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Apple's new Amsterdam Apple Store is stunning
Apple has been doing an amazing job at making new Apple Stores really stand out, but photos from Dutch Apple site OneMoreThing.nl show that the first Apple Store in the Netherlands is a stunner.
The Amsterdam Apple Store opens this Saturday at 10 AM, and Apple has updated the Apple Store app so that those in the Netherlands can make appointments and use EasyPay from day one.
The store also features one of the largest Genius Bars I've ever seen, with more than 20 stools appearing in a photo in a gallery published by iPhoneClub.nl.
TUAW readers attending the Amsterdam Apple Store opening on Saturday are invited to upload their images to Flickr for everyone to see. Just tag 'em with "TUAW".
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Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc., the Chicago company with holdings including luxury hotels run by the Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton chains and the InterContinental on Michigan Avenue, is under pressure again from Orange Capital LLC to consider a sale.
Orange Capital last month said it planned to nominate four members to the board of Strategic Hotels in order to sell assets and clarify its strategy.
"The Strategic Hotels & Resorts Board and management team continually reviews options to create value for shareholders," Strategic said in a statement, defending its recent decision to sell Four Season Punta Mita that was quesitoned by Orange this week. The $200 million price "represents excellent value and provides an opportunity to de-leverage the company's balance sheet consistent with its ongoing strategy."
In February, Orange publicized a letter calling for the immediate sale of Strategic Hotels, citing favorable market conditions and Strategic's large corporate overhead. Orange also claimed that Strategic lacked a solid plan for the future after its chief executive Laurence Geller resigned abruptly late last year.
Strategic Hotels & Resorts is a real estate investment trust which owns and manages high-end hotels and resorts in the United States, Mexico and Europe. The company currently has ownership interests in 18 properties with 8,271 rooms and 851,600 square feet of multi-purpose meeting and banqueting space.

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Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC) celebrated the production of its 10-millionth vehicle with the Lexus NX 350h hybrid electric SUV coming off the line.
“Today’s milestone speaks to how far Toyota’s manufacturing operations in Canada have come over the past three decades,” said Frank Voss, president of TMMC. “In 1988, the year we opened our first plant in Cambridge, our team members built 153 Toyota Corollas and it took over 11 years to produce our first million vehicles. Today, we’re Canada’s largest automaker and leading maker of electrified vehicles, building half a million Toyota and Lexus vehicles for the North American market every year.”
Since 1988, TMMC has also grown to become one of Southwestern Ontario’s most important employers, with two production lines in Cambridge and a third line in Woodstock that, together, employ more than 8,500 people.
“Our world-class team members have been trusted to build some of the most popular vehicles in North America, and that’s something we’re very proud of,” Voss noted. “This year, we added the Lexus NX and Lexus NX Hybrid to our production lines, so it’s great to hit our 10 million milestone with a shiny red example of our newest electrified model.”


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China reported its lowest Gross Domestic Product in 14 years. In 2013, China's economy only grew by 7.7 percent, lower that economists were expecting. But Shaun Rein, managing director of the China Market Research Group, says that this slowdown may be useful.
"The underlying reasons are healthy," Rein says. "The country can no longer rely on heavy investment and exports for growth, so the government is trying to push more consumption. And in 2013, 13.6 percent retail sale growth came in and showed that shift is starting to happen."
To listen to the interview, click the audio player above.
“I think the best compliment I can give is not to say how much your programs have taught me (a ton), but how much Marketplace has motivated me to go out and teach myself.” – Michael in Arlington, VABEFORE YOU GO


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Those who don’t follow eSports or Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games may not have heard of The International (TI), Dota 2’s premier tournament and regularly the largest prize pool in eSports. Last year’s tournament distributed nearly $34.5 million to the 18 teams competing and was watched by millions of fans worldwide. Every year, the Battle Pass (previously the Compendium) release is an event that dedicated fans of Dota 2 await like Christmas morning, as it brings new rare items, exclusive skins, and seasonal features. The tournament itself has been postponed until 2021 at the earliest, due to COVID-19, but the release of the Battle Pass goes on.
For Valve, Dota 2’s developer and publisher, it also brings a massive windfall in revenue. For every $1 spent on Battle Pass-related items, $.25 is added to the prize pool. Only $1.6 million of the total prize pool is staked by Valve; all of the additional funds are due to the fans, who take immense pride in building a prize pool that tops itself every year. Last year’s record $34,330,068 prize pool generated nearly $131 million in gross revenue for Valve, and the trend this year is no different.
The TI 10 prize pool is already nearly $11 million at time of writing, and is sure to grow from there. The first day of its release saw the largest ever first day for any TI Compendium release at just over $6.5 million, a 13% increase over last year’s massive first day. If the trend holds, it’s possible that the prize pool could grow as high as $40 million, a number that would bowl over even the biggest Dota 2 fans. This year’s Compendium sales have been staggering as many people expected numbers to be down as the world enters a COVID-induced recession and nations like the United States are seeing record levels of unemployment, so it’s too early to say.
Although fans of Dota 2 have been excited by the new content, some are disappointed with Valve’s perceived lack of support. Servers over the last few days have been slammed, leading some players experience less of a game and more of a slideshow. Additionally, many players have had difficulty connecting to Dota 2’s game coordinator, the system that allows players to connect to matches or report results. Peak concurrent users were below 12-month highs, as were average player counts, so players weren’t expecting so many issues.
Many player complaints do seem to have been addressed, and for now the fans are excited again and expectations are high. Can TI 10 deliver by continuing the trend of setting a new high water mark every year – possibly topping $35 million in the prize pool? Only time, and Dota 2’s generous fanbase, will tell.


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Holden likely to shut in 2016: reportPUBLISHED: 07 Nov 2013 13:09:00 | UPDATED: 07 Nov 2013 17:46:22PUBLISHED: 07 Nov 2013 PRINT EDITION: 07 Nov 2013
GM Holden is most likely to cease manufacturing in 2016, according to a leaked report prepared for the car giant and the main union representing its workers.
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SASB to create sustainability standards for 89 industries across 10 sectors.
The Hershey Co. is joining the Advisory Council of the newly founded Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) as part of Hershey’s commitment to reporting on its expanding sustainability practices.
As a member of the Advisory Council, Hershey will help develop reporting standards for the food and beverage industry that will support greater transparency.
The SASB, a newly formed nonprofit organization, aims to develop and disseminate sustainability accounting standards for 89 industries, which will give investors, companies and key stakeholders a comprehensive view of a company’s sustainability risks and opportunities.
“We are committed to being transparent with our stakeholders on a growing range of socially responsible and environmentally sustainable programs and initiatives at The Hershey Co.,” said Todd Camp, director, Corporate Social Responsibility at The Hershey Co. “We support SASB’s mission to create industry-specific standards that will increase transparency and ease of comparison across the food and beverage industry. We look forward to collaborating with our peers to help drive enhanced innovation and sustainability across our industry.”
Hershey understands that there are many non-financial material issues affecting a company’s ability to create long-term value. These sustainability issues vary greatly from industry to industry, and SASB, in partnership with industry leaders such as Hershey, will work to identify and understand these unique material issues so they can develop a standard for companies to measure, manage and disclose how they are mitigating sustainability risks.
Hershey is already committed to providing timely and relevant sustainability information to its key stakeholders through its CSR reports and scorecard updates; full CSR reports are released every even year with scorecard updates, providing progress against the company’s key sustainability benchmarks, published every odd year. Hershey also engages with stakeholders year round through ongoing announcements of new Corporate Social Responsibility projects and initiatives.
Most recently and significantly, Hershey announced its 2020 cocoa certification goals, a substantial commitment to addressing cocoa sustainability issues in the cocoa supply chain. Hershey will source 100% certified cocoa for its chocolate product lines globally by 2020 and accelerate its sustainability programs in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.
For more information on Hershey’s 2011 CSR achievements and 2015 sustainability goals: http://www.thehersheycompany.com/social-responsibility/csr-report.aspx


