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Tucson firm pays $20M for Scottsdale shopping center
Holualoa Companies, a Tucson-based investment firm that specializes in reviving underperforming real estate properties, handed over $20.55 million this month to take over a nearly 162,000-square-foot shopping center at a prominent Scottsdale intersection.
East Thunderbird Square South, which is anchored by a Smart & Final grocery store on the northwest corner of Thunderbird and Scottsdale roads, has struggled with high vacancy and a foreclosure in the wake of the recession.
The project was sold by Gregg Williams of Trident Pacific Real Estate Group, also in Scottsdale, who had been the asset’s court-appointed receiver since it went into foreclosure last year, according to CBRE Inc. in Phoenix, which represented the seller. Public records in the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office show the previous owner, East Thunderbird 05 A LLC, had defaulted on its $33.4 million-loan for the property.
East Thunderbird, which was built in phases during the late 1980s, has also had issues retaining a strong tenant base in recent years, posting a 36-percent vacancy rate when Holualoa Companies, which is headed by President Michael Kasser, closed the deal. Three outparcels where a Burger King, M&I Bank and Taco Bell are located were not part of the sale.
By comparison, retail space in north Scottsdale -- the submarket in which East Thunderbird is located -- boasted a 10-percent vacancy rate in the second quarter, faring better than the Valley-wide average of 11.3 percent for the period, according to second-quarter retail data by CBRE.
East Thunderbird, however, is well positioned for a vibrant future as the economy rebounds, said Glenn Smigiel, principal at CBRE who helped broker the deal. The project is located in a dense residential area with higher-income residents and the surrounding area’s scarce developable land is sure to drive up rental rates, he said.
“East Thunderbird Square is located in one of the Valley’s strongest submarkets, which is likely to be one of the first areas to emerge from the current economic recession,” Smigiel said in a statement. “In addition, the property has 57,776 square feet of vacant space offering significant upside potential through lease up.”
Kristena Hansen covers residential and commercial real estate.
US – Director of Sales (Coated Label Products) Green Bay Packaging Inc. | Green Bay, WI
Faculty/Computer Information Systems (Occupational) Paradise Valley Community College | Phoenix, AZ
Audience Development Salesperson Phoenix Business Journal | Phoenix, AZ
Mergers & Acquisitions Intermediary (Phoenix Metro Area) LINK Business | Scottsdale, AZ
Retail Banking Manager Western State Bank | Sun City, AZ
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When National Public Radio and the Department of Justice announced moves to the neighborhood north of Massachusetts Avenue earlier this month, the area known as NoMa turned a corner in its evolution -- particularly in its appeal to retailers.
NoMa is ripe with possibility, local brokers and developers say. New stores and restaurants will start moving in as new buildings come closer to completion.
Currently, only three projects are actively leasing retail space.
"Until DOJ and NPR signed on, this was still thought of as an emerging market," said Elizabeth Price, president of the NoMa Business Improvement District. Now that those large tenants are in the mix, prospective retailers and others have "a lot more comfort in terms of the future of the market."
The Department of Justice is slated to move to NoMa in 2010, followed by NPR in 2012. Together they will bring an estimated 3,800 more employees to the area.
Harris Teeter's expected 2010 entrance as the neighborhood's first grocery store -- covering 50,000 square feet -- is likely to further increase NoMa's draw because retailers and restaurants generally want to position themselves near such an anchor.
No single factor drives retailers to commit to a burgeoning urban enclave such as NoMa, said Chris Donatelli, president of D.C.'s Donatelli Development Inc., which has projects under way in the Petworth neighborhood and has helped revitalize Columbia Heights and the U Street corridor with mixed-use offerings.
Some smaller retailers might go in early and let the neighborhood grow around them. Others follow employment or residential developments.
NoMa, which spans 35 blocks north of Union Station, has only one sit-down restaurant, Capitol City Brewing Co. at 2 Massachusetts Ave. NE.
New development over the next 15 years totals more than 20 million square feet, 750,000 of which is potential retail and restaurants. Construction has begun, or will start by the second quarter, on 3 million square feet of mixed-use developments, including some 100,000 square feet of retail space. However, much of that space won't be completed for another year or two, according to the BID.
Price and others say the key now is to fill the neighborhood with basic amenities.
"What's needed next is more convenience retail and eventually soft goods retail that you have in a central business district," said Robert Tack, chief executive officer of Capital Retail Group. "We're literally starting from no retail at all. Almost every category needs to fill in."
Capital Retail Group and LeDroit Park Development Co. have secured some of the first new retail in NoMa, which will be in the new headquarters of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Those retailers include coffee shop Pound, Heidi's Brooklyn Deli and Sister's Pizza & Mussels. Tack said he is finalizing a deal with Five Guys Burgers and Fries.
Steve Forehand, the franchisee for the Five Guys that intends to fill about 2,200 square feet at the ATF building, said NoMa was attractive because of the office space planned for the future and the New York Avenue Metro station, which he believes is underutilized.
"I know in the long run it'll be a real nice area," said Forehand, who later this month is opening a Five Guys at the Nationals ballpark. "The area is growing."
Meanwhile, The Rappaport Cos., a McLean-based retail developer, is talking to prospective tenants that might fill about 8,000 square feet at One NoMa Station and 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail at a 218-room Marriott Courtyard slated to open in 2009 at 201 Florida Ave. NE.
Some developers and brokers, however, say NoMa's diverse real estate ownership could present challenges in the neighborhood's effort to create the right retail and restaurant mix.
"You'll find everybody trying to go for the grocery store, gym or the movie theater or the bookstore," said Jon Eisen, managing principal of Bethesda's StreetSense Inc., a retail planner and broker. "And what happens is you're not being strategic about locating certain retailers that will keep moving people from destination to destination."
But Bill Dickinson, senior director of brokerage for Rappaport, said the lack of a master retail plan is typical of urban developments. Even though the result might be two sandwich shops on the same block, for instance, things will work out, he said.
To Dickinson, one big unknown is when NoMa will have the right density to support a dinner restaurant. "We don't know the answer yet," he said.
Price agrees that the variety of developers could create problems. So last year, the BID formed a retail committee of brokers and developers.
Part of its goal is to determine how to make retail and restaurant offerings complementary, how to take advantage of certain locations and, essentially, how to build the identity of the neighborhood through its retail and eateries.
"We don't have a formal strategy yet," Price said, "although that's something I think we'll move to in the next year."

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New iPhone pricing is exposed again, Apple is confident
Almaty Kairat VS Belgrade Red Star: Almaty doubled Red Star 6 years ago
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The dollar was trading at two-month highs against the yen on Tuesday as investors’ awaited comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen for fresh cues on the future path of interest rates.
USD/JPY was up 0.26% at 114.33 by 03.50 AM ET (07.50 AM GMT) after rising as high as 114.48 overnight, the most since May 11.
Investors were looking ahead to comments from Yellen, who was due to make semi-annual testimony on monetary policy before the U.S. Congress on Wednesday and Thursday.
Markets were waiting to see if Yellen will indicate whether the Fed is on track to make a third rate hike this year.
(Jul 11, 2017 08:53 GMT)
Pearson (L:PSON) is set to raise $1 billion from the sale of a 22 percent stake in book publisher Penguin Random House to majority owner Bertelsmann (F:BTGGg), in the British group’s latest bid to rebuild following a string of profit warnings.
Hit by a sharp downturn in its biggest markets, Pearson has sold off some of its best known assets in recent years including the Financial Times and the Economist to enable it to invest in its core business of education.
The 173-year-old group said on Tuesday it would now reduce its stake in the world’s biggest consumer book publisher to 25 percent from 47 percent, enabling it to free up cash to return to shareholders and bolster its balance sheet.
By Kate Holton
(Jul 11, 2017 06:59AM ET)
Battered by its emissions scandal, Audi launched its latest technology-packed A8 luxury saloon on Tuesday, aimed at overtaking rivals Mercedes-Benz and BMW as it struggles to overcome its biggest-ever corporate crisis.
Last week Munich prosecutors arrested an Audi employee in connection with “dieselgate”, the latest setback to Volkswagen’s (DE:VOWG_p) luxury car arm and main profit driver, after the German government a month earlier had accused Audi of cheating on emissions tests.
Having slipped behind its two German rivals on global sales last year, Audi has risked stalling without innovation and needed a new prestige product, said Stefan Bratzel, head of the Center of Automotive Management think-tank near Cologne.
“Innovation is key in premium car-making,” Bratzel said. “The new A8 will polish the brand’s image and line-up at a critical time.”
By Andreas Cremer and Irene Preisinger
(Jul 11, 2017 08:10AM ET)


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CVS settles federal claims in Oklahoma for $11 million
Oklahoma City -- CVS Caremark Corp. will pay $11 million to settle federal claims that the company’s pharmacies in the state violated record-keeping requirements of the Controlled Substances Act.
Federal prosecutor Sanford Coats said Wednesday that CVS has agreed to the settlement to resolve all allegations. However, while CVS said that its stores must comply with the record-keeping requirements, it does not admit liability.
The allegations against CVS were that some of its stores created false Drug Enforcement Administration registration numbers that were sometimes provided to state prescription drug monitoring programs.


