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Pram maker popular with the royals earns the entrepreneur who rescued it from receivership £50m as he sells the firm on
An entrepreneur who rescued pram maker Silver Cross from receivership 13 years ago has landed a windfall worth an estimated £50 million after selling off the business.
Alan Halsall, the owner and chairman of the company – which has long been popular with Royals including the Duchess of Cambridge – sold the firm to the Chinese conglomerate Fosun in a deal arranged by Cavendish Corporate Finance.
Fosun has already invested in Western companies including Thomas Cook and the Cirque Du Soleil entertainment group.
Iconic: Silver Cross makes traditional prams – which have long been popular with Royals including the Duchess of Cambridge
Silver Cross chief executive Nick Paxton said the new owners would provide business connections in China, where the manufacturer launched two years ago.
He said: ‘People think China is an easy win for business, but it’s not. Fosun will give us significant assistance, not only with local knowledge and connections in China, but with investment there and other international markets.’
Paxton said he and Halsall’s sons, Ben and Jonathan, have bought minority stakes in the newly acquired business.
The brand hopes to capitalise on the expected rise in the birth rate in China where restrictions on the number of children per family have been lifted and there is an appetite for iconic Western brands.
Silver Cross, which did not confirm the sale price, was acquired by Halsall in 2002 for £500,000.
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Old Apple Watch apps constructed with legacy watchOS SDKs produce a warning when launched in watchOS four.three.1. On watchOS 5 and later, such apps refuse to open in any respect…. Read the remainder of this submit right here
“How to establish legacy Apple Watch apps” is an article by iDownloadBlog.com.
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Kite Packaging, one of the UK’s leading packaging distributors have seen a hugely positive response to their 2019 initiative aimed at reducing the impact of plastics in the environment. At the end of May the company announced that they are well on their way to reaching their goal, with the initiative already delivering a 95 tonne plastic reduction.
The team at Kite launched their 120 tonne challenge at the start of 2019, setting themselves and their customers the task of reducing plastic usage by a total of 120 tonnes by the end of the year. With a focus on ‘reduce, re-use, recycle and replace’ Kite have utilised a wide range of new eco-friendly products and their state of the art Mobile Test Facility to target opportunities for themselves and their customers.
Part of the reduction includes Kite themselves no longer sending out any direct mailing in polythene mailing bags, as well as carrying out an ongoing review of its distribution process to minimise plastic wrapping around products. To support customers joining the initiative Kite’s new Mobile Test Facility, the first of its kind in the industry, has been despatched to customers premises all around the UK along with a team of packaging technologists and specialist engineers. The Kite team are able to utilise the Mobile Test Facility to work alongside customers and carry out waste minimising packaging audits, as well as exploring and testing more eco-friendly packaging alternatives.
The initiative comes off the back of continued growth and success for the employee-owned business. The company recently extended its network of regional distribution centres opening a site in the North East of England. They also invested in expansion of warehousing capacity at their Swindon RDC with the installation of a new mezzanine floor. This followed several years of continued growth for Kite’s Swindon RDC since moving to their current location in June 2015.
With the increased focus on the environment and the demand for effective, bespoke solutions, businesses are looking for the right packaging solutions that tick all the boxes. For advice and support on a wide range of packaging solutions, or to join Kite in their 120 tonne challenge, visit the Kite Packaging website. www.kitepackaging.co.uk.


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More Regional Australians Shopping Online
25 September 2006 at 1:09 pm
New research reveals that more regional Australians are moving online in search of everyday items – another reason why Not for Profits can benefit from being visible online.
According to ACNielsen the number of regional Australians shopping online has increased 17% from 2005 to 2006, with nearly 1.5 million regional Australians now shopping online.
Online shopping is also becoming easier for people based in rural areas with 62% of regional Australians connected to the Internet now using broadband.
Research commissioned by online auction place eBay in Australia reveals that 75% of regional and rural Australians shopping online believe that convenience of purchasing everyday items on the internet, closely followed by financial (73%) and time (70%) are the major benefits to buying online.
Some 49% of regional Australians agree that limited choice of products is one of the main disadvantages of living outside of the cities.
Now 33% of rural Australians are moving online to websites like eBay to purchase items such as clothing, shoes, DVDs, computer equipment, toys,collectables and sporting goods.
eBay Australia spokesperson, Angie Cursley says one third of all Australians live in regional or rural areas and have less choice than people living in metropolitan areas, in addition to having to travel further for everyday items found easily in major cities.
According to Australia Post, the trend for an increasing number of people in rural communities buying items on eBay and other online sites has seen a steady rise in domestic parcel volumes, including a 3-5% per annum growth in recent years.
State-by-state comparison from eBay’s research shows that choice is a major benefit to 92% of rural and regional SA residents, 61% of those in VIC and TAS, 53% in NSW and 49% in QLD and WA.
78% of regional and rural SA dwellers, 75% of those in VIC and TAS, 63% in NSW and 54% in QLD believe that buying online helps them source the exact item they’re looking for.
Using eBay as a major fundraising source featured in a recent edition of Pro Bono Australia. The Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children revealed that it had added eBay to its regular fundraising activities – with the added benefit of driving more traffic to its own website.
RIDBC is now using eBay to auction everyday items which would normally be sold via its opportunity shop or book fair.
Lorraine O’Keefe from the Australia Koala Foundation in Brisbane has recently begun using eBay to raise funds and Sancha Donald from Accessible Arts in NSW says her organisation sees the online sales as a way of not having to run events such as celebrity auctions.