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17 Interesting Stats on PC Gamer Demographics You May Not Know
People often think of kids sitting in front of a PC when they hear about gamers. Surprisingly, this isn’t the case anymore, as PC gaming has become popular among all age groups worldwide.
In fact, in the US alone, 8% of PC gamers are aged 60 to 64, while only 6% are 18 to 19.
Explore the essential facts and statistics behind PC gamer demographics to learn about the massive gaming industry and see the distinct profiles of gamers worldwide.
Highlights of the Article
- The digital PC game market shall reach $12.67 billion by 2023.
- An estimated 38% of “dedicated PC gamers” use laptops as their main gaming device.
- Gaming duration for average PC gamers lasts around 7.6 hours weekly.
- 2023 saw 1.83 billion individuals worldwide to be PC gamers.
- More than a third of PC gamers globally are from Asia.
- 31% of American PC gamers in 2021 are between 30-39 years old.
- Experts see video gaming community in the US to increase to 240 million by 2027.
- Millenials dominate the PC gaming population worldwide, at 56%.
- In 2023, 46% of US gamers are female.
- With over 1 million monthly active users, Minecraft maintains its spot as PC gamers’ favorite title.
Overview of PC Gamer Demographics
Anyone can enjoy PC games, regardless of age, gender, and ethnicity. However, there is still a wide gap regarding race, with 67% of video gamers being Caucasians.
Males still dominate the gaming world, but with females accounting for 46% of the gaming population, it’s only a matter of time before the PC gamer gender distribution is equal.
The statistics below show the diverse and exciting world of PC gaming.
Aside from PCs, mobile games and video games have shattered records regarding demographics and revenue.
Facts and Insights on PC Gamers Demographic Worldwide
Nowadays, mobile apps enable top-performing games in just one click. But with these innovations, gamers still prefer to play it on their gaming PC at approximately 90%.
Find out how PC gamers change the course of the gaming industry with these fascinating general statistics.
1. The global PC game market is predicted to reach $12.67 billion in revenue in 2023.
The global PC game market continues its steady growth. From $10.86 billion in 2022, the market is expected to have a 16.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) this 2023, equivalent to nearly $13 billion. By 2027, a projected $22.7 billion revenue is predicted for the PC game market.
Other factors contributing to the steady market revenue of PC games include in-game purchases and new features such as voice recognition, 3D graphics, GPS tracking, and more, making the gaming experience even more immersive.
2. Most players make PC game purchases digitally at 83%.
(Global X ETFs, BBC)
In the UK alone, digital sales accounted for an estimated 90% of video games sold in 2022. It shows that PC gamers are likelier to download games than purchase at a physical game shop.
Convenience and accessibility are the main factors contributing to increased digital sales or purchases from PC games.
For gaming companies, making their games digital means saving enough money on packaging, manufacturing, and shipping.
3. PC gaming (52%) is more popular than Console gaming (43%) in Eastern Europe.
A report by Newzoo shows that in 2022, there were 1.1 billion PC players and 611 million console players.
Gamers also tend to play across three major gaming platforms, such as PCs, consoles, and mobiles, at 23%.
However, the reason why players prefer PCs over consoles, especially in Eastern Europe, is due to the player’s ability to watch films and TV series and listen to music while playing.
4. Around 38% of dedicated PC gamers use laptops as their main gaming PC.
Newzoo surveyed 9,000 gamers across the US, UK, Germany, France, China, and Japan.
The survey defined a “dedicated PC gamer” as someone who plays at least weekly and is willing to spend on hardware. Its findings revealed that 40% of the dedicated PC gamers are women.
Moreover, dedicated PC gamers aged 21 to 30 are the biggest age group who use a laptop as their primary gaming device.
A career in gaming is possible! In fact, in China, nearly two million people are highly needed for employment in 2024 for the eSports industry.
Check out these 12 ways a gamer makes money in 2023.
5. An average PC gamer spends 7.6 hours playing video games weekly.
(Midia Research, ExpressVPN)
An average gamer plays for more than one hour daily. US gamers spend the longest hours playing video games at 1 hour and 9 minutes, while Germans spend the least time at only 40 minutes.
A study found that among gamers aged 30 to 40, 68% play video games daily. In contrast, only 20% of gamers in their 20s admit to doing so.
The increase in hours spent on video games is due to the game’s features, such as graphics, music, and video, and psychological reasons, such as socialization and self-expression.
Interesting PC Gamers Statistics by Country and Region
The PC gaming industry is rapidly growing, especially in market size. Nearly two billion PC gamers are recorded in 2023 alone, with 700 million from the Asia Pacific.
Get a closer look at how PC gamers are growing through these global statistics.
6. There are around 1.83 billion PC gamers worldwide in 2023.
The number of PC gamers in 2023 saw a 1.6% increase from 2022, which has nearly 1.8 billion gamers.
By 2024, studies forecast PC gamers worldwide to reach 1.86 billion.
Even though revenue growth is slowing down, PC gaming is still very popular and attracts more players. Digital stores like Steam and Epic Games allow gamers worldwide to buy their desired games.
7. Asia accounted for over a third of global PC gamers in 2021.
Out of 1.75 billion PC gamers worldwide in 2021, Asia ranked first, with a gaming population of nearly 690 million.
Asia has the most PC gamers due to significant technological advancements, including high-speed internet and a solid and competitive gaming culture.
8. China had the highest PC gaming reach at 40%.
China continues to be a dark horse not only in the eSports scene but in the PC gaming market as well. In the latest report by Business Wire, China contributed 39% of the PC games revenue worldwide.
Thanks to the Chinese gaming companies who continue to expand their global reach, they will continue to be responsible for one-third of the domestic PC gaming revenue.
9. The number of video gamers in the US will grow to around 240 million by 2027.
Statistics show that the number of video gamers in the US will continue to increase from 2023 to 2027 by 20.2 million gamers.
The most significant jump recorded was during the outbreak of the pandemic from 2019 to 2020, when the gaming population rose by more than 7%, from 188.2 million to 201.9 million.
This increase shows that video gaming is continuously gaining popularity across all age groups in the US.
More people use video games as a pastime, spending large amounts of money buying games, accessories, and peripherals.
Demographic Data of PC Gamers
The gender distribution among PC gamers is just as diverse as the games. More people in their 40s, who make up 19% of the total PC gamers in the US, are playing.
Surprisingly, gamers aged 18 to 19 only account for 6% of the PC gamers.
Read on to know what makes up the exciting world of PC gamer demographics with the statistics below.
As anything can be accessible by anyone nowadays, it’s no surprise that some eSports tournaments set age restrictions in PC and mobile gaming.
Most games set their limit at age 13, and those with too much violent content are only accessible to 18-year-olds and above.
10. In 2021, 31% of American PC gamers are between 30 to 39 years old.
Around one-third of American PC gamers are adults aged 30 to 39, and only 8% are 60 to 64.
The significant age distribution of PC gamers in the US surprisingly shows that all age groups play video games, contradicting the common belief that only young people play video games.
11. More than half of PC gamers are millennials.
Studies reveal that 56% of active PC gamers globally were millennials (aged 23 to 38).
Another survey run by Newzoo targeted only the Western countries (the US, UK, Sweden, France, Germany, and Poland) revealed almost the same results:
- Millennials – 42%
- Generation Alpha – 19%
- Generation Z – 20%
- Generation X – 19%.
Millennials have more spending and purchasing power than other demographics, so the gamer demographics mainly comprise this generation.
12. 46% of US gamers in 2023 are female.
Gaming is often presumed to be a boys-only activity, which is as far from the truth as can be. In the US, 46% of PC gamers identified as females, while 53% as males.
Studies predict the numbers to rise in the following years. The women demographic may take over the industry due to numerous companies designing and marketing their games to women.
13. With 9.4 million followers, Imane “Pokimane” Anys remains the most followed female gamer.
Women are rising to the occasion regarding PC gaming, as the top five most-followed and highest-earned female gamers suggest. On average, a female gamer can earn $7 million as a gamer.
One of them is Imane Anys, also known as “Pokimane” to the gaming community, who is the most followed female gamer and the highest earner, with an estimated net worth of $25 million.
Pokimane is a Twitch streamer and YouTuber focusing on League of Legends and Fortnite, two of the world’s top-grossing and largest gamer bases.
Below are some of the highest-earning female gamers on Twitch:
|Imane “Pokimane” Anys||$25 million|
|Cristina “IamCristinini” Perez||$3.75 million|
|Kathleen “Losefruit” Belsten||$2.8 million|
|Abril “AriGameplays” Alonso||$1.38 million|
|Samantha “rivers_gg” Rivera||$1 million|
Popular PC Games Among Gamers
Game sales make up most of the gaming revenue in China alone in 2023 at 82%. It’s safe to say that without these games, the PC gaming experience will not be complete.
Check out the latest statistics on the games that change PC gamers’ lives.
14. Roblox is PC gamers’ favorite game, with over one million monthly active users.
(Newzoo, Active Player, KJC eSports)
Data obtained in May 2023 indicates the top 10 most popular games PC users play based on the monthly active user count or concurrent players.
|Rank||Game||Monthly Active Users|
|2||League of Legends||1,340,971|
|3||Counter-Strike: Global Offensive||1,256,795|
|7||The Sims 4||585,789|
|8||Grand Theft Auto V||512,802|
|10||Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II/Warzone 2.0||99,646|
Factors including accessibility, constant updates, and a sense of community make Roblox still so popular among PC game users.
15. Lost Ark peaked at 1.3 million concurrent players, the highest in Steam 2022.
Steam is the most popular online digital retailer for PC gaming, with over 120 million monthly active users and a significant contributor to PC gaming’s popularity.
In 2022, MMO Lost Ark ranked the highest concurrent player, with over 1.3 million. It was launched in 2019 and was co-developed by Tripod Studio and Smilegate.
Other games that made it to the list are:
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive – 1,132,038
- DOTA 2 – 1,029,897
- Elden Ring – 953,426
- PUBG – 693,588
- Apex Legends – 511,265
16. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II was the best-selling game in the US in 2022.
(Statista, Activision Blizzard)
Unsurprisingly, another game from the Call of Duty franchise made it to the top list for best-selling video games by dollar sales in the US.
Modern Warfare II is the latest in its collection, which came out in October 2022. It has reached over $1 billion sell-through worldwide and 200 hours played in the first 10 days.
Look at the US’s top 10 best-selling video games in 2022 by dollar sales.
|1||Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2022) (Activision Blizzard)|
|2||Elden Ring (Bandai Namco Entertainment)|
|3||Madden NFL 23 (Electronic Arts)|
|4||God of War: Ragnarök (Sony)|
|5||LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (Warner Bros. Interactive)|
|6||Pokémon: Scarlet/Violet* (Nintendo)|
|7||FIFA 23 (Electronic Arts)|
|8||Pokémon Legends: Arceus* (Nintendo)|
|9||Horizon II: Forbidden West (Sony)|
|10||MLB: The Show 22^ (Multiple Video Game Manufacturers)|
The gaming industry has expanded its reach. It is no longer just targeting a single demographic but across all ages.
Gaming companies ensure that their games’ features touch the needs of their target market and potentially other age groups. After all, games can be played by anyone for whatever reason.
As this industry continues to flourish, so does the audience that supports it from all walks of life.
What is the average age of a PC gamer?
Globally, the bulk of gamers are aged between 23 and 38.
What ethnicity are most PC gamers?
67% of video gamers in the US were white, 13% Hispanic, 12% African American, 5% Asian, and 3% other.
What percentage of PC gamers are female?
In 2023, 46% of all PC gamers in the US are female.
Why do gamers prefer playing on a PC?
Gamers still prefer playing on a PC because of RAM capacity, selection of games, sleek graphics, customization, affordability, and user control.
What demographic buys the most video games?
The most consistent demographic among video game customers is males aged between 18 and 38.


