text:
Allied Esports will partner up with architecture and engineering firm HOK to open esports retail venues.
The first venue is planned to be opened in the Mall of Georgia later this year as the esports entertainment company looks to expand their business.
Jud Hannigan, CEO of Allied Esports, explained the decision in a release, stating: “With our first-of-its-kind on-mall esports venue initiative, we had the opportunity to meet with the best in the design business, and we were impressed from the start by HOK’s experience, resources and overall enthusiasm for this project.
“We are thrilled to be able to unveil this design to gamers in the Southeast as we continue to develop infrastructure and experiences for our growing network.”
HOK have recently worked on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, USA, while they also have experience collaborating in an esports environment.
Rashed Singaby, Senior Designer at HOK, added: “We’re excited for the opportunity to bring Allied Esports’ vision for this unprecedented concept to life. Allied Esports has been at the forefront of innovation in the industry, and this partnership will help define the future of the esports experience for competitors and spectators.”


text:
Amid a backlash against foreign investors, some executives are banned from leaving the country
The Camry, last overhauled for the 2011 model year, just got another face-lift
Laws require companies to pay state taxes on sheltered profits
Financial filings reveal the pay package Henrique de Castro received upon exit from the company.
Wal-Mart's new money transfers shows how the retailer can use its reach to push down costs
Skipping Rocks Lab develops a green alternative to all that plastic
Alessandro Borgognone wooed Japanese chef Daisuke Nakazawa to open the four-star New York eatery
Administrators quashed their food delivery service. Now they're focusing on other colleges
Prices are low, but there’s plenty of red tape
Kevin Rose, 33
No. of Angel Investments: 12
Companies funded (a sampling): Twitter, 3Crowd Technologies, Foursquare, SimpleGeo
One of the most widely known entrepreneurs (and faces, thanks, in part, to being featured on the cover of BusinessWeek a few years back), Kevin Rose has recently stepped up his angel investing. Since September, the founder of Digg has disclosed investments in six new ventures, including Square, Gowalla, and DailyBooth. His next venture: author. Rose said in a video blog that he will write a book, tentatively titled One to One Million, about the secrets to his success. Michele Husak, Digg’s communications director, couldn’t confirm if a book deal has been signed.

domain: news


text:
A young lady has been exposed as a thief by a makeup artist who claims she came to her shop to steal under the guise of making enquiries for a wedding.
UPDATE: In a new development, NAIJ.com gathered that the accusers, @houseoflamari_beauty, have taken down the accusatory post.
However, there are new reports suggesting that the lady in question was wrongly accused, in what appears to be the case of a mistaken identity.
According to the post previously shared by an Instagram user @houseoflamari_beautypro, a young lady identified as Ojo Oluwatobiloba Ayobami, was caught stealing from her makeup studio while pretending to be a bride.
Oluwatobiloba was said to have come in to make enquiries about a potential wedding makeover, when it was discovered that she had stolen some money from them.
See what transpired below:
"This is Lady parading herself as Kenny and robbing people of their properties. Her real name is Ojo Oluwatobiloba Ayobami. She came into my studio on Tuesday pretending to be a bride that came to make enquiries for her wedding day but actually came to steal. When leaving she went with a huge sum of money. It was later I found out she has been to more than half of the makeup studios in Egbeda to rob them with the same tactic of pretending to be a prospective bride. She made away with 50k & an android phone at a makeup studio in abeokuta....
PAY ATTENTION: Get all the latest gossips on NAIJ Gossip App
She was caught on friday when she was trying to rob another makeup studio in egbeda and was handed over to the police. But I got to the station to find out despite all the evidence and everything recovered at her house (iphones, laptops, samsung phones, makeup brushes, makeup products etc) the police still went ahead to release her. This is why people resort to jungle justice... Police is not your friend."
Na wa o!


text:
Tenant shakeup continues at Sarasota Square mall
SARASOTA COUNTY — Macy’s closing isn’t the only shakeup Westfield Sarasota Square has seen in recent weeks.
The department store closed late last month leaving the shopping center down one anchor, but the mall near Beneva Road and U.S. 41 has also seen a few small changes with its inline tenants.
Massage Oasis has opened in a storefront in the Costco Wholesale wing, and T-Mobile will open next door to it this May. Meanwhile, Nalluri Plastic Surgery and Laser Center next month is moving into the former Aeropostale space near the food court, which briefly belonged to men’s clothing store Elite.
Dahlia’s, a locally owned boutique that opened around the holiday shopping season, is in the middle of a liquidation sale. Signage on the store, which is in the former American Eagle Outfitters store in the heart of the mall, indicates that the boutique will be temporarily closed until April 9, and then it will continue selling off its merchandise.
Sarasota Square has seen its share of turbulence in recent years. The Mall at University Town Center brought in extra competition when it opened in 2014 and brick-and-mortar retail in general is struggling to compete with the growing e-commerce market.
Dahlia’s is the latest in a string of retailers to pack its bags. Cotton On, Men’s Warehouse, Bijou Brigitte, New York Jewelers, and Marks and Morgan Jewelers have also closed in recent months.
The south Sarasota mall isn’t alone in losing retailers. The Mall at University Town Center has lost at least 10 tenants since its grand opening, and DeSoto Square Mall in Bradenton seemingly has more empty storefronts than operating ones. Sarasota Square’s sister property, Westfield Southgate, took a hard hit to its tenant lineup when the Mall at University Town Center opened, but is now in the middle of a revitalization that is adding new restaurants, an organic-focused grocery store and an LA Fitness to the lineup.
Sarasota Square also has welcomed a collection of fast-fashion retailers in the past two years, including Torrid, A’GACI, Old Navy and H&M. Westfield officials, too, have plans to turn the shopping center into a hub for teenage shoppers. The company has been working with local, teenage-related nonprofits to help foster and environment that attracts younger people to the mall and makes them feel more comfortable while they’re there.
Windsor, City Fashion and GNC are also new additions. Prime Serious Steak, a Port Charlotte-based restaurant chain, opened at the mall just before the holidays.


text:
Meta's foray into cryptocurrency through its proposed digital currency, Diem (formerly Libra), is officially over.
Stuart Levey, Chief Executive Officer, Diem
The dollar-funded Diem Association, formed to run the project, sold its intellectual property and technology assets related to its "blockchain-based payment network infrastructure" to San Diego-based Silvergate Capital for $182 million.
In announcing the sale, Diem CEO Stuart Levey said that while the program was intended to be a more inclusive payments system, "our conversations with federal regulators quickly made it clear that the program could not move forward."
Following the acquisition, Silvergate said it intends to launch a stablecoin in 2022, "powered by the assets we acquire today and our existing technology."
The Facebook-funded stablecoin, which launched in 2019 under the moniker Libra, has been resisted by regulators and lawmakers from the start.
But the Diem project is likely to live on through its influence on the broader debate around stablecoins, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, particularly as they relate to financial inclusion and concerns about fraud and criminal activity.
Diem CEO Levey added that one of the Diem team's "highest priorities" is to establish controls to protect it from abuse by illegal actors.
"We have addressed this issue in a novel way for the industry, implementing a number of controls that are considered innovative by regulators," he said, including a ban on anonymous trading.
"In the U.S., a senior regulator told us that Diem is the best designed stablecoin project the U.S. government has ever seen," Levey gushes.
Christian Catalini, the last person still involved in the initial Libra phase after the sale of Diem, said the initial white paper "may have been ahead of its time" but was also responsible for moving the public sector forward on central bank digital currencies (CBDC).
Catalini said that stablecoins like Diem "were never the end goal, and with CBDC we may see the rise of truly open, interoperable public infrastructures that can support competition in the payments and financial services space.
After the signing, Levey said the team remains "confident in the potential of running a stable coin on a blockchain designed like Diem to provide the benefits that have motivated the Diem Association from the beginning.


text:
Resort liquor stores want Sunday to remain an off day
In your Feb. 26 edition, you posted an article taken from the AP wire that once again suggested (other articles in Denver papers have also suggested) that resort-area liquor store owners support the law allowing liquor stores to open on Sundays.Clearly, the owners of liquor stores in Summit, Eagle and Lake counties do not support Senate Bill 05-077.Sen. Jennifer Veiga, her committee, Sen. Joan Fitz-Gerald and Rep. Gary Lindstrom have received dozens of letters, phone calls and e-mails from these owners in opposition to this bill.In a recent poll of these owners, 80 percent do not support the bill.The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, representing out-of-state producers of beer and spirits, is behind this bill.Here are a few reasons it is not supported:As many liquor stores are operated by an individual or a family, Sunday affords them their only day off.The owners do not believe their sales would increase 14 percent as the Distilled Spirits Council has suggested, rather they believe the majority of the Sunday sales will simply come from Saturday and Monday, thus increasing costs without the benefit of additional sales.If in the future if grocery stores and big box stores are allowed to sell spirits, wine and 6 percent beer, many individually-owned stores would be forced out of business. So, instead of having more competition as Sen. Veiga has suggested, there will be significantly less. Prices will increase.Today, the liquor store owners execute the enforcement of Colorado laws. Their livelihood depends on it.The sale to minors or intoxicated persons is controlled. Minors are not allowed in liquor stores unaccompanied by an adult. This will not be true in grocery stores. Minors would have greater access to alcohol if grocery stores sell it.
Support Local Journalism
Support Local Journalism
As a Summit Daily News reader, you make our work possible.
Now more than ever, your financial support is critical to help us keep our communities informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having on our residents and businesses. Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a difference.
Your donation will be used exclusively to support quality, local journalism.
Start a dialogue, stay on topic and be civil.
If you don't follow the rules, your comment may be deleted.
User Legend: Moderator Trusted User


