plans to take a similar approach to the car’s interior design. His mood board thus far includes exotic woods with strong patterns, mixed with colors like camels and chocolates and caramels. For the exterior, Kravitz says that he’s leaning toward a color that would “look sort of black in the dark, but it’s really a rich brown with a little bit of metal flake. A little bit of dimension.”
Not surprisingly, for someone who wore giant sunglasses and head-to-toe black leather during our interview, he is somewhat nocturnal. “I’m a day person too, but I come alive at night. That’s when I feel the most creative,” he said. So he envisions this engineless electric sedan as a silent chariot through the City of Light. “I want it to be sort of a nighttime vehicle going through the streets of Paris. I want it to just hover there at night. And I’m only going to go where you can park it right in front.”
Kravitz says he has never had an automobile in the 15 years he’s had his place in Paris, navigating the city instead on Triumph Bonneville motorcycles. But he has cars at his other current residences, including his compound in the Bahamas—near where his maternal grandfather was born. He spent the pandemic there composing three forthcoming records.


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16 February 2006 | Rebecca Ellinor
Local authorities will be able to save money on goods and services with the launch of two online products.
The Regional Centres of Excellence (RCEs) are setting up a supplier spend advice service and a database of prices paid covering more than 1,500 commodities.
A meeting of the Chief Executives Task Force last month agreed local government is unlikely to make radical changes to contracting behaviour without evidence that better value for money is obtainable.
As a result the spend analysis tool has been devised to identify the highest, lowest and average prices paid to suppliers for common goods.
Steve Holland, director of the East of England RCE, told SM
: "Individual procurement officers at individual councils cannot do these things but the centres can. This is the most important piece of work the centres are doing. A conservative estimate of the efficiency savings in hard cash is at least £300 million over the next two years."
The tool is expected to be online and available to all local authorities before the end of
In addition, the RCEs are setting up a system to offer councils spend advice online. This aims to cut costs by reducing the number of transactions councils make and by working collaboratively to get better prices from suppliers.
Next month the RCEs will run a reverse e-auction for agency staff, computer equipment and other goods, worth £28 million.


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BI’s Article search uses Boolean search capabilities. If you are not familiar with these principles, here are some quick tips.
To search specifically for more than one word, put the search term in quotation marks. For example, “workers compensation”. This will limit your search to that combination of words.
To search for a combination of terms, use quotations and the & symbol. For example, “hurricane” & “loss”.
Marsh L.L.C. said Tuesday that it has launched Marsh IO+, an excess casualty solution.
Marsh IO+ was developed for companies with significant product and other mass tort exposures, organizations like retailers, food and beverage companies, construction firms, and manufacturers that produce and sell a high volume of products, Marsh said in a statement.
According to Marsh, companies that produce and sell a high volume of products are at risk for losses associated with “batch” claims, multiple bodily injury or property damage claims that result from a single product defect.
Marsh IO+ is an occurrence-reported excess casualty form. It includes the integrated occurrence feature which allows policyholders to batch claims into a single occurrence which could save them retention costs, according to the statement.
“As litigation costs continue to rise, and insurance coverage laws continue to evolve, a number of organizations may be at greater financial risk to product liability, from food contamination to construction material defects due to the structure of their casualty program,” Tony Tam, Marsh’s U.S. casualty placement leader said in the statement. “With Marsh IO+, we combine coverage provisions found in standard occurrence-reported forms with those found in standard occurrence forms to provide clients with a comprehensive solution that responds to today’s more challenging operating environment.”
On the day the U.S. celebrates Christopher Columbus' discovery of the new world in 1492, Probitas Syndicate 1492 started underwriting business that it said is new to Lloyd's of London.


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In the retail sector, new actors are emerging and seducing major food companies and consumers who are attracted by socially responsible and sustainable consumption. This is the case of the Nantes-based companies Smartway, which develops an app to limit food waste in supermarkets, and Shopopop, a collaborative delivery service.
At the beginning, something clicked. For Paul-Adrien Menez, co-founder of Smartway, it was the food waste generated by groceries. For Antoine Cheul, president of Shopopop, it was the desire to combine modern collaborative approaches of e-commerce with the principle of Indian dabbawalas, who are lunch box delivery men that cover the whole of India.
Driven by different interests, these two entrepreneurs from the Atlantic France region share common values and a certain sense of commitment. The two Nantes-based companies are growing fast and both recently announced major fundraising campaigns to accelerate their international development.
€10 million for the zero waste app Smartway
Smartway, formerly known as Zéro Gâchis (Zero Waste), offers a solution to limit food waste in the retail sector. The company was created in 2012 but has just completed its first round of financing €10 million.
The fundraising operation should enable the company to accelerate its international development, knowing that the Smartway solutions have already been adopted by 400 shops in France, but also in Spain, Portugal and Belgium. The objective is to reach 4,000 points of sale by 2025 in these countries as well as in Eastern Europe and Italy, where the company will soon be signing partnerships.
€20 million for the grocery delivery network Shopopop
Shopopop has also just raised €20 million to expand internationally. The company created in Nantes in 2016 is nicknamed “the BlaBlaCar of deliveries” and aims to build a network of 50,000 partner shops around Europe.
Shopopop is planning to grow in the countries where it already has bases (France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the Benelux), but also elsewhere in Europe, especially in Germany and in the UK. The company which employs 102 people expects to double its workforce within a year.
Smart digital solutions seducing large retailers
Shopopop allows car drivers to use their daily journeys to carry out paid deliveries of groceries or parcels for partner shops. The amateur courier is compensated by the customer, generally between 5 and 9 euros. This practice has taken off with the health crisis and convinced some 3,000 French shops, including the majority of the large food retailers (Auchan, Carrefour, E.Leclerc, Casino, Intermarché…) to start using the platform. The startup intends to increase this number to 20,000 within the next three years by offering its services to local and specialist shops.
Smartway has convinced many supermarkets to use its complete unsold items management tool or “Food Waste Management System” (FWMS) (which is based on artificial intelligence). With this system, the shop employee receives alerts on a terminal about products close to their use-by date, which they scan on the shelves. The algorithm decides whether to put them on sale or donate them to charities.
According to its founder, the solution can enable a supermarket to reduce its food waste by 80%, with an average increase of 51% in net profit after tax. Over eight years, the company believes that it has generated €150 million in savings for consumers and has avoided throwing away 56,846 tonnes of fresh food.


