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Mayo store Mulroy’s Londis celebrates 30 years at Moneen Roundabout, Castlebar
MULROY’S Landis at the Moneen Roundabout in Castlebar are celebrating their 30th anniversary.
Five years earlier Sean and Eileen Mulroy opened a Londis supermarket on the Breaffy Road in Castlebar.
In the early years they spent long days building up the business and on December 2, 1992 they launched another Londis outlet at the Moneen Roundabout.
Their son, Alan, who today runs the Moneen business, stated: “My parents put a massive effort in at Breaffy Road when they started and when things were tight.
“They both worked an awful lot of hours to get the business off the ground. They worked very hard on the tills.”
Alan got a major boost in February 2020 when a customer scooped €17 million in the EuroMillions Lottery.
It was the third time a ticket winning in the EuroMillions jackpot had been sold in the town.
The ‘golden’ Quick Pick ticket in Mulroy’s had the winning numbers of 24, 26, 32, 43, 46 and the Lucky Star numbers were 6 and 10.
At the time Alan said he was ‘speechless' having learned he had sold the winning ticket.
Alan said: “It was just before Covid kicked in. The few weeks afterwards were massive for us altogether. There was a lot of good will and the business went up a lot with that win. And, no, I still don’t know who won it.”
Speaking about his staff, Alan stated Tom Joyce from Islandeady, who operates the pumps at the Moneen Roundabout, started with his dad on the lorries when he was a young lad.
“Tom was with dad on Breaffy Road and then he came down here. A lot of the staff have been here a long time,” he boasted.
He continued: “I did a revamp here at Moneen last year. We opened a new off-licence where we have more of a range and more craft beers. We installed all new refrigeration and a new deli counter.
“We cladded the building outside. That was a big, big job. Vertex Roofing Systems, a local company beside us, did a brilliant job on that and I would highly recommend them. I got a great reaction to the cladding outside. I am really happy with it.”
Alan continued: “The deli hot food is the key seller here as well as the off-licence and the grocery trade. One key factor here is we have extensive parking which is of great benefit to our customers. We are lucky we have so much room.
“We have four tills always staffed in the shop. I go on the door myself at peak times when it gets busy.”
There is a staff of 75 - 35 full-time and 35 part-time at Moneen with a staff of 25 at Breaffy Road.
Alan explained: “We are open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day. The bakers would be in at 5 a.m. and the chefs are in at 6 a.m. so they are all ready to go at 7 a.m. as soon as we open the doors.”
“Coffee sales at Moneen have really kicked off for us. We have a great brand - Seattle’s Best - while Circle K outside has been very good for us to.
“We are with Londis a long time. We signed up with them for Breaffy Road 35-years ago and it has been a great relationship all the way through.
“All our staff are absolutely brilliant. Without them we don’t have a business. Both full-time and part-time have been great. Even through Covid, when it was tough, they were brilliant coming in. They are very loyal. The customers like to see the same faces on the tills.”
Alan has the height of praise for the students of the nearby Davitt College, stating: “The students of Davitt College who come in here are so mannerly. They come in and out and there is no messing. They are brilliant kids.”
Looking back 30 years Alan recalled they invested over €50,000 in the Moneen forecourt in 1992.
Today the busy forecourt store is home to the popular coffee brand Seattle’s Best as well the new Lands deli concept Bia Blás.
Alan elaborated: “We have a seating area for those who not only want to refuel their cars, but themselves.
“The key focus on the recent revamp was to enhance the shopping experience and range of fresh food options for our customers, not only through the new deli but also with our new fresh bakery and patisserie, selling delicious breads and homemade cakes.”
With increased floor space, the store is now able to provide an enhanced offering which includes fruit and vegetables and an own brand range.
After some extensive homework Alan compiled a price list comparing November 1922 and November 2022 prices - Litre of milk 0.58p (0.73c) in 1992 compared with €1.35 today; pound of butter 1.34p (€1.70) - €3.95 today; white loaf 0.70p (0.88c) - €2.25 today; gallon of petrol 0.77p (0.98c) - €8.16 today; and litre of petrol 0.17p (0.21c) - €1.79.
Alan added: “I believe that well-run, independently owned retail outlets, who know their customers and serve them well, will always have the edge.”
Finally Alan thanked his parents Sean and Eileen, his brothers, Colm and John, his sister, Mary, and his wife Sharon, and their loyal customers for their continued support and help.
Mulroy’s Landis is located at the Moneen Roundabout, Castlebar, and can be contacted on (094) 9021359, and at Breaffy Road, Castlebar, and can be contacted on (094) 9021888.
Moneen is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p. daily and Breaffy Road Londis and is opened daily from 8.30 a.m. to 10 p.m.


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- India completes its 4th phase of lockdown on 31 May 2020.
- New guidelines have been published by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
- Few states of India will continue with the continued extension of lockdown, with certain relaxations.
- The Centre has announced the reopening in three phases.
The Ministry of Home Affairs on Saturday issued new guide....
Tags : INDIA, COVID-19, NEW GUIDELINE, UNLOCK 1, LOCKDOWN 5.0, THREE PHASE OPENING,

domain: news


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Vizio has started to make its 2019 line of smart televisions available to purchase, with the collection of 4K-resolution screens all set to offer support for Apple's AirPlay 2 and HomeKit in an update to the SmartCast 3.0 software arriving this summer.
Apple is opening its new Apple TV experience to new audiences by expanding the device range it will be available on, with a selection of smart TVs and set-top boxes from third-party device producers set to offer the new version of the app in the coming months.
HomeKit adoption is quickly accelerating, with an unprecedented number of accessories slated to hit the market in 2019. AppleInsider walks you through the dozens of new devices poised to hit store shelves in the coming months.
HomeKit and AirPlay 2 will unlock a host of new functionality thanks to integration into many leading manufacturer's television sets, including Samsung, Vizio, and LG. AppleInsider examines what that will look like, and what you'll be able to do, when the features are available.
Following up on third-party announcements at CES 2019, Apple has posted a list of the initial TVs slated to get AirPlay 2 — containing good news for recent Vizio and Samsung buyers, but not for LG or Sony owners.


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Installation of solar panels has become a more frequent feature of roof repair. And the cost has gone down over the years. But can solar power become even cheaper?
Ars Technica reports that the Energy Department is pushing in that direction. According to Ars Technica:
The price of solar panels has fallen far and fast. But the Energy Department (DOE) wants to bring those costs down even further, especially for residential homes. After all, studies have shown that if every inch of useable rooftop in the US had solar panels on it, the panels could provide about 40 percent of the nation’s power demand. Right now, the DOE’s goal is residential solar that costs 5¢ per kilowatt-hour by 2030.
In a new report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), researchers mapped out some possible pathways to that goal. Notably, the biggest barriers to cost reduction appear to be the stubborn “soft costs” of solar panel installation san diego. Those soft costs include supply chain costs, labor costs, and sales and marketing costs that aren’t related to the physical production of solar cells at a factory.
NREL wrote: “Because the 2030 target likely will not be achieved under business-as-usual trends, we examine two key market segments that demonstrate significant opportunities for cost savings and market growth: installing PV at the time of roof replacement and installing PV as part of the new home construction process.”
The report outlines a world where roof repair could more easily incorporate solar panels or solar roof tiles.
South Florida roofing contractor, David Bange Roofing is a full service roofing company with generations of industry experience. We specialize in both residential and commercial roofing, providing expert repairs and installations of top of the line roofing products.
We also maintain relationships with the industry’s top manufacturers, including GAF and CertainTeed, and we have expanded our services to include products like solar roofing through RISE.


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Facebook announced and finalized the deal back in 2012. The original April 2012 announcement confirmed the acquisition cost $1 billion in a combination of cash and company shares, and included a lengthy public announcement from the company’s CEO.
How much did Facebook pay to acquire Instagram?
- Facebook is spending $1 billion to buy the photo-sharing company Instagram in the social network’s largest acquisition ever.
How much did Mark Zuckerberg pay for Instagram?
The social giant’s controversial $1 billion acquisition shows how a tech monopoly wields power. Facebook’s $1 billion acquisition of Instagram was a watershed moment for Big Tech. It demonstrated just how much wealth and power the industry holds — and how it could be wielded.
How much did Instagram cost for Facebook?
Through the Instagram app, users can upload, edit, and tag photos and videos. The company remained independent up until it was acquired by Meta for $1.0 billion in 2012.
How much did it cost to buy Instagram?
Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom. Instagram has become a key fixture of Facebook’s growth. Facebook bought the photo-sharing start-up for $1 billion in 2012, paying what seemed like a shocking sum of $1 billion for a company with 13 employees at the time.
How much did Facebook buy WhatsApp for?
WhatsApp Acquisition When Facebook announced its plans to acquire WhatsApp in February 2014, WhatsApp’s founders attached a purchase price of $16 billion: $4 billion in cash and $12 billion remaining in Meta shares.
Does Facebook own Tik Tok?
Does Facebook own TikTok? Facebook doesn’t own TikTok. While Facebook is a U.S. company, TikTok is a Chinese company.
Who is the highest paid Instagrammer?
1. Who Is The Highest-Paid Instagram Celebrity? According to The Guardian, soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest-paid Instagram celebrity in the world. He dethroned Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who was the previously-named highest-paid Instagram celebrity in the world.
Does Mark Zuckerberg use Instagram?
Mark Zuckerberg (@zuck) • Instagram photos and videos.
How much is Instagram worth now?
With an estimated value of $102 billion, Instagram is worth 5x as much as Snapchat and 6x as much as Twitter. However, its parent company dwarfs all other social platforms.
What businesses does Mark Zuckerberg own?
What Companies Are Owned by Facebook?
- Instagram ($1 billion)
- WhatsApp ($19 billion)
- Oculus VR ($2 billion)
- com (undisclosed sum)
- LiveRail ($500 million)
- Threadsy (undisclosed sum)
What did Instagram sell for?
In April 2012, Instagram, along with 13 employees, was sold to Facebook for US$1 billion in cash and stock. According to multiple reports, the deal netted Systrom US$400 million based on his ownership stake in the business.
How much money did Mark Zuckerberg lose today?
On Monday, October 4, 2021, Mark Zuckerberg lost $7 billion, bringing down his worth to $120.9 billion. The stock slide also pushed the Facebook CEO to fifth place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, securing a position below Bill Gates.
Did Mark Zuckerberg try to buy Snapchat?
Thus, undaunted by his failed attempts to buy Snapchat, Zuckerberg set out to attack Facebook’s biggest threat on multiple fronts. By adopting all of Snapchat’s features in different parts of its empire, Facebook and Instagram could slow Snapchat’s growth.
How does FB make money?
Facebook makes money predominantly by showing ads from advertisers within its Facebook and Instagram apps. Advertising represented 98% of Facebook’s $86bn revenue in 2020. The remaining 2% of revenue came mainly from selling Oculus and Portal devices and also payment fees from developers.