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I feel like we have this debate every year. The debate of whether or not a hot dog is a sandwich. It is not a sandwich. A hot dog is…a…hot…dog.
53% of Americans, however, disagree.
Is a hot dog a sandwich? More than half of Americans (53%) think so, according to some new research.
A recent survey of 2,000 Americans explored their cookout food and condiment preferences and when it comes to the order of constructing a hot dog, 75% of those surveyed revealed they’ve put their condiments on the bun first before adding the hot dog, and one in three out of that group agree the by doing so it is less of a mess.
Story source: BroBible
Featured image credit: GIPHY


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Welcome to E-Cigs Reviewed, more than just an electronic cigarette review site.
The UK is experiencing a boom in the sale of electronic cigarettes and e liquid cartridges and refills since the first brands were launched in the UK back in 2006.
Media reports in newspapers and on television question the safety of e cigs and politicians are lobbying for tighter regulations on the sale of e cigarettes with many school children purportedly admitting to “vaping” whilst at school.
There is much debate within the health sector as to any benefits of “vapers” using them as an aid to help quit smoking, and calls for more research into the chemicals and substances used in the creation of e liquids are abound.
This website has been put together to offer up a platform for open discussion, news and customer reviews of electronic cigarettes and e liquid and is therefore free to use by anyone, whether you are already a smoker of electronic cigarettes, looking to switch from smoking “traditional” tobacco cigarettes to using e-cigs or simply want to find out more about the electronic cigarette market.


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Domino's Pizza is looking for a new UK chief marketing officer after Emily Somers left just seven months into the role.
Premiership Rugby has named Zoe Clapp as its new Chief Marketing Officer.
On-demand laundry service Laundrapp, which was sold in a pre-pack administration on Friday after running out of cash, has been acquired by Inc & Co Group.
Health tech startup OurPath has rebranded as Second Nature and raised $10million in a funding round led by Beringea.
Miriam Margolyes is to guest star as Queen Victoria in the new series of The Windsors on Channel 4.
London VC firm Atomico has raised a new $820m fund aimed at “mission-driven” European startups.
A London-based retail tech start-up that is aiming to drive more people to the high street has secured £2m in seed funding.
Jungle Creations’ creative agency, The Wild, has won the UK social media marketing accounts for ibis, ibis Styles, ibis budget, Mercure and Novotel, part of the Accor group.
Lucky Generals has worked on a new TV campaign with the Co-op to push the retailer's recyclable pizza packaging.
Sony has taken a minority stake in The Whisper Group, the production company founded by broadcaster Jake Humphrey and former F1 driver David Coulthard.
This Time with Alan Partridge is returning to BBC One for a second series - and Steve Coogan has also revealed that his most famous creation is to star in a new podcast.
Love Island is to return tonight with a special tribute to former host Caroline Flack, who was found dead in her north London home on Saturday.


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ORRVILLE, Ohio — Cat food and treats carried The J.M. Smucker Company’s pet food segment in the second quarter of its fiscal 2020, the company reported on Nov. 22. Net sales for the segment fell 2% over the quarter, totaling $709.9 million, while segment profit increased by 11% to $137 million.
The company reported its pet food segment sales were down by $18.2 million in the second quarter due to “greater than anticipated softness in the back half of the fiscal year.” This softness was attributed to its premium dog food products, namely its Natural Balance brand, which suffered a 25% decrease in sales over the quarter.
“The brand [Natural Balance] has been impacted by increased competitive offerings, continued growth of premium dog food in the grocery, mass and e-commerce channels and continued weakness in the pet specialty channel,” said Mark Smucker, president and CEO of the company.
Underwhelming sales growth for its Nutrish brand also impacted the segment’s revenue, and Smucker said the company expects “competitive headwinds in premium dog food to continue.”
"Despite continuing softness for our premium dog food offerings, we were pleased with the performance for the balance of our portfolio, as the momentum for our cat food and pet snacks businesses continued with year over year sales increases,” Smucker said.
Pet food segment profit increases over the quarter were attributed to “favorable net pricing, synergy realization and lower marketing expense,” according to Mark Belgya, vice chair and CFO of the company.
“We delivered growth for our largest brands in the portfolio, including Nutrish, Meow Mix and the Milk-Bone despite total segment growth being impacted by planned declines for private label products,” Smucker said.
Looking forward, Belgya added, “Private label pet food remains a headwind with approximately a $10 million decline expected in the third quarter.”
Despite a dismal sales performance, the company reported its eighth consecutive quarter of year-over-year sales growth across its cat food and treat portfolio, Smucker said. Cat products under its Meow Mix, 9Lives and Nutrish brands contributed to gains in household penetration.
“In the latest 52-week period, Meow Mix now has the highest household penetration of any brand in the dry cat food segment,” Smucker added.
Smucker’s pet food business still leads the pack in revenue, outpacing the company’s coffee segment by $166.5 million, consumer foods by $283.8 million, and its international and Away From Home business by $431.5 million in the second quarter.
“We remain confident in growth opportunities for the total pet business and with new leadership in place, we expect further refinements to our overall pet strategy which we will share over the coming quarters,” Smucker said.
The company announced Nov. 13 it was searching for a new leader for its pet food segment, as David Lemmon will no longer serve as its president going forward. Rob Ferguson, current senior vice president of pet food and pet snacks and supply chain, will serve as interim president in the meantime.
Jeff Watters, former president and CEO of Ainsworth Pet Nutrition, will take on a strategic advisor role to counsel Ferguson and the company’s pet category through this transition.
Additionally, Belgya announced his retirement effective Sept. 1, 2020, and will be succeeded by Tucker Marshall, currently the vice president of finance at Smucker’s.
Overall, Smucker’s reported a $63.7 million or 3% loss in revenue during the second quarter compared to year-ago sales, which was largely attributed to the company’s baking business divestiture that occurred Aug. 31, 2018. Excluding the baking divestiture and “unfavorable foreign currency exchange” costing the company another $1.8 million, Smucker’s net sales for the quarter decreased by $29.1 million or 1%.
Read more about corporate strategy, financial performance, mergers and acquisitions on our Business page.


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The aftereffects of the lockdown have been hitting hard on the Indian economy, especially on the small and marginal industries. One such sector is the handloom industry which is running out of work for the past five months. While the economy is reviving with the unlock phases, the weavers are still facing the wrath of the global pandemic. Thousands of weavers have gone out of work due to the lack of demand for handwoven products. They are forced to live in penury and are working here and there to make their ends meet. The handloom industry workers have always been subjected to live in poverty because of their low income and the lockdown has added to their misery.
As per the reports of the Epw, the Fourth All India Handloom Census 2019-20 says that around 31 lakh people across the country work in the handloom and weaving sector, with the majority of them residing in the rural areas. Around 66 percent of these workers earn less than Rs 5000 per month, which is below the minimum wage stipulations mandated by the Centre.
While the government has been introducing several welfare schemes for different sectors, the economic isolation of the handloom and weaving sector has preceded the pandemic. An Idr report says, that the Central budget for the sector was slashed down by 32 percent, from Rs 621 crores in 2014-15 to Rs 456 crores in 2019-20. The ignorance of the government and the disruption caused by the lockdown has inflicted a lot of financial damage to the already precarious handloom industry. One of the worst hits was taken by the weavers of Begumpur, West Bengal.
Begumpur, West Bengal
Every year with the onset of festivals like Durga Puja and Kali Puja, Begumpur Saris used to be the center of attraction for women in and around West Bengal. But this year the closure of major wholesale markets and disruption in the supply chain due to the lockdown has turned down the demand of handloom saris leaving the weavers unemployed.
According to a report of The Statesman, around 5000 weavers of Begumpur have been rendered jobless because of the closure of primary wholesale markets. At this time of the year when Durga Puja is just a few months away, the weavers are usually busy fulfilling the demands of handloom saris such as Naksa, Rangabati, Kata Naksha, Taat kata, etc. But this year the closure of major markets like Mangla Haat and Howrah Haat, which are the prime wholesale markets for Begumpur Saris, has affected the usual demand of the products. With zero demand and no new orders, these workers are forced to work in roadside hotels and small shops to earn their livelihood.
The weavers have now put all their hopes on the State Government. They believe that only the government can help them in this tough times. And have appealed to CM Mamta Banerjee to direct Tantushree to place orders for Begumpur handloom Saris and open the Mangla and Howrah Haat in phases.


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New BAWLS Guarana ZERO Launches Exclusively Online
Fans asked, we listened! BAWLS Guarana, has reformulated its highly caffeinated zero calorie / zero sugar soda option, formally known as BAWLS Guarana “EXXTRA”. BAWLS Guarana ZERO is now available exclusively through the official BAWLS Guarana webstore found atwww.shop.bawls.com and can quickly arrive at the customer’s doorstep to fuel their caffeine fix without the sugar.
“BAWLS fans have been flooding our inboxes asking when a sugar free option will be available again so we are thrilled to offer BAWLS Guarana ZERO to our customers exclusively at BAWLS.com,” said Jon Gunnerson, CEO of BAWLS Acquisition. “In this era of online marketing, we are exploring innovative options to accelerate our new products into the market and get it directly to our customers faster, prior to launching at retail”.
To celebrate the highly anticipated beverage launch, special promotions will be running via the brand’s social media outlets and website including free shipping on all BAWLS Guarana ZERO orders. BAWLS Guarana ZERO is available in a power packed 16 oz. can and packaged in 24 pack and 12 pack cases.


