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E-commerce retailer takes 354,000 sq ft at M1 distribution hub
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Firethorn Trust’s first UK development, Northampton Cross, has been fully-leased by MH Star UK, which will occupy the 37-acre scheme from October 2021.
The e-commerce retailer has signed a 15-year tenancy on the two units, which span a total of 354,000 sq ft
MH Star UK, a specialist in home, outdoor, office, pet and children’s products sold by several in-house brands, has experienced rapid growth over the last year, accelerated by the consumer shift to e-commerce following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Arvind Panchmatia, general nanager at MH Star, said: “As more consumers adapt their spending habits and shift to e-commerce, it has been increasingly important for us to source high-quality warehousing solutions so that we can effectively respond to ever-increasing demand. Northampton Cross delivered on every aspect, from modern, flexible office spaces to renewable energy provisions and welfare facilities for employees.
“It has been a pleasure working with Firethorn Trust, and we are delighted to be leasing both units at the scheme. This new site will put us in a strong position to drive forward MH Star UK’s expansion as the business continues to grow and evolve.”
Chris Webb, partner at Firethorn Trust, added: “MH Star’s tenancy is an incredibly exciting milestone for Firethorn. Northampton Cross is the first UK development opportunity that we acquired, we are proud to have agreed such a significant lease within a year of bringing the scheme to market, and prior to its completion in October.
“This deal underpins Firethorn’s ongoing commitment to creating highly-specified, modern and adaptable industrial and logistics solutions in strategic locations across the UK, to help connect businesses, people and places.”
Knight Frank acted for MH Star, while Lambert Smith Hampton & DTRE acted for Firethorn Trust.


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A multi-media report featuring full length video of each WEF session
Africa Economic Update
A key component of WEF Africa was establishing where Africa’s macro-economy is headed. This topic was covered through a panel discussion exploring the comprehensive economic outlook for the continent. Panelists included Sola David-Borha, Chief Executive Africa Regions Standard Bank, Lesetja Kganyago, South African Reserve Bank Governor, Dr. Albert G. Zeufack, Chief Economist for Africa for the World Bank
In addition, Africa.com scored an exclusive interview with Sola David-Borha, Chief Executive Africa Regions Standard Bank, in which we explored how the Fourth Industrial Revolution is impacting economic growth on the continent.
Eradicating Violence Against Women
WEF Africa, which took place in Cape Town, was disrupted by major protests demanding that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa respond to the crisis of widespread violence against South African women. In the week leading up to WEF Africa, a University of Cape Town student was raped and murdered violently by a post office worker while trying to collect a parcel. The rate of sexual violence in South Africa is among the highest in the world.
WEF responded to the protests in real time by convening a special panel discussion on what can be done to address gender based violence.
Can Africa Deliver on the Promise of its Megaprojects?
This interactive session explored a key driver of international investment into Africa’s huge infrastructure projects: can Africa implement and deliver the promise of these megaprojects. Infrastructure megaprojects are crucial to Africa’s future livelihood. The challenge is that these projects can go off the rails in terms of budget or time or both, which can be devastating and risk non-delivery of the service that was promised by the project. Some of Africa’s infrastructure projects are among the largest in the world. Extraordinary management talent, combined with close cooperation between public and private sector is required to complete these projects.
The discussion featured, among others, Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of Zimbabwe.
African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA)
While the rest of the world is moving towards protectionist policies, 27 countries in Africa have ratified the Agreement, giving the African Union the mandate to implement the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. The AfCFTA will unlock the economic potential of Africa’s 1 billion people and its GDP 3.4 trillion USD economy in what will be one of the largest economic blocks in the world.
The AfCFTA will deliver the free movement of business people, elimination of tariffs on 90% of goods, and the creation of a customs union to streamline trade.
This panel explores the prospects for the AfCFTA as well as who will be the winners and who will be the losers when it is implemented.
Africa’s E-Commerce: Retail Revolution
Consumer demand for e-commerce in Africa is strong as Africa figures out how to tailor the Western model to address uniquely African challenges. E-Commerce can generate significant economic development, including one projection that over the next six years, it can create 3 million new jobs in Africa. In order to achieve these goals, Africa must address core foundational challenges to e-commerce such as physical infrastructure for the delivery of goods and recruiting trained workers with digital skills.
This panel discussion includes a founder of a South African e-commerce start up, a manager from China’s highly successful global e-commerce player Alibaba, Sweden’s minister of trade, and a leader of a multinational corporation adapting to the e-commerce revolution.
Delivering the Promise of Africa’s Youth
The statistics about Africa’s youth are well known. Depending on the source, the numbers are generally something like 50% of the continent’s population is under age 30, and in need of education, employment, infrastructure, without which instability is sure to follow. In this discussion, the panelists aimed to move beyond the numbers and to identify solutions.
Obiageli Ezekwesili delivered a passionate talk on what needs to be done now to address Africa’s youth.

domain: news


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New stores boost first-half earnings at Cavalli
MILAN, Sept 5
MILAN, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Italian fashion house Roberto Cavalli reported a 20 percent rise in first-half core earnings, boosted by new outlets and rising royalties, it said on Thursday.
The group, headed by the Florentine designer whose collections feature animal prints and leather-fringed jeans, said it made earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation of 8.7 million euros ($11.5 million).
Consolidated net sales rose 7 percent to 97 million euros, helped by the opening of 36 new sales outlets since June 2012.
Income from royalties rose 28 percent partly thanks to the relaunch of the younger-focused "Just Cavalli" line through an agreement with Diesel founder Renzo Rosso, a perfume deal with beauty firm Coty and new licences for its homeware line.
Cavalli, which is seen as a potential takeover target among Italy's crop of fashion brands, said it plans to open 22 new shops in the second half, including a flagship store in New York for the Just Cavalli line.
The brand, which has been worn by singer and actress Jennifer Lopez, will open a Cavalli Club in Miami in November, adding to its existing nightclubs in Milan and Dubai. The Dubai venue is marketed as "the distillation of all things fabulous".
- Obama and Castro shake hands, Zuma humiliated at Mandela memorial |
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- Reporter can keep sources secret in Colorado theater shooting: court
- Thai PM urges protesters to take part in election |
- U.S. regulators seek to curb Wall St. trades with Volcker rule


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How a bakery’s pandemic response drove its longer-term evolution
When Edinburgh’s restaurants and cafes closed in spring 2020, as lockdown was imposed, the danger was that Company Bakery would close too. Launched by five food industry professionals to provide a wholesale service to their own outlets in 2017, the company seemed to have no future.
With a baby on the way and determined not to let a good crisis go to waste, co-founder and one of five directors Ben Reade began to think about where else the bakery could sell its sourdough baguettes, rye breads, sandwich loaves and other products.
“When lockdown happened, our business-to-business model was thrown up into the air,” he remembered. “But, luckily, we’re a small, agile company and so we immediately began to think about how we could adapt, and home deliveries seemed the obvious way forward. We were up and running with our service by mid-April.”
What began as a short-term measure in response to an unexpected turn of events has now become a longer strategy that is paying off handsomely. Over the last year, the Company Bakery has evolved to offer two distinct services – one for its wholesale customers and another for consumers looking for home deliveries. In recent years subscription services have been successful in sectors ranging from toiletries to flowers and now Reade and his team have also begun to offer their retail customers an option for regular deliveries.
Social media was a key advertising tool and part of the company’s longer-term evolution has been to use it more to talk to its new customers. “We discovered that there was a real demand for freshly-made bread delivered on a weekly basis to residents of Edinburgh and people liked the fact that we’re a local company,” said Ben.
A major challenge has been logistics. As a wholesale bakery producing fresh loaves for some of Edinburgh’s top restaurants and cafes, deliveries were relatively simple with three drivers travelling to the same addresses daily to drop of large, high value orders. However, as the home delivery demand has expanded, the company is now making around 4,000 stops per month, approximately 142 per day. “Instead of driving about 600km a day to make deliveries to restaurants and cafes, we’re now doing around 1,500km every day. We’re delivering to around 400 customers a week at the moment, and we expect that to grow significantly over the coming months and years.”
To meet the challenge of its changing delivery needs and to ensure that this vital element of its business is efficient and cost effective, the company has invested in new technology. This includes the use of a route planner provided by a company called Circuit to plan the deliveries to homes and businesses. “We might deliver to 130 customers in the city and further afield on a given day, many of them with tight time-sensitivity, so organising our drivers efficiently is paramount,” explained Ben.
The technological innovation doesn’t stop there. As part of the company’s mid- to longer-term business strategy it is launching a new website that will improve the appeal and the offering to its growing home delivery market.
Now that shops, cafes and restaurants have reopened the company’s wholesale arm is back up and running. However, Company Bakery sees home delivery as a key part of its longer-term strategy. “Over the next few months, we’re expanding our delivery area to cover the whole of Edinburgh,” he added. “We’re also increasing our offering and we’ll be delivering items such as butter, milk, eggs and coffee.”
Demand remains high for both services with home delivery customers still choosing the convenience of a freshly baked loaf of bread being dropped off on the doorstep. Over the longer term, Company Bakery’s dual approach will see the balance of home delivery and business-to-business change with the former expanding from about ten per cent of volumes.
Developing new routes to market, as well as adding new products and services, are an essential for SMEs to respond not just to immediate changes brought about by the pandemic and lockdown but to provide a strategy for growth in the longer term. Ensuring that these short-term changes complement rather than conflict with more strategic growth plans is essential.
Adapting quickly has been key to the company’s success, according to Ben. On the other hand, having a longer-term strategy and taking a big picture approach as well as responding to sudden changes in circumstances, is equally important, he believes.
While the pandemic has inflicted considerable damage on the hospitality industry Company Bakery shows how reacting to events in the short term has led to an evolution of its strategy that is opening up new markets, offering new prospects for growth in the mid and longer term.
business size: 10-49 People
business type: Food manufacturing