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Online designer consignment boutique, Tradesy, is venturing away from one-of-a-kind handbags and towards repurposed toilets, missiles and sculptures for their latest collaboration.
The website joined ranks with controversial artist Illma Gore to create an exhibit in the brand’s Los Angeles showroom. Things took a turn for the dadaist when Gore churned out the gallery’s magnum opus: a fully-functional golden toilet, covered in $15,000 worth of Louis Vuitton leathers, on sale only for a measly $100,000. From Duchamp to Cattelan, the art world’s love affair with the powder room is hardly new—but it’s never been this chic (nor this comfortably-lined).
The toilet is in good company: other repurposed décor pieces include busts of Abraham Lincoln wrapped in Vuitton Leathers (both the classic monogram and the Damier Azur check, for variety’s sake). Another refashioned goody is the missile hanging from the gallery’s ceiling, coated entirely in the Gucci canvas print. For fashion purists, the exhibit also boasts a gradient wall of Hermès Birkin and Kelly bags, hyper-embellished Chanel crossbodies, and acrylic cases brandishing designer stilettos – Christian Louboutin and YSL being chief among them.
The exhibit isn’t Gore’s first foray into the controversial. The artist made waves in 2016, with her nude portrait of Donald Trump making its rounds on the viral reaches of the internet throughout the election cycle. Tradesy, however, isn’t the first to decompose designer goods: in 2012, L.A.-based photographer Tyler Shields once severed and burned a red crocodile Birkin bag from Hermès for a series of photos.
All of the objets d’art in the Tradesy showroom will be for sale exclusively in-store and on Tradesy.com.
Main Image: Getty Images for Tradesy / Joe Scarnici


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Lou Malnati’s Rockford Location Opening In February
If you've been waiting for Lou Malnati's to come to Rockford, it'll be here sooner than you think.
Lou Malnati's plan to bring a carry-out and delivery only location to Rockford was announced in late August 2018.
Since then, little has come out regarding the opening. Speculation at the time was this month (January 2019) but it appears it's going to just miss the date.
A phone call to Lou Malnati's Corporate Office revealed that yes, the plan is for the Rockford location to open in February.
Followed up with a message I received from a fan yesterday that said:
If that's true we're two weeks from Lou's opening in Rockford. Just enough time to start game planning your first order. So what's it gonna be?


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Def Leppard will release the Live At Abbey Road Studios 12 inch vinyl for Record Store Day 2018 around the world. Record Store Day takes place on Saturday 21st April this year and the full list of releases has just been announced. Def Leppard’s contribution this year will be the ‘Live At Abbey Road Studios’ 12 inch vinyl recorded in 2008. It features live in studio recordings.
SIDE A (01) – C’mon C’mon (Live)
SIDE A (02) – Rock On (Live)
SIDE B (01) – Rocket (Live)
AC/DC‘s classic 1980 LP “Back In Black” will be released on cassette on Record Store Day, the annual celebration of the annual celebration of independent record stores, taking place on Saturday, April 21. The cassette will be made available through RCA in a limited edition of 2,500 copies.
MOTÖRHEAD will release a seven-inch picture disc of its cover version of David Bowie’s “Heroes” on Record Store Day, the annual celebration of the annual celebration of independent record stores, taking place on Saturday, April 21. The single’s art will be a new “sketch” take on the classic war-pig. The flip-side will be “Heroes (The Wacken Family Choir Mix)” with previously unheard audio of the crowd at 2017’s Wacken Open Air festival singing along to the single as it was being officially launched via the festival P.A., an emotional moment of celebration and tribute which can now be shared globally.


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Industry body CII has suggested to the GST Council to come up with clear guidelines on anti-profiteering and raise the threshold for intra-state e-way bill generation to Rs 1 lakh.
In a memorandum to the Council for consideration, at its forthcoming meeting on August 4, CII has also demanded that the TRAN-1 facility be reopened for businesses to claim transitional credit, as many businesses could not avail of it earlier.
CII said the anti-profiteering provisions have been introduced for the first time under the GST regime. However, no methodology has been prescribed for calculating the benefits under GST, which may further lead to complications and litigations, thus going against the principles of promoting ease of doing business.
“The provisions be made transparent and easy to implement or follow. Clear guidelines need to be issued about the manner in which the quantum of price reduction is to be calculated and some standard set of processes and documents be prescribed in case of any proceedings under anti-profiteering measurements,” it added.
The industry chamber also demanded that the value limit for generation of e-way Bill for intra-state movement of goods be increased uniformly to Rs 1 lakh.
“Some states have hiked the limit of e-way bill to Rs 1 lakh in intrastate, which needs to be rationalised across India. Even vehicles carrying FMCG/kirana products bound to supply so many shopkeepers are facing too much problem,” CII said.
As per the GST provisions, transporters or businesses have to generate an electronic way or e-way bill for moving goods worth Rs 50,000 crore or more both within and outside the state. However, certain states like West Bengal, Maharashtra has hiked this threshold to Rs 1 lakh for only intra-state movement of goods.
The CII said that since GST was a new system, many businesses made mistakes while claiming credit for taxes paid in the erstwhile excise and service tax regime.
“On such mistakes, MSME units are incurring a huge amount of financial loss due to blockage of ITC… GST Tran-1 should be reopened and industry concerns need to be addressed by restoring ITC in e-credit ledger which has been held up due to system constraint,” CII said.
As part of the transition to GST last July, taxpayers were allowed to file Form TRAN-1 and avail tax credit on the basis of the closing balance of the credit declared in the last return under the pre-Goods and Services Tax regime.
The GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister, will in its next meeting on August 4 discuss ways to simplify GST procedures for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The Council secretariat had asked stakeholders to submit their recommendations by July 27. In its last meeting, the Council had allowed companies with a turnover of up to Rs 5 crore to file GST returns quarterly. This was hiked from Rs 1.5 crore decided earlier.


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After the likes of Nas and Diplo dabbled in embedding royalties into songs via NFTs, American electronic music duo The Chainsmokers have decided to scale things up by releasing NFTs which feature royalty cuts from the entirety of their latest album. With 13 tracks featured on the new album ‘So Far So Good,’ holders of the 5,000 NFTs will essentially receive 13 new avenues of revenue through their ownership.
To distinguish the initiative even further from previous NFT royalty forays, the 5,000 NFTs in question will be distributed to The Chainsmokers fans for free, with metrics such as individual’s concert attendance, music streams, and Discord activity each being measured to ensure that only the most-dedicated fans receive the fruits of the album’s labour. That being said, and in a slight dampener, the 5,000 NFT holders will be splitting a mere 1% of the album’s royalties, meaning each will essentially be receiving a 0.0002% royalty cut.
Given that the cut is relatively minuscule when whittled down (although it’s a free NFT so you can’t complain), perhaps the real stand-out features of the assets are in their additional perks, as each offer holders the chance to access a members-only section of The Chainsmokers’ Discord channel, as well as opportunities to meet with the duo (a.k.a Drew Taggart and Alex Pall) directly.


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400 of retailer's larger supermarkets to stock vegan-friendly 'fake meats' designed to be as close to the real thing as possible
Sainsbury's is to start selling plant-based meat alternatives in the same chiller sections as real meat as the supermarket seeks to capitalise on ever increasing consumer appetite for vegan friendly food,...
Plus Danish diets, China climate policy signals, and all the top green business news from around the world this week
Major report makes the case for new carbon tax on imported goods and goods, as the Environment Secretary reveals the UK's climate targets could eventually cover carbon embodied in imported goods
As the sustainable finance sector booms, asset managers and owners are under increasing pressure to use their financial clout to steer a greener future
More than 100 billion garments are produced annually, and many end up in the landfill


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H-E-B dished a big surprise to media, influencers and foodies March 8 in Austin, Texas, at a one-night-only dining experience under the pretense of “ITK Restaurant Group.” Between the Herb-infused Tenderloin and the Raspberry Lavender Demi, H-E-B was revealed as the true host behind the event.
H-E-B is one of the nation’s leading independent food retailers and the largest privately-held employer in Texas.
“We leveraged this dining surprise as an opportunity to showcase our amazing quality and assortment of ingredients and the culinary expertise within H-E-B,” said Martin Otto, chief merchant officer, H-E-B. “Through this unveiling, we wanted to demonstrate anyone can host this same culinary experience at home with access to the extraordinary ingredients and services from H-E-B.”
Serving up a surprise
H-E-B entertained more than 85 attendees at Hotel Saint Cecilia under the name of ITK Restaurant Group (name derived from the company’s “In the Kitchen” content series inspiring customers to cook from home). The event began with cocktails in the courtyard and proceeded to the evening’s main event—a six-course dinner featuring dishes ranging from Black Garlic Winter Squash Risotto to Ginger Halibut Ceviche.
As buzz and chatter about ITK Restaurant Group grew and the meal neared its final course, the team of H-E-B chefs surprised guests as the creators behind the culinary creations. Otto addressed attendees as team members carried out H-E-B shopping baskets filled with ingredients used throughout the meal. Guests then mingled with chefs and departed with the knowledge needed to look no further than the neighborhood H-E-B to create memorable meals in the comfort of home—no reservation needed.
H-E-B, with sales of $25 billion, operates 400 stores in Texas and Mexico. Known for its innovation and community service, H-E-B celebrates its 114th anniversary this year. Based in San Antonio, H-E-B employs over 110,000 Partners in Texas and Mexico and serves millions of customers in more than 300 communities.


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Green Roads Featured in the Sun Sentinel
Up to now, 2019 happens to be a exceptional year for Green Roads, and there’s absolutely no better proof of this compared to the company’s growing presence when you look at the news in the past month or two. Lately, Green Roads had been featured under the Sun Sentinel, among the country’s most newspapers that are trusted news networks.
The content takes an in-depth glance at CBD plus the role of Green Roads in growing the industry nationwide. The paper also highlights the collaboration between Green Roads additionally the University of Florida and just just what it opportinity for the ongoing future of hemp into the Sunshine State.
UF IFAS: Growing the Industry in Florida
Early in the day this 12 months, Green Roads announced the delivery associated with first legitimatelycertified hemp plants into the continuing state of Florida in over 70 years. Continue reading “Green Roads Featured in the Sun Sentinel”
Green Roads of Florida LLC Mistakenly Identified in FDA Warning Letter
DAVIE, Fla. – Green Roads of Florida, LLC had been erroneously identified in a warning letter that has been the topic of a news launch granted because of the meals and Drug Administration on concerning four companies purportedly wednesdaymaking claims that are unfounded their sites concerning CBD items.
The FDA’s news launch identifies business called Greenroads wellness. Nonetheless, the FDA’s caution letter had been addressed to Green roadways of Florida, LLC and Ms. Laura Fuentes, neither of whom very very own or have affiliation or fascination with Greenroads wellness, and neither of who are accountable in every method for that company’s internet site content.
Neither that business nor any one of its owners or principals have any ownership or administration desire for Green Roads of Florida, LLC while the businesses have actually no affiliation whatsoever beyond Greenroads Health’s independent distributorship of items created by Green Roads of Florida. Continue reading “Green Roads of Florida LLC Mistakenly Identified in FDA Warning Letter”