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TVNZ One News reported new technology that allows monitoring of mobility parking spaces. The new technology is touted as a breakthrough and the developers say it might even eliminate disability parking poaching altogether.
I think this shows a lot of promise, but I have reservations as well. There is certainly a lot of space for improvement in how disability parking spaces are monitored and enforced in New Zealand and abroad. This new system has some issues that need to be addressed, such as what shape the tag takes, how to handle stolen/borrowed tags, the availability of sensors everywhere, and enforcement.
At the moment, if you’re eligible for mobility parking, you are issued with a thick orange plastic placard. This costs the person with a disability $50 for a permit valid for 5 years. The placard must be displayed when parking in reserved disability parking spaces.
This new system uses an electronic chip instead of the current orange parking placard. According to Car Parking Technologies, a New Zealand company that developed the technology, “Instead of carrying a disability-parking permit, disabled drivers would have an electronic tag in their car that can be read by sensors placed in the parking bays“.
There have been sensors installed in most City Council owned parking spaces in the CBD in Palmerston North for several months now, to monitor parking meters. I assume that most cities in New Zealand have them. So it would be relatively simple to issue a tag to eligible people with disabilities and implement the monitoring through existing systems. That’s a plus.
The Tag Itself
What shape does that electronic tag take? Is it transportable? Is it highly visible? Eligible drivers and passengers with disabilities need to be able to use the tag in more than one car. If the tag is not transportable, then the use is limited to the one vehicle, which reduces the practicality of the tag from an end-user point of view. Also, it needs to be obvious that it is a mobility parking permit, easily visible from a distance (like the orange placards). Otherwise the electronic tag becomes useless in parking bays not yet equipped with sensors.
The system can only monitor whether or not a tag is present. It can’t check if someone borrowed or stole somebody else’s tag. Anecdotal evidence worldwide shows that this is something that happens a lot. There is apparently a “blue badge” black market in the UK where disability parking permits can sell for up to £1,500. The State of Illinois has implemented some basic demographic information on their permits (such as permit holder’s gender, birth month and birth year) to limit swapping permits from one person to another (Quick Reference Guide for Parking Enforcement (PDF)).
Unless this new technology addresses the issue of fraud such as stolen or borrowed tags/permits, this new technology will not "spell the end of disability parking abuse worldwide".
The electronic tags will not be effective unless they are working everywhere disability parking is made available. While most (perhaps even all) City Councils in New Zealand have sensors already installed, not every business will be willing to spend the money to install such sensors. I can imagine big shopping malls might go ahead with such an expense. I would be very surprised if smaller malls, chains, or individually owned stores would spend the money.
Supermarket owners or managers often see little benefit from enforcing mobility parking spaces. I have been told by several owners and managers that they won’t enforce mobility parking because "they are our customers too", referring to disability space poachers. With such an attitude, how can they be expected to see the advantage of spending money to fix a problem that, in their eye, is non-existent or irrelevant?
Notifying Relevant Authority
Monitoring is well and good, yet without enforcement, there is no point to it. In New Zealand, City Council (not the Police) enforce / ticket mobility parking infringements. City Councils are not allowed to conduct enforcement on private properties, such as shopping malls, supermarket parking lots, restaurant parking lots, etc, unless the business has an agreement with Council. Even if there is such an agreement, Council parking warden have too large areas to cover and too few staff to cover them. This means such agreements are practically worthless.
Some shopping malls contract security companies that issue tickets, but these are the exception rather than the norm.
Even if a shop owner installed sensors, the lack of available enforcement would render the sensors pointless. Shop owners will know that, and will be deterred from spending the funds to install a "toothless" system.
It’s A Start
Don’t get me wrong, I am excited at the possibilities this new system offers. I think it shows promise. But there needs to be a lot of thinking to resolve some significant issues. And education needs to be done. Increasing the fines for disability parking infringements may also help make a difference.


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BERKELEY / Neighbors say no to popular market / Trader Joe's project hits snag over traffic, low-priced alcohol
Most communities would be breaking out the Two-Buck Chuck and organic flaxseed chips at news that Trader Joe's is coming to town.
In a city famous for its love of specialty gourmet food, irate neighbors are fighting a new Trader Joe's slated for University Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Way, now home to a Kragen outlet.
Residents are concerned about traffic, parking, the building blending in with the neighborhood, and the large volume of low-cost alcohol for sale just a few blocks from the UC campus, Berkeley High School and a number of homeless service agencies.
Not to mention the four stories of apartments that would be on top of Trader Joe's, making it one of the biggest housing developments in Berkeley.
Meanwhile, droves of Berkeleyans would love a Trader Joe's, if not necessarily so much housing at that spot.
The issue is headed for a showdown Nov. 9 at the zoning board, which is scheduled to vote on approving the $50 million project.
The Berkeley battle stands in contrast to last week's announcement that a new Trader Joe's is being warmly welcomed about 5 miles away in Oakland. Slated to replace a shuttered Albertsons on Lakeshore Avenue in the Grand Lake neighborhood, the Oakland Trader Joe's was sought in a campaign by local residents and Councilwoman Pat Kernighan.
If it's approved in Berkeley, Trader Joe's -- with its island decor and mix of basic food with organic and exotic imported foods -- would open in 2010. If it's not approved, the developers said, Trader Joe's likely will back out and the project will be resubmitted with more housing and less retail.
"Either way there will be a project there -- what we don't know is exactly what that will be," said Berkeley City Councilwoman Dona Spring, whose district includes the Trader Joe's site.
Developers Chris Hudson and Evan McDonald, proteges of Berkeley development mogul Patrick Kennedy, bought the 1-acre site in 2002 and have been haggling with the city and community ever since. The project began with 186 units of housing filling five full stories, 4,000 square feet of retail, 71 parking spots and almost no setbacks from adjacent houses. The proposal now has 146 units, four times as much retail as before, twice as many parking spots, landscaping around the perimeter and a stepped-back roof that goes from three stories to five.
"These are significant concessions we've made," said Hudson. "But the neighbors keep changing the bar. We're just looking at each other and scratching our heads because we've done everything they asked."
The neighbors most upset about the project live on Berkeley Way, a residential street parallel to University Avenue where the Trader Joe's parking lot entrance will be. A constant stream of cars and delivery trucks will dramatically change the character of their quiet street, they say.
"Trader Joe's is a nonunion store owned by a secretive German family that sells specialty food and low-cost alcohol," said Steve Wollmer, who lives 250 feet from the site. "Do we really need this in our neighborhood?"
Part of Trader Joe's popularity stems from its assortment of low-priced wine and spirits. It spawned the "Two-Buck Chuck" nickname when it sold Charles Shaw wine for $2 a bottle, though many of its other wine offerings fall into a higher price range. Wollmer fears that the availability of inexpensive wine will prove too tempting for the thousands of underage students and homeless people who live nearby.
A Trader Joe's spokeswoman would not release the company's alcohol sales figures, but a homeless advocate said the store's abundance of cheap wine is not an issue.
"I am convinced that the cost and distance of alcohol has nothing to do with people drinking. If a homeless person, or anyone, wants to drink, they'll know where to get it," said Boona Cheema, executive director of Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency in Berkeley. "I think it's great that Trader Joe's is coming to downtown."
Many in Berkeley agree with her, enticed by the prospect of affordable, high-quality groceries within walking distance of downtown, BART and the UC campus.
"For years, downtown residents and merchants have been wanting a supermarket downtown," said Michael Caplan, who worked on downtown development for the city and starts today as Berkeley's economic development director. "There are hundreds of new units downtown, and as it becomes more of a neighborhood, people want basic neighborhood amenities."
The nearest Trader Joe's are currently in Emeryville and El Cerrito. The Oakland outlet will open in early 2007.
Berkeley is hardly underserved by grocery stores, though no large markets can be found downtown, where Trader Joe's would go. Within its 10 square miles lie four Andronico's, Whole Foods, Safeway, Grocery Outlet, Berkeley Bowl and dozens of small specialty shops. A second Berkeley Bowl, which at 91,000 square feet will be Berkeley's biggest grocery store, is slated to open in West Berkeley by 2010.
Some in Berkeley say they welcome Trader Joe's, but it's the 146 units of housing they don't want. The units, most of which are one-bedroom apartments configured around a central courtyard, are too small to accommodate families, said Spring.
The developers say they feel they've made as many concessions as they can and still turn a profit.
"We think we have a great project here, and we're willing to invest in the long-term future of Berkeley," Hudson said. "But at some point, Berkeley's got to decide whether it wants to be Berkeley 1950 or Berkeley 2050."


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BC home sales have fallen since mid-2016, but still reached impressive heights last year. According to the BC Real Estate Association (BCREA), 112,209 homes were sold in the province in 2016 — that’s a 9.5 per cent increase from the previous year and a new record.
In a January 13th release, the organization says that the province’s total home sales dollar volume also hit a new record in 2016, jumping 18.8 per cent year-over-year to reach $77.6 billion. Meanwhile, the average MLS home price in the province came in at $691,144 after rising 8.6 per cent over the same period.
BCREA Chief Economist Cameron Muir, has commented that all of those increases were driven by “[b]road-based consumer demand.” That demand was the result of “strong economic conditions, employment growth, consumer confidence, and an expanding population base.”
December 2016 BC home sales and price stats are also included in the release. A total of 4,721 homes were sold in the province that month, while the average MLS home price was $654,699. Those are year-over-year declines of 28.4 per cent and 6.6 per cent, respectively.
As mentioned, home sales in the province began to decline midway through 2016. Metro Vancouver’s foreign-buyer tax was a major force behind the fall, though sales were beginning to sink even before it was introduced on August 2nd. Other factors believed to have contributed to the decline include Canada’s new mortgage rules and Vancouver’s new empty homes tax.
Home prices in BC have been slower to fall, but are expected to continue to sinking in 2017, particularly in Metro Vancouver. Most recently, Royal LePage called for Metro Vancouver to see a “high single-digit price correction in 2017.”