text:
Southeast Asia-focused early-stage investor Expara Ventures is set to launch a $30-million vehicle, Expara Ventures IV, to invest in its core markets of Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, a top executive with the firm told DEALSTREETASIA.
“Expara will make the first close of the fund in the fourth quarter this year, with the final close set for the first quarter of 2019,” said Expara founder and CEO Douglas Abrams.
Expara will also look to make investments from its latest fund in companies acting as a bridge between its core Southeast Asia markets and select North Asia markets such as South Korea and Hong Kong.
Expara Ventures IV will follow Expara Asia Ventures I (EAV1), an accelerator-stage fund. “EAV1 invests $10-50K in companies at the accelerator stage, including companies that go through our own accelerators and accelerators that we work with,” Abrams said.
He also disclosed that the fund has made five investments so far, including in four med-tech startups in Thailand and one tech startup in Singapore.
Founded by Abrams – a venture capitalist, entrepreneur, angel investor and educator who has been investing, venturing, and teaching in Singapore since 2000 – Expara is present across the spectrum from incubation, early-stage venture capital, entrepreneurship, VC to innovation training.
The VC has invested in nearly 40 firms around Southeast Asia. It runs two incubator funds – Expara IDM Ventures and Expara IDM Ventures II — as well as Extream Ventures, a joint venture fund with Upstream.
Other vehicles include Expara Ventures III launched in 2015 that had closed 21 investments as of 2017. The investment firm also manages venture-funded accelerators in Vietnam and Thailand. In 2015, it partnered with Microsoft to launch the CLAS – Expara Vietnam Accelerator and collaborated with Saigon Innovation Hub (SIHUB) to launch Expara SIHUB Accelerator Express Program.
Expara has seen 16 startups graduate from its first two accelerators in Vietnam.
Last year, Expara Thailand was selected as the manager for SMEs Private Equity Trust Fund by the Government Savings Bank (GSB) of Thailand.


text:
Internet rife with spoilers.
Streamers are already broadcasting Pokémon Arceus: Legends ahead of its release date this week.
The notoriously secretive Pokémon Company has been especially silent about the forthcoming game, with no access for hands-on previews and information controlled through limited trailers.
Yet the game has still leaked before release, with the internet already rife with spoilers – we won’t be revealing any here.
It’s unclear how streamers have got their hands on the game, be it through official boxed copies or other digital data leaks.
Still, at the time of writing, at least 15 streamers on Twitch from around the world are playing the game with collectively over 800 viewers watching. If you’re looking to avoid spoilers, be aware of Pokémon content on Twitch.
There’s also an argument that the leaks may be driving an increase in pre-orders. Twitter user DarkDetective suggests there’s been a 21 percent increase in pre-orders at Japanese retail chain COMG! in one day since the leaks.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus pre-orders at the Japanese retail chain COMG! have increased 21% in a single Sunday from 486 to 589 units, following leaks.
COMG! isn’t representative of the full market, but 103 new pre-orders in one day is the most extreme movement I’ve ever seen here. pic.twitter.com/5oMwGpLs3v
— DarkDetective (@DarkDetectiveNL) January 23, 2022
The leaks seem to be piquing the interest of fans ahead of release in the absence of official information from Nintendo.
Two Sword and Shield leakers were forced to pay $150k each in damages.
Pokémon Arceus: Legends will release officially on 28th January. Check out our impressions of the latest gameplay trailer here.


text:
By Lisa Johnston
New products on display at the American International Toy Fair, held in N
Olympus was able to move an impressive number of its high-end E10 digital SLRs through consumer electronics retailers, as well as through more traditional photo specialty channel partners. That fact says a number of things about how digital cameras are sold and who's buying them.
"We have a lot of the early adopters in our stores, and they're the megapixel counters," said Kristin Elder, senior buyer, Imaging, Good Guys. The E10 was one of the first 4-megapixel cameras and was very attractive to the megapixel conscious, she said.
Elder noted that while the $2,000 price tag limited total unit sales, add-on sales with the E10 were particularly strong. "We've found that people buying the E10 were buying lots of additional accessories, because at that point money was not really a major factor," she said.
A variety of technologies were also instrumental in propelling sales, according to Elder. Olympus' optics, particularly the ED glass lens, helped sell the more astute consumers. The choice to go with two media slots for additional memory capacity (one slot for CompactFlash. the other for SmartMedia) was also a plus, considering the large files generated by the camera's 4-megapixel CCD.Top 10 Digital Cameras
|Rank By Unit Sales||Brand/Model||Rank By $ Sales|
|2||Canon PowerShot G2||3|
|4||Olympus Camedia E10||1|
|7||Canon PowerShot S40||6|
|8||Fuji FinePix 40I||9|
|9||Minolta DiMage S404||10|
|10||Toshiba PDRM 81||11|
|Source: NPDTechworld ©TWICE|
This TWICE webinar, hosted by senior editor Alan Wolf, will take a look at what may be the hottest CE products at retail that will be sold during the all-important fourth quarter. Top technologies, market strategies and industry trends will be discussed with industry analysts and executives.


text:
Symbotic brought in $266.9 million in revenue in Q2 of 2023, with a net loss of $55.4 million and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $11.2 million.
Vorwerk Group closing robot vacuum maker Neato Robotics
The Vorwek Group announced in a press release late last week that it will be shutting down Neato Robotics, a robotic vacuum manufacturer.
Meet 7 healthcare robotics startups at Robotics Summit & Expo
Robotics Summit & Expo attendees will hear pitches from the seven healthcare robotics startups.
Amazon’s Robin robot has handled 1B packages
Robin uses artificial intelligence, computer vision and machine learning to help employees handle and sort customer packages before shipping.
John Deere employees now using Comau exoskeletons
Comau’s MATE-XT exoskeleton, which is worn like a backpack, can replicate all movements of the shoulder and help reduce strain.
Outrider releases trailer inventory management system
Outrider, which automates yard operations, announced the availability of its trailer inventory management system for distribution yards.
Orbbec releases 3D camera SDK that uses ChatGPT
Orbbec’s AI-Aided SDK Programming Guide allows developers to create applications and sample codes by talking with ChatGPT.
Veo Robotics closes $29M funding round
The round includes the Veo Robotics’ latest funding from the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, Safar Partners and Yamaha Motor Ventures.
Cruise expanding 24/7 robotaxi service in SF
Cruise’s expanded service area and operating hours will be rolled out in stages, with Cruise employees having access first, then Power Users and the general public.
Avidbots releases floor-scrubbing robot for industrial spaces
Avidbots’ Neo 2W was designed to overcome the challenges that warehouses and manufacturing environments pose for robots.
Robust.AI brings in $20M to scale robot deliveries
Robust AI offers an autonomous warehouse cart that pairs with its autonomous mobile robot (AMR) software suite.
Groundlight raises $10M for natural language powered computer vision
Groundlight’s $10 million funding round included participation from Madrone, Greycroft Partners and Founders Co-op.
MIT uses liquid neural networks to teach drones navigation skills
A team of researchers from MIT CSAIL introduced a method for drones to master vision-based fly-to-target tasks in unfamiliar environments.
Cartken, Uber Eats begin deliveries in Virginia
The latest deployment builds on Carkten and Uber Eats’ successful pilot of autonomous deliveries in Miami, Florida.
ARM Institute opens call to help manufacturers adopt robotics
The ARM Institute is seeking small and medium-sized businesses in Pennsylvania that are interested in exploring the use of robotics.
Noah Medical brings in $150M for Galaxy System
Noah Medical plans to use the funding to meet the rising demand for its Galaxy System, a system for navigated robotic bronchoscopy.
Watch a quadruped walk along a balance beam
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have designed a system that can make a quadruped robot nimble enough to walk a narrow balance beam.
Ingenuity helicopter completes 50th flight on Mars
Ingenuity’s 50th flight was completed on April 13, 2023, when Ingenuity traveled over 1,057 feet (322 meters) in 145.7 seconds.
Agility Robotics’ Jonathan Hurst to keynote Robotics Summit
In his keynote talk, Agility co-founder and CTO Jonathan W. Hurst will give an inside look at the process of developing bipedal robots.
Comau develops mobile manipulator
Comau’s Mobile Robotic Arm involves a robotic arm mounted on an autonomous mobile platform and is being used in three EU projects.
Amazon’s ARMBench dataset helps train pick-and-place robots
Dataset of images collected in an industrial setting features more than 190,000 objects to train pick-and-place robots.
Covariant raises $75M for robotic picking technology
Pre-trained on millions of picks from Covariant robots in warehouses around the world, the Covariant Brain enables robots to autonomously pick many SKUs.


text:
Medical device supplier Precision Extrusion has hired more workers and invested in new equipment after a Georgia company acquired it.
The acquisition gave the Glens Falls manufacturer access to new customers. Precision Extrusion has hired eight employees since the December deal and now has 42 workers.
"They’re supporting what we want to do as far as capital equipment, hiring," said Precision Extrusion president and general manager Mike Badera. He said he expects to do more hiring in the next four to five months.
Badera founded the company in 1991 after working in the region's medical device industry. Precision Extrusion makes small diameter tubing from nylon, polycarbonate and polypropylene, including products for catheters. Badera said he sold it to Pexco LLC of Atlanta because the company needed more resources to handle double-digit revenue growth each year.
"We were at a point where we needed more organization, more resources and more opportunities,” he said. “We knew there were lots of things going on but we didn’t have the bigger business management structure to handle 20 percent growth for five years in a row."
Badera declined to disclose the company's revenue.
Badera said Pexco's sales force has been looking forward to offering Precision Extrusion's products and custom capabilities. Pexco makes plastic implants for medical devices and other custom uses. Acquiring Precision Extrusion added more specialized medical tubing capability.
“We’re definitely different than what Pexco did for medical before," Badera said.
The new hires are both entry-level manufacturing positions and technical operators, he said. It's been easy to recruit for those jobs because of the medical device manufacturing industry's history in the area.
"There’s a lot of people who have that medical device mindset and are still living here,” he said.