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Hurry once it's sold this opportunity will be gone!
Microsoft's new console isn't as hard to find as the PlayStation 5, but that doesn't mean scori
In their two seasons together, Anderson was Darnold's most reliable receiving target, ending up with over
These past few months Monero has been facing increased attacks on multiple fronts. 1. Spam and Doxing campaign
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Despite the epidemic, the approval process of European authorities on data security matters has not stopped.
In 2020, a total of 341 fines were imposed for violating GDP, which totaled 307,923,725 euros, with December 148,156,645 (48% of total) representing the most severe month. On average, each of the 30 countries in the European Economic Area imposed 11.3 sanctions by 2020, with each state imposing an average fine of 10,264,124 euros. It emerges from this “Statistics Report 2020, Privacy Restrictions in Europe” Drawed by Federal privacy.
CNIL calls for sanctions
Analyzing the data of the countries that carried out the approval process, the French have one of the most stringent authority of all. (CNIL)It imposed a fine of 138,316,300 million euros, which is 44.9% of the total number of countries surveyed. It must be said that the French authority imposed only eight restrictions, but the highest of these was against Google Confirmed by the State Council at 50 million. Italy ranks second in terms of overall sanctions, with 58,176,601 against 35 approved measures. The United Kingdom is at 45 million and Germany at 37.3 million.
The Spanish authority is leading the way in the number of fines
In the rankings of the most active officers, the Romanian is in third place (ANSPDCP) According to Italian law, with 26 sanctions (GPDP) With 35, first Spanish (AEPD) 133 fined.
The sector most affected by the number of sanctions is telecommunications, the Internet and e-commerce in terms of economic value.
Of the top 10 sectors allowed, telecommunications suffered the most by the number of operations in 2020 with 69 fines, followed by services and trade with 47 and 45 fines, respectively, and 41 fines from public administration regulators.
However, looking at the overall economic value of the sanctions, the most affected sector was the Internet and e-commerce sector with 144.9 million euros in fines (equivalent to 47% of the total), followed by telecommunications with 62.4 million euros. Euro, then trade and manufacturing activities fined with 38.1 million euros.
Professional bacon fanatic. Explorer. Avid pop culture expert. Introvert. Amateur web evangelist.


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The team of analysts have been busy scrutinising the air ticketing data for signs of travel recovery and have uncovered a remarkable story of hope – the European summer season may experience its first long-haul visitors from the USA since 2019.
U.S travellers flock to Europe this summer
ForwardKeys has long encouraged governments and tourism organisations to announce their border re-openings as far in advance as possible. We observed that this greatly benefited destinations such as Greece and Portugal for the 2020 summer season and there appears to be a case of Deja Vu for Greece, but now we have newcomers to the early announcement club: Iceland and Croatia. Welcoming vaccinated travellers is not only a trend but a fast-growing reality.
The top cities for vaccinated US travellers to Croatia places Dubrovnik in prime position with 34% shares of total international travellers. The capital, Zagreb, is number 2 with 31% shares and coastal Split is number 3 with 31% shares.
Croatian hotels and travel operators should also prepare themselves for travellers travelling in multiple numbers, not solo. Indeed, the data points to couples and families being the main markets travelling this summer to Croatia from the USA.
“The ticketing data is showing some interesting tips for hoteliers and tourism organisations to seize this summer in Croatia and Greece,” says Luis Millan, Market Research Manager at ForwardKeys.
“Not only are US traveller travelling in pairs or more, but the average length of stay is up from 15 days in 2019 to 24 days in 2021,” adds Millan.
U.S travellers fly in style – is this revenge travel?
“What is interesting to mention is the fact that there is more high-class travel happening this year, compared to 2019”, says Millan.
This is particularly visible in the case of US travellers to EU countries. Overall, there has been an increase in the share of Economy Premium and Business class tickets by 5.8% for all international tickets to EU, and by 7.1% in the case of US travellers. Italy remains the number one E.U destination for U.S. travellers, even though it is still way behind 2019 levels. And the shift towards luxurious travel is highlighted greatly on this Trans-Atlantic route with an increase in shares of high-class cabins by 14%.
“We have also checked France as it is famous for luxury travel in Europe and similar as for Italy, it is still 80% behind 2019 levels, but 25.3% of tickets issued for travel from the U.S. to France are of high-class cabins which is an increase by 9.4 pp,” says Millan.
Italy and France still do not offer entry to fully vaccinated travellers, so we may see an increase in travellers once they make this announcement as per Greece and Croatia.
If you would like to know more about the road to recovery for Europe, why notregister to attend our June 7 webinar with the CEO of the European Travel Commission?


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The ten day Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) wound up yesterday (Saturday) and literally as I was writing this post today, Sunday, the official numbers rolled in.
2.38 million visitors attended the event in the United Arab Emirates, and books to the value of $56 million were sold.
As many commentators are saying, Sharjah is not just a book fair but also an international literary festival.
India’s The Hindu reports,
With the theme ‘A World in My Book’, the event featured 1,650 publishing houses from 60 countries. About 130 of the publishing houses were from India. More than 1.5 million books in different languages were made available at the sprawling venue.
The SIBF also marked the official opening of the world’s first publishing free-zone, the Sharjah Publishing City. As The Hindu notes, the Sharja Publishing City is expected to
become a destination for publishers, with a window to the global books market. As it grows, it is slated to be home to more than 500 publishing companies from around the world, with a printing capacity of a million books a day. It will provide more than 15 million books in multiple languages through institutions and publishing houses that operate from the facility.”
The Hindu also covered the SIBF’s focus on children and children’s books.
Amid a babel of tongues, playful expatriate children flitted around, occasionally taking a giggling peek at the displayed tomes. The fair featured a number of child-friendly events, ranging from ‘Young Engineers in the Making’ to a ‘storytelling puppet’ workshop, to a watercolour art workshop and a comics exhibition. The youngest author to be featured was nine-year-old Justina Jibin from India, who presented her book, My Imaginary World, a sprightly collection of poems and stories.
In fact the nine year old lives in Dubai, and as the Khaleej Times reported last week, Justina intends to give to charity all the proceeds from her book.
Gulf Today, reporting earlier on the final day of Sharjah, said,
It was nothing less than a breath of fresh air. The presence of acclaimed writers, poets, actors, chefs, illustrators, social media personalities as well as eminent film stars transformed the event from being a mere book fair into a complete cultural event…The wide selection of books and record sales was indeed a good sign. It proved that people’s interest in the printed word has not gone down despite growing popularity of electronic gadgets and social media fixation. In fact, it shows that there is a need to organise this fair more frequently.
Gulf Today interviewed visitors from many countries. This was typical:
Lamar Basem and her brother Mohammad Basem, visitors from Syria, liked the fair for its vast collection, offering titles of different genre. “It offered a wide choice, thus I bought books of different nature. Some adventure stories, a few books on geography and a few titles of ‘Yawmiat Mashaghib’ series,” she said.
A reminder that, as I explored in a recent post in The New Publishing Standard challenging the assertion “Arabs don’t read,” the reality is that the books simply aren’t available – except at book fairs like Sharjah.


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Vodacom sets sights on new services revenue
As traditional business reaches saturation, financial services is a key growth area for mobile network operators
Vodacom will add a virtual banking card to its VodaPay platform to enable customers to make payments in-store or online as the group eyes up to 30% in revenue from new services, including financial products, in the next three-five years.
New services such as the Internet of Things, digital and financial solutions contributed R11.7bn, or 19.8%, to group service revenue of R59.4bn for the six months to September, the company said this week.
Vodafone Egypt provided the biggest boost in the growth of 35.5% in total revenue, which hit R73bn, CEO Shameel Joosub said.
Service revenue includes monthly access charges, airtime usage, roaming, incoming and outgoing network usage by non-Vodacom customers and interconnect charges for incoming calls.
Financial services revenue was up 39.9% to R6.2bn, with South Africa contributing R1.5bn. In this country, Vodacom added just over 3-million customers in the six months to September, reaching 47-million.
The company will drive more adoption of the VodaPay app, which has 4.1-million users, and will launch a virtual card to expand its services, Joosub said.
VodaPay is a marketplace for services including food, insurance, airtime and electricity. It has integrated third-party shopping apps such as Clicks, Makro, Zulzi, KFC and KitKat grocery wholesaler.
Vodacom also provides lending and customers can transfer money from their bank accounts to their VodaPay wallet for purchases.
Here, new services were up 18.8% and contributed 16.6% or R5.1bn towards South African service revenue of R30.7bn. Financial services revenue increased 10.8%, underpinned by insurance growth of 17.2%.
The take-up of insurance products continues to grow, and vouchers and buy now, pay later options are also popular among VodaPay users, Joosub said.
Financial services is a key growth area for mobile network operators as traditional business reaches saturation. MTN, which wants 5-million active fintech customers in South Africa by 2025, recently sold a stake in its financial services business to Mastercard.
Asked if Vodacom will consider selling shares in its offering, Joosub told analysts: “We previously felt that the timing was too early and that there was more opportunity to try to grow the business, which we're still focusing on. The business has been accelerating, so I think very good growth this year will be circa $1.6bn (about R30bn) or $1.7bn in terms of absolute revenue coming from financial services in Kenya and the Vodacom footprint ... So we haven't decided yet or made any decisions to pursue a potential sale.”
Peter Takaendesa, head of equities at Mergence Asset Managers, said for MTN and Vodacom, mobile money and data are still structural growth drivers in Africa, and now that they have acquired large chunks of the spectrum, “I think they can fully tap into that growth profitably and sustainably, provided excellent execution is maintained.”
Countries Vodacom operates in include Kenya (through Safaricom), Egypt, Mozambique, Lesotho, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania. It has a stake in a new Ethiopian network operator that has 196.2-million subscribers.
These countries have a combined population of more than 500-million. Based on performance in the first six months, the operations are on track to deliver about R150bn in revenue for the financial year ending March next year, said Joosub.
MTN has 290.1-million subscribers in 19 countries and 63.5-million active Mobile Money (MoMo) users monthly.
New strategic growth drivers, including entering a greenfield operation in Ethiopia, as well as acquiring a controlling stake in Vodafone Egypt, price increases in South Africa and structural growth in fintech operations, should support Vodacom’s ambition of growing profits in high single digits over the next three-five years, said Takaendesa.
“We believe these targets are achievable if Vodacom continues to execute well to avoid losing market share to competitors and most importantly focus on optimising capital allocation to sustain returns above the group’s cost of capital.”
Vodacom CFO Raisibe Morathi said losses in Ethiopia, where the group launched Safaricom Ethiopia last year, had hit earnings. But he said the Ethiopian business was expected to break even within four years.


