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New normal and rise of Africa’s gig economic platforms
Today, there are thousands of educated Nigerians, including some with regular day jobs, working as on-demand drivers on platforms like Uber and Bolt. Some people have even quipped that driving for these platforms pays better than their day jobs.
Ride-hailing platforms such as Uber and Bolt are the poster child of the gig economy—a catch-all term used to describe online marketplaces that have emerged over the last decade for short-term and freelance work.
These marketplaces typically focus on niche services such as transportation, food delivery, content writing, music production, graphics design or programming. These fully digital marketplaces try to create a market by matching people who need a service/product (the buyer) with service providers/independent workers (the seller) who can provide these services on request; meanwhile, the platform handles everything from payments to ratings for the buyer and seller.
A report by Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) estimates that the global gig was worth $4.5 trillion in 2018, with the U.S unsurprisingly being the largest market with 53 million gig workers and total gig spending of $1.3 trillion.
Across Africa, the gig economy platforms take different forms. For example, there are Kobo360 and Lori Systems, two companies that have each raised at least $37 million to connect people with third-party truck drivers on-demand. Lori Systems estimates that the African haulage market is worth $180 billion yearly.
There’s also SweepSouth, which has raised $6 million from investors, and Eden Life, which provide on-demand home cleaning services, among many other things, in South Africa and Nigeria, respectively. But there are also other platforms for professional services like accounting, graphics design, programming, content writing, among others. One notable name is Andela, the Mark Zuckerberg-funded company valued at $700 million in 2019.
Although it has tweaked its model significantly, Andela connects experienced African developer talent to international companies with salary opportunities above the local market rates. There are other platforms connecting skilled workers to international clients, including Toptal, UpWork, Paydesk and Fiverr, an $8.6 billion company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2019.
Buoyed by these platforms, the number of gig workers in Africa has increased over the last few years. For unemployed skilled workers, freelancing is a crucial way to earn a living on the internet. Freelancing has become a vital side hustle with clients springing forth from developed countries and willing to pay in FX for professional services.
However, with the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020 and COVID-19 control measures, the global economy tumbled. The lockdowns, particularly full lockdowns, grounded mobility and forced many people to isolate themselves at home. Business temporarily shut down physical operations, and employees started working from home. But not every job can be done from home, and that’s definitely the case for many gig workers offering ride-hailing services.
Speaking on this development, the Chief Executive Officer of Trium Venture Capital, Adedeji Olowe, said ride-hailing suffered as ride orders plummeted globally, affecting the earning power of many gig workers.
Olowe said for instance, in the second quarter of 2020, Uber’s gross booking volume declined by 35 per cent compared to the previous year. Other platforms such as Kobo360 and Lori Systems worried about the impact of government lockdowns, with Kobo360 warning that 3,000 of its truck drivers in Nigeria stopped working until they got clarity on the mobility restrictions.
According to him, in African countries such as Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa and Kenya, Uber and Bolt swiftly introduced logistics services—which were classified as essential services by the government—to keep these companies and their drivers in the business. But he said this was not enough, because gig workers are not employees, they are not eligible for steady salary payments, paid leave, insurance and health benefits. To him, the experience was scary for many, with several news reports early in the pandemic proclaiming the gig economy was dead.
Olowe said they were wrong because the gig economy is more alive than ever. He said while Uber and Bolt suffered declines in the first half of 2020, ride orders soared again in the second half, and Uber could return to pre-pandemic growth levels by the first half of 2021.
According to him, logistics services such as Eden Life, OyaNow, Gokada and Jumia Food had recorded impressive growth since March 2020 as the food delivery industry reorganised amid the lockdown and gained traction in the months that followed.
Outside food delivery, Olowe said the number of independent riders working as logistics providers for other businesses, including Jumia, the Pan-African retailer, is reportedly growing.
Accordingly, he said at one point in mid-2020, the Nigerian government threatened to enforce stricter logistics regulations because the number of operators had increased within a short period.
“A crucial part of the resilience of the gig economy, particularly platforms and providers of physical services, is they are highly essential. When Kobo360 warned of disruptions to its truck activities, it predicted that supermarkets and major stores could run out of food items, medical supplies and other critical items within seven days. That warning was instructive, and within a few days, the government clarified the exemption for essential service workers to include truck drivers moving in and out of a state. Food delivery and other logistics operators have also benefited from their essential status, which has kept them in business,” he stated.
He also said gig economy companies doubled down on providing health care and sanitary support to workers on their platforms. Over the last year, Kobo360, Uber, Bolt, Jumia, Gokada, among others, each supplied their riders with nose masks, hand sanitisers and other support to help them complete their orders within different cities.
On her part, Spokesperson, Trium Limited, Oluwatoyin Ashipa,while physical gig economy services are the most visible kind of freelance work, professional services are growing despite the pandemic.
Ashipa said the world is flat, and technology, especially communication services, have shrunk the world even further by enabling buyers halfway across the globe to find and hire skilled workers to provide a service—ranging from accounting, data analysis, video production, content writing, programming and content marketing.
Call them a mix of creatives and techies, Ashipa said these jobs are increasingly populated by skilled young Africans who are bypassing geography limitations to earn from abroad while residing in their home countries.
Last year, she said gig economy platforms like UpWork and Fiverr saw their numbers reach new highs as demand for professional services soared.
For instance, she hinted that Fiverr, which has 3.4 million active buyers, saw its revenue grow 77 per cent year-on-year to top $189.5 million in 2020.
According to her, homegrown African companies such as TalentQL, Andela, Semicolon, Gebeya and Decagon are equally connecting Africa’s top developer talent to global companies.
She said for venture capital investors, the gig economy represents a growing and profitable opportunity because of the large number of young Africans and the relatively low living costs (compared to rich countries).
According to her, If properly trained, Africa’s young folks could turn the continent into a crucial hub that supplies the world with talent for a wide variety of tasks such as article writing and programming.
For venture builders and investors, she said the goal now is to identify startups and local platforms that are enabling this on the continent and support them. Because like it or not, Africa is the future. Its young population of digital natives represents an essential chance to leapfrog many of the continent’s challenges using creatively and using technology.
“As you think on these words, bear in mind that as an investor – individual or institutional — the importance of putting your money in a place that guarantees you healthy returns on your investments while also partnering with you to achieve your goals cannot be overemphasised. While as a start-up, it is critical to make the right connections with a venture builder that not only provides the needed finance to grow your business but also guarantees a commitment to your success within the African business terrain and beyond,” she stated.


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Renaissance for wool industry as fashion world flocks back
Monday 11 February 2013
Wool production in the UK is making a comeback, and to celebrate the resurgence of the industry the 2013 International Woolmark Prize will take place in London this week.
A renaissance of woollen products in the fashion world and a growing desire to wear locally produced fabrics have led to the growth.
The wool industry in Britain now boasts annual sales of more than £270m, up from £180m in 2007.
Demand for locally produced fabrics has been supported by designers and fashion houses including Paris-based Chanel, which bought the Scottish Barrie Knitwear cashmere mill out of administration last year.
The demand for wool has helped local businesses expand and the UK now has more than 40 operational mills.
The industry suffered from competition from cheaper overseas rivals, and had been in decline since the 1950s. However, the recent pace of growth has brought hope that the industry could be able to compete again on an international level.
Yorkshire manufacturer Abraham Moon & Sons has recently opened a new warehouse while Leeds-based Laxtons has invested in a new mill.
This year's International Woolmark Prize event, which picks the best emerging talent in designing products with wool, will be judged by Victoria Beckham, Donatella Versace, Diane von Furstenberg, Tim Blanks and Franca Sozzani.
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A British digital payment platform halted operations after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) suspended its license, which cost its clients over $128 million.
The FCA accuses the company of having weak AML detection processes and having links with the cryptocurrency ponzi scheme Onecoin.
The payment services recently halted their operations in the United Kingdom leaving hundreds of clients without access to their savings. Other reports indicate that once the firm goes insolvent users would have no insurance against their deposits.
Epayments could have already been having a series of internal issues as the company Executive Directive resigned a week back. The former executive director once worked as the head of cards and payment at Locke Lord, a law firm that represented the controversial Onecoin Head Ruja Ignatova.
Epayments, a once popular money transfer firm in the UK, was holding more than $200m in customer deposits before it got into problems with the FCA. The company claims it managed more than 1m registered customers and handled more than 1000 business accounts. On its website the company explains the cause of its incorporation as FCA investigations into its AML processes and link to Onecoin continues.
OneCoin was launched in 2014, posing itself as a company specialising in selling educational materials for trading. For various achievements, their partners and distributors could gain special tokens that could be used for mining OneCoins. Soon enough, it became clear that the company works based on an MLM scheme, involving people into a classic financial pyramid.
OneCoin started raising suspicions since 2015, when Bulgaria's Financial Supervision Commission issued a warning about potential risks associated with this company. Later on, it was widely exposed as a Ponzi scheme in global media, including Times, Daily Mirror ets. All this made OneCoin head, Ruja Ignatova, tracelessly disappear in 2017. Other leaders of the company either disappeared as well or were arrested.
Nevertheless, OneCoin scheme still exists, attracting and tricking people in need of money. Coinidol.com, a world blockchain news outlet, reported that the Special Antitrust Unit in Verona, Italy, seized 93 social media pages that were promoting OneCoin in mid 2019.
In the beginning of 2020, an attorney Mark Scott was arrested in the USA for participating in money-laundering and association with OneCoin. Mr. Scott has tried to defend himself stating that he simply worked as an attorney for Ruja Ignatova without having any idea what her company was doing.


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By the numbers
Microsoft beats expectations with $38 billion Q4 revenue
Microsoft today reported its earnings for the fourth quarter of its 2020 fiscal year. In total, the company reported $38 billion in revenue. That’s up by 13 percent, with notable strengths across Microsoft’s cloud, Surface, and gaming businesses.