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Holiday pay ruling sees John Lewis hit with annual £12million bill
John Lewis will take a £12million annual hit from the change in law regarding holiday pay.
The department store chain has recalculated sums it owes to its employees, known as partners.
In November an Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled it is wrong for employers to only take into account basic pay when calculating how much an employee should be paid while they are on holiday.
Holiday blues: John Lewis has been hit with a £12million annual charge over changes in holiday pay law
The landmark ruling stipulates voluntary overtime and being on stand-by for emergency call-outs should be factored in.
It also allows for employees to claim backdated sums up to three months since their last holiday, or their last incorrect payments.
In light of this ruling, from February 2015, John Lewis will take paid overtime into account when calculating holiday pay for partners.
The cost of these changes will be around £12million annually, including pension, bonus and employer’s NI).
Most of these costs relate to Waitrose where paid overtime is more usual than in John Lewis.
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Gadgetpark – Samsung prepares a new innovation that may never be sued again by Apple. Samsung’s transparent display is an innovative work that will be released at the IFA 2012 Berlin.
Transparent Display from Samsung will be exhibited at the IFA show in Berlin on 31 August to 5 September 2012. Samsung introduces a transparent screen with the code ‘NL22B’.
Samsung NL22B will be equipped with a built-in PC speakers, LED bar and protective glass. The product will be interactive devices owned by Samsung.
You can also provide additional ornaments showcase transparent screen, which can lead to an interaction of dynamic images and animations. Curious? Here’s a video demo of Samsung’s transparent display.


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Kim Kardashian made her Grillz debut in the most flashy way possible. Kim K recently posted fresh photos of her newest and most trendy opal and diamond grill on Instagram. Her latest looks are stunting even though she is in the middle of divorcing her ex, the notorious rapper Kanye West. So, these glitzy new opal birthstone Grillz could give her a reason to smile.
The well-known reality tv personality, entrepreneur, and now lawyer took to social media to show off photos of her diamond and opal-encrusted teeth. Kim Kardashian's lower jaw grill was completely framed by the opal crystals, which covered eight of her teeth. As seen in the photographs, this diamond and opal grill will be a fantastic addition to her extraordinary accessory and jewelry game.
These diamonds' seamless appearance has undeniably left everyone shocked, and the styling look on her teeth suits the pop culture icon very well. The dazzling opal diamond gemstones are quite the look, as the light colors of pink, brown, purple, and green shine on her lower jaw's teeth.
This jeweled Grill masterpiece was produced in Calabasas by Gabby Elan Jewelry with a hefty price tag to match. This celebration of Kim Kardashian's birthstone has cost the prominent star about $5,000, if not more. The official price of the birthstone is yet to be announced. The mouthpiece is said to have taken two months to perfect in all of its dental glory.
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China: Coronavirus discovered in chicken wings imported from Brazil
A sample of frozen chicken wings imported from Brazil has tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, authorities said Thursday, the latest in a series of reports of contaminated imported food products.
According to CNN, the coronavirus was detected Wednesday on a surface sample taken from a batch of chicken wings during screening of imported frozen food in Longgang district of Shenzhen, the municipal government said in a statement. Officials did not name the brand.
Shenzhen health authorities immediately traced and tested people who might have come into contact with the product, and all results came back negative; all related products in stock have been sealed off and tested negative, the statement said.
Authorities are now tracing related products from the same brand that have already been sold, and have disinfected the area where the contaminated chicken wings were stored.
Brazil has so far reported more than 3.1 million coronavirus cases, the second highest in the world after the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally.
News of the contaminated chicken wings comes a day after coronavirus was found on the packaging of shrimps imported from Ecuador, another South American country, at a restaurant in eastern Anhui province during a routine inspection, China's state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Since July, there have been seven instances where the virus was detected on the packaging of imported seafood products across the country, from Shandong province on the eastern coast to the municipality of Chongqing in the west, according to state media reports.
These incidents have sparked concerns over the safety of imported foods. Chinese health authorities have repeatedly told the public to be cautious about buying imported meat and seafood. On Chinese social media, some have called for the suspension of all frozen food imports.
But health authorities, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have said the possibility of catching the virus through food is low.
The WHO says it is "highly unlikely that people can contract Covid-19 from food or food packaging." According to the CDC, the risk of infection by the virus from food products, food packaging, or bags is "thought to be very low."
Both organizations point out that the coronavirus spreads mostly person to person through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks.
While it is possible to catch COVID-19 by touching a surface or object -- including food or food packaging that has the virus on it -- and then touching your mouth, nose, or possibly eyes, it is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads, according to the CDC.
"There is no evidence to date of viruses that cause respiratory illnesses being transmitted via food or food packaging. Coronaviruses cannot multiply in food; they need an animal or human host to multiply," the WHO says.
David Hui Shu-cheong, a respiratory medicine expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the imported food products that tested positive in China were almost certain to have been contaminated during packaging.
But he said it doesn't necessarily mean that they're infectious -- the nucleic acid tests could be picking up the RNA of dead virus. These remnants of the virus are known to have caused false positive results on patients who have recovered from the coronavirus, such as in South Korea.
If the virus taken from the food products can be grown in labs, however, then they are infectious, he said, adding that the coronavirus can survive freezing temperatures and still be active when thawed.
Chinese authorities have increased screening of imported meat and seafood products since June, when a coronavirus outbreak in Beijing emerged from the city's largest wholesale food market.
State media reported at the time that the virus was discovered on a chopping board used for imported salmon at the market, prompting supermarkets in the Chinese capital to remove salmon from their shelves.
But officials at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention have tried to allay concerns. "We cannot conclude that salmon is the source of infection just because novel coronavirus was detected on a chopping board of a seller," Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese CDC, told the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Wu said the chopping board could instead have been contaminated by an infected owner or customers, or other products that carried the virus.
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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 8-Apr-16
A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 5.8 million Australian households owned a barbecue (63.7 per cent of total households) in the year to December 2015, compared with 63.2 per cent in 2011. The survey also shows that 75.6 per cent of households in country South Australia owned a barbecue in 2015, ahead of the Australian Capital Territory (73.5 per cent) and country Western Australia (71.2 per cent). Meanwhile, 347,000 Australian households reported buying a new barbecue at some point in the preceding 12 months, and 249,000 households reported that they intend to buy one at some point in the coming 12 months.
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED


