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AUSTRALIAN wool exporters, some brokers and processors are proposing the postponing of auction sales as the market is hit by a lack of competition caused by COVID-19 impacting global supply chains.
The Australian wool auction market’s benchmark indicator dropped 155 cents this week, with 45 percent of the offering passed in nationally and 16pc of the rostered bales withdrawn before auctions started.
Despite the return of Chinese mills to work, a lack of buying orders from the COVID-19-hit European and Indian markets, and lack of retail demand in key markets, has cruelled raw wool demand and competition.
On March 31, prior to the Week 40 sale this week, the Australian Wool Exchange’s National Auction Selling Committee was told several buyers, on the advice of their clients, oppose the Week 42 sale and would not attend.
At that time, committee secretary David Cother advised in an NASC update there was insufficient support for the committee to change its decision to hold the Week 42 sale, recognising that some brokers and growers want to offer wool.
However, after the dramatic slide in the market this week, some brokers are calling for next week’s sale to be abandoned and are supporting a proposal by the Schneider Group to bring forward a scheduled three-week recess July.
There are concerns that further sales now could crash the market indicator further, with the exporters unable to market the quantities available and risking current contracts for unshipped wool around the world bought at higher prices earlier this year. There also significant quantities of wool available for private sale outside the Australian auction system, with brokers’ storages overflowing Australia-wide.
Bring the July recess forward – Schneider
Schneider Australia managing director Tim Marwedel has suggested the trade consider moving the three-week recess in July forward, effective immediately.
“Our company view is that sales should not be proceeding under these extraordinary circumstances.
“We have almost the entire global retail sector closed down,” he said.
“The impact this is having down the supply chain is enormous.
“Access and availability to the necessary cash is not there,’ he said in his company’s weekly report.
“The unwillingness of buyers to buy when they have unpaid, undelivered and un-shipped wool on their books with little to no interest from clients is impacting significantly on the market.
“These are not normal circumstances.”
Mr Marwedel said trial auctions via video link appear a real option for the industry, but without the necessary cash to support the wool that is coming onto the market, price levels have been affected.
Mr Marwedel said is the July recess was brought forward, the trade could then sell through July as a compromise and might also encourage some European businesses to work through August.
“This would help our European business, including clients, who are in lock down now.”
Schneider Group CEO Giovanni Schneider said while all other wool selling countries have decided to stop auctions during the COVID-19 emergency, for healthcare reasons and to protect the market, AWEX’s NASC has asked the Federal Government to recognise wool as an essential industry and therefore to continue to operate.
“Wool is not an essential industry and while 50pc of the global wool processors are in shutdown, buyers do not have the cash flow to operate.
“As a consequence, the market dropped 250 cents since the beginning of March,” he said.
“I firmly believe AWEX has not been operating in the best interest of the Australian wool growers and is delivering the wool market in the hands of a few operators who in the future will be able to influence its price according to their needs.”
Lunacy to go ahead with sales – Macdonald
Macdonald and Co. Woolbrokers managing director, Don Macdonald believed it was “lunacy” to go ahead with a sale next week where results were reported to the market. He also opposed the Week 42 sale and believed the trade should consider bring forward the July recess.
Mr McDonald said processors had wool in New Zealand and South Africa ports they couldn’t ship and where auctions have been halted, “whilst we continue to sell and let the market erode.”
“So what happens is that wool sitting on the docks, they can’t open the letters of credit until it sails and they are scared the contracts are going to be ripped up, because if is now 200 cents cheaper.
“We’re undermining the global wool market, not just our market, and inevitably it will lead to a weakening of competition when things resume.
“We know growers need to sell wool, but there are other means by which they can sell wool, by private negotiation, either by tender or electronically.”
Auctions should continue – Colley
However, Australian Wool Network managing director John Colley said he believed auctions should continue, next week and in Week 42.
“The reasons being the industry has done an enormous amount of work to ensure that it operates from shearing to port under government COVID-19 regulations.
“We are even making plans to reduce the exposure of people to people, by conducting video auctions through platforms like Zoom.”
AWN will sell the first 50 lots in its catalogue live next Tuesday on Zoom “with full buying support”, to prepare for the possibility of further indoor personal space restrictions, he said.
“The only reason we would suspend sales was if there was a breakdown in the pipeline that interfered with the government regulations.
“For example, like logistics, if they said that trucks were found to the biggest mover of COVID-19 and they banned all trucking.”
Mr Colley recognised that COVID-19 has already interfered with the operations of other players in the global wool pipeline such as exporter and processors like Schneider.
“The reality is that Italy and India has closed down and we are making all of our growers fully aware that the market over the next 2-3 weeks will be Chinese dominated.
“We are fully aware that the market has fallen considerably this week, but we are also aware that we have to give our growers the opportunity to sell on a fully informed basis,” he said.
“The reality is that world is in for a reset and prices are being renegotiated, contracts are being re-written, orders are being reneged on world-wide in any and every industry and every pipeline.”
He is aware of wool supply contracts that have already been reneged on, including in AWN’s manufacturing business. AWN has stopped private buying at its store two weeks ago.
“Because at this stage I don’t believe the wool market has reached the bottom.”
Mr Colley said if brokers put up big bale catalogues at coming auctions they were likely to see bigger price falls.
‘Wool growers need to know that we are against it’
Endeavour Wool Exports trading manager Josh Lamb said the market drop was a function of the increased volumes available and exporters’ inability to increase business accordingly.
“And at the moment, other countries around the world for various reasons to do with the coronavirus, aren’t buying Australian wool, such as India and Europe.”
Italian woollen mills have closed down in the last two weeks and ports into other processing countries such as Egypt and India have closed, he said.
“What that does is it takes limits out of the market from origins other than China … it reduces competition in the sale room.
“So at the moment the market has fallen back to China and they are not prepared to stump up for these quantities at the moment, because things there aren’t great either,” he said.
“They are very much back at work – we are hearing 90 percent or better — but they are now facing challenges on the export side of things; they can’t export anything out China that is wool related, because those markets are closed.
“So it is falling back to a domestic price and domestically China is starting to see the effects of their coronavirus shutdown and economically their numbers aren’t good,” he said.
“Our agent said to us yesterday: ‘people aren’t prepared to go to the shops and spend yet’.”
Mr Lamb said the market needs an alternative to open cry auctions during this period “just in case” physical wool auctions are included in COVID-19 restrictions.
“You have to think that the further this goes on, the more chance we are of having to stop at some stage, although we have put in good contingencies to keep open cry going.”
The trade has held online auction trials using Zoom, and AuctionsPlus and WoolQ have also held demonstrations for the trade.
Mr Lamb said buyers are completely perplexed as to why brokers see the need to have another wool sale “in this environment” in Week 42, normally a recess week.
“Wool growers need to know that we are against it.”
Giant German-based worsted spinner and weaver Südwolle has also advised that Australian industry that it favoured the postponement of Australian wool auctions.
In an email circulating the industry, Südwolle purchasing department director Mirko Lindner said he and Südwolle Group CEO Klaus Steger thought it would be right to postpone wool auctions in Australia as this had been done already in other places around the world.
Mr Lindner said this would not only support too many people coming together in single places.
“Furthermore it will give the world-wide wool industry a chance to get a clearer picture for future.
“With hopefully more confidence to the market on a later stage we can prevent too low prices for farmers and hopefully later on dramatic less wool availability for all of us.”
Growers must be able to sell wool – WoolProducers
WoolProducers Australia president Ed Storey said WPA would support any recommendations about the orderly marketing of wool.
“The one caveat is that there still has to be an avenue for producers who wish to sell to be able to sell their wool.”
He said there are other options such as video sales, private treaty arrangements and AuctionsPlus Wool are other options to sell wool.
“Our principal position is that auctions should proceed, but we are cognisant of the fact that we are in extraordinary times.
“Our second and third largest markets are really not accepting wool – Europe and India,” he said.
“We will represent growers passionately who wish to sell wool.
“We’ve been through a drought and many producers have large feed bills, and individual businesses have different cash flow requirements at different times.”
Mr Storey said he was happy to sell wool in Sydney this week, despite the lower prices.