text:
A CRIMINAL organisation dedicated to the selling of out of date and damage meat to restaurants and takeaways across Spain has been busted by Malaga police.
Officers raided a warehouse at an undisclosed location near Malaga City that worked in distributing relabelled and frozen meat products.
The warehouse was connected to a group of companies, 10 in total, that are being investigated for the illegal practices.
According to the police report, the warehouse was used to manipulate the labels on food, changing the expiry and best before dates and altering the origin locations.
One the meat was processed it was then shipped using unregistered carriers to local distribution points in Madrid, Malaga, Toledo and Getafe.
In total, 122,000 kilograms were seized of mainly chicken, veal, rabbit and pork alongside 14 arrests for crimes of belonging to a criminal group, food safety violations, fraud and forgery.
The raids were carried out after an investigation by the Directorate of Hygiene, Food Safety and the Ministry of Health of Madrid in collaboration with the local councils of Malaga, Toledo and the Junta de Andalucia.
This isn’t the first time that criminals have tried to pass off expired meat to businesses.
In 2019, three men were arrested in Mallorca for selling salmonella infected meat from a warehouse on the Poligono de Marratxi.
Over 50 tonnes were seized that were ready to be sold to the public and the warehouse was closed down after officers described the scene as ‘nauseating’.


text:
The joint venture from Microsoft and Nine Entertainment Co. has today launched its new corporate and trade brand: Mi9. The new brand reflects ninemsn’s growth beyond publishing and the coming together of a portfolio of digital investments spanning; publishing, data, consumer insights, advertising technologies and online products.
To help lead the expanded business, Matt James, will move from his current role as MD at Starcom, UK, to the newly created role of Managing Director of Mi9 Media. James will join Mi9 in June. His remit will be to spearhead the Mi9 Advertising and Microsoft Media Network teams, including sales, insights and a new commercially-integrated creative production house Mi9 Studios.
Mi9 CEO Mark Britt revealed the company’s new corporate vision and a forward-thinking organisational structure that will see ‘imagination + intelligence’ underpin everything Mi9 does.
“We’re already the Australian leader in online audiences. We’re extending our reach with our ad network, leading the market shift to programmatic trading, making a big bet on data and driving brand experiences onto new properties like Xbox. Mi9 is the articulation of our evolved digital offering,” says Britt.
The bold new Mi9 logo represents the broader partnership of Microsoft and Nine Entertainment Co. and includes an ‘i’, representing the new guiding principles for the business: the marriage of two things - imagination + intelligence.
“Imagination is at the heart of what we do. We know the context of advertising drives brand consideration and preference. Imaginative advertising within iconic content experiences and deep insight delivers better results.
"Intelligence is using data, insights and technology to drive efficiencies and superior results,” says Britt.
Mi9 is structured into four divisions: Audience, Advertising, Data and Ventures.
The Audience division, led by Alex Parsons, Managing Director of ninemsn, encompasses ninemsn , Hotmail, Messenger, Skydrive and Bing. This includes Australia’s leading digital news, entertainment, fashion and sports portal, plus more than 80 other sites, including Nine News, Wide World of Sports, Grazia , Australian Women’s Weekly, ninemsn video and The FIX and Australia’s most popular webmail and instant messaging services.
With a newly consolidated editorial team, the audience business is aligned to deliver experiences that change the way Australians interact with and consume content via the internet whether that be on the PC, mobile tablets or connected TVs.
Mi9 Media, to be led by Matt James, comprises all commercial functions including:
- Mi9 Advertising- selling Mi9 owned and operated premium sites, where context is important to advertisers.
- Microsoft Media Network– incorporated into the JV late last year, Microsoft Media Network represents Mi9’s third party advertising network and performance products.
- Microsoft Advertising Exchange – launched in Australia last year, a real-time bidding marketplace that allows advertisers to bid on premium online inventory on an individual impression basis.
- Mi9 Studios - previously NinePixels, Mi9’s creative design and development team, with an expanded offering focused on branded content and online video production.
- Mi9 Insights – focused on providing research into consumer behaviour online and translating that into actionable insights for advertisers. New research uncovering insights into Australian mums will be available at the end of April.
Mi9 Data and Technology, the team led by Richard McLaren, Chief Data and Technology Officer, has created the Mi9 Data Engine. In the months ahead, Mi9 will enable marketers to reach their consumers with a personal dialogue, review and adapt their marketing strategies for maximum efficiency, and drive up the ROI of their campaign.
- New targeting products – instead of just offering “off-the-shelf” targeting segments, when advertisers want to reach a specific audience, Mi9 will offer new custom designed targeting products, based on an advertiser’s specific target audience and marketing objectives.
Mi9 Ventures, this incorporates all investments including, Cudo, iSelect, Rate City and HWW.
“Mi9 is our response to a rapidly changing industry. We’re shifting to a fundamentally more intelligent way to communicate with and reach audiences,” said Britt.


text:
This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.
Hacking Communications: Democratization of Telephony
The Internet has democratized telecommunications, as TADHack's Alan Quayle will tell you and as we've been exploring here on No Jitter. In fact, a whole DIY movement has sprouted up around the ability to incorporate voice, messaging, and other telecom capabilities into business applications. "Telecom is now programmable, and it's really easy -- you don't need to be a programmer to create an app using telecom capabilities," he said.
The opportunity was made clear last week at TADHack Global, an international hackathon drawing more than 2,600 registrants at more than 30 locations and remote sites around the globe. The event led to more than 170 hacks, which were judged on local and global levels. The developers hacking away their weekends had APIs and other resources at their fingertips from sponsoring companies that included Canonical Ubuntu, Cisco (Spark and Tropo), hSenid Mobile Solutions, Matrix, Project reThink, Telestax, and VoxImpant.
One of the TADHack Global locations happened to be here in my hometown of Chicago, co-located with the Illinois Institute of Technology Real-Time Communications (IIT RTC) conference. While event organizer Quayle spent the weekend in Lisbon, Portugal, welcoming everyone to the hackathon via a telepresence keynote, he flew into Chicago on Tuesday to speak about the DIY trend, discuss the new opportunities opening up to businesses, and show off some of the cool hacks from Chicago participants.
The four winning developers, business professionals who came together somewhat randomly, not actually knowing each other before the weekend -- used Carrefour's data sets and Telestax APIs to create an app they called "Grocery Go!" -- a more practical take on the popular augmented reality app, Pokemon Go!, one of the team members said. The team demoed the app at the IIT RTC conference, showing how it enables grocery shoppers to use their smartphone camera function to pair a product image with nutritional information delivered via an augmented reality display. In addition, the app supports text messaging so that shoppers could place deli orders for pick up rather than having to wait in line for counter service and prolong their shopping trips.
Another interesting Chicago hack came from IIT student Ermir Suldashi, who demoed his "Outsider" app for scalable voice broadcasting. Suldashi's hack relies on WebRTC to enable two-way communication, an improvement over the traditional one-way communication of broadcasting that we know today, he said. Integrating with payment systems would provide a way for people to support themselves with their own content, enabling fans and listeners to pay the broadcaster directly, he added.
If you're not yet familiar with TADHack, you'll have a front row seat to all the hacking action come March 2017 at Enterprise Connect (see "Enterprise Connect 2017: Get Ready for Fresh Faces, New Content, Hackathon!"). TADHack-mini Orlando will be taking place the weekend before Enterprise Connect, and the Monday morning conference will kick off with a session showcasing the top hacks, " Hackathon After-Action Report: Meet the Hackers, See the Hacks." In fact, come early and try your hand at working with communications APIs during this pre-Enterprise Connect hacking event!
I don't know about you, but I'm excited to see what hacks will be created that solve problems I never even knew existed!


text:
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) Ahmad bin Aqil Al-Khatib chaired the Ministerial Summit of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in the world travel market, which was held on 5 October 2019 in the British capital London.
The Chairman pointedout in his speech that the 2020 G20 Riyadh summit will introduce key topics oftourism through many discussions with decision-makers and relevant authoritiesto work to sustain the growth of the tourism sector globally.
The Chairmanaddressed the topic of "The Importance of Tourism Globally," notingthat in light of the growing interdependence witnessed in our world today, thetravel and tourism industry is booming, and growth is evident across the globe.
He also revealedthat the global tourism sector achieved a growth rate of 3.9% last year and thenumber of the employed in the industry reached 319 million globally, notingthat the tourism sector is one of the most important strategic sectors in theKingdom that is developed in line with Vision 2030.
He also added thatwe have ambitious targets and promising plans to invest in the tourism industryand seek to reach 100 million visits annually to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabiaand create 1 million new jobs by 2030.


text:
Do medal-winning drops represent the pinnacle of their craft, or marketing hype?
Ruth Liew Ruth Liew
Ben Butler The consumer watchdog has accused big petrol station chains BP, Caltex, Coles, Woolworths and 7-Eleven of using website Informed Sources to co-ordinate fuel prices and says it is concerned the...
Jared Lynch Australia’s sharemarket has closed at its highest since the global financial crisis, despite the second-biggest company on the ASX, BHP BIlliton, posting its biggest fall in five months.
Peter Martin Too many businesses are keener to pay dividends than they are to grow, an exasperated Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens has told a parliamentary hearing.
Alana Schetzer Leisure and sport giant Super Retail Group✓ will investigate sourcing products directly from factories overseas as it seeks ways to boost its flagging outdoor leisure division.
Mark Mulligan Equity investors had billions of reasons to be happy this week as this reporting season's dividend and share buyback deluge continued unabated.
Jemima Whyte and Jonathan Barrett Challenger chief executive Brian Benari has called on Australian companies to chase growth more aggressively, echoing Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens' concerns that business is...
Ben Butler Motorists are paying more for petrol because big chains BP, Caltex, Coles, Woolworths and 7-Eleven use a members-only website to coordinate price movements, the consumer watchdog alleges.
Sally Rose Australian shares posted their best day in more than five weeks as a closely watched indicator of business sentiment jumped and a raft of companies beat full-year earnings forecasts.
Joanna Mather Stuart Irving and Jamie Odell run leading companies. Neither has a degree. They don’t regret it.
Simon Evans Australia’s 2,500 wine companies will gain better protection in their dealings with supermarket and liquor giant Woolworths, with a new set of principles governing the conduct of both parties...
Peter Munro Having smacked myself in the face with a shifting spanner, I went searching for some new tools. A deep purple bruise darkened my right eye as I drove to the nearest "home improvement and hardware"...
Sue Mitchell Former federal treasurer Peter Costello has gone into bat for the major retailers, arguing against the introduction of an effects test as part of the Harper review of competition laws.
Ruth Liew A year of benign weather and few claims have helped the insurance group post its fattest full year insurance profit margin since its public listing.
Sally Rose The Australian bourse recorded its sixth consecutive fall on Friday with global markets rattled as US President Barack Obama authorised air strikes on Iraq.
Adele Ferguson When Woolworths releases its full year results on August 29 the focus won’t be on the fallout of the continuing price war with Coles, the debate over suppliers or petrol discounting but its...
Eli Greenblat Coles is considering becoming a member of the powerful Financial Services Council, giving it a seat at the table among the nation’s leading wealth managers just as the supermarket giant gathers...
Ruth Liew Insurance Australia Group has upgraded its full year profit margin expectations to its highest levels since the company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2000, as benign weather and a...
Jared Lynch Supermarkets are pushing further into financial services with the announcement Coles will offer loans to consumers.
Ben Potter Corporate leaders have challenged Group of 20 governments to seize reform proposals.