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MACC raids exco's home, seizes Vellfire, cash and handbags
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) raided the home of Johor exco Abd Latif Bandi and seized 150 handbags, a luxury vehicle and RM41,000.
A photograph of the handbags showed various luxury brands including Chanel, Hermes, Prada, Louis Vuitton and Gucci.
Also confiscated was a Toyota Vellfire, a luxury MPV.
According to a MACC source, the raid took place shortly after Abd Latif was arrested at the MACC office in Johor Baru at 11am, where he was being questioned.


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Missouri is officially not about that life when it comes to vegan meat substitutes being labeled as meat. There was a law passed saying effective Tuesday, August 28th, meat substitutes can no longer have to word meat in their titles. If you violate this you could face a $1,000 fine. Wow.
Some may find this petty but the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association thought it was necessary. Why? Well they said it was getting to confusing to consumers and they were actually losing business because of the confusion. I guess I see where they’re coming from but I can’t help but think what about all of the vegan products that are already in stores? Or the products that have meat in their title? Will Missourians just not have access to those products anymore? What do you all think about this? Too far or necessary?


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The reason? Because top brands have not yet embraced Brand Action Marketing–a strategy that exploits interactivity both to develop a brand and drive consumer action, the report said.
Marketers that focus exclusively on either brand building or transaction driving will find themselves losing market share or eroding their brand equity as more consumers go online.
“Brands are choosing an either/or strategy in which they focus on brand building OR direct marketing initiatives,” said Peter Storck, director of Jupiter’s Online Advertising Group. “This ignores what makes online different from other media–interactivity. Online, marketers can both build brand and drive action, so they must do both–because their competitors will.”
According to the Jupiter report, successful brand action marketing consists of six component tactics: media, retail enhancement, customization, promotions, sales service and support, and distribution and transactions. The degree to which brands should emphasize individual tactics depends on whether the brand offline is primarily a direct seller, indirect seller or a retailer.
Media, for example, a key tactic for offline retailers, is equally important to that category online. However, it has been noticeably absent, the study found. Top traditional retailers spent an average of just $27,000 during the first six months of 1997 to advertise online. Four of them–Kmart, Home Depot, Dillards, and Target–spent nothing.
A listing and description of New York City-based Jupiter’s services and reports are available on Jupiter’s Web site.
A class action lawsuit against an internet-connected pleasure device highlights the potential pitfalls a growing number of companies will face as they embrace ... read more
Google sparked a small firestorm last week as reports surfaced that its intelligent assistant device Google Home delivered an unsolicited advertisement to unsuspecting owners.
According to Internet Retailer's newly released The Best Digital Marketers in E-Commerce report, Target is the most effective marketer in online retail. So why is it struggling overall?
The rise of YouTube and digital video generally has a lot to do with the rise of the internet and the abundance of digital video content. But YouTube's ascendency is also the result of Google's savvy use of algorithms.