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Are you a coffee lovers? You might need to attend this event.
In order to succeed the Visit Banda Aceh Year 2011, the City of Banda Aceh through Department of Culture and Tourism will hold a big event “Aceh Coffee Festival 2011″ which will be held at the Taman Sari Banda Aceh on Friday, November 25 – Sunday, November 27, 2011.
Aceh Coffee Festival 2011 will carry the theme “Aceh Coffee for the World”. In this event, and the potential profiles shown in Aceh as one producing high quality of coffee like Gayo Arabica coffee, Lamno, and civet coffee.
Variety of entertainments for visitors such as acoustic and demo music presentation uniquely Acehnese coffee will also presented. Taman Sari Banda Aceh will be the place of coffee lovers as well as communities and foreigen tourists, which might be expected to promote Aceh coffee. [...]


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July's retail footfall decline reflects a growing north-south divide as the impact of inflation heightens, according to Springboard.
"Footfall across UK retail destinations worsened last month to -14.2% below the 2019 level, wiping out all the gains made since April," says Springboard's marketing and insights director, Diane Wehrle. "On a positive note, however, July was two months post the anniversary of the end of Lockdown 3, and UK footfall was +15.6% higher than in 2021 versus +14.2% above 2021 in June.
"Some of the weakening in consumer activity from 2019 in July was due to the extreme heatwave in the third week of the month, when footfall dipped to -16.4% below the 2019 level from -12.9% in the week before. Inevitably this meant that the uplift from 2021 also narrowed in the third week – to +11.3% from +18.2% in the previous week.
"As importantly, it became clear that a north-south divide is emerging in terms of the recovery in footfall, indicating the impact of the proportionately greater burden of inflation that is being felt in the North.
"Between January and July footfall increased from month to month by an average of +1.8% in Greater London compared with just +0.4% in the North and Yorkshire, and in July footfall in Greater London was +27.4% above the 2021 level versus just +8.9% in North and Yorkshire, +7.2% in Northern Ireland and +9.2% in Scotland. This variation in the level of recovery is also reflected in the difference in footfall from 2019 – in Greater London footfall in July was -10.2% below 2019 versus -14.4% below in North and Yorkshire, and -17.7% below in Scotland.
"The north-south divide in footfall recovery is not a recent trend and stretches back to July 2021, however, the extent of the divide has increased significantly over recent months and by July the gain in footfall from 2021 of +8.9% in the North and Yorkshire was only around third of the +27.4% gain in Greater London.
"Whilst footfall remains lower than the 2019 level, the trend from month to month in 2022 over the seven months to the end of July averaged +1% versus an average of -0.5% over the pre-Covid decade, demonstrating the demand from shoppers for in-store shopping.
"Looking forward towards the remainder of the year, we would normally expect footfall to peak in August and then dip in September as the school summer break ends. However, in light of the increasing strain on household budgets as a consequence of inflation, this year we are anticipating that in August footfall will plateau or even drop away marginally by circa -1% from July, followed by a decline of around -3% over the month between August and September."


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Currently in development and scheduled to be released in 2021. Not much else is known about the sequel.
Accompanying the trailer was the news that the game will have a simultaneous release on PC and Xbox Series X. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will also enter Xbox Game Pass on console on day one, along with a host of other games announced during the showcase.
The developers GSC Game World are aiming to continue the series' blend of immersive first person shooter simulation and horror in the upcoming sequel. Saying on the official S2 website that the game will feature of the biggest open-worlds to date to explore, featuring an epic branching story with multiple endings.
Unfortunately the developers aren't ready to disclose a release date for the game just yet, so we'll have to wait a little longer to know when we can finally re-enter the zone.
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“The past two years have been a master’s class in how to collaborate, grow and adapt to change.”
Thank you MaineBiz for the feature article on my path, leadership, and finding grit in 2022.
Some top notes from the article:
Now Taja Dockendorf, owner and creative director of Pulp+Wire, a Portland advertising and marketing firm, says she’s heading into the new year with a sense of anticipation.
“The last few years for both the creative and the marketing industries have brought growth, evolution, and for me a masters lesson in one’s self-compassion and aptitude for change,” says Dockendorf. “As I look to 2022, it is not with fear or worry but with optimism, excitement, and a thirst to see what is around the next corner.”


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Springfield Public Forum 91913.jpg
New York Times reporter Michael Moss speaks at Springfield Symphony Hall Thursday evening as part of the Springfield Public Forum lecture series.
(Dave Roback / The Republican)
Moss was the first speaker in the 2013 Springfield Public Forum speakers series held at Springfield Symphony Hall.
"I would encourage people to do simple cooking," Moss added, and rely less on ready made convenience foods from the supermarket.
He said that if the food companies experience any drop in sales, they will respond by changing their products.
Moss is the author of "Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us."
In the book he uses interviews and documents to show how the major food corporations engineer recipes so as to bring consumers to the "bliss point" that entice many into "conditioned hypereating."
Their key is the use of "heaps and heaps" of sugar, salt and fat which leads to overeating.
One in three adults in the United States are now clinically obese, Moss said.
He said that one in five children are pre-diabetic and have high blood pressure or heart disease.
There is a huge cost to the obesity crisis, Moss said.
Children are not born addicted to salt. They develop a taste for it, he said.
Moss said that even if a family cannot afford $5 pints of fresh blueberries, they can purchase a bag of frozen blueberries for less money.
Companies are now beginning to reduce the amount of sugar, salt and fat in products, he said.
American companies now are trying to export their convenience foods to other parts of the world.
Some countries in Europe are saying they want products with less sugar, salt and fat.
Countries like Italy and France have their own food culture and are less interested in American convenience foods, he said.
The free Springfield Public Forum will host its next speaker on Oct. 2 when Spencer Wells will speak on "A Genetic Odyssey: Tracing the Human Family Tree."
The sponsor of Thursday's forum was Health New England.
Wilbraham & Monson Academy is the season sponsor of the 2013 speaker series.