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Online bookmaker sportsbet.com.au has rubber-stamped Janelle Hopkins as the leading contender to replace Ahmed Fahour as CEO of Australia Post.
· Sportsbet opens market on Ahmed Fahour’s replacement
· Janelle Hopkins $4.00 to become next Australia Post CEO
The current CFO, Hopkins is the $4.00 favourite ahead of Parcel and ecommerce Manager Bob Black at $5.00, while Business Services executive Laz Cotsios is third in the betting at $6.00.
Others in the frame include Chris Blake ($7.50) and Paul Koppelman ($11).
Medibank CEO Craig Drummond is a $16 prospect.
“Given the impressive first half profit jump announced at Australia Post, you’d think the current CFO Janelle Hopkins would be rather popular with the board at present so she’s been installed as the favourite for Mr Fahour’s position,” said sportsbet.com.au’s Christian Jantzen.
Market courtesy of sportsbet.com.au
Next Aus Post CEO
$4.00 Janelle Hopkins (CFO aus post)
$5.00 Bob Black (Parcel and ecommerce Manager)
$6.00 Laz Cotsios (business services exec)
$7.50 Chris Blake (Group services exec)
$11 Paul Koppelman (ex-CFO Medibank)
$16 Craig Drummond (CEO Medibank)
$16 Michael Harich (Director DB)
$16 Anna Green (BCG director sydney)
$16 Katrina Bradley (Partner Bain)
$16 Fran Thorn (Public sector manager Deloitte)
$16 David Boyd (Manager consumer business, Deloitte)
$16 Paul Foxlee (Infrastructure leader KPMG)
$21 Trent Duvall (Consumer product leader KPMG)
$21 Lucille Halloran (Public service Partner EY)
$21 Ron Koehler (CEO DB aus)
$21 Mark Rogers (CFO Medibank)
$21 Michael Carrasco (BCG CEO Canberra)
$26 David Dyer (Mckinsey partner)
$26 Peter Bass (Letters and mail exec)
$26 Gail Kelly
$51 Jamie Briggs
$101 Tony Abbott
$101 Kevin Rudd


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Commerce Dept. Delays TikTok Ban as App Remains in Legal Limbo
TikTok will remain available and in business in the US for now, as the Commerce Department finally announced today that it will not enforce the order — that was set to go into effect today — which would have effectively shut down the app in the US. The new deadline from the Commerce Department is November 27th. In delaying enforcement, the Commerce Dept. is honoring a preliminary injunction issued by a Philadelphia judge. In August, the Trump administration announced plans to ban the Chinese app. TikTok has since been scrambling to arrange a new legal and corporate structure for TikTok in the US that would involve more US-based control and ownership. A potential deal involving Walmart and Oracle has been floated, but TikTok complained earlier this week that the Trump administration has ceased communicating with the company on whether and how to proceed with the deal.
Sep 9, 2021
Facebook and Ray-Ban have collaborated to create Ray-Ban Stories, "smart" glasses similar to the Spectacles 3 from Snap. Ray-Ban Stories feature dual 5-megapixel cameras that capture photos with depth as well as videos up to 30 seconds.
Sep 21, 2020
Popular Chinese-owned apps WeChat and TikTok narrowly avoided a US government ban on new downloads Sunday night. On Friday, President Trump directed the US Department of Commerce to issue a ban on US companies (including Apple and Google) facilitating downloads of — or updates to — the WeChat and TikTok apps specifically, citing national security concerns.
Jun 9, 2021
President Biden today revoked executive orders from the previous administration targeting Chinese-owned TikTok and WeChat. The old executive orders would have effectively banned the apps in the US as long as they remained under control by Chinese companies.
May 20, 2021
The FCC today formally proposed moving up the deadline for smaller companies to implement STIR/SHAKEN technology by one year. This technology makes number spoofing difficult, allowing law enforcement and voice service providers to identify and block bad actors.
Dec 14, 2018
Apple plans to issue a software patch to its iPhones to appease Qualcomm and Chinese authorities. Earlier this week, a Chinese court found Apple to be in violation of two Qualcomm patents pertaining to resizing pictures and managing apps with a touch screen.


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Thinking of its users that can’t make it to their local holiday market in person this year, Snapchat will enable them, starting on Black Friday (November 26), access to an AR holiday market featuring immersive experiences from six big brands.
Snap e-commerce data shows that 72% of Snapchat users plan to do shopping this Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which marks the beginning of the final shopping push of the year, with 79% of them showing interest in using AR to try on or visualize products they’ll buy.
According to another study Snap conducted with Deloitte, Snapchatters shop online 20% more than other consumers with 2 in 3 Snapchatters planning to spend as much or more in 2021 as last year.
The initiative aims to present Snap’s evolving and significantly appealing eCommerce tools to businesses seeking to reach younger consumers while aligning themselves with the digital shopping engagement latest trends.
Next Level Shopping Experience
People would be able to browse products and snag holiday deals on the Snap Holiday Market offered by Coca-Cola, Hollister, Prime Video, Under Armour, Verizon, and Walmart – each having custom AR spaces on the app – accessing via the Lens Carousel and the “For You” tab in Lens Explorer.
The integrations will provide the users with dedicated product showcases – such as interactive and Try-On elements – along with up front branding for each brand.
Shapchat holiday market will allow its users to enjoy different experiences depending on the brands’ offerings such as taking a photo with Santa at the mall, virtually recreated in Coca-Cola’s AR room or to explore Hollister’s winter collection in a custom virtual retail space and make a purchase later on a microsite linked to its AR room.
They can also purchase activewear for the winter sports season under Armour’s ice-covered AR stadium or hunt for holiday deals in Verizon’s AR treasure and make purchases directly through the lens.
In addition to the holiday market, fashion and beauty brands including American Eagle, Fendi, Dior, Kaja Beauty, NYX Cosmetics, Shein, and Tory Burch, which have partnered with Snap on AR try-on and eCommerce lenses for the holiday shopping season, will be running AR shopping Lenses.
Luke Kallis, VP of US advertiser solutions at Snap, said in a statement that the holiday shopping season has always been a critical time for brands to engage with consumers and Snapchat has offered them the most personal, immersive, and effective way to do so with its augmented reality platform.
Expanding AR Capabilities
The AR shopping stunt comes at a time when Snap reported new record usage of its AR lenses- over 6 billion plays daily, up from the recent average of about 200 million users engaging daily.
In order to help Snapchatters discover the lenses, Snap will also run ads between Thanksgiving and New Year.
The immersive experiences of the Snap Holiday Market will be followed by Snapchat’s new out-of-home marketing campaign as a further push for the season, inviting NYC Snapchatters to “Scan to Shop” on Snapchat, which will activate these new AR Lens experiences via various Snapcodes.
The campaign will launch on December 6.
The tech company launched in October its brand studio Arcadia aimed at helping brands use AR on and off Snapchat after partnering with WPP earlier this year to help brands build AR-based experiences focused on e-commerce.


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Motorola is preparing to take one of the newest members of its Droid Razr family to the U.K. Sept. 18, though it'll be slightly different than the version unveiled earlier Wednesday.
According to Pocket-lint, which spoke with Motorola, the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor-packing Razr M will re-debut in London sans Snapdragon and under a new name.
Motorola and Intel announced the event last week, promising to unveil an Android phone with an Intel chip inside.
Not much else will change between what we saw Wednesday and what's coming to Victoria House in a few weeks.
In speaking with Pocket-lint, Motorola reportedly said, "The form factor will stay the same."
The Sept. 18 event's hashtag, "#motoedge," implied we'd see a big display when Motorola lifted the lid on its announcement.
The M's got a 4.3-inch screen that's 40 percent larger than the iPhone 4S (according to Motorola), so its specs and Moto's hints appear to go hand in hand.
Currently running Ice Cream Sandwich, Motorola promised a Jelly Bean update is coming later this year for the M, Razr HD and Razr Maxx HD.
For a full round up on Motorola's Wednesday announcements, check out TechRadar's "What you need to know" page.
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Alexandria Cupcake owner Adnan Hamidi likes to wash his hands so much that he just bought a natural soap company.
Hamidi’s got big plans for his Scentual Soap Co. and envisions eventually opening a brick and mortar location in Old Town.
“Most soaps leave you dry, and they have a lot of synthetic ingredients in them, including perfumes,” Hamidi told ALXnow. “I am seriously considering looking at a brick and mortar (in Old Town) where we will move a lot of the production in there.”
Hamidi bought Scentual Soap Co. last month, and the products are based on recipes that he developed with the company’s founder. Next month, he will roll out with a few new products, like bath balms, natural lotions and a men’s shaving kit. He will also be shopping the soap around to sell at other area businesses.
“Making soap is almost like making a cupcake,” Hamidi said. “The simpler you keep it, the better. Our soaps will never dry your hands out. They’re made with essential oils and lye, which is a natural byproduct that needs to be used to kill bacteria and break down viruses.”
Photo via Scentual Soap Company/Facebook


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Comcast is further expanding its Internet data caps to new markets in 5 Southern states.
Google founder Larry Page is hoping his newly created company called Alphabet becomes synonymous with innovation.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended his company's contentious efforts to expand Internet access in the developing world during his second visit to India this year.
Leading Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is aiming for a future as an Internet company with the potential to cross swords with titans such as Alibaba.
The legal blow in Europe that removed "Safe Harbor" protection of cross-border data transfers from US tech firms on Tuesday has thrust them into rough water.
Yahoo notified US regulators that it is proceeding with plans to spin off its multi-billion-dollar stake in Alibaba despite the unanswered question of what the tax bill could be.
A crucial deal for Yahoo has hit a snag, with the IRS declining to issue a private ruling that would have confirmed the Internet company can spin off its stake in China's Alibaba Group tax free.
Hundreds of new Internet address suffixes that are alternatives to ".com" have been coming on the market since early 2014 and more are on the way. Companies and organizations are buying domains, or website addresses, with ...
Did the website address you just went to really end with ".vegas" instead of ".com"?
A coalition including civil liberties and human rights activists urged US lawmakers Tuesday to reject a bill that would require Internet companies to report signs of "terrorist activity" on their networks.