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Samsung Smart Home aims to control TVs, refrigerators with a single app
Samsung has launched an ambitious effort to build a home automation system managed by a smartphone app
IDG News Service - Samsung is making a play for the "connected home" with a new service that will let people control things as varied as their refrigerator, TV and heating system via a single smartphone app.
It announced its Samsung Smart Home project at the International CES on Sunday and said the service will be rolled out across Samsung products in the first half of this year, starting with TVs, appliances and smartphones.
Samsung isn't the first company to try to build such a service -- Microsoft, Cisco and others have tried similar things in the past with little success. But with smartphones now in wide use, and with Samsung being a major manufacturer of home appliances like washing machines and refrigerators, not to mention the smartphones themselves, it may feel it has a better chance.
It's developed a dedicated Smart Home software protocol (SHP) to connect its products and says it will make the protocol available to other device and appliance manufacturers, if they choose to get on board.
The service will let people control home appliances through an app installed on their smartphone or TV. They'll be able to do things like control their home heating system or turn the lights on and off when they're not home, Samsung said.
Turning the lights on and off remotely might be useful when a person is on holiday, for instance, and wants to make it look like there's someone home.
The service will also have a voice activated component. "If the user says good night to their Smart TV remote control, the TV will be turned off and lights dimmed and gradually turned off in readiness for sleep," the company said in its announcement
Home View, another part of the service, will let people check up on their home using appliance cameras. And a customer service component will alert people when their appliances need replacing or servicing -- something manufacturers would clearly love.
It remains to be seen whether other appliance makers will get on board with the effort, and Samsung will have to overcome inevitable concerns about privacy and security.
It's one of several ways the company is trying to move beyond device sales and provide services to consumers as well. A former Apple engineer who worked on Siri has been building a cloud service for Samsung called SAMI (Samsung Architecture for Multimodal Interactions) that will collect data from devices like the Fitbit and make it available to other services and apps.
Samsung said it plans to eventually expand the Smart Home service to cover home-energy, secure home access, healthcare, and "eco home applications," through the partnerships with third-party service providers. It didn't provide more details Sunday but it's likely to say a lot more about the service during CES this week in Las Vegas.
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The streaming video market continues to be reshaped even as it continues to explode, and FierceCable sister publication FierceOnlineVideo now has a spotlight report on five of the most dynamic game-changing ventures in the current streaming environment.
One of those companies is Aereo, which uses its own antenna network to stream local TV station content over the Internet via HTML5. Not surprisingly, broadcasters have been fighting Aereo's arrival on the scene, but there is also a possibility that Aereo could help cable TV companies gain leverage in retransmission consent fee negotiations with broadcasters, as well as contest the new broadcaster-driven mobile TV streaming venture Dyle.
The report also takes a closer look at the Redbox joint venture with cable TV competitor Verizon (NYSE: VZ), and a handful of other online juggernauts the cable TV industry should continue to keep an eye on.
- here's the FierceOnlineVideo report
Broadcasters announced their Dyle venture last month
Aereo beat a broadcaster effort to halt its service


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The Irony of SVOD23 Jan, 2015 By: Thomas K. Arnold
On the surface, it appears more than a little counter-intuitive: The same studios that a few years ago got into a tangle with Netflix and Redbox over renting new releases, a practice they said cannibalizes sellthrough, are now creating content specifically for Netflix and other subscription streaming services, which many see as the biggest threat yet to home entertainment sellthrough.
Not only that, but now Netflix will be getting The Interview, the controversial film about the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, three-and-a-half weeks before Sony Pictures Home Entertainment releases the film on Blu-ray Disc and DVD.
Meanwhile, the subscription streaming juggernaut continues to snare consumer eyeballs. The latest numbers released by DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group show that consumer spending on Netflix and other subscription streaming services rose an estimated 25.8% to $4.01 billion, while discs sales fell nearly 11% to $6.93 billion.
Is our industry feeding the monster that threatens to devour it? Will producing content for a $9 monthly all-you-can-stream service ultimately undermine all existing distribution channels, including home entertainment — physical as well as digital sellthrough?
Studio executives say that’s a wrong assessment. Even though subscription streaming numbers are included in the DEG’s quarterly release of consumer spending on home entertainment spending, services like Netflix are much more like networks in that they buy TV content — a channel the studios have been feeding for years. Networks live off commercials; Netflix, off subscriber dollars. Both depend on viewership to keep the money flowing. TV production studios are in the business of creating, selling and marketing content, and Netflix, Amazon and the other streaming services are merely a new type of customer, now that they are scrambling for original content to keep their subscribers satisfied.
Are Netflix and Amazon luring viewers away from home video? No more so than a network with a hot new series everyone’s watching and talking about the next day at work. And as one studio executive pointed out, consumers are used to watching TV shows broadcast first and then being able to buy them, either on disc or as a digital download. The difference, of course, is the “on demand” angle — once, say, “The Sopranos” ran its course on HBO, that was it, whereas “Breaking Bad” can still be viewed in its entirety on Netflix, minimizing the need to rush out and buy the complete series on disc.
But from a truly big picture standpoint, these are all nuances. Any losses to the home entertainment divisions are more than offset by gains to the TV division — and in the end, it all goes into the same big studio pot.
If selling shows to Netflix and Amazon brings in huge wads of cash, studios would be foolish to not follow the money.
The bottom line, after all, is the bottom line — and a bottom that is then used to finance the next wave of content and keep the overall entertainment business healthy.