text:
3 ways retailers are improving the customer experience with Chromebooks and Chromeboxes
How the most incredible retailers organize BLACK FRIDAY
According to various studies and surveys, the army of discount hunters is growing yearly. As well as the number of stores that offer them. So there was a series of Black Friday sales at the end of November.
Today we will tell you how cool US retailers are preparing for the day of “mad discounts.”
The period of Black Friday and Cyber Monday is considered the busiest of the whole year. Because these two days can not only bring significant incomes but also increase the number of customers and affect brand loyalty. Retailers associate these days with the Super Bowl or the Retail Championship because they have been preparing for them for over 10 months. They are carefully testing their technical systems and training their staff to withstand the pressure of these two events.
It is a well-known fact that Black Friday discounts are no longer valid for 24 hours. Most retailers start their advertising campaigns and promotional offers a week or even a month before the start of the big shopping day.
However, with the launch of early campaigns, there is an incomprehensible expectation of exactly what time the “peak” of sales will occur. Therefore, retailers need to be prepared because the viral popularity of products can arise at any time.
Google Cloud recently commissioned The Harris Poll to survey 200 US retail executives to assess their expectations for this year’s shopping season and how they prepare for it. Here are the main trends they found:
Retailers predict even more online sales
It is no secret that the trend of online shopping has been growing in recent years, and this year is no exception. Therefore, survey respondents predict that online sales will be about half the total. They are distributed by percentage: 26% of purchases fall on websites and 22% on applications. These figures are significantly higher than any other period in offline stores compared to the “online mix.” This makes it clear that last-minute consumers are choosing to shop online.
46% of executives who participated in the survey expect online traffic to be significantly higher on Black Friday and Cyber Monday than last year. This is because consumers are more likely to use mobile devices to search, especially when shopping. Over the past two years in the US, “best deals” searches have increased by more than 90%, and the popularity of cashback apps and Black Friday discount searches by 200%.
Based on this data, the National Retail Federation predicts that sales for these two days will increase by 11-14% compared to last year. Therefore, the leading indicators for retailers will focus on to assess the company’s success will be traffic growth and website performance.
Retailers work to minimize website issues
With trends like these, it’s no surprise that retailers spend a lot of time tweaking technical systems. 4 out of 5 respondents, namely 81%, reported that they have notable events in preparation for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, ensuring that websites and applications can quickly process data and fulfill customer orders.
Currently, online systems determine buyers’ first impressions of a particular retailer and whether they want to use its services in the future. Regardless of whether the site is used to view promotional offers, search, create an order, etc., this experience is significant.
In June, Google released a report highlighting how a slow and “buggy” e-commerce website affects consumer loyalty. To the question “Have you ever left the site because it was slow?”, 91% of respondents answered “yes,” and 30% said they would think twice before using this store again.
A slow site is a global problem regardless of the period. However, during Black Friday and Cyber Monday days, when competition among retailers is high and the load on the site is growing due to high traffic, faulty online systems are almost the main problem. One in ten retail executives surveyed said their company’s website was down only during last year’s shopping day, and 40% for three years. First of all, for them, this is a lot of lost profits and a potential negative impact on brand perception.
Retailers are ready but still worried about great shopping days
Most retailers, of course, understand the importance of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which is why they are preparing for them in all aspects: 66% plan to increase cloud capacity, 61% will offer additional units of goods, 53% will start promotions and advertising campaigns in advance to evenly distribute traffic to the site. Also, 81% of respondents reported using transparent systems for tracking processes and the likelihood of site overload.
This preparation has given retailers a certain level of confidence for the shopping days. However, many of them are still worried about whether the sites will withstand the load, namely:
- 52% of those surveyed said they were very confident in their company’s overall readiness for Black Friday and Cyber Monday;
- 42% are satisfied in the speed of their website, and 45% are ready for the scale of these events;
- 80% are concerned about whether the online systems will withstand the load, and 44% are concerned about this issue.
However, these data are not at all surprising. On the contrary, given the number of channels and outlets that need to be covered and controlled, it would be strange if anyone was entirely sure. The only thing that boggles my mind is that a quarter of respondents don’t even have a “Plan B” if the website goes down because being fully prepared means having a game plan if something goes wrong.
And as a conclusion, we understand that for the majority, readiness means preparing all online systems early, identifying potential problems, and working closely with IT specialists in case something does not go according to plan. There is also a significant increase in the consumption of Google Cloud services by the world’s leading retailers compared to last year.


text:
Daily Times, Lahore
First round of trade talks with China from Aug 15
14 August 2005
ISLAMABAD: The first round of negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement between Pakistan and China is scheduled to be held on August 15 and 16 at Urumqi, China.
Shahid Bashir, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, will lead an inter-ministerial delegation to participate in the crucial meeting. The assistant minister, Yi Xiaozhun, will lead the Chinese delegation. During this meeting, the Rules of Origin are expected to be finalized which are essential to operationalizing the Early Harvest Programme which was concluded and signed during the Chinese Premier’s visit to Pakistan in April 2005.
According to the understanding reached between the two countries on April 6, 2005, Beijing and Islamabad would initiate trade under Early Harvest Program (EHP) from January 1, 2006, under which China will extend zero-rated tariffs on 767 items while Pakistan would reciprocate by extending the facility on 464 items.
Both the countries had agreed that the first reduction in tariff will take place on January 1, 2006, and by January 1, 2008, tariff will be brought to zero on all items. This decision would help bring the trade balance in favour of Pakistan to a large extent as the existing trade under the Preferential Trade Agreement is in favour of Beijing.
However, under the EHP, some of the items would also be finalised for zero-rated duty between the two countries, keeping in view the respective export interests. Under this arrangement, the trade will also be accelerated from January 1, 2008.
Early Harvest Programme between Pakistan and China consists of two lists of items (Common List and Separate List) for bringing customs duty to zero even prior to negotiations and conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement between the two friendly countries.
Early Harvest Program has two aspects: (i) A common List of items on which both sides will bring the tariffs to zero; (ii) A separate list by each country consisting of items of respective export interests. Duty on these items will also be reduced to zero. “Under this arrangements China would give zero duty to Pakistan on 767 items while Pakistan will give zero duty on 486 items.”
Under the deepening and broadening of the PTA between Pakistan and China, both the countries had reduced tariff on margin of preferences, i.e. a percentage of the normal tariff has also been extended. Under this decision China will give tariff concession to Pakistan on 1,671 items against the existing 917 items and in return Pakistan will give tariff concessions to China on 575 items against the existing 188 items.
This extended list will also be made part of the Early Harvest Programme and accordingly the bilateral PTA will merge into a bilateral Free Trade Agreement from January 1, 2006. In the Early Harvest Programme both sides have also undertaken to bring the duty to zero on a reciprocal basis on certain vegetables, fruits and mineral products. Pakistan has offered zero duty to china on machinery and chemicals that are already on the import list of Pakistan. staff report


text:
A free responsive blog by Pandora Earrings
The adorable Pandora Silver, 14ct Gold and Pink Zirconia Baby Booty Charm is the perfect bead for all mothers, new mums and those who are expecting. Celebrate the pitter patter of tiny feet or a Christening with the hand finished sterling silver booty. A darling 14ct Gold flower contains pink for...
Parents On Facebook To Blame For Stock Price Woes It was another poor showing for Facebook last week as its stock price hit a new low Friday, dispiriting shareholders already frustrated by lower than anticpated profits.
Billions in shareholder value was erased as the market value of Mark Zuckerberg's flagship fell to nearly half of the $104 billion target set in May when the company went public, the Mercury News reports. "Kids are spending less time on Facebook, as their pandora silver charm bracelet Parents are also now on the Facebook," Trip Chowdry, managing director of equity research at Global Equities Research, LLC, wrote in an email to CNN. "It is a psychological reality, that after a certain age, Kids are less inclined to hangout where their Parents are." In April, Facebook surpassed the 900 million active user mark. But while the number of users that engaged the site at least once a month continued to grow in the first quarter of 2011, the growth rate is noticeably slowing down. However, Facebook isn't the the only company struggling. Social games superstar Zynga, music streaming site Pandora and daily deal website Groupon are all currently trading below their public offering price. Collectively, investors have lost $39 find pandora jewelry billion since those companies including Facebook went public, CNBC reports. So can Facebook redeem itself in the eyes of the America's youth? Probably not, according to Chowdry. "FB may be cool again for the Younger people, if FB bans Parents from FB, but that is impossible," he wrote in the email. Instead, Chowdry predicts users will find a new place to "hangout." In February, the Associated Press reported that cheap genuine pandora charms many teens, fed up with friend requests from parents, uncles and grandparents, have begun to rely more heavily on Twitter for their social networking needs.
"I love twitter, it's the only thing I have to myself cause pandora bracelet online store my parents don't have one," Britteny Praznik, a 17 year old who lives outside Milwaukee, was quoted as tweeting. Twitter accounts are more anonymous than Facebook profiles; they are easy to use, and the 140 character limit is similar in length to the average text message, the Associated Press notes. In addition, the more fluid set up and ability to easily manage several accounts makes it easier to avoid people some would rather not interact with in their digital space.
If you have any queries or if we can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact us by any means preferable to you. For your convenience High Quality Pandora Earrings offers global assistance 24-hours a day, seven days a week. We also include an option to locate your nearest Pandora Earrings Outlet store.