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Curve, the UK consumer fintech, is set to embark on a seven-figure crowdfunding campaign with Crowdcube this coming September.
The banking platform is capitalising on its series B success, offering eligible customers a chance to invest as little as £10 and own part of the startup.
The crowdfunding decision, which will operate on a first come first serve basis, follows continuing demand from consumers to open up an allocation of investment and allow individuals to become a key part of Curve’s onward success.
The business, which consolidates multiple cards and accounts into one smart card and app, is valued at a quarter of a billion dollars and has attracted 500,000 customers since joining the market in 2018. This customer base is projected to double by the end of the year, complementing the company’s recent expansion to 160 employees.
Curve is joining forces with Crowdcube to allow customers to invest at the same Series B valuation as renowned institutional investors such as Gauss Ventures, Creditease or Cathay Innovation.
The platform boasts a successful track record for fintech crowdfunding, having already supported a selection of the brightest UK businesses such as Monzon, Freetrade and Revolut.
Shacar Bialick, founder and CEO of Curve says: “Curve’s crowdfund campaign presents an exceptional opportunity for our eligible customers to invest in a product they love and a business that is growing at a phenomenal rate.
"Innovation at Curve is constant, and we will be rolling out a series of game changing benefits and functionalities, while continuing our growth into Europe in the months ahead”.


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Dead Rat Found Inside A Birthday Cake Of 96-Year-Old Man
By Christine Lazaro | February 25, 2014 3:50 PM EST
(Video Credit: YouTube/NewsyVideos)
After discovering a dead rat inside his cake, it turns out to be a very "unhappy birthday" for a 96-year-old man.
Family members of Joseph Vallenti, 96, recalled how they found a dead rat inside the cake of their birthday celebrator, Huffington Post wrote.
According to the Neil Gold, who is dating Vallenti's niece, they bought the old man's favorite cake right in time for the special occasion. The German Apple Ring Cake was purchased from the King Kullen grocery located in Commack, New York.
When Things Got Wrong
Something odd was noticed with the cake after tasting it. Vallenti claimed he suffered from diarrhea after eating it. It was when one of them noticed something protruding from the cake's confection, which turned out to be a rat's tail about 5 inches long.
The lawyer said the birthday guy may not have contracted food poisoning but it is still necessary to let the cake be tested, The Denver Channel wrote. He added he personally thinks the cake was tampered.
As for the grocery's take...
An official statement from the grocery was also released. It read as follows:
"Product has been removed from the bakery and the premises have undergone a thorough inspection. There are no known safety or rodent issues in this bakery."
Other Messy Food Scenarios
This is not the first time that such odd things were discovered in the most ordinary types of food. Here are some other instances from the previous years:
- A woman claimed to have found a bird's feather in her McNugget in March 2012.
- A bus driver almost choked to death after having found a coil in his two chicken breasts in January 2012.
- A grocery store employee pleaded guilty for being given a yogurt sample with semen.
- A woman from Louisiana charged Applebee for damages with her claim that she found a fingertip in her lunch salad.
To contact the editor, e-mail:
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Considering the Super Bowl has long been considered the biggest, broadest, most high-profile advertising opportunity for U.S. brands, marketers tend to cast a wide net with their commercials. Hence the onslaught of celebrity cameos. This year alone will feature Chance the Rapper, Lil Jon, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Christina Applegate, 2 Chainz, and more. But Avocados From Mexico is taking a different tack, instead employing a perfect storm of attention-seeking advertising: cute dogs, AI, social good, and of course, avocados.
While the brand’s ad has merely been teased, we know much more about it than just the dogs and Kristin Chenoweth. There’s also an entire site that promises to match you up with the best adoption dog fit for your personality and lifestyle. And it’s not just a general suggestion–the brand has teamed with both Adoptapet.com and IBM Watson to actually suggest a specific dog that’s up for adoption in your area.
Avocados From Mexico has created Match Dog Com, which asks users to log in using their Twitter handle. Watson’s Personality Insights platform then analyzes your entire tweet history to get a picture of your personality, lifestyle, habits, and preferences, then takes Adoptapet’s vast database of available dogs to find the right one for you.
Ivonne Kinser, head of digital marketing for Avocados From Mexico, says that since the brand doesn’t have the financial resources of its Super Bowl competition, it needs to depend on creativity to have an impact. “The competition is very tough,” says Kinser. “We’re competing with the world’s biggest brands with much bigger budgets than we have, so we have to be very creative in order to break through the clutter. We have to be unexpected. And having top technology associated with fresh produce is absolutely unexpected.”
Kinser says the brand’s goal for the Super Bowl is 4.3 billion social impressions. This may sound like a lot for little green fruit amid a crowd of chips, beer, and cars, but last year Avocados hit those numbers and, according to Salesforce, was both the most mentioned advertiser on social media for the 2018 Super Bowl and had the top hashtag in #Guacworld.
The key for Avocados From Mexico is balancing fun creative with technology that isn’t just for tech’s sake. “One thing is how cool the technology is, but if it’s not serious, if it doesn’t provide users with a real value, it’s not worth it,” Kinser says. “Because there are millions of games out there that will entertain people for a minute or two, but this is something that’s not only entertaining, but [also] offers real value.”


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Quaker Chemical Corp. (KWR)
News from The Business Journals
Mar 7, 2013, 6:35 am EST
Conshohocken, Pa.-based Quaker Chemical said its sales fell slightly to $172.9 million from $173.3 in the fourth quarter, but earnings per share rose ...
Jul 31, 2012, 7:22 am EDT
Conshohocken, Pa.-based Quaker Chemical Corp. (NYSE:KWR) said its sales rose 5 percent to $176.8 million and income rose 7 percent to $10.5 million in ...
Jun 15, 2012, 6:00 am EDT
Oct 26, 2011, 6:05 am EDT
Conshohocken-based Quaker Chemical Corp. reported a big increase in third quarter sales after the market closed Tuesday, and profits that were more th ...
Oct 4, 2011, 6:02 am EDT
Conshohocken-based Quaker Chemical said it bought G.W. Smith & Sons, Inc., a leading manufacturer and supplier of die cast lubricants in Dayton, O ...
Apr 27, 2011, 6:18 am EDT
Conshohocken-based Quaker Chemical is reporting a 25 percent increase in first-quarter revenue, to $160 million, and an 8 percent increase in earnings ...
Jan 3, 2011, 10:39 am EST
Quaker Chemical Corp. said Monday that it has bought specialty grease maker Summit Lubricants Inc. for $30 million.


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Chicago’s largest chicken express delivery company, Chifa Express, got a big financial infusion from Illinois’ Department of Transit (DOT).
Chifa Express said Wednesday that it received $2,500,000 from the state Department of Public Works to extend its fleet of CHI express vehicles and expand its distribution network.
The CHI brand will continue to be an integral part of the company’s brand and brand image, CEO Dan Sosnik said.
CHI is headquartered in New York City and has more than 50 stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.
It offers the most convenient, reliable and most efficient delivery service in the Chicago area, according to its website.
Chifa said it will continue operating as an independent company, and it will use the $2 million in funding to expand its service in Illinois.
It has about 500 employees and operates about 400 restaurants in the metro area.


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PayPoint is promising retailers 25% more commission on selected sim networks.
The new structure will come into effect from August, with retailers seeing the improved commission rates in their bank accounts from September.
The company said as sims cards ordered from PayPoint are free, they offer a huge potential for profit in participating stores. It added that it had paid more than £1m in sim commission to retailers in the year to March 30.
Lewis Alcraft, PayPoint commercial director, said: “I am delighted to announce a further increase to our sim commission rates. PayPoint has developed a strong relationship with all of the UKs most popular networks such as O2, EE, Vodafone and Three, as well as recently adding Giffgaff, which means that our retailers are able to offer great value to their customers and enhance their earning potential.”
PayPoint retailers can order sims directly from their terminal, via their field representative, by calling PayPoint’s sims advisors.