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ARMONK, N.Y. -- International Business Machines Corp. said yesterday it will expand its Internet services and include the use of its Lotus Notes technology.
Armonk-based IBM will develop ways to have information shared on the global computer network as part of its goal of making products and services more "network-centric," the company said a press conference at the Fall Internet World trade show in Boston.
"This is a big coming-out for us," said John Mears, IBM's program developer for platform business development. "We are merging our Internet offerings with Lotus Notes to deliver the power that people have been looking for since we bought Lotus."
IBM paid $3.52 billion in July for Lotus Development Corp., best known for its Notes program, which lets employees in far-flung offices collaborate on projects and share documents. Notes will let companies doing business on the Internet track information about customers, add them to mailing lists and ask for customer service, IBM said.
IBM already provides companies with software for browsing the Internet and servers for relaying information. IBM hopes the strategy will put it ahead of its rivals AT&T; Corp. and MCI Communications Corp. in offering business uses for the Internet, the global computer network.
Analysts said IBM faces challenges in fitting new Internet services with its vast line of products. The products, which are still under development, probably will appeal to customers who already use Notes, analysts said.
"It is a gesture to people that made an investment into Notes who need a Web development tool," said Dan Miller, president at Opus Research, an industry researcher.
IBM's competitors in the market are developing ways for companies to use the Internet as a large internal network for sharing information.
IBM said it wants to help "customers to get connected to their customers and extend their reach by linking their computing enterprises to the Internet," said John Patrick, vice president of Internet applications for IBM.
IBM will help companies install the technology, integrate it with their networks and market the new Internet services.


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Computerworld: Market research firm IDC is reporting good news for the PC industry. Compared to the year before, processor shipments in the first quarter of this year increased 39 percent and revenues increased 40 percent. Although both of those numbers were lower than the figures from the fourth quarter of 2009 due to usual seasonal variation, the drop off was more moderate than usual.
Intel retains its position as market leader, with 81 percent of the market.
IDC expects 15.1 percent growth in shipments for the year.


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After being appointed women’s creative director a whole year ago, Rihanna will finally debut her new collection with sports brand Puma, next season at New York Fashion Week.
The pop-star released the news without a fuss earlier this week, by tweeting a link to an auction which offered front row tickets to the event which will showcase her Rihanna by Puma collection.
The link directed her followers to an auction for the Diamond Ball on Paddle8, where bids were starting at $15,000, meaning that normal folk will most likely have to miss out on the event.
Despite this, the high bids are all for a good cause – a percentage of the profits from the auction will go to her charity, the Clara Lionel Foundation, which helps support artistic and cultural education all over the world.
If you missed out on the tickets, other prizes were also available to bid on, such as: every piece in her collection, a signed pair of her sold-out Creepers and an after show backstage pass.
If her previous collections for brands such as River Island, which showcased at London Fashion Week back in 2013 are anything to go off, her forthcoming collection for Puma will no doubt be a huge success.
After swooning over her Rihanna by Puma Creepers earlier in the year, we can’t wait to see what the rest of her collection has to offer!
What do you think of Rihanna’s collection? Tweet us @Fashion_North


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We are once again incredibly proud to be supporting Shoreham Vehicle Auctions and their annual charity auction in aid of Chestnut Tree House.
Established and first run in 2012, the charity sale is a highlight in the calendar for Shoreham Vehicle Auctions, which is generously supported by local car dealers in aid of a wonderful local children's hospice - Chestnut Tree House.
Taking place just before the Easter weekend this year, on Monday 25th March 2024, we at Frosts Cars have donated some wonderful lots to the auction. In keeping with the Easter theme, we have donated two gorgeous Easter bunnies, named Hazel and Bunny, each handmade by Canterbury Bears, as well as a huge selection of Easter eggs. In addition, we have also donated two cars to the sale, a Citroen Picasso and Peugeot 207 SW, as well as 1901 tickets to Premier League game Brighton and Hove Albion vs Aston Villa.
Catherine Stone, Business Development Manager at Shoreham Vehicle Auctions, and involved with the annual event since creation in 2012 said: "In its 13th year the Shoreham Vehicle Auctions Chestnut Tree House charity car auction has raised over £270,000 for children with life long illnesses. This phenomenal amount of money could not be possible without the continued support we receive from our valued customers. Frosts have donated football and speed trial tickets, cuddly bears and part exchange trade cars over the years which has been a fantastic contribution. This year we are lucky enough to have a donation of Aston Villa vs Brighton tickets and a wonderful pair of handmade rabbits from Canterbury Bears. We cannot thank them enough for their generosity.”
Each and every year, Chestnut Tree House provides hospice care and support for 300 children and young people with life-limiting and threatening conditions in Sussex and Hampshire.
Toby Frost, Managing Director at Frosts Cars said: "We are so very proud to support Chestnut Tree House and the charity auction. The team provide such an invaluable service to children and their families. Their care and dedication is an inspiration and we're proud to play a small part in being able to support them again this year."
Visit the Shoreham Vehicle Auctions website to view the lots of offer and register to bid.


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American and allied countries’ national security and economic growth depend on a digital infrastructure built upon trusted technology—not networks owned by the Chinese Communist Party.
- 6G is expected to succeed 5G technology around 2030 and will become a foundation to all other industries.
- 6G brings the potential for radical advances in industry capabilities, ranging from manufacturing floors and logistics supply chains to autonomous transportation and precision agriculture.
- The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue launched a task force with participation from Cisco, Dell, Ericsson, Intel, Nokia, and Qualcomm, to produce a “Roadmap to 6G” that will be released in the fall of 2022.
Rather than just another industry vertical like automobile or healthcare, wireless communications in the 6G era will serve as an essential foundation for almost all other industries in our society. Embedded in other systems, it will become the new ‘electricity’.
Founder & Advisory Board Member