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Digital has admitted to losing the head of its AltaVista Web search engine division.
Ilene Lang, AltaVista Internet Software vice president, quit her post earlier this month, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The report suggests that Lang was unhappy about Digital's decision not to take AltaVista public.
Digital filed an initial public offering (IPO) registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission last year for AltaVista, after announcing its intention to take AltaVista public in August last year.
Several rival search engine companies including Yahoo, Excite and Infoseek took the IPO plunge earlier last year. However, although the companies' IPOs were successful, the market later became less enthusiastic and there were substantial drop-offs in share prices. Digital had planned to sell off up to 20% of AltaVista, garnering the company around US$50 million. The company also hoped spinning off AltaVista would encourage staff retention.
But then in late June of this year, Digital Chairman Robert Palmer announced the abandonment of the AltaVista IPO and the reintegration of the business back into the company's product division.
Lang joined Digital in November 1995 as vice president of the company's connectivity business unit. She came to Digital from Lotus Development Corp. where she'd held the position of senior vice president of Lotus' desktop business group, handling the worldwide development and marketing of Lotus' SmartSuite desktop applications suite, for the past year.
The bulk of AltaVista staff are now reporting to Bruce Claflin, senior vice president responsible for worldwide sales and marketing.
Digital, in Maynard, Massachusetts, can be reached on the World Wide Web at http://www.digital.com/.

domain: news


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May 9th, 2020
Watch our Home Front Heroes Day Celebration Video!
You may recall the festivities surrounding the inaugural Home Front Heroes Day event last year. A large group made up of teammates, residents, families and supporters filed into the Auditorium to participate in a very patriotic celebration spearheaded by WWII veteran, John “Lucky” Luckadoo and officially declared by the Mayor of the City of Dallas, as Home Front Heroes Day.
Although we’re unable to gather together in person this year, we hope you will join us in celebrating virtually! We’ve been hard at work compiling this video intended to be a virtual assembly of sorts. In it, Lucky explains the purpose of Home Front Heroes Day, some local Home Front Heroes share their stories, a WWII collector shows off some really cool Home Front Hero memorabilia and various participants discuss our modern day Home Front Heroes who are selflessly combating the COVID-19 virus. In addition to all of that, we’re thrilled to announce that U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, U.S. Representative Colin Allred, and Deputy Mayor Pro-Tem McGough have all joined in on Lucky’s mission to make Home Front Heroes a nationally recognized day!
With Home Front Heroes Day 2020, we’re kicking off our year-long mission to achieve Lucky’s goal of it going national! Stay tuned for updates on how you can get involved supporting this effort! #HomeFrontHeroesDay


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A SPECIALIST tea room in Teesside has been voted the nation’s favourite independent business.
The Olde Young Tea House on Grange Road, Middlesbrough was entered into the national final after winning a regional heat.
One of 26 finalists it was also up against Darlington’s Retro Sweet Shop which made it the last four.
But The Olde Young Tea House was eventually declared the overall winner causing owner Carli McNaught, 27, to declare: “We are the proudest tea ladies in the world.”
Ms McNaught, who opened the tea shop four years ago and sells over 80 teas, said: “It’s a tea house, we never call it a cafe. It’s not about grabbing a bite to eat or getting a quick coffee hit. It’s about being sociable, savouring the tea, bringing people together.
“We’ve had people coming here from Australia and Germany and have American ladies who come every year”
The competition was organised by Kerching Retail and nearly 25,000 votes were cast.
Corin Birchall, from Kerching Retail, said: “The Olde Young Tea House represents everything that is great about independent businesses and we look forward to visiting for a cuppa and a slice of cake soon.”
The most expensive teas for sale in the tea shop are white teas China Silver Needles and a more dense, powdery tea called White Macha which is sold at £7.50 for just 25g. The most popular is the cream Earl Grey with vanilla.
Ms McNaught, originally from Saltburn and who employs four staff, has discovered that tea is actually grown in this country, in Cornwall, and plans to head south to taste it.
Despite all the exotic array of teas at her disposal, Carli’s own favourite is Yorkshire Tea, blended a few miles away in Harrogate.


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SANTIAGO – For the second time in a row, Chile has been chosen as the Best Destination for Adventure Tourism in the World, as was announced by the Minister of Economy, Development and Tourism, Jorge Rodríguez Grossi, together with the Undersecretary of Tourism, Javiera Montes, and the National Director of Tourism.
Sernatur, Marcela Cabezas after the 24th version of the World Travel Awards, the “Oscar Awards” of tourism, recognized Chile as a leader in this category.
The winner was chosen through direct voting on the World Travel Awards site, where Chile won against countries such as Australia, Canada, Ecuador, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the United States.
Through this recognition Chile consolidates the international promotion work that has been done, as reflected by the arrival of foreign tourists to the country that has doubled in the last 6 years, from 2.8 million in 2010 to 5.6 million in 2016, presenting an average annual growth of 12.8%.
In this regard, the Minister of Economy, Development and Tourism, Jorge Rodríguez Grossi, said “this is tremendous news because it recognizes a sector of our economy that is strategic for the growth of Chile. This award helps to make visible the work we are doing as a government together with the private sector to diversify our offer and our tourist destinations with the aim that all types of tourists in Chile find an alternative to travel and visit according to their interests.”
He added that “one of the main attractions of Chile is its nature, in fact, among foreign tourists who entered Chile in 2016 at the Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, a total of 1,984,890 tourists, 51% declares that the nature, landscapes, flora and fauna of Chile were the main reason to choose Chile as a tourist destination.”
The Undersecretary of Tourism, Javiera Montes, stressed that “we are happy with this new award that our country receives. During this year, Chile has been recognized in the world as a destination to be visited, visited and enjoyed in 2018, as highlighted by Lonely Planet, one of the most recognized travel guides in the world, with more than 145 published editions that distinguished our country with the first place in its collection Best in Travel 2018.
“These publications undoubtedly give us an advantage that we must take advantage of to become a destination of international hierarchy, with a varied offer that manages to enchant more international visitors to places such as parks where, in the last 5 years, visits increased by an annual average of 11.3%.”
The award was received on behalf of the government by the Ambassador of Chile in Vietman, Claudio de Negri, on Phu Quoc Island, where the grand finale of the World Travel Awards was held, a prize created in 1993 to “know, reward and celebrate the Excellence in the tourism industry.”
Today the brand is recognized globally, and the awards have been called the “Oscars of Tourism” by The Wall Street Journal.


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Technology shortens lines at checkout
Updated 9:02 pm, Friday, April 12, 2013
Long lines at the grocery register soon may be things of the past if new checkout technology succeeds at H-E-B and Wal-Mart stores in San Antonio and other Texas cities.
At one store on the Southeast Side, locally based H-E-B recently began testing a 360-degree scanner that automatically registers the bar code on each product as it travels down the conveyer belt. And in 10 locations across the state, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. now lets shoppers use an iPhone application to scan and bag items as they browse the aisles, before completing their purchase at a self-checkout register.
Both companies said customer expectations drove them to offer the new checkout options.
“Our shoppers are shopping differently than ever before,” Wal-Mart spokeswoman Ashley Hardie wrote in an email.
“So in order to meet their ever-changing needs, we're experimenting with innovative technologies (to save) them time and money,” she added.
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In February, H-E-B invited customers to try out a new scanning “tunnel” for the first time at its McCreless Market location at 4100 S. New Braunfels Ave.
The company spent about three years developing the so-called Fast Scan technology, which allows cashiers at the end of the register to focus on properly bagging the already-scanned items, said Jaren Shaw, H-E-B's vice president of customer service. She said the company is in the “very early stages” of testing the checkout system and will wait to decide on expanding it to other stores.
“We were introduced to the concept of 360-degree item scanners in Europe a few years ago and have been watching the technology emerge since then,” Shaw said in a statement. “H-E-B took an inclusive approach and developed the checkout fixture based on feedback from customers” and employees.
After shoppers finish their Fast Scan purchase, they can rate the new scanner by selecting one of four buttons with faces displaying emotions ranging from happy to angry.
Shaw said H-E-B has been encouraged by customer response.
“Fast Scan is without a doubt the newest technology our customers have experienced in checkout,” she said. “One customer described it as 'high tech, high smile.'”
Like H-E-B, Wal-Mart cited customer feedback as the catalyst behind the development of its new mobile scanning app that it has piloted at more than 200 locations across the United States.
None of the company's stores in San Antonio have the service, which Wal-Mart has dubbed Scan & Go. But the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer does offer it at stores in the Austin, Dallas and Houston areas.
There, shoppers can scan items on the Wal-Mart app, which then transfers the shopping list to one of the store's self-checkout registers so customers can pay without rescanning the products.
Wal-Mart plans to roll out the app to other mobile devices in the near future, Hardie said.
“We began testing the feature late last year in two markets and so far this year, more than half of our customers have come back to use the technology a second time,” she said.
The different approaches H-E-B and Wal-Mart took to diversifying their checkout lanes reflect how useful the companies consider self-checkout registers.
Recently, H-E-B has pulled the self-checkout registers out of some of its stores.
“H-E-B's top priority in checkout is to offer the best customer service while getting our customers through the line quickly,” spokeswoman Dya Campos said in an email. “We are not completely satisfied with the technology of self-checkout and the satisfaction of our customers as they interface with it.”
Meanwhile, Wal-Mart has doubled-down on self-checkout registers.
This year alone, the company will install 10,000 of them in more than 1,200 of its stores across the U.S.
“Our multiple checkout options give us a unique advantage to provide our customers with the quick, easy and convenient checkout experience they tell us they want,” Jeff McAllister, Wal-Mart's senior vice president of innovation, said in a news release.