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Digital TV News: EKTRA
EKTRA selects CommScope STB for Balticum TV in Lithuania
Dec 21, 2021 – CommScope has partnered with EKTRA to provide its Balticum TV customers in Lithuania with the VIP7100 UHD set top solution. The VIP7100 is an interactive IP set top box powered by the Android TV operating system (OS).
News categories: CommScope, EKTRA, Phil Cardy, Valery Alfimov, Android TV, Digital TV, IPTV, Lithuania, Set Top Box
Twitter announces more than a dozen content deals
May 1, 2017 – Twitter has unveiled a slate of live streaming content deals across sports, news and entertainment. A dozen new collaborations have been announced, bringing hundreds of hours of exclusive live content to the platform.
News categories: Twitter, Jack Dorsey, Anthony Noto, Leslie Berland, Matthew Derella, Digital TV, Streaming, USA, Worldwide
UK Freeview homes surpass 11 million
Mar 26, 2013 – FREEVIEW has announced an increase in the number of households using the service on main-set televisions to over 11 million - its highest figure ever. The number of homes with Freeview on a main or second TV set to almost 20 million - 76% of UK television homes.
News categories: Freeview, Digital TV, Market Research, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Terrestrial, UK
Freeview HD Sales Pass Four Million Following Surge in Q4 Sales
Feb 13, 2012 – Freeview in the UK has confirmed that after strong quarterly sales of 1.3 million Freeview HD televisions and boxes, the number of Freeview HD units sold reached 4.4 million by the end of December 2011.
News categories: Freeview, Digital TV, DVB-T2, DVR, Market Research, Set Top Box, Terrestrial, UK
Freeview HD Sales Surpass 3 Million in UK
Oct 27, 2011 – Freeview, the UK's largest digital TV service, has revealed that it has sold more than three million Freeview HD devices. The vast majority - 90 per cent - of Freeview HD devices sold are televisions.
News categories: Freeview, Digital TV, DVB-T2, Market Research, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Terrestrial, UK
DivX and Arcelik A.S. to Distribute DivX Plus™ HD Certified TVs in Europe
Sep 3, 2010 – DivX (Nasdaq: DIVX) and Arcelik have announced a partnership to distribute DivX Plus HD Certified digital TVs (DTVs) in Europe. Arcelik's Arcelik, Beko and Grundig-branded DivX Plus HD Certified TVs will be available this fall.
News categories: DivX, Arcelik, Europe, Media Player, Smart TV, Turkey
Hi-tv Deploys Nagravision End-to-End Solution
Apr 17, 2009 – Nagravision (SWX:KUD) has announced that Hi-tv, part of Grupo Salinas, a US $10 billion group of Mexico-based companies, has launched an end-to-end Nagravision MPEG-4-based digital terrestrial television (DTT) solution.
News categories: Nagravision, Hi-tv, TV Azteca, ATSC 3, Digital TV, Mexico, Middleware, Set Top Box, Terrestrial
Kudelski 2008 Results and New Client Wins
Feb 27, 2009 – The Kudelski Group (SWX:KUD.VX) has announced its 2008 annual results. Digital TV progressed well in the second half, generating a 46.1% net revenue growth compared to the first half. For the full year Digital TV achieved a 15.3% growth rate.
News categories: Kudelski, Cable TV, CAM, China, Conditional Access, Digital TV, IPTV, MandA, Mexico, Middleware, Mobile, Results, Satellite, Set Top Box, Taiwan, Terrestrial
- Comcast cable video subscribers down 373,000 in 4Q 2021
- Swedish standalone SVOD revenues hit new record in 2021
- castLabs and Lemonade.TV+ work together on DRM and video playback
- Roku #1 TV streaming platform in Canada
- Claro video comes to ZEASN-powered smart TVs in Latin America
- Vewd For Automotive enables premium entertainment in Skywell electric SUV
- WarnerMedia adds 4.3 million HBO Max and HBO subscribers in 4Q 2021
- 5G-MAG joins forces with DVB on the future of TV over 5G
- LG Ads introduces suite of Guaranteed Outcome-based media offerings
- Breezeline selects Vecima and TiVo to support its expansion
- Bitcentral acquires Powr.tv
- Friend MTS extends content protection deal with Lega Serie A
- Cinedigm launches streaming channels on AR glasses with Nreal
- NextGen TV broadcasting begins in Green Bay, WI
- Verizon FIOS consumer video subscribers down 69,000 in 4Q 2021
- TV shipments expected to reach 217 million units in 2022
- Vodafone Portugal launches hands-free entertainment and Smart Home hub with UEI
- Evoca expands to Denver with Altitude Sports
- European Parliament agrees Digital Services Act (DSA) proposal
- Worldwide semiconductor revenue grew 25.1% in 2021


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ALOM is a global leader in supply chain management serving as a strategic partner to our customers by expertly and seamlessly conducting their key business functions from manufacturing to marketing.
Subu Subramanian Joins ALOM
March 14, 2008
Subu Subramanian Joins ALOM as Director of Operations
ALOM announced today that Subu Subramanian has joined the company as Director of Operations.
Subu Subramanian was previously Site Director for the Fremont site at Zomax. He brings more than 11 years of industry experience to ALOM. Prior to 1996, Subramanian held executive and management jobs in other industries. Subramanian holds a B.Tech degree from Anna University, India, and an MBA from California State University.
“ALOM has been growing at a fast rate, and we are fortunate to have added the expertise and leadership from somebody of Subu Subramanian’s caliber”, said ALOM President & CEO, Hannah Kain. “Our domestic as well as international activities are expanding, and Subu Subramanian brings skill sets to support these activities”
ALOM is a global supply chain management services and solutions provider serving as a partner to its Fortune 100 customers in the technology, automotive, government, medical, telecommunications, and utility/energy sectors.
Headquartered in Fremont, CA, its expert team of strategists, technology engineers, and supply chain specialists operate globally from 19 locations. ALOM supply chain service offerings include procurement, ecommerce, inventory, assembly, digital media duplication, print management, fulfillment, IT and visibility tools, logistics management, and operations. ALOM is proud to deliver its customers’ products and services impeccably, enrich the end-user experience, and uphold their brand reputations.


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Enlight's WangChangtian has anambitious plan tocreate a world-classmedia company.
TRANSFORMING Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh into home appliances might indeed seem like a cartoon skit, but that is exactly what entertainment giant Walt Disney and China's Yadu Science and Technology Co Ltd have done.
Toys R'' Us Inc said it was removing all vinyl baby bibs from its Toys R'' Us and Babies R'' Us stores as a precaution after two bibs made in China for one supplier showed lead levels that exceeded Toys R'' Us standards.hr noshade size=1 width=50%>


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NEW YORK — The sale of Walt Disney Co.'s magazine group shows that the company is focused on creating greater value from its core operations, analysts said Friday.
Disney has decided to sell its Fairchild Publications division, home of such magazine titles as Jane and Women's Wear Daily, to Conde Nast Publications for $650 million, according to The New York Times.
Disney and Conde Nast declined to comment.
"The sale makes sense because Fairchild is a non-strategic, non-core asset," said Gerard Klauer Mattison analyst Alan Gould.
The Anaheim, Calif., company, whose assets include theme parks, film companies, and cable and broadcast television networks, posted revenues of $23 billion last year and $5.5 billion for its fiscal third quarter, ended in June.
J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. analyst Richard MacDonald estimated that Fairchild generated about $40 million in operating income and $50 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.


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The actor and musician’s ‘Bel Air Academy’ label has unveiled a second clothing collection, following its debut launch in October. Much like the label’s first drop, new 40-piece series spans preppy, retro apparel and accessories that nod to Smith’s character in the hit 1990s sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”. It includes a Skipper Jacket, a multicolored Varsity Jacket, a cropped hoodie, a long-sleeved t-shirt, socks, hats and more, all for sale online at Belairathletics.com.
“This jacket from my new belairathletics drop is the TRUTH”, Smith told his 40 million followers, posting images of himself modelling the collection’s Varsity Jacket. The move rounds out a stellar year in fashion for Smith: 2019 also saw him land his first major fashion campaign.