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Downtown Greenville is losing a deli/small grocery store. CianCiola’s which opened up in early 2015 will be closing up by the end of the month.
The store and deli opened in early 2015 but “just didn’t have the volume of business needed” to justify keeping the doors open, said Joe Varieur, who owned the business along with business partner Wayne Weldon.
“Unfortunately the location was just outside of the Main Street foot traffic,” he said. “We had great feedback from the customers we had. Parking was the only real complaint. Unfortunately, location, location, location.”
Thanks to JP for the tip back a few weeks ago as well!
A few years ago the Upstate group of restaurants that were under the Capri’s name all closed down. Well it seems you can’t keep a good restaurant down. Capricioza has opened up this week off Congaree Road. It’s steepd in history of the other Capri’s.
The new restaurant, called Capricioza, is now open in the former Olympian Grill restaurant location on Congaree Road. Capricioza is not an exact replica of the original Capri’s, but it does honor the spirit, and the food, that made the restaurants so memorable.
Capricioza is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Call 864-626-3181
The restaurant is located at 743 Congaree Rd., Greenville.
They have a Facebook page here as well and from the looks of the pictures and comments it looks good!
Welcome back Capri’s!


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Anti-maskers have become a virus unto themselves. With many wanting to be free from mask restrictions, despite expert advice showing how essential they are at helping to stop the spread of the virus.
One anti-masker went too far when he attacked a teen for doing his job, and Facebook users want him punished...
With everything that's going on in the world, you'd think wearing a mask would be the least of everyone's worries.But anti-maskers seem to be a virus unto themselves.
With thousands of people across the country refusing to take expert advice.As they don't want to be "oppressed by masks."
Although masks are still mandatory in certain places.And the refusal to wear them puts everyone else at risk.
A theme park is probably the worst place to go maskless.As it's the perfect breeding ground for diseases.
One man, however, felt like he was above the law when visiting a theme park with a friend.Resulting in a teenage worker suffering severe injuries...
There have been a number of anti-masker blunders over the past few weeks...But this is perhaps the most dramatic yet.
Visitors and employees were shocked to see such behavior in public.But cases similar to this are becoming more and more common as lockdown and social distancing measures continue to prevail.
As we head into the 6th month of restrictions, we've realized just how much our lives have changed.January seems like a long time ago now, doesn't it? Our lives have been turned upside down by the coronavirus pandemic.
In the past few weeks, we've been trying to return to normality...But it's been a pretty difficult ride.
But whilst things are getting back to normal, we must still take precautions.This is very important because we need to stop the spread of the virus.
In some states, it has become mandatory to wear a face mask in certain public places.For example, in some retail stores like Costco, customers are required to wear one. And not to mention public transport.
Some people are choosing to wear a face-covering regardless.To provide them with peace of mind.
But there are issues with face masks that many people have discovered.Not only are they in short supply, after most countries in the world are requiring PPE.
But the issue that many people have discovered is how uncomfortable face masks can be.Particularly when they are worn for a long period of time.
They can also make it hard to breathe whilst wearing.
But obviously there has been an ongoing debate as to if they actually provide enough protection.The world seems to be divided on the issue, with lots of people claiming that the masks are in fact only an accessory used to control the masses.
And that's why many are refusing to wear them.
idfwpwdwfm i don’t f**k with people who don’t wear face masks— Cathy Kelley (@Cathy Kelley)1593110345.0


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Cineplex Inc. (TSX:CGX) released its second-quarter earnings which, unfortunately, did not inspire investors to buy into the stock. Rather, the stock has plummeted over 10% since the earnings were posted.
Revenue is up, but attendance is down
The latest earnings showed a year-over-year decline in box office attendance of 2%, but that was offset as the revenue per patron was up almost 5%. Year-to-date attendance is down even more; 3.6% fewer people went to the theatres than they did a year ago. This is a concerning trend in an industry that, so far, has been able to survive the online streaming revolution.
It wouldn’t be surprising for investors to be a bit hesitant to invest in an industry that has probably seen its best days behind it. People still fill up movie theatres and, for some, there is still the allure of a night at the movies. Just because people can watch movies at home doesn’t mean theatres will go out of business; it’s similar to how restaurants are in no danger of people deciding to eat in. The one discernible difference is that people need to eat, but watching the latest movie is a leisure and otherwise discretionary expense that is a nice to have.
As the economy sees interest rates rise, and many expenses increase as a result, including housing, wallets will start to get tight. When expenses get high, the prospect of going out to watch a movie and spending money on concession may be too rich for some to afford.
Where future growth will come from
The biggest concern going forward is if Cineplex can continue to grow its business and prove that it hasn’t peaked or that it isn’t already in decline. One way to grow is to find a way to bring attendance numbers up; the other is to increase revenues per attendee, which will offset the lower attendance.
Currently, revenues per attendee are up, but whether or not that trend will continue and, more importantly, whether or not it can offset declining attendance will be key.
Cineplex branching into the restaurant business
The company is working on its Rec Room experience, and that seems to be the main opportunity for it to be able to grow revenues. The problem I see with this is that it’s a movie theatre company trying to reinvent itself as a restaurant with games, movies, and other attractions.
First of all, the restaurant industry garners a lot of competition already, and margins can be razor thin. A quick look at some of the reviews for the Rec Room suggest that people are more attracted to the games than the food, and that is not going to bring in big dollars if that trend prevails.
I would also be a bit concerned how a bar is going to coexist in a supposed kid-friendly place, where games and other family-friendly entertainment takes place. The concept is still in early days, but I’m not a believer that it will succeed.
The theatre industry is in the decline; there is no questioning that. It has survived longer than video rental stores because theatres had one main advantage: newer releases. Once theatres lose that advantage, any moat the industry had will be gone, and adding food and video games to the declining business model won’t be able to save it.
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YOU CAN NOW GET MACCAS DELIVERED IN CANBERRA!
Image Credit - @McDonaldsAU/Facebook
This is quite possibly the best news we’ve heard in a long time.
McDonald’s has partnered with UberEATS to launch McDelivery – meaning local Maccas fans can get their favourite menu items delivered to their front door!
From today, it’s available within a 10 minute delivery zone from stores in Mitchell, Dickson, Manuka Plaza, Canberra City, Braddon, Woden Westfield and Belconnen.
But there is some good news for the south-siders and other Canberrans who aren’t in the zone, with McDonald’s hoping to extend the service to other parts of the ACT in the future.
Image Credit - @ubereatsaustralia/Facebook
While some of the participating McDonald’s stores are open 24 hours, the delivery service won’t operate around the clock, at this stage.
“To start with we’ll be focusing on dinner, late nights and lunch, but we hope over time to be able to expand the hours of the delivery service in line with what our customers are asking for,” Market Director of McDonald’s ACT, Cameron Newlands, said.
Fancy a Big Mac or Oreo McFlurry while you watch the first episode of The Bachelor tonight from the comfort of your couch, without having to lift a finger?
Get on it Canberra!
Image Credit – Ana Maria Tanasescu/123rf.com


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To view our sellers stock, choose-up your free native Auto Market Magazine in excessive traffic locations in Whatcom, Island and Skagit counties. Automakers have made huge investments in rising market international locations and have to be extremely nimble if they’re to successfully navigate the next few years. Auto Market is not a monetary establishment and it’s important to negotiate your adverse credit car mortgage straight with the lender, however most financial institutions will challenge a unfavorable credit ratings automobile loan choice within 24 hours. Auto Market is a associate for automotive dealers and automotive-related companies within the UAE. Glenn Brooks examines what this automobile brings to the market by way of technical innovation, appears to be like on the international marketing campaign for the new mannequin and reveals the importance of the posh phase to the premium brand’s backside line. The first of these is its potential to restructure and downsize the automobile market.
It typically starts with a gathering with gross sales and advertising, to get a extra accurate feel for the market and to regulate sales projections. Despite the slowing progress in China’s auto market, huge numbers of people are prepared to buy new automobiles and pay for after-sales providers. The worth of a model can unravel in a matter of hours underneath a torrent of on-line negativity.
Although demand is unstable – and predictive accuracy therefore remains confined to the quick time period – the knowledge gained has explicit worth to tactical advertising actions. When questioned by a Detroit News reporter during a current media event, Snyder would not say if he’d help Tesla’s direct gross sales model in Michigan. It acts as a digital GPS of a automobile brand’s position within the market and permits members to set targets, decide which digital investments are changing their market place and the way. Some auto specialists said the accident showed Tesla was deploying self-driving mechanisms earlier than they are ready. The driver may have paid consideration, however not as a lot consideration as when driving with out auto pilot.
It’s also doable that the market will find yourself doing higher than the forecast, as the analysts who prepared it freely admit. I will definitely come again sooner or later and I recommend Auto Market to any one looking to get a automotive! In addition, auto makers may use this strategy to open extra income streams for more dangerous use of autos the place they might request further fees – for example for closely used fleet automobiles.
Yet shoppers remain hesitant about adopting this new know-how and sales of electrical automobiles, as 2013 attracts to an in depth, remain a stubbornly tiny proportion of the market as a complete. The nature of the car promoting business has a method of making or breaking the need to be auto sales particular person. Next 12 months, it’s expected that European and Japanese car producers will likely be introducing diesel automobiles within the stated auto markets. As a direct consequence of the recent surge in sales and increase in orders, capacity utilisation by SME models has additionally risen significantly, climbing to just about 70% over the past three months. The perception on the sellers’ side is that the market has turn out to be secure on final year’s numbers,” stated Mirko Bordiga, Head of Maserati China. Nearly all the major automakers have seen gross sales grow properly within the vital and profitable U.S. market in recent times.