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(Bloomberg) — Spain will demand to tax all companies that operate telecommunications companies and products, equivalent to calls and on the spot messaging, based on Telecommunications Secretary Roberto Sanchez.Below a contemporary law proposed by the government, “all operators who provide telecommunication companies and products with out having to present phone numbers, equivalent to WhatsApp” and Telegram would must register as telecommunications operators and would be taxed based on revenue, Sanchez acknowledged in a press convention. Right this moment, simplest phone operators that could possibly provide phone numbers maintain to be half of as telecom operators, he acknowledged.Below the proposed rules, which could possibly possibly require parliamentary approval, web companies equivalent to Alphabet Inc. and Fb Inc., the proprietor of WhatsApp, would must repeat their gross sales from messaging companies and products in the country, he acknowledged.For a tech large worship Fb, gross sales are largely driven by advertising. Given WhatsApp generates tiny revenue for the firm, the impact in the short-term would be small if the law were to cross, acknowledged Ivan Feinseth, chief investment officer at Tigress Financial Partners.Over the lengthy toddle, messaging companies and products will see to integrate into e-commerce platforms, creating extra alternatives for revenue, he added.Within the previous, there maintain been initiatives to control and tax web companies and products, equivalent to Fb and Google, worship telecom suppliers. These efforts are excellent to a diploma because web-based messaging has mostly replaced dilapidated texting from phone companies in most markets, based on alternate handbook Chetan Sharma.“But the expectations of supply, particularly for emergency companies and products, is correct no longer there and the burden is totally on the operators,” he added. Corporations equivalent to Google and Fb “clearly prefer free rein as any kind of regulation makes them accountable which can lead to fines in case of non-compliance.”(Provides comments, background in supreme two paragraphs)For extra articles worship this, please seek the recommendation of with us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to preserve ahead with the most relied on alternate news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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We’re happy to announce that the Palais Galliera in Paris is finally opening on October 1, 2020! While it appears that they’ll be adhering to their policy of having specific exhibitions rather than maintaining a permanent collection on display (at least what we can gather from the official press release and the website). A visit to the Palais has always been high on our list of must-sees in Paris but it’s been closed for the past several years so hopefully we can go there the next time we’re in Paris. The downside is that while they have an extensive collection, it’s all in storage and the only time anything is on public display is if there’s an exhibition (it would be nice if they had an organized photo archive, but alas, no).
As a warm-up, you might recall that the Palais holds this tea dress that once belonged to the Countess Greffuhle:
And one of her evening dresses:
So here’s hoping to maybe being able to see these up close and personal one day! 🙂


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SANTA MONICA, CA – Consumer Watchdog praised Judge Richard Seeborg’s rejection late Friday afternoon of a proposed settlement in a class action suit against Facebook for using its users’ personal information in “Sponsored Stories” advertisements without their consent.
“This decision does much to defend the integrity of the class action process,” said John M. Simpson, Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy Project Director. “The way this deal was proposed there was no real benefit for class members.”
In his decision in Fraley v. Facebook Justice Seeborg wrote:
“In this instance there are sufficient questions regarding the proposed settlement that it would not be appropriate simply to grant the motion and postpone resolution of those issues to final approval.”
Read Settlement here: http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/fraley_order.pdf
Consumer Watchdog had opposed the settlement saying that proposed deal “is not fair, adequate or reasonable and provides no direct or indirect benefit to class members.”
“Under the proposed settlement Facebook is poised to continue to misappropriate its users’ personal information without their consent,” wrote Laua Antonini, Consumer Watchdog staff attorney in objecting to the settlement. “Indeed, Facebook recently expanded Sponsored Stories to its mobile platform, an arena where the misappropriation of personal information has far reaching and potentially dangerous consequences; the proposed settlement does not address this major expansion.”
In his order Friday Judge Seeborg raised concerns about these area of the proposed deal:
— The propriety of a settlement that provides no monetary relief directly to class members.
— The amount of $10 million cy pres award, money going to charities. “Assuming that it may be appropriate to approve a settlement that provides for no cash distribution to class members in this case, the question will remain as to whether $10 million in cy pres recovery is fair, adequate, and reasonable,” the Judge wrote.
— The injunctive relief.
— The amount of attorney’s fees, which could total $10 million.
– 30 –
Visit our Website at www.ConsumerWatchdog.org


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Dublin more competitive as rents fall
Falling Dublin commercial property rents and prices have improved the city's competitive attraction compared to many UK and European cities including Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow.
A fall of 10pc in prime Dublin retail rents, to €2,115 over the 12 months to the end of September, has seen Dublin retail rents fall to 18th position out of 49 European cities.
However, the value of Dublin shops has fallen even lower in the rankings to 33 as a result of retail yields dropping 50 basis points to 6.0pc over the 12 months to the end of September.
Only two years ago Dublin retail rents were the eighth most expensive among 46 cities surveyed and at their peak they were in a top-five position.
With yields in Glasgow now as low as 5pc on the back of rents of €2,095 per sqm, this is one of a number of British cities which would offer a much less attractive return to investors than would prime Dublin retail investments.
These are among the findings of a recent rents and yields survey by CB Richard Ellis of almost 50 cities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Dublin offices are even more competitive on both rents and prices, which should help the Irish economy to compete in attracting job creating inward investment.
With Dublin office rents down 8.36pc over the 12 months, to €296 per sqm, this ranks them 30 out of 52 cities and well behind the key UK regional cities which are ranked inside the top 20.
From an investor perspective Dublin offices look even better value as they are ranked 37 with a yield of 7pc, down 50 basis points in the 12 months.
This is a strong improvement in competitiveness since the first quarter of 2010 when prime Dublin office rents were the 12th most expensive despite rents having already fallen 44pc from their peak.
At that time valuers had already bitten the bullet and Dublin office values had fallen to their current position of 37th where they have languished since then.
Office rents in Edinburgh and Glasgow are now higher at €359 per sqm, while Manchester is the highest of England's provincial cities at over €399 per sqm.
But while Dublin's retail and office rents are falling more closely into line with the rankings for retail and office yields, the gap remains wide for Dublin's industrial rents and industrial yields in the EMEA rankings.
At €60 per sqm, Dublin industrial rents are ranked as low as 26 out of 42 cities.
In contrast prime Dublin industrial net yields at 9.5pc are ranked as high as ninth. Over the two and a half years since Q1 2010, industrial rents have fallen in ranking from being the seventh most expensive.


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Organised by William Reed Business Media, the publisher of this website, Food Vision will tackle a host of subjects from the future of ingredients sourcing and product formulation to customer engagement and sustainability. The event will take place between March 31 and April 2 2014.
More than 100 industry leaders in business strategy, research and development and marketing will focus on developing the sector’s sustainable profitability, while benefiting from key networking sessions. Companies taking part include: Nestlé, PepsiCo, Barilla, Coca-Cola, McCain Foods, Kraft Foods, Unilever and Danone among many others.
More than 100 industry leaders
The event will open with a presentation from Dr James Bellini, futurologist, broadcaster and author, entitled ‘Feed the world: The need for a sustainable food future’.
Following sessions will focus on unlocking innovation: ideas, approaches and evidence of success.
Meanwhile, Speed Networking Sessions will enable delegates to extend their horizons during a series of four-minute meetings with their fellow delegates. Delegates will introduce themselves to a new contact every time the bell rings and find out if they have got mutual interests that would make a subsequent, more in-depth meeting worthwhile. Speed networking has been introduced to the programme at the request of our delegates at the inaugural event in 2013.
This year’s event will feature The Big Debate, which offers delegates the opportunity to make their voices heard on some of the key topics on the Food Vision agenda.
Three speakers taking part in the debate will be: Jenny Westerkamp, nutritionist and author of You Are What You Retweet, Chris Cornyn, founder and president of food and drink agency, DINE and Michelle Greenwald, ceo of Inventours.
‘Ingredients and nutrition facts’
Westerkamp will call for food companies to engage openly with customers, to express the personalities of their brands and to act responsibly. “Consumers’ food decisions rest on more than just ingredients and nutrition facts,” she said. “Companies need to communicate the social, economic and environmental impacts of their food too.”
But Cornyn will claim engagement is over-rated, as brands jump on the social media bandwagon without understanding why they’re doing it. “Stop freaking out about social media and engaging with customers,” he said. “Not all food brands need to do it.”
However, maintaining market segmentation will become increasingly important, which suggests food and drink industries will need to develop intense consumer understanding, he will argue. “Being all things to all people is dead,” he said. “Being something to someone is the future.”
Greenwald will predict three key areas of innovation that are set to boom. First, will be a return to traditional values. “Simple preparations, where high quality ingredients speak for themselves are the next step in food development,” she said.
Second, will be cross over foods. “Combining foods, from cookie dough donuts to pretzel croissants, is a micro trend that’s about to go mainstream.”
The third trend will be the continued rise of ethnic foods, which are set to continue their global spread. “A wider array of countries are about to enter the fray, from beyond Thailand into South East Asia and beyond Mexico into Latin America as well as from China, Japan, Africa and the Caribbean,” she said.


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Trading continues despite collapse
The owners of Bunbury's Victoria Street-based Angus & Robertson book shop have assured customers it is business as usual after parent company REDgroup Retail was placed into voluntary administration yesterday.
Jarrod and Erica Tonkin said although there were concerns about the solvency of REDgroup Retail, which in 2010 posted a $43 million full-year loss, the “impact to the store would be minimal”.
The Tonkins have operated the bookstore under a franchise system for three-and-a-half years, one element Mr Tonkin said would help shield the store from REDgroup’s collapse.
“It’s business as usual; people aren’t going to come into the store and see less books or anything like that, we will continue to operate as we have been until more information is available,’’ Mr Tonkin said.
Angus & Robertson last year sold more than 50,000 books in Bunbury.
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The speculation around whether Microsoft will acquire Yammer or it will fail to impress the “Facebook of workplace” has come to a halt, or at least this is what a JessicaE. Vascellaro and Shira Ovide of Wall Street Journal has to say. As reported by the afore mentioned reporters, Yammer Inc., has agreed to sell itself to Microsoft for $1.2 billion.
If this comes to be true, it will be the second big-ticket purchase of the big MS in the recent months after Skype, which Microsoft acquired for $8.9 billion.
For those who have not heard of Yammer, it is a tool that allows companies to create private social networks within the company, which Microsoft will eye to include in its flagship office suite.
Yammer acquisition will help Microsoft blunt the threats, to some extent, that it faces from small software companies which eye to make workplace more interactive and social. Companies like Dropbox, Box, BaseCamp, and Jive, etc., are the ones close to real threats to the dominance of MS Office, which has recorded a 6.4% increase in the recent times.
In the nine-month period ending on 31st March, the office division of the Redmond-based company has posted revenue of $17.7 billion, which is 6.4% more than the revenue in the previous year, when the office suite has fetched $16.6 billion for the software giant.
Although, the latest versions of MS Office suite has a social feature called SharePoint, which is similar to Yammer, it is not the feature used frequently by companies or users to create real-time sharing and interactivity.
As posted on Yammer’s website as part of product description, “Yammer brings the power of social networking to the enterprise in a private and secure environment. Yammer is as easy to use as great consumer software like Facebook and Twitter, but designed for business collaboration. Connect people, content, and conversations across all of your business applications with productivity software that employees love to use.”
The inclusion of Yammer in Office suite will make the product more powerful, which is already a category leader and responsible for half of the revenue earned by the parent company. MS Office has been the leader for decades despite competition from low-cost as well as free office suites from likes of Google, and Sun. This acquisition will strengthen MS’s fort and will allow it to stay on the top of the category.
April 22, 2013, 5:55 am UTC
April 4, 2013, 5:21 am UTC
March 29, 2013, 4:57 am UTC
March 15, 2013, 7:02 am UTC