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Will we see warning labels on a can of Planters' Cocktail Peanuts?
"Labels Urged for Food That Can Choke"
May 24th, 2010
The New York Times
On a July afternoon in 2006, Patrick Hale microwaved a bag of popcorn for his two young children and sat down with them to watch television. When he got up to change the channel, he heard a strange noise behind him, and turned to see his 23-month-old daughter, Allison, turning purple and unable to breathe.
As a Marine, he was certified in CPR, but he could not dislodge the popcorn with blows to her back and finger swipes down her throat. He called 911, but it was too late: by the time Allison arrived at the hospital, her heart had stopped beating. An autopsy found that she had inhaled pieces of popcorn into her vocal cords, her bronchial tubes and a lung.
“Neither one of us knew that popcorn was unsafe,” said her mother, Christie Hale of Keller, Tex.
Now, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the nation’s leading pediatricians’ group, wants that to change. Saying that food should be subject to as much scrutiny as toys, it is calling on the Food and Drug Administration to require warning labels on foods that are known choking hazards, and to evaluate and monitor food for safety.
“You have a SuperBall that by government regulation has to carry warnings telling people it’s a risk to young children and you can’t market it to them, yet you can have the same identical shape and size gumball and there are no restrictions or requirements,” said Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, the lead author of the pediatricians’ policy statement on food hazards.
At the same time, the academy is urging manufacturers to redesign some of the most dangerous foods — especially the hot dog, a leading choking hazard. That call has been widely ridiculed on the Internet; many commenters said parents should modify the hot dog themselves — by cutting it. And Janet Riley, president of the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, said of a redesign, “It’s not going to happen.”
But the food designer Eugene D. Gagliardi Jr., who invented Steak-umms and popcorn chicken, has come up with a new hot dog that is soon to be marketed on the East Coast. It looks the same in the package, but has eight deep slits that open when cooked, causing it to break apart into small pieces when eaten.
The pediatricians’ group began studying the issue nine years ago, when 17 children around the world, including several in the United States, choked to death on a gelatinous candy that had to be sucked out of a plastic cup the size of a coffee creamer. The F.D.A. eventually banned its sale.
“That product should never have come out on the market,” Dr. Smith said. “Children had been dying in Canada, Japan and the U.S. for years, and we hadn’t picked up on it” — until reports of a cluster of deaths in Northern California.
There are no recent nationwide figures on food choking. In 2001, about 17,500 children 14 and younger were treated in emergency departments for choking, and 60 percent of the episodes were caused by food. In 2000, 160 children died from an obstruction of the respiratory tract.
Children under 4 are at the highest risk, not only because their airways are small (the back of a toddler’s throat narrows to the diameter of a straw) but also because of the way their eating abilities develop. Front teeth usually come in at 6 or 7 months — so babies can bite off a piece of food — but the first molars, which grind food down, do not arrive until about 15 months, and second molars around 26 months.
“Between the ages of 3 and 4, they’re developing their ability to chew adequately and prepare for swallowing,” said Dr. Nisha Kapadia, a pediatric resident at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.
When young children chew foods like peanuts, raw carrots and popcorn, some is ground down and some is not, and they tend to swallow unchewed bits of food that can block the airway or be inhaled into the bronchial tubes and lungs.
The pediatrics group says that while vigilance is important, parents cannot always prevent choking. “I see the parents when they bring their children into the E.R.,” Dr. Smith said. “Virtually every time they say, ‘I can’t believe this happened to my child — I was standing right there.’ ”
Some advocates say the government should put hazardous foods off limits to young children.
“The F.D.A. needs to set a uniform standard for cautionary information on food that should not be consumed by children under 5,” said Bruce Silverglade, legal director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group that lobbied unsuccessfully in 2003 for a bill to require the Food and Drug Administration to develop food labeling regulations.
In a statement, the agency said it was reviewing the pediatrics academy’s new policy and was considering steps to prevent further deaths, but it declined to elaborate.
Some food manufacturers have voluntarily put warning labels on packages. “Two-thirds of hot dogs already have labels,” said Ms. Riley, of the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council. But Mr. Silverglade said that was not enough.
“Even if up to two-thirds are labeled, it’s shameful that one-third are not,” he said.
Cautionary labeling, when it exists, is not always obvious to consumers. After her daughter died, Ms. Hale went to the supermarket and found that some brands of microwave popcorn had a small warning on the bottom of the box.
“What person reads the bottom of a box?” she asked.
The Hales, who both retired from the Marines after their daughter’s death, sued the popcorn manufacturer for wrongful death and settled out of court. (A confidentiality agreement prevents her from naming the manufacturer.)
In 2003, three years before Allison’s death, Mr. Silverglade’s group sent letters to nearly 100 manufacturers, including popcorn makers, urging them to use standardized clear labeling to caution against choking.
“We received about two responses, and even those companies hadn’t made any promises,” Mr. Silverglade said.
A conversation on the Web site CafeMom.com revealed a wide range of opinions about when a child can safely eat popcorn, with many mothers saying they allowed it for their 15- to 24-month-olds.
“He only eats it when I eat so I can make sure he doesn’t choke,” one mother wrote.
But being present will not necessarily prevent choking. “Although the A.A.P. does not give a specific age cutoff,” Dr. Smith said, “I believe it is prudent to wait until at least 4 to 5 years of age before introducing high-risk foods, including popcorn.”
Toys and other objects are also serious choking hazards, especially coins, balloons and balls. The pediatrics academy is also calling for tighter regulation of products sold on eBay and other online sites and in retail toy bins or vending machines, which are often poorly marked.
The group has also urged its members to do a better job of counseling parents on avoiding high-risk foods.
“Parents often think, ‘My child is mature enough to handle a grape or a hot dog,’ ” said Chrissy Cianflone, director of programs for the advocacy group Safe Kids USA. “Parents need to understand that there are physical and cognitive developmental limitations.”
She and others say keeping small objects and unsafe food out of a child’s mouth is the only way to prevent choking accidents, as Allison Hale’s parents can testify.
“Not a day goes by,” Ms. Hale said, “where my husband doesn’t feel like it’s his fault and he did something wrong.”
State [and Federal] governments becoming too much of a "nanny"?


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New Delhi: India’s leading farm products maker Escorts Ltd claims the startup of its new production plant in the joint undertaking with the Japanese corporation Kubota has been a bit delayed.
Beneath the sixty:40 joint undertaking the associates have agreed for mixed expense of all around Rs 300 crore in the facility, which is now slated to open up in Q3 of the monetary yr 2020-2021 because of to the coronavirus-relevant lockdown.
Unfold across 7 acres of land in Faridabad, the plant was initially envisioned to open up in June 2020 with an first capacity of fifty,000 tractors.
Our production plant in the JV with Kubota is delayed now because of to nationwide lockdown. It is very likely to commence business generation now by the starting of Q3 FY 21Bharat Madan, Team CFO & Corporate Head, Escorts Minimal
“Our production plant in the JV with Kubota is delayed now because of to nationwide lockdown. It is very likely to commence business generation now by the starting of Q3 FY 21,” Bharat Madan, Escorts Minimal – Team CFO & Corporate Head of the corporation explained in a recent analyst simply call. The motive of this JV is to manufacture large-conclusion utility tractors to cater to each the domestic and overseas current market.Escorts’ agri-machinery business enterprise, which contributes 77 % to the full revenue, observed marginal contraction in its current market share as domestic volume declined by eleven.nine % at 82,252 tractors from 93,323 tractors in the former fiscal. The firm’s current market share stood at eleven.6 % in FY twenty as when compared to eleven.eight % in the former fiscal yr.
“Commonly, Escorts registered a considerably large current market share in March and in Q4 relevant to the other months and quarters. Even so, the nationwide lockdown in March declared appropriate just before the peak season last yr adversely impacted our gross sales and current market share,” included Madan.
Very last 7 days, the corporation resumed generation of the tractors after virtually 6 months of shutdown
at all its plants at Faridabad, Haryana. Next authorization from the government authorities the plants are working on a one change basis with restricted manpower boundaries, knowledgeable Madan. “At current, the plants are working at twenty % of its regular one change capacity as the situation all around the provide chain remains dynamic,” he highlighted. Even so, the corporation expects to progressively ramp up generation to about fifty % – sixty % stage by middle of June.
“We are fortuitous to have sufficient pipeline stocks so as not to reduce any important retail gross sales until eventually the conclusion of June. By then, our generation, ideally, should also come shut to regular degrees,” included the CFO.
Examining the Q4 earnings on Friday, Madan more explained amid coronavirus pandemic the corporation is looking to expend underneath the initial prepared capex of Rs 250 crore for the yr. “If it was a regular yr, our initial strategy was to expend shut to Rs 250 crore capex this yr. We should be naturally underneath that, looking at this condition. Anywhere concerning Rs two hundred crores to Rs 250 crore will be the wild guess at this time,” he explained.
Going ahead, Escorts expects revival of the tractor field faster than a ton of other sectors on the again of pent-up need which has started out coming in from the lockdown period of time. To be guaranteed, the gross sales of virtually 70,000- 80,000 tractors got hampered at the field stage, just from the lockdown period of time, so much.
According to Madan, 40-fifty % of that bottled-up inventory need is previously knocking at the door in phrases of inquiries and potential customers.
“Due to a great rabi crop and a optimistic rural sentiment, we are looking at pent-up need coming again in our potent marketplaces. We assume that this pent-up need shall aid the field to submit some expansion in June to October 2020 period of time,” included Madan.


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Mas Selamat has done it
No, he has not blown up any air planes or buildings. But for just hiding in the unknown, Mas Selamat has created havoc to the lives of many on both sides of the causeway. The security forces, the lorry and bus drivers, the school children and the shopkeepers in Woodland, plus the suppliers of our food and vegetables across the causeway, are all suffering. Their businesses and livelihood are all hanging in the balance until Mas Selamat is caught. Then, with the delays and slowdown in goods vehicles coming through, the prices of basic items are also shooting up. Now who is paying for these and being badly affected by the higher prices? Practically every hardlanders. It is very costly, I must say.


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We are proud to announce that the Logitech® G Adaptive Gaming Kit, the Logitech® MX Master 3, and Blue® Yeti X were named CES 2020 Innovation Awards honorees.
Hosted by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the CES Innovation Awards are an annual competition honoring outstanding design and engineering in consumer electronics. The Logitech G Adaptive Gaming Kit was an honoree in the gaming category and the Logitech MX Master 3 and Blue Yeti X were both awarded as honorees in the Computer Peripherals & Accessories category.
This year at CES Logitech, Logitech G, Blue, and Streamlabs are working together to showcase the streaming revolution and the future of broadcasting at our booth. Throughout the event, a variety of well-known influencers and fan favorite streamers will be hosting live streams from the booth, bringing together an award winning suite of Logitech products to power their stream, including some of the products recognized in this year’s Innovation Awards.
All three honored products will be on display at the Innovation Awards Showcase at CES 2020 from Tuesday, Jan. 7 – Friday, Jan. 10 in Las Vegas. If you’re at the show this year, come check it out for yourself!