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Renault Megane RS275 Trophy-R is world's fastest front-drive car – and 50 are coming to Australia priced about $65,000.
French car maker Renault has reclaimed the title of the world's fastest front-wheel-drive hot hatch, with a car that can be bought off a showroom floor -- including Australia, priced about $65,000 when the first of 50 cars arrive in September -- but it doesn't have a radio, air-conditioning, or back seats.
The lightweight Renault Megane RS275 -- which is 101kg lighter than the standard car, at 1280kg -- slashed 14 seconds off the company's previous Nurburgring lap record set in 2011 (with an RS265 that had back seats, a radio and air-conditioning) with a blistering time of 7 minutes and 54.36 seconds.
This makes the Renault equal to the Nissan GT-R's time from 2008 -- and just two seconds slower than a Lamborghini Gallardo tested the same year, and two seconds faster than a Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale tested in 2004.
The Renault is also five seconds quicker than the previous generation Corvette Z06, driven by the chief chassis tuner of the Corvette, Dave Hill. Most importantly, however, the Renault Megane RS275 Trophy-R is four seconds faster than the Seat Cupra which posted a time of 7 minutes and 58 seconds in March this year on the same Michelin Pilot Sport II tyres worn by the Renault Megane RS275 Trophy-R.
When Renault reset its record, conditions were far from perfect on the cool 5 degrees Celsius morning between 7am and 8am on the 15th May, 2014: as the video shows there were patchy sections of damp track. Renault had planned to complete three laps in its allocated hour of track time but, after one warm-up lap, it set the fastest time on the first "hot" lap and pulled into the pits immediately afterwards.
"We may have gone a little quicker given the (track) conditions but, to be honest, it was a pretty clean lap," said Laurent Hurgon, the RenaultSport driver who reclaimed the 2014 record after setting the 2011 time. "We can always go quicker, but also you can be worse. We were happy to bank this time," Hurgon told media at the unveiling of the new Renault Megane RS275 Trophy-R at the Nurburgring today.
When asked how much slower the car would have been if the back seats were installed, Hurgon estimated "about one to two seconds".
Renault went on a radical weight-saving campaign to set this record. The back seat weighs 20kg, the regular battery was replaced with a lithium-ion item (saving 16kg), the four 19-inch Speedline wheels save a combined total of 5kg, the polycarbonate front seats saved 22kg, lightweight brake discs saved 3kg, the removal of noise deadening material saved 18kg and ditching the radio and air-conditioning saved 10kg.
The coil springs in the front suspension were replaced by coils made of "composite fiberglass and epoxy" to save 1kg each. The company claims they are as strong if not stronger than steel springs. It's believed to be an industry first in a production car although Audi and BMW are poised to follow.
The exhaust is made from Titanium, also to save weight, and the front discs are slightly larger than before (up from 340mm in diameter to 350mm).
A metal support brace between the rear wheel arches which stiffens the body also acts as a bracket to lean spare tyres against in the boot. Cleverly, three spare wheels and tyres can be neatly stowed side by side, for those who want to do track days. Presumably the fourth goes on the floor where the back seat used to be.
Only 250 Renault Megane RS275 Trophy-R hot hatches will be made available worldwide but Australia is getting 50 (30 white and 20 black), the second-biggest foreign allocation after Japan, and ahead of Germany, the UK and Italy.
The price of the Megane RS275 Trophy-R is yet to be confirmed but Renault says it will be close to $65,000. Although European models lack air-conditioning and a radio, all cars coming to Australia will be equipped with the comfort and convenience features. Customers can delete them, however, as a factory order.
Options include racing seatbelt harnesses (only for use on race track), lightweight two-piece front brake discs, and spare tyre covers (also for weekend warriors).
Although much of the attention has focused on the rivalry between Renault and Seat (Volkswagen's Spanish "challenger" brand, big in Europe but no longer sold in Australia), the French car maker says it had been developing the Trophy-R for two years.
"It was no event for us," said Regis Fricotte, referring to the Seat lap time of 7:58 in March. "The fact that they did it, we had no change to our plans."
The world's most perilous race track is used by car makers as a test bed and has become the industry benchmark for performance. Located about 175km north-west of Frankfurt, the Nurburgring is known for its 74 corners over 21km of narrow mountain road.
Renault defended its decision to build a "stripped down" car for its lap record, rather than a vehicle loaded with such luxuries as air-conditioning and a radio. "We wanted to build a radical car to do the best we possibly could," said RenaultSport technical manager Thierry Landreau.
Renault says it also has no plans to better this record during the remainder of the model life of the current generation Megane RS, which is due to be replaced by an all-new model in two years.
Meanwhile, lovers of manual transmissions may be alarmed to learn Renault is considering ditching the stick-shift and switching to an automated dual clutch transmission for the next generation Megane RS, as it has done with the Clio RS.
"It is too early to say whether or not (the next generation Megane RS) will have a manual transmission, we are just starting a new project," said Landreau. When asked what his personal gearbox preference was, Landreau responded: "DCT of course."
Landreau said automated dual-clutch transmissions were heavier but were "the way of the future". "DCT is the trend now for sporty cars," he said. "It adds maybe 25 to 30kg to the car but you get quicker gear-changes and it broadens the appeal of the vehicle."
However, Renault may have broadened too much the appeal of the smaller Clio RS. Sales are up by about 20 per cent compared with the last model because of the automatic gearbox -- but the company says it is aware of feedback from hardcore enthusiast buyers who say the new model is too "soft".
"We know we can improve things on Clio 4 (RS)," said Fricotte. "We think we will have something to make them happy. We know that (enthusiast) customers are important to us and we have heard their feedback through the media, on the forums and directly (when) they contact us. We will change some things that need to be improved," he said, referring to the gearbox shift quality and suspension settings.
However, any changes will likely coincide with a mid-life update for the Clio RS which is at least two years away. "It is not a question of urgency," said Fricotte, who said the issues raised didn't warrant changes to be fast-tracked. "When we launched Clio 3 some enthusiasts said it wasn't as good as Clio 2. And then when the Clio 3 update came, everyone said it's better," said Fricotte.Watch the complete lap as the Renault Megane RS 275 Trophy-R sets a new record at the Nurburgring.


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Customers with unused House of Fraser gift cards are still waiting on refunds after the department store chain stopped accepting gift card purchases in stores, it has been reported.
Berwin & Berwin, a men’s tailoring supplier that is part of Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group, has entered into a consultation period with a number of employees at its Leeds site, after it failed to reach an agreement with House of Fraser’s new owner Sports Direct over future trading terms.
House of Fraser is to axe its remaining house brands as it reshapes its strategy under new owner Sports Direct, Drapers understands.
Sports Direct confirmed it does not intend to make an offer to acquire Debenhams, after a director admitted yesterday that merging it with House of Fraser had been discussed at board level.
The UK department store sector remained in turmoil this week, as question marks hung over the future of anchor stores in many shopping centres and high streets.
Accountancy firm KPMG has accrued losses of £277,533 after being paid just less than half the fees it was owed by House of Fraser for work on its company voluntary arrangement (CVA).
The House of Fraser website could be set to reopen next week after a deal was struck with its warehouse operator.
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct is understood to have offered loans to some suppliers that are struggling to cope with unpaid debts from the collapse of House of Fraser.
House of Fraser supplier Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group (EWM) is pulling all its stock, including own-brand House of Fraser ranges it manufactures, out of the department stores after negotiations with its owner, Sports Direct, collapsed, Drapers can reveal.
A war of words has erupted this week over House of Fraser’s collapse into administration and the subsequent treatment of its suppliers.
Philip Day’s Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group (EWM) has temporarily closed its House of Fraser concessions, including Berwin & Berwin, Jaeger, Jane Norman and Calvetron Brands while discussions continue, Drapers can reveal.
Mike Ashley has called for House of Fraser’s former directors to face an Insolvency Service inquiry, claiming they “misled” suppliers and warehouse operators.
Landlords and property experts have hit back at Mike Ashley’s claims that “greedy landlords” will scupper his plans to save House of Fraser stores.
House of Fraser’s distribution centres in Wellingborough and Milton Keynes have closed again shortly after reopening, Drapers understands.
Challenging times require strong leadership. Nowhere is this more true than on the UK high street, where fashion bosses are battling a sluggish economy and shaky consumer confidence in an ever-changing retail industry