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Who said that our governments only want our best - our money!? Well, the German Ministry of Finance might not be anything different but now he spent some money and created an app called "Customs and Travel" which explains Germans what's allowed to bring back from holidays and what's not allowed - or only at costs of extra taxes. Developed together with the German Customs, the app - which is available for Android and iOS - answers such questions like "Can I take 200 duty-free cigarettes, or maybe even 800 pieces? And what's about the Clock which is on holiday so much cheaper than at home? Or is it possible to take an animal back to Germany?". Questions over questions "Customs and Travel answers".
"The new app will help travelers to quickly and easily find out which goods are allowed to bring back to Germany, and from which they should rather keep their fingers away. A built-in quantity calculator also shows what can be brought back to Germany free of duty", "said the Federal Ministry of Finance Secretary Werner Gatzer, at the presentation today Munich.
And since the Ministry of Finance doesn't wants you to spend more money abroad than at home, the app is even not requiring an Internet connection, while the official wording is: "To avoid roaming charges, the app needs no Internet connection".
The official Bundesministerium der Finanzen "Zoll und Reise" app is now available free of charge, because it was already paid with your tax, from the Google Play Android Market and Apple iTunes. Oh, and since it's a German governmental-app, it's only available in German because we don't want to tell foreign visitors of Germany in advance what is allowed or not but want them "surprise" at customs! ;-) Anyway, kidding aside, quite a handy app, especially now where the holiday travel season has started.
Cheers ~ Arne


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COLNE BID is launching a new initiative called A Fresh Lick of Paint. The idea is that each year for the next four years. Colne BID will make up to £10,000 available under its core “Pride” remit to redecorate the exteriors of businesses withinRead More
WITH St Valentine’s Day fast approaching, the Colne BID
team is seeking people who love their town as much as they do.
BID Board Chairman, Stuart Wilson, explained: “We are
desperately seeking Colne Lovers to help us Clean Up Colne for
A TEAM from Colne’s Business Improvement District (BID) spent the town’s traditional Half Day Closing on Tuesday afternoon, Cleaning Up Colne.
Joined by Pick Up For Pendle, members of the public, the chairman of The Horsfield Residents’ Association, Kevin McNulty, and Colne Town Councillors, Sarah


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Wowhead found 12 Ability Descriptions in the Chinese mobile client Diablo Immortal that belong to an unknown class. Its supposed to be the Blood Knight — a unique class that has never appeared in the series before. It was mentioned during Alpha testing.
The list of skills includes abilities for inflicting direct physical damage, and spells related to blood, bats, Earlier, Wowhead also discovered an incomplete male character model and weapons related to the new class. Recall that the release of the mobile game should take place in the first half of 2022 years.
Diablo Immortal will be available on iOS and Android. By the way, in a recent beta test, the developers showed the necromancer class.
More on Gambling Monster Hunter Rise, the former exclusive of Nintendo Switch, is now available on PC No R — new & laquo; Batman” got the age rating PG-13 Today in Battlefield V and Battlefield 1 on Steam played more than Battlefield 2042.


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Chromebook is always a demanding product from the start but 2020 has been an amazing year for Chromebook. The last quarter has incredible sales for the device and thus proved to be one of the best years. Over 30 million of the devices has shipped last year, according to research firms Gartner and Canalys. Out of them, 11 and 11.7 million devices shipped in the last quarter itself. Canalys also mentioned that a huge 287% more than were shipped in the last quarter of 2019.
Comparing to 2019 both Gartner and Canalys disagree on each other. Gartner says it’s 80% while Canalys says it’s 109%. Whatever be the hike, it’s huge! Gartner estimates there were 275 million traditional computers sold this year, but it does show that one category is experiencing an explosion in growth, while another is recovering after a dip.
According to Canalys, Chromebooks are in huge demand in the Education industry. Due to pandemics around the world, the need for Remote learning via laptops and Chromebooks has also increased and thus making sales elevation. The Vice President of Microsoft Education agrees that Chromebooks are great for schools. He told his employees that “In many cases, when schools are buying Chromebooks or Windows PCs, Chromebooks are still faster and cheaper, they are easier to deploy and manage.”
2020 was undoubtedly proved to be the best year for Chromebook and if you are looking to purchase a new Chromebook in 2021 then do not forget to go through the below list.
Google Pixelbook Go
Lenovo Idea Pad Duet Chromebook
Asus Chromebook Flip
HP Chromebook 14
Acer Chromebook Spin 311
Acer Chromebook 314
Acer Chromebook Spin 11
I hope you have enjoyed reading this short piece of news. Thank you!


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| Nov 22, 2013
Two hundred-ninety-five years ago today, Royal Navy sailors from Hampton clashed with the notorious Blackbeard the Pirate in a hand-to-hand struggle off the remote Outer Banks island of Ocracoke.
Downing a bowl of strong liquor as they approached his...
| Nov 21, 2013
| 11:31 AM
Just in time for Thanksgiving, the Raleigh Tavern Bakery in the Colonial Williamsburg historic area is selling freshly baked pies.
Pies will be sold beginning at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, November 26 and Wednesday November 27th – doors open starting at 9...
| Nov 15, 2013
After the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, the most important sound in Williamsburg was no longer the urgent voices in the Capitol debating Virginia's future.
Instead it was the ringing of hammers and rattling of tin at the...
| Nov 18, 2013
| 2:35 PM
HAMPTON — Hampton University senior Joshua Gopeesingh is one of about 200 finalists for the Rhodes Scholarship, the university announced.
Gopeesingh, a chemical engineering major, is the only finalist to represent Historically Black Colleges and...
| Nov 14, 2013
| 1:01 PM
Hit the accelerator on entertainment this weekend with monster trucks, local blues and Sally Struthers. Sound like a volatile mix? It could also be an enjoyable one. Here are highlights. As always, find details at HrTicket.com.
REV IT UP. Car-crushing...
| Nov 14, 2013
| 7:15 AM
It wasn’t all muskets and cannons at Colonial Williamsburg recently.
Williamsburg Police arrested Kevin Irish last Friday in connection to an incident that took place a few weeks ago. Irish, a Colonial Williamsburg employee, allegedly threatened...
| Nov 23, 2013
Williamsburg Premium Outlets has not changed the name of its annual Midnight Madness Black Friday event, but the shopping center's advertisements include an extra message this year: Many of the 135 outlet stores will open at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day....
| Nov 24, 2013
Growing up in my house, Thanksgiving was as traditional a holiday as could be. Many of the same relatives gathered each year around a table that contained the always-popular turkey and the usual dishes: sausage dressing, mashed potato and turnip with...
| Oct 23, 2013
| 8:12 AM
Here's a look at what's going on this coming week in the Hampton Roads writing and reading community.
Friday, Oct. 25
Eileen Rockefeller Growald - Author talk/book signing
Hennage Auditorium of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg...
| Oct 21, 2013
| 9:53 AM
Good Neighbor pass holders will receive a 25 percent discount on purchases during Colonial Williamsburg’s Good Neighbor sale Monday, Oct. 21 through Friday, Oct. 25.
“This year we have extended the Good Neighbor sale to five days,”...
| Nov 10, 2013
"The Magic Flute," one of Mozart's most popular operas, is the Virginia Opera's second offering of the season. It opened Friday Nov. 8, and continues through Nov. 17 with performances in Norfolk and Virginia Beach.
The season began with a lively and...


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BEDFORD, MASS. – September 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Volt Active Data, the only no-compromise data platform built to support applications that require speed, scale, and consistency — all at once — today announced the results of a recent performance benchmark showing that Volt and Redpanda combine to provide a powerful solution for companies seeking to capitalize on real-time decisioning and real-time data processing.
“We pair really well with Volt to enable companies to take real-time actions on streaming data at a much lower total cost of ownership than other solutions,” said Chris Larsen, Director of Strategic Partners and Alliances at Redpanda.
The benchmark—the first in a series of benchmarks Volt plans to conduct with Redpanda—simulated turning network switch records into billable line items using a 6-node Redpanda + Volt cluster. It demonstrated that Volt was able to process over 100,000 complex decisions per second for less than US$13 an hour in operating costs.
Making timely decisions on real-time data at scale is forcing far too many companies to add layers to their stacks, resulting in costly hodge-podge solutions that ultimately break or don’t provide optimal functionality when it comes to managing streaming data while reducing latency.
Built from the ground up with a native Apache Kafka API, Redpanda eliminates complexity, maximizes performance, and reduces costs. Its lean architecture squeezes the most out of resources to provide 10x-lower latencies and up to 6x lower costs – without sacrificing reliability. The Volt Active Data platform is optimized for sub-10-millisecond response times on in-event data without forcing compromises on resilience or accuracy. Combined, the platforms offer companies a no-risk way to have all the power they need to handle their streaming data at scale by reducing their footprint size and latency.
“This is a huge opportunity for us but of course it’s an even bigger opportunity for the entire streaming data ecosystem,” said Volt CEO David Flower. “The power of Volt and Redpanda isn’t just technical but financial: you get true business results by tapping into true real-time decisions and actions, all while reducing your architecture footprint and TCO.”
To learn more about the benchmark, click here.