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New law will create standards for consumer legal funding.
NEW YORK, NY –American Legal Finance Association (ALFA), the leading advocate for ethical standards in consumer legal funding, praised Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin for signing SB 1016. Senator Brian Crain and Representative Leslie Osborn sponsored the consumer protection legislation.
“ALFA is a strong advocate of providing transparency to legal funding clients,” said ALFA Chairman Harvey Hirschfeld. “Consumers deserve complete disclosure when they enter into a legal funding agreement. We welcome this positive step forward which protects consumers in need of assistance.”
SB 1016 provides structure and transparency to consumer litigation funding agreements including disclosure requirements, rescission periods, requiring licenses for providers, and prohibiting commissions or referral fees between companies and legal or medical professionals. SB 1016 was signed into law by Governor Fallin on May 29, 2013.
“Our members are required to follow a set of industry ‘Best Practices’,” added ALFA Executive Director Kelly Gilroy. “Thanks to the legislature and Governor Fallin, Oklahoma consumers will now have the weight of law behind some of our ‘Best Practices’ should they seek legal funding.”
About American Legal Finance Association (ALFA): The American Legal Finance Association is the industry trade association that represents the leading consumer legal funding companies in the nation. ALFA is dedicated to ensuring fair, ethical, and transparent standards in consumer legal funding. ALFA requires all of its members to adhere to a list of “Best Practices” for the legal finance industry. The majority of all legal funding transactions occur through ALFA member companies. ALFA members help fund life needs and not legal costs.
About Consumer Legal Funding: Consumer legal funding is a unique financial product that helps consumers “make ends meet” while waiting for a fair settlement to be reached in their case, a process that can take months, even years. In many cases, the injured parties don’t have the financial resources to support themselves through a lengthy and costly settlement process. Legal finance companies provide funds to consumers to cover basic life needs such as housing, utilities, and food as they wait for the resolution of their claim. These are non-recourse transactions. In the event that there are not sufficient funds available from a settlement or judgment, the consumer does not owe anything to the consumer legal funding company.


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The number of households in America without a vehicle has doubled over the past two decades, with 9.3 percent of American households going carless last year.
AutoGuide News Blog
The AutoGuide News Blog is your source for breaking stories from the auto industry. Delivering news immediately, the AutoGuide Blog is constantly updated with the latest information, photos and video from manufacturers, auto shows, the aftermarket and professional racing.
Sales of new vehicles hit a record last year with over 82 million units being sold according to a report by the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA).
For the last four years, new car prices have risen quickly as the U.S. comes out of its recent recession. But a new report shows that new car prices are beginning to level off now that automakers have been disciplined about their discounts and sales incentives.
It’s that confusing time of the year for all auto buyers, when dealerships have a nice mix of current model year vehicles and next year’s model year vehicles sitting on the lot, available for sale.
Job security in the automotive industry has been questionable for many workers, though in last two years, things have begun to turn around, and now auto companies are hiring once again.
Hyundai’s combination of style and fuel economy appears to be paying off at the dealership level with the record sales allowing the Korean automaker to move past long standing industry top sellers. In fact, as of June, Hyundai has moved past Ford to become the fourth best selling brand in America when it comes to retail car sales.
Car sales in China have, for much of the auto industry, helped companies weather the global economy’s struggles over the last couple years, but that demand boom might be over.
The average new vehicle sold in March in the United States reached an all-time high of $30,748, up from $28,771 a year earlier.
Even though average car prices are going up, buyer preferences may also be shifting in a non-traditional direction towards smaller and cheaper cars.
Sub-compact and compact car sales, for example, are growing in the U.S. and could largely be attributed to rising gas prices. Boosting the average price of a new car sold could also be the premium that hybrids and EVs are demanding. Regardless, automakers are well aware that buyers are looking at smaller cars and variants such as the upcoming Abarth 500 Convertible are coming to America to satisfy consumer demand.
“It’s not a blip. It’s a trend we’ve been seeing for months,” said Jesse Toprak, TrueCar’s chief automotive analyst. “This might seem counter-intuitive at a time you might expect to see people buying cheaper cars because fuel costs are rising so fast.”
According to data in the report, nearly one in four cars sold in March were in the small car category, compared to December when barely one in six vehicles sold was a small car.
Another contribution to the rising average price of a new car sold is the fact that buyers are willing to add all the available options and upgrades since they plan on keeping their vehicle longer. Buyers are now holding onto their vehicles for an average of 57 months.
Finally, supply and demand are on a more even level now that many automakers have cut production in order to save costs. When automakers had more vehicles sitting on the lots, they were more likely to offer big incentives and discounts to sell cars. Now there is even a shortage of certain models which allows dealerships and to charge markups.
[Source: The Detroit Bureau]
At one point, Japan was among the world’s leading auto markets but the country has yet to regain its stride after last year’s devastating earthquake and tsunami. Japanese auto sales dropped to half the peak rate and a recovery has yet to take hold.
Global information company IHS Automotive conducted a study that shows sales in India will reach 4.88 million by 2016, taking the emerging nation ahead of Japan’s projected 4.51 million units in sales for that year. What’s more, IHS believes sales in Japan would taper off to 4.25 million by 2020.
At one point, Japan was ranked as one of the world’s top three largest regional markets, behind the United States and Europe. China has since rocketed past the rest of the world, claiming the global top ranking several years ago. Reports reveal that Chinese consumers have purchased 17.66 million vehicles for 2011. IHS predicts that China sales could even pass 30 million by the decade’s end.
The organization believes that India is positioned to be the next country to experience a big automotive boom, linking to a prediction that India’s population will sustain rapid growth in the coming decades.
That said, India’s economy is not as strong as China’s and it will also take a while for India to develop infrastructure that could handle a rapid spike in vehicles on the road. Some villages can only be reached by mules and donkeys and big cities suffer incredible traffic congestion due to the lack of major roadways.
Nonetheless, demand for automobiles in India is surging and may become the next focus market for global automakers.
[Source: Detroit Bureau]
There may still be two months to go, but General Motors is all but certain to reclaim the title of World’s Largest Automaker for 2011. GM last held claim to producing the most vehicles back in 2007, and for the 76 years before that, before being ousted by Toyota in 2008. Toyota has since retained that position for two more years, with Volkswagen emerging onto the scene to be a major player.
In fact, success by VW and GM, along with faltering sales by Toyota (with a number of factors including this year’s earthquake and tsunami) will mean Volkswagen will most likely finish second, with Toyota slipping to third.
So far this year, GM’s sales total 6.79 million, a million ahead of Toyota’s 5.77 million units, with VW selling 6.17 million units.
Further down the list in fourth place is the combined totals of Nissan and Renault with 4.93 units, while the growing Korean juggernaut of Hyundai and Kia has amassed 4.73 million. In sixth place is Ford at 4.27 million units.
In the past, unrestricted vehicle sales were only limited to cars built before the Cuban revolution of 1959, giving the streets of Cuba a unique backdrop of Chevrolet Bel Airs, Chrysler Imperials and Studebaker Commanders. Decades under Cuba’s communist regime had prevented its people from purchasing land or new automobiles but finally, a new law legalizing the sale and purchase of any model and any year of cars for all citizens will take effect this Sunday. Cubans will also be allowed ownership of more than one car.
The new laws are passed in hopes to shift a free-market reform, allowing citizens to perform some private enterprise and to rent out rooms or hire employees as well.
In accordance to the new law for vehicle purchases, cars that the state could once seize from Cubans who decide to emigrate can now be transferred to a relative or sold outright. Now, any transaction between a buyer and seller require both parties to pay a 4 percent tax. Moreover, the buyer must be able to show that the money used for the purchase was obtained legally. What this means is the buyers will go to a state-owned dealership to prove that the money used for the purchase of the vehicle was salary earned from an approved field. Money given to the buyer by relatives abroad do not apply.
While this makes it easier than the past, the number of citizens that can actually make enough money to take advantage of the law are wealthy doctors, sponsored athletes, and individuals that have traveled abroad and were eligible to import a car.
The latest trend driving auto sales growth is focusing on women from a diverse set of ethnicities. In studies done by R. L. Polk & Co., African-American, Asian and Hispanic women are making headway when it comes to making vehicle purchases for their families.
Polk’s findings show that vehicles purchased by these groups have increased 4.7 percent – 40.7% in 2006 to 45.4% in 2010. The studies the company conducted look at a five-year period (2006-2010) and their findings show that African American women have led the way since 2006. In fact, they are nearly on par with their male counterparts, constituting an average of 47.5% of the African-American community auto purchases.
Another interesting fact that the findings revealed was the auto purchases made by Asian women since 2008. Between 2006 and 2010, these women count for more than 14 percent of the Asian auto buys from their male peers. This puts them ahead of African American women, as they control 49 percent of the Asian light vehicle market. Coming in third is Hispanic women, with a current 41.6% share. Women who are not classified as non-African American, non-Asian or non-Hispanic Women gained two percentage points to bring them to a 36.9 percent share.
So what kinds of cars are these women buying? Find out the top five brands after the jump.