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That is what you state and it being your own false interpretation.
What was stated;
"Patrick Fourniol, Marketing Director, Vauxhall Motors said: “The latest TVC for the all-new Corsa highlights that we are so much more than other peoples’ perceptions, and Vauxhall is no different. The all-new Corsa heralds the next step in our brand journey and we want to champion people who make their own choices, buy what they want, and do not let themselves be defined by others. We want to encourage them to ‘Switch It Up’ and live their lives by their own rules.”
In the final scene the camera cuts to a woman driving an all-new Corsa. “Some people say I could do better than a Vauxhall Corsa”. The camera pans out to reveal the driver in a cityscape before she states “But who wants to be ‘some people’”.


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Following the announcement of iBooks 2 and iBooks Author on Thursday, Apple saw its stock price hit a new company record of $431 (£278) per share.
Launched at a media event in New York, Apple announced that it is to revolutionise the textbook industry by selling highly interactive student textbooks for the iPad, along with iBooks Author, the Mac application that lets anyone create and sell ebooks.
The Cupertino firm also broke a new record, finishing the day with a staggering market cap valuing the company at $400b (£258b), almost doubling the market cap of Google ($207b) and computer rivals Microsoft ($236b).
Apple remains the second most valuable company in the world, behind Exxon Mobil, which is valued at $417b; Apple briefly overtook Exxon in August 2011 to become the world's most valuable company; third place globally is PetroChina, someway behind at around $270b.
Announced by marketing chief Phil Schiller, iBooks 2 sets about creating a new era for textbooks, bringing them to the iPad with rich images, videos, widgets and interactivity not seen before in digital publishing.
Having risen by around 25 percent in the last year and by $390b in the last decade, Apple's market cap is now higher than the individual gross domestic product (GDP) of Greece, Austria, Argentina and South Africa.
For an interesting list of more things that Apple is worth more than - including the entire economy of Singapore and all of the illigal drugs in the world - visit ThingsThatAppleIsWorthMoreThan.


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Katherine Jackson wants the judge to know ... she's a competent guardian for Michael Jackson's children -- and to prove it she spelled out the details of her strange journey to Arizona last month. Question is ... are you buying her NEW version of the story? Plus, Miley Cyrus became the latest victim of "swatting" -- we'll explain how cops are trying to catch the creep who falsely reported an armed hostage situation at Miley's house. And, is Jessica Simpson's weight loss program working? The latest shots of Jess sparked a battle in the news room ... over her figure, and her fashion choices.


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Sino-UAE Trade Mansion, the first phase of the Sino-UAE Trade Center project, broke ground in Huaian Economic & Technological Development Zone, Jan. 18.
With an investment volume of 500 million US dollars, the Sino-UAE Trade Center covers a floor area of 40,000㎡ and contains a hotel, a shopping mall and apartment buildings. The project is an investment of the Bin Zayed Group of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and is expected to be put into operation in the second half of 2019.
Headed by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, the Bin Zayed Group is a leading enterprise in the Middle East.
UAE is the first country among the Gulf Arab states to establish strategic partnership with China. It plays important role in the Belt and Road Initiative. The Sino-UAE Trade Center project in Huaian is the first real economy industrial park in China by the Bin Zayed Group, and will serve as a bridge between China and UAE.


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This political season is not only memorable because of the potpourri of candidates, but surfacing of issues, which cause consternation and incite prickly protests. One issue that has percolated to the top is the minimum wage, and income equality.
One side vehemently defends corporations and small businesses, saying raising wages will jeopardize their ability to be competitive and invest in areas of growth. They speak of the need for living wages like three-martini lunches, unnecessary and a drain on their profitability.
The other side sees the issue entirely differently, arguing low and stagnant wages make it hard for people to pay for necessities, save for unexpected expenses, and put away a nest egg for retirement. Elementary economics shows people who earn more, buy more, and thereby stimulate the economy.
If you make barely enough to buy food, pay for rent, utilities, and a bus pass, you’re contributed little to the local economy. But if your earnings jump up a few dollars more per hour, you’re more likely to eat out, purchase clothing and other personal goods, invest in a car, visit gas stations, see a movie, attend a community college, and much more.
In addition, earning more money, enables people to contribute to society by paying taxes. Currently, 47% of Americans don’t pay federal income tax because they earn too little, have deductions or tax credits, or pay other alternative payroll taxes.
Paying people a livable wage, results in higher job satisfaction. Employees with are unhappy on the job typically lack motivation, perform poorly, and possess negative attitudes, which can be conveyed to customers.
Marketo recently published the SlideShare, “Customers Are Your Prospects, Too: Unlock the Secrets to Keeping Customers Happy and Coming Back for More, which stated for every poor customer experience, brands lose an average of 65% of the revenue they would have earned from the affected customer during the following year.1
They further elaborated, revealed 49% of U.S. consumers say they’re more likely to switch providers now than they were 10 years ago. This change in brand loyalty stems from consumers having better access to information to more knowledgeable choices.
From a retail point-of-view, every interaction with a customer is an opportunity to strengthen (or potential lose) brand loyalty. In a study published by Verint Systems2, the customer service-related issue that lead customers to switch brands include cheaper pricing (31%), rude staff (18%), and too many mistakes (16%).
If you’re ever been in a Costco, even when they’re exceptionally busy, the employees are courteous, helpful, and efficient. You can sense the pride they have in what they do, and the quality of the products and services they offer.
In an article published by Huffington Post3, the starting pay at Costco is $11.50 per hour with the average employee wage being $21 per hour, not including overtime. In addition, around 88% of Costco employees have company-sponsored health insurance.
In contrast, many retailers and service companies start employees at minimum wage, and shave down their hours so they don’t have to supply them with full healthcare coverage. What they get are employees who appear cheerful on the outside, but inside may be wondering how to pay for necessities, juggle childcare, or pay for housing. Some may be dealing with health issue because they may have inadequate coverage or can’t afford to miss a day of work to get care or stay home and recuperate.
This isn’t simply an economic issue. It’s the faces of companies.
It’s the people checking and bagging groceries, ringing up sales, stocking shelves, pumping gas, preparing and serving food, cutting hair and manicuring nails, and much more. These hard-working people, are the faces of companies, not managers hidden in offices, district managers making their rounds or senior leadership tucked away in spacious corporate headquarters.
Yet, the people on the frontline are usually the ones with the lowest pay, inadequate benefits, and the constant fear of losing their jobs.
Thomas A. Edison once said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” The opportunity to strengthen your business, build customer loyalty, and most importantly drive efficiencies and innovations is rooted in paying employees a livable wage that makes them feel good about their job, their contributions, and the overarching need to identify and meet customers’ needs.
1 ”Avoiding CX Failure Fallout,” 2016, SDL
2 “Customer-Centricity: The Rules of Engagement,” 2015 Verint Systems, Inc.
3 “11 Reasons to Love Costco That Have Nothing to do with Shopping,” November 19, 2013 HuffPost Business


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World’s First ‘Unmanned’ Container Port Opens in Shanghai
Shipping container logistics is about driving efficiencies into the supply chain. A lot of those inefficiencies being driven out are humans. The Shanghai Yangshan Deep-Water Port has been billed as the ‘word’s first unmanned container port’, which isn’t exactly true – to unload and reload a containership it requires nine men in an office, not 60 dockworkers on the ground. That’s pretty efficient!
Containers killed off the ancient trade of the dockworker decades ago. Unloading and re-loading a tramp ship used to take hundreds of workers several days as they shifted pallets of goods from the bowels of the ship. This cost money in unloading and reloading and the costs were passed on to the consumer.
Containerisation has enabled cranes to load and unload the ship very quickly with just two settings – one for the single Twenty foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) and another for the 40ft, 2 TEU container.
Technology has roared ahead with the advance of computers. Only a couple of years ago Rotterdam got rid of truck drivers by having robot trucks stand under the ship unloading cranes and then move the boxes elsewhere in the port. Robots were already stacking them in the port yards. Human jobs quietly disappeared.
This has enabled costs to be driven out of the supply chain to the point it is now cheaper to make goods in China and import them from half way around the world, than it is to make them in the country where they are sold. Containerisation has enabled China to go from being a Third World country to being one of the richest in the world.
Ship to shore cranes
Thanks to ships moving up and down in the tide, and in different directions due to currents and winds, the ship to shore crane has been one of the last bastions of humanity on the dock. You needed eyeballs and a human brain to precisely drop the crane onto the box, lift it and move it to the shore. It seems that the Yangshan Deep-Water Port in Shanghai has worked out how to get rid of these highly skilled, highly paid operators too.
The Yangshan Deep-Water Port has reduced its workforce costs by a whopping 70% as the workforce has changed from being a predominantly blue collar one to one of a white collar, small team based in an office.
Yangshan Deep-Water Port
A reporter from the China Global Television Network (CGTN) visited the port one night to see all operations taking place in total darkness. They observed, “Machines and trucks were busy moving on their own in the darkness, as containers were being unloaded 24/7 from a giant cargo ship.”
“It’s all controlled by artificial intelligence,” said Yang Jiemin to CGTN, who is in charge of technological support. “Through laser scanning and positioning, the program is able to locate the four corners of each container. It then accurately grabs them and puts them onto the driverless trucks.”
Speaking to the Transport Topics online magazine, “The future of terminals lies in unmanned technology. Through remote control, intelligent container terminals will have better performance and lower operational costs than traditional ones,” said Song Hailiang, chairman of Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry Co., developers of the port’s control system.
Now for the rest of logistics?
Driverless trucks will be on the road within five years. Trains are more or less totally automated. Fewer and fewer people drive the giant container ships, and ports are becoming entirely operated by robots. It seems that the simple idea of a standard-sized box being stacked on a ship in the 1950’s has helped make the supply chain almost devoid of people and changed the world out of recognition.
Enjoyed this blog? Visit the Gateway Gazette for more insights on the world of shipping containers. Contact Gateway Container Sales & Hire for all your secondhand shipping container needs for hire & storage or modification.