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The site announced the Brandz from the analysis of the annual biggest brands in the world, there is good news and bad news for Apple.
The good side, miss Apple, on Google, on the bad side, you know both of you for the loss of the fore-front of Amazon.
I know of
Saw the rankings last year, the presence of Google ranked first, followed by Apple and then Amazon, but this year changed course.
I think the site in the classified on various metrics for the brand based on interviews with more than 3 million consumers on thousands of brands, with the performance analysis of each company’s business and financial performance.
Said Doreen Wang, head of BrandZ, the leap Amazon returns to selling a variety of services. Adding to the growth of the value of the brand huge buy Amazon, which reached $ 108 million in the past year.


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MHD catches up with Tony D’Addona, General Manager, Workplace and Logistics at Stockland to find out why the leading property developer is well-placed to meet the increasing demand across eastern seaboard industrial property markets.
As e-commerce numbers soar, demand for industrial property that is well positioned close to major consumer markets continues to dominate the property space.
A recent report by investment bank UBS described industrial property as a bright spot in the real estate market as supply chains adapt and logistics operators adjust to changing consumer behaviour.
According to Tony D’Addona, General Manager, Workplace and Logistics at Stockland the golden rule of real estate has always been about ‘location’ and industrial property is no different.
“Where a warehouse is positioned in relation to the market it services is of vital importance and e-commerce is putting a major focus on ensuring the supply chain operation focuses on proximity to population,” Tony says.
Since the nation was forced to make the shift to online shopping during early COVID-19 restrictions, largely due to the closure of bricks and mortar stores and a nationwide ‘stay home’ directive, e-commerce volumes have reached record highs.
However, Tony says this trend was well on its way before the pandemic hit. “Changing customer needs and expectations have been the driving force to the shift online. Technology, in particular mobile devices have become such an important part of our lives and a major enabler of shopper convenience. This in turn changes the entire way a supply chain operates. It becomes primarily about speed to customer and reliability,” he says.
In 2019, Australia Post predicted that 12 per cent of consumer spending would be conducted online by 2021 and reach 16-18 per cent by 2025. However, COVID-19 accelerated this shift and online hit 12 per cent of total retail as early as March 2020. Furthermore, it is anticipated that by the end of 2020 online spend will hold 15 per cent of the total retail market.
Stockland is a one of Australia’s leading diversified property developers. Its operations in the logistics and business property space encompassing a portfolio of more than 30 assets, worth around $3 billion primarily across the eastern seaboard. Some of its key tenants include QUBE Logistics, Toll, AWH and major retailers. “We own about 1.2 million sqm of warehouses and at the moment our occupancy is in the high 90s,” Tony says.
With expertise in the development, management and ownership of physical property, Stockland has invested in strategic locations to ensure that Australia’s logistics and retail organisations can service the rising demands of consumers.
“One of the biggest disruptors this industry has seen for a long time is the shift to online. Customer experience is at the forefront of retailers thinking and supply chain efficiency and fulfilment is going to be a major focus for 3PLs and retailers. Where the property is located will play a major role in the overall distribution process including last mile operations,” Tony says.
E-commerce has heightened the focus to be close to the population. “You need to be close to road, rail and ports but you also need to be close to your end user, whether that is a business or consumer,” Tony says.
With this in mind, Stockland has invested in core locations to ensure that there is industrial property available close to Australia’s largest urban populations. “Most of our assets are in middle ring suburbs or close to major distribution arteries in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. We have invested in close proximity to major existing population nodes and future growth corridors,” Tony says.
Stockland also benefits from being a major player in the retail property space. “Our broader Commercial portfolio also includes retail centres. We own more than 30 shopping centres around Australia, operating in this space not only provides us with important data and shifting consumer trends, but it also allows us to leverage our deep retailer relationships” Tony says.
Stockland works with major players on both their retail and warehousing needs. One such example is Australia’s largest home entertainment retailer, JB Hi-Fi.
“We recently completed a new industrial facility for JB Hi-Fi in Melbourne. We were able to work really efficiently with their team to secure this new premises because we already have a partnership with them through our retail network,” Tony explains.
With retailer and supply chain working closer than ever before, there may also be opportunities to work smarter around last mile logistics and the complicated and costly processes such as return logistics. With expertise across both retail and industrial property Stockland is in a unique position to support retailers through this transformation.
Furthermore, with transport being one of the most significant costs in the logistics puzzle, location is more important than ever.
“Rental costs are around five to ten per cent, but transport reaches around 40-45 per cent. The next evolution of distribution will be ensuring that the facility that services the end user is as close to them as possible. I think there will be some exciting and innovative ideas in this space in the coming years,” Tony says.
For Tony, e-commerce presents both challenges and opportunities as increased volumes and faster fulfilment times make a compelling case for technology and automation.
“There will be an acceleration in the use of technology and automation within the distribution and fulfilment process. This could be a major opportunity for the 3PLs to leverage their own scale and ability to invest in innovative solutions to service customers who don’t have this ability or appetite themselves,” he says.
As restrictions ease and we move into a new normal, Tony thinks much of this shift to online is here to stay. “People have become more comfortable with shopping online and been able to experience the benefits and convenience during a challenging time. The volumes may settle down a bit, but I think we will land well ahead of previous projections,” he says.
This is good news for the industrial property market both in Australia and worldwide as more logistics providers and retailers will be seeking to enhance their customer experience journey and as a result review their supply chain and fulfilment operations. “There is still a considerable amount of pending obsolescence in warehousing product in Australia that will not be able to cater to the demands of a modern supply chain operation, and this will create further development opportunities for us,” Tony says.
With increased demands comes a need for more reliable, well-located and modern warehouses and Stockland is well placed to service that demand.
“We have a $3.1 billion new supply pipeline of warehouse and business park opportunities that we will be rolling out across Australia’s major urban markets of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane over the coming years,” Tony concludes.