text:
New trolleys ready to roll at Gympie Coles
GYMPIE parents and carers of children with disabilities will find the shopping a little easier at Coles.
Three years of research went into the design and manufacture of an additional needs trolley which can assist parents who have children with a disability to shop with greater convenience and support.
Originally based on a US trolley known as "Caroline's Cart", the trolley allows for a child of up to 70kgs and has padding on the sides, a harness and additional support in its structure.
Following the national roll out of the trolleys over the past year, all Coles supermarkets now have an additional needs trolley, manufactured by Queensland company, QHDC Australia Pty Ltd.
Coles operations and supply chain director Andy Coleman said he was pleased with the positive response received from customers using the specially designed trolley during their grocery shop.
"We want to help our customers to shop easily at our stores. The trolley ensures that parents and carers no longer need to juggle a wheelchair and shopping basket during their shop at Coles. It means they are able to place all their groceries in a trolley while also having their child seated safely," he said.
Suzanne Colbert, CEO of the Australian Network on Disability says the organisation welcomed the work Coles has done in meeting the needs of customers that require these trolleys.
"By having accessible shopping trolleys available in stores across Australia, Coles is making it easier for families of children with disability to do their grocery shopping, without the experience causing undue stress or anxiety," she said.
"Coles is demonstrating its commitment to access and inclusion for everyone by thinking outside the box and addressing the needs of customers with specific requirements."
The additional needs trolley is available from the customer service desk at Coles in Gympie. Signage is also displayed at the front of the store to encourage customers to access the additional needs trolley.
Coles also works with Disability Work Australia and Social Ventures Australia to offer support to disabled employees.


text:
The 25th Annual Flea Market and Chicken Barbecue will take place on July 5 at Kennedy's Grove.
The flea market is sponsored by Laurel Chapter #67, Order of the Eastern Star and the chicken barbecue is sponsored by Waymart Lodge #542, Free and Accepted Masons.
The flea market will take place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tables are available for $10 apiece. Call Carol at (570) 488-5269 or (570) 785-9453.
Plants, baked goods and refreshments will be available throughout the day.
The chicken barbecue will be available for pickup between 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Dinners are $9 and halves are $6.
To pre-order call Bill at (570) 604-1815 or email firstname.lastname@example.org.


text:
CNET Update delivers the tech news you need in under three minutes. Watch Bridget Carey every aftern
Thunderbolt 3 is coming with a smaller connector -- but not for a while. It's tied to Intel's Skylake chips, and those aren't due until 2015.
The search giant's plan for conquering the cost-conscious hardware space bears fruit with three new devices -- Spice, Micromax, and Karbonn -- from India-based handset makers.
Amazon plans to push the update to compatible Kindles in the coming weeks, but you don't have to wait.
Mobile purchases, more social connectivity, and yes, 3D Blu-ray playback: Xbox One gets a handful of new perks in a software update coming soon.
A cremation supplies company now claims to be selling 3D-printed memorial urns in the shape of your loved one -- or celebrity hero.
The Korean electronics giant's first big attempt at the wearable market has flopped. But it knows what it needs to do to get better.
Nokia is rolling out its bright style to three new Lumia handsets, all running the new Windows Phone 8.1 OS, including the brand's first ever Lumia dual-SIM model.
A free software upgrade finally allows Sonos streaming music systems to connect directly to home Wi-Fi networks.
On the eve of its one-day Glass sale, Google announces a roll out of a bevy of features -- and a roll back of an important one -- to its wearable headset that will bring it up to speed with the latest Android operating system.
Visual Supply Company announced an update Thursday for its popular app, VSCO Cam, a photo editor that packs a lot of power behind its minimalist interface.


text:
While some Australian fashion retailers have embraced the online challenge, many have faltered in their attempts to embrace this new chapter in the rag trade’s long and storied history.
Fashion retailers have had to contend with the same basic issues many eCommerce businesses have had, namely back-end operations and logistics, but they’ve also had to adjust to a new mindset among younger consumers or else risk losing customers. To this end, social media and mobile web have emerged as key factors.
In part one of our special look at the Australian fashion industry, SmartCompany spoke to David Briskin, chief executive of fashion label Sass& Bide, and Reece Hobbins, creative director of youth marketing firm Taboo, about the challenges facing the industry.
Get daily business news.
The latest stories, funding information, and expert advice. Free to sign up.
Here’s part two of our look at how Australian fashion retailers are moving online…
Stephen Foxworthy, eCommerce director at Reactive: Mobile technology innovation
Reactive has worked with a number of Australian fashion retailers – including brands such as Rip Curl, Gazman, Bras and Things and other high street retailers – in devising their digital marketing strategies.
Foxworthy says Australian retailers are now looking to further their digital presence by developing their mobile web presence.
“One of the biggest issues retailers are facing is the rise of mobile internet and the fact most of the retailers in Australia aren’t very heavily optimised. Most of those retailers are in the process of, or looking to upgrade, their online stores to be mobile compatible and developing responsive web technology which is adaptable across mediums seamlessly.
“A lot are also looking at their loyalty and communication platforms, with emails featuring high in this mix. They’re trying to be much smarter about their personalisation and there is a lot of intelligence coming out of their email platforms giving them insight into what they’re customers are clicking on and responding to best,” he says
Foxworthy says some Australian retailers plan to start using iPads in stores, providing customers and staff more information about products, while others are working on ways to use mobile phones to complete in-store transactions and allow users to instantly share on social media what they’ve purchased.
A clever digital strategy can drive sales both in-store and online, and Foxworthy says high-end brands are demonstrating how both realms are necessary for traditional bricks-and-mortar stores.
“Luxury brands and high-end brands have been very good at creating brand experiences online, but poor at doing direct sales. Anyone looking around to buy a high-end product would either be more comfortable going into a boutique, or be a price-conscious customer who wants the best price and is more likely to shop around. There is a gulf between their online sales and their engagement.
“The approach of brands like Burberry is to cement their brand values online through community building and marketing. Through online, they want to maintain their premium position so customers will shop in-store,” he says.
Overall, Foxworthy says Australian fashion brands struggle to provide a “holistic customer experience” and while they are willing to adhere to global standards, they are failing to provide any leadership when it comes to online experience.
“Very few have a well-connected online and in-store experience. You can’t do exchanges efficiently for in-store and online purchases and most retailers don’t have very good systems in place.
“There’s not a lot of leadership coming out of Australia, but we are fast followers. A lot of Australian retailers are ready to accept benchmarks and best practices arising from the US and Europe. Brands are now willing to use overseas examples to catch-up, but we’re pretty poor in investing in it properly,” he says.
Story continues on page 2. Please click below.


text:
This could very well be the moment that calling the death of the PC is no longer crying wolf.
Gartner and IDC, two firms that track PC sales, just reported some very sobering numbers for the PC market. Gartner said the worldwide PC shipments shrank 8.3%, while IDC reports PC shipments shrank 8.6%, in the third quarter this year when compared to the same period a year earlier.
Windows 8 is still on the horizon, so this could end up being an aberration when it comes to the future of PC sales in the market. But Apple is now selling tens of millions of iPads every quarter — it sold 17 million in its most recent quarter, and that number is up 84 percent from the same quarter a year earlier — and a smaller iPad is on the way.
That’s compared to the roughly 88 million PCs that were shipped in the third quarter this year, according to IDC and Gartner. Amazon doesn’t disclose the number of Kindle Fires it sells, but the line was successful enough to prompt a big update earlier this year Google now has its own 7-inch tablet, and the space is getting even more crowded.
According to an earlier report in the Wall Street Journal, market-research firm IHS iSuppli forecast that global tablet sales will surge 85% this year to 126.6 million units. The iPad held roughly 60% of the global tablet market last year.
The number of PCs companies like HP, Dell, Lenovo and others are selling still appears to be much larger than the tablet market, but the growth curves for PCs and tablets appear to be going in very different directions.
The weak shipping numbers appear to be a result of a collection of reasons according to the reports, such as the imminent release of Windows 8, Microsoft next operating system, and concern over the economic outlook.
But a major culprit — what seems to be the obvious one — is the emergence of tablets as an alternative to PCs.


text:
The US Federal Trade Commission has ordered Harley-Davidson and generator company MWE Investments to stop voiding customer warranties over repairs, marking a new step in the FTC’s fight over right-to-repair issues.
The order covers Harley-Davidson’s motorcycles and Westinghouse outdoor generators and related equipment, which is manufactured by MWE. Both companies must remove illegal terms in their warranties that discouraged customers from using third-party parts and repair services, and the warranties must inform consumers that they can make third-party repairs without affecting their coverage. They also have to proactively inform buyers of their rights and order officially authorized dealers to avoid deceiving customers about the warranty or promoting official parts over third-party ones.
“Illegal repair restrictions can significantly raise costs for consumers, stifle innovation, close off business opportunity for independent repair shops, create unnecessary electronic waste, delay timely repairs, and undermine resiliency,” said FTC Chair Lina Khan in a statement. “It is critical that unlawful repair restrictions continue to be a key area of focus for the Commission.”
The FTC and several state legislatures have pushed official right-to-repair policies in recent years, while companies like iFixit have mounted public campaigns to pressure Apple and other hardware makers into supporting independent repair options. Khan declared that the topic would be a particular area of focus for the FTC last year, following an executive order from President Joe Biden.