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Take a look at the budget-but-far-from-cheap exterior of the Yamaha R3 sportbike.
BMW's most affordable convertible gets some major revisions for 2015 and looks great inside and out.
At CES 2015, Mercedes-Benz unveiled a futuristic concept, a self-driving car that works as a mobile lounge for passengers.
Ever wanted to know the rules behind accessing VIP airport lounges? This app dispels the myths and lets you know which ones you can enter for free.
Commentary: A slow rail journey from Albuquerque to New York City gives Crave writer Amanda Kooser plenty of time to contemplate how trains fit into a world where so many people prize velocity.
Tame that rat's nest under your desk with these clever solutions.
New tech will charge multiple devices in a room, via transmitters that will one day hide in your light fixtures.
The world's largest restaurant chain is in turnaround mode. It's looking to the tech industry -- and role models like Google -- as it searches for a good jump start. First stop: South by Southwest.
The unannounced tablet made a quick cameo in the official Xperia Lounge app before being quickly pulled.
"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" sounds like a dark-arts incantation in a new video version of the song from YouTuber Andy Rehfeldt.


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The Swiss textile innovator HeiQ introduces a new technology that has the potential to revolutionize polyester dyeing. DYEFAST enables a faster textile dyeing procedure leading to lower costs, less energy and water consumption and reduced carbon footprint. DYEFAST increases the productivity on existing dyeing equipment without having to change dye recipes and significantly lowers the overall process costs. Improved dyeing quality tops the list of benefits from this unique technology system developed and made in Switzerland.
HeiQ launches the new dyeing accelerator DYEFAST, designed to HeiQ DYEFASTgive faster dyeing of polyester fabrics using conventional dyeing equipment. Process time savings of 33% directly lead to a much lower environmental footprint. If used throughout the global polyester dyeing industry, potentially 50 million metric tons of CO2 emissions per year, the equivalent to the entire annual carbon footprint of countries like Switzerland, Sweden or Norway, could be saved. The polyester dyeing process with temperatures up to 130°C has a strong impact on the environment including high water and energy consumption, waste water burden, and up to 4kg CO2 emission per kilogram of textile. DYEFAST can save up to 33% less dyeing time – as a consequence, the ecological impact, use of resources, and operational costs will be significantly reduced. DYEFAST directly contributes to improving the productivity by 33% for dye house processing using the existing equipment.
DYEFAST is also designed to provide improved dyeing quality without having to change dye recipes. This revolutionary technology system provides enhanced color levelling and reduced risk of spotting. DYEFAST assists in improving product quality and decreasing the level of rejects and waste. And DYEFAST also contributes to achieving better dye wash fastness, potentially prolonging the useful life of the textile.
HeiQ’s Vice President of global Product Marketing & Sales Lode Vermeersch comments, “With DYEFAST, a new level of environmentally sound, cost saving and quality improving dyeing can be achieved. DYEFAST is a unique Swiss technology specifically designed for conventional dyeing equipment, dyestuffs and recipes.”
At Techtextil Frankfurt 2015, HeiQ will introduce the DYEFAST technology. The HeiQ team continues to advance its existing product families and to develop ground-breaking, environmentally sound new technologies. Want to know more? Visit HeiQ at Techtextil Frankfurt, at booth 6.1 D08 from 4-7 May 2015.


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Tax-free weekend provides financial break to families
Published 7:00 pm, Monday, August 11, 2008
The high gas and food prices will not be subject to change, but this weekend, families can catch a break elsewhere Aug. 15-17.
In an effort to help families across Texas, tax-free weekend is set for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Throughout Pasadena and other cities throughout the state, this weekend will be the perfect time to take advantage of tax-free purchases.
By law, most clothing items under $100 are not subject to a sales tax, which could save consumers $8 for every $100 they spend, according to the State Comptroller’s web site.
The same will hold true for other items such as backpacks for elementary and secondary students, baby clothes, belts with attached buckles, hats and boots.
Some items, like backpacks, will be subject to certain specifications in line with school dress codes.
For example, backpacks, one of the more popular items for consumers during tax-free weekend, must have straps on the back and if they have wheels, they must be designed to be worn like a traditional backpack.
Although the tax-free weekend was initiated to help families at the beginning of the school year, school supplies, such as pens, pencils and paper, was removed from the tax-free list several years ago.
Tax-free weekend was implemented in Texas in 1999 as a way to relieve some of the financial burdens for families getting ready for school and has been in effect in several other cities like Louisiana.
To see the complete list of tax-exempt items, visit www.cpa.state.tx.us.
For a complete list of tax-free and taxed items, visit the Internet at www.cpa.state.tx.us. Some of the items which are tax-free during the Aug. 15-17 tax-free weekend are:
Backpacks for use by elementary and secondary students
Caps/hats — baseball, fishing, golf, knitted
Coats and wraps
Hooded shirts and hooded sweatshirts
Pants and trousers
Shoes — sandals, slippers, sneakers, tennis, walking
Socks (including athletic)


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Read the full article here.
This content was originally published by Inc Magazine. Original publishers retain all rights. It appears here for a limited time before automated archiving. By Inc Magazine
Natasha Miller, founder and CEO of Entire Productions, took a risk on a new hire who lacked industry experience--and it paid off. Today, Miller's greatest ever hire is actively growing within the company.


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Amazon, the world’s leading e-commerce corporation, will be the first tenant of the new Mansfield International Business Park, leasing 219,000 square-feet of space for a package handling facility.
The facility, currently under construction and set to open later this year, serves as the last wheel in the cog of the company’s massive logistics and shipping distribution system. The warehouse will serve as a delivery station of packages that come from Amazon’s larger fulfillment centers. They will lease the facility from Atlanta-based developer Seefried Properties. Seefried’s Dallas office negotiated the lease.
“From the beginning our goal with the Mansfield International Business Park was to draw some of the world’s largest corporations to our community through access to quality office and industrial space and our city’s excellent location in the
DFW area,” said City Manager Joe Smolinski. “Clearly our plan has been successful. They don’t get much bigger than Amazon. We look forward to Amazon’s opening and the continued success of Mansfield International Business Park.”
Smolinski credits the vision and commitment of the city council and city staff that saw the potential in the site and demonstrated a willingness to wait for a project that was right for Mansfield.
Mayor Michael Evans said the project and the jobs it brings will be a big boost to the Mansfield economy, and to the city’s overall economic development efforts.
“Amazon, like many other companies and industries, has found that Mansfield is an excellent place to do business,” Mayor Evans said. “We are excited to have them in our city, bringing their innovative logistics technology and distribution operations to the Mansfield business community, as well as bringing jobs for our residents. Our local economy will benefit because of their investment in Mansfield.”
The Mansfield International Business Park is a 155-acre industrial area located in the southwest portion of the city near FM 917. The development was approved by the Mansfield Economic Development Corporation board and the City Council in 2017 with a goal of providing Class A Industrial space.
“Mansfield has become a target market for this type of industrial activity,” said Richard Nevins, director of economic development. “Class A industrial space is in high demand from businesses and industries, and we have needed additional properties located in Mansfield to market to this clientele for quite some time. This is why the Council and the MEDC board believed this business park was necessary.”
Amazon was founded in Washington state in 1995, first as an online bookstore. By 1999 the company had become the largest online sales platform, expanding to sell other goods. In 2020, Amazon total net sales were $96.15 billion. The company has 1.2 million employees worldwide. There are more than 100 large fulfillment centers across the U.S.
The City of Mansfield, located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and often recognized nationally for its excellent quality of life, is one of the fastest growing communities in Texas, with a population of more than 75,000.


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Penn National Gaming raised $932.1 million through a stock sale that concluded Tuesday with the casino company saying that the proceeds would help accelerate the launch of its Barstool sports betting app into new markets.
Penn, which operates 41 casinos in 19 states, unveiled the app two weeks ago in Pennsylvania and is looking to launch in Michigan in November. Other states are currently targeted for early 2021.
In a statement, Penn CEO Jay Snowden said wagers on the Barstool app grew by 14% last weekend over the previous week’s launch, “despite (Penn) continuing to spend $0 in external marketing.”
The company sold 16.1 million shares on the open market – 14 million for the company and 2.1 million exercised by the underwriters. The company’s stock was valued at $61 per share for the sale. Shares of Penn closed Tuesday at $69.41 on the Nasdaq, down $3.51, or 4.81%.
“This successful offering provides our company with additional resources to accelerate our unique omni-channel strategy, including launching the Barstool Sportsbook app in new markets,” Snowden said.
He added that the company plans to develop new products and features for the app while establishing Barstool-branded sports bars and retail sportsbooks at the company’s casinos.
Penn National spent $163 million in January to acquire 36% of sports media platform Barstool, which has roughly 66 million viewers of its website and social media content. The plan was to rebrand Penn’s retail sportsbooks under the Barstool brand and launch the app, with the hopes of changing and increasing the demographic make-up of Penn’s customer base, which skews to age 45 and older.
Snowden has said that, following the Pennsylvania launch and an upcoming launch in Michigan, the company would roll out the Barstool app in New Jersey, Indiana, Iowa, West Virginia, and Colorado in early 2021. That could change, based on the stock sale and the reception by sports bettors in Pennsylvania.
The company saw some 65,000 downloads of the Barstool app during the opening weekend. Deposits to the app totaled approximately $11 million that weekend.
In its Securities and Exchange Commission filing associated with the stock sale, Penn said its third-quarter net revenue is expected to be between $1.04 billion and $1.145 billion when the period ends next week. Cash flow is expected to be between $410 million and $450 million.
“We believe our company is incredibly well-positioned for long-term success based on its highly differentiated approach to both land-based and interactive gaming and sports betting,” Snowden said.
Penn’s stock has rallied considerably since cratering in late March when the fast-advancing coronavirus pandemic caused state leaders and tribal governments to close nearly 1,000 commercial and Indian casinos in 43 states.
Penn closed its properties and furloughed some 26,000 employees by early April. It traded ownership of Tropicana Las Vegas and an under-construction casino in Pennsylvania for $337.5 million in rent credits to Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLPI). Penn retained the management of the Las Vegas Strip resort, which has since reopened.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.