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The vehicle you own plays a major part in deciding how much you pay for car insurance and you might be surprised to see which vehicles have the best car insurance deals. Continue Reading...
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New costing structure to lower Zim tariffs
Published on 18th June 2012
The Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) has hinted that mobile operators might be forced to lower their tariffs, as the regulator is working on a new costing structure for the sector.
Current mobile tariffs average $0.24 cents per minute in cross network calls. POTRAZ has been under pressure from consumer representative groupings to force mobile companies to lower down their tariffs but recently said there was no need to lower them.
“We are working on a costing model that is acceptable to everyone, that is fair to the consumers and to operators. This implies changing our costing model, we have been using the Cositu model since 2000,” said POTRAZ director general, Charles Sibanda.
He explained that the Cositu model was “designed for fixed telephone(s)” adding that this has become “irrelevant” at a time when technology has constantly been developing.
Morris Muradzikwa, an expert in the telecommunications industry said the Cositu model calculates unit costs based on international and regional prices for phone calls. He added that it also factors in taxes to calculate interconnection rates.
“This is basically a top-down approach to costing and we need to move away from this and embrace new approaches and models,” he said.
Sibanda said POTRAZ now has to come up with a new and relevant costing structure that is able to grasp current technology dynamics. He said the tariffs charged by mobile companies should be satisfactory to both the operators and consumers.
International Telecommunications Union area representative for Southern Africa, John Mpapalika said a cost based tariff model will result in cheaper tariffs for consumers. Other analysts said this will lead to increased usage of mobile networks by consumers, which will “lead to increased profitability”.
“The current costing model that is being used in the country was selected arbitrarily without any methodology,” said Mpapalika.
Zimbabwe’s tele-density has now risen to about 75% according to POTRAZ statistics while the country’s total number of mobile subscribers has now surged to nine million.


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Stacy Starnes became CEO of DoubleStar in August 2017. (Photo: Laura Burgess Marketing)
Stacy Starnes likes to joke about her two-decade ascent to the top of DoubleStar, the Kentucky-based gun manufacturer her in-laws founded in 1977.
“I’m kind of the new kid on the block because I’ve only been here 23 years, so it’s kind of funny,” she said. “My husband has done it since he was 2-years-old.”
Starnes grew up the daughter of an entrepreneurial coal miner who she said instilled within her a passion for business and guns, though she never considered a career in the latter.
“I began shooting at five with my father,” she said. “I didn’t imagine being in the gun industry, but I knew I’d run a business one day.”
Then she met Jesse Starnes while studying accounting at the University of Kentucky in 1993. She began working part-time for his parent’s business — J&T Distributors — making AR-15 parts at the family home in Winchester, Kentucky.
“I worked on and off, before we got married, doing gun shows,” she said. “I came on full time in 2002 and did accounting, general management, things like that. We were really small then, so I did whatever needed to be done.”
J&T Distributors became DoubleStar in 2001 when it rolled out its own AR-15 model. Some 16 years later, the company’s 64,000 square foot warehouse manufactures modern sporting rifles, 1911 pistols and a catalog of parts and accessories — DoubleStar’s niche, says Starnes, who took over as chief executive officer in August.
“Parts and accessories are huge,” she said. “They are still selling, even in a slow market, because everybody has an AR and now you need something cool for it. I can sell you everything you need to finish it. I can sell you upgrades and accessories that are made in the USA. I don’t know anybody that really offers everything like we do.”
“I would say I’m the only female in the country that does what I do,” she said. “That would be because of all of the different aspects that I do with the law enforcement, the GSA , and I am sole owner. So I am actually in store, running the store, on a daily basis.”
Karen Allan Ballengee, owner and president of Southern Police Equipment, said she spent decades building her reputation as a premier “protection services” supplier. (Photo: Southern Police Equipment/Facebook)
Ballengee took over the business in 1988, after her husband of five years — the original owner since 1971 — died. In the three decades since, she’s doggedly pursued relationships within the law enforcement community to establish her brand as a premier supplier for “protection services.”
Customers will find everything from handguns to evidence collection supplies to top-of-the-line body armor at Ballengee’s store in Richmond, Virginia. She also supplies more than 5,000 items to the General Services Administration and contracts routinely with federal, state and local governments.
“As the wife, I actually started working from the day that I got in it,” she said. “I set up the store when I was 26-years-old and they were bringing in product and I didn’t even like guns then.”
Ballengee’s passion flourished after she joined the National Association of Police Equipment Distributors in 1982. Today she ranks as its longest serving board member, crediting honesty and dedication for her 29 years of success in a male-dominated field.
“We deal with all the ups and downs, of course, with the men in business,” she said. “It’s not easy to do what we do, there’s no question about that. It’s a little bit more difficult for us to just pick up the telephone and have a buddy-buddy system going.”
Maria Kernasovic, vice president of Eagle Imports — a New Jersey-based dealer that sells guns from around the world — agrees women face unique challenges when assimilating into the firearms industry.
Maria Kernasovic, vice president of Eagle Imports, said her experience climbing the company ladder has been unique. (Photo: Laura Burgess Marketing)
“I think a lot of the relationships, the really strong ones, are based on more than just working in the industry,” she said. “A lot of my male counterparts and a lot of the men in the industry, they live the industry. They shoot, they hunt, they fish. And there is this common ground that I think is tough for women who don’t really live the industry to integrate and assimilate. We are left out simply by the nature of the way the industry does business.”
“I don’t see it as only male-female,” she added. “There were other things at play that I came up against.”
Kernasovic first met the owners of Eagle Imports in the late 1980s while working as a public accountant in New Jersey. She didn’t grow up with guns or know anything about the industry, but didn’t hesitate when a part-time accounting job opened up at the company — a better fit for her life as a new mother.
“I got very lucky to work for folks who are very opened minded and progressive and offered a flexible schedule,” she said. “I was able to work from home when that wasn’t even a thing.”
Kernasovic said her role blossomed from part-time bookkeeping to managing purchasing and developing strategies for pricing and costs. She now serves as the company’s vice president and knows her journey isn’t typical.
“I started out at a time when women didn’t have a very strong role in business at all,” she said. “I remember being in high school and my peers were talking about whether they were going to be stay at home moms or have a career. Back then it was like you had to choose one or the other.”
“I was lucky, very lucky,” she added. “It was kind of right time, right place, right people.”
Kernasovic’s gender and inexperience with guns never felt like much of a barrier, she said, until she began attending trade shows and picking up on the cultural differences that exist in other parts of the country.
“The gun culture is just different here in New Jersey,” she said. “So I don’t think the owners looked at me as having to have those kinds of skills and relationships and hobbies. Whereas a lot of the other players, even here at Eagle, they do better out in the marketplace because they can form relationships and are interested in those kind of things. I don’t think it’s a negative or a positive, I think it’s just different kinds of people with different kinds of interests.”
She said women at shows early in her career were scarce. Demographics have improved since then, she said, though not in a dramatic way.
“We are evolving,” she said. “It’s not by leaps and bounds … Nowadays there’s a much larger percentage of women, but it’s still nowhere near half.”
Demographic data about the $13 billion gun industry remains hard to come by, though Fortune reports women grabbed their largest share yet — six percent — of leading roles at the top 500 most profitable companies in 2017.
The Defense industry proves more progressive still, with women at the helm of half of the largest firms in 2014, including Marillyn Hewson, chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin.
For Starnes, however, it wasn’t a matter of if — but when — she would takeover at DoubleStar. Now working alongside her husband — whom she describes as the company’s star product innovator — she said sexism across the industry still exists, but at diminishing levels.
“Women do run into gentlemen that feel like we are not as knowledgeable or as accomplished, but for the most part, I’ve found that most of them are very positive about it and think it’s cool,” she said. “You do run into it occasionally, but on the whole I’ve been lucky to not experience a lot of disdain or being dismissed for being a female.”
Ballengee said tenacity matters more than gender when it comes to climbing the career ladder.
“You have to continue to go after what you want,” she said. “If you don’t you’re never going to get there. I don’t care if you’re male or female. I have a tremendous passion for the business that keeps me standing out from the other people and I always have. I care about the people that work for me. I care about the people I do business with.”
The Ruger M77 Hawkeye bolt-action rifle is a robust and budget-friendly hunting companion that will last you a lifetime. From deer and elk to smaller game, this reliable gun offers performance even in harsh conditions.