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DFS, the furniture retailer, is creating a dinner party experience with MasterChef 2018 winner Kenny Tutt.
The "Staying Inn" activation takes place in a warehouse in Bermondsey, London, this weekend. DFS is working with interior design company 2LG Studio to create six dining and lounge spaces built around a bar to showcase the latest sofas from the brand.
Tutt will curate a bespoke three-course menu comprising dishes that people love to enjoy at home, such as fish pie, pork shoulder stew, raspberry meringue pie and baked cheesecake. Guests will be able to indulge in cocktails to kick off the evening.
DFS has also partnered online magazine The Pool for workshops on how to host a book club at home, "sofa-yoga" and brunch cooked by Tutt.
The experience runs between 25 and 30 October. DFS is working with PR agency Teneo Blue Rubicon to deliver the activation.
Toni Wood, chief marketing and commercial officer at DFS, said: "The way we are using our homes is changing all the time. Our own research has highlighted that 40% of Brits are going out less than they did five years ago and 60% prefer to spend their Friday and Saturday nights staying in.
"So, today, our living spaces need to fulfil a variety of roles – they are an expression of our individual tastes and style, they are entertainment spaces and dinning spaces, they are also family spaces where we come together to hunker down, relax and get away from the hustle and bustle of modern life.
"We created 'The Staying Inn' to inspire our customers and show that it’s possible to create spaces that blend form and function."


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The footloose, fancy-free life of the digital nomad may be a fantasy for most and a lucrative pyramid scheme for a few.
After massive growth at home, the strongest Chinese tech companies are taking their talents overseas.
The next true trillion-dollar market of “smart” devices may be in the industrial sector.
Lima is Latin America’s most polluted city, but a local engineering school is out to change that with some pie-in-the-sky thinking.
The NBA is boosting its presence in India, and going for a bigger bite of the sports business.
The French capital is not the first place you’d think of as a tech hub, but Parisians are embarking on an entrepreneurial revolution that combines business acumen with artistic flair.
Ruthless, charismatic and cunning, the new Italian prime minister is a figure cut straight from the pages of The Prince. And that might be exactly what Italy needs.
Liz Luckett is pioneering a new kind of investment fund, aimed at low-margin businesses solving social problems.
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To stay in business, traders in Istanbul’s ancient bazaars are appealing to Arab and Asian tourists — and their tastes.


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Former Convio Inc. CEO Gene Austin has been appointed president of Bazaarvoice Inc.
Austin, who departed Austin-based Convio four months after it was acquired by South Carolina-based Blackbaud Inc. (Nasdaq: BLKB) in 2012, was one of two executive announcements by Bazaarvoice (Nasdaq: BV) on Thursday.
The Austin-based company also disclosed enlisting former Blackbaud executive Marc Cannon as executive vice president of client services, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Bazaarvoice, which employs 796 workers, manages online product ratings and reviews for clients such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT).
In recent months, several senior executives have left the company, including former CEO Brett Hurt who abruptly quit in November 2012. Two months later, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against the company in connection with its acquisition of rival PowerReviews Inc. last year.
In January, Austin joined investment firm Austin Ventures LP as an entrepreneur-in-residence. The firm, which is a major investor in Bazaarvoice, also hired Hurt as a venture partner after he quit the company.
Cannon was vice president of services at Blackbaud, according to the filing.
In February, Bazaarvoice posted a third-quarter loss of $10.8 million on revenue of $42.6 million compared with a $6.5 million loss and revenue of $27.6 million during the same period in 2012.
The antitrust trial is scheduled for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in September.


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BAARK! (Bahamas Alliance for Animal Rights & Kindness) is scheduled to host its eleventh triathlon at Jaws Beach on Sunday, February 25.
In early February, the children of the Bahamas Association for the Physically Disabled were blessed with an outpouring of loving care and generosity from a team of volunteer professionals from West Palm Beach, Florida.
WITH the return of professional boxing with the first all-female show taking place next weekend, promoter Michelle Minus made a special pitch for support from the Southeast Nassau Rotary Club.
THE Western Warriors Football (Soccer) Club celebrated an epic season of success in the 2022-2023 Bahamas Football Association leagues, receiving four 1st place trophies in last Saturday’s BFA awards ceremonies. They won titles in the boys under-15 division, under-18, men’s league and the prestigious Men’s Hummel Cup.
AFTER postponing the initial show in October due to one of the main event competitors getting injured, First Class Promotions has announced that the first All-Female Professional Boxing Show is back on the agenda.
Annoyance is a mild description when trying to shop at Harbour Bay Shopping Centre – where do the potential shoppers park?
A MAN was granted $5,000 bail after he was accused of breaking into the same shop twice in Cat Island earlier this month
FIRST Class Promotions will host the first all-female boxing match in The Bahamas and Caribbean at 8pm on Friday, March 31 at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs Gymnasium.
BAHAMAS Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union (BHCAWU) members protested in front of the Department of Labour yesterday after Atlantis terminated the resort’s chief shop steward.
I am by no means a proponent of our web shops and more so, how they came to legitimacy following a plebiscite which clearly said the Bahamian people were against them being legitimised.
1000% support import substitution only wish the biggest substitution would occur… Shopping in Miami Substitution but then, so the officials say, that is a divine right. Local production must never cause inflation and exorbitant increase in comparison pricing of foreign against local.
A MAN was ordered to pay $5,000 bail after being accused of a shop break-in in Eleuthera that led to the theft of more than $5,000 worth of cigarettes.
In the fast-paced realm of business, the evolution of e-commerce has been nothing short of revolutionary.
A MAN is behind bars after a recent string of robberies in New Providence, including an incident involving police shooting him at the scene last month.
Paradise Island is bracing for a new fast-food battle with plans to establish Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and Burger King outlets set to potentially double the number of such brands to four.
THE Local Organising Committee got another $60,000 in their kitty for the 50th Jubilee CARIFTA Games with Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Ernst and Young and Arawak Port Development Limited coming on board as the latest silver medal partners.
On May 31, the Organization of American States (OAS) faced a prolonged and contentious debate that lasted from 2:30 in the afternoon until well past midnight. This episode, marked by acrimony and political undercurrents, which was webcast publicly and instantly to the world, is likely to be revisited during the upcoming OAS General Assembly from June 21 to 23 in Washington, D.C., the headquarters of the OAS.
THE immigration officers who attacked two Haitian men in a barber shop last month are on paid administrative leave. Immigration Minister Keith Bell said yesterday the investigation into their matter is ongoing and will take “as long as necessary” to ensure the right outcome.
A former Atlantis chief shop steward, whose firing last year triggered a formal trade dispute, has elected not to return to the resort and is now employed full-time with the hotel union.
AML Foods has signalled it paid $1.1m to acquire the future site of its Solomon’s Carmichael store and associated shopping centre as it revealed that “smaller footprint locations” will be its future format.