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By Spy Uganda
Kampala: Hey guys, despite the dreary environment we live in these days as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown and its adverse effects on the economy, there is still a lot of reason to smile.
This is because the almighty God endowed our country with a bevy of very mouthwatering and appetizing babes, who come in all shapes and sizes.
The biggest blessing is that most of these babes are single, lonely and searching for company, while others simply just feel like flaunting their booty that God gifted them with.
It is for that reason that our reporters have decided to treat you to rare optical nutrition by compiling a list of very sexy and mouthwatering bikini models that will surely soothe all your taut veins and leave you smiling from ear to ear this Sunday, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here they are and you can choose your best if you want;


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We all already know how powerful social media is. Day after day it pops out the next YouTube star or tips a whole country into revolution. Today it’s about to eliminate the market researcher …
How Being Green is Part of ANY & EVERY Revolution #ows
The green movement is not only limited to brands using words like “organic” or changing their brand colors to green…Its truly a way of living that is not excluded from todays ongoing series of demonstrations in New York City called Occupy Wall Street.
Not only does the movement offer free health care, a sanitation team, a public library, solar power, and free childcare but they also set up a gray water system. The kitchen, which now has several racks of dishes and supplies, created the water system to filter the water used to wash the dishes before using it to water the plaza’s flowers.
Greywater irrigation has long been practiced in areas where water is in short supply. Greywater is specifically washwater from baths, dishes, and laundry water excluding toilet wastes and free of garbage-grinder residues. When properly managed, greywater can be a valuable resource which horticultural and agricultural growers as well as home gardeners can benefit from.
“We have been self-governing and self-organized and taking care of our space,”woman facilitating the GA calls through the people’s microphone. The willingness of a revolution to embrace such tasks like grey waters is part of the reasons why a green world is part of ANY and currently every revolution today.


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Pasadena-based Avery Dennison Corp. recently announced that it will be selling two of its businesses to CCL Industries Inc. for $500 million in cash.
The transaction comes only three months after 3M gave up on its plans to purchase Avery Dennison’s office and consumer products unit. The deal was abandoned because the U.S. Department of Justice opposed it.
CCL, a Toronto-based specialty packaging maker, has swooped in to acquire it instead. The unit’s products include Marks-A-Lot and Hi-Liter markers, as well as other office products, such as binders. The division had sales of $730 million last year.
“CCL is one of our largest customers, and we have a long-standing relationship with them,” said Dean A. Scarborough, Chief Executive at Avery Dennison. “We are pleased that they will become the steward of the Avery brand for office products.”
Geoffrey Martin, Chief Executive at CCL, added:
“This acquisition has the potential to transform our company at many levels.”
If approved by regulators, this year’s transaction will be CCL’s largest acquisition to date.


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(Pocket-lint) - After months of leaks, speculation and on-record hints from OnePlus CEO Pete Lau suggesting the company's first smartwatch would run on Google's Wear OS, the device will instead run from its own operating system.
Not for the first time, Google has been given the equivalent of a 'thanks, but no thanks'. First, it was Samsung. Next, Huawei. Now, it seems smaller companies are to follow suit.
Instead of tweaking Wear OS to its taste, OnePlus has decided to bet on itself, preparing to launch a device that leaks suggest will boast long-lasting battery life, an affordable price point and plenty of tracking metrics.
It's exactly the kind of smartwatch that would have given Wear OS a much-needed boost, even after it was given small signs of life through the Oppo Watch and TicWatch Pro 3.
And while this latest rejection naturally doesn't tell us the whole story, it does perhaps shine a light on some of the issues Wear OS continues to hold.
The most glaring would appear to be a lack of ambition - or, at least, a focus on the wrong things.
While the smartwatch industry has pivoted heavily towards fitness and health tracking over the last few years, debuting devices that track everything from stress and recovery to heart rhythms and blood pressure, Google has appeared largely content with delivering solely solid notifications and third-party app support.
For the light smartwatch user, it's still a very comfortable experience. Most, though, want a fitness platform that has more depth than what Google Fit currently provides, and want devices that have more extensive battery life or features.
Google isn't solely to blame on that front, of course, but it does still bear responsibility for not giving its own platform a flagship smartwatch to lead the way. So, what next?
Well, luckily, it does have a very obvious ace in the hole.
With the acquisition of Fitbit, the company has the potential to right the biggest wrong of Wear OS - fitness and health tracking - and finally gain an identity that matches up with what plenty of consumers crave.
It's easier said than done, though, and just how Fitbit is integrated remains the single biggest question surrounding Wear OS.
The most likely, of course, is that it takes the core Fitbit experience and lets it fill in the void - essentially supercharging Google Fit by putting Fitbit's best features at the heart.
Instead of being data-light and unmotivating, the companion app would potentially harbour industry-leading sleep tracking and analysis. And instead of devices suffering consistent GPS and heart rate accuracy issues, they could become much more dependable to exercise from. All of this, too, backed up by the expert battery efficiency Fitbit gained when it acquired startups Pebble and Vector.
By stepping back and letting Fitbit provide a makeover to one of the most important aspects, it becomes an infinitely more attractive proposition for companies like OnePlus, Samsung and others. It goes from being an operating system also-ran to something that could finally match up to the balanced experience provided by Apple.
We're only a few months removed from the Fitbit acquisition even gaining approval, so it's not exactly fair to expect this kind of radical integration to be successful overnight. This latest episode, though, once again highlights why it was so important to the future of Wear OS.
If Google can pull it off, we suspect there won't be any more instances of Wear OS being the bridesmaid.


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Yes, there's always that chance your hoverboard will catch fire, but at least you can ease your mind a bit with a special bag designed to keep the potential flames from spreading.
Andrew Hoyle is joined this week by Katie Collins to discuss all of the best new tech coming out of CES, including the future of electric cars, a TV in a fridge and a bow tie for dogs.
The sleek, sturdy Emicro One weighs far less than other electric scooters.
Technically Incorrect: Appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America," Leia brings her dog and a lot of excellent humor.
Cadillac softened its sharp-edged design for the CTS and ATS sedans, and now shows similar styling in its all-new XT5, a medium-sized SUV replacing the outgoing SRX.
Plus, Ubisoft confirms people who were in the closed beta will get to play 24 hours early.
Commentary: Leia Organa deserves a face that reflects her age and life experience, says CNET's Bonnie Burton, a lifelong Star Wars fan who can't wait to see Leia be herself again in the new film.
A robotic platform that operates using a precision system of cables is the next big thing in motion simulation.
Technically Incorrect: In Maryland, law enforcement arrests two men who were allegedly planning to drop all sorts of contraband into jails.
Check out this space-age suitcase, which can be locked remotely and also has enough battery on board to charge an iPhone six times.