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DCC (LON:DCC) had its target price decreased by Goldman Sachs Group from GBX 7,900 ($103.23) to GBX 7,800 ($101.92) in a research report report published on Friday, June 7th, ThisIsMoney.Co.Uk reports. Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock.
A number of other analysts have also recently commented on DCC. Peel Hunt restated an add rating on shares of DCC in a report on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group restated a buy rating on shares of DCC in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an overweight rating on shares of DCC in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock presently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of GBX 8,254.75 ($107.86).
LON:DCC traded up GBX 42 ($0.55) during trading hours on Friday, hitting GBX 7,020 ($91.73). The company had a trading volume of 291,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 258,121. DCC has a 52 week low of GBX 5,555 ($72.59) and a 52 week high of GBX 7,450 ($97.35). The firm has a market cap of $6.90 billion and a P/E ratio of 25.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 73.31. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is GBX 6,873.28.
In other DCC news, insider Donal Murphy purchased 2,651 shares of DCC stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of GBX 7,025 ($91.79) per share, with a total value of £186,232.75 ($243,346.07).
DCC plc provides sales, marketing, and support services worldwide. The company's DCC LPG segment sells and markets liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). This segment serves approximately 0.7 million customers. Its DCC Retail & Oil segment engages in the procurement, sale, marketing, and distribution of LPG; operation of retail petrol stations; and reselling of fuel cards.
Featured Article: What is intrinsic value?
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China property sector debt concerns boost JPY as safe haven
Traders in the far east who are concerned about the debt problems evident amongst Chinese property developers are moving their funds to the safe-haven Japanese Yen. The GBPJPY rate is 75 basis points down on the overnight highs but still more than 1 Yen above the lows we saw at the end of last week.
NZD strengthens despite largest trade deficit since Feb 2020
The overnight market was busy in Australasia as well. The ANZ New Zealand business confidence index for October came in at minus 13.4. That’s nearly twice as bad as the previous month and that data was published just after we saw the worst New Zealand trade deficit since February 2020. Undoubtedly, New Zealand exporters need Australian and Chinese importers to significantly increase demand. The GBPNZD rate has still managed to push below NZD 1.92 this morning. That is the lower end of its current range between NZD 1.9180 and 1.93.
Australian inflation lower than forecast
Australian consumer price inflation was marginally lower than expected in the data published early this morning. The annual rate of inflation came in at 3.0%, down from last month 3.8% level and a shade under the 3.1% market forecast. As with all economies at the moment, the focus is on whether the central bank; in this case, the Reserve Bank of Australia, is ready to start raising interest rates to ward off inflation. Whilst 3% he’s at the top end of the RBA’s target range, it’s unlikely to prompt an early rate hike. Nonetheless, the GBPAUD rate has given back yesterday’s gains and starts this morning in the UK at AUD 1.8280.
The GBPEUR rate managed to test €1.19 yesterday but is back below the previous €1.1875 ceiling this morning. The jargon-bunnies amongst us would call that a ‘false break’. It doesn’t mean the Pound won’t have another crack at a rally but traders will be reassessing this morning. We lack data from either side of The Channel today but euro traders will be bracing themselves for tomorrow’s European Central Bank meeting. It is highly unlikely ECB will move their base rate but there is every chance they will reduce their bond-buying programme. That should strengthen the euro but it is hard to know if that will happen in these uncertain times.
It wasn’t just against the Euro that Sterling delivered a spike yesterday. GBPUSD also shows a spike on the chart. This one went to $1.3830 before dropping back to this morning’s $1.3775. There were a number of reasons to buy the Pound yesterday. UK retail sales were surprisingly strong, although supply chain problems held the market back. UK wage rises hit their highest level since 2008 and – somewhat related – UK inflation expectations were also at their highest levels since 2008. Against that background, it is no surprise that speculation over early Bank of England interest rate rises is at fever-pitch.
Bank of Canada likely on hold
Speaking of central banks, The Bank of Canada will make its interest rate announcements this afternoon. Their 0.25% base rate would seem pretty safe for now but future planning is what traders will be looking for in the BOC’s statement. GBPCAD starts the day at CAD 1.7050 and that is the middle of a range of less than a cent at the moment.
And here’s an interesting fact to start Wednesday. Most people have 206 bones in their body but more than a quarter of them are in your feet. A pair of intact feet contain 52 bones and each hand contains 27 bones. So your hands and feet contain more than half the bones in your body. Oh and you are looking at your hand right now, aren’t you? Now stop that and get on with your day.


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Toyota Prius Returns to Plug-In Market With $3,000 Price Cutby
Prius Prime travels 25 miles per recharge in all-electric mode
New hybrid costs less than Chevy Volt, which has more range
Toyota Motor Corp. said it’s returning to the plug-in hybrid market in the U.S. by lowering the price of a redesigned model to further undercut the Chevrolet Volt.
Prices for Toyota’s new plug-in, dubbed Prius Prime, will start at $27,100. That’s $3,000 less than the version the company discontinued in June 2015, Bill Fay, head of U.S. sales or the Toyota brand, told reporters at a Sept. 23 briefing. Volt prices start at $33,170, according to a General Motors Co. website.
When it goes on sale later this year, the new Prius Prime will be able to travel 25 miles (40 kilometers) between each recharging in all-electric mode, which many environmentalists consider cleaner than the gasoline engine also installed in the car. That’s still only about half the 53-mile capability for the Volt.
The discontinued version of the Toyota plug-in was able to travel only 11 miles after each recharging of its electric batteries. Toyota stopped building the old version about 15 months ago.


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Siemens has revealed plans for a new online collaborative platform designed to bring on-demand product design and 3D printing production to the global manufacturing industry. The part manufacturing platform will provide an environment capable of connecting all members of the global manufacturing community in order to maximize resource utilization, access additive manufacturing expertise and expand business opportunity. In addition, the platform will include collaborative capabilities to help streamline the co-innovation process and accelerate the adoption of 3D printing as a mainstream production method for industrial parts.
Siemens is introducing the part manufacturing platform to address the growing need for on-demand, worldwide access to additive manufacturing expertise and the latest technology. The platform will create an online ecosystem made up of highly qualified members from a variety of areas such as product designers, job shops, part buyers, 3D printer OEMs, material suppliers, expert services providers, micro-factories and much more.
The new digital platform is expected to launch in mid-2018.


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To celebrate its 125th anniversary, Zatarain’s will host the “World’s Largest Crawfish Boil”. More than 25,000 pounds of crawfish will be boiled during the event and will be sold to attendees for $3.00 per serving. The event is open to the public and all food and beverage proceeds will be donated directly to Second Harvest Food Bank.
Legendary New Orleans funk-rock bands Big Sam’s Funky Nation andFlow Tribe will provide free musical entertainment.
Officials will be on hand to certify the event in such categories as “Largest Attendance at a Crawfish Boil in a Single Day”, “Largest Amount of Pounds Boiled at a Crawfish Boil in a Single Day”, based on current projections.
Since 1889, Zatarain's, a McCormick-owned brand, has been the authority on the fun and flavor of New Orleans. People across the U.S. recognize that to capture the true flavor of New Orleans cuisine, you have to "Jazz It Up with Zatarain's." For information, visit www.zatarains.com.
Second Harvest Food Bank is leading the fight against hunger and building food security in South Louisiana by providing food access, advocacy, education and disaster response. To learn more, please visitwww.no-hunger.org.


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Several male tailors in Charikar, the capital of Parwan province, said that they had received verbal orders from officials of the department of virtue and vice prohibiting them from making clothing for women.
Tailors said that with the closing of their shops, they are facing economic challenges.
"10,000 Afs is the rent of the shop, there are student expenses, and we used to meet all our expenses from sewing women's clothes,” said Mukhtar Sekandari, a tailor.
According to the representatives of the Parwan tailors' union, most of the tailors in this province lost employment as a result of the restrictions, and some had to leave the country.
"All the tailors who made clothing for women lost their jobs and some even went to Iran,” said Imamuddin, representative of the Charikar Craftsmen and Shopkeepers group.
"Our shops are on the brink of collapse, there is no business,” said Mohammad Saber Qudous, the representative of Parwan tailors.
However, local Parwan officials deny this claim and said that some recommendations have been given to the tailors.
"They are permitted to make clothes and there is no barrier in the field for them, but when they take the size of women who personally come to them, that is forbidden by the department of virtue and vice,” said Hikmatullah Shamim, the spokesman of the governor of Parwan.
This comes as many of the country's youth have migrated illegally over the past two years as a result of unemployment and the country's growing poverty.


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Comments: Even more images of the airport full of 15,000 flood-damaged Sandy cars
And anyone buying a used car for the next year will need to be very, very careful.
Posted by Donald Sensing at January 7, 2013 4:00 PM
I can only hope that the water damage shows up on the CarFax(tm) reports.
Posted by Grizzly at January 7, 2013 4:06 PM
Donald, there is always some natural disaster and some media outlet has a story on vehicles damaged by disaster _____. You always need to be careful about buying used cars. An automaker dealership is better, the little mom & pop stores buy at auctions.
Posted by Todd at January 7, 2013 4:10 PM
I think it does, but if you pull up a carfax report it will show the location of the last owner, if that owner is from the New Jersey/New York area and the car's owner changed in Nov then it is a good chance it was a storm damaged car.
Posted by Potsie at January 7, 2013 4:57 PM
Grizzly, actually dealers of every kind and size buy and sell at auctions.
Posted by Donald Sensing at January 7, 2013 5:51 PM
Calverton? Believe Grumman once built F-14s there.
Posted by Jim at January 7, 2013 7:31 PM
A flood-damaged car is one of the worst investments you can make, especially if the damage was from salt water. The car's electrical system, if it still works, is on borrowed time, and you'll never get the mildew out. That's why insurance companies typically total flood damaged cars. Caveat emptor indeed.
Posted by waltj at January 7, 2013 8:15 PM
According to one engineer-mechanic who also owns his business, titles can still be washed through two states, and big dealers are by no means immune to concealing major defects. When cars can be had for $500 in large lots and sold for 5 or 10k, the race is on.
The best used cars I have owned, no matter their age, have always been bought from original owners.
Posted by james wilson at January 8, 2013 8:55 AM
"The best used cars I have owned, no matter their age, have always been bought from original owners."
Original owners or buy new, my grandfather told me that. Gospel.
Posted by John the River at January 8, 2013 12:58 PM
Quality along with luxury. Shirt is the same method proven.
Posted by Ethelyn Guyer at June 26, 2013 11:36 PM