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Another Broken Egg Thrives as Top Franchise Opportunity for Multi-Brand Operators
Savvy multi-brand operators are flocking to Another Broken Egg Cafe, eager to expand with the leading one-of-a-kind brunch brand in the lucrative day-time only sector.
The upscale breakfast, brunch, lunch concept continues to make its presence known as an innovative, experienced franchisor and the perfect franchise fit for multi-brand operators seeking a uniquely diverse franchise opportunity. Along with 69 locations in 13 states, Another Broken Egg has over 30 cafes under construction or in development and remains growth-focused on expanding as a national brand in new and existing markets across the U.S.
Foodies are rejoicing. Another Broken Egg, founded in 1996, launched franchising in 2004 after being inundated by guest requests to bring the brand to their own hometowns. Over the years, Another Broken Egg has built a loyal following for its award-winning, Southern-inspired menu and a full bar serving up signature hand-crafted cocktails. The franchise world has noticed.
“We stumbled across Another Broken Egg while traveling and fell in love with the food and the vision that they had,” notes a Texas-based Another Broken Egg franchisee, who is set to build on his success by adding three more cafes to a portfolio that also includes Jack in the Box. “The emphasis on good Southern cuisine and classic Southern hospitality and amazing drinks set ABE apart from the competition with a high bar that's hard to beat.”
It’s a competitive edge that has served Another Broken Egg and its franchisees well amid the challenges and unprecedented times facing the restaurant industry.
In September, Another Broken Egg celebrated the opening of its newly designed café in Columbia, South Carolina, featuring online ordering and a dedicated to-go specialist position to support to-go orders for pickup and delivery. Another Broken Egg Cafe launched online ordering nationally in August, which has become a key to its continued success and growth.
Franchise partners can count on a proven business model and a robust support system backed by a leadership team that leads by example, with ongoing plans for more company-owned and operated cafes. Multi-brand operators say Another Broken Egg knows what it takes to achieve sustained success in franchising.
“What attracted me to Another Broken Egg Cafe is that it is a one day-part concept, with limited competition and in a segment that is seeing a rise in interest for an upscale breakfast/brunch concept that serves alcohol,” notes another multi-brand Another Broken Egg franchisee, who adds, “They also have an experienced leadership team that is focused on franchisee profitability.”
With plans to open 15 to 20 additional cafes in 2021, and 25+ per year thereafter, Another Broken Egg Cafe seeks to expand with experienced industry professionals and groups who understand the restaurant franchise model.
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Meizu’s M5s shows up in more image leaks, showcasing the phone and the box that it comes in prior to the suspected upcoming launch which is rumored to happen next week on February 15th, which is surprisingly the same day that Android Wear 2.0 is rumored to launch for existing Android Wear smartwatches. The M5s has shown up in leaks before, fairly recently in fact, as leaked images of the retail packaging popped up just a few days ago back on February 6th. In those images the box looks exactly the same as the box in today’s leak which would suggest this is what consumers can expect when the phone actually launches for sale.
Retail packaging aside, the phone also looks the same from both the front and the back, so there is little doubt that the phone in these images and the phone in the previously leaked images from earlier this week are the same device. Now, though, you get a slightly better look at the charger that comes with the phone inside of the box, as you can see it pulled out of the box for a better idea of how big the adapter is, and you can see the details on the side with the outlet prongs which shows that this is a 10w charger.
While there are still likely quite a few surprises that Meizu could unveil for this new phone once they announce it officially, it would appear that the phone’s design is not one of those surprises as it’s been shown in pretty clear view so far. The Meizu M5s is rumored to come equipped with a 5.2-inch display with 720p resolution, and it’s said to have 32GB of internal storage space as well as 3GB of RAM. The M5s is also rumored to come with two other variations, one which has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, and one with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, for those that need or want more memory and space. The battery on the inside should be a 2930mAh battery and it will likely come running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow for the software version, with Meizu’s Flyme OS on top.


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New patent hints at Ola electric scooter's name and variant details
Ola Electric is planning to launch its maiden product - an electric scooter - in the Indian market very soon. The battery-powered offering is likely to go on sale in the country later this month. Now new filing documents have revealed that the scooter is likely to be called Series S. The company has also filed a patent for other two names - S1 and S1 Pro that could be additional variants/trims of the two-wheeler. Chances are that 'S1' could also be used as the model name which would make 'S1 Pro' the additional trim level for the electric scooter. Confirmed details will arrive only as the launch inches near.
Ola Electric has also recently started accepting bookings for its electric scooter at a token amount of ₹499. Interested customers can head to the company's official website to reserve a unit.
The company CEO Bhavish Aggarwal had also announced feature details of the upcoming electric scooter. As per the recently announced information, the scooter will sport the biggest-in-class boot space, app-based keyless access, and a segment-leading range. Some other main features of the scooter will include full-LED lighting, fast charging capabilities, front disc brake, and more.
Also check these Bikes
The company claims that its battery-powered offering will be capable of charging from 0-50% in just 18 minutes. The 50% charging will deliver a range of 75 km, while the full charging will double up the range. If the claims are true, it will indeed become the electric scooter with the leading full-cycle range in the country, overtaking the rivals such as the Ather 450X and TVS iQube.
When launched, the scooter is expected to be priced around ₹1 lakh to ₹1.2 lakh (ex-showroom).


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Q1 was the worst first quarter for smartphone shipments in Europe since 2013, based on data by Counterpoint Research. In the second quarter the market fell 13% compared to Q1 for a total of 40.3 million units shipped – the worst Q2 since 2020.
Compared to Q2 last year, the market is down 11%, but that doesn’t paint a complete picture of the interesting dynamics at work. The war, the shaky economy and the resurgence of COVID-19 all hampered smartphone makers.
Quarterly Smartphone shipments in Europe and change compared to Q2 2021 (source: Counterpoint)
At first glance Samsung and…
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As HTC One Up release date inches closer, the price of the unlocked version of HTC One went down.
HTC America has announced the unlocked HTC One is now available for $499.99 in HTC's online store in the US. The smartphone received a $100 price cut. Network restricted variants also received deals and discounts until the price reached $0.01 with a contract.
Some consumers were wary to bite on to this deal as HTC One Up will arrive in more than a week. It was expected the upcoming handset will be released as a $650 price point. Some buyers may wait until for the second generation of HTC One before deciding to whether to take advantage of the deal.
Some of the rumored HTC One Up features waiting fans may see are the 5-inch 1080p screen display, 2.3 GHz quad core Snapdragon 801 and 2,600 mAh battery.
According to Droid-Life, a new sales guide has also leaked revealing some of the specs and features of the upcoming HTC One Up. The sales guide explained how to use the new features of the HTC One Up to the consumers.
Some of these features are Boomsound, BlinkFeed and HTC Duo camera. As for the dual cameras, this guide gives us a better view of what they might be used for. It said the HTC Duo cameras can be used to adjust the focus of a photo after it has been taken. This technology is similar to that of Lytro camera.
HTC was already rolling out the latest Android 4.4 Kitkat OS update for previous HTC handsets. It was most likely HTC's new handset will pack the latest operating system from Google - Android 4.4.2 Kitkat OS. Also, HTC One Max already packed a fingerprint sensor. Thus, there is a big chance that HTC One Up will pack the same technology but with improved features.
HTC One Up will be unveiled in a launching event on March 25 in New York and London. But the smartphone covers were revealed ahead of time hinting on the device design.