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Throwback: 8 cool things we spotted at NAB Shows of the past
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The NAB Show is always a chance for the broadcast industry to show off the latest and greatest. For this “Throwback Thursday,” here’s a look back at some of the coolest things we spotted over the years at NAB.
It’s worth noting that, since some of these posts go back to 2009, some of the products and services mentioned have changed or morphed since then.
Also, some of these technologies have since become much more refined and mainstream, but this roundup is an interesting look back at what companies were doing cutting edge product development.
Beat the Traffic: Wii controller for traffic
The Weather Company: Max ecosystem
In 2016, The Weather Company showed off some of its newest 3D virtual and augmented reality technology for weather and traffic reports.
Vizrt: Customization election graphics system
In what would become a key product later in 2016, Vizrt introduced a new customizable election data system at the 2016 show.
Brainstorm: 24-foot screen for demos
Renderon: 3D graphics
Brainstorm: Infinity Set
Brainstorm: Brainstorm-Dragon system
In 2009, Brainstorm was showcasing a technology that imposed a 3D, interactive graphic over a specially-printed card. The cart would be moved around on camera in realtime.
This year’s NAB Show will feature many advances and releases, from drones to online production platforms. Make sure to follow our special coverage here.
NAB Show Central presented by Leyard
Explore the latest news, product updates and product reports from the 2017 NAB Show in our special section, brought to you by Leyard, the leader in display technology and fine-pitch LED.
Read More of Our Coverage →


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Microsoft has announced the India winners of the 2022 edition of Imagine Cup. The India winners, BlisCare from IIHMR University, Jaipur, and Synthesize. AI from GH Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur, will proceed directly to the world finals of Imagine Cup.
Imagine Cup is Microsoft’s global student technology competition designed to empower students to apply AI, ML and data analytics to solve some of the social and sustainability problems. The India edition saw over 100 team entries from students. The winners focused on using AI models to make synthetic data generation accessible to medical researchers (Synthesize.AI) and creating affordable digital classroom solutions for blind students and those with low vision (BlisCare). World champions will win $100,000, a Microsoft Azure grant and a mentorship opportunity with Satya Nadella.


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How Universa Blockchain Is Tokenizing the Islamic Enterprise and Governments
The Universa Blockchain offers a technological base for the Islamic market
There are 57 Islamic countries in the world where Islam is a state religion. It is approximately 1.9 billion Muslims of the world population: more than 230 million of Muslims live in Malaysia and Indonesia, 200 million in India.
According to Bloomberg, the Top National Ulema Council of Indonesia has reportedly noted that digital asset commodities must match Sharia principles and demonstrate clear benefits in business practice.
What are the real business cases of using blockchain technologies in countries with a Muslim population? Universa Blockchain highlights the tokenization's potential.
Blockchain to Governments: Commodity Tokenization
Al Khaleej Sugar, the world's biggest sugar refinery in the United Arab Emirates, pays attention to blockchain technology since it launched digital sugar trading platform DigitalSugar.
As warrants are tied to up to 1M tonnes of raw sugar, with the help of the Universa blockchain, traders can benefit from low exchange fees and decent yearly storage fees.
The launch of a blockchain-based commodity trading platform is in line with the wider goals of UAE Blockchain Strategy, which Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched in 2018.
On the report of Bloomberg, Universa Blockchain also signed a cooperation agreement with State Geological Holding RosGeo for the tokenization and application of modern blockchain technologies in geological exploration.
The blockchain technology would be applied to tokenization of the mineral resource base, transport, logistics, and smart geological exploration contracts in the Holding subsidiaries.
Alexander Borodich, serial Entrepreneur and Founder of Universa Blockchain stressed: "It is a great honor for our company to be a technology partner of Islamic Enterprises and Governments. We have more great intentions on this matter. Our platform provides high speed and reliability of tokenization, which is necessary for the implementation of blockchain technology at production facilities of this scale."
What about halal?
Halal food is that which adheres to Islamic law, as defined in the Koran. Food and drinks must be free of intoxicants, poisons, harmful ingredients, or unhygienic elements.
A blockchain project "Halal Digital Ecosystem' has been announced at the 12 th International Islamic Summit.
This solution decreases the spread of counterfeit products and makes consumers confident in the safety, quality, and authenticity of the products they purchase.
The project will help manufacturers to get Halal certificates, issue digital passports and bring their product to the market. All data is stored via Universa Blockchain secure and convenient for both farmers and buyers
The ecosystem includes digital certificates for halal, a blockchain passport with a QR code to verify food status and a trading platform.
Long story short, the Universa Blockchain offers a technological base for the Islamic market. UTN token covers everything from real estate and commodity tokenization to getting Digital Passport.


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Tech giant Samsung has reported its lowest quarterly profit in eight years this week an indicator to the weakened global economy to hit PC…
MTN is preparing to launch its low-cost (R999) Steppa Tablet into the South African market. These cut-price tablets are not in competition with the high end devices and are not trying to be, instead it offers the consumer more options. Steppa Tablet’s entry into the market at the low cost level is as important as the high end devices.
Steppa Tablet follows the sell-out of the Steppa 1, its inexpensive smartphone, which was launched earlier this year.
Steppa Tablet is bundled with 200MB data for 12 months. MTN says that the Steppa Tablet brings the internet to students and learners, entrepreneurs on the go and consumers looking for an affordable, high-performance alternative to a PC or laptop.
The Steppa Tablet features a 7″ 1024×600 pixel screen, Android 4.4 (Kit Kat) operating system and 3500mAh battery.
It has a 1.2GHz quad-core processor with 1GB RAM and 4GB internal storage. The tablet’s memory can be expanded by way of a microSD card slot. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor powers it.
When the battery does need recharging, Qualcomm Quick Charge 1.0 maximises the power delivered to the devices’ battery, charging up to 40% faster than devices without it.
The Steppa Tablet might be aimed at the lowest earner but it boasts an impressive array of built-in apps. Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, some games, YouTube and Google Maps are all included.
The Steppa Tablet is available at selected retail stores from end-November, for R999 on MTN’s prepaid price plans.