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Elon Musk announced during a joint press conference with California Gov. Gavin Newsom that Tesla would be returning its global engineering headquarters to California, two years after a dramatic exit that saw the electric car company leave the Golden State for a facility in Austin, Texas. The move returns Tesla to the world’s center of technology and innovation.
Newsom applauded the decision to return Tesla to California, saying that the state remains on the forefront of “discovery and new ideas and innovation.” We say about our state, the future happens here first. We are America’s coming attraction,” Newsom said. Newsom added that California has been committed to supporting Tesla and other electric vehicle brands for years and has proven that through legislative policy and regulations.
“We are able to lay claim to 44 manufacturing headquarter companies in the electric vehicle space, but none that dominate like Tesla,” Newsom said. California is already the largest (EV) car manufacturer in America and Musk said Tesla’s Fremont plant is the busiest plant in North America with plans to produce more than 600,000 vehicles in the coming year.
Newsom has been a proponent of electric vehicles and revolutionizing America’s energy production, and said he hopes the partnership between Musk and California will allow the state to “dominate in this space and change the way we produce and consume energy in this state, and this nation and the world we are trying to build.”
Musk will be closer to the Twitter headquarters, which is located in San Francisco.
IN OTHER EV NEWS, OHIO’S LORDSTOWN MOTORS STOPS PRODUCTION AND RECALLS ALL 19 PICKUPS IT’S PRODUCED.
The company announced Thursday that it has experienced performance and quality issues with certain Endurance components that have led the company to temporarily stop production and customer deliveries since our last production update in January.
A prototype of a Lordstown Endurance electric pickup truck caught fire and burned down to the asphalt in it’s first ten minutes of its first test drive in 2021.
Lordstown Motor Corporation’s shares last traded at $1.09, far below its high of $31.40 on September 21, 2020.


text: Craig Turner Trade group wants more cashless tolling By Chris Caya • Sep 13, 2017 New York State Thruway Authority High speed cashless tolling on the New York State Thruway could do more than help the environment. Removing toll barriers could also help boost economic development across the region. Audio Pending... New festival announced for small businesses By Chris Caya • Apr 17, 2017 Small Business Festival The arrival of warmer weather signals the unofficial start of "festival season" in Western New York. And this year's line up includes the region's first ever "Small Business Festival." Listen Listening... / 1:26 WBFO's Chris Caya reports on the inaugural Small Business Festival Buffalo-Niagara.


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|Guy Hutchinson||Kabir Mulchandani|
|Helal Saeed Al Marri||Raki Phillips|
|Jochem-Jan Sleiffer||Satya Anand|
CEO and President
In January 2020, Guy Hutchinson was appointed the CEO and president of the UAE hotel firm Rotana. He joined the hotel management company in 2014, serving as the chief operating officer, and had been the acting CEO of the firm since January of 2019.
Hutchinson has over 30 years of experience working in the hospitality industry, and he was also heavily involved in introducing a franchise model to Rotana, with five franchise agreements signed in 2019. With Hutchinson’s support, Rotana opened global sales offices in Paris, Milan, Turkey and Amsterdam in the same year.
One of the region’s most powerful hotel groups, with approximately 70 properties and 20,000 keys, Rotana boasts a workforce of over 10,000 employees.
Despite the impact of COVID-19, Rotana has achieved a number of milestones over the past 12 months, including entry to the Moroccan market with The Palmeraie Rotana Resort in Marrakech, and the opening of Centro Corniche Al Khobar by Rotana in Saudi Arabia – its seventh hotel in the kingdom.
Across the group, only three hotels in remote destinations have faced temporary closures. All other hotels have remained operational, with many trading at occupancies above 75 percent throughout.
Rotana was quick to abandon traditional work flows and structures, establishing multiple lateral initiatives which have seen employees from the properties repurposed and contributing in different ways. An example being the development of a call centre that handles the Covid-19 hotline for the UAE’s national health services.
In September, Hutchinson revealed that Rotana plans to launch its own hotel conversion brand, and is on the cusp of joining global hotel majors IHG, Wyndham and Radisson. Despite this, the group remains committed to staying regionally focussed. Hutchinson said: “Our objective is not to have 5,000 hotels or 1,000,000 rooms, our goal is to dominate in specific markets.”
Helal Saeed Al Marri
Helal Saeed Al Marri is responsible for delivering Dubai’s Tourism Vision 2025, which includes a goal to attract 25 million visitors a year by 2025, and elevating the emirate as one of the biggest tourism destinations in the world. Since taking the reins at the DTCM in 2013, Al Marri has spearheaded huge growth despite a backdrop of falling hotel revenues and global currency fluctuations.
It takes a go-getting man to deliver Dubai’s Tourism Vision 2025, but Helal Saeed Al Marri has proven he is more than up for the job, having succeeded in attracting tourists from both the GCC and Europe, largely due to extra flights, routes, competitive fares and a rising number of mid-market hotels.
The director general has also been the CEO of Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) since 2004, playing a crucial role in positioning Dubai as a global financial and commercial hub. He has also enabled Dubai to become a leading global destination for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE).
In fact, events at the DWTC alone have totalled a record $3.4bn in retained value to Dubai’s economy, making up 3.3 percent of the emirate’s GDP in 2017, according to the latest Economic Impact Assessment report released by DWTC.
One of Al Marri’s first duties after taking the role was leading the rapid growth and development of GITEX, and expanding the show into GITEX Technology Week. It’s since become a hugely successful technology gathering that attracts thousands of visitors each year.
Al Marri is spearheading the $135m, four-phase expansion of DWTC funded by export credit agency UK Export Finance (UKEF) .
Earlier this year, Al Marri spoke of his hopes for the forthcoming Expo, saying, “Setting new benchmarks is engrained in our ethos, and to this end, we see Expo 2020 Dubai as a global pivot given where we all are today. No one could have anticipated how Covid-19 would alter our realities. Dubai and Expo 2020 paused, reflected and persevered.”
President Middle East, Africa and Turkey
Hilton currently operates 78 hotels in the Middle East region, comprising more than 25,000 keys between them, and as the President of the Middle-East, Africa and Turkey, Jochem-Jan ‘JJ’ Sleiffer is the man at the helm of operations in the region.
Though Sleiffer has more than 30 years of experience under his belt, he only stepped into the role at the very end of 2019. In that time, he’s been at the forefront of Hilton’s action plan against Covid-19 in the region, as well as its introduction of new brands into MENA, and success in hitting 25,000 keys.
The hotel group has a powerhouse pipeline, with 102 properties slated to enter the region, adding 27,000 more keys. This growth will come organically and without any mergers and acquisitions, doubling Hilton’s presence in the region in the next couple of years.
At the height of the pandemic, Sleiffer played an active role in consultation with the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) and Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).
Local authorities partnered with industry experts in the development of protocols such as RAK’s Bureau Veritas certification. Hilton’s CleanStay and Event Ready standards are the only ones to be endorsed by scientific experts in the fields of cleanliness. The programme became an immediate brand standard at more than 6,000 properties globally.
Sleiffer said: “Having got through this period, we are gearing up for the next phase of the challenge, rebuilding our business and the tourism industry. I hope to be able to do this in the way that I had envisaged and fits my leadership style, getting out and about, exploring this magnificent region and building those valuable personal relationships on the ground.”
Despite his seniority, Sleiffer is hailed as one of the most personable bosses in hospitality, always making the effort to celebrate everyone in his team – even if it is made up of more than 17,500 people.
As the CEO of Jumeirah Group, Jose Silva was entrusted with overseeing and expanding Jumeirah Group’s impressive portfolio of over 25 hotels across destinations ranging from Dubai and Abu Dhabi to Frankfurt and Shanghai.
A 25-year veteran of Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts in Europe, Silva has worked in the hotel industry for more than 35 years, with posts off over Europe. Before taking the role with Jumeirah, Silva has worked at the Four Seasons Hotel George V (dubbed one of the world’s top hotels) in Paris as the Regional Vice President in charge of France, Switzerland, Spain, and Portugal as well as the hotel’s General Manager.
Originally from Portugal, Silva holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from HEC Montréal. He began his career in hospitality by opening up his own restaurant when he was aged just 22 years old. Shortly after, he began working for Sheraton Hotels & Resorts in Quebec, Canada. His roles included Beverage Director and Assistant Director for Catering before he moved to Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts.
Jumeirah was founded in 2007, and has grown to become a market leader, with 24 properties in eight countries around the world and 100 restaurants in the UAE alone, and employing more than 13,500 colleagues from 140 different nationalities. Shortly after Silva was appointed, it added an impressive location to its portfolio with the Jumeirah Nanjing, a hotel designed by Zaha Hadid on the banks of the Yangtze River in China, its second hotel in the country.
Since 2018, the brand has entered a phase of unprecedented growth, identifying new markets for expansion all over the globe. It aims to make the brand truly global, while ensuring that each property is uniquely stamped with the Jumeirah signature. One of the brand’s next hotels is set to be in Makkah, in Saudi Arabia.
The Covid-19 pandemic forced Jumeirah to put some of its plans on hold. During that time, it concentrated on its properties in Dubai, refurbishing hotels and opening up new restaurants such as Kayto, French Riviera and Sal.
Silva believes a successful vaccination programme is vital to the resurgence of the industry, and has called on everyone to play their part in what he described as the “grand solution” to the virus. In the UAE, the Jumeirah Group has seen at least 85 percent of its staff vaccinated.
Mulchandani is an Indian-born, Dubai-based businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the chairman of FIVE Holdings, with interests in real estate, restructuring, investment and hospitality.
One of Dubai’s most renowned leaders, the man behind the iconic FIVE Hotels & Resorts in Dubai, is vividly reimagining and reshaping the hospitality landscape.
The FIVE Holdings’ Hotels and Resorts portfolio currently includes FIVE Palm Jumeirah, with 476 hotel rooms and apartments, 221 luxury residences with 11 culinary and nightlife venues; FIVE Jumeirah Village, with 234 hotel rooms, 267 luxury serviced apartments and five culinary and nightlife venues in Dubai; and FIVE Zurich, with 149 hotel rooms and eight culinary and nightlife venues in Switzerland. Its latest acquisition in Dubai, FIVE Beach, is a prime beach property boasts of 231 hotel rooms and 152 residences, multiple culinary and nightlife venues, ReFIVE Spa, an iconic social pool and private beach.
The entire property boasts uninterrupted sweeping sunset sea views and evenings filled with the glittering lights of the Dubai Eye. Opening in 2023, the property will truly imbibe the authentic and unique Vibe at FIVE, globally famous for its bespoke entertainment and culinary offerings.
An exciting new, boundary-breaking launch under the FIVE Hotels and Resorts umbrella is FIVE Music, its own Music Label – that aims to showcase the Sound of FIVE, which lies at the heart of its entertainment offerings, to a global audience.
Currently, FIVE has succeeded in achieving an earnings growth of 196 percent in the 1st half of 2021 as compared to 2019.
Both hotels are running at an impressive occupancy of 94 percent, and are ranked number one on occupancy, ADR and RevPAR generate more than 214 percent more on total revenue per available room than both respective luxury competitor sets.
What makes Mulchandani very proud is that 60 percent of all room bookings come directly through the FIVE website – a true testament to the strength of the brand.
Mulchandani is also a keen philanthropist – he launched Project Udaan with the aim of saving a life a day in India. The project is funded by FIVE Hotels and Resorts and provides daily life-saving surgery to cure children who are born with congenital heart defects.
Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority
In June 2019, Raki Phillips, a hospitality veteran, was named the new CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA).
Phillips had previously worked for some of the world’s most renowned global brands, including Ritz-Carlton Hotels, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, and Universal Studios Orlando. He took over from Haitham Mattar, whose four-year tenure as CEO of RAKTDA is credited with repositioning Ras Al Khaimah to become one of the fastest growing destinations in the world and exceeding the target of 1 million visitors in the first three years.
Some of the projects that have been launched since Phillips took on the role include the Jebel Jais Zipline Tour – the latest adventure tourism offering housed on the UAE’s highest mountain peak. The Jebel Jais Zipline Tour features seven ziplines flying over the grand cliffs and canyons of Jebel Jais, which are connected by nine platforms; the cluster of seven ziplines covers a total distance of 5km with an average speed of 60kmph.
In 2021, RAKTDA announced a high-impact investment programme, which aims to position the emirate as one of the most preferred tourism destinations in affordable luxury. Endorsed by the government of Ras Al Khaimah, the new initiative, SelectRAK, is rolled out in partnership with Arton Capital, a government advisory company that focusses on promoting public-private partnerships that energise economies around the world. Phillips said the new programme will deliver a demonstrable positive impact by welcoming global enterprises, investments, and talent to the Emirate.
He explained: “Our goal to promote Ras Al Khaimah as a wonderful tourism destination, and to help energise all economic sectors, is aligned with the long-term vision of the leadership to establish the Emirate as one of the preferred places to live and work.”
Home to more than 13,000 companies, Ras Al Khaimah offers 100 percent ownership of firms and zero income tax.
President for Europe, Middle East and Africa
Satya Anand is the President for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Marriott International. He took up the position in September of 2020, and has worked for the company for more than 32 years, working in roles such as area vice president for Central Europe, as well as chief financial officer for Europe.
In his role, Anand is responsible for all business functions across the EMEA region, and provides leadership to more than 998 hotels across 75 countries and territories.
He joined Marriott International back in 1988, as a Night Auditor at the Vienna Marriott Hotel, and has risen up through the ranks ever since.
Originally from India, Anand studied accounting at the Bangalore MES College of Commerce. In 1988, he moved to Austria, where he completed his diploma in Hotel and Tourism Management at the International College of Tourism and Management, located in Semmering.
Earlier this year, Marriott International signed an agreement with the Al Saedan Group to open three hotels across Saudi Arabia. The multi-project agreement includes the country and territory’s first Renaissance Hotel, the world’s largest Aloft Hotel and a Courtyard by Marriott in the holy city of Makkah. All three properties are projected to open by 2025. Marriott International’s portfolio in Saudi Arabia currently includes more than 30 properties with over 9,000 rooms across 10 brands and nine cities.
“We are pleased to build on our fantastic relationship with Al Saedan Group and further expand our portfolio across Saudi Arabia with these milestone signings,” said Anand, speaking to Arabian Business about the announcement.
Renaissance Hotels will make its debut in Saudi Arabia with the opening of Renaissance Riyadh Hotel, which is expected to feature 266 suites. The Aloft Makkah Taysir is anticipated to be the brand’s largest hotel in the world with plans for 1,000 guest rooms and will be located close to the Grand Mosque entrance. Courtyard by Marriott Makkah Kudai will offer 438 rooms, its signature Grab n’ Go market and a fitness centre.