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This Amazon Prime Day, it’s not about the offers. How different retailers are looking to win your enterprise
Shoppers booting up an internet browser and expecting to peer massive discounts for Amazon’s annual top Day mega sale on Monday and Tuesday would possibly come away dissatisfied.
Specialists say top Day deals this year will be especially constrained because of supply-chain limitations that have been caused by the pandemic.
Additionally, with purchaser spending sturdy, many manufacturers don’t sense the want to cut down costs to compete.
Others have inventories that are already too stretched to high the pump any further.
CNBC spoke with agencies that are searching out other approaches to win eyeballs — and consumer loyalty — online this week.
Demdaco, artisan crafts and gifts purveyor that sells on Amazon and other wholesale channels is hopeful that it can use top Day to construct emblem recognition,
but it received is placing its merchandise on sale.
“We’re not trying to be the low-price chief,” said Marisa Lytle, vice president of e-trade and customer engagement at Demdaco.
“We’re simply trying to get visibility. And because prime Day gives excellent visibility,
we invest heavily within the advertising opportunities due to the fact Amazon is getting tons of site visitors.”
Lytle, who used to work within the purchaser electronics area,
referred to that Amazon has traditionally used prime Day to cut the price of its very own tech devices.
Gadgets just like the Amazon Echo, the fireplace tablet or fire tv frequently become being promoted heavily on Amazon’s home page.
She said that’s one cause why it’s not worth Demdaco looking to compete with the e-trade giant through providing its offers.
In line with a document with the aid of Adobe Analytics, the great reductions around high Day 2021 might be on electronics and toys.
The sweetest offers won’t come till later this 12 months although.
Bargains throughout all categories of retail are predicted to be a median of -times steeper during what’s referred to as Cyber Weekend, Adobe stated.
That’s the post-Thanksgiving duration among Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Grabbing attention for the duration of the search
As a substitute, Demdaco — which has been promoting its mom’s Day mugs, monogrammed teddy bears,
and different presents on Amazon for about five years now — has been ramping up classified ads online and inside the mail beforehand of top Day.
The enterprise is encouraging buyers to shop for gifts for celebrations like birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, and summer barbecues.
“We ensure that we marry up the campaigns that we’re running on different channels,
like social media channels, to something it’s far that we’re promoting on a high Day,” Lytle stated.
“matters to grab human beings’ attention while they’re there purchasing for their great deal …
But making ourselves relevant to what’s occurring with them properly now.”
Cosabella, luxurious lingerie, and sleepwear logo took a slightly extraordinary method.
It held a -week sale on bras and undies inside the days main as much as high Day, instead of at some stage in the occasion.
Guido Campello, co-CEO of Cosabella, said the technique was a way for the company to expose how plenty it values having an immediate courting with its customers, outside of Amazon.
“We’d like to place Cosabella.Com as the important thing vacation spot for our customers to discover the most modern patterns, the largest stock of our maximum popular items and present-day offers,” he stated.
More than a few Cosabella’s products are likewise to be had for sale on Amazon.
For a few, just another day
Shopify — an e-commerce platform that powers millions of websites for retailers along with Allbirds and Glossier — sees prime Day as simply another two days on the calendar.
A great deal of Shopify’s assignment revolves around assisting small agencies to compete with gamers, like Amazon,
online. For some direct-to-purchaser manufacturers, prime Day is almost “inconsequential,” in line with Shopify President Harley Finkelstein.
“commerce in 2021 isn’t always approximately good deal-basement offers anymore,” Finkelstein said in an interview.
“Buyers aren’t searching out the fine deals because of the primary goal.
They’re searching to hook up with manufacturers whose values they align with.”
“The future of retail isn’t always approximately discounting,” Finkelstein introduced.
“It’s approximately connection, it’s about authenticity, it’s about having a high-quality product, and a remarkable story.”
In line with Finkelstein, the most essential time of year for the retail enterprise — and when Shopify’s manufacturers see the most internet site visitors and sales — stays from Black Friday although Cyber Monday.
Many of Perch’s manufacturers will be selling gadgets during top Day 2021 for summer barbecues,
Fourth of July events, doors adventures, and outside sports activities.
“We are looking forward to that customers will move for the ones,” Bell stated.
Ultimate 12 months, Amazon’s forty-eight-hour mega sale became not on time till October due to the pandemic.
It ended up kicking off the vacation purchasing season, with shops quickly pivoting to pitch clients on shopping for Christmas gifts earlier than ever.
Even supposing offers are lackluster, top Day will still power large revenue.
EMarketer estimates total virtual income in the U.S. Will leap 17.Three% 12 months over 12 months to $12.18 billion.
Sales made solely on Amazon on a high Day will grow 18.3% from 2020 stages to $7.31 billion, it projected.
Shipping fees pressuring earnings
Strong demand ought to stretch already lean inventories.
Backlogged ports, a big field scarcity, and a dearth of truck drivers have all wreaked havoc on many businesses’ deliver chains for the duration of the pandemic.
Domestic Depot went as ways as reserving its very own delivery,
buying merchandise immediate marketplace, and flying in power gear to deal with the headaches.
The peloton began using air freight to transport its cycles from Asia. The scenario doesn’t appear like improving rapidly.
“demand is setting extra pressure on that deliver chain,
and a whole lot of these things is coming from the equal vicinity,” said Marc Zampieri, a managing director within the transportation and infrastructure practice at AlixPartners.
“It’s the identical port. It’s the equal employee that’s loading the packing containers on the vessel. There’s handiest a finite quantity of slots on that vessel.”
According to Taylor Sicard, co-founding father of Win manufacturers organization,
the value of freight for some of his brands has increased as a whole lot as four times.
If you used that allows you to constitution a plane to take product overseas for around $10,000, now it’s in the direction of $35,000 or $ forty-five,000, he stated.
Win brands group operates a portfolio of brands which include the candles corporation Homesick.
“That eats lots of margin on your product, and while you’re operating such a digitally local, vertical brands,
your margins the entirety,” stated Sicard.
“in case you start chipping away at it before you even promote the product — that would be damaging for your profitability, especially given that lots of these smaller businesses aren’t profitable to start with.”
“It makes every person form of rethink how they’re doing things,” he delivered.
Anticipate out of stock objects
Perch’s Bell said the deliver-chain chaos has made stocking up in anticipation for high Day extra disturbing.
“Frankly, we are out of inventory on some things that we desire weren’t …
Like some of the outside objects which can be selling quicker than anticipated,” he said. “We’re scrambling just to get product geared up to align with high Day.
A terrible final result is to spend all this cash on a top Day deal after which exit of inventory halfway thru the day.”
Professionals say consumers ought to be geared up to run into out-of-shares, as long as the logistics headaches linger.
“It’s a total mess,” Demdaco’s Lytle said. “And it’s not getting higher.
… The mixture of Covid spikes in distinct ports, problems with the backups that happened as a result of Covid, and we no longer have the ability to drag ourselves out of that ..
. It’s a nightmare for quite a lot of every corporation that is sourcing outdoor of the USA.”
“We’ve needed to look very difficult into what we’ve got an inventory of,
and attention in on that, in preference to looking to inventory up,” she brought approximately getting ready for top Day.
” because that’s quite lots impossible if you’re sourcing from distant places.”