text:
The Philippines' Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) plans to hold a “beauty contest” next year to select a third telecoms player to break the PLDT-Globe duopoly.
The department aims to identify operators interested in becoming the market's third operator this year, and commence the selection process by next year, Malaya Business Insight reported.
Interested companies will be graded based on track record, financial capability and technical knowledge.
The DICT is going with a beauty contest rather than a conventional auction model in part because it would be unfair to the new player to be required to pay up front for the required spectrum given that PLDT and Globe never underwent an auction process for the frequencies they acquired, the report states.
The department has also hinted at the potential for another license to be granted to a fourth player. There is a total of 85 MHz of spectrum available for new market entrants across the 800-MHz, 2300-MHz, 2500-MHz and 2600-MHz band, as well as 20 MHz in the prized 700-MHz band.
Companies including Philippine Telegraph & Telephone, state-owned company TransCo, Now Corp and Converge ICT Solution have indicated their interest in becoming the market's third operator. Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte also recently approached China with the offer to take the third operator slot.


text:
Makati—(PHStocks)—Xurpas Inc. (PSE: X) ended the year 2015 on a high note, with revenues surging 135% to PhP921.22 million versus PhP392.22 million in FY2014. The tech firm’s strong revenue performance was driven by both the company’s core business, as well as by acquisitions.
Xurpas’ core mobile consumer services accounted for PhP266.69 million or 50% of the total PhP529 million net increase in revenues. Xurpas’ gross profit increased 93% to PhP536.71 million for the year from PhP278.35 million in 2014, with robust gross margins of 58%.
Xurpas’ net income before tax climbed 38% to PhP331.1 million in FY2015 versus PhP239.14 million the previous year, while operating margins were a very healthy 36%. Xurpas’ net income for the year increased 20% to PhP229.62 million despite the expiry of Xurpas’ tax holiday in 2014, an increase in expenses due to new business investments, market expansion to Indonesia, and other non-recurring expansion related costs. Xurpas’ core net income for 2015 stood at PhP250.8 million, when non-recurring expenses related to its acquisitions are excluded.


text:
Microsoft has announced that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will receive free Halo Infinite multiplayer bonuses each month, including XP Boosts, cosmetics, and more.
As per the latest Xbox Wire article, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members will receive an Ultimate Perk each month packed with Halo Infinite multiplayer goodies. The first bundle arrives on December 8th, offering the exclusive ‘Pass Tense’ MA40 Assault Rifle coating, four 2XP Boosts, and four Challenge Swaps — a pretty decent extra for those interested in Halo Infinite’s multiplayer. You’ll be able to claim this Perk from the Perks gallery on your Xbox console, the Xbox app on Windows PCs, or through the Xbox Game Pass mobile app.
As for the other Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks this month, subscribers will be able to claim the Apex Legends RIG Helmet Weapon Charm, the World of Warships: Legends Hero’s Companion bundle, and the Dauntless New Year’s Bundle, which includes the Poison Drake’s Eye lantern skin and Monster Breath emote, along with 14 days of Slayer’s Club and 25 Patrol Keys.
The Halo Infinite Pass Tense MA40 AR Bundle can be claimed from December 8th.


text:
Two works of art converged last week in one singular space, as the $36 million design-centric home at 1201 Laurel Way played host to Lamborghini’s stunning, brand new Veneno Roadster, priced at 3.3€ million.
In mid-November, a single Veneno Roadster – there are only 9 in production worldwide – was on display in Laurel Way’s glass-encased car museum, showing off every inch of its red-and-black muscle and precision engineering. This open-top, carbon-fiber car can travel up to 221 miles per hour, and it goes from zero to 62 mph in a mere 2.9 seconds.
At this exclusive open-house/open-car event, one VIP guest arrived each hour for a private viewing of the Veneno Roadster, with Lamborghini executives on hand to answer any questions. Afterwards, each guest received a private showing by The Agency of the sensational Laurel Way compound, a complementary edifice of sleek angles, glass and design, with jaw-dropping city and ocean views. A custom coffee bar, catered by Longshot Coffee, provided drinks and hors d’oeuvres with macaroons by ‘Lette.
Lamborghini has not confirmed sales from the event but they are confident it was a success. Guests who were there solely to view the car ended up touring the home, and additional showings of 1201 Laurel Way are already being requested. It was yet another win for the partnership between The Agency and Lamborghini, who previously paired up to throw “The Ultimate Open House” at 1232 Sunset Plaza in June.
Check out the Veneno Roadster below and other pictures from this special event.


text:
Fiat Chrysler will open another assembly plant in the Detroit area, according to a person familiar with the automaker's plan.
The source said the plant will produce SUVs but did not specify when it will open or how many jobs it will create. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan has not been made public.
Fiat Chrysler declined to comment Thursday.
The Detroit News reported Thursday that the company plans to re-open a former engine plant on the city's east side to make Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs with three rows of seats starting with the 2021 model year. The plant will employ 100 to 400 people, the newspaper said. The Mack Avenue Engine II plant has been shuttered since 2012.
Fiat Chrysler has seen strong sales of light trucks and SUVs including its Jeep and Dodge Ram models, helping boost November U.S. sales to more than 181,000 vehicles, its best November in 17 years. Sales of the Ram line jumped 44 percent, but sales of Chrysler cars and minivans slumped 21 percent.
The company's chief financial officer told investors in June that trucks and SUVs would account for 80 percent of revenue by 2022.
Fiat Chrysler's decision to open another assembly plant comes as other automakers are retrenching. General Motors announced last week that it plans to cut up to 14,000 jobs in North America and consider closing five plants as it abandons many cars in favor of trucks and SUVS, as well as autonomous and electric vehicles.
President Donald Trump ripped GM for the cuts, which will include salaried workers and employees on factory floors. Trump has promised more jobs in the auto industry. At a rally last summer near a GM plant in Ohio, he told the crowd that jobs are "all coming back."
Lawmakers in both parties have also blasted GM, complaining that the company could be using savings from lower taxes to employ more Americans, not fewer.
U.S.-traded shares of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV fell 49 cents, or 3 percent, to close at $16. They have dropped 10 percent in 2018.


text:
“Internet health” has multiple, connected meanings. And the crisis in trust goes far beyond privacy concerns, it reaches deep into other connected institutions: electronic supply chains, threats to the “right to repair” and recycling systems.
We had an excellent day yesterday at Central Saint Martins, one of the University of the Arts London campuses, most associated with product design. We started the day with a lecture to second year students about what we have learned working with hundreds of frustrated electronics owners over the past nine months. Our top 4 […]
Our e-stuff is a goldmine. Recently the United Nations University and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) estimated that electronic waste now contains precious metal “deposits” 40 to 50 times richer than ores mined from the ground. Annually $16 billion in gold is built into our electronics and at least 85% is not recovered – lost […]
This project originated from discussions at the ICT4D meetup in London. ICT for “D” (d meaning development) is a term that started gaining momentum in recent decades, although people have been using communications technology for development since the advent of smoke signals. Ugo and I have both worked extensively in places where communications technology can […]


text:
United Spirits (USL) Chairman Vijay Mallya has said the integration of global spirits major Diageo's portfolio of brands with the company will make the USL product portfolio more powerful and comprehensive.
Asked about the update on the integration process, he said, "Diageo have a wide portfolio of world-class brands, and obviously this has to be very carefully implemented in phases and that will start from early October."
"USL has embarked upon premiumisation policy with focus on premium brands where we achieved strong double-digit growth that will mitigate the cost increase implication to some extent," Mallya said after the USL Annual General Body meeting in Bangalore.
He said the consumer franchise for USL brands remain very strong and "integration of Diageo portfolio of brands will make USL product portfolio even more powerful and more comprehensive that will be a major advantage going forward."
However, Mallya said, the trading conditions for FY14 are difficult with an unprecedented increase in the price of Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA), which has been compounded by ethanol blending programme mandated by the central government. "This advantage is being taken by sugar manufacturers."
On the unveiling of stock split plans of USL, Mallya said: "The board needs to consider it and this is not something which is going to happen in a hurry, but we shall certainly consider it".
On dropping sales of company products in Tamil Nadu, Mallya said it was largely as a result of ordering patterns of Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation. "Unfortunately, this is not directly related to consumer demand which remains very very strong. The consumer franchise for McDowell brand in TN is exceptionally strong and one would hope that the ordering pattern by TASMAC will reflect that," he added.


text:
In Old Main Building, the Center for Women Entrepreneurs has begun holding monthly seminars for an organization called WomenRISE or Women Reflect Interact Shine and Enterprise.
The center began holding these seminars as a way of helping current and future female entrepreneurs to learn and network. The new monthly tradition opened for the first time in mid-February.
Each month the meeting will have different themes and speakers, as well as breakfast for the early birds. This month’s theme was negotiation with the seminar being led by Johana Thomas. During her seminar, she wanted to “break down some negative ideas of negotiation and make the topic seem not so scary to new business owners.”
In order to foster open dialogue, the CWE attempts to make the seminars interactive for the audience. The women of the CWE are available to give students a safe space to come with their questions and find other businesswomen to work alongside. The meetings are open to anyone seeking advice and connections.
Hannah Mcgienti owns Modern Memoir and heard about the seminars through one of the directors of the CWE.
“The seminar was very engaging, and they had information anyone could benefit from,” Mcgienti said.
Not everyone in attendance has to be a current business owner to engage, like Madison Sly. Sly is a sophomore business major who heard about the seminar online. She was excited to see something like this as she was trying to learn everything she can about business before diving into the field.
“I loved the dialogue Johana opened with the audience,” Sly said. “She didn’t just read off a PowerPoint at us, but had an active conversation with participants.”
The Center for Women Entrepreneurs attempts to engage students and business makers with these monthly seminars. They will be held on the second Tuesday of every month. For those who can’t make it in person, there is a virtual Zoom option to allow everyone to engage.
The CWE offers other resources outside of the WomenRISE meetings like business advising, resources, networking and funding.
Eclipse Stark can be contacted via email at email@example.com