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Hormel invites investors to webinar
Published 11:15 am Thursday, September 1, 2011
Hormel Foods Corp. is inviting interested investors to listen to its presentation at the Barclays Back-to-School Consumer Conference.
The presentation is Wednesday, Sept. 7 at 2 p.m. Jeff Ettinger, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Hormel, will be speaking.
To access the webcast, log on to www.hormelfoods.com. Go to the “Financial Overview” page under the Investors section, which will bring you to the webcast link.
Email newsletter signup
If you are unable to listen to the live webcast, an archived version will be available at the above-mentioned website for 90 days following the presentation.


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Brand Monitoring: Where Are They Now?
APRIL 1, 2011
Back-channel emails are a wonderful thing. Suresh Vittal's January 2009 report, Forrester Wave: Listening Platforms also covered seven companies, two of which two were not in the 2006 report: Radian6 Acquired by Salesforce.com this week, but you knew that. A couple of CEOs have pointed out how few of the vendors ever featured in Forrester's reports on social media analysis are still independent.
Let's personalize your content


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K another classic fair in Germany unites historic cars and motorcycles alike , Planes and boats like the event in Friedrichshafen.
In addition to the exhibition halls, the open spaces will also be used on the weekend: racing cars, steam cars and cars from the brass era can be admired on a circuit. On Friday and Saturday, the former motorcycle world champions Giacomo Agostini and Dieter Braun as well as the ex-Grand Prix drivers Heinz Rosner, Rudolf Thalhammer and Bruno Kneubühler will also demonstrate classic racing motorcycles on the course. On all three days of the fair, aircraft will be demonstrated at an airshow.
The big show of the Porsche brand is new, to which an entire hall in Friedrichshafen is dedicated: prototypes and a special show for the Porsche Targa can be seen in an area of around 6000 square meters. In addition, Porsche clubs show rare sports coupes. A Porsche car and parts market rounds off the range. www.klassikwelt-bodensee.de .


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In what was a "sneak peak" at the future, the company did show off the AirPower charging mat, which will enable wireless charging on the now current line-up of iPhones, and the new AirPods that have the wireless charging case and will also work with the Apple Watch.
Both the iPhone X and the iPhone 8 models support fast charging via a USB-C power adapter. While most of us will gladly forgo a home button in favor of a bezel-less display, they should've at least kept the Touch ID as an alternative to the new FaceID.
The new phones all feature Apple's first proprietary graphics processor, which provides greater speed, improved cameras and some features for augmented reality apps. They also all have wireless charging and the same storage options, starting with a base of 64GB or a larger 256GB upgrade. It also features Apple's True Tone display tech and, supports both HDR10 and Dolby Vision content. Apple says there is a deeper strengthening layer in the glass that makes it the "most durable in a smartphone'". The home button and fingerprint sensor have been removed on the front of the device.
Apple announced two new iPhone 8 models, which are improved versions of the iPhone 7. The new phones promise to shoot pictures with better colors and less distortion, particularly in low-light settings.
Blue Jays activate Russell Martin from DL
Every player has their own reasons for wanting to finish the year on a high note, even on a team that is just spinning its wheels. Maile has two RBIs in his last three games after recording just one in his previous 19. "I'm pretty happy about that".
Apple detailed a range of new products overnight, and we've all the details for you in one convenient place.
The Steve Jobs Theater overlooks the new Apple headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., called Apple Park, which is a futuristic location that Jobs envisioned where employees create the next generation of technology. It's all about the OLED iPhone, even though the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are fantastic devices. The dual camera will be just on the iPhone 8 Plus while the iPhone 8 will have a 12MP rear camera. The handset will come in silver or space gray and will start at $999 with 64GB of onboard storage when preorders start on October 27.
iPhone 8 will come in 3 colours, Silver, space grey and new gold finish.
After the iPhone 7 then went on sale at on 16 September, the resale value then dropped further, to around £370 by the end of the month.
Coming to iPhone X, it has surely got its gimmicks and good looks.
The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus will also be capable of wireless charging for the first time. The leaders also spoke about how its new campus was built with a number of environmentally friendly features. The Apple Watch Series 3 will be available to order on September 15 and will begin selling on September 22.
- Saudi Arabia rejects call for independent United Nations probe into Yemen
- Remembering Sept. 11, 2001: America under attack
- Airtel dials up SK Telecom for newer tech
- Iran detains Islamic State group leader near Tehran
- Merck & Company, Inc. (MRK) Stake Raised by AE Wealth Management LLC
- Domino's Pizza Lifted to "Buy" By Research Firm Zacks
- Archbishop Tutu slams Suu Kyi over Rohingya crisis
- Power restored to more than 500000 in Georgia since Irma
- Volkswagen présente l'ID CROZZ II — Salon de Francfort
- 'Leave Britney alone' guy celebrates 10 year anniversary