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BBH China parts ways with LG
By Paul Howell, campaignlive.co.uk, Thursday, 18 August 2011 09:36AM
SHANGHAI: BBH China has officially parted ways with LG Electronics, having handled global campaigns for the Korean multinational since winning a pitch in 2007.
It says that a recent management shake-up at LG has led to a changed relationship that was inconsistent with its original expectations. A spokesman indicated it had moved from a fully retained partnership with the brand to a relationship that required pitches on a project-by-project basis.
Since 2007, BBH China has produced a number of global campaigns for LG, and helped launch several new products from its range.
Arto Hampartsoumian, CEO of BBH China, said there were no hard feelings about the break-up. "We have enjoyed an incredible relationship with LG over the years and produced numerous campaigns that we are very proud of," he said. "We wish them well in the future."
Simon Kang, LG Electronics’ global marketing officer, was also appreciative of BBH's efforts for the brand. "BBH was a very strategic partner for LG over the past three years and we are grateful for their creative input and support," he said. "They were instrumental in helping to grow the LG brand globally, for which we are grateful."
Another LG spokesman said the group understood and appreciated BBH's desire to pursue other retained business.
This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk
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- Mobile and Social Marketing Manager Creative Recruitment £45000 - £50000 per annum + 20% RSU, London
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- Philips launches campaign for app-controlled lightbulbs
- Sorrell warns of Scotland becoming an 'outlier' and the UK 'diminished' by a Yes vote
- Publicis boss Maurice Lévy to step down in 2017 amid board shake-up
- Sometimes collaboration, not innovation, can be the key to winning campaigns
- Virgin Trains spends £8 million on advertising to refocus on its brand
- WPP challenges Govt review


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Cisco's Talos Intelligence Group revealed that new malware, which it dubbed VPNFilter, has infected at least 500,000 devices in 54 countries. The malware is said to target Linksys, Netgear, TP-Link, and MikroTik small and home office (SOHO) products as well as unidentified NAS devices. Activating the malware could render affected devices inoperable, which could, in turn, cut off hundreds of thousands of people's internet access.
VPNFilter is said to have steadily infected more and more devices since at least 2016. Cisco said the malware doesn't rely on any specific exploit--instead, it spreads by taking advantage of known vulnerabilities in each individual product. That's made possible at least partly because people neglect to update these devices' firmware, and because they're rarely covered by antivirus solutions and other consumer security tools.
Cisco said VPNFilter could be used for three major purposes: conducting attacks that are mistakenly attributed to the malware's victims; collecting information from devices connected to the affected products; and cutting off victims' access to the internet via the built-in "kill" command. None of these possibilities are particularly welcoming, but the last one, in particular, could be devastating if it's used on many devices.
Unfortunately, knowing about VPNFilter doesn't make it all that much easier to defend against it. Cisco explained in its blog post:
Defending against this threat is extremely difficult due to the nature of the affected devices. The majority of them are connected directly to the internet, with no security devices or services between them and the potential attackers. This challenge is augmented by the fact that most of the affected devices have publicly known vulnerabilities which are not convenient for the average user to patch. Additionally, most have no built-in anti-malware capabilities. These three facts together make this threat extremely hard to counter, resulting in extremely limited opportunities to interdict malware, remove vulnerabilities, or block threats.
It's important to note that Cisco published this report before it finished its research into VPNFilter. That's because the company detected a spike in the rate with which the malware was infecting new devices on May 8, with "almost all" of the newly infected devices being located in Ukraine. Another spike occurred on May 17. Cisco decided to reveal VPNFilter's existence before finishing its research because of these spikes.
A Big Problem Borne Of Many Small Ones
Remember that VPNFilter doesn't rely on new vulnerabilities in networking or NAS products. Instead, the malware spread by taking advantage of a bunch of known flaws that simply haven't been fixed, either because the product makers didn't fix them, or device owners didn't install them. The reason why doesn't matter--what matters is that VPNFilter provides another example of how small vulnerabilities can grow in importance.
This is why experts keep advising companies to stay on top of their products' security, telling consumers to stay up-to-date with security patches, and pleading with regulators to force action on these issues. VPNFilter poses a very real threat to hundreds of thousands of people, many of them in the already embattled Ukraine, and there isn't anything just one company will be able to do to address this threat. It takes a village.
Cisco said in its blog post:
While the threat to IoT devices is nothing new, the fact that these devices are being used by advanced nation-state actors to conduct cyber operations, which could potentially result in the destruction of the device, has greatly increased the urgency of dealing with this issue. We call on the entire security community to join us in aggressively countering this threat.


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Over the past two years publishers have realised that they shouldn’t take their audiences for granted. Research around loyalty and brand recognition on social platforms found that consumers were less engaged with publishers on those channels than had been assumed.
Pot publications are one of the few growth areas in media. High Times Media, which has delayed but not canceled plans to become a publicly listed company, said Thursday it is buying Green Rush Daily for $500,000 cash plus $6.4 million in stock.
Delivered from behind a transparent podium in an opulent downtown Manhattan ballroom, much to the adoration of New York’s media elite, Carolyn Kylstra’s acceptance speech appeared almost cathartic.
Publishers focused on growing consumer revenue will take opportunities wherever they can find them, even abroad. But international markets come with specific challenges, including a low propensity to subscribe, complicated tax issues and lower awareness of U.S. publishing brands.
Many U.S. magazines are barely keeping their heads above water. And with further advertising declines, more paper price increases, a newsstand system that’s circling the drain and the prospect of huge postal increases, it’s likely to get uglier in Magazine Land.
The notion of a digital newsstand is nothing new, but 2018 has seen a revival of the concept following several large shots in the arm, as publishers and platforms continue to seek new ways to engage users and monetise their products.


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US regulators warn about the risks of artificial intelligence ahead of a White House meeting with tech companies. The lack of rules has given Silicon Valley the freedom to put out new products rapidly, raising concerns that AI technologies will wreak havoc on society before the government can catch up. The risks from AI include it being used to “turbocharge” fraud with voice clones, deep-fake videos, and convincing written messages.
Lawmakers in Montana voted in favour of a total ban on TikTok due to accusations that the app is a tool of the Chinese Communist Party. The bill would require Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores and impose daily fines of US$10,000 for violations. The proposed ban would take effect in 2024 and faces almost certain legal challenges, given its unprecedented nature in the United States. This bill is the latest conflict in the ongoing feud between TikTok and several Western governments.
Huawei’s net profit fell almost 69% last year to 35.6 billion yuan ($5.2 billion), due to US sanctions and international economic uncertainty, according to the company. The CFO described the results as a “low point” in the company’s history but said the company was moving “back to business as usual” despite US restrictions becoming its “new normal”. Huawei has moved to diversify its revenue streams, focusing on consumer tech such as smartwatches and boosting its footprint in the auto sector as a supplier.
Google has invited people in the US and UK to test its AI chatbot, Bard, which can churn out essays, poems or computing code on command. CEO Sundar Pichai said the chatbot had been tested with 80,000 Google employees, and would now be tested with the public as a “first step” before going out to more countries in other languages. Unlike Microsoft-backed ChatGPT, Bard can “access and process information from the real world through Google Search and keep my response consistent with search results”, the bot said.
A StarHub customer in Singapore received a bill of over S$1,500 for unauthorized Google Play transactions, leading to frustration and confusion as StarHub and Google provided unclear guidance for resolution. Despite reporting the issue, the customer received a lawyer’s letter from StarHub demanding payment. The telco advised her to clarify the matter with Google for possible charge reversal. The victim shared her ordeal on the Complaint Singapore group, and expressed her regret that she should have brought this up on social media earlier. “Naive as I was, I thought I could trust big organisations like StarHub, Google and CASE to help make this right for their loyal customers but instead got thrown in the face with a lawyer’s letter. “


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This is what you need to know before the bell:
1. European private sector economic activity surged to its fastest pace in nearly six years, according to data published Tuesday by IHS Markit, as factories in Germany fuelled job creation and France's service sector boomed.
2. Shares of Kraft Heinz (KHC) - Get Kraft Heinz Company (KHC) Report were down 3.3% in premarket trading on Tuesday after it agreed to withdraw its bid for Unilever (UL) - Get Unilever PLC Sponsored ADR Report over the weekend.
3. HSBC plc (HSBC) - Get HSBC Holdings PLC Sponsored ADR Report share fell sharply in London Tuesday after Europe's biggest bank posted much lower-than-expected full-year earnings and increased its share buyback program Tuesday after taking a multi-billion dollar writedown on its European private banking assets.
4. An acquisition of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (PLKI) could happen later this week, according to a report. Restaurant Brands International (QSR) - Get Restaurant Brands International Inc Report , the parent of Burger King and Tim Hortons, could announce a deal to buy Popeyes, the chain known for its deep-fried chicken, fries and buttermilk biscuits.


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If income is your main objective, investment bank FBR has some ideas for you, says Phil van Doorn. See full story.
The worst airport for Thanksgiving travelers
More than 40% of the flights at one midwestern airport get delayed over Thanksgiving week. See full story.
The surprising states where the share of immigrants has risen most
While immigrants are moving to every state, the impact on the percentage of the population that is foreign-born is more pronounced in some than others. See full story.
Goldman Sachs forecasts four rate hikes next year
The Federal Reserve’s benchmark U.S. interest rate could rise twice as much as Wall Street expects in 2016. So says the prominent investment bank Goldman Sachs. See full story.
U.S. drivers, give thanks: Gas on Thanksgiving cheapest since 2008
The 42 million U.S. residents expected to take a road trip this Thanksgiving will be greeted with the lowest retail gasoline prices for the holiday since 2008, travel and leisure group AAA said Monday. See full story.
Auto makers are promoting more sales incentives as 2015 comes to an end. See full story.