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SHANGHAI, Dec.18 (SMM)－The sudden price rise for non-oxygen #553 silicon last week took many buyers by surprise as the markethas been weak since late November.
Most participants thought the market would continue to be stable but they have since changed their mind. SMM believes there are several reasons as follows:
Increasing export orders
Most foreign buyers have placed quarterly orders for December to February delivery at the end of November. Transactions are likely to be stagnant in February due to Chinese NewYear therefore most quarterly orders would be within January. Some buyers overseas were also incentivised to come into the market due to rising Chinese domestic prices, leading to further buying activities.
Restocking in domestic market
Typically downstream buyers would restock ahead of the dry season in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces when supply is limited and the winter season in Xinjiang when transportation is plagued by snow. While the weather factor has become less significant over the past couple of years, long holidays such as Chinese New Year continue to be a major issue due to the disruption in logistics and business activities.
Decreasing domestic supply
More silicon plants in South China are likely to suspend their operations in December and January due to power supply and prices. This would mean limited supply and therefore support for silicon prices.
Overall, traders believed there is still room for non-oxygen #553 silicon prices to go up further in December and January. But such increase is unlikely to be major as social inventory level remained stable.
For news cooperation, please contact us by email: email@example.com or firstname.lastname@example.org.


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You’ll be hard pressed to find a profession that loves and appreciates a good deal more than teachers. So the idea of having an Amazon Prime discount exclusively for teachers is a big deal.
No, this isn’t yet a reality, and there’s nothing that says it’s on the horizon. But that hasn’t stopped Erica Powell from starting a petition on Change.org and getting more than 150,000 signatures from other teachers.
“Teachers use Amazon in many different ways,” Erica writes in her online plea. “It’s great to create wish lists to get out to parents, to order supplies and other things you need quickly without having to go out.”
Students get a discount, so why not teachers, too?
As Erica notes in her petition, Amazon already offers a discount to students, who receive about half off the newly increased fee of $119 a year.
“Amazon is a great company,” she writes. “Since they offer students (who are usually on a budget) a great discount, why not offer it to teachers who are also usually on a budget as well? Especially since the membership price comes out of our pockets and not the school’s.”
The petition’s many supporters agree. With teachers spending an average of $500 of their own money on supplies, it’s no wonder that this effort is being met with so much love and support. Here are some of the reasons teachers gave for signing the petition, hoping to catch the attention of Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos.
“I believe teachers who pay for their supplies out of pocket deserve a discount for educating our future,” writes Whitney Martignoni.
“I am a teacher who is always using Amazon Prime, mostly on my own dime!” writes Rita Hanson. “When I create a Donors Choose project, I also choose products through Amazon.”
“This teacher needs to save all the money she can!” writes Robin Fieler.
How to get involved
Erica’s Amazon petition is currently trying to get 200,000 signatures. To sign it, all you have to do is create a quick login and then enter your name to show your support.
Who knows? Perhaps someone will turn this teacher dream into a reality.
In the meantime, check out some of our favorite Amazon.com teacher perks that already exist!


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By David Jones
As the COVID-19 lockdown has forced major banking companies to transition from branch-based retail operations to mobile and drive thru, U.S. Bank has launched a service called the U.S. Bank Smart Assistant, marking the latest financial institution to incorporate AI-based voice commands into its mobile banking app.
The Minneapolis-based bank has made a number of changes to its mobile banking app due to the COVID-19 crisis, and the Smart Assistant uses natural language processing to give customers the ability to conduct a range of banking transactions and get account information by asking simple conversational questions.
Customers can use the mobile app to do anything from mobile check deposit to get information on mortgage forbearances and auto loan information. The Smart Assistant is helping customers conduct many routine transactions like bill payment, funds transfers, account information and spending transactions faster, frictionless and allowing customers to remain socially distant.
“We are balancing those immediate needs with developing capabilities that further help our customers,” Ankit Bhatt, senior vice president and chief digital officer for consumer at U.S. Bank, told Mobile Payments Today via email. “Our Smart Assistant has been under development for 18 months — with the goal of continuing pushing our customer experience forward so our customers can bank where and how they want.”
“Our studies with low vision and blind users provided insight into creating a simplified user interface that is clean and minimal, which provides the user experience for non-tech-savvy users and those with diminishing eyesight, like aging populations,” Carissa Merrill, senior experience architect at U.S. Bank, said via email. “For those staying home due to the pandemic, the Smart Assistant will be able to help take care of common tasks without going to the bank.”
Digital has become increasingly important at U.S. Bank, accounting for three-fourths of service transactions and 46% of loan sales.
Colin Whitmore, a senior analyst at Aite Group, said that traditional banks have been moving more and more of their retail business to mobile banking channels and the COVID-19 pandemic forced an acceleration of that trend.
“The use of accurate and intuitive AI-based voice assistants within mobile apps is an enabler,” he said, “It is one of many technologies that are bringing banking services to customers through their mobile devices.”
Whitmore said that concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic have made branch banking and cash handling an experience that consumers are increasingly trying to avoid. He expects that after the pandemic, many customers will continue using mobile apps for many routine transactions.
“For the FIs it not only reduces costs as they move away from expensive ‘bricks and mortar,’ but they are able to provide services through a channel their customers have adopted and embraced.”


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A delegation of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), led by the Patron-in-Chief Dr. Gohar Ejaz, and senior members Mr. Fawad Mukhtar and Mr. Anwaar Ghani, has left for Tanzania, for sourcing Cotton for Pakistan to fulfill future requirements of cotton in the wake of the destruction caused by the flood in the cotton-growing areas.
Pakistan has been hit by the worst floods in its history, affecting 33 million people and incurring an estimated cost of more than $10 billion of infrastructural damage. According to the latest reports, economic losses and damages caused by the flash floods could range from $15 billion to $20 billion, as the government fears up to 12 million more people will slip into poverty.
Read more: How can Pakistan avoid floods in the future
The floods have also affected the Cotton crop severely. The current estimates of Cotton losses are 3.5 million bales which are 36% of the crop that was expected this year and the loss is valued at US$1.5 billion.
Pertinent to mention that close to 70 percent of Pakistan’s textile industry, an important source of employment and foreign exchange, uses the cotton produced in the country. Since nearly 35 percent of that is produced in Sindh province by farmers, the sector is girding itself for a shortage
The flood has made it terribly difficult for the government to reduce its trade deficit targets because while the country needs to import food to “compensate” for lost crops, the textile sector finds itself struggling due to a potential shortage of cotton crops. Cotton prices in Pakistan have already surged sharply over the past few days.
Therefore, Pakistan has to arrange this Cotton at the lowest cost possible on an emergency basis for the sector to continue meeting the export orders. Any delay / non-delivery of export orders will further worsen our ‘Balance of Payments’ which is already under extreme pressure and the industry will lose hard-earned international clients.


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There are Cars and Coffee meets and show-and-shines. There are local auto shows and there are industry expeditions.
And then there’s the All-British Field Meet.
Located in the picturesque VanDusen Gardens right smack in the middle of Vancouver, the ABFM hosts vehicles from all walks of British manufacture.
What started 29 years ago as a meeting of local enthusiasts in the parking lot of Vancouver’s MCL Motor Cars has grown to host over 500 vehicles across 57 classes from as far away as California and Ontario.
“It’s not just (Vancouverites) that are talking about it, either,” says event organizer Joan Stewart. “We’re hearing from people and magazines in the UK, as well.”
In one section, you’ll encounter ancient Land Rovers that don’t look like they should run, but do, likely better than some much newer stuff. In another, three-wheeled Reliant Robins stand perched on all three wheels. Motorcycles with great names like Norton, Velocette (not French) and Triumph stand in solidarity in yet another.
There’s a practical side, too; vendors selling knock-off wheels, air intakes and more greet you as soon as you enter. And if fixing cars isn’t your thing, then vendors selling memorabilia, die-cast models –Matchbox; lots of Matchbox – and more make up the more whimsical side of the exhibitors.
While ABFM organizers will tell you that this isn’t really a car sales show or an auction, there is a car corral where classic Jaguar E-Types, MGs and even bikes are up for grabs. Deep pockets required? Perhaps. This year, however, there was a very clean looking ’69 E-Type going for under $30,000.
Each year, a brand – or brands – are celebrated; Sunbeam, Jensen and the aforementioned Velocette earned their spot in the limelight at ABFM 2014.
For Jensen, an exclamation point was made at the closing awards ceremony. There, an Interceptor III took home the “Long Distance Driver” award, given to the car that drove the furthest within a calendar week to attend the show.
It’s one of some 20 awards given out – some voted on by a judging panel, others by show entrants themselves – not including the awards for each of the 57 classes.
If I had my choice for car of the show? Well, a DeLorean DMC-12 signed by Michael J. Fox himself comes close, but I’d have to go with the 1982 Aston Martin Lagonda entered by Harjeet Kalsi, a software engineer in Vancouver.
Low, angular, space-aged and impossibly green, you’ll find a regular crowd gathering around Kalsi’s car throughout the day. “It was my favorite childhood car,” he says, an affliction that started after he first encountered one on a visit to Kuwait.
As far as his entering the ABFM goes, Kalsi says, “It’s the people and the stories they tell. And it’s about the stories you share, too.”
The ABFM happens every year on May’s Victoria Day long weekend. Doors open at 10 AM on Saturday, but show up early for a whiff of good ol’ British engineering as the cars roll in for the day.