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LAST UPDATED : Feb 21, 2019, 03:58 PM IST
- Baleno-rival Tata 45X in India by end of 2019
Homegrown automobile manufacturer Tata Motors has confirmed the public debut of its upcoming premium hatchback, codenamed 45X, at the 2019 Geneva motor show. A rival to Maruti Suzuki Baleno, Hyundai i10 and Honda Jazz, the 45X is expected to hit Indian markets in November 2019.
- Fully electric 3-wheelers in India by mid-2019
Italian 2 and 3-wheeler maker Piaggio Vehicles aims to launch electric three-wheeler in India by the middle of this year, a company official said Wednesday. The company, which sells small commercial vehicles (less than one-tonne load) both in cargo and passenger segments, expects to upgrade most of its products to meet BS VI emission norms by the year-end.
- Volkswagen's Audi to cut 10% of management positions
Volkswagen's premium auto brand Audi plans to eliminate one layer of management or about 10 per cent of the division's executive positions in a cost cutting drive, the unit's chief executive told daily Handelsblatt. "One thing is clear, our cost base is too high," Audi CEO Bram Schot was quoted as saying.
- Tesla prepares to offer Model 3 leasing to boost demand
Elon Musk's Tesla Inc is preparing to launch its leasing products for Model 3 to boost demand, news website Electrek said on Tuesday, citing an email sent to employees. The email stated that employees will be able to lease a Model 3 within the next two weeks, Electrek reported citing sources familiar with the matter.
- Over 60,000 killed by overloading vehicles in last 3 years
On Feb 20, 2019, three of a family, returning home from a wedding, were crushed to death in their Audi A6 car when a speeding dumper truck overloaded with sand toppled over and fell on the vehicle, burying it under a pile of sand in Rohini, northwest Delhi.


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A U.S. trade judge has rejected Google's move to block the testimony of a Microsoft expert witness in the latter's 10-month dispute with Motorola over patents allegedly used by Android.
Analysts disagreed today over the impact Google's proposed $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility will have on the dynamics between Android and Apple's iOS.
Google yesterday asked the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) to block the testimony of a Microsoft expert witness in the latter's 10-month-old action against Motorola over patents allegedly used by Android.
A German court's ruling on Monday that bars distribution of Samsung's Android-based Galaxy Tab 10.1 in most of Europe shocked many. It also raises some long-term licensing worries for Android globally, some believe.
A patent lawsuit aimed at Apple could be the latest shot in the ongoing battle between that company and Google's Android mobile operating system, a patent expert said today.
In an escalation of Android patent battles, Microsoft said it urged Google's legal team to join Microsoft in buying up hundreds of Nortel patents, but Google refused.
Mozilla's plan to create a mobile operating system will probably face patent challenges, one expert said, while another called it "too little, too late."
An Arizona company sued Apple in federal court last week over the "iCloud" trademark, court documents show.
A former student at a suburban Philadelphia high school has sued his school district for allegedly spying on him and his family using a school-issued Mac laptop, according to court documents.
A federal judge yesterday tossed a $625.5 million patent infringement judgment against Apple, discarding a 2010 jury verdict that said the company violated patents in its iPhone, iPod, iPad and Mac OS X.
For the fist time, a federal appellate court has been asked to consider the appropriateness of the damages being sought by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) against individual copyright infringers.
A former Apple manager accused of accepting kickbacks from Asian iPhone and iPod accessory suppliers pleaded guilty Monday in a San Jose, Calif. federal court, and has been ordered to forfeit $2.3 million in money and property.
Music streaming service Rhapsody today blasted Apple's decision to take a 30 per cent cut of all in-app subscription and content revenues, saying that the move makes its iPhone business model unsustainable.
Microsoft yesterday accused a former manager of taking hundreds of megabytes of confidential company material when he left the firm for a new position at CRM rival Salesforce.com.
Microsoft last week killed an anti-piracy service that checked whether customers were running legal copies of Office, saying that the program had "served its purpose."
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GGG Evaluation Team
First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.
For work use, Microsoft Word and Excel programs pre-installed on the device are adequate for preparing short documents.
The Fujitsu LifeBook UH574 allowed for great mobility without being obnoxiously heavy or clunky. Its twelve hours of battery life did not disappoint.
The screen was particularly good. It is bright and visible from most angles, however heat is an issue, particularly around the Windows button on the front, and on the back where the battery housing is located.
My first impression after unboxing the Q702 is that it is a nice looking unit. Styling is somewhat minimalist but very effective. The tablet part, once detached, has a nice weight, and no buttons or switches are located in awkward or intrusive positions.
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Latest News on 6 Gb Smartphone By Xiaomi
Showing of 0 - 10 from 2 results
6 Gb Smartphone By Xiaomi - Total results - 2
Feb 19, 2019
Mi 9 to launch today in China: Here's all we know about Xiaomi's next flagshipThe Mi 9 is to be announced on 20 February, which is the same date as the Galaxy S10-series launch.
Jul 10, 2017
Xiaomi to launch a new smartphone with 6 GB RAM and 4000mAh battery in ChinaXiaomi is expected to launch a new smartphone with massive 6 GB RAM on 11 July in China.


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BRATTLEBORO, VT -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 05/17/2005 -- The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) does not regulate supplements under its National Organic Program (NOP) because most supplements by and large are not considered food. But one company hopes to change that view by being the first to create a formulation of multivitamins made with organic food ingredients.
New Chapter Inc. has re-launched its probiotic multivitamin line, which includes more than 20 different products, using the standards of the USDA's National Organic Program as a guideline.
"Most people would prefer to get their nutrients from food, and organic food if possible," says Tom Newmark, president of New Chapter and co-author of, "The Life Bridge: The Way to Longevity with Probiotic Nutrients." "So we've taken organic fruits and vegetables and fermented them with vitamins and minerals to bio-transform the nutrients into a whole food made with organic ingredients."
New Chapter is the first supplement company that has voluntarily had its multivitamin probiotics reviewed and approved to NOP standards by a USDA-accredited, third-party certifier.
"Last year, I issued a challenge to New Chapter to create a truly organic multivitamin," said Katherine DiMatteo, executive director of the Organic Trade Association. "The company proved to the supplement industry that it could indeed be done."
Newmark feels this will set a new criterion for the industry, and is optimistic that the USDA will eventually include supplements under the umbrella of the National Organic Program.
"Consumers want to be assured that they are purchasing products that are truly organic," says Newmark, "but regulation is sorely needed if we plan to expand the organic movement."
New Chapter Organics probiotic multivitamins will be available in health food stores nationwide starting in June. To find a store near you, go to http://www.newchapter.info.
About the Company:
New Chapter Inc. was founded by Paul Schulick more than 25 years ago with the mission to develop nutrients for consumers that retained the complexity and wholeness found in nature. It has become one of the fastest growing multivitamin brands in the industry. With a Costa Rican farm that is one of the world's models for organic sustainable farming in the rainforest, they produce products made of pure food and herbs without the use of chemical isolates or solvents.