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Snyder’s-Lance expands distribution network with Greer acquisition
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Snyder’s-Lance announced it has acquired a snack food distributor serving the Rhode Island, eastern Massachusetts and New Hampshire markets.
The company said it has acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of George Greer Co. Greer distributes Synder’s-Lance’s Cape Cod, Lance, Archway and Stella D’oro brands, as well as other leading brands and private-label products.
"We’re excited to expand our direct store delivery distribution system in New England with the addition of Greer," said Ed Good, president of S-L Distribution, a subsidiary of Snyder’s-Lance. "Leveraging the strengths of Greer is a great way for us to extend the reach of our DSD network, expand service for our customers and enhance the long-term opportunities for our independent operators in the region."
Jack Link’s turns up heat
MINONG, Wis. — Jack Link’s is combining its beef jerky with hot sauce brand Cholula.
New Jack Link’s Cholula hot sauce beef jerky delivers a blend of beef jerky with flavor and heat, the company said. The new product is available in a 3.25-oz. resealable package and carries a suggested retail price of $5.99.
"The combination of these premium brands and iconic flavors resonate well with our consumers and are a natural fit in quality and reputation," Jack Link’s Beef Jerky brand manager – innovation Kevin Papacek said. "Jack Link’s new Cholula hot sauce beef jerky provides consumers with convenience, satiety, protein and guilt-free snacking, all wrapped up in the flavor and heat of Cholula’s hot sauce."
Ronzoni Quick Cook pasta helps customers ‘mangia’ in less time
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Ronzoni is expanding its line of pasta with a new mealtime option designed for busy families.
New Ronzoni Quick Cook pasta, available in elbow, penne rigate and rotini varieties, cooks in just three minutes. New World Pasta, the maker of Ronzoni products, said the new line "offers families the wholesome home cooked meal they’re looking for and eliminates the need to reach for a take-out menu."
Ronzoni Quick Cook pasta can be purchased at supermarkets and Walmart stores nationwide for a suggested retail price range of $1.35 to $1.80 per 16-oz. box.


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Whisky lovers are all praise for scotch in a barrel-- the older the better. This year has seen a 100 percent rise in rare whisky sales in just three months. A whisky business analyst recently reported the sales of rare malts over the first half of 2017. He found that between April and June, UK auctioneers sold collectible whisky worth £6.18 million. This marks a 121 percent jump from last year’s £2.8 million over the same sale period.
The phenomenal figure is attributed to the 71 percent increase in the number of bottles sold over the April to June period – 21,617 bottles were sold in 2017 from 12,638 bottles last year. According to the Dunfermline-based analysts, however, the growth in scotch value had exceeded its increase in volume. A whisky bottle on average was sold £69 more than in the first half of the previous year, at £286.13.
A 50-year old Macallan Lalique reaped £65,210, making it the most expensive whisky sold during the period. Currently, Macallan reigns the premium whisky resale market in the UK, with about 10 percent market share.
RW101’s co-founder credited the remarkable performance this year to online auctions. In his words, the growing popularity, “...combined with recent moves by traditional rare whisky retailers to set up their own auction sites, continues to drive demand.” He believes that the offline, “bricks n mortar” whisky vendors could not afford to miss out on buyers of rare whisky from auctions.
The recent growing demand of rare whiskies in Asia and North America has additionally helped the market achieve such heights. He remarked that professional whisky patrons from the two continents were “looking to set up new supply agreements to capitalise on this dynamically growing market.”
Ardbeg Reveals the Newest Addition to its Line of Whiskies
Ardbeg Distillery has lined up the first addition of a permanent expression in a decade. Ardbeg An Oa (pronounced “an oh”), named after the Mull of Oa, will pay homage to the unexplored provenance of the isle of Islay.Read More
Pie & Whiskey: Writers Under the Influence of Butter & Booze
What happens when you gather a mixed crowd of locals, bookworms, and writers all under one roof and serve up sugary baked goods and booze on the side?Read More
The Grand Tale of The Glenlivet
The Glenlivet — “The single malt that started it all,” says the tagline. Indeed, the label goes as far back as 1824. Established in Moray, Scotland, the Glenlivet distillery has been operating almost continuously since its inception, through the Great Depression of the 1930s and interrupted only by World War II in 1939. However, it emerged after the war even stronger, and grew to become the second largest selling single malt brand in the world. In the United States, it is the biggest selling brand of single malt whisky.Read More


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IBM survey shows telcos switching emphasis to new business models but slow to change
December 5, 2007
ARMONK, NY -- A new IBM (NYSE: IBM) survey of more than 250 global telecom executives shows how the industry is responding to the ongoing revolution in the communications and media sectors.
The survey, conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit on behalf of IBM's Institute for Business Value, found that 69 percent of telecommunications service providers expect business model transformation to be the primary source of value over the next five years compared to only 34 percent in the preceding five years. An overwhelming majority of executives (72 percent) expect collaboration with external partners will be critical as they structure these new business models.
Cost containment and efficiency have been the key watchwords in the industry for nearly a decade. The new opportunities around data, content, video, advertising and IT services are causing service providers to take a fresh look at business models to once again drive growth. This growth imperative is reinforced by the continued decline in voice revenues -- although telecom executives do not anticipate the rate of decline to be as severe as once feared -- and the rapid convergence of new media, online and telecommunications players.
Business Model Transformation Far from Reality for Service ProvidersContrasting telecom executives' reported willingness to embrace business model change, the respondents continue to prioritize traditional sources of competitive advantage such as network coverage (52 percent of respondents) and customer reach (45 percent). A smaller percentage are prioritizing the capabilities required to deliver personalized, interactive services and offers to customers, such as device control/management (8 percent), ease of use (11 percent), customer service (16 percent), and customer knowledge (22 percent).
"Service providers demonstrated a new recognition that business model innovation is paramount, yet many of our survey respondents still pointed to traditional strengths as their differentiators," said Noel Taylor, general manager and global communications sector leader, IBM Global Business Services. "Ease of use, customer knowledge and device management are all central to the delivery of new content and advertising-based services -- and all potentially offer key sources of competitive advantage -- but they are not yet key priorities for many service providers."
IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM)
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The bright red lorry, decorated with more than 8,000 lightbulbs and stocked with tins of the fizzy drink, comes to Liverpool on Tuesday, December 5 and Wednesday, December 6.
But if you want a double whammy of the bubbly stuff this festive season, there’s a plan for that.
The truck is also stopping off in St Helens on Friday, December 1.
Anyone who wants an early glimpse before its two-day stop in Liverpool ONE should get along to Tesco Extra on St Helens Way where it will be parked from 11am to 7pm.
It’s an opportunity to pose for a selfie in front on the famous lorry and pick up a 150ml can of regular Coke, Diet Coke and Coke zero sugar.
Sounds like those holidays are comin’.


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The Norwegian Socialist Left Party (SV) will this week bring to the Storting, the Norwegian Parliament, a proposal to introduce salmon disease history labeling in the country. This was reported in an in-depth article in the Norwegian local media NRK, which has also reflected the support of the Norwegian Consumer Council, Forbrukerrådet, for the measure. In contrast, Sjømat Norge, Norway's largest seafood organization, opposes the measure, although Sjømatbedriftene, a smaller association that organizes small private fishing companies, considers it inevitable.
While this is happening in Norway, Iceland, where public opinion is in full debate about aquaculture in the wake of the Arctic Fish escape and the sea lice problems in the Westfjords, is looking to the example of its neighbors. According to local media RÚV, the Consumers' Association has also expressed interest in a similar labeling system for farmed fish produced in the island country.
Although without a specific date, the NRK article states that it will be this week when the SV will propose to the Norwegian Parliament to introduce this type of disease history labeling on fish products. "The health of fish in Norwegian aquaculture is not good enough," Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes, Deputy Leader of SV and Fisheries Policy Spokesperson, told NRK. "We must address this with stronger regulations and more significant consequences for poor fish welfare," he added.
"Consumers need to have more knowledge about animal welfare and production conditions of the fish sold in stores. That's why SV will propose that fish in stores should be labeled with their disease history," Knag Fylkesnes continued. A report from the SIFO Research Institute agrees, stating that an increasing proportion of Norwegian consumers are skeptical about the welfare of farmed fish.
"Consumers want greater transparency in the aquaculture industry," Senior Researcher at SIFO, Anneken Bahr Bugge, told NRK. "Labeling is an important way for consumers to find out about the food they purchase. If consumers learn that the fish they are buying is the result of poor animal welfare, I think they would eat less fish," she added. Of the same opinion is the leader of the Consumer Council, Inger Lise Blyverket, who in the same article said that "many consumers would welcome a labeling system for salmon."
According to her, both Norwegian salmon breeders and other food producers need to recognize that Norwegian consumers want to know more about production conditions and animal welfare. From Blyverket's point of view, such a measure, which obliges fish farmers to label fish disease history, would force breeders to improve fish health. "When they are required to label, it will lead to greater attention to animal health," she said.
Against these views, Jon Arne Grøttum, director of Sjømat Norge replies in the same article by remarking that fish diseases do not transmit to humans and have no effect on quality or food safety. He opposes fish labeling because, he stated, it is an irrational proposal. "If labeling sick animals were relevant or useful for food safety or quality, the authorities would have ensured it," he said.
The director of Norway's largest seafood organization listed for NRK the factors that, in his opinion, speak against fish labeling. "Firstly, this is not about food safety. Secondly, it's very difficult to implement. You would have to conduct a pathological examination of each fish, even if you know the cause. And thirdly, it's somewhat strange to introduce this type of labeling for salmon and not for other animal meat production," he stated.
Sjømat Norge believes it is difficult to set objective criteria that exactly determine fish welfare and recalls that the Norwegian aquaculture industry is already subject to a strict management regime with standards related to fish health and food safety. However, not all of the sector in Norway feels the same way. Another professional association, Sjømatbedriftene, which organizes small private fishing companies, sees it differently.
"We believe that regardless of whether there is a regulation or not, such labeling will become necessary," Robert Holmøy Eriksson, Sjømatbedriftene CEO, told NRK. "We see that more in the market are requesting such tracking services, and a tracking of seafood from hatching to fish is already available in the market, so better tracking will likely be the case in the future."
There are no reactions from the government yet, although given that Iceland is working on its new aquaculture policy and the debate on the control of fish farming is open in the country, it would not be excluded that something like this could be included in the final bill. For the time being, the Icelandic Consumers' Association is following the example of its Norwegian counterparts and is in favor of labeling salmon disease history.
Speaking to local Icelandic media RÚV, Breki Karlsson, chairperson of the Consumers' Association of Iceland said that consumers have the right to receive information about the origin of food. "Especially salmon that has been the subject of recent discussions due to various unfortunate incidents," he highlighted.
As confirmed to RÚV by Berglind Harpa Bergsdóttir, a specialist veterinarian who monitors the health and welfare of farmed fish at the Icelandic Food Safety Authority, in Iceland, infected fish without any symptoms of the virus are processed for human consumption. The article notes that this was done, for example, in 2021, when infectious anemia appeared in sea pens in the east of the country. Then, the Food Safety Authority sent a notification, both about the presence of the infection and about the use of the fish for humans.
Like the director of Sjømat Norge pointed out in the NRK article mentioned above, the RÚV article also remarks that people are not harmed by consuming infected fish. A statement that, in the case of Iceland, is confirmed by the chairperson of the Consumers' Association himself. "No, these viruses that cause these diseases do not transmit to humans," stated Berglind Harpa.