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Costume stores, coffee and comics: Emerald City Comicon begins!
If you see someone walking around Seattle in a long green cape trimmed in gold with a sinister-looking face, it might be someone excited about the rumored return of Ra's Al Ghul in the upcoming Batman film, "The Dark Knight Rises."
That person is probably also headed to the Emerald City Comicon, which begins Friday and runs through the weekend at the Washington State Convention Center.
Emerald City Comicon had an estimated $3.4 million impact on the local economy last year, as hotels filled up, restaurant tables were booked and 33,152 people walked through the convention center doors during the three-day event.
This year promises to have a big financial impact as well. Tully’s Coffee at the convention center is staying open 24 hours to accommodate every superhero and villain who attends, and most of the hotels listed on the ECCC website are sold out.
But it’s not just food and sleep that ECCC attendees need.
In addition to a wide variety of celebrities, including film director Kevin Smith, actor George Takei (Sulu from "Star Trek") and John DiMaggio, the voice of Bender on "Futurama," this year's ECCC will feature Sci-Fi Speed Dating for the lonely but lovable characters in attendance (maybe Mal and Inara from "Firefly" will finally get together).
There will also be the all-important costume party and contest.
Unsurprisingly, local costume companies do see a bump in sales around Comicon time.
Lori Hillard, who has worked at Seattle's Party @ Display & Costume on Roosevelt Way for 16 years, said she sees people trickle in searching for really specific things for characters she’s never heard of in the weeks and months before Comicon events.
Emily Parkhurst covers the technology industry for the Puget Sound Business Journal/TechFlash.
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I'm using a Mac Pro 2008, EVGA GTX 680 Mac Edition, Mac OS X 10.10. I'm not experiencing this problem after I installed the latest CUDA driver (cudadriver-6.5.18-macos.dmg dated Aug 21, 2014 8:49 PM) after the NVIDIA driver was updated to 343.01.01f01.
Nearly six weeks after the release of macOS Mojave, web drivers for Nvidia graphics cards released in 2014 and later remain unavailable for the latest operating system, resulting in compatibility issues. This includes Nvidia graphics cards based on its Maxwell, Pascal, and Turing architecture.While some customers have expressed frustration towards Nvidia, a spokesperson for the company informed MacRumors that 'while we post the drivers, it's up to Apple to approve them,' and suggested that we contact Apple. We followed that advice, but Apple has yet to respond to multiple requests for comment.As a result of the lack of web drivers, external GPUs with an Nvidia graphics card released in 2014 or later have compatibility issues with any Mac running macOS Mojave. Likewise, any Mid 2010 or Mid 2012 Mac Pro upgraded with 2014-or-newer Nvidia graphics is incompatible with the operating system.Nvidia warns that affected customers who upgrade to macOS Mojave may experience degraded rendering and performance on that version, according to discussions on the Nvidia Developers Forums and MacRumors Forums.macOS Mojave requires a graphics card that supports Apple's graphics framework Metal, but until updated web drivers are released, many newer Nvidia graphics cards such as the GeForce GTX 1080 are incompatible with the operating system. In the meantime, some users have downgraded back to macOS High Sierra.Nvidia's Quadro K5000 and GeForce GTX 680 are already Metal-capable and compatible with macOS Mojave, according to an Apple support document.macOS Mojave is. Apple's Macs aren't optimized for gaming and often don't have powerful enough GPUs to run the latest gaming titles, a problem that Nvidia is aiming to solve with its GeForce NOW service designed for Macs.GeForce NOW for Mac, currently in beta testing in North America, lets you use a virtual GeForce GTX gaming PC in the cloud to run games that otherwise may not be possible to play on a Mac.
The only requirement is a good internet connection, with the virtual gaming PC handling all of the GPU and CPU requirements.Since Macs aren't known for being gaming machines, PC makers don't typically design new titles to run on Macs. That's also an issue that can be solved with GeForce NOW, because it can stream PC-only games too.
So if you've been wanting to play Player Unknown's Battlegrounds on a Mac, for example, you can do so with GeForce NOW.GeForce NOW integrates with Steam and works with the games you already own, so it's not a gaming service that provides access to games. You need to purchase the games you play, with GeForce NOW providing the power to play them.I've been testing GeForce NOW this week and while it's not perfect, it's promising. Setup is as simple as downloading the GeForce NOW for Mac app and then connecting a Steam account. Since you're essentially streaming the gameplay from the cloud, when you choose a free-to-play game or a game you've purchased on Steam, you don't need to install it because it's already installed and ready to go.With Player Unknown's Battlegrounds, I bought it on Steam, logged into GeForce NOW, and had it up. As promised, Nvidia last night introduced beta macOS drivers for its latest GeForce 10-series graphics cards, enabling macOS support for cards ranging from the GeForce GTX 1050 to the newly announced Nvidia Titan Xp.macOS drivers for Nvidia's Pascal 10-series graphics cards will be of interest to those who build Hackintosh machines, use external GPUs, and those who own older Mac Pro machines that can be updated with newer GPUs. Apple has not used Nvidia GPUs in its Macs for several years now, favoring AMD instead.Nvidia first said it would release macOS drivers for its latest line of graphics cards when it announced the launch of the Nvidia Titan Xp, which Nvidia says is the world's most powerful graphics card with 12GB of GDDR5X memory running at 11.4 Gb/s, 3,840 CUDA cores running at 1.6GHz, and 12 TFLOPS of processing power.Prior to the release of the drivers, Mac users were only able to use previous-generation Maxwell-based 9-series GPUs.The new macOS Pascal drivers can be downloaded directly from.
Nvidia today announced the launch of its latest super high-end graphics card, introducing the new Nvidia Titan Xp.The Titan Xp, which Nvidia calls the world's post powerful graphics card, features 12GB of GDDR5X memory running at 11.4 Gb/s, 3,840 CUDA cores running at 1.6GHz, and 12 TFLOPS of processing power.Priced at $1,200, this year's Titan card is unique because for the first time, Nvidia is making it available to Mac users with new Pascal beta drivers (also available for the entire 10-series lineup) that are set to be released during the month of April. Earlier this week, Apple announced plans for future high-end Mac Pro machines with better graphics capabilities, so that ultra high-end cards like the Titan Xp are already offering support is a good sign. The Titan Xp could also potentially be used with older Mac Pro machines and Hackintosh machines.For the first time, this gives Mac users access to the immense horsepower delivered by our award-winning Pascal-powered GPUs.Housed in a die-cast aluminum body, the Titan Xp uses vapor chamber cooling technology. According to Nvidia, the graphics card offers up to three times faster performance than previous generation graphics cards, and it includes support for 'next-gen VR experiences.' The Titan Xp can be purchased from the Nvidia website starting. Audi and Nvidia have announced they are working together to bring a fully self-driving car to the consumer market by the year 2020. The announcement came on Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the two companies outlined their vision for a fully autonomous vehicle.
Nvidia Pascal Mac Drivers
German automaker Audi hopes to be one of the first automakers to achieve the feat, and is banking on U.S. Graphics chipmaker Nvidia's artificial intelligence car computing platform, which uses deep learning to negotiate complex real-road conditions.Audi's Q7 Piloted Driving Concept. 'Nvidia is pioneering the use of deep learning AI to revolutionize transportation,' Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said. 'Audi's adoption of our Drive computing platform will accelerate the introduction of next-generation automated vehicles, moving us closer to a future of greater driving safety and new mobility services.' To offer a taste of the results of their collaboration, Audi has been demoing its Q7 Piloted Driving Concept, which is fitted with Nvidia's Drive PX 2 processor.
The companies claim that after four days of 'training', equipped vehicles are able to drive themselves over a complex road course, thanks to the PX 2 chip's ability to learn on the fly without recourse to pre-mapped routes.Audi and Nvidia have been working together for almost a decade, but the announcement at this year's CES is an indication of just how far the collaboration has come. Originally the partnership was limited to using Nvidia's graphics processors in Audi's virtual cockpit and navigation systems, but. Tonight at its CES 2017 keynote event, Nvidia announced GeForce Now for Mac and PC, a cloud gaming service that allows low-end Mac and PC users to play high-end PC games. The service is similar to an identically-named service for Nvidia Shield users.Nvidia says that there are an estimated 1 billion PC users who have integrated GPUs that can't play games 'to their full potential.' GeForce Now allows those users to access a Pascal-powered PC in the cloud to play games to their full potential.In addition to letting users with low-end computers play high-end games, the service will become one of the few ways Mac users can play the latest AAA PC games.
According to The Verge, Nvidia showed off the service by playing Rise of the Tomb Raider on an iMac. Rise of the Tomb Raider is not yet available for macOS.GeForce Now doesn't stream games from the cloud to a user's computer, similar to how Netflix streams movies to various devices, reports Engadget. GeForce Now is more like a high-end PC in the cloud that runs a user's games. Users will have to purchase their games from online distributors like Steam and Origin. Once they're purchased, they can use the power of GeForce's GRID servers to run them on their computers.The service will cost $25 for every 20 hours of play.
Nvidia says the service will start rolling out in. Major graphics processing providers AMD and Nvidia are set to unveil new GPU products this year featuring Global Foundries' 14 nm FinFET and TSMC's 16 nm FinFET Plus processor nodes, respectively, allowing for significant improvements in graphics performance.AMD's 'Polaris' and Nvidia's 'Pascal' architectures both utilize the latest FinFET silicon processes and will represent the first GPU process node change since 28 nm GPUs debuted in 2011. Both AMD and Nvidia skipped the intermediate 20 nm node, elongating the typical release cycle of consumer graphics processors.While TSMC had traditionally provided multiple process offerings within a node, including one specifically tailored to higher power applications such as GPUs, the company found that the traditional planar geometries of its 20 nm node gave the firm less differentiation with its normal set of tweaks, rendering it a poor candidate for power hungry GPUs. In a statement released earlier this year, AMD claimed that the new 14 nm Polaris GPUs will offer over double the performance per watt of their 28 nm predecessors. This news also confirmed AMD's use of Global Foundries' 14 nm FinFET process, rather than TSMC's 16 nm process, which Nvidia will use. While AMD confirmed the use of TSMC for its higher power product offerings, any products developed from that process node would be destined for the Mac Pro only, as Apple has traditionally used mobile GPUs for its notebook and iMac product lines. The new FinFET process nodes promise a big performance jump for AMD's Polaris architecture Product launches.
Apple has hired Nvidia's Jonathan Cohen, director of deep learning software for the company, according to Cohen's LinkedIn page, which was first spotted by Re/code. Deep learning essentially trains computers to recognize patterns in data and then organizes them in a similar way to humans.
Nvidia Web Driver Mac Os
Nvidia uses deep learning in its Nvidia Drive PX platform, which is used to power self-driving cars. Cohen's LinkedIn page doesn't list an official title with Apple, instead only listing 'Software' as his position. He's held multiple positions within Nvidia since joining the company in 2008, starting out as a Senior Research Scientist and building his way to Director of Deep Learning Software this year. Cohen also has experience working with Nvidia's CUDA platform, which is used to power GPUs in broad-ranging use cases like air traffic control and blood flow prediction software.As noted by Re/code, Apple currently uses deep learning for Siri and Apple Maps.


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A subsidiary of Citic Telecom International has launched its first ASEAN SmartCloud center in Singapore.
The newest SmartCloud center is Citic Telecom CPC's sixth in the region after Taiwan, Guangzhou and Shanghai early this year and two in Hong Kong last July.
"The centers are about less than a year old," said Stephen Ho, CEO of Citic Telecom CPC. "We're in the process of educating the market and building a sales pipeline. The sales cycle of [cloud services] is very similar to what we experienced with virtual private networks back in 2002, and that is slow.
We definitely [hope], over the next three years, that the cloud business will [grow to] 20% to 25% of [our total business]."
Friends with benefits
The SmartCloud service is based on technologies from vendors such as Dell (infrastructure), Riverbed (optimization), VMware (hypervisor and virtualization) and Hewlett-Packard (security event management for security operation centers).
"We mobilized a team of cloud and data center experts who were committed [to] end-to-end design, deployment, performance benchmarking, optimization, as well as detailed strategic planning," said Philip Davis, vice president of Enterprise Solutions Group, Commercial Business at Dell Asia Pacific & Japan Region, a key infrastructure partner of Citic Telecom CPC.
Apart from offering its SmartCloud Compute infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), Citic Telecom CPC's cloud portfolio also includes software-as-a-service (SaaS) and value-added service (VAS) offerings from its partners.


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Beijing. America’s leading technology company Apple has invested one billion dollar in a Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing that would help the company to understand the Chinese market in a better way.
Apple’s Chief Executive Tim Cook said in an interview, “I see opportunities for Apple and Didi Chuxing to collaborate in the future.”
"We are making the investment for a number of strategic reasons, including an opportunity to learn more about certain segments of the China market," Cook told Reuters. "Of course, we believe it will deliver a strong return for our invested capital over time as well."
According to the China’s official newspaper ‘China Daily’, this investment is seen significant because Didi is a competitor of America app based taxi service Uber.
The reports say that Apple has become strategic investor of Didi and it has been included in the line of Tensent and Alibaba. Didi CEO and Founder Wei Cheng said, “Apple’s investment is a big incentive for our four-year-old company.


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A byline from by Andrew Shikiar, Executive Director of the FIDO Alliance on the cyber risks linked to phishing and how to cope with it.
MORE FIDO in the News
Intelligent CISO: Passing on passwords in 2023 (finally)
Passwords are often an organisation’s weakest link. On World Password...