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OKLAHOMA CITY – Voters in seven Oklahoma counties will decide Tuesday on a measure that would allow liquor stores to be open on Sundays.
Ballots in Oklahoma, Cleveland, Creek, Kingfisher, Muskogee, Tulsa and Washington counties include the question alongside voters’ choice in presidential primary candidates.
The proposal represents yet another “tweak” in Oklahoma’s liquor law, following legislative efforts to modernize alcohol sales starting in 2016, said Oklahoma Beer Alliance President Lisette Barnes. After State Question 792 passed in 2016 allowing grocery stores and convenience stores to sell beer and wine, more law changes followed.
“This option for counties to decide on their own whether to open on Sundays was an additional bill signed in 2017, and provides the opportunity for liquor stores to compete with beer and wine sales on Sundays, when other grocery and convenience stores are operating,” said Barnes.
Senate Bill 211, by then-Sen. Stephanie Bice, R-Oklahoma City, allowing retail package liquor stores to sell alcohol on Sunday on a county-option basis, was approved by the Oklahoma Legislature and signed by then-Gov. Mary Fallin in 2017.
“It will also help Oklahoma counties bordering with states that already have Sunday sales better compete for those dollars,” said Bice in a statement when the law was passed.
But by late 2017, several counties were more focused on adapting to other aspects of the new law. The old law had allowed “dry” counties to sell only low-point beer containing 3.2% alcohol by weight, which was not classified as alcohol by state law.
“We passed modernization and we did away with the old low-point beer laws, and so without them going wet they wouldn’t have been able to sell anything in those bars and restaurants,” said Barnes. “We had some counties that reached out to us because we had worked really hard on getting the 16 dry counties wet during that process.”
Oklahoma Beer Alliance members established a relationship with several county commissioners during that time, and assisted when asked by those commissioners to help them with this next step of creating a ballot item to ask voters to decide on Sunday liquor sales. But in most of the seven counties with the ballot item on Tuesday, the vote was requested by local business owners who want the chance to compete for Sunday sales, said Barnes.
So far, voters have repeatedly supported initiatives to modernize state liquor laws, and the Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Law Enforcement Commission recently reported a record $13.7 million in revenue following the law changes, said Barnes.
“I would think that as long as there’s a good voter turnout I think we should see this ballot pass in all seven counties,” said Barnes. “And I would think with it being Super Tuesday, we should get a good turnout, the weather is supposed to be beautiful.
“And hopefully it will,” Barnes continued, “because if they don’t pass it, when you have a ballot initiative that goes down it’s another two years before it can come back up. So it’s important for these small business owners that this pass, because it gives them some parity with their competitors and consumers more choices. We always like choice.”
In Oklahoma City, voters will also be asked if they would approve a permanent 1/8 of 1-cent sales tax to benefit city parks. Mayor David Holt stressed that Initiative Petition 42 was not requested by city officials, but was a citizen-led effort.
“I’ve kind of always taken the approach to let the citizens decide if that’s something they want to tax themselves for, and we at City Hall will implement whatever they decide,” said Holt. “I kind of stayed out of it because it is entirely citizen-led, and it’s entirely up to the voters to decide if that’s something they want to pay more for…
If city officials had determined a need for a permanent tax to benefit parks, they would have requested it, said Holt. “I mean, you could always spend more money and obviously you’d get results out of that,” he said, “but we focused on MAPS.”
Holt added that in upcoming years he would at he would like to see additional resources directed toward improving the city’s transit system.


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Upturn in container freight at the Port of Gothenburg
SEP 7, 2015: Container freight volumes increased by two percent during the second quarter compared to the corresponding period in 2014. Exports and imports of new cars have also increased. This was revealed in the six-monthly report published today by the Port of Gothenburg.
Around 30 percent of Sweden's imports and exports are shipped via the Port of Gothenburg. Shifts in the economy are clearly reflected in the flow of goods that pass through the port.
The Port of Gothenburg is the largest port in Sweden for container traffic, accounting for almost 60 percent of the country's volumes. The year began with a weak first quarter and a fall of five percent in the number of containers shipped through the port. Volumes recovered during the second quarter, ending two per cent up for the period. Some 418,000 containers passed through the Port of Gothenburg during the first six months of the year.
Magnus Kårestedt, Port of Gothenburg chief executive, said, "The container market has been weak for some time but we could see a distinct improvement during the second quarter. Not a major improvement, but an improvement nevertheless. Things are looking brighter for Swedish foreign trade, a trend that has carried over into the second half of the year."
Exports and imports of new cars rose by five per cent during the first six months of 2015 compared to the same period last year. The rise can be attributed to a decision taken by Volvo
So-called ro-ro traffic, which involves the transport of freight loaded on trailers and trucks, fell by seven per cent compared to the corresponding period last year, closing at 265,000 units. Ro-ro traffic accounts for a large proportion of intra-European freight transport.
"The fall is a direct result of a downturn in the flow of paper between Sweden and Finland," explained Magnus Kårestedt.
Passenger traffic remained unchanged compared to the corresponding period in 2014. A total of 769,000 passengers passed through the Port of Gothenburg during the first six months of this year. The vast majority of the passengers travel with Stena Line, which operates daily services to Kiel and Frederikshavn.
Half of all crude oil that enters Sweden does so via the Energy Port in Gothenburg. It is the largest energy port in the Nordic region with several refineries and depot companies that refine and store crude oil into diesel, petrol and other oil-based products.
Oil and energy products have increased by seven per cent. The mid-year figure was 9.8 million tonnes compared to 9.1 million tonnes last year.


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Row over decree on drinks in Qatar
A religious decree allowing consumption of drinks that contain small quantities of alcohol, which is prohibited in Islam, has sparked a controversy in Qatar.
Qatar-based cleric Yousuf Al Qaradawi issued the religious edict last week sanctioning 0.5 per cent of alcohol in a drink.
The Egypt-born scholar, who chairs the International Organisation of Islamic Ulema (legislators), said such a small amount of alcohol is allowed because it does not cause intoxication. However, he specified the drink should be naturally fermented, according to a report in Gulf News.
"An alcohol volume of up to 5/1000 or 0.5 per cent in a drink has no significance in making it haram (prohibited). It is a very small quantity, especially if it results from natural fermentation and is not manufactured," according to the 'fatwa'.
The 78-year old scholar issued the edict in reply to public queries over the distribution of energetic drinks and food items containing small quantities of alcohol, which are available in the local market.
Editor in chief of Qatar's leading Arabic daily Al Sharq strongly argued against Al Qaradawi fatwa accusing him of stirring "confusion" among Muslims.


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A Gaithersburg, Maryland, business owner who has never taken an NFL snap is now a part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The light-up shoes Donna Kelce wore as she cheered for her sons’ Super Bowl dreams are now in Canton, Ohio. Monica Blakely, the woman who made them, got to visit them in the Hall last week.
“You look at that building … to be able to walk in and see my stuff amongst other legends,” Blakely told WTOP. “That was my Lombardi Trophy.”
Blakely contacted Donna Kelce once her two sons were Super Bowl-bound. It was the first time in history a mother had a son on each team in the game.
The pair of shoes they created light up. One represents the Eagles, complete with the logo. The other is red, along with an arrowhead. Kelce is written on the back of both.
“She really liked them. Apparently, everybody else liked them,” Blakely told WTOP, speaking about a social media post Donna Kelce had made that garnered millions of views.
She also made a matching jacket, but Kelce decided to keep it rather than donate it.
— Donna Kelce (@dkelce1) February 12, 2023
Blakely owns Passion for Ezra. They make custom gear for sports fans from all over.
“We want to cater to the entire sports world, whether it’s soccer, hockey, whether it’s moms or dads, players,” said Blakely. “We want to just be able to openly cater to anybody who needs that custom apparel to stand out … to show how proud they are of the player, just like we would for our kid.”
Being a lifelong Washington fan, she hopes to make some Super Bowl swag for them soon.
“I’ve got a lot of hope for the team this season,” said Blakely.


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Pineapple beer reclaims its position as SA's no.1 & we have some recipes for you to try
Pineapple beer has reclaimed its position as Mzansi's go-to drink thanks to the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) which reimposed the ban on the sale of alcohol under lockdown level 3.
The announcement was made by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday.
He said the consumption of alcohol put the health system under pressure as trauma and ICU units had high numbers of cases of violence and car accidents. The president said it was important to save “every bed” amid the surge in Covid-19 cases countrywide.
Before the president could conclude his address, pineapple started trending on Twitter as some asked for the pineapple beer recipe, while others joked that its prices would increase after the booze ban. Here's how it happened on Twitter:
That booze ban
Pineapple reclaims its spot
Pineapple beer recipes:
Whether you turn to pineapple beer, traditional ginger beer or quick yeast free ginger beer, here are some useful recipes.
* When making your own beer, don't seal the bottles too tightly as the fermentation causes a strong pressure to build up. It's best to store the bottles somewhere where, if they happen to pop, the lids won't cause any damage.
• A word of caution: home brews can become undrinkable if stored incorrectly or for too long. If there is any fungal growth, if the brew tastes "off" or has an unpleasant smell beyond the yeast undertones, don't take any chances: rather throw it away. Also ensure that whatever utensils you use to home brew are scrupulously clean; sterilising them in boiling water is best.


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In the center of smoggy Chicago, a new establishment is springing up to transform the city into the height of sustainability. Green Exchange, a business and retail center, will house about 100 businesses that cater to green and sustainable causes.
"We set out to design Green Exchange to be a physical venue and a [community] that would advance green businesses and the green community," says Phil Baugh, director of leasing for the project.
Several businesses have already joined Green Exchange to spread awareness about sustainability and benefit from the concentration of like-minded businesses--most of them plan on opening early next year. But for Rich Cohen, Green Exchange is more about building community spirit.
In 1999, Cohen traveled around the world, visiting 27 countries and discovering the economic and social strains put on developing nations. Returning to Chicago a year later, he founded Distant Village Packaging, a buyer and supplier of sustainable, artisan-made packaging from around the world.
"It'll be exhilarating to be part of an entire building of people who think the same way and also have the business connectivity," Cohen, 42, says of his partnership with Green Exchange.
Green Exchange, which plans to offer services ranging from car share and bike programs to in-house marketing, marks a giant leap in the trend toward sustainability. And for Cohen, who has seen his sales double over the past two years, the grass keeps getting greener.


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Proving growth within the industry, Taiki Group proudly celebrated two major milestones within their Taiki Malaysia manufacturing facilities: A 10 year anniversary of the original factory and a grand opening of an expansion facility.
The celebration was filled with excitement promoting continued development and success. The festivities included a tree planting and a traditional dragon dance. “I realize it is totally thanks to the continuous support by various people as well as to the passion and enthusiasm of the working members concerned,” said President of Taiki, Mr. Koji Nakamura.
To further expand production, a brand new facility was resurrected across the street. With this additional property, Taiki will be able to double production capacity, provide state of the art manufacturing and finishing equipment and processes, and continue to provide anti-bacterial, anti-yellow and anti-copper. The factories are ISO 9001 certified.
Michael Castellano and Jim Perry from Eluci International attended the events as honored guests. Eluci International is the US based Sales & Marketing group of Taiki. “These accomplishments allow Taiki to provide cosmetic sponges to leading companies around the world,” states Castellano, CEO of Eluci Corporation. “We were privileged to be included in these remarkable events,” he added.
Taiki Group is a Japanese based global leader in manufacturing cosmetic and skin care quality products. Taiki provides innovative premium-quality accessories, components and turn-key solutions to major make-up and skin care brands around the world. Taiki provides a global supply chain service with six factories in China, France, Japan and Malaysia.