text:
Tuesday, July 25, 2006, 01:00 pm PT (04:00 pm ET)
Apple adds Warner Bros. favorites to iTunesWarner Bros. Home Entertainment Group and Apple Computer on Tuesday announced that classic hit programming from Warner Bros.' vast television library is now available for purchase and download on the iTunes Music Store.
The new content features favorites such as the hugely popular sitcom "Friends," sci-fi epic "Babylon 5" and some of the most popular sketches from "MADtv," as well as animated classics including "The Jetsons" and "The Flintstones."
Also available is the never-before-seen pilot episode of "Aquaman" — a grounded, contemporary reinterpretation of DC Comics' Aquaman mythology from the acclaimed writing/producing team of Alfred Gough and Miles Millar ("Smallville").
"We're thrilled to add hit programming from Warner Bros. as we continue to grow our video catalog with the best current and classic television programming," said Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president of iTunes. "iTunes is the world's most popular online video store with over 35 million videos sold."
Including the latest additions, iTunes now offers over 150 different TV shows for $1.99 per episode for viewing on a computer or iPod.
On Topic: General
- Apple CEO Tim Cook says privacy talks with Chinese government were 'very open'
- Former Apple exec Ron Johnson wants to make online shopping personal with new startup 'Enjoy'
- Apple says its 'ambitious' sapphire manufacturing process is 'not ready for production'
- GT Advanced to exit sapphire production business, Apple to recover $439M prepayment over 4 years
- Christian Bale confirmed to play Steve Jobs in upcoming biopic, to start shooting soon


text:
Technology is Thriving for Good Reason
Many observers of the stock market and the general economic conditions that have been caused by COVID-19 have been somewhat astounded by the technology sector’s continued growth and dominance. Surely, it’s somewhat strange to see technology companies outperform their valuations that pre-dated the start of this pandemic, when main street and so many businesses large and small are suffering. But if one is to assess the broader situation in an effort to gain more clarity, it’s actually quite evident why this is happening.
Financial observers like Shalom Lamm have remarked that the pandemic has created an economy that is driven by technology in a more fundamental way than it ever has been before. This is a statement that does have quite a bit of supporting evidence. In fact, the more restrictions that are placed by governmental bodies and agencies in terms of social distancing and the like, the more technology services become of value to people.
There’s a reason why we’ve seen most every single sector of the economy lag behind over the course of the last few months with the exception of the technology sector. Indeed as people continue transitioning to a remote working environment where working from home as become the standard, these trends will undoubtedly continue and persist.
Technology companies have capitalized on these transitional trends. Beneficiaries such as Zoom technologies have been able to take advantage of this environment, becoming a very helpful device for many people in the corporate world. In fact, Zoom is also being used to facilitate remote learning for those students that are studying in schools and institutions that will be closed. Shalom Lamm agrees that Zoom is a company that will continue to thrive in this pandemic.


text: The wait is over. While the big Jordan Brand news last month was unquestionably the Concord XIs, January revolves around the white/varsity red-black Xs. And tomorrow, Saturday the 21st of January marks the release date of said X. It will be the first in a series of different colorways dropping throughout 2012. These are set to retail for $160 in adult sizes; however, it will drop in a full family size run. Will you be among the many to try and purchase a pair of these?


text:
Shares in Hogg Robinson were up on the FTSE All Share after the corporate travel company reported a doubling of its pre-tax profit in the half year ended 30 September.
Revenue was reported as rising nine per cent from the same period the previous year to £169.2 million, while pre-tax profit before exceptional items increased 104 per cent to £15.3 million. After exception items pre-tax profit was up 303 per cent to £13.3 million.
The group said that it had managed to cut its net debt in the period by £10.2 million to £85.8 million.
In addition Hogg Robinson said it would by raising its dividend 25 per cent to 0.5 pence per share.
David Radcliffe, Chief Executive of Hogg Robinson, said, "This is a very good set of results with operating profit up by more than 70% and EPS more than double. Our strategy and business model have delivered over the last two years. We have a proven management team, a disciplined approach to cost control and a relentless focus on our customers. As a result, we are well placed to leverage our global infrastructure and to take advantage of the improving climate and growth prospects available to us.
"Uncertainty about the global economy will continue but we are encouraged by the current signs of recovery in corporate travel and the Board believes that we will be slightly ahead of our previous expectations for the full year."
By 14:20 shares in Hogg Robinson were up 0.72 per cent on the FTSE All Share to 35.00 pence per share.


text:
As skyrocketing supermarket prices continue to hit whānau in the wallet, a community cooking course in south Auckland is teaching families that fast, healthy food can be made at home and be affordable.
It's the brainchild of TV chef Ganesh Raj, who teamed up with Papatūānuku Kōkiri Marae to get whānau into the wharekai to help break the habit of eating expensive and unhealthy takeaways.
"The fast food joints love [that habit] because it basically backs the idea that people are going to come back because they're addicted to this food," Raj said.
For mother of six Kopu Teraitua, it's an all-too-familiar situation. She orders takeaways at least twice a week.
"Most of the time it's too lazy or just too tired, too knackered and then to cook, clean and everything else at home. It's just, 'Nah, just going to go out and get takeaway'."
The cooking class also aims to change people's mindset around kai and is backed by social change agency The Cause Collective.
The Cause Collective's Were Maiava wants food to be seen as a medicine or rongoa.
"If we look at food from a perspective, where it's something that heals us from within, man you can't go wrong."
Raj's food philosophy is about making global food that doesn't cost the earth.
His recipes are designed to cost $20 to feed a whānau of four.
"People have always been surprised. It says to me that they're indoctrinated to think that food is expensive, cooking is expensive, everything's expensive. So when something is cheaper they're like 'What? You can do that?'."
Teraitua and her daughter learned to make fish cakes at Raj's night classes. The fish used in the recipe came from discarded fish frames and heads. They would have gone to waste but were collected instead by the Kai Ika fish rescue programme.
Papatūānuku Kōkiri Marae's Lionel Hoete said demand for salvaged food has grown even more recently as supermarket costs have skyrocketed.
"On Wednesdays and Fridays, we serve to the community what probably would have ended up in landfill. It is now being given to our family who really respect it, who really love it."
It's all part of the marae's vision to see its whānau flourish. Its extensive community vegetable and herb gardens are also being harvested and used in the night class recipes.
Raj said he and Hoete share the idea of feeding people by using the garden as much as possible.
"It's like the dream scenario. It'll feed people that need it."
After two test night classes, the feel-good factor is high. Whānau are proud of what they've created.
Hoete said seeing whānau cooking, eating well, and enjoying a good diet is what the marae was intended for.
"Bringing them in and giving them new ideas ... I think it's really exciting. We'll see our families looking after themselves better because it's the ambulance at the top of the hill, you know?"
Made with support from New Zealand On Air and Te Māngai Pāho.


text:
Amazon UK said on Monday , January 29 that, it would open a new fulfilment centre in Rugby, central England.
This it said will increase its 2,500 strong workforce in the Midlands by another 400 people.
Rugby will be the fourth Amazon fulfilment centre in the region.
The company said its plans for the new self-styled fulfilment centre in Rugby would open up positions for HR and IT specialists, as well as engineers.
Amazon’s announcement came as a report by the Centre for Cities warned that, the North and the Midlands were most at risk of losing jobs to automation and globalisation.
The think tank calculated that one in five jobs in British cities was likely to be displaced by 2030 as technology evolved.
Amazon, said the work on offer in Rugby was attractive.
Its director of UK customer fulfilment, Stefano Perego, said they are delighted to expand their operations in the Midlands where they already have a dedicated workforce of more than 2,500 people.
“We are thrilled to begin recruitment for 400 new permanent roles in Rugby with competitive wages and comprehensive benefits starting on day one,” he said.


text:
California electric vehicle startup, Fisker, announced that they have 56,000 reservations for its newest vehicle, the Ocean EV SUV. According to Fisker’s second quarterly earnings, they suffered a loss per share of 36 cents, better than the expected drop of 41 cents. Chief Executive Officer Henrik Fisker believes the company is on the right track to begin production by late this year.
The company also reported a net loss of $106 million, which is less than its loss in the first quarter ($122.1 million). CEO Henrik Fisker also confirmed the company is working with global auto supplier Magna International to begin auto production in a Magna-owned factory in Austria.
So far, the production is going as planned. Magna and Fisker created 55 prototypes of the Ocean electric vehicle and are safety testing the cars now. If they pass the safety and vehicle checks, production will start mid-November.
At the end of the second quarter, the EV company still had about $851.9 million in cash, while at the end of March, the company had $1 billion. The cash is enough to complete operations by the end of 2022. Starting in 2024, Foxconn Technology Group will build the PEAR, Fisker’s second electric vehicle, at the former Lordstown Motors factory in Ohio.
Did you enjoy this article? Please share your thoughts, comments, or questions regarding this topic by connecting with us at email@example.com.