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The retail holiday formerly known as Black Friday has encroached on Thanksgiving, and we covered it live. Catch-up on all the deals, chaos and fun times you missed in photos, text and video here.
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(Jim Stevens/Bay Area News Group)
Watch: First 'Sully' trailer shows Tom Hanks as Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger
'Sully’ trailer shows Tom Hanks playing Bay Area pilot struggling with aftermath of 'Miracle on the Hudson.’


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There is both a global glut and shortage of wheat.
It depends on quality.
There’s a shortage of the high-protein hard red spring wheats that make the best fluffiest breads. This is the quality for which the Canadian Prairies is famous.
There’s a glut of lower-protein wheats which are favourites of U.S. farmers because yields are higher.
Canada has steered clear of those varieties in a persistent, but expensive, effort to retain its reputation for the best high-protein bread-making wheat in the world.
The shortage of the good wheat hurts bakers and millers who prize high-protein wheat, along with the farmers who grow it, says a report in NewsMax Finance.
Wholesale bakers such as Grupo Bimbo, Flowers Foods Inc. and Campbell Soup Co.'s Pepperidge Farms are feeling the squeeze on margins, said Stephen Nicholson, senior grains and oilseeds analyst with Rabobank.
All three companies have seen their stock prices fall over the last two years, a period when the benchmark S&P 500 index gained more than 26 percent.
Millers such as Archer Daniels Midland Co., Ardent Mills and General Mills Inc. have been able to pass on much of their higher wheat costs in sales of flour to bakers, he added.
But bakers have not been able to pass those costs to grocers, who have been unwilling to pay higher prices because of increased competition and price deflation.
Global wheat inventories have risen to record-high levels due in part to heavy production from Russia.
Meanwhile, U.S. per capita consumption of wheat flour in 2016 fell to its lowest level in nearly three decades, and U.S. farmers planted their smallest winter wheat crop in more than a century.
Canadian farmers have been selling high-protein spring wheat for a premium due to tight supply. Protein premiums in Manitoba have reached their highest levels in at least five years.
Export markets are also affected. The limited amount of high-protein wheat available has caused the market to ration demand, maintaining shipments to countries willing to pay a premium, such as Japan, and sending less than usual to price-sensitive markets such as Mexico, said Rhyl Doyle, a wheat trader at Winnipeg-based Paterson Grain.


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The Good The entry-level Samsung Galaxy Amp runs Android 4.1, gives strong call quality, and has a solid 5-megapixel camera.
The Bad There's no LTE on the Galaxy Amp, internal memory is abysmal, and the phone is only available in a handful of cities.
The Bottom Line If you're within newbie Aio Wireless' tiny network and looking for an affordable Android phone, the Samsung Galaxy Amp is a good buy.
Jelly Bean sweetens this starter Android phone
A brand-new phone for AT&T's brand-newprepaid arm, the Samsung Galaxy Amp does a fairly good job balancing entry-level Android features with cost.
Ringing in at $129.99 off-contract -- or $99.99 during an online promotion -- the Amp has a few notable points in its favor, like its strong call quality (it is a phone, after all), Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and a smooth, compact frame. However, exceptionally cramped storage space forces a microSD card investment on you, it has more-limited software than Samsung's top phones, and the phone lacks 4G LTE support. It also doesn't help that Aio's footprint encompasses only a handful of cities as the carrier starts out.
First-time smartphone seekers, read on to consider the Amp, but you may also want to peek at T-Mobile's(which has comparable specs, including the lack of LTE) if you're also open to getting a Windows Phone device.
The Galaxy S9 could get some serious camera upgrades
Like dual cameras on the Galaxy S9 Plus only.
Samsung Galaxy S9: Everything we know about the launch date, specs and price
In the shadow of the iPhone X, Samsung’s 2018 flagship has much to prove.
If foldable phones catch on, you can thank an unlikely source
When it comes to creating phones that take new shapes, little-known handset maker ZTE wants to lead the charge.
This Samsung patent could solve the iPhone X's notch problem
Why have a notch when you can put holes directly into the display?
'Awesome' Nokia phone or home device launching Feb. 25
A tweet teases something "awesome", but it's the official invite that lays on the hints.
Buy a Galaxy S8 or Note 8, get a free pair of AKG Bluetooth headphones
Samsung's latest phone promotion includes a free pair of wireless headphones.
Sprint says Verizon customers aren't very smart
Commentary: In a new ad, the carrier claims that staying with Verizon shows a lack of intelligence.
Bad news: A Spectre-like flaw will probably happen again
Our devices may never truly be secure, says the CEO of the company that designs the heart of most mobile chips.
All the phone news from CES 2018 in one place
The scandal, the intrigue, the devices and what it all means for the coming year.
LG shakes up its smartphone launch strategy
LG's vice chairman says it will launch phones when it is needed, leading to a lot of speculation.
Samsung tells people something they've never heard before
Commentary: To launch its new Galaxy A8 and A8+ phones, Samsung remakes a famous YouTube video. To moving effect.
Samsung Galaxy S9 unveiling confirmed for MWC in February
The 2018 flagship phone from Samsung will see light of day in Barcelona at the end of next month, ZDNet reports.


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The outlook on energy is that it’s complicated at best. Volatility is a given, but there are upsides as well. Here are my best guesses on what’s ahead.
Amazon is changing the returns game, largely without consumers even noticing. In fact, I predict the ecommerce giant is also working to change the ecommerce delivery game as well, and is already quietly going about the business of retraining customers and resetting expectations. Here’s how.
The Poly rebrand had some misteps coming out of the announcement at Enterprise Connect, including legal challenges and logo sloppiness.
Salesforce continues its commitment to corporate social activism by taking a very pubic stand against guns with its latest modification to its Acceptable Use Policy. The company is not alone on this front, joined by companies including Shopify, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Walmart, Levi’s, and others.
Microsoft London Store is scheduled to open in Oxford Circus in July 2019. Here’s why that’s a strategic brand-focused move.
It should come as no surprise that analytics is proving more complicated for most companies. Namely: how to divvy up the data analytics budget.
IBM’s Call for Code 2019 is an open event that challenges coders around the world to create sustainable solutions that help communities prepare for, respond to, or recover from natural disasters.
ERP solutions are business mission critical. Here are just a few reasons why an ERP solution will change everything about your business.
Over the past several months, I have been more intentional about asking the people I care about what their top three goals were for the upcoming year. What I discovered along the way was really interesting. I found some of the folks I asked had thought through their goals and others had not, and only a small percentage had them …
Apple’s deal with Samsung, making its iTunes app available on Samsung’s 2019 Smart TVs, was a crucial move for Apple and its future in the world of streaming media offerings. Why the Apple Samsung Deal Matters Here’s a simple explanation illustrating why the Apple Samsung deal matters so much. I have an Apple TV device. It’s old enough it’s probably …


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Microsoft announced that it would start testing tomorrow xCloud on Windows and iOS. The cloud gaming service is currently only available on Xbox and Android consoles.
Respawn officially introduced the mobile Apex legends – before that, the game was talked about mainly on quarterly reports EA…
Publisher Electronic Arts and studio Respawn Entertainment have officially announced the mobile version of their popular competitive shooter Apex legends…
Studio Thatgamecompany has specified the release date of the adventure game Sky: Children of the Light on the Nintendo Switch… The release will take
While some enthusiasts are building in Minecraft impressive in their scale and elaboration of the details of the city, a talented player under the nickname
More than a year ago, we told you about an affordable and high-quality wired headset ASUS TUF Gaming H3, and recently a wireless version of it came to
Everyone remembers last year: coronavirus, no walks, everyone is at home. Of course, people began to massively play mobile games and sit in applications.
Studio miHoYo announced that it is a popular shareware open-world role-playing game Genshin impact coming soon on Playstation 5… According to preliminary
Japanese studio PlatinumGames suddenly released the other day in the service Apple arcade dynamic action game about Japanese mythology World of demons…
A year ago, on April 1, 2020, a cooperative action movie was released Totally Reliable Delivery Service with unpredictable physics. The game was released


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TP Vision (Philips in Europe) and Georg Jensen have worked together to design and create the Philips PUS9104 that will be launched in spring 2019.
Sneak-peek of Philips PUS9104
The two companies explain that they have come together based on “their love for light” as well as the use of high-quality and real materials. The result is the Philips PUS9104 range that will be available in 55 and 65-inch sizes.
The design collaboration was announced at IFA 2018 where the companies gave the audience a sneak peek of the new TVs. It will, of course, feature Ambilight but also have some unique details.
- ”With the luminous Ambilight, the polished steel and the smooth glass, the Philips 9104 now brings these elements together,” explains TP Vision who is responsible for the Philips TV brand in Europe. “The tapering feet of the 9104 are a reference to the design of the classic Georg Jensen products for the home and convey a special lightness with their slim silhouette. In addition, the two brands Philips and Georg Jensen are discreetly engraved on the top of the feet.“
PUS9104 will be part of the 2019 Philips TV line-up. It is based on a 4K IPS LCD panel and the P5 video processor. It is also equipped with a 50W speaker system and Google’s Android TV platform, with Oreo pre-installed. The remote control will be made from polished steel with visible branding from both companies.
The TV maker used the opportunity to highlight its European roots, saying that European design traditions characterize every Philips TV. Denmark’s Georg Jensen has a long tradition of craftsmanship, especially in silver and polished steel. The company added that the “light of the blue hours” in Denmark influences a lot of the Georg Jensen designs.
- “The bottom bar of the TV is in fine polished steel, while the other edges are made of glass and so emphasize the Ambilight effect. The noble design also includes the back of the 9104, which is also partially made of glass. From the color palette of Georg Jensen comes the matte blue color of the housing for the connections and main components,” the company added.
What is a Philips TV?
The collaboration is one of several in the Philips camp and it begs the question: How much of a Philips TV is a Philips TV nowadays? The Philips TV brand has been licensed to TP Vision, while the display panels are sourced mainly from LG.Display. The Android operating system is being developed Google and sound is now tuned being tuned by B&W. Georg Jensen will now bring its touch to the visual design side of things.
Of course, not all of these elements come together in the PUS9104, and Ambilight is classic Philips. The counterargument would be that it is difficult to be an expert at all things. By bringing respected experts in from other fields, Philips may be able to create a better product. At least for now, it seems to be working. After some rough years, Philips is once again showing strength in the European TV market.
PUS9104 is the first result of the design collaboration with Georg Jensen. The companies have not said whether it is a one-time thing or long-term effort. PUS9104 will launch in the spring of 2019 in 55 and 65-inch sizes. Pricing was not announced.