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HEB is burning its own path into the candle game by dropping a 'Butter Tortilla' scent.
Texas school districts have yet to see $18 billion from aid packages
On Wednesday, H-E-B released a longer statement that more strongly urges mask use for customers.
SAn ANTONIO (KTSA News) – Tim Hennessy and his wife were halfway done with their grocery shopping
H-E-B updated its store list to include that all stores in the San Antonio and Hill Country…


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TO THE NEW, a premium digital technology company, organized a one its kind annual technology conference ‘TechFluence 2018” on 24th March 2018 at Crowne Plaza, New Delhi.
The event started with an exemplary keynote session by Rajesh Dhuddu, Nasscom Blockchain SIG Chair and Senior Vice President of Quatrro Processing Services. Quoting examples of a few blockchain unicorns, he concluded “The next Indian unicorn in Blockchain will be a reality and is not just a hype”.
The entire conference was then divided in three different tracks running in parallel with 16 sessions in total on JVM, DevOps & Cloud, and emerging technologies. The conference garnered a lot of interest from the community and was attended by more than 250 people.
This full day event was power packed with lot of interesting sessions on latest technology trends in Blockchain, Cloud, Microservices, Dockers, Java, Spring, Node.js, ReactJS, Data Analytics, Mobility, Progressive Web Apps, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Machine Learning and Internet of Things.
The event featured many renowned speakers and technology experts from companies such as Amazon, Cloudinary, Accenture, Quatrro, Ofbusiness, eJavaGuru, Codalien Technologies, OpsTree Solutions, Mettl, Nykaa and TO THE NEW.
Apart from keynote, the most interesting sessions of the event were “Migrating from monolith to micro-services at scale” by Sanjay Suri, CTO, Nykaa, “Real Time Compiling, Executing & Evaluating Code scale on Mettl” by Guneet Sahai, Technology Head, Mettl, “Building Voice-Enabled Experiences with Alexa” by Sohan Maheshwar, Amazon, “Enterprise Messaging Patterns” by Bhuvan Gupta, Ofbusiness, and React VR by Manoj Nama from TO THE NEW.
Commenting on the same, Deepak Mittal, CEO, TO THE NEW said “We have been organizing GrailsConf since last 5 years with complete focus on Groovy & Grails. This year we decided to widen the scope and make it technology agnostic by including areas such as Cloud, DevOps, Docker, Blockchain, AI, ML, Microservices, Data Engineering & Spring. The whole idea behind organizing this conference was to provide a platform, where tech enthusiasts can learn, interact and share knowledge. I am glad to say that this conference was highly successful as it has garnered a lot of interest from the community.”


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Starbucks has been affiliated with merchant services and mobile payments provider, Square, since fall 2012. Square's point of sale system is now used in over 7000 Starbucks outlets across the United States.
In addition to traditional payment methods, the system allows customers to complete transactions through mobile devices using Android or Apple's iPhone or iPad. You can find out more information about Square on our dedicated information and review page.
Besides this mobile payment functionality, Starbucks partnered with MICROS (now owned by Oracle) to roll out the MICROS Simphony POS in stores worldwide.
The MICROS Simphony POS is hugely popular and is made to service large enterprises which are spread across many locations. Other similar companies who have opted for MICROS POS solutions include Pizza Hut and T.G.I. Friday's.
Starbucks is already seeing strong results from mobile payments. The company made an estimated $1.9 billion in revenue from mobile payments in 2016 according to industry analysts.
To use Starbucks' mobile POS system customers must first downloads the Starbucks mobile payment and loyalty app.
This payment app is used by more than 10 million customers in the United States, with an average of 5 million transactions every week.
Square and Starbucks
Back in August 2012, Starbucks and Square formed a prestigious partnership which was destined to be beneficial for both parties. The deal consisted of a number of agreements, most noticeably the agreement for Square to process all card payments for Starbucks.
In return for this, Starbucks invested $25 million dollars into Square and the Starbucks founder Howard Schultz was placed on the Square board for a year.
The result of these agreements was a massive boost for the square brand. Although the deal has since broken down, it provided Square with the platform to be seen as a highly capable payment solution for big brands and as a result, more big brands came to Square which all helped to grow the company and give them more power.
The Starbucks POS Outage: April 24th 2015
On Friday April 24th, Starbucks experienced a POS outage which meant that Baristas across the world were unable to ring up customer transactions. As a result of this, many of the stores across the U.S. and Canada simply gave the coffees away for free. Whilst some stores instead opted to close early, eventually all stores were forced to close.
Whilst Starbucks referred to the issue as one which only affected North America, due to the time differences across the world, it is likely that the issue simply went unnoticed in countries like the UK. However, across social media and online forums, Starbucks employees have been quick to comment that even in the UK the systems failed.
Stores opened again as usual on Saturday April 25th (this included the Teavana and Evolution Fresh stores which were also affected). An official release from Starbucks was quick to clarify that the issue was due to an internal outage and not an external breach or hacker.


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__Case studies: Moving from pitches, to prizes, to profits!
#Opportunities… This is why we got together last year with Yara International to launch Generation Africa, a partnership to “Grow Entrepreneurs” and “Transform Food” across Africa. As I mentioned to you last month, we are really excited that new partners have now joined as co-founding partners: Corteva Agriscience/@Corteva and Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), along with technical partners, the Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU) and the Syngenta Foundation/@Syngentafdn!
Stay tuned for more!
The second year of the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize competition is set to launch next month. Meanwhile let me share what some of last year’s GoGettaz finalists have been up to for the past six months…
__Leah Bessa, co-founder, Gourmet Grubb, South Africa
# Closed 6-month pop-up shop (“The Insect Experience”) in Cape Town, gathering a huge amount of consumer data. She’s now busy raising capital.
# Won prize for Pioneering Dairy Alternatives Company 2019 & LUX Culinary Innovation Award 2019: EntoMilk™ Ice Cream: https://
__Piwai Chikasha, co-founder, Alley Capital Group, Zimbabwe
# Top-10 Finalist, African Drone Business Challenge, Rwanda in February 2020.
# Winner, Public Vote Prize, African Drone Business Challenge: https://
__Starlin Farah, co-founder, Ecodudu Ltd, Kenya (https://twitter.com/
# Received investment from GreenTec Capital: https://
__Bertin Fokou, co-founder, Distribution Express (DITEX) Cameroon
# Now launching his “WhatsNear” App nationwide in Cameroon, after having completed a consistent, connected transport service providers database.
__Lilian Nakagozi, founder, Women Smiles Uganda, Uganda
# Won Takeda Young Entrepreneurship Award 2019
# Won yHer Africa Entrepreneur Judges Award 2019
# Featured by Spore Magazine: https://twitter.spore_mag/
# Selected to represent Uganda at the Global Students’ Entrepreneurship award competition in Cape Town.
__Bonolo Monthe, co-founder, Maungo Craft, Botswana (competition winner)
# Secured a regional distributor for Maungo Craft products to scale business.
# Featured in Spore Magazine: https://spore.cta.int/en/
# Won business plan competition and secured finance from US Africa Development Foundation (through the Mandela Washington Fellowship).
# Featured on BBC International, “Business Africa”.
# Hired more staff members and moved into a new factory shell to better enable business to scale.
__Siny Samba, co-founder, Le Lionceau, Senegal
# Featured interview in Forbes Afrique, November 2019 edition: https://forbesafrique.com/
__Isaac Sesi, co-founder, Sesi Technologies, Ghana (competition winner)
# Won Most Impactful Pitch prize at the World Food Programme Innovation Bootcamp – https://www.cnet.com/
# Shortlisted for 2020 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. https://www.raeng.org.uk/
# Signed deal with a distributor to distribute GrainMate in Kenya.
# Hired more people to join the Sesi Technologies team.
# Completed hardware design for new generation of Grain Moisture Meters.
# Signed an agreement with a government agency to provide post-harvest loss training services to Farmers in 170 districts in Ghana.
__Job Oyebisi, co-founder, FarmCorps, Nigeria
# Improved product and finalizing partnerships required to scale his Farmcorps platform.
# Full roll out scheduled in 2nd quarter 2020, some is still in beta.
__Affiong Williams, founder, ReelFruit Nigeria
# Won Village Capital Agriculture Program prize, including an investment of $50K https://technext.ng/2020/
# Secured Series A lead investor and will be closing our $2M round by April 2020.
There’s more but this is just to inspire you today. Please Google their companies if you want to know more. Congratulations to one and all!
Now some of might be wondering what it really means to be an “Agripreneur”? Do you have to be a farmer growing crops in the field? Not necessarily! As you can see from these finalists, #Agripreneurs are #Innovators!
Maybe you produce food packaging, and even better… it can be recyclable? Maybe you transport food, and even better… in environmentally-friendly ways? Maybe you are a scientist and have invented a new type of plant-based protein? Or a water- and energy-efficient way to irrigate crops? Or ? Maybe you have #Imagined a new way to grow food in urban areas where there’s not much land? Or??
You too can share your story or journey. Send it to email@example.com.