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Washington DC February 9 2022: IBEX Limited (“ibex”) (Nasdaq: IBEX), a leading global provider of business process outsourcing (BPO) and customer engagement technology solutions, today announced that it will report second quarter fiscal year 2022 financial results after the market close on Wednesday, February 16, 2022.
A L S O || R E A D
First Quarter Key Highlights
• Revenue was flat year over year at $108.6 million
• Net income increased $6.4 million year over year
• 34% growth from new clients won since FY16, now up to 62% of quarterly revenues
• Continued strength in our new logo engine with 9 key wins, driving double digit revenue growth in the second half of fiscal year 2022
• Continued 100% retention of our top 20 clients
• Strong balance sheet with $54.0 million cash and cash equivalents
• Reaffirmed guidance for our fiscal year 2022 revenue and adjusted EBITDA
About ibex: ibex delivers innovative business process outsourcing (BPO), smart digital marketing, online acquisition technology, and end-to-end customer engagement solutions to help companies acquire, engage, and retain valuable customers. Today, ibex operates a global CX delivery center model consisting of 33 operations facilities around the world, while deploying next-generation technology to drive superior customer experiences for many of the world’s leading companies across retail, e-commerce, healthcare, fintech, utilities and logistics.
ibex leverages its diverse global team of over 31,000 employees together with industry-leading technology, including its Wave X technology platform, to manage nearly 200 million critical customer interactions, adding over $2.2B in lifetime customer revenue each year and driving a truly differentiated customer experience..


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It was also a record-breaking week for green transportation as the world's first manned electric helicopter took flight and scientists developed the world's tiniest electric motor. Meanwhile, pedal-powered transportation got a major boost as Hertz launched an electric bike rental program in London and Silverback unveiled a series of bikes with built-in USB chargers for your gadgets. We also brought you the latest news from the Frankfurt Auto Show as Rimac teased the unveiling of its 1,000 horsepower electric supercar and Audi and BMW both unveiled vehicles endowed with ultra bright next-gen laser headlights.
Speaking of shining examples of green design, this week we brought you a first look at the Samsung Galaxy Skin concept phone, which features a flexible AMOLED display that can fold to fit inside your pocket. We also saw several inspiring ways to reduce waste as scientists worked on a fuel cell that generates power while cleaning up nuclear fallout, Think Geek brought us a clever set of Fridgeezoo icebox pets that encourage kids to save energy, and we looked at Sloan's innovative AQUS grey water toilet system that recycles your sink water. Finally, we brought you the state of the art in wearable tech as we reported that scientists developed a Terahertz "Invisibility Cloak" and researchers discovered a coral reef secret that could lead to sunscreen in a pill in five years.


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IILD sets up MSME training centre in Hyderabad
New Delhi, Oct 13 (KNN) Eyeing at equipping the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with appropriate training, The Indian Institute of Learning and Development (IILD) announced its centre in Hyderabad for the MSME entrepreneurs.
IILD Chairman and Managing Director, Pravin Daryani in a press interview informed about the latest development.
Daryani said the insitute is established with the main aim to contribute to the growth of MSMEs in Telangana.
At the institute. a two-year training programme for MSME entrepreneurs will be offered.
This program splits into bi-monthly full-day modules focussing on different dimensions including human resources, product, and improving brand perceptions.
Highlighting the success of the institute in other regions, Daryani informed that so far, IILD has trained over 16,500 individuals. This includes over 8,500 entrepreneurs across various industries including manufacturing, engineering, automobile, healthcare, capital goods, electronics, and garments.
Indian Institute of Learning and Development (IILD) assists Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) who want to grow. Started in 2013, IILD functions from its head office in Mumbai with 8 branches spread across the country. (KNN/DA)


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Analysis shows Android makes up 70% of smartphones in Q4
Canalys, a company that has made a living doing analytics, has released some new information concerning the penetration of Android into the smartphone market. According to their research, not only did Android make up 70% of the new smartphone device market that shipped in Q4, but 34% of all new phones shipped in that quarter – smartphone or otherwise – were Android as well.
These stats are, altogether, pretty impressive. Not only are people continuing to toss their regular flip phones and the like, but Android is continuing to be on the forefront of those new devices.
image provided by richtaur
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Virgin Money for the first time now has a banking licence, having bought an obscure regional bank, Church House Trust. From this small start Virgin intends to become a major player in the banking industry across the UK – exploiting the widespread disillusion in the big banks.
But this is merely the playing out of a very long term ambition for Virgin. It was way back in 1996 that Rowan Gormley – founding chief executive of Virgin Money – told me they wanted to become a bank. The story made the lead in the Sunday Times business section that week, but it has taken 14 years to become a reality!
Initially Virgin Money’s assault on the banking market through the Church House licence will be low key. It may be next year before it offers current accounts and will initially focus on savings accounts, from which it will fund its own mortgages. “We have a conservative banking model… and won’t be looking for finance from the wholesale markets,” explains Scott Mowbray of Virgin Money.
Part of the main objective of Virgin Money, though, is to make a much bigger acquisition than Church House. It wants to buy either Northern Rock or part of the Royal Bank of Scotland branch network – though it plans to call its branches ‘shops’ to distinguish itself from traditional banks.
For the time being, the Virgin Money bank will focus on selling through the internet and over the phone, as it already does to 2.5 million customers of credit cards, investments and other financial products.
But Virgin Money is not the only new brand name that could be popping-up over bank branches in Northern Ireland (or Belfast anyway, in the case of Virgin Money, if it acquires Northern Rock). Santander has already become a new high street bank, this month rebranding its Abbey and Bradford & Bingley branches: it will rebrand its Alliance & Leicester branches later this year.
Santander is much more than a different name for Abbey. Rather Santander is one of the world’s biggest banks – based in Spain and with a major presence in Latin America – and which through careful management has apparently avoided serious damage from the financial crisis.
Existing Abbey customers are now entitled to free access to Santander cash machines in Spain. Santander has also launched its ‘Zero’ current account – available only to its mortgage customers – promising no overdraft charges (even for unauthorised overdrafts), no charges for paid or unpaid items, no charges for using ATMs worldwide or foreign exchange fees, fee-free debit card use for purchases worldwide and a very competitive overdraft rate of 12.9%. It also pays 6% interest on credit balances.
Hello Tesco Bank
The Tesco Bank is another new big name in banking. In October Tesco Personal Finance became Tesco Bank, reflecting its aim to become a major bank in its own right – operating online, by phone and through its stores. It already claims over six million customer accounts and a range of 28 financial products.
Tesco has experimented by opening branches in a few stores: it will decide soon whether to open more. The scope of its ambitions, and the speed with which it intends to achieve them, can be judged by its head office staffing almost doubling in the last year and its plans now for a big increase in back office employment. Tesco has significant market penetration with some of its products: it boasts that one in ten UK credit card transactions is now conducted on a Tesco card.
Sainsbury’s is another existing brand muscling-in on banking. It recently launched an attractive online savings account, paying 3% – compared to the 0.50% current base rate. However, Sainsbury’s Bank is in a more difficult position than the other ‘newcomers’. Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Marks & Spencer’s all entered the financial services market through joint ventures with major banks, but while Tesco has bought out its partner ( RBS), Sainsbury’s remains involved in a 50/50 joint venture with Lloyds. (Marks & Spencer was bought-out by its partner, HSBC.)
In other ways, too, Sainsbury’s is not taking the same approach as Tesco. A spokesman says: “We have a different vision of where we want to go. Tesco wants to compete with the high street banks.” The company’s main focus is on selling financial products to existing supermarket customers, aided by incentives from additional Nectar loyalty points.
Virgin, Santander, Tesco and Sainsbury’s are all big name brands now competing against the established banking brands in Northern Ireland and Great Britain. They are not, though, alone and other new banks are also entering the market. Additional competition should be good news for consumers – let’s hope it really is.
Q. Last week you explained that people receiving some benefits are entitled to cold weather payments. One of those benefits was state pension credit. Is that the same as the state pension?
A. No. Pension credits are payable to people in receipt of state pensions who do not have additional large incomes or savings. The eligibility criteria are complex: further information is available at www.dsdni.gov.uk. Citizens’ advice bureaux and the Government’s money advice line – Advice4DebtNI, 0800 9174607 – can provide assistance with applications. Cold weather payments have different criteria from winter fuel payments, which, like the state pension, is not means-tested.