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As the National Beef Association (NBA) announces that its National Spring Spectacular Show is returning to its headquarters at Hexham Mart in May, chief executive Chris Mallon took the opportunity to speak out on the future of the beef industry.
He said: “In 2013, the cattle industry had a better-than-average year, in no small part aided by the discovery of horsemeat in processed meat products which led to consumers demanding British.
“The year also had the benefit of one of the best summers in a long time. Although trade tailed off slightly towards the end of the year, for most of the year we saw good prices for all classes of stock and I’m sure 2013 will be seen by most as one of the better years.”
But one good year on its own will not bring back cattle numbers. The industry needs stability and long-term profitability before we see reinvestment and growth in numbers, added Mr Mallon.
“Beef cow numbers are falling and the demand for high-provenance, locally-sourced beef is rising so the simple law of supply and demand should lead to an increase, or at least, maintenance of the price.
“This will be dependent upon processors and retailers backing British and committing to the future stability of the industry.
“The recent price weakness has been blamed on imported European beef from Poland entering the supply chain into the catering and processing markets.
“The concern always with such beef is its traceability, welfare standards and is it exactly what it purports to be.”
The settlement of Pillar 2 CAP transfer from Pillar 1 was decided at the end of 2013 with the UK areas having different rates and different rates across the EU – Scotland has come in at 9.5%, Germany 4.5%, France 3%, Wales 15% and England 12%. Northern Ireland has decided against any transfer.
“Taking money from the farming community when there is no clear idea how the money will be spent, while at the same time putting British farmers at a competitive disadvantage, makes no sense,” Mr Mallon said. “In the wake of the horsemeat scandal, we know that the British public wants to see more British food produced.
“If rural communities are to remain living, habitable areas for people as well as wildlife, farming needs the support it deserves.
“The funds in Pillar 2 need to be readily accessible to farm businesses and not allowed to be squandered on unsustainable, uneconomic novelty ideas that do not truly benefit rural businesses.
“The hope is that all in the beef supply chain can make a living; when we get that balance, long-term investment becomes possible. 2013 saw a rise in confidence among beef producers which was perhaps the catalyst for the start of growth in suckler numbers.
“However, a serious fall in price for finished animals would be disastrous for the industry and for many producers it would be the last straw.
“This would lead to a major fall in numbers, the closure of processors and result in British retailers and customers relying more on imported meat. Processors may wish to bring back the beef price, but it will end with one long-term result, no cattle to process.”
The profitability of a suckler herd is directly related to the number of calves reared per cow served annually, Mr Mallon explained.
Recent figures show that the average calving interval for suckler herds in the country is 406 days which is somewhat off the target of 365 days.
A cow that does not calve every 365 days is a drain on the system and not earning her keep.
This means that in a 100-cow suckler herd, the average farmer is weaning 79 calves from 100 cows while the target should be more like 95 live calves per 100 cows.
“It has been shown that it costs between £350 to £600 to keep a suckler cow for the year depending on land type and whether the cow calves in the spring or autumn.
“It is therefore essential that she produces a calf every 365 days to deliver an output which will cover this expenditure and produce a profit.”
On the subject of herd health and the threat from bovine TB, Mr Mallon said: “As everyone knows, some disease and health issues are difficult to control and eradication of persistent infections is key to BVD management, with estimates of £100 per cow being the cost of BVD within the suckler herd.
“Cow management is within our control but the sale of the end product is in the hands of others and if they wish to stay in the business of processing beef, it is in their own interest to pay a price that ensures their suppliers remain in business.
“Threats of bringing in cheaper imports only succeed in reducing farmer confidence and prevent growth in the beef sector.
“We need aggressive promotionof beef by retailers and continued support of high-provenance British beef.”


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Top Headliners Announced For Southern Hemp Expo Conference & Trade Show
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Top Headliners at SHE3 In Raleigh, NC, Include Medicinal Cannabis Expert Dr. Uma Dhanabalan Alongside Experts in Hemp Textiles, Hemp Foods, Regenerative Ag and the new Carbon Economy
When: Thursday, Sept. 2—Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021
Where: Raleigh Convention Center, Raleigh, NC
Register Here: https://www.southernhempexpo.com/
Raleigh, NC (July 15, 2021) – Organizers of the Southern Hemp Expo are pleased to announce a powerhouse line-up of both veteran and new industry leaders, including ground-breaking cannabis medical expert Dr. Uma Dhanabalan, who will speak during the three-day event starting on Thursday Sept. 2, 2021 at the Raleigh Convention Center in Raleigh, NC.
Dr. Uma is a Harvard-trained Massachusetts-based physician skilled in family medicine and occupational & environmental medicine. She is a medicinal cannabis advocate, activist and educator and speaks globally about cannabis as a plant medicine. Dr. Uma will present the opening Keynote – Cannabis the Global Solution – on Thursday Sept. 2 and also speak on Friday Sept. 3 during a roundtable discussion on cannabis/marijuana expungement.
The third-annual Southern Hemp Expo, or SHE3, is the must-attend comprehensive hemp event in the eastern United States, with a gathering of entrepreneurs and experts across the supply chain with exhibitors in the fields of farming and agronomy, equipment, fiber, food, cannabinoids, nutrition, textiles, building materials, bioplastics, health and wellness, technology and more.
Keynote speakers include business leaders in the hemp space; investors, legal and policy experts, and celebrity athletes, including superbowl champion and ESPN football analyst Matt Wilhelm and women’s soccer star Rachel Rapinoe.
The three-day expo will feature a Thursday, Sept. 2 Business Conference where highly qualified investment professionals and business owners will discuss legal updates, banking and payments, hemp trends and the evolving industry landscape, building/marketing and funding your business, and investment opportunities and strategies. Speakers will include Morgan Paxhia of cannabis and hemp investors Poseidon Asset Management. Learn the latest in hemp’s legal and regulatory environment, including Delta 8, with cannabis and hemp attorney Scheril Murray Powell, Esq. and U.S Hemp Authority president Dr. Marielle Weintraub.
A Farm Symposium on Friday Sept. 3 will include talks on the current state of hemp farming, future opportunities, regenerative agriculture, coops, government grants and tax credits, the new carbon economy and more. Speakers will include Ben Dobson, CEO of Hudson Hemp, Dr. Arnab Bhowmik, soil scientist from North Carolina A & T University, and New Mexico hemp farmer and bestselling author Doug Fine.
A 3-Day Industry Pass Sept. 2-4 will allow participants to meet with exhibitors and sponsors on the trade show floor, have access to the Expo Hall Education Stage, and to network and do business with owners, entrepreneurs and leaders in the emerging hemp industry.
Experience Hemp Day, will be held Saturday, Sept. 4 and is open to the general public who can mingle with vendors, buy and try hemp products, watch speakers and panel discussions on multiple stages, and explore the many uses of industrial hemp in food, supplements, fiber, textiles, building materials, paper, medicine and more.
Other speakers will include:
- Ben Williams of Houston-based hemp-infused Highway Vodka, will discuss distilled spirits and hemp.
- Hemp textiles and the non-woven fiber industry will be discussed over many sessions and include Barbara Fillipone of EnviroTextiles and Taimour Azhar of The Hempville, Inc.
- CBD marketer Franny Tacy of Asheville, NC-based Franny’s Farmacy will discuss vertical integration from seed to shelf.
“We’re thrilled to bring back the Southern Hemp Expo, which was held in 2018 and 2019 in the Nashville area, and now relocating to the Raleigh Convention Center, which is a great venue for the type of event we are producing,” said Morris Beegle, co-founder of We Are for Better Alternatives (WAFBA) parent company of the expo.
“Aside from the wellness benefits of CBD and other non-intoxicating cannabinoids, excitement is building for hemp textiles and nonwovens in the United States,” he added. “And the hemp food-and-grain, biochar and biofuels markets represent new opportunities for innovators and entrepreneurs.”
Find out more at SouthernHempExpo.com.
About Let’s Talk Hemp
Let’s Talk Hemp is a leading media platform that focuses on “Changing the Cannabis Conversation.” We curate news, education, and information about hemp and cannabis to our podcast listeners, newsletter subscribers, and digital magazine readers so that they can learn more about the industry and get tips and tricks on the latest technologies. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and learn about everything from legal updates, farming, production, and new products entering the hemp and cannabis space. Let’s Talk Hemp is a publication of the Colorado Hemp Company (a division of We Are For Better Alternatives WAFBA) focused specifically on the subject of industrial hemp and cannabis. Let’s Talk Hemp features news globally and shares the benefits of cannabis on health, energy, manufacturing, and the planet (HEMP).
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NBC is streaming the Super Bowl as a second screen
Interesting comments from NBC regarding the network’s streaming of the Super Bowl. As we’ve told you before, this is the first year a network has offered free live streaming of the game. But there figures to be way fewer eyeballs on laptops than there will be eyeballs on big screen TVs and as a result the ads online won’t bring in even a shred of the revenue that the big commercials do. So why bother?
Turns out NBC figures the small screen will be a supplement to the big screen, the sports equivalent of opening your laptop to IMDB.com when you’re watching a movie. So the webcast will have extra camera angles, the ability to rewatch TV commercials, probably a bunch of stats and replays. So that way NBC gets paid for TV commercials and web commercials.
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Chairman Miles Pelham said he hoped buyer Rystabelz will build LCS into a prosperous retail network after the group disposed of its 72.69% owned chain of Lifes' Comfort Solutions (LCS) retail outlets, via subsidiary African Home Stores (AHS).
The deal is expected to complete within 90 days, conditional upon all minority shareholders.
The retail division made losses before tax of around £0.75mln on turnover of around £3.125mln in the year to end December, 2015.
AHS must still pay US$225,000 from the original purchase in 2014 in monthly instalments with final payment due in June 2017.
Pelham added the firm could now focus on expanding its production capacity within forestry and agriculture, which is progressing well, whilst avoiding continuing losses from retail operations.
Results for the six months to June 30 will be announced on September 30.
Shares added 2.04% to 12.5p in early deals.