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1.5 T. Yen Lost by Barring Tokyo from Travel Campaign: Estimate
Tokyo, July 23 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government’s decision to exclude trips to and from Tokyo from its “Go To Travel” tourism promotion campaign drew various responses from economists, with one estimating the loss of economic effects at some 1.5 trillion yen.
Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at Nomura Research Institute Ltd., initially gave an estimate that the campaign to cover 50 pct of the travel costs through discounts and vouchers will push up the country’s overall consumption by 8.7 trillion yen annually, but now expects the annual consumption boost to be reduced by 1.54 trillion yen due to Tokyo’s exclusion, which came after new coronavirus cases began to increase again in the Japanese capital.
“The government should not have started the campaign at a time when infections are spreading,” Kiuchi said.
The government has allocated a budget of 1.35 trillion yen for the campaign, which started on Wednesday. It was originally set to cover the whole country.
Toshihiro Nagahama, chief economist of Dai-ichi Life Research Institute Inc. expects the campaign’s demand generation effects to be reduced to about 60 pct of the initially projected level.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]


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China's consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, is expected to rise 7.2 percent year on year in 2008, according to a Bank of China (BOC) report on Wednesday.
The report, released by the lender's global financial market department, suggested the central government adopt more tightening monetary policies to further tame inflation, drain liquidity and curb excessive investment.
China had been under inflationary pressure this year as the CPI increased 7.7 percent in May from the same month last year. The figure was 8.5 percent in April, up from 8.3 percent in March and near the 12-year high of 8.7 percent in February.
The producer price index, another measure of inflation, accelerated to 8.2 percent in May after gaining 8.1 percent in April, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The BOC predicted in an earlier report CPI in 2008 would increase 6.8 percent year on year. However, the report said "Rising prices of gasoline, coal oil and electricity will push up the previously estimated figure."
China's National Development and Reform Commission had raised the price of refined oil by 1,000 yuan per tonne as of June 20.
The report advised the government raise interest rates and rein in appreciation of the yuan, the country's currency. China was very likely to raise interest rates in the fourth quarter, it said.
The central parity rate of the yuan, or renminbi (RMB), was set at 6.8489 yuan on Thursday against the U.S. dollar, since the country un-pegged its currency from the greenback in July 2005.
The yuan has risen more than 6.65 percent against the U.S. dollar so far this year, in comparison with the 6.9 percent gain last year, and has broken its own record value 52 times.
"A slower appreciation in the currency will help to make full use of the domestic labor force, which is China's most sufficient resource," the report explained.
It also forecast inflation might show a deceleration in June as food, vegetables and fruit prices dropped. The CPI was expected to rise 7.3 percent in June year on year.
(Xinhua News Agency July 10, 2008)


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LG has unveiled two new monitors in its UltraGear series, which it says are the first 1ms Nano-IPS Nvidia G-Sync monitors in the world. Two models have been launched, the 27-inch 27GL850, with a 144Hz maximum refresh rate, and the 37.5-inch 38GL950G, which has an overclocked maximum refresh rate of 175Hz. LG calls these monitors “a gamer’s dream come true” because of their ability to reproduce 98 percent of the DCI-P3 colour space and 135 percent of the sRGB colour space, as well as their ultra-fast 1ms grey-to-grey response time. The company promises the most immersive gaming experience yet.
Both monitor models support Nvidia’s G-Sync variable refresh rate technology. The 37.5-inch 38GL950G model features a curved screen with a 21:9 aspect ratio and resolution of 3840×1600 (UWQHD+) and 450nits typical brightness. It is compliant with the Vesa DisplayHDR 400 specification. LG boasts of a virtually borderless design and 144Hz refresh rate that can be overclocked to a maximum of 175Hz. An array of RGB LED lights called Sphere Lighting 2.0 on the rear can be set to project colour matching what’s on the screen or in-game sounds, to create an immersive ambience.
The flat 27-inch 27GL850 model supports HDR10 and AMD FreeSync (Vesa Adaptive Sync), and is validated by Nvidia for the G-Sync Compatible specification. It has a resolution of 2560×1440 (QHD), with a typical brightness of 350nits. LG says it is free from flickering and artefacts. It is “virtually borderless” on three sides and its stand allows tilt, swivel, and height adjustment. It can reproduce the same 98 percent DCI-P3 and 135 percent sRGB colour spaces as its bigger sibling. It does not have the Sphere Lighting 2.0 feature.
LG says these are the world’s first 1ms grey-to-grey IPS displays, without sacrificing any performance to achieve this speed. The 38GL950G has one HDMI and one DisplayPort input each, while the 27GL850 has two HDMI ports and one DisplayPort. Both models feature USB 3.0 hubs with two downstream ports.
The larger LG UltraGear 38GL950G is priced at $1,999.99 (approximately Rs. 1,38,840) while the UltraGear 27GL850 monitor is priced at $499.99 (approximately Rs. 34,710). They are being shown off in partnership with Nvidia at the E3 2019 gaming expo in Los Angeles, which runs from June 11 to 13. Pre-orders for the UltraGear 27GL850 will begin on July 1 in the USA, but there is no information yet about the availability of the larger UltraGear 38GL950G.
Bose Frames AR Audio Sunglasses Launched in India, Priced at Rs. 21,900
Over a year after originally showcasing its audio AR sunglasses, Bose is bringing them to the Indian market. The company on Thursday announced that the sunglasses, which are simply known as Bose Frames, will go on sale beginning next week in the country alongside Bose Frames Lens Collection. The Bose Frames combine three functionalities into one device – premium sunglasses, wireless headphones, and audio AR features. The Bose Frames are the company’s first product to be based on the company’s AR platform.
The Bose Frames carry a price tag of Rs. 21,900 and will be offered in two universal styles – the larger Alto and the smaller Rondo. The Bose Frames Lens Collection of non-polarised and polarised lenses will retail at Rs. 1,990 and Rs. 2,990, respectively. The sales open June 20 via select resellers and Bose stores in the country.
The Bose Frames are essentially a pair of sunglasses that pack a tiny Bose audio system in the temples. This audio system effectively turns them into a wireless pair of headphones. The Bose Frames also include a microphone and multi-function button on the right temple for power and pairing, Siri and Google Assistant, calls and commands, or to pause and skip songs.
“With a proprietary open-ear design, they [Bose Frames] take micro-acoustics, voice control, and personal audio to an entirely new level, so users can stream music and information, take and make calls, and access virtual assistants from — while keeping playlists, entertainment, and conversations private,” Bose said in a statement.
Like many wearable devices, the Bose Frames act as a companion device to your smartphone and need the same for processing the information and connecting to the Web.
As we mentioned earlier, the Bose Frames will be released in two designs – Alto and Rondo. Alto is square and angled, whereas Rondo is round and smaller. Both can block up to 99 percent of UVA/UVB rays and weigh just 45 grams. The lenses can be easily popped out and replaced.
Apart from the audio capabilities, the Frames are also compatible with Bose’s AR platform. The Bose Frames don’t include any visual AR capabilities, but they can provide audio AR input to enhance your experience.
“[Bose Frames] knows where you are and what you’re facing using a 9-axis head motion sensor and the GPS from your iOS or Android device — and automatically adds a layer of audio through Bose AR apps, connecting that place and time to endless possibilities for travel, learning, entertainment, gaming, and more,” Bose explained.
Bose AR apps can be downloaded using Bose Connect app and are only available for iOS right now. Android apps are being developed, according to the company’s website.
The company claims that onboard battery can last up to 3.5 hours for playback and up to 12 hours on standby. It can be fully recharged in less than two hours.
Novel device can quickly detect strokes
Scientists have developed a device that can monitor blood flow and help quickly diagnose and treat strokes.
A stroke, one of the leading causes of death worldwide, occurs due to poor blood flow to the brain — a condition known as cerebral ischemia.
Its diagnosis must be done within the first few hours for treatment to be effective, researchers said.
The hybrid device, developed by researchers at the China Academy of Engineering Physics and Army Medical University in China, relies on a combination of to light measuring techniques which could diagnose cerebral ischemia non-invasively and faster than the techniques used currently.
“We can measure blood volume, blood oxygenation and blood flow using suitable near-infrared techniques,” said Liguo Zhu, from China Academy of Engineering Physics.
Zhu said that “near-infrared light penetrates one to three centimetres and allows researchers to probe under the skin.”
The working of the instrument relies on the combination of the near-infrared diffuse optical spectroscopy, which analyses the light scattered from the tissues to calculate the amount of oxygen and blood within an area, and the diffuse correlation spectroscopy, which analyses fluctuation in the tissue-scattered lights to measure blood flow.
“Both techniques share the same detectors, which decreases the number of detectors compared to other instruments,” said Zhu.
“The team’s device can record a comprehensive profile of a body part’s hemodynamics, or blood circulation. Devices should measure as many ‘hemodynamic parameters’ as necessary to obtain an accurate diagnosis, as ‘the hemodynamics of stroke is complex’,” said Hua Feng, from Army Medical University.
Another advantage of the device is that it is cheap and compact, which would make more accessible to the people, and hence, help treatment, diagnosis and chances of stroke, researchers said.
Parineeti ‘still learning’ to play badminton
Actress Parineeti Chopra has not started shooting for ‘Saina’ yet and says she is still learning how to play badminton.
Parineeti on Thursday said that the shooting for the biopic will commence in October.
“Hi everyone, we have not started the shoot of ‘Saina’ yet. I am still learning how to play Badminton! We will start in October once I get better at it! Four months to go,” she tweeted.
Parineeti had replaced actress Shraddha Kapoor in the Saina Nehwal biopic, which is being directed by Amole Gupte.
She will next be seen in ‘Jabariya Jodi’ along with actor Sidharth Malhotra. The film is scheduled for release on August 2. Directed by Prashant Singh, ‘Jabariya Jodi’ is based on ‘Pakadwa Vivah’ (forced marriage), which was once rampant in Bihar.


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It was just over a year ago when PrimeSense showed me (and Harry, separately) a demo of the motion-sensing camera technology that helps power Microsoft’s Kinect game controller. Now, PrimeSense is spreading out and partnering with Asus for gesture control on PCs.
The WAVI Xtion is a motion sensor for browsing multimedia and Internet content, using PrimeSense’s camera and infrared sensor tech to track users in 3D space. It’s meant for home theater PCs and will be commercially available in the second quarter, price unspecified.
More exciting, I think, is Xtion PRO, a tool for third-party developers to create their own gesture-based applications and software. Asus plans to host an online store for developers to hawk their motion-sensing apps, presumably to consumers who buy the WAVI Xtion sensor. The PRO development tools are coming in February.
It all sounds kind of lofty, given that Asus is primarily a hardware company, but if all goes to plan on the software front, Asus could be the the first company to create a market for the creativity of Kinect hackers. We’ve seen some pretty impressive tech demos from hobbyists, so I can only imagine what would come from financial incentives in the form of an app marketplace.
PrimeSense will have the whole setup on display at the Consumer Electronics Show this week. I plan to check it out.