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Job-seekers interact with potential employers at a City of Boston Neighbourhood Career Fair in Boston, Massachusetts. Reuters
US job growth slowed sharply in May and wages rose less than expected, raising fears that a loss of momentum in economic activity could be spreading to the labour market,
US retail sales increased by the most in 1-1/2 years in March as households boosted purchases of motor vehicles and a range of other goods, the latest indication that economic growth picked up in the first quarter after a false start.
Activity is contracting in the US manufacturing sector but the number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, signs that factories are suffering from a global slowdown even as the broader labour market remains healthy.
US job growth accelerated in November as striking workers returned to General Motors’ (GM) payrolls. According to financial analysts, the country’s economy remained on a moderate expansion track despite a prolonged manufacturing slump.
Dubai is bringing together government leaders and heads of major corporations from Asia, Latin America and Africa for the Davos launch of the World Logistics Passport, a major
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) announced on Wednesday the results of the 2018 Consolidated Annual Report of the federation, and the final accounts of independent entities.
General Motors’ self-driving car company will attempt to deliver on its long-running promise to provide a more environmental friendly ride-hailing service. This unorthodox


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In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden claimed US inflation is a result of price-gouging by corporate bogeymen. Recent statistics suggest other causes, some of which will likely persist through this election year – and the president’s narrative is not likely to hold up as rents, wages, and taxes rise, all increases that are hard to blame on corporate America. It is also difficult to fault businesses for raising wages or to ignore the ongoing impact of massive federal spending under this administration. Stubborn inflation may prove a sticky wicket for Biden-Harris 2024.
Pinning inflation on any one cause is always sketchy, but the Biden plan has been to point socialist fingers at the greedy rich, not the profligate government. This may be a credibility step up from perpetually linking sloppy monetary policy with COVID-19, but finger-jabbing about shrinkflation (smaller product packaging) was recognized even by the Associated Press as “part of a broader strategy to reframe how voters view the economy.” However, warping perceptions is more the province of Timothy Leary than economics and money supply – Joe Biden’s policies seeded the inflation he seeks to scapegoat onto others.
Biden doubled down on the inflation charade in his State of the Union address, proclaiming “Too many corporations raise their prices to pad their profits, charging you more and more for less and less….” But the federal government doesn’t even offer products to taxpayers whom it charges more and more in taxes for less and less effective policies. There is no question that the Build Back Better legislation overheated the money supply and seeded inflation, further fueled by the oxymoronic Inflation Reduction Act that even Biden later conceded was misnamed: “I wish I hadn’t called it that. It has less to do with reducing inflation than it does providing for alternatives that generate economic growth….”
Sticky Inflation is Sticking
Recent inflation indices by the Federal Reserve present profound obstacles to the Orwellian “bad-company” narrative. Accurately tracking inflation is such a challenging economic exercise that several different measurements are monitored, including “core” versus “headline” inflation, but also between “sticky” and “flexible” costs for certain goods and services. Numbers out for February from the Fed suggest both are moving upward, and neither has anything to do with the size of a Snickers bar.
Sticky inflation refers to consumer prices that do not respond quickly to changes in demand, particularly wages and housing. These tend to exert a drag on the economy and can also be fueled by rising medical service and education costs – writing off student loans is not free, after all. The recent sticky-price CPI issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta suggests that sticky-price inflation may be sticking around due chiefly to higher wages and service prices. Wages are currently rising faster than inflation:
“The Atlanta Fed’s sticky-price consumer price index (CPI)—a weighted basket of items that change price relatively slowly—increased 4.0 percent (on an annualized basis) in February, following a 6.7 percent (revised) increase in January. On a year-over-year basis, the series is up 4.4 percent.
“On a core basis (excluding food and energy), the sticky-price index increased 4.3 percent (annualized) in February, and its 12-month percent change was 4.4 percent.”
Sticky inflation threatens to be a particularly sticky Biden campaign wicket because it can have an impact on monetary policy: the Fed seeks to keep inflation low (a target of 2%): sticky inflation threatens to become “persistent” inflation, pushing monetary authorities to raise or maintain interest rates. During COVID-19, Biden pitched that inflation was “transitory,” but again those pesky facts of math persist. Though Biden and the MSM are signaling that the Fed will soften on rates, the sticky-price CPI prompted Fed Chair Jerome Powell to “single out persistently high services prices as a concern and indicated the central bank’s policymakers would like to see services inflation ease further before starting to cut their key interest rate.”
Flexible CPI Also Trending Upwards
The Fed also tracks “flexible” inflation, which monitors items whose prices change more dramatically or frequently. This flexible price measure is perceived to be more responsive to changes in the current economic environment, or the “level of economic slack.”
Flexible CPI is also sounding warning signals. After spiking sharply in 2021 (2.27% in June and 2.09% in October), this measure was running cool in late 2023, even dropping .61% in October and another .34% in November. But after dropping an additional .39% in January 2024 to permit sanguine announcements of inflation defeat by the Biden team, the February number punched up .67% – an annualized rate of 8.04%. It is premature to announce inflation victory.
Price Forecasts for 2024
The complexity of accurately measuring inflation pressures fills textbook analyses and boardroom predictions, but is also why government spending must be closely watched for what Milton Friedman dubbed “money mischief” – big spenders kick the can of consequences of reckless money-printing down the road while rewarding pet projects (like costly, regressive renewables). Large infusions of fiat currency inflate real estate and commodity prices first, and eventually wages – which never catch up. This is precisely what America has witnessed: For some time, inflation dramatically outpaced wages, which are now catching up, however anemically. Biden increased food and housing prices, and now blames corporate food makers and the housing market for the resultant bubble. Using such logic Biden’s pipeline shutdowns hiked gas prices, but price-gouging gas companies are to blame. The Biden administration seeks to pull the wool over voters’ eyes rather than own up to the dangerous economic forces it has unleashed.
Should consumer spending (already soft) start to dip and the global or national economy cool, America may be on the verge of a new period of stagflation. In order to shore up votes for the election, the Biden crew is pulling out all stops to blame someone else for the nation’s precarious condition: if not COVID-19, then Donald Trump, or Vladimir Putin, or corporate greed. Interest rates and housing prices aren’t higher due to sloppy spending: it’s the greedy banks! But other policies feed into this contagion, including open borders and floods of Haitian or Palestinian refugees, all in need of housing in a nation already short by millions of units. Higher electricity and fuel prices impact residential construction and rental costs.
However, Biden’s Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has announced that sticky inflation will abate because rental and housing prices will cool in 2024:
“Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she expects a moderation in the rise of housing costs will help deliver lower inflation in 2024.
“….I have every expectation that the single largest contributor to inflation is going to be moving down over this year…. Inflation is down two-thirds from the high it reached in 2022,” Yellen said. “I wouldn’t expect this to be a smooth path month-to-month, but the trend is clearly favorable.”
That sounds like transitional inflation redux, a wishful narrative that may grow harder to sell as the year unfolds. It is truly to be hoped that the Treasury Secretary is correct. But claiming Joe Biden has not fueled inflation, or that it has safely abated, is tantamount to claiming the border is secure and a flood of new refugees will boost the economy. Joe Biden’s dissembling is persistent even if inflation is not. There is only so much baloney that an economic sandwich can hold.


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The Washington Nationals today announced the launch of the revamped Red Carpet Rewards Program, a brand new online platform that gives season ticket holders the ability to access, track, share and redeem loyalty points for additional Nationals tickets and parking throughout the season. The Nationals will be the first team in Major League Baseball to host an online points-based loyalty program for fans.
“The Nationals are proud to be the first Major League team to offer our fans this unique system,” Nationals Chief Operating Officer Andrew C. Feffer said. “We are always looking for different ways to enhance the experience for Nats fans through innovative technologies, and this is just the beginning. In the future this platform will evolve to be used at concession stands, retail stores and to gain entrance to games. The possibilities are endless.”
Red Carpet Rewards members can now manage the points they earn from their season ticket purchases through this new online program, which makes it easier than ever to share points with friends, family and seat partners. Points are based on season ticket plans - the more season tickets members have, the more free tickets they can receive.
Similar to last season, points can be redeemed for seats in a variety of sections at different pricing categories, including the Lexus Presidents Club and PNC Diamond Club. But for the first time ever, members will also be able to monitor available sections for specific games and can combine points to purchase high point items like seats in the Washington Suites and Party Suites or premium parking options near Nationals Park. They will also be able to utilize a print-at-home ticket option via Tickets.com.
To develop this online platform, the Nationals partnered with Fortress, the premier loyalty management and virtual ticketing provider in Europe that serves more than 100 soccer teams and stadiums in Europe and Asia. With the launch of the Red Carpet Rewards Program, the Nationals will be the first baseball team to bring this advanced online platform to the United States.
Seats reserved through the program are the best available at the time of issue. Tickets redeemed with points are ineligible for upgrades, exchanges and/or returns. For additional information, please visit nationals.com/rewards, or call 202.675.NATS(6287).