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Kardashian Beauty may never escape legal trouble.
Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian haven’t signed off on Kardashian Beauty’s new five-item Fierce collection and are asking the U.S. District Central Court of California to stop the products from selling. In a complaint filed Wednesday, the famous sisters accuse Hillair Capital Management, principal investor in licensee Haven Beauty, and its managing members Neal Kaufman and Sean McAvoy of trademark infringement by using their likenesses without their permission on the merchandise and in an app.
“The defendants launched the Fierce line that had been specifically disapproved by the Kardashians. …As such, Hillair, Kaufman, and McAvoy are all a moving, active and conscious force behind the trademark infringement,” reads the complaint, which reveals the Kardashians sent a notice to immediately terminate their license agreement for Kardashian Beauty on July 8, mere hours before Haven Beauty released the Fierce collection on kbeauty.com.
Kardashian Beauty has kept lawyers busy. In March, Hillair filed a lawsuit against the Kardashians for failing to support the brand and pursued damages up to $180 million. The suit was subsequently sent to arbitration, and its legal proceedings were stayed. Prior to that suit, previous licensee Boldface, which was taken over nearly two years ago by Hillair in receivership, was entangled in a legal battle over the original name of the brand, Khroma Beauty.
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The latest complaint details that Kris Jenner, Kim, Khloe and Kourtney’s manager and their mother, and Kardashian general counsel Todd Wilson attempted to resolve the issues plaguing Kardashian Beauty in the hopes of saving the brand from being destroyed by litigation, but Hillair, Kaufman and McAvoy have withdrawn from discussions exploring resolutions. It also reports Hillair and Haven haven’t paid the Kardashians royalties despite demands from the Kardashians that the parties pay up, and refuse to make royalty payments until the Kardashians compensate them for damages they sought in their lawsuit.
Communications between Wilson and Haven Beauty chief financial officer Jeanene Morgan included in the complaint illustrate the difficulty of moving forward with Kardashian Beauty under the current fraught circumstances. Morgan reached out to Wilson in May about sending the Kardashians products for approval, and Wilson responded the Kardashians “will not approve anything, or consider approving anything until Haven/Hillair is no longer in breach of its obligations under contract.” After the communication, Kardashian Beauty proceeded with the Fierce collection and integrated the collection into the YouCam app for virtual makeup try-on and purchasing.
It’s unclear how the legal wrangling will affect Kardashian Beauty. Although they’ve faced various setbacks over the years, the Kardashians continue to be cash machines. The mobile game Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, for instance, has been Glu Mobile’s most successful property since its launch in 2014, racking up more than 45 million downloads and generating $157.8 million in revenue through March 31.
Haven Beauty upgraded Kardashian Beauty’s packaging substantially with the Fierce collection and brought in some heavy beauty hitters to do so. According to Erin Dwyer, senior vice president of global e-commerce and social at Haven Beauty, who spoke to WWD about the collection at Beautycon in Los Angeles last week, Annette Falso, a beauty industry veteran with experience at Revlon and Chanel, worked on the products as did former Gurwitch Products vice president Antonello Patella. The Fierce collection is expected to roll out to Ulta Beauty next month.


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Criminal Behaviour Order handed to persistent shoplifter from Widnes
Main article content
A persistent shoplifter from Widnes has been handed a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO).
Jack Welch, of Terrace Road, predominantly targets stores in Runcorn.
The 23-year-old was jailed for four weeks by Warrington Magistrates’ Court on Friday 14 February.
He was convicted of five counts of theft from a shop.
The offences were all committed in Runcorn – at a Co-op store on Thursday 23 January and Tuesday 4 February, at a B&M shop on Wednesday 22 January and Tuesday 28 January and at a Lloyds Pharmacy on Thursday 30 January.
They are among a string of shoplifting offences Welch has been convicted of.
He also has previous convictions for serious acquisitive crime, possession with intent to supply class A drugs and threatening behaviour.
Welch returned to Warrington Magistrates’ Court for a CBO hearing on Friday 27 March.
The five-year CBO imposed by the court bans him from:
Behaving in a way that causes, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to anyone in Cheshire
Entering Runcorn, unless to attend a pre-arranged probation service appointment
Using a self-service checkout at any retail premises in Cheshire
Placing any item for sale in anything other than a shopping basket or trolley prior to payment being made at retail premises in Cheshire
Concealing any item for sale on his person at any retail premises in Cheshire
Concealing his face or head when entering any retail premises in Cheshire
Having more than one mobile phone in his possession
Possessing a mobile phone which has not been registered in his name.
The court also ordered Welch to adhere to a drug rehabilitation centre requirement.
Police Constable Chris Roberts, of the Halton Problem Solving Team, said: “CBOs are preventative orders that are designed to stop persistent offenders committing further offences.
“They are applied for and imposed as a last resort.
“In the case of Jack Welch, he is a persistent offender with a series of shoplifting convictions and has shown no signs of ceasing his criminal behaviour.
“There comes a point when you have to say enough is enough and take additional action to protect stores from being targeted.
“The coronavirus pandemic is having a significant financial impact on businesses and the last thing that retail premises in Halton need is to continue to be targeted by a prolific shoplifter like Welch.
“The CBO bans Welch from going to Runcorn, to reduce the likelihood of him committing offences.
“He has been made aware that it is an offence to breach the terms of a CBO.
“I hope that the CBO has the desired effect and prevents Welch from shoplifting or committing any other offence in Halton or anywhere else in Cheshire over the coming weeks, months and years.
“I also hope that Welch changes his ways, for his own sake as well as for the sake of retail premises and the people living and working in Halton.”
Anyone who encounters Welch breaching any of the above restrictions over the next five years is asked to contact Cheshire Constabulary on 101 to report it.


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Through the years, doors have been continuously improved to provide home and commercial buildings with the functionality, convenience, and security that people need. At the recent International Builder’s Show (IBS) in Las Vegas, doors took center stage.
Leading companies in the industry showcased their latest line of doors, demonstrating new developments and technology for contemporary doors and door components. Attendees were awed by these new doors by companies like: Therma-Tru, Jeld-Wen, Plastpro, Simpson Door, Trustile, Kommerling Wondows and Doors, Nana Wall Systems, Kolbe, Front Line Building Products, and Endura.
DWM Magazine tells us more in the full article.


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Eurozone Consumer Prices Fall For First Time In 4 Years
Eurozone inflation turned negative for the first time in more than four years in August, signaling that more monetary stimulus measures are needed to push prices higher, preliminary data from Eurostat showed Tuesday.
Consumer prices fell 0.2 percent year-on-year in August, reversing a 0.4 percent rise in July and confounding expectations for an increase of 0.2 percent.
Prices declined for the first time since May 2016, when prices were down 0.1 percent.
The European Central Bank aims to keep inflation “below, but close to 2 percent.”
Largely due to discounting during summer sales, core inflation that excludes volatile energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, eased to a record 0.4 percent from 1.2 percent in July.
Core inflation will remain around that level for the next year at least, Jack Allen-Reynolds, an economist at Capital Economics, said.
The core rate should rise slightly in January when German VAT reverts to its previous levels, but weak demand is expected to keep core inflation very low for the foreseeable future, the economist added.
One-off factors played a role but declining services inflation confirmed once more that this crisis is indeed deflationary, Bert Colijn, an ING economist said.
For the ECB, which meets later in the month, these numbers are more a confirmation of what they already know: this crisis is deflationary despite some of the novel elements to it, said Colijn.
The ECB next meets on September 10.
Among components, food, alcohol and tobacco prices rose 1.7 percent annually, following a 2 percent rise in July. Energy prices continued to fall but the pace of decline slowed to 7.8 percent from 8.4 percent.
Non-energy industrial goods prices were down 0.1 percent, in contrast to July’s 1.6 percent rise. Meanwhile, services cost advanced 0.7 percent in August versus a 0.9 percent rise a month ago.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices declined 0.4 percent in August, data showed.
Elsewhere, survey data from IHS Markit showed that output charges declined for the fourteenth straight month in August due to competitive pressures. Nonetheless, the latest contraction was marginal and the weakest recorded in the last year.
Data published by the statistical office showed that the jobless rate in the currency bloc continued to increase in July despite some relaxation of covid-19 containment measures.
The jobless rate rose to 7.9 percent in July from 7.7 percent in June. However, the rate was marginally below the expected level of 8 percent.
The number of people out of work increased by 344,000 from June to 12.793 million in July.
The unemployment rate among youth aged below 25 rose to 17.3 percent from 17.2 percent in June.
Source: Read Full Article


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HD Camera Drone – An Overview in Juneau AK 99802
eBay decides trending rate through a machine uncovered model of your merchandise’s sale costs throughout the very last 90 days. “New” refers to a model-new, unused, unopened, undamaged product, and “Utilized” refers to an product which has been applied Beforehand.
The DJI Phantom 3 Specialist is among the most refined alternative inside the collection, and as the title implies, was made for Experienced pilots.
Toy Stores in Juneau, Alaska 99802
Business Results 1 - 10 of 4
Drone Store in Juneau Alaska
Business Results 1 - 10 of 9
Juneau AK - BingNews Search results
Rising economic confidence one signal Alaska's recession might be ending
(SitNews) Juneau, Alaska - According to the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development, Alaskans are optimistic about Alaska's economic future. While Alaskans have tepid feelings ...
Alaska Department of Transportation tries to adapt to climate warming
JUNEAU — Unpredictable weather events can make a daily commute a real headache. That’s becoming more common in Alaska as the climate warms. It’s something the state’s Department of Transportation is t...
Valley Legislators prepared to get to work on 31st Alaska Legislature
As a result of her wealth of experience, Tilton was named Chair of the House Rules Committee heading into the 31st Alaska Legislature, which will begin in Juneau in January. With the election of Mike ...
Alaska Permanent returns 2.13%
Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., Juneau, returned a gross 2.13% during the quarter ended Sept. 30, according to a news release. The $65.7 billion sovereign wealth fund exceeded the board of trustees' stra...
Canadian board game convention lures Southeast Alaska’s tabletop gaming enthusiasts
Nearly 100 Juneau residents turned out Thursday night in support of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing investigation. Similar gatherings were planned across Alaska. According to a press release ...