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Logistics network key to unlocking eastern India’s mineral potential under PM Gatishakti
BHUBANESHWAR : The east zonal conference on PM-Gatishakti has emphasised on developing a cost effective and efficient logistics network across the mineral-rich eastern states to enable faster evacuation of key minerals such as coal, iron ore and bauxite.
The conference, which was held in Bhubaneswar on Thursday, laid stress on the urgency of creating a robust logistics supply chain network across mineral-rich Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bihar to keep pace with the requirement of raw materials in a bid to magnify India’s efforts to transform into a global manufacturing hub.
Addressing the gathering, Odisha Chief Secretary S C Mohapatra underlined the importance of logistics development and emphasised on establishing a cost effective logistics network across India, and in Odisha, which supplies coal to as many as 15 states.
Underscoring the criticality of logistics in the steel industry, Union Steel Secretary N N Sinha said that for producing 1 tonne of steel, four tonnes of material has to be moved. So, for producing 120 million tonnes (MT) steel, about 600 MT of material has to be moved across the country.
The total cost of logistics is around 28 per cent of the total cost of production in the steel sector. If the industry needs to cut down the cost of production, it has to decrease logistics cost, which is well envisioned in the PM Gatishakti scheme, he added.
Stating that India’s per capita steel consumption is 80 kg as against around 700 kg in the developed countries, Sinha pointed out that the requirement for logistics would increase significantly, even if India joins the middle ranking countries in terms of consumption.
Union Coal Ministry Additional Secretary M Nagaraju said the convergence approach which is embedded in the PM Gatishakti Program will enhance production capacity and employment opportunities besides reducing logistic cost and avoidance of waste in building infrastructure.
The conference was attended by senior officials of east zonal states and Ministries like Coal, DPIIT, Railways, Power, Steel, Fertilisers & Chemicals, MoRTH, Shipping Ports & Waterways along with industry representatives from eastern India.
Logistics costs in India as a percentage of GDP is around 14 per cent compared to ten per cent in China, and around 8 per cent in the US and Europe. Through the National Logistics Policy, the government wants to bring down costs to 8-9 per cent of GDP by 2030.


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5 MARCH 2012 – Spain's rental car industry is this summer going to feel the impact of the possible closure of one of its leading rental car suppliers, meaning less availability of cars for holidaymakers.
The warning comes from leading car hire comparison website Carrentals.co.uk, which says that the possible closure of a top company will have a negative impact on car availability in Spain for the summer. The company's going to the wall means that there may be as many as 18,000 fewer cars on offer to tourists - meaning increased prices as a result.
Gareth Robinson, Managing Director of Carrentals.co.uk, says: “The key to getting choice and availability - plus good value - is to book your rental well in advance of travelling."
“The shortage of available cars for rent can be negated somewhat by using our site to compare car hire deals in Spain from up to 50 providers. If the larger companies are out of stock for example, we can help people to find a car in their destination from a smaller supplier.”
Users can log on at present and find Spanish car hire deals like a week rental in Malaga from just £17* a day, £18* a day in Alicante, from £19* a day in Palma and from £21* a day in Ibiza.
Gareth goes continues: “Anyone who was planning to rent a car in Spain this summer might want to review their rental coupon and contact the supplier directly to check that everything is well with their booking.”
Carrentals.co.uk compares car hire deals from up to 50 rental companies, including Alamo, Budget, Holiday Autos and Sixt in over 15,000 locations worldwide.
To compare the latest car hire deals visit www.carrentals.co.uk.
*Prices based on a one week’s rental from 9 July 2012 and are subject to change.
Carrentals.co.uk is one of the UK’s leading car hire comparison website, and celebrated its 5th birthday as a comparator in February 2012. Last year, the company achieved record sales, despite the challenging economic climate.
Searching up to 50 different car hire suppliers, including Alamo, Budget, Hertz, Holiday Autos and Sixt, Carrentals.co.uk provides an impartial comparison of the best prices available in over 15,000 locations worldwide.
Customers can also book with Carrentals.co.uk through the Android and iPhone mobile apps launched in 2011 and also through the comparator’s Facebook page.
To book or for further information visit www.carrentals.co.uk
T: 01625 511966
F: 01625 511967
This press release was distributed by ResponseSource Press Release Wire on behalf of Asap Ventures in the following categories: Travel, for more information visit https://pressreleasewire.responsesource.com/about.


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Alfa Romeo 4C Spider Concept (Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)
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Whether it is streaming music and listening to audio books, or even ordering a pizza, apps are being loaded into vehicle dashboards as more cars become connected to the Internet.Drivers can use the Audible car app to download and listen to audio books in the car and the Kaliki car app reads news items."Consumers got used to apps on their smartphones, and now they're wondering why their cars can't have apps too," said Carl Howe, vice president of data sciences research at Boston-based Yankee Group, which focuses on mobile technology and connected devices.Some carmakers are launching their own app stores and technology companies are adapting commonly used apps for car dashboards that are safe to use while driving.
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Did you know that one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime? What better time to spread the news than during Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October! There are many ways to get involved to raise money for research and prevention of this deadly disease, and one easy way is to hit the stores. With so many stylish brands supporting the cause and so many great products to choose from, it won’t be hard to take part in Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October. Click through for 20 stylish ways to show your support!
The Daily Babble


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August 13, 2013
Google Glass to get its first MMO game based on swarm of ants
How do you make already cool Google Glass even more kick-ass? Give it games! It’s still some time before eyewear will hit the markets but developers tinkering with the explorers’ edition have already started to add some real sweet arsenal to it. Two developers from the US, Daniel Estrada who is a philosophy professor at Illinois State University and Jonathan Lawhead of Columbia University, are developing an Alternate-Reality-Game (ARG) for Google Glass. ARG games can be real fun and Ingress is a fine example for it. The duo has conceptualized the game on ants and their behavior in a swarm. The game will be Mass Multiplayer Online (MMO) and will have open source license.
Without having to carry the device in the hands for an ARG game, the Google Glass worn as an eyewear will track the users’ routes and color mark it on map cards. Like ants, Google Glass users from the same colony will have to tread the same path without physically communicating with each other to collect points. Crossing the tracks of rival colonies will set back the user with a day’s work. It will not track one single user and barge into privacy but track collectively marking a digital route. Sounds cool! Some news of other games like Space invaders being developed for Google Glass also came in today. The question is will Google Glass emerge as a leading gamers’ device? Only time will tell. Check out the video uploaded by the developer duo for Swarms’ fund raising pitch in which they explain the concept of the game.
[Via – Cnet]