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ALOR SETAR, Jan 26 — The Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (Maqis) foiled an attempt to bring in frozen chicken worth RM495,608 which failed to meet import permit requirements at the Bukit Kayu Hitam Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security Complex (ICQS) near here on Sunday.
Kedah Maqis director Lily Rosalind Paul said a routine inspection at 4pm on a container lorry found 5,161 boxes containing frozen chicken weighing 61,932 kg.
“This frozen chicken from Thailand did not comply with the import requirements and is believed to have come from an unrecognised slaughterhouse,” she said in a statement today.
Lily Rosalind said, on the same day, Maqis also confiscated mushroom seeds and sausage products worth RM854.
The lorry driver could not produce an import permit or documents for the goods, she said. — Bernama


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#Apple #iHypocracy #Cina #Foxconn #Suicide #Evil #Capitalism
Apple has banned a politically charged iPhone game that tackles human rights issues associated with mass-produced electronics.
Chinese Sweatshop Workers | Foxconn Suicides: Common Narratives But Uncertain Causes
Foxconn Suicides Eng Sub 2/3
Foxconn Suicides Eng Sub 3/3
Foxconn Suicides Eng Sub 1/3
Foxconn. Shenzhen,China. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/454/mr-daisey-and-the-apple-factory
In response to the recent string of Foxconn apparent suicides, an armless man in Shenzhen writes a motivational message with feet-calligraph...
Foxconn Suicide Nets


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If you attended a university, you likely took at least one class where you sat in a lecture hall with at least 50 other bedraggled, hungover students. In that case, you may be familiar with those handheld clickers distributed by professors to allow students to “click” their responses to questions they ask during class. Well, in the event you’re unfamiliar, Toronto-based startup Top Hat Monocle is taking ye olde clicker model and attempting to reinvent it for the mobile era – with some help from the cloud.
Essentially, the startup has built a classroom response solution that, by being both mobile and cloud-based, allows students to respond to questions regardless of the device they’re using, even if it’s a feature phone. In turn, by offering professors a range of tools to visualize student response data and create quizzes and interactive demos, the idea is to create a more engaging classroom experience.
Classroom response systems and modern clickers may not sound particularly exciting (and they’re not) but higher education is looking for its teacher and students OS (operating system) and there’s big potential in owning a share of the student/teacher interface. Top Hat has grown quickly since raising $8 million last July from Emergence Capital Partners, iNovia Capital, SoftTech and a few others.
In the last year, it’s gone from 20 to 70 employees, particularly beefing up its sales staff, using a direct sales force to “sell” to educators — that is, spinning the traditional SaaS education sales model, offering the product for free to professors, while charging students per semester. To help them do that, they’ve been successful in stealing a bunch of former Groupon-ers (as Owen Thomas originally reported), with the total now at about 15, including two executives.
Today, the company announced that it has added an additional $1.1 million to its coffers with a new follow-on investment courtesy of Felicis Ventures. Now in 285 schools, the company, says COO Andrew D’Souza, has been generating solid revenue and doesn’t need the money, but has wanted to work with the Palo Alto-based investment firm, which has made some great investments and has begun to turn to education, having added companies like MindSnacks, Piazza and Inkling to its portfolio.
Felicis Founder Aydin Senkut explains: “We discovered Top Hat around the time they closed their Series A. They liked our expertise and passion but didn’t need the money and we didn’t want to wait until the next round, especially when they were growing so quickly so we figured out a way to make it work.” Another way of saying that the terms were favorable for the startup, methinks.
The company also recently opened a sales office in Sydney and partnered with cloud-based learning software maker, Desire2Learn, as it looks to accelerate growth through integrations and by following the lead of other edtech startups and elbowing into international markets.
But content is king. The real key for the company is interactive content. Control the relationship between the teacher and student and you can have real influence (and can be a billion-dollar company), but to do that, the startup will have to be able to supplement the user experience (on both ends of the funnel) with kick-ass content from textbook publishers and digital media and other content providers. The more meaningful and interactive the presentation of the material becomes, the higher the engagement and the better the outcomes.
And that’s money in the bank.
[Disclosure: My significant other works at Top Hat, so please keep that in mind when reading my perspective, i.e. take it with a big ‘ol grain of salt, as always.]


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The 2013 Upfront season is over and, once again, Hispanic TV networks attracted hundreds of attendees to their respective presentations this week in Manhattan. Overall, 10 U.S. networks presented: Azteca America, Estrella TV, Univision, Discovery U.S. Hispanic, Telemundo, Fox Hispanic Media, Vme, ESPN Deportes, NUVOTV and Tr3s. [Cable nets CNN en Español and mun2 had presented earlier this year, as part of the cable upfronts.]
Unlike previous years, this week’s presentations were not purely about television; most highlighted the growing importance of mobile and digital among their U.S. Hispanic audiences. Here are some highlights:
Univision this year presented its programming slate as a “multiplatform portfolio offering one for all solutions” to marketers. Univision presented clients with opportunities in its online video platform UVideos, its recently launched music service Uforia and touted new digital content, including Flama, a digital destination with original video content for Hispanic millennials.
In addition to original productions and new partnerships for TV shows, Telemundo this week announced the upcoming launch of TelemundoMás, a video player for web and mobile devices. Earlier this month, the NBCU-owned network had also announced the creation of Fluency, a multiplatform studio in Los Angeles that will produce 90-minute programs for web, mobile and television.
ESPN Deportes on Wednesday unveiled ESPN Sync, the first Spanish-language web-based app that enhances sports consumption by offering a second-screen experience that the network says will be “synchronized” with live events. Accessible across multiple platforms, ESPN Sync will launch later this year and will be available on any platform, iOS, Android or Windows without the need to download any supporting software. It will consist of social media elements as well.
NUVOTV presented its upcoming lineup and announced the upcoming relaunch of its website www.mynuvotv.com and of an on-demand service that will allow viewers watch NUVOTV shows on the go.
FOX Deportes announced that it will continue to own the exclusive Spanish-language rights of the premium soccer tournaments, including UEFA Champions League, Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana. In addition to televising live those matches, Fox Deportes has added interactive approaches at foxdeportes.com and Fox Sports Mobile offers access via video-enabled wireless devices.