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Scott Waddell, Chief Technology Officer, explains iovation's unique network effect, an associations graph that makes it possible for subscribers to uncover hidden fraud rings.
When an iovation subscriber reports fraud or abuse against a device or end-user account, that report affects all associated devices and accounts, even across multiple subscribers. This means that if one device in a fraud ring is flagged, any device associated with that fraud ring is flagged as well. Our subscribers can uncover criminal networks thanks to this network effect.
See https://www.iovation.com/fraudforce-fraud-detection-prevention to learn all about the iovation consortium and schedule a demo today.
Read the Full Transcript
Hi, I'm Scott Waddell, CTO here at iovation, where one of our core principles is the network effect and how it helps our customers fight fraud and streamline authentication.
You're already familiar with the network effect if you use social media. If you're on Facebook or Twitter, you have a fundamental understanding of how you're linked to your friends or your followers. We're using the same exact principles to understand how the devices that users bring to visit our customers attach to the accounts that those users are accessing and logging into across that set of customers. For a specific customer, they already know about their accounts. We're helping them get visibility into the devices that access those accounts, but, in aggregate, we're also helping them understand how those devices are related to one another through common account access across all of these subscribers.
That graph effect is hugely powerful. It's a big differentiator over our competitors, who tend to look at things more narrowly and only provide insight into the behaviors that are happening at a single business at a time. So now you get an early learning benefit because anyone else in the consortium who's observed bad behavior from that device can now reflect on your scores when you're looking at the transaction history.
The other aspect of it is it helps uncover fraud rings that would otherwise go unnoticed. If you think about the way fraudsters work, particularly in things like identity theft, they tend to take stolen credentials, stolen identity elements, and kind of shotgun them, onesie, twosies. So you may only see a transaction or two that would fly under the radar of your velocity rules or anything that would be sort of volume based in how you're trying to detect fraud, but in aggregate, across the hundreds of customers that iovation serves, we might see dozens or even hundreds of transactions happening in a very short period of time because of the network effect that comes from that graph. So now a fraud ring that, to you, maybe looked like a single individual, sticks out like a sore thumb in aggregate because we're able to understand its behavior across that collection of properties and help you mitigate it very quickly.
See More Resources


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- Ben Deflorio
- Community members holding a sign opposing Dollar General
It's been almost six years since residents of Royalton fought off wealthy Utah businessman David Hall's plan to build a utopian city in rural Windsor County. Now, they're contending with a more familiar outsider: Dollar General.
The ubiquitous discount chain says it hopes to break ground soon for a store on Route 14 outside South Royalton village, a project that has provoked official opposition from the town and regional planning commissions. As in several other Vermont communities where Dollar General has made advances, the development proposal has divided residents. Some look forward to less costly shopping trips, while others worry about the effect of Dollar General on local businesses and the character of the town.
Local opponents say they already have everything they need in the village center: a quirky, independent food cooperative, a cozy coffee shop, an iconic deli and a reliable mini-mart. Home to Vermont Law & Graduate School, Royalton has some bustle despite its sleepy feel and modest population of 2,855. A bucolic image of the town is featured in the opening of the show "Gilmore Girls."
Last week inside the co-op, the South Royalton Market, a steady flow of customers picked up supplies for dinner. "This is the place people move to because there's not that kind of development," Marion Lent, an employee, said.
Dollar General — which has more than 18,000 stores in 47 states — has been expanding its presence in Vermont. The publicly traded company operates 39 retail stores in the state, a marked increase from the roughly 15 locations it had in 2013. It caters to rural customers who make less than $40,000 a year, according to an analysis from Business Insider.
Two earlier attempts by Dollar General to build a Royalton store failed to win permits under Act 250 — Vermont's land-use and development law — because the proposed locations, well outside the town center, did not comply with regional planning standards. The current proposal also locates the building outside South Royalton village, renewing concerns about sprawl and competition with local stores.
"When we undermine our downtowns, we ultimately undermine the viability of rural communities," said Ben Doyle, president of the Preservation Trust of Vermont, a group dedicated to protecting the Green Mountain State's character. And while Dollar General offers affordable goods, its profits are sent out of state, subverting the resilience of rural economies, he said.
Residents first became aware of plans to build a 10,640-square-foot building north of South Royalton village when Aubuchon Hardware submitted an Act 250 application. The land, next to a hayfield, is adjacent to the former Welch's True Value Hardware store and only about 15 miles from the nearest Dollar General, in Randolph.
While Aubuchon officials have claimed they don't know yet who the tenants of the new building will be, Valley News columnist Jim Kenyon dug up a "memorandum of lease" at the Royalton Town Clerk's Office that showed Dollar General had reached a 15-year agreement with Aubuchon Realty to occupy the proposed building.
Though Aubuchon told the Valley News that delays in the permitting process led Dollar General to walk away from the deal, local contractor Chad Barnaby told Seven Days he had been approached by a developer looking for help on a Dollar General in that location. (He said he turned it down, explaining, "We do not need another Dollar General on the planet.") In addition, Dollar General is advertising on LinkedIn for a South Royalton store manager.
"There's not a lot of goodwill based on the way they've gone about this, playing the hide ball game," Patrick Dakin, a member of the Royalton Planning Commission, said. "We feel rather disrespected at this point." Eamon Moran, president of Aubuchon Realty, which is based in Concord, Mass., said he had no comment regarding Dollar General's stake in the development permit.
In any event, Dollar General put the question to rest last Thursday. Responding to an inquiry from Seven Days, its public relations office said the company was finishing its due diligence for the Route 14 store. "Based on our current timeline, we anticipate to break ground in the near future," its statement said.
The store still needs state approval, though. Because Royalton has no zoning ordinance and the parcel is bigger than one acre, it's subject to Act 250 review.
So far, the District #3 Environmental Commission has conducted a site visit and a public hearing, at which the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission opposed granting the permit. Peter Gregory, Two Rivers' executive director, said the store would not comply with the regional plan, which states that principal retail should be located downtown — not in rural areas or along a highway. The Royalton Planning Commission has submitted a letter opposing the project on the same grounds. The Act 250 panel is still receiving written comments from stakeholders; a decision is expected later this fall.
- Ben Deflorio
- The proposed location of Dollar General in Royalton
Residents' reactions have been mixed. A post circulating on the Facebook page Let's Talk Royalton has garnered dozens of comments as residents expressed their opposition or support.
A number of residents are excited about a Dollar General in Royalton, which would offer affordable goods closer to home. Cheryl Clark, an employee of Visiting Nurse and Hospice, said her elderly clients — especially those on a fixed income — would benefit from a nearby Dollar General. They often ask her to purchase food for them at the Dollar General in Randolph because the prices are better than at Shaw's supermarket. For these community members, every penny counts.
"Not everybody can afford the town prices," Clark said. "I don't shop in town. The prices are too high."
Among those opposing the store is resident Hoyt Bingham, one of a dozen people who distributed petitions against locating a Dollar General outside the village. They gathered more than 275 signatures, 132 of them from Royalton residents — more than a third of the number who voted at town meeting last year — and submitted them to the town's selectboard and planning board.
"We're not saying we hate the store, that we don't want you to shop there," Bingham said. "It's really about what it does to the character of our community."
Bingham is aware the petition has no real weight. "I feel like we're kind of limited by the proceedings that are happening right now," Bingham said.
In the face of these divisions in town, the Royalton Selectboard has stayed neutral; chair Tim Murphy said he gets the arguments from both sides. For now, however, he wants more transparency from Aubuchon about who it's working with.
Royalton opponents are not the first to challenge Dollar General's plans for their community. Thus far, at least three other communities — Chester, Poultney and St. Albans — have resisted the chain unsuccessfully. Shawn Cunningham, a leader in Chester's fight, said success requires strong zoning regulations and municipal support.
Back at South Royalton Market, Lent took a break from bagging groceries to consider the future of her town. Outside, rain poured steadily down. A customer stopped shopping to listen in.
Lent recalled how local opposition in Royalton and neighboring towns defeated Hall, a Mormon from Utah who had big plans to create a 20,000-resident community in the central Vermont hills, designed along lines laid out by Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism.
"We fought off David Hall," Lent remembered. "Who's to say we can't do it again?"


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News for the Hospitality Executive
TIA Announces Innovator of the Year Finalists
Winners to be Recognized at TravelCom, April 8-10
|March 28, 2008 - The Travel Industry Association has announced
the semi-finalists for the TravelCom’08 Innovator of the Year Awards, which
recognize companies whose outstanding innovations in the areas of technology,
eCommerce and distribution have transformed their business and had a broad
impact on the travel industry.
The first place winners and runners-up will be honored during TIA’s TravelCom on April 10 in Chicago, along with Sir Richard Branson, Founder and Chairman of the Virgin Group of Companies, who will receive TIA’s first ever Steve Fossett Innovation Award, an annual honor established to recognize an industry leader who has broken ground, pushed boundaries and revolutionized the industry, leaving a long lasting legacy of beneficial change.
In addition to receiving the Fossett Award, Branson will speak at TravelCom on innovation and its changing role in business today and tomorrow. Other TravelCom speakers include the leaders of Google, Travelocity, Priceline, YouTube, Orbitz Worldwide, American Express and Forrester Research. Nearly 300 companies have already registered delegates for this year’s TravelCom.
Companies in the final competition for Innovator of the Year Awards in the Established category (in business at least five years) and their respective products entries include:
The Travel Industry Association is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the $740 billion travel industry. TIA's mission is to promote and facilitate increased travel to and within the United States. TIA is proud to be a partner in travel with American Express. For more information, visit www.tia.org.
The Travel Industry Association