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There are 25 books featured for $9.99 in the Popular Pre-Orders category on Apple's iBooks store, all of which are published by Hachette. Authors on the list include Harry Potter's J.K. Rowling and mystery author James Patterson. Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS:US), another e-book competitor, is taking pre-orders for Rowling's new work, "The Silkworm," for $14.99 for its Nook tablet.
Apple Inc. (AAPL) faces as much as $840 million in state and consumer antitrust claims related to electronic-book deals with publishers that led to a U.S. lawsuit and court-ordered monitor. State attorneys general and consumers who sued the world's most valuable technology company over its e-book pricing are seeking $280 million in damages and want that amount tripled, a lawyer for them said in a filing yesterday with the federal judge in Manhattan who presided over the U.S. case against Apple.
The United States offered to ease the terms of a proposed civil injunction against Apple Inc for conspiring to raise ebook prices, but the company said the revised proposal is still designed to "inflict punishment" and must be rejected. At issue is how to ensure that Apple does not violate antitrust law, following a July 10 ruling by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan that it had conspired with five major publishers to undermine pricing by rivals including Amazon.com Inc, which dominates the market for electronic books.
The federal judge who ruled that Apple Inc violated antitrust law by conspiring with five major publishers to raise prices of e-books has scheduled a May 2014 trial to determine damages, according to an order made public on Wednesday. Absent an earlier resolution, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan would be expected at the trial to consider whether Apple should pay damages that could reach hundreds of millions of dollars. Last month, Cote sided with the federal government and 33 U.S. states and territories in concluding that Apple conspired with the publishers to
Apple Inc. (AAPL) executives were prepared to abandon plans to enter the e-book business on the eve of the company’s 2010 debut of the iPad, Penguin Group USA Inc. Chief Executive Officer David Shanks testified in the U.S. government’s civil antitrust trial against Apple.
Shanks, called on the second day of the trial in Manhattan federal court, yesterday described his company’s decision to sign a deal known as an agency agreement for Apple to sell Penguin’s electronic books. He said Penguin signed on after initially resisting Apple’s pricing model.
Apple Inc. engaged in a horizontal price-fixing scheme with some of the U.S.’s largest publishers to violate antitrust laws by working “to strip retailers of pricing authority,” the U.S. Justice Department said in a court filing.
The department’s Antitrust Division filed papers for a trial set to begin June 3 in federal court in Manhattan that included excerpts of e-mails and depositions of Apple executives including the company’s late founder, Steve Jobs, and Senior Vice President Eddy Cue and publishing executives.


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The state government issued a notification imposing a ban on the manufacture, sale, distribution and storage of single-use plastic on March 23.
04 Aug 2018 1:17 AM
Reportedly, beverage companies have fixed the buyback price at Rs 15 per kg of the bottles.
21 Jul 2018 2:06 AM
The proposal to use corporators’ funds to distribute cloth bags has been made by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator Jaya Tiwana.
21 Jul 2018 2:04 AM
The violation of ordinance for the second time will invite imprisonment of one year or penalty up to a maximum of Rs 1 lakh.
16 Jul 2018 4:35 AM
Uttar Pradesh is the second state after Maharashtra to enforce a ban on plastic. CM Yogi has urged the people to comply with the ban.
07 Jul 2018 1:05 AM
Government has allowed packaging of groceries in plastic above 50 microns.
07 Jul 2018 1:03 AM
Plastic has been 'banned' earlier in the state, but the prohibition on its use has not been implemented effectively so far.
06 Jul 2018 8:18 PM
According to officials, after the ban on plastic bags, the state government is focusing on plastic waste generated from FMCGs and e-commerce products.
04 Jul 2018 5:16 AM
Plastic covers help protect idols during rain, say makers.
02 Jul 2018 1:12 AM
Cloud of panic takes over the city after blanket plastic ban, putting small traders in a sticky situation. But what exactly are they facing?
30 Jun 2018 6:15 AM
A top civic official admitted that the jittery officials have sought police protection for the plastic ban implementation.
29 Jun 2018 2:29 AM
The Railways and other government offices are also not strictly implementing the plastic ban even though action has been initiated against traders.
28 Jun 2018 6:05 AM
Restaurants are suffering 30 per cent loss due to ban on one-time plastic items.
28 Jun 2018 5:09 AM
As curry items remain a sour point in takeaway orders, biryani delivered in eco-friendly clay pots are in huge demand.
28 Jun 2018 5:04 AM
He also slammed environment minister Ramdas Kadam for making personal comments and asked him to be responsible for his work.
27 Jun 2018 2:37 AM
They have alleged that even the permitted items are being fined by the civic officials.
27 Jun 2018 2:35 AM
The Retailers Association of India blamed the situation to the prevailing confusion in the market.
26 Jun 2018 11:30 AM
Calling the ban discriminatory, the association stated that as many as 2,500 members have to shut their shop now.
26 Jun 2018 1:31 AM
The plastic ban has come into force since Saturday.
26 Jun 2018 1:27 AM
According to civic officials, BMC’s teams of inspectors visited 867 establishments, of which banned plastic was found in 72 shops.
25 Jun 2018 2:03 AM


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The Cuban Cigar Club, which opened in Grainger Street last week, is a branch of the Carlisle-based family business which has been running for around 100 years.
The shop, which sells 150-200 varieties of handmade cigars, pipes, lighters and gifts, has just opened after a long search for the right site.
Manager Justin Clayton said: “These specialist retailers are dying out to a large extent. It’s lovely seeing something like this back on the high street. We just felt that central Newcastle was the place.
“Grainger Street was chosen because of its central location. It was the right place at the right time. It is really fabulous, it’s blocks away from people’s preconceptions.
“They’d been looking for a few years. A few places fell through at the last minute.”
The shop’s position mean it has been picking up on the stag weekend trade but Clayton, whose background is in the hospitality and leisure sector, says that he has been surprised by the make-up of the customers so far


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- A complaint has been lodged with the European Commission by a coalition of software companies to put Microsoft’s anti-competitive behavior to an end.
- The coalition indicates that the move is a subtle way of phasing them out from the market, which hinders health competition among the companies.
- Microsoft is using its reach and popularity amongst the consumers to push this agenda further.
A complaint has been filed by a coalition of cloud and software companies, with the European Commission against Microsoft’s anti-competitive behavior. They bundled up Teams and OneDrive cloud amongst other services with both Windows 11 and Windows 10.
The Coalition had to even out the playing field by including a couple of European based companies, such as open source hosted by cloud storage vendor Nextcloud.
“This is quite similar to what Microsoft did when it killed competition in the [web] browser market, stopping nearly all browser innovation for over a decade. Copy an innovators’ product, bundle it with your own dominant product and kill their business, then stop innovating,” said Frank Karlitschek, CEO and founder of Nextcloud.
The coalition raised the argument that Microsoft was acting in bad faith and trying to phase them out. As such, they requested the European Commision to even out the playing field.
The move will help deter Microsoft from using its position in the operating system sector to kill all its competitors.
The coalition comprises a couple of prominent open source and non-profit companies, for instance, the Free Software Foundation Europe, European Digital SME Alliance and the Document Foundation.
Furthemore, the coalition categorically indicates that the move by Microsoft is not only affecting the consumers and businesses, but also killing healthy competition among the companies.
Microsoft’s wholesome approach
“Microsoft is integrating [Microsoft] 365 deeper and deeper in their service and software portfolio, including Windows. OneDrive is pushed wherever users deal with file storage and Teams is a default part of Windows 11. This makes it nearly impossible to compete with their SaaS [Software-as-a-Service] services,”states the coalition.
As such, the coalition also indicates that while Google, Amazon and Microsoft have managed to grow their market share to 66% while their competitors have further lost their reach in the EU from 26% to 16%.
What is your take on Microsoft’s move? Do you support it? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section.


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Yesterday, Rich discussed the Q3 earnings from MediPharm Labs Corp. (TSX:LABS) (OTCQX:MEDIF). Always a leader in the sector, MediPharm posted some big numbers, particularly in revenue.
Today, it’s Tilray Inc.’s (NASDAQ:TLRY) turn to report earnings from its third quarter of 2019. As Rich notes, Tilray is a global giant, positioned in 13 countries. It serves tens of thousands of patients across the globe. As a result, its quarterly reports tend to impact the sector in big ways.
Let’s dig through the report.
Tilray’s Revenue is Up
The big takeaway from the earnings report comes from the twin surprises in earnings and revenue.
For the three months ended September 30, Tilray posted $51.1 million USD ($67.8 million CAD) in revenue. Not only did this beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3%, it represents a 411% year-over-year growth. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters.
Of Tilray’s revenue, $15.7 million comes from hemp products as a result of its acquisition of Manitoba Harvest earlier this year. An additional $15.8 million comes from the sale of recreational cannabis. Revenue from medical cannabis, which is sold internationally, increased to $5.7 million from less than $1 million a year ago.
Ultimately, the company sold the equivalent of 10,848 kgs of cannabis, up 573% from last year.
But Earnings are Down
Despite the incredible growth in kilograms sold, the average price per gram came out to $3.25. In 2018, a gram of cannabis retailed for $6.21, so this year’s price represents a 48% drop from last year.
As a result, Tilray posted a net loss of $35.7 million for the quarter, or $0.36 per share. This missed a Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.29 in losses per share. In 2018, the company posted a loss of $0.08 per share, meaning the company’s losses are widening.
In a sector where investors are starting to demand profit, this does not spell success for the Nanaimo-based cannabis producer.
Thus far in November, TLRY shares are pretty much breaking even, but the stock has lost nearly 70% of its value from the start of the year. TLRY remains one of the highest-priced cannabis stocks, but will it remain that way for long?
Tilray’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Brendan Kennedy, said in a statement to investors:
“We are in the early days of seeing our strategic initiatives bear fruit—including our European expansion, brand portfolio evolution, and strategic partnership product launches. We continue to expect significant growth in the fourth quarter and into 2020.”
Current consensus estimates put Tilray’s revnue at $172.60 million for the 2019 fiscal year. This would result in a loss per share of $1.09.
The decline in earnings, due in large part to the drop in the cost of cannabis, is part of a larger trend of sliding pot prices. Cronos Group (TSX:CRON) (NASDAQ:CRON) also struggled with earnings this quarter for the same reason.
Kennedy told MarketWatch that his company is always on the lookout to acquire more high-quality cannabis. To this end, Tilray will look to finish its acquisition of Four20, an adult-use cannabis retailer in Calgary.
The company also signed a deal with a German corporation to supply it with $3.3 million worth of cannabis.
Kennedy added in his statement to investors:
“Our strong global infrastructure and supply chain are a critical competitive advantage and our team is focused on maximizing the substantial opportunity we have to deliver long-term, sustainable value to our shareholders.”
What do you think? Is TLRY a good play? Or are its widening losses too big of a concern? Let us know your thoughts.
Featured image: Canva