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With the European Union and the UK having concluded a post-Brexit trade pact, India should now aggressively pursue free trade agreements (FTAs) separately with both regions, according to experts.
While it is premature to assess the gains for India from the deal between the European Union (EU) and the UK, Indian goods would not greatly benefit from this deal, they said.
Read also | The global push to reimagine capitalism
However, India can explore opportunities in service sectors such as IT, architecture, research and development and engineering in both markets as the EU-UK deal does not cover services, they added.
“There is not much profit for Indian products, but we can make money in the services sector in both the UK and the EU market. We will make more money in the UK market as we are an English-speaking country.” said the director of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) General Ajay Sahai said.
He said there are no specific customs duty benefits for domestic goods from this agreement.
“We should now pursue FTA negotiations with both the EU and the UK. Indian competitors such as Vietnam have a greater advantage in sectors such as clothing and maritime goods,” Sahai said.
Sharing similar views, Biswajit Dhar, a professor of economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said India had a lot of contentious issues during FTA negotiations with the EU. However, after Brexit, the UK may have a different stance on these issues and now “India should resume FTA talks with both regions”.
He added that the possibility exists of concluding a favorable free trade pact with the UK.
FIEO President Sharad Kumar Saraf said India should now move “aggressively” in initiating FTA negotiations with both the EU and the UK.
“We have asked the government to sign a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) regarding the deadline for concluding FTA talks with Britain during British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit to India next month,” Saraf said.
Rakesh Mohan Joshi, a professor at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), said that after the trade deal with the EU and the UK, India will have a better opportunity to meet the demands of both markets.
“But India has to plan accordingly,” he added.
The Chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) A Sakthivel said the FTA between India and the UK would help remove the customs duty drawbacks faced by domestic players in Britain.
Britain struck a historic deal with the European Union on Thursday, as both sides managed to conclude a post-Brexit free trade deal just days before the December 31 deadline.
Bilateral trade between India and the UK dropped to $ 15.5 billion in 2019-20 from $ 16.9 billion in 2018-19.
This story was published by a branch agency with no text changes.


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Private Equity: Chicago-based Private Equity Fund Wynnchurh Closes Fifth Tranche at $2.3 Billion
Wynnchurch Capital specializes in investing in middle-market companies.
Wynnchurch Capital, L.P. announced the closure at hard cap of its fifth private equity fund after receiving $2.277 billion in commitments. The fund was launched in September with a target of $1.6 billion, and received a solid oversubscription.
According to Crain’s Chicago Business, the firm raised just $1.2 billion in 2014 for its fourth fund. By that measure, the current raising is almost double. Managing Partner John Hatherly attributed the progress to a great team and a track record of top quartile performance.
Hatherly founded Wynnchurch in 1999.
Wynnchurch private equity
Wynnchurch is a leading middle-market private equity firm with a North American geographic focus, specializing in complex transactions. These include corporate carve-outs, underperforming businesses, growth situations, and family businesses in transition.
The firm currently has $4.2 billion of capital under management. It focuses on
- aerospace, defense & government,
- building products & materials,
- consumer & food, energy,
- natural resources & infrastructure,
- manufacturing, industrial & transportation, and
- business services & distribution.
Investors in the firm’s fifth fund include state pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, insurance companies, corporate pension plans, investment advisors and family offices.
Chris O’Brien, Managing Partner, said, “We are excited about Fund V and how our team is positioned today to invest with the same value-oriented/operationally focused strategy we have developed and refined over the last 20 years.”
The firm’s Henniges Automotive transaction is an interesting example of this strategy. In 2007 Wynnchurch purchased the North American operations of Metzeler Automotive Profile Systems, a manufacturer of engineered vehicle sealing systems. It followed that up with the acquisition of the assets of GDX Automotive in the same year. It combined the two businesses under a new leadership team to form North America’s largest and the world’s second-largest supplier of vehicle sealing systems.
Over the next three years, Wynnchurch transformed the business, now known as Henniges Automotive, into a world-class automotive supplier with a diversified low-cost manufacturing footprint and industry-leading engineering expertise.
Wynnchurch agreed to sell the company in October of 2010 and closed on November 30, 2010.
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Punjab starts helpline to curb beer overpricing
In a move that will cheer beer lovers, the Punjab excise and taxation department has launched a toll-free helpline for lodging complaints about overpricing.punjab Updated: Jun 13, 2015 09:48 IST
In a move that will cheer beer lovers, the Punjab excise and taxation department has launched a toll-free helpline for lodging complaints about overpricing.
“If a liquor licensee charges more than the maximum retail sale price, the customer can lodge a complaint at the helpline number 18002582580,” said Anurag Verma, excise and taxation commissioner, Punjab.
The department has fixed the maximum retail sale price of strong beer at Rs 130 for each 650-ml bottle of popular brands such as Haywards 500, Thunderbolt and Kingfisher. For light beer of these brands, the retail sale price has been pegged at Rs 120 per 650-ml bottle.
In an effort to protect customers from exploitation by any licensee, a price monitoring cell has been set up in the department. This cell comprises additional excise and taxation commissioner (excise) Neelam Chaudhary, joint excise and taxation commissioner-cum-director (investigation) Gurtej Singh and deputy excise and taxation commissioner (distilleries) Navdeep Bhinder.
Verma said in case any licensee was found selling beer at a price higher than these rates, a fine of Rs 1 lakh would be imposed. In case of the second violation, a fine of Rs 5 lakh would be imposed on the licensee; for the third violation, the licence would be cancelled.


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Ken Goldman, the recently hired chief financial officer of Yahoo and a veteran of the software industry, will give advice Wednesday in Buffalo to the founders of local technology startups.
Goldman was hired last October by Yahoo CEO Marissa Meyer. He has worked in management positions for more than 30 years, including as CFO of Fortinent, which makes computer security software, and of Siebel Systems, which makes business software.
Goldman serves on the board of Infinera and NXP Semiconductor, and is a trustee of Cornell University, his alma mater.
Organizers say Goldman will cover a range of topics related to running a tech startup company, in particular how best to prepare to pitch your company to prospective investors.
“He’s very well-known in the venture capital industry,” said Dan Magnuszewski, chief principal innovator at the Z80 Labs tech incubator.
It’s not known whether Goldman will visit Yahoo’s 190,000-square-foot data center in the Town of Lockport, which opened in 2010, during his visit to the area.
He will speak at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Z80 Labs, located on the first floor of The Buffalo News, One News Plaza, at the corner of Washington and Scott streets.
Goldman will be interviewed by Martin Babinec, founder and chairman of Upstate Venture Connect, and he will take questions from the audience following the presentation.
He is the fourth participant in the Z80 Labs speaker series, which began in July and seeks to connect local tech entrepreneurs with veterans of the industry.
His talk is well-timed, Magnuszewski said, because a half-dozen of the Z80 Labs startups are traveling to New York City on April 9 to make presentations to representatives from SoftBank Capital, Union Square Ventures and other leading venture capital firms.
The Goldman event is open to the public but seating is limited and anyone interested in attending must register in advance at the Strictly Business blog at buffalonews.com.


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Al's Conifer Day a Success
Almost 100 coneheads gathered on March 8 at the three locations of Al's Garden Center near Portland, OR. Brian Jacob, our incoming ACS National President, spoke eloquently about why conifers make a great addition to the garden, attendees got to handle a variety of plants up close (and buy them!) and the ACS signed up new members. A fun time for all.


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(auto translation)The taiwanese Notebook manufacturer Acer plans to enter into the console market. This communicated the senior Vice President, James T. Wong, on a press conference. Most current consoles are closed and proprietaere systems, which machine" on PC technology based "game machine"; from Acer is to set against it on open standards. This could mean that game developers would not have to pay license fees for the publication of plays on this system.
so its like the new phantom
found an english article about this:
Acer eyes future desktop systems, including game machine
By Jacqueline Emigh, BetaNews
March 13, 2008, 10:14 AM
Over the next year, Taiwan-based notebook PC maker Acer will start to produce desktop units under the Acer brand...and a senior Acer official told BetaNews yesterday that a PC-based game machine is one of the ideas being bandied about.
NEW YORK CITY (BetaNews) - Right now, the Acer brand name is still equated with PC notebooks only, despite Acer's acquisition of Gateway. But in an interview with BetaNews at its press event on Wednesday, Acer's senior vice president, James T. Wong, said that his company has a game machine in mind, and that it will be based on "open standards."
"If you look at most of the other game machines that are out there right now -- Nintendo's, the Xbox -- they are 'closed' and proprietary systems," he told BetaNews.
Wong said that, beyond "openness," all of the Acer-branded systems being eyed right now, including the game machine, are envisioned as offering new and innovative form factors and applications.
In addition to its future Acer-branded desktop PCs, however, Acer will also provide desktop systems under the Gateway name, as well as under the eMachines and Packard Bell brands inherited through the Gateway buyout, according to the senior VP. The Acer, Gateway, eMachines, and Packard Bell desktop systems will each incorporate two separate line-ups, one for consumers and the other for SMBs (small to medium-sized businesses), he said.
During a press conference attended by BetaNews earlier on Wednesday, which focused mainly on Acer's notebook PC products and strategy, officials cited Gateway's expertise in desktop systems as a big reason for buying that company.
But Wong told BetaNews that Acer had already been making desktop PCs for other vendors, anyway, with desktop systems constituting some 30 percent of Acer's huge OEM business.
Acer, though, will not be offering either desktop or notebook PCs geared to enterprise use, at least for now, according to the executive.
"You need different kinds of resources for [enterprise systems], and we don't have those kinds of resources right now," he told BetaNews.