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Wireless Networking Set To Transform Workplaces, Homes In Knowledge Era
Madanmohan Rao reports from the Wireless World Summit in Singapore
Along with the boom in mobile telephony around the world, a parallel wave of innovation in wireless corporate networking promises to usher in a new world of "untethered knowledge workers" and "flexible network organizations."
Delegates from around the world gathered in Singapore recently for the Wireless World 2002 summit, hosted by media and event group IDG (www.idg.net). Issues addressed ranged from protocol standardization and adaptive business strategy to security enhancement and market dynamics.
"Wireless networking can bring about increasing configuration flexibility, lower installation and maintenance costs, and improved workforce productivity. Wireless technology allows the network to extend to where mere wires cannot go," said Louis Leong, regional manager for Avaya Asia Pacific.
Wireless local area networks (WLANs) for "plug and connect" applications are rapidly emerging in the office, in homes, hotels, warehouses, hospitals, stock exchanges, and public "hot spots" like airport lounges, libraries, conference venues, and cybercafes.
"Business travelers, managers at multiple sites, students on campuses, salesforces on large shopfloors, and even families using multiple online devices at home are the target market for this burgeoning industry in business, home and public networks," said Leong.
Typical uses include "hot desking" for employees to work from any office location, inventory management via wireless handhelds in large warehouses, entry of patient record information right from hospital bedside devices, visitor management and authentication in government offices, exhibitor connectivity at trade shows, and setting up of standby offices and emergency relief centres during natural disasters.
63 per cent of WLAN users report that the technology improves the accuracy of their everyday tasks, and 87 per cent of users believe that it improves their quality of life, according to research cited by Terence Fleming, Asia Pacific director for wireless security services firm Bluesocket, but challenges arise in authentication, authorization and administration of such services.
By 2005 the worldwide WLAN equipment market is expected to approach US$4.6 billion, according to research firm Cahners In-Stat; this includes network interface cards, inter-building bridges, and industrial embedded applications for indoor and outdoor usage.
Gartner research projects that by 2005, 50 per cent of Fortune 1000 companies will have extensively deployed WLAN technology based on standards like IEEE 802.11. Laptops and handheld devices account for an increasingly growing proportion of computing units owned by U.S. organisations.
The current leader in the WLAN marketplace in the Asia-Pacific region is Japan (with a whopping 60.5 per cent market share, according to Frost & Sullivan), followed by Korea, Hong Kong, China, Australia and Singapore (together accounting for 33.0 per cent of the market).
In terms of mobile phone penetration, there will be about 300 million users in the Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) by the end of 2002, approaching 500 million in 2005. The number of Internet subscribers in 2005 will be about 40 million in China, 30 million in Korea and 20 million in India, according to Sandra Ng, vice president of communications research at IDC.
The fastest-growing WLAN verticals in the region are government and education, followed by healthcare, retail, banking, and manufacturing, said Ng.
The major vendors and systems integrators in the region include Agere, Enterasys, Linksys, D-Link, BlueSocket, Avaya, Aptilo, Agilent, Siemens, Compaq, RadioLAN, BreezeCOM, Proxim, Symbol, Melco, TDK, Cisco and 3Com.
A number of startups in this space have also sprung up in Singapore, such as ANTlabs, Tridor, RFnet Technologies, and Active Fusion. The WLAN market for Singapore is expected to increase from Sing$10 million in 2002 to Sing$20 million in 2004.
Major drivers for the WLAN market include the growing use of the Internet as the core platform for corporate communications and information storage, an increased reliance on email, growth of flexible working practices, increase in e-commerce services, and falling productivity levels due to increased 'gray time' spent traveling between locations, said Brian See, business development manager at Agere Systems.
Significant obstacles in this Brave New Wireless World include ensuring interoperability and migration between a bewildering array of standards, products and bandwidths, guaranteeing seamless roaming across multiple organisational sub-nets, and providing "future-proof" security (such as through IPSec-based VPNs).
Test equipment that can cut development time by reducing the amount of time required to identify problems and their cause is available today, said V. Ganesan, market development manager at Agilent Technologies.
2.4 Ghz WLAN technology is emerging, and 5 Ghz technologies are emerging (ideally suited for broadband information and entertainment appliances). The landscape includes Bluetooth, HomeRF, HiperLAN, and IEEE 802.11b (also known as Wi-Fi or wireless fidelity).
Intel and Microsoft have announced that their future wireless offerings will be based on Wi-Fi. More than 100 Asia-Pacific wireless developers have joined the Intel Personal Internet Client Architecture (PCA) Developers Network.
Bluetooth operates in the globally available unlicensed ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) radio frequency band of 2.4 Ghz, and is expected to be a significant player in the domain of personal area networks (PANs), though some analysts feel it is being overhyped and needs to go beyond the 'drool factor' stage.
In a competitive move, players from the Ethernet world have gathered under the WECA alliance (Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance), which offers Wi-Fi certification for vendor products.
Other collaborative organizations that have sprung up include the Wireless LAN Association (www.wlana.org) and the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) for standards development.
"Such standardization is key for making the wireless part of a network transparent to the rest of the network," said Jean-Francois Delapau, strategic marketing director at Alcatel Mobile Networks.
The requirement for seamless roaming has already led to the creation of consortia for international ISP interconnection (including WISPr or Wi-Fi ISP roaming), and GPRS Roaming Exchange (GRX hub).
Singapore's ISP StarHub has already launched mobile access services based on GPRS (with speeds of upto 115 Kbps). "We are supporting SMS, MMS (multimedia messaging service) and Java content, but the installed base of GPRS phones has yet to grow," said Sudhir Menon, senior manager of mobile Internet services at StarHub.
GPRS helps users get access to business-critical information anytime and anywhere (such as email and calendaring), use m-commerce services, and leverage other services on Web and WAP platforms, Menon said.
WAP over GPRS in fact overcomes some of the earlier problems facing WAP adoption, such as slow data speed, time-based charging, and lack of smooth connectivity. GPRS will be the preferred platform for MMS as well, for services like photomail and video advertising. Business data solutions based on GPRS include SMS alerts for email, tasks and appointments from the desktop, as well as wireless access to office applications.
Data users will soon have more than one SIM card for personal use across multiple devices, Menon predicted. GPRS PC cards will be available this quarter, and integrated WLAN/GPRS products will become available in the next two quarters.
"The challenge is to generate new revenues, keep costs down, manage the increasingly complex value chain, and juggle the priorities of the many related partners," he cautioned.
The value chain includes data networks (GSM, GPRS, UMTS), telecom/datacom infrastructure (SMSC, MMSC, WAP), security, horizontal applications (email, synchronization), vertical applications (fleet management, banking, sales support, trading), content aggregators, client operating systems (WAP, PalmOS, Java), and end-user devices.
Multiple networking infrastructures, access devices and user applications will co-exist, and wireless technologies and services will complement 2G/3G networks, said Jan Sjonell, vice-president at Swedish startup Aptilo Networks.
Bluetooth will be ideal for small offices and homes, WLAN for big buildings and public areas, 3G for cities and suburbs, and 2G outside these areas. This calls for seamless network integration via a mixed installation of access points and clients, said Sjonell.
This will create a strong demand for multi-band multi-mode terminals by business users as well as service operators, said Yunxin Li, principal research engineer at the Motorola Australian Research Centre.
Devices emerging in such a scenario would be of three kinds: Web devices, Web-lite devices (such as WAP and iMode), and unlike-Web devices (such as J2ME, SMS), said Gunther Birznieks, CTO of wireless services firm eXtropia.
"The Web is still fairly ubiquitous and should not be ignored. Typically, the Web is the base of all content delivery on the Internet and will be the launching pad for much wireless data services as well," he said.
Structure and design of content for multiple devices will become a key issue, and numerous middleware solutions are emerging via SOAP, XML, SunONE, and Microsoft .Net, Birznieks concluded.
The writer can be reached at email@example.com
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PLASTINDIA Foundation aims to put India on the global map as a preferred manufacturing hub for plastic products. The Indian building products industry, which accounts for a significant share of plastic products output, is responding well to heightened concerns for the environment and sustainability, the Foundation’s president Jigish Doshi writes.
THE BUILDING PRODUCTS INDUSTRY in India is estimated to be at US$ 225 billion. The projected growth rate for 2022 is around 10 per cent and it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8 to 9 per cent in the coming five years.
Very few think about the building products industry when we talk about sustainability. More often than not, what first comes to mind are sectors like utility, steel or mining. But a ‘composite’ industry like building products is dependent on several other big sectors, like cement and steel which account for nearly 40 per cent of the global greenhouse gas emissions.
The good news is that key sectors that make up this industry including steel, power and cement, and the larger building materials sector, are shifting towards greener alternatives both in terms of products and manufacturing processes. The scope for creating a more sustainable construction sector is immense, and the use of environment-friendly building materials is an important part of it, where recyclable plastic waste becomes an integral part.
The idea of a circular economy within the Indian building products industry is also catching up through increased use of recycled building material and more sustainable processes, allowing buildings to do more with fewer inputs such as water and energy. A scientific approach to creating more sustainable building materials is also spreading in India. This is pushing manufacturers to work closely with academia through outcome-driven partnerships.
Moreover, when we talk about the plastics industry and the circular economy, not many people know how valuable plastic waste is to us. Plastic waste is used all over the country. From the construction of roads in Delhi to the housing units and vendor kiosks in Sircilla, Telangana, recycled plastic waste is all around us.
Here I would like to cite two articles published by UNDP, to underline the significance of responsible plastic waste management and as well as to uprise you of the efforts being put in towards fostering a circular economy in India:
“A circular economy offers a pathway to more sustainable resource management. It means keeping the value of plastics in the economy so that the material itself stays out of the natural environment. In a circular economy the plastic cycles through a perpetual ‘closed loop’, rather than being used once and discarded.”
“As of June 2021, the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Plastic Waste Management Programme in India has helped to process 83,900 metric tonnes of plastic waste. The ambition is to process or recycle 85,000 metric tonnes of plastic waste and reach 50 plus cities by the year 2024.”
PLASTIC AS A BUILDING MATERIAL is versatile and environment-friendly. Traditional products like PVC pipes both for hot and cold water used in plumbing and fire-retardant wires and cables for safer buildings are well known. Plastic is now used for improved insulation in wall panels and windows, as the material consumes less heat and thus lowers energy consumption. Plastic building material is also corrosion-resistant, making it a durable choice.
Consumers also play an important role in making the building products industry sustainable. In both residential and commercial spaces, they are ensuring that the carbon footprint is minimal. Solutions like rooftop solar installations backed by net metering are fast catching up in a variety of user groups like households, factories and commercial buildings.
Demand for green buildings is also gaining pace. It has grown to more than 7.5 billion sft of built-up space today, making India one of the largest and fastest-growing markets for green buildings around the world. The Indian Green Building Council expects to meet the 10 billion sft target by 2022. Plastics can help the industry meet this target.
Sustainable building practices are the need of the hour, given the turmoil that our environment is going through. The Indian building products industry has indeed become more eco-friendly and is adopting sustainable practices to become truly green.


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It has been announced today (March 26) that the Progressive Greetings Live 2020 trade show will be going ahead, having been postponed to Wednesday 2 September and Thursday 3 September. The dedicated greeting card show will take place in its ‘home’ of the Business Design Centre in London’s Islington. (The original dates of the show were 2-3 June 2020).
“The absolute top priorities right now have to be on keeping everyone safe and being there for each other, meaning that the June timing of PG Live was untenable. What has come across loud and clear from those in the greeting card community is that they wanted us to find a later date for the show, rather than cancel it for this year,” explained Warren Lomax, co-show director of PG Live. “Amid all the bad news, being able to confirm the new dates 2-3 September means that we all now have something to look forward to.”
The greeting card community has responded very positively to the news that PG Live 2020 will now be happening three months later than originally planned.
“We are so happy that we have a new date planned in for PG Live – it is like a ‘ray of sunshine’ giving us all something to look forward to in these uncertain times,” commented Karen Wilson and Claire Williams, co-owners of Paper Salad. “Hopefully by September the worst of it will be over, and we can all rebuild our businesses and re-connect with all our wonderful friends in our fabulous industry!
Sharing her thoughts, Kate Leach, Woodmansterne’s head of marketing said: “This is very good news. Much better to have a postponement than a cancellation! It is the right thing to reschedule it to a later date, giving something for the industry to work towards in the future that will hopefully be a joyful coming together once all this is all over!”
Giving the date move his endorsement from a retailer perspective, Miles Robinson, co-owner of House of Cards said: “This is absolutely the right decision – we don’t want to miss that show! We’re all going to have a big ‘reset’ and knowing that PG Live is happening in early September is something to really look forward to.”
Agreeing with Miles, Steve Baker, sales and marketing director of Pigment said “By September people will be desperate for a fresh start. It’s so good to know that ‘The Show Must Go On’!”
John Procter, managing director of Scribbler was equally enthusiastic about the news. “Fantastic! We will absolutely be needing PG Live by then; everybody will be so hungry for new ranges and keen to discover new publishers.”
As Matt Genower, managing director of Five Dollar Shake and Counting Stars highlighted with the current ‘lockdown’ Christmas buying will be much later, making the early September dateline for PG Live this year all the more appropriate. “PG Live in September? Like many publishers, springtime usually coincides with a Christmas launch of some kind. Staring at Santas and snowflakes may just be the very last thing our independent customers will want to do in the next couple of months! My feeling is Christmas will be left late. Wouldn’t it be brilliant if come September, life was just a little bit back to normal, footfall on the high street again and tills ringing. Boy are we all going to wish for a happy Christmas!”
The PG Live website is being updated over the next few days and all exhibitors and registered visitors are being contacted.
Anyone with any queries should contact Warren Lomax, co-show director on email@example.com or 07977 572086.
The 2021 PG Live show will revert to its usual early June timeline.
Top: Everybody will be together at PG Live 2020, in September instead of June this year.