text:
Microsoft Brings FastStart, Game Grouping, More With Xbox's July Update
06 July, 2018, 21:03 | Author: Sammy Rose
By now, most people will have received the latest system update for their Xbox One. It's now in Xbox Game Preview with an official launch coming later, and this Xbox One version has brought a few updates with it. FastStartFirst introduced three weeks ago for Alpha and Alpha Skip Ahead Insider rings, FastStart now arrives for all. FastStart-enabled games prioritize the most important parts of the game first, saving the rest of the data to download in the background while you're playing the first few minutes of the game. This allows you to hop into a game more quickly after downloading only a portion of the full title.
Surprisingly, the list of supported games, which you can find on Polygon, also includes Xbox 360 and original Xbox games, so it's nice to see this isn't a feature strictly for the hot new titles. FastStart now applies to all English-language games in the Xbox Game Pass, including Fallout 4, Sea of Thieves, Elder Scrolls Online, and more.
According to Microsoft, games that utilize the feature will half the amount of time it takes from when a download begins to the moment you're actually able to play it. You can also assign custom names to each Group, organize and order them, and add individual Groups to Home. More Search OptionsPlayers can now press the Y button while in the dashboard to bring up the search box. Share Controller ImprovementsThis somewhat controversial feature has received improvements to make it easier to it on the internet. Touch-enabled devices get multi-touch support so that multiple controls can be used simultaneously. The size displayed in the top left of the screen shows how much storage will be cleared. While in this mode game audio is muted, making it ideal for talking to your audience while switching from game to game or setting up before you start playing. There's even the opportunity to do full broadcasts in this mode if you choose. Those come alongside some under-the-hood improvements to broadcasting quality and stability.
The update started rolling out for everybody yesterday, July 5th, so if you haven't received it already, you should be getting these features soon.
But the smaller, $700 6.1-inch LCD iPhone, will come in blue, red, and orange, plus the Space Grey and Silver variants. The top tier 6.5-inch iPhone will share those colors as well as the dual camera and will cost $1000.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has blamed Russian Federation for the first poisoning attack - an assertion the Kremlin denies. Basu said it would be up to scientists to determine if the Novichock was from the same batch which was used against the Skripals.
He said relations between the US and North Korea have "dramatically shifted" in North Korea's favor over the past few months. North Korea maintains that the issue of abductions of Japanese nationals has been "settled", but Tokyo does not accept this.
The suspect is expected to face charges including two counts of unlawful restraint and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Though Booker-Hicks said she initially intended only to fire a warning shot, she did not appear too upset with the result.
Most of the tourists were understood to be Chinese, with two believed to be westerners, according to the boat's captain. A police official had earlier said 90 people had been rescued from the boat and just seven were missing.
In his resignation letter , Pruitt cited "the unrelenting attacks" that were taking a toll on him and his family. Pruitt previously served as Oklahoma attorney general, a role in which he repeatedly sued the EPA .
Sharif's two sons - Hasan and Hussain - also wanted in the case, have been declared proclaimed offenders owing to their no-show. The hearing of the case went for nine months and 22 days during which statements of at least 22 witnesses were recorded.
The company also took a jab at competitors like AMC Theaters, which recently revealed a $20 a month movie ticket service plan. MoviePass has launched a "peak pricing" surcharge for the most popular titles at the most popular showtimes.
Late Anthony Bourdain's wealth was worth $1.21 million?
He began dating actress Asia Argento in early 2017 and publicly supported Argento after she accused Harvey Weinstein of rape . Both the New York Daily News and the New York Post cited documents from the Manhattan Surrogate's Court filed Thursday.
No children reunited yet from border separations
A federal judge in California ordered that all of the children must be returned to their parents by July 26. The Trump Administration is now seeking the legal authority to detain kids with their parents indefinitely.
Turnbull won't intervene in Nauru ABC ban
Morris said the national broadcaster "vigorously defends our role in doing independent reporting on our region". Just three Australian journalists were booked to attend the forum, including one from the ABC.
Japan sarin attack cult leader, followers executed
Doomsday cult leader Shoko Asahara , the mastermind of a deadly sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, has been executed. Scores of Aum members have faced trial over the attack - 13 were sentenced to death, including Asahara.
U.S. tariffs could spur tech development in China
President Donald Trump has pulled the trigger on a trade war with China - which immediately plans to launch a counter-attack. The motorcycle maker said this month it may move production out of the U.S.to avoid European Union tariffs on its bikes.
Black lawmaker knocking on doors prompts 911 call
Another day, another name to add to the ever-growing list of "Black People Who Had The Cops Called On Them for Simply Existing". A black lawmaker in OR had the cops called on her apparently because she was knocking on doors to campaign for reelection.


text:
DALLAS, Feb. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Despite the international importing industry remaining in a high state of flux over the last 12 months, revolutionary Import Management System (IMS) provider Mercado Labs, based out of Dallas, TX, saw exponential growth throughout 2020. From new customer wins, to a wealth of new platform enhancements focused on building greater resiliency into global supply chains, to funding investments backing the company's planned expansion this coming year.
Mercado continues to stand out from other supply chain platforms as it builds true visibility, connectivity, and resilience into every step of the supply chain, with its core focus on improving the First Mile. Mercado continues to add the latest in innovative technology to enable the transformation of supply chains by pioneering a radical evolution for importers and their network around the globe. With a constant stream of successes throughout 2020, the future is looking even more promising for Mercado in 2021.
Transforming the Supply Chain
Importers across industries have been feeling the continuous strain on their fragile supply chains in recent months, impeding their time to market, straining their ability to sell effectively, whilst adding to their rising costs hitting their bottom line.
Mercado tackles the supply chain disconnect by shifting the focus onto the place where importers have the most control over their success: the First Mile. The company's Import Management System (IMS) addresses three fundamental areas that immediately improve the visibility, control, and automation of the global supply chain:
1. Connecting suppliers to products – improving time to market through increased clarity, control, and confidence.
2. Connecting products to customer demand –increasing sales through improved inventory management with complete visibility, analytics, and transparency.
3. Connecting end-to-end teams – reducing expenses and achieving business goals through a fully connected, predictable, and digital supply chain.
Building Resiliency Through Partnership
Reliability and efficiency have long been top priorities of supply chain management, and the recent pandemic has thrust resilience into the spotlight. But, to be resilient, supply chains must also be sustainable. Central to achieving sustainable supply chains is the ability of importers to have full visibility and traceability across these chains. New technologies are putting this level of visibility and traceability within reach, however companies will need to collaborate to build the comprehensive systems capable of enabling supply chains that are truly more resilient and sustainable.
At the core of the Mercado brand lies the role it plays in bringing value not directly to sales, but also improving international importers' bottom line by focusing on the people within the supply chain. Partnerships play a crucial role in creating extended supply chain value, and Mercado is planning the launch of its upcoming Marketplace is designed to help tie the currently disparate elements of the industry together so importers can benefit from a more synergistic technological landscape.
Mercado has already teamed up with industry leaders including ShipZ, Cleartrack, Chain.IO, OWL Solutions, OpenTrack, and Project44 as the first partners in Marketplace, with a number of additional partnerships already in the pipeline for 2021.
Innovation & Expertise Steering Company Growth
Mercado is also excited to announce the upcoming launch of a new product, Mercado Plan, in addition to supplier-focused Compliance Kits expected in the first quarter of 2021. Both additions to the expanding Mercado product portfolio will enhance the regulatory, supply chain, and social compliance standards within international importers. In turn bringing clarity and standardization to a highly manual and unstructured process and improving the partnership between importers and their suppliers across tiers.
In addition, Mercado is proud to announce the hiring of Ivan Guevara as Head of Sales and Jeremy Brooks as Head of Engineering. Both roles perfectly complement the existing Mercado Leadership Team, with both Guevara and Brooks bringing decades of experience to help the business reach its ambitious goals for the year ahead.
Ivan Guevara is a Marine Corps veteran who has built his history on sales — starting as a door-to-door salesman and working his way up to sales leadership roles. Working at companies like IBM, Quintiq, and Dassault Systems, Ivan brings a wealth of experience in bringing top tier new business and will establish a customer-focused sales strategy to bolster Mercado's growing customer base.
Jeremy Brooks is an engineer and entrepreneur with an impressive history of building and implementing strong engineering programs across a variety of industries. Jeremy has worked at Mozido, Hideaway Report, and was a Co-founder of Primo Athletic and Shep prior to working at Mercado. His expertise has already brought significant improvements to both the back-end and user interface across the platform, with a series of new platform releases and updates in the pipeline for Q1.
2021 is going to be a big year for Mercado
From comprehensive thought leadership and enhanced updates, to revolutionary partnerships and new expertise, Mercado has a range of promotional activities planned to showcase its transformative IMS to an ever-widening market audience throughout 2021.
The brand has featured heavily across leading industry media, including Sourcing Journal, Let's Talk Supply Chain, Freight Waves, Alcott Global and more, with additional promotional activities planned in the coming months.
For more information on how Mercado is set to transform the industry, follow us on Linked in @mercadolabs or visit mercadolabs.com/transform.
Mercado Labs is an Import Management System (IMS) designed to help businesses rely less on email and spreadsheets to manage millions of dollars of inventory across their supply chain — from First Mile to Last. Plan, buy, and move your products with ease to bring them to market faster, save money, and improve sales. For more information, spokespeople, pictures, and interviews relating to this press release, please contact Mercado: Kayleigh Hansen, Marketing Specialist / [email protected]
Kayleigh Hansen, Mercado, +1 9406003422, [email protected]


text:
Bancroft Wines is the latest in a raft of importers and distributors to take on a producer from Field, Morris & Verdin’s (FMVs) increasingly depleted portfolio.
Bancroft has added Dog Point Vineyard, which was established in 2002 in Marlborough, New Zealand and specialises in premium organic wine, specifically Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Dog Point Vineyard’s wines were previously distributed in the UK by FMV, the UK wholesale arm of fine wine merchant Berry Bros & Rudd and this move casts further doubt on FMV’s future. A statement about the company is expected later this month.
Earlier this year Berry Bros said it was reviewing the FMV portfolio to determine its future, and since that time many from within its range have been picked up by others.
Berkmann Wine Cellars is now the distributor for Champagne Jacquesson and Thorman Hunt recently took on Le Soula.
Liberty Wines recently took on Rafael Palacios’ wines, and the Mullineux and Leeu Passant labels from South Africa, as well as Famille Perrin.
Bibendum has added Quinta de la Rosa, Neudorf Vineyards, Bodegas Mustiguillo, Giovanni Rosso and Domaine Jourdan.
For Bancroft the addition of Dog Point significantly strenthens its New Zealand portfolio, which also currently includes Domaine Thompson (Ceentral Otago) and Isabel Estate (Marlborough), and Bob Short for Kate by Ben Glover.
Jon Worsley, chief executive officer, Bancroft Wines, said: “We are thrilled with the addition of Dog Point Vineyard to our portfolio and confident in our ability to exclusively market their premium wine in the UK.
“Dog Point’s core values of being certified organic, family owned with a focus on producing quality wine were the perfect synergy to our existing portfolio of wines.”
General Manager of Dog Point Vineyard, Matt Sutherland said: “This opportunity for a new distribution partner in the UK comes at a fortuitous time. We have had a great association with Fields, Morris and Verdin for the last sixteen years and want to thank them for their time, effort, and support during our partnership.
“Moving forward, we are excited about the future possibilities of what our new partnership with Bancroft Wines brings and the potential for forging new relationships with UK trade.”