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When Grandview Theatre owner David Nedrow recently decided he needed a new marquee to grab the attention of potential moviegoers, he developed a plan for the look and size of the sign. But there was a problem: He didn't have the money for it. A few years ago, that would have been the end of the discussion.
When Grandview Theatre owner David Nedrow recently decided he needed a new marquee to grab the attention of potential moviegoers, he developed a plan for the look and size of the sign. But there was a problem: He didn't have the money for it.
A few years ago, that would have been the end of the discussion.
But not today. Not in the fast-developing era of "crowdfunding."
Crowdfunding involves raising money through many small pledges of cash online. One of the most popular vehicles for accomplishing that goal is through the website Kickstarter.
Since its launch in April 2009, around 24,000 projects have successfully presented their plans on Kickstarter.
Kickstarter has raised $323 million for projects. Starting a project is free, but Kickstarter takes 5 percent of contributions if a project is funded, and Ama zon.com Inc. takes an additional 3 to 5 percent for processing the payments. The funds are usually subject to taxes as well.
"It's hard to raise money for a small, for-profit company - although, frankly, we operate like a nonprofit," Nedrow said. "That's why Kickstarter is the way to go for us."
Kickstarter's model, which offers donors rewards such as T-shirts, coffee mugs or samples of the products in lieu of equity in the companies, has scored some notable successes. One of them is gaming startup Ouya Inc., which sought funds for a new video-gaming console and raised $8.6 million, far surpassing the company's original goal of $950,000.
"The nice thing about Kickstarter is that I can offer a $5 (donation) package to a $1,000 package and everything in between," Nedrow said.
But one not-so-nice thing is that every project on Kickstarter is presented in an all-or-nothing format.
Projects have a defined period - usually a month, maybe two - in which to attract attention and hit their funding goal. If they miss that goal, no one has to fulfill a pledge.
That situation recently happened to a crowdfunding project involving James "Buster" Douglas.
Local author Tony Reynolds had written a book in 2009, Buster's Backyard Bar-B-Q,, in which onetime heavyweight boxing champion Douglas shared his story and some of the recipes and diet practices that helped him improve his health after his struggles with diabetes.
The cookbook garnered good reviews, "but commercially it didn't do as well as we would have liked," Reynolds said.
After the book went out of the spotlight, Reynolds and Douglas mulled a way to revive it in a re-release. Such a project would, of course, require money - both for the actual printing costs as well as for marketing.
So they posted it on Kick-starter and crossed their fingers.
"I got over 10 percent of our goal in the first week or two, so that was great, but then it slowed down," Reynolds said.
The Douglas cookbook never hit its goal on Kick-starter.
Undaunted, Reynolds, who had some experience with the crowdfunding concept, recently launched a new site, AKickInCrowd- .com , which differs from Kickstarter in that it focuses primarily on sports, athletes and teams.
In addition to the Douglas cookbook, one of the first projects on the new site is a proposed Buckeye football fan book - Urban Renewal, The Buckeye Nation Welcomes Their New Coach - focused on Ohio State's new football coach, Urban Meyer.
"There's a niche in crowd-funding," Reynolds said. "I have a 10-year-old son who made Junior Olympics. There's other kids on his team who need to raise money to go to nationals," and the new site could be the way to go.
"This is a great funding opportunity. I don't have to go to a banker or a venture capitalist. But it's a learning curve."
Similar ventures should get a boost when the Jump-start Our Business Startups Act goes into effect, which is expected early next year after rules are completed.
The act will allow businesses to raise up to $1 million a year by issuing equity or debt securities to many small investors through an online site. Previously, the Securities Act of 1933 prohibited anyone with a net worth of less than $1 million from investing in private companies.
"I know people trying to find funding (in conventional ways), and it's hard," said David Marlett, executive director of the National Crowdfunding Association. "There is excitement about this. I encourage a lot of them to focus on niches, not just be another general store. But I'm not sure all of (the new crowdfunding sites) will last. I think we'll see a massive amount of dropout and consolidation after the first year."
One Columbus-based crowdfunding site that is already showing signs of success is Fundable.com , which launched in May and will ultimately use a combination of non-equity rewards - think T-shirts and product samples - and equity involvement for donor-investors. The site owes at least part of its early success to its founder, serial entrepreneur Wil Schroter.
Schroter launched his first company, online marketing agency Blue Diesel, in 1994, sold it to inChord in 2002, and the combined company was sold to Ventiv Health in 2005 for $185 million.
"It feels like 1995, '96 again," Schroter said of the crowdfunding scene.
"I can tell it's firing up people's imaginations. We're in the early stages, but it's a long game. We get 10,000 companies a month wanting to get on Fundable, and the common thread is, they have no idea how to find capital. The model of raising capital is so broken."
One project that found cash on Fundable is the Elevation Training Mask 2.0, which athletes of all levels can use to mimic high-altitude training. The creator of the product needed to raise $10,000 to make it, Schroter said. Using Fundable, he raised the cash in three days.
"We see so many of these ideas, and there's no capital market to support them," Schroter said.
Seeing such intense desire, Schroter believes that in creating Fundable, "we're building the machine that builds a million companies."
Each one of the million that succeeds will likely owe its good fortune to small, local roots, Marlett said.
The concept has benefits beyond dollars and cents.
Crowdfunding "changes relationships within a community," Marlett said. "If you have $500 invested in a local restaurant, guess where you'll go eat. It takes the extreme anti-loyalty model of Groupon and puts it on its head. When you have an investment, even a small investment of 50 bucks, it can really change that dynamic."
That's exactly the kind of involvement that theater owner Nedrow is counting on as he pulls together his sales pitch and gets ready to launch on Kickstarter.
"All day long, we see cars driving up and down the street, and we know the vast majority of people in them have no idea a theater is here," Nedrow said. "We're invisible on the street. But we've had a lot of people say, 'What can I do to help?' "
He can think of a way.
Information from the Associated Press and Reuters was included in this story. firstname.lastname@example.org


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Jul 23, 2014, 11:17 am PDT
About a year after breaking off talks with Sacramento County about buying a building in downtown Sacramento, sporting goods retailer Sports Basement is closing in on buying a site and opening a store in the same area next year, but isn't revealing exactly where.
Jul 23, 2014, 11:07 am PDT
Suede Blue, a steak and seafood restaurant in Roseville, has shut down, with a sheriff’s eviction notice taped to the door.
Jul 23, 2014, 6:31 am PDT
A new state regulation cited by commercial real estate industry members as a barrier to transactions is getting partially delayed for two years, with the California Energy Commission citing low compliance as a reason to rethink the strategy.
Jul 22, 2014, 2:30 pm PDT
By applying for a second two-year extension to build, Harsch Investment Properties is sending a message about the never-built Blue Oaks Commerce Center in Roseville: This time, it's happening.
Jul 22, 2014, 10:30 am PDT
U.S. Bank has chosen banking veteran Tim Kassis as Sacramento commercial real estate market manager.
Jul 22, 2014, 7:27 am PDT
A Sacramento County-owned building eyed for new uses in recent years is getting attention again, this time from the city of Sacramento.
Jul 22, 2014, 6:29 am PDT
With an annual budget of more than $240,000, organizers of a new property-based business improvement district in downtown Roseville think they can build on recent momentum and use that money for marketing, building improvements and more.
Jul 21, 2014, 2:25 pm PDT
SolarCity will move into 60,000 square feet in a mixed-used business park in Roseville, consolidating its administrative office, call center and sales and marketing departments from other spaces in the region.
Jul 21, 2014, 7:36 am PDT
The State Public Works Board approved funding Friday to purchase land for a new Sacramento County Superior Court building, authorizing $10 million for a site in the downtown railyard.
Jul 21, 2014, 7:32 am PDT
Uptown Studios, a Sacramento visual communications firm, is relocating its headquarters to a warehouse four times the size of its current space.


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Family-run metal fabricator UEKI Steel Material Company Ltd. will soon be celebrating its 60th anniversary. Located at Kawadamachi Street 804 in the Japanese city of Utsunomiya, the company embarked on a process of reinvention in 2020. “We’ve always worked with a wide variety of customers. Some work in the steel construction and sheet-metal fabrication industries, while others are in the auto and aviation sectors,” says CEO Yuko Ueki. Their customers have all sorts of different requirements when it comes to geometries and materials – but one thing they all have in common is a steadily growing demand for top-notch precision. “This was the backdrop to our reinvention. The question was: how could we use our infrastructure and the expertise of our workforce to expand our product range?” says Ueki.
The first step toward creating new products came with the purchase of a new laser-cutting machine in 2018. Ueki was determined that it should be easy to use and maintain. “We wanted a machine that offered superior reliability and precision in steel processing, sheet-metal fabrication and tube cutting – and that’s why we opted for the TruLaser 3030 fiber from TRUMPF. It sets the standard in the market,” says Ueki.
Government subsidies reduced the initial costs by providing loan financing to cover not only the cost of the machine, but also new facilities on the company’s premises – and the investment soon paid off. The machine arrived from TRUMPF Japan within six months, and TRUMPF technicians were on hand to help get it up and running. The 35 production workers were immediately impressed by the versatility, accuracy, and sheer power of the laser as a tool.
Determined to find an additional line of business, Ueki turned her attention to the traditional Japanese art form of Kanuma Kumiko. The skill of interconnecting delicate pieces of cedar and cypress wood into complex and ornate patterns is over a thousand years old. Its fame has spread far beyond Tochigi Prefecture to make it an integral part of modern Japanese architecture and home design. “One of our inspirations was the chain of Ritz-Carlton hotels in Japan,” says Hideo Nakamura, director of business development at UEKI Steel Material. The interior design of many of the hotels is based on Kumiko elements reinforced with aluminum.
Producing aluminum is an energy-intensive process, however. This wasn’t a good fit with Ueki’s sustainability goals, so the decision was made to use regionally produced Japanese iron instead. The production process requires significantly less energy, and the resulting iron can easily be maintained in good condition and stored for an almost indefinite period. The journey from the initial business idea to the first respectable prototype of a Kumiko component took more than a year. But the superior quality of the results was well worth the wait. “The inspiration of traditional Kanuma Kumiko techniques is clearly visible. And our ability to successfully produce so many different geometries ultimately comes down to the outstanding precision of the TRUMPF laser system. The machine has brought us very close to meeting our goal of absolute symmetry,” says Nakamura.
UEKI Steel Material markets its innovative accessories under its very own “maasa” brand. Two of the family-run company’s most successful products are candle stands made from steel plates and decorative light shades made from tubes. Each one is completely unique, and customers are happy to pay a premium price when they know their purchase is genuinely one of a kind. The “maasa“ brand continues to move from strength to strength, and the team constantly finds new inspiration for its unusual interior creations thanks to its collaboration with renowned papercutting artists from the local area. “For example, we used 0.35-millimeter strips of iron to produce a completely innovative design of ornate candle holders,” says Ueki proudly. Their range of products also includes elegant costume jewelry such as necklaces and earrings, all fabricated on the TRUMPF laser-cutting machine.
Currently, UEKI’s maasa products are exclusively available in Japan. But plans are already underway to tap into additional markets, and the company plans to start developing an online store in spring 2023. “We would like to market our products to private customers as well as gain a foothold in the B2B sector and build maasa’s reputation among architects and designers,” says Ueki. Ultimately, she hopes to turn maasa into an international brand and to start selling their one-of-a-kind creations in other countries. The team already has plans to expand their portfolio with elements and motifs of Japanese calligraphy.
“We’re looking at different options to boost our manufacturing capacity. Either we’ll collaborate with a long-standing customer who also uses TRUMPF machinery, or we’ll simply invest in another laser-cutting machine ourselves,” says Ueki. Whatever option they choose, TRUMPF technology looks set to play an important role in the company’s ongoing expansion.