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Tag Archives: DuckTales Remastered
Mon, May 20, 2013 | 05:51 BST
As we get closer and closer to release of a fully HD remastering of the classic DuckTales game, word comes in from Christian Svensson about how long it has taken to get the project off the ground and voice acting.
Tue, Apr 02, 2013 | 10:14 BST
DuckTales Remastered developer WayForward Technologies has explained that it has heavily expanded on the plot of Capcom’s NES original. To be fair, the original explained very little so this is probably an ace idea.
Thu, Mar 28, 2013 | 01:07 GMT
Christian Svensson, Capcom USA senior vice president and the mover and shaker behind Ducktales Remastered, is hoping to secure a PC release for the much-anticipated Wayforward Technologies remake. “Working on it. When I can confirm it, I will do so but for now, hang tight,” he wrote in response to queries from Capcom Unity members. The digital release was announced for PlayStation 3, Wii U and Xbox 360.
Mon, Mar 25, 2013 | 02:21 GMT
Mon, Mar 25, 2013 | 01:49 GMT
Capcom has announced at PAX East that DuckTales Remastered is in development from WayForward. The remake of the 1990 title will be released on eShop for Wii U, PSN and XBL this summer. A trailer is below. Also announced was Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara which comes with Tower of Doom and Shadow of Mystara – which was outed last week – for PC, PSN, Wii U eshop, and XBLA. It is out in June and will boast four-player drop-in/drop-out online co-op.


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The hail-a-cab app Uber, which is currently doing its best to enter the New Orleans market on its own terms, will be delivering ice cream via its mobile platform from noon until 6 p.m. today, July 18.
Consumers will hail ice cream the same way they hail cabs on the app. They only need to download Uber, select "Ice Cream" and hit request. Cool treats are $20 for five.
Uber Black, the platform the company hopes to launch in New Orleans, works by using existing black cars and limos and effectively turning them into high end taxis available with a metered rate, to be hailed via smartphone. Uber Ice Cream works the same way, using existing ice cream trucks to deliver dessert - and also, presumably, to teach a city new to the app, and that might be getting the app in the near future, how to use it.
There's no question as to the timing of the ice cream delivery. The transportation committee is scheduled to meet July 22 to vote on legislation that would allow Uber and other hail-a-cab companies to operate in the city. Still, according to local general manager Thomas Hayes, New Orleans is one of 144 cities participating in Uber Ice Cream.


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Fox News Flash tip headlines for Jun 3
Fox News Flash tip headlines for Jun 3 are here. Check out what’s clicking on Foxnews.com
Just a few months after it became an adult, Apple is murdering off one of a many argumentative creations.
Launched Jan 9, 2001, a tech hulk is set to finish a aria and film media player, iTunes, according to Bloomberg. The move, that will be announced during Apple’s developer conference, had been widely expected, given a arise of streaming services, including Apple Music and a soon-to-be-launched Apple TV+.
The brainchild of Steve Jobs, iTunes ushered in an epoch where it done it easy to entrance aria legally. Users could compensate as small as 99 cents for a aria or a identical volume for an part of a TV uncover or movie, though it had outlived a usefulness. Over a past several years, there were a clearly unconstrained fibre of complaints from users about a cluttered nature, a volume of computing energy it took to run a module and other concerns.
APPLE WWDC PREVIEW: HERE’S THE NEW STUFF THAT’S COMING
To reinstate iTunes, Apple will launch 3 new apps for a Mac, Music, TV and Podcasts, bringing it in line with Apple’s plan for iOS devices, that already have dedicated Music, TV and Podcast apps.
Apple has already wiped a iTunes’ amicable networking accounts clean. Both a Instagram and a Facebook page still exist, though all a posts have been deleted.
As Apple looks to well-spoken out a income and concentration some-more on services, it has incited a concentration towards initiatives such as Apple Music, that has some-more than 50 million profitable subscribers and lets users entrance some-more than 45 million songs for $9.99 a month.
In further to removing absolved of iTunes, Apple will announce several new updates to a handling systems, including iOS, macOS and watchOS. New health facilities are approaching to be incorporated into iOS and watchOS, including a revamped Health app that will let users know how shrill they are listening to aria or cinema on their device or headphones.
Apple’s mobile handling complement is sloping to supplement dim mode, easing a aria on users’ eyes and augmenting battery life.
Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple will make these announcements and some-more when a keynote residence starts during 1 p.m. EST.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News’ Brooke Crothers contributed to this report.


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Contour and DBS support letter of credit blockchain transaction
Contour, together with member bank DBS, have completed the network’s first fully digital end-to-end secured letter of credit (LC) between Nanjing Iron & Steel, Singapore Jinteng International and Hope Downs Marketing Company (an equal joint venture between Rio Tinto and Hancock Prospecting).
Facilitated by DBS Bank as the issuing and advising bank, which played an integral role in connecting the parties across the mining value chain, and Contour partner essDOCS, which enabled management of the electronic bill of lading through its CargoDocs solution, the approval of key contract terms, LC issuance and presentation of export documents under the LC were carried out electronically from start to finish on the Contour network. This not only resulted in reduced trade document turnaround times but also provided greater transparency with all parties having access to real-time status updates at each step of the transaction.
By providing a neutral and open network, Contour says it is able to offer its solution to a wide range of corporates and financial institutions, allowing individual technology providers to integrate within its network to further streamline LC issuance. The transaction highlights Contour’s growing presence in Asia as an industry standard for digitising trade finance documentation, and marks DBS Bank’s second transaction on the network since it became a member bank in May.
NAB and Microsoft sign 5-year multi-cloud partnership
National Australia Bank and Microsoft have announced a five-year strategic partnership to co-design, develop and invest in NAB and BNZ’s multi-cloud technology. The partnership will see NAB Group and Microsoft share development costs and resourcing investment to architect a multi-cloud ecosystem that will host 1,000 of the banks’ applications to Microsoft Azure as the primary cloud, while ensuring the same applications can be moved to or run across a secondary cloud if necessary.
NAB has already moved more than 800 applications to public cloud providers as part of its cloud first, multi-cloud strategy. NAB’s proportion of apps on public cloud will move from one third, to around 80% by 2023.
“The needs of our customers haven’t changed, but their expectations of how we deliver a more personalised service has," said NAB Group Executive Technology and Enterprise Operations, Patrick Wright. “To deliver for customers, we need to invest in the latest technology, leveraging global leaders like Microsoft to help us bring new services to our customers, quickly and at scale. Together, we will improve the resilience of NAB and BNZ banking services and reduce development timelines for system changes and improvements, from six weeks to as little as two days.”
Microsoft’s global engineering team is supporting the program, aware of the international impact it promises. Jason Zander, Executive Vice President, Azure of Microsoft said: “Through this strategic partnership we will collaborate and co-innovate with NAB - creating compelling customer experiences, and streamlining the bank’s own operations.”
Microsoft will also train 5,000 NAB and BNZ technologists as part of the NAB Cloud Guild programme, ensuring NAB personnel are equipped with the skills required.
HSBC UK introduces Apple Business Chat
HSBC UK and first direct have launched Apple Business Chat, adding to their support services for customers and to help with the increased demand on branches and telephone services during the coronavirus outbreak.
When lockdown was first announced, HSBC UK says it saw demand on its contact centres increase by 40%, causing longer wait times for customers. There has also been a significant spike (50%) in customer enquiries via its mobile app and online banking chat services across March and April, accelerating the trend of customers increasingly turning to digital channels for support.
This new service enables both banks to assist with general queries such as registering for mobile banking and information about payment holidays via the Messages app on Apple devices.
Apple Business Chat will provide HSBC UK customers with 24/7 customer service through Apple devices, where they can receive information, general help and advice at their own convenience. Most questions will be answered by a chatbot, but where customers require more complex answers, there will be a customer service agent on hand to respond. Initially, the service will not be available 24/7 for first direct customers, and queries will be answered by first direct’s trained teams.
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The California Public Interest Research Group spent months researching toys sold by national chains, shopping mall and dollar stores to find toys that may be hazardous to children.
CALPIRG's survey found toys with high levels of lead and other chemicals that can harm children. One toy had double the recommended level of lead exposure. Researchers warn that long-term lead exposure could cause permanent developmental problems.
COMPLETE LIST: Trouble in Toyland Survey by CALPIRG
The group also warns parents to look out for potential choking hazards.
"We've been telling parents and caregivers for years that a better test is the test that any parent or caregiver can do at home with a bigger test cylinder, an empty roll of toilet paper," CALPIRG spokesperson Austin Price said. "So if a toy fits inside this test tube cylinder, it's too small for a child under three."
While the survey does not test every toy on the market, the annual list has prompted more than 150 toy recalls in the last 27 years.


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This cocktail swirling robot will most likely be the life of the party. And, obviously, its favorite drink is a screwdriver.
Sometimes getting that right ratio of tequila, triple sec, and lime for a margarita can be difficult. So, why not leave it in the hands, ahem algorithms, of a robot?
Enter Monsieur — a robotic bartender introduced at TechCrunch Disrupt on Tuesday. The creators of Monsieur are marketing the machine as an “artificially intelligent” robot that “makes great tasting cocktails that keep people happy and businesses profitable.”
The idea is for businesses or party-throwers to install Monsieur at the bar and then users can order drinks using an iOS or Android app on their smartphone. Monsieur comes filled with 300 different cocktail recipes, theme packages (think tiki bar or Irish pub), cocktail history, and ability to take suggestions. Also, the robot can learn users’ tastes and make “intelligent recommendations” for cocktail orders.
While novel, bartending, robots are not necessarily a new invention. An event dubbed BarBot has been going on for years; it’s where startups debut different kinds of cocktail-creating bots. And, in May, MIT’s Senseable City Lab debuted a robotic libation-creator called Makr Shakr that also works with smartphone apps and mixes up…