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Ever since Benelli joined hands with its new partner in India, Adishwar Auto Ride, it has been playing at the front foot. This year, it has already launched its TRK 502 range and Leoncino 500. Now, its next launch is most probably going to be the Imperiale 400.
If the reports are to be believed, Benelli Imperiale 400 could reach the showrooms across the country in the next month. Apparently, Benelli has been busy to make Imperiale 400’s 373.5cc air-cooled, single-cylinder engine BS 6 compliant. In its current state of tune, it produces around 20.4hp of power and 28Nm of torque. It has also been looking to localise a few parts and components to keep the cost of the bike in check.
In terms of equipment, there won’t be any high-end options available. Perhaps, the primary electronic would be a dual-channel ABS. We are also not so confident about LED lighting, considering the bike is purely classical.
The Imperiale 400 is going to be Benelli’s first retro-styled motorcycle in India. When launched, it should go up against the Royal Enfield Classic and perhaps the Jawa. We are expecting it to have a price tag of around Rs 2-2.5 lakh (ex-showroom).


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The Operator of the Year for Multi-Site Kitchen Projects reflects the fact that expansion is the name of the game for many multi-site foodservice operators and that managing the challenge in terms of implementing new kitchens is an art in itself.
This category recognises operators that have successfully managed significant site and kitchen roll-outs in the last 12 months.
We are delighted to announce that the 2018 shortlist includes the following operators:
Loungers has grown sales in excess of 30% following a period of intense expansion activity that has seen it successfully manage its way through 20 new restaurant and kitchen projects across the Lounges and Cosy Club brands. The roll-out of new infrastructure across multiple sites has been supported by a more systematic approach to menu development, driven by the philosophy that a quality and consistent food offering is the key to enhanced customer satisfaction and loyalty. Last year the group launched almost 30 menus across the business, with its food development team drawing inspiration from the distinct identities of the two brands to conceive original dishes that transcend current trends.
Miller & Carter
With 32 restaurant openings and conversions completed during the past year, Miller & Carter has been one of the most expansive brands in the market and its kitchens now serve up in excess of one million steaks a year. Parent group Mitchells & Butlers spotted an opportunity to increase the premium aspect of its business through investment in the steakhouse format and its plan has led to strong like-for-like sales and average EBITDA returns above 40% for conversion projects. Harnessing the right cooking applications has been key to meeting its pursuit of the perfect steak. Chef training includes attendance at a two-day ‘steak school’, starting at the farm and ending in the kitchen.
Pizza Express has one of the most established restaurant estates in the UK but it has still added to its portfolio this year, completing a number of projects that bring its premium pizza offering to new high street and retail locations. It also implemented its first ever kitchen install at a motorway service station following a tie-up with Welcome Break and that agreement that will see further sites launched in the future. A proven open kitchen model that places Sveba Dahlen pizza ovens at the heart of the operation has afforded it the capacity to produce 60 million pizzas and dough balls a year, as well as implement new menu innovations, such as its ‘Piattini’ sharing plates offer.
Pret A Manger
Pret has reached its milestone goal of 500 stores during the past year and achieving such growth and scale would be impossible were it not for an approach to food production and service that can be scaled to any location. An emphasis on equipment that is simple to operate and easy to clean has served the business well, while well-established relationships with a core group of supply partners have enabled it to call upon the mixture of modular and fabricated services and fittings it requires to make stores operational and functional. An added focus on menu innovation, as well as the launch of its first Veggie Pret shops, have seen its seen its kitchen teams rise to the challenge.
Star Pubs & Bars
A focus on giving licensees a clear platform to serve food has seen Star invest heavily in providing the training, equipment and menu skills that are required to compete in the modern pub market. More than 70% of the chain’s sites now serve food following the roll-out of a strategy to help partners design kitchen environments that suit their precise needs. Its F&F programme, meanwhile, ensures pubs have access to the right energy efficient equipment, with almost £2m a year spent on making sure that kitchens throughout its estate have access to robust and reliable good quality commercial kitchen equipment that can cater for volume.
The 2018 FEJ Awards ceremony and gala dinner takes place on Tuesday 5 June, the first evening of the Commercial Kitchen show, at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole.


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Electronic music musicians are having their say in the future of the music industry with the release of a new book that explores how digital technology is changing the business of music.
The book is called The Future of Music and has been released in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and North America.
The digital revolution is changing music forever.
Music, in the modern sense, has been around for hundreds of years, but the last century has seen the rise of streaming services, music streaming services and even an online store.
In 2017, the world’s biggest streaming service Spotify became the first music company to sell over 1 billion songs in a single year.
With these new services, artists are able to monetise their music with new revenue streams such as downloads, streaming and merchandising.
Spotify’s new CEO Daniel Ek says the rise in digital revenue is changing business models in a way that’s been seen in other industries.
“There’s no longer a one size fits all approach,” Ek told The Conversation.
“Music is changing from a way to make money to a way for artists to make a living.”
Ek believes that a digital revolution in the music business is inevitable.
“I think that the music world is changing,” he said.
“That’s why we’re here.
Ek says that music companies like Spotify, Universal Music Group and Apple Music have seen massive growth over the last couple of years. “
If I were a music fan, I’d be very interested in the new generation of music that comes out of that.”
Ek says that music companies like Spotify, Universal Music Group and Apple Music have seen massive growth over the last couple of years.
But the rise and fall of the digital music business has been slow.
“A lot of the changes we’ve seen in the last 15 to 20 years, the music businesses have been in a tailspin,” Ek said.
In a time of digital disruption, Ek believes it’s important that digital music is still considered a traditional business model.
“It’s a business that is built around what it was built around, and that’s how music is made,” he explained.
“So it’s something that we’re going to keep trying to retain.”
But there’s also a new generation that Ek believes is entering the music sector.
“People who are getting involved with this business are coming into the industry with very different business models,” he added.
“They’re looking for ways to make their own money, they’re looking to make more money, but they’re also interested in how to get in there as an artist.”
Ek said he believes it will be up to artists to lead the way when it comes to the future.
“The thing about digital music and the future that I believe is very important is that it’s going to be the new face of music,” he concluded.


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Bentley and Maserati saw double digit gains in March as the ultra-luxury auto market roared back to life.
The two niche automakers recorded strong sales figures, with Bentley selling 206 vehicles during the month, up 50 per cent from a year ago. Through the first three months of the year, its sales pace is running 41 per cent ahead of 2011.
Maserati increased volume by 29 per cent, moving 257 units in March.
Quotes for a new Bentley generally start around $180,000, with a Maserati starting in the low $120,000s.
Sales at Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Lotus are also seen three per cent higher during the month, to a combined 262 units, Automotive News estimates.
Maybach has yet to report. There is no consensus estimate for the company’s March sales figure.
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Microsoft’s 4Afrika IP Hub: Enabling Innovation
When selling a product, you are selling far more than its functionality. You are selling your idea, your innovation, your intellectual property (IP). In an age where businesses can be constructed and equally deconstructed overnight, original ideas are precious and invaluable. As a result, IP protection such as copyright, trademarks, trade names and utility models have become standardized in many areas of the world.
Monkey, Wikipedia and a selfie – how the digital world is changing the face of intellectual property laws
Recently, a story published by the Telegraph has gained the attention of European media. A British photographer, David J Slater, is suing Wikimedia (the foundation which owns Wikipedia) for unlawful usage of an image he took in 2011.
London Technology Week: Robots, wearable technology and virtual realities
This month, the UK celebrated its first London Technology Week. The event - supported by Boris Johnson, Mayor of London - brought together a range of the latest ideas and innovations, from a robotic hand driven by a synthetic nervous system, to a virtual-world platform designed to help stroke patients.
European Inventor Award 2014 Winners Announcement
The long wait is over. The European Patent Office announced the winners of European Inventor Awards this week at its 9th European Inventor Award ceremony at the very center of European tech innovation, Berlin, Germany.
European Inventor Award finalists spotlight: Self-Cleaning, Air-Cleansing Concrete? An Amazing European Invention
As the European Inventor Award ceremony approaches, here at Ideas Matter we have been watching the run up to this prestigious awards closely.
We are sharing a profile of one of the candidates from each category every week until the 17th of June.
This week we focus on nominations from the Industry category.