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First, let’s get the most mysterious thing about the Galaxy S5 out
of the way: Yes, it will come in both metal and plastic versions
as has been rumored, with the metal version costing around 800
Euros and the plastic model coming in at around 650 Euros. It’s
pretty much similar to what Apple has done, offering both a
plastic iPhone (iPhone 5c) and a metallic one (iPhone 5s).


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Wolverine Worldwide has announced an update on the progress of its ongoing strategic initiatives, which includes the divestiture of its Robeez brand.
Among these strategies is achieving a healthier supply chain. During 2016, an assessment of third-party manufacturing was finalized and resulted in a tightening of the factory base by nearly one-third. This rationalization strengthens the company’s position with key manufacturing partners around the world. While consolidating manufacturing partners, the geographic sourcing base has been diversified, with more than half of the company’s products expected to be produced outside of China by the end of 2017. Many of these actions have helped drive lower product costs, which are anticipated to improve by two to three percent across the portfolio in 2017. In addition, the company plans to open its first distribution center on the West Coast by mid-2017, which is expected to reduce time to market and provide logistics cost savings in 2018.
In order to proactively address changing consumer behaviors, the company has increased investment in e-commerce, while addressing unprofitable brick-and-mortar stores through closures, rent relief negotiations, and performance improvement initiatives. Based on timing, store closures are expected to reduce 2017 revenue by $125 million to $175 million. Once completed, the company’s store rationalization efforts are expected to improve operating profit by $20 million on an annualized basis.
An evaluation of the brand portfolio was completed this fall to allow the company to focus on the biggest opportunities. Strategic alternatives for several brands were considered, including divestiture. Harris Williams & Co. has been exclusively retained and is currently assisting with the process. Robeez was the first brand to reach resolution with the completion of a sale transaction on December 16, 2016. Additional progress on divestitures and other changes is anticipated in the first quarter of 2017.
Strong management of working capital has been a key priority as well. Year-end inventory is now expected to be down high teens, compared to the previous expectations of a low-teens decline, and cash flow generation is anticipated to be better than expected. As a result of a more flexible debt structure and very strong cash generation, the company is positioned for additional share repurchases and potential future acquisitions.
“We’ve made tremendous progress against our key initiatives in 2016, and I am excited to provide an update as we transition into the year ahead,” said Blake W. Krueger, Wolverine Worldwide’s chairman, chief executive officer and president. “As we enter 2017, we have formalized our most important strategic initiatives into the next evolution of our strategic platform – the Wolverine Way Forward. We are intent on protecting our brands through responsible brand stewardship and delivering growth by leveraging our focus on our consumers, product innovation and speed, all while driving operational excellence and expanding operating margin. To help drive this, we will open a new, 14,000-square-foot consumer and innovation hub next month, co-locating consumer insights, strategy, advanced concepts, and product development teams in a modern, collaborative environment. At the same time, our work to position the company for improved profitability through our operational excellence initiatives continues, and we remain on track to deliver against our 2018 adjusted operating margin goal. We believe we have the right strategies in place, and I am enthused by the opportunity ahead of us.”


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Editor Bates has a story up this morning about Goodyear buyouts set for this week after months of negotiations.
Goodyear-Union City is saying good-bye Wednesday to about 550 associates whose service to the company represents 14,300 collective years of experience.
Those words were issued in a recent UC Today, a company newsletter published by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company at its Union City plant. The 550 associates are part of a plant-wide buyout agreement between Goodyear-Union City and its USW Local 878 associates.
Union workers approved the buyout agreement with a 94 percent vote in favor of the proposal offered to the Goodyear associates. The agreement highlights three phases of workforce reductions at the local plant.
I wonder when it’s all said and done though how this will impact the local economy. Just wondering what will happen in the long term with sales revenues. As I know many of these 30+ employees, I’m pleased that this worked out for them. On another thought, if those men and women are replaced, it will be most likely at lower wages which means less money spent in several counties.
Just pondering it all.


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Sales have continued to grow at a rate which would be the envy of most competitors.
(PRWEB UK) 15 January 2013
The team at Davpack has found that its success over the last twelve months has had an unexpected side effect – they’ve run out of room again! The Midlands-based packing supplies company has already extended its premises a number of times over the last few years, and is now expanding its customer service and purchasing facilities in response to growing customer demand.
An enlarged customer service team is being organised by region, such as East Midlands, West Midlands, South Yorkshire and Greater Manchester, and moving into new office space.
Managing Director Barney Byfield commented: “It is clear that a detailed understanding of customers and local geography leads to better service, and Davpack is all about 5-star service, as well as superior in-stock packaging choice and value. We have been recruiting for some months now, and it will be a relief to move from temporary to permanent arrangements.”
As Davpack becomes the preferred packaging supplier to more and more customers around the country, sales have continued to grow at a rate which would be the envy of most competitors. To support this, facilities are also being added for the buying team, to develop the supplier base. This phase of expansion is due to be completed by February 2013.
In summary, Barney added: “Now that we are part of Europe’s second largest direct packaging group, we have exciting plans for 2013, and with this comes the opportunity to provide better regional customer service and improved facilities for staff and suppliers. We are delighted to be able to announce this investment today.”
With over 3800 packaging materials available through its online store, Davpack offers the best choice and value for next day packaging in the UK. Call their Sales team on 01332 821200 or visit davpack.co.uk to find out more.


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Latest Contents Update
- Pakistan’s largest cooking oil manufacturer plots ‘biggest consumer staple’ IPO
- Mega IPO Planned for 2023 by Pakistan’s Biggest Cooking Oil Maker
- Cooking oil maker could raise as much as 8.6 billion rupees
- Unilever sold Dalda’s Pakistan business to employees in 2004
- Dalda looks to raise between Rs 8.3-4.6 bn in a share sale
- Plans to Bankroll expansion of its Production
- Dalda Plots Pakistan’s Biggest Consumer Staple IPO, CEO Says
- Analyst says offering can involve selling about 50m shares
- Air Link Communication PVT Limited
Voice of The People Report: VOP Latest Breaking News Dalda Foods PVT Ltd. Pakistan’s Largest Dalda Cooking oil & Banaspati Ghee Manufacturer Dalda Foods PVT Limited is planning an Initial Public offering (IPO) in the Country,
Pakistan’s largest cooking oil manufacturer plots ‘biggest consumer staple’ IPO
Anticipated to take place before Ramadan, which is likely to begin from March 22, Dalda Foods are looking to raise between Rs6.3 billion($ 18 million) and Rs8.6 billion in a share trade, the company’s principal administrative officer Aziz Jindani told the US publication.
Mega IPO Planned for 2023 by Pakistan’s Biggest Cooking Oil Maker
Data compiled by Bloomberg showed that at Rs 8.6 billion Dalda’s IPO would be Pakistan’s largest by a consumer staple company. It would also be the country’s largest since Air Link Communication Limited’s Rs 9.4 billion listing in September 2023.
Cooking oil maker could raise as much as 8.6 billion rupees
Jindani, while pertaining to the company’s plant at one of the country’s busiest shipping anchorages, said “ This particular IPO is intended to fund Port Qasim expansion. The proceeds could expand its capacity in Karachi to prize oil painting from seeds ”.
Unilever sold Dalda’s Pakistan business to employees in 2004
He further added that it may reach 900 tons a day, further than doubling the current rate, he said.
Meanwhile, Arif Habib Limited( AHL) Chief Executive Officer Shahid Ali Habib revealed that the immolation could involve dealing about 50 million shares, conforming of two- thirds of new shares with the rest coming from being shareholders. It should be noted that Arif Habib Limited is the sole counsel to the IPO.
Unilever introduced Dalda to the region in 1937, still, it vended the company’s Pakistan business to Westbury Group, possessed by Bashir Jan Mohammad and a group of workers. With time Dalda expanded into making liquid tea whitener besides manufacturing cuisine oil painting, according to its website.
Plans to Bankroll expansion of its Production
Jindani said this business is “ recession- evidence” as a order, as Pakistanis continue to spend on cooking oil painting despite advanced affectation and a retardation in profitable growth as it’s seen as a necessity in homes.
Dalda Plots Pakistan’s Biggest Consumer Staple IPO, CEO Says
The CEO participated that the company’s revenues have grown 27 a time on average since 2018. The profit reached Rs88 billion in the financial time of 2021- 22, further than those of other major food directors in the country similar as FrieslandCampina, Engro Pakistan Limited, and National Foods Limited, the superintendent added.
Also, it was learnt that Dalda’s products regard for about 5 of the cuisine oil painting request that’s estimated to be worth about$ 16 billion. The table could further help Dalda capture a larger share of Pakistan’s fractured comestible oil painting request.
Air Link Communication PVT Limited
The IPO would be the largest in the country since Air Link Communication Limited’s Rs 9.4-billion listing. The company is one of the largest distributor of mobile phones in Pakistan.