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Thousands of unusual visitors have been removed from popular Derbyshire estate, Tissington Hall, during lockdown. Around 3,000 honey bees have been carefully extracted from the roof space to enable critical roof repairs to take place to the Grade II* listed Hall.
The work, which would ordinarily be funded by profits made from weddings and public openings, has been made possible after the estate received a £25,000 grant from Historic England’s Covid-19 Emergency Response Fund, which supports organisations that have been severely affected by the impact of coronavirus. This comes as the estate, which is managed by Fisher German, prepares to re-open to the public on 4 July with its holiday cottages and apartments open to guests. Herberts Tearooms is also set to re-open and will be offering a takeaway service on Wednesdays to Sundays from 11am to 4pm from 8 July. Although the hall will not be open for guided tours, the estate will be welcoming enquiries from those wishing to view it as a wedding venue. Our estate management team called in Derby based CSS Pest Services to ensure the bees could be safely rehomed from the roof space ahead of repairs taking place.
Sir Richard FitzHerbert Bt, owner of Tissington Hall, said: “We have used the lockdown period as an opportunity to complete work on the estate, and when looking into the roof repairs we were extremely surprised to find we had received a visit from a swarm of around 3,000 bees. Fisher German sourced a company which safely extracted the bees ready to be rehomed and found that they had made several pounds of high-quality honey. The lockdown period has had a huge impact on the hospitality industry, so we were extremely pleased to receive the grant from Historic England to support us in protecting such an important heritage asset. We also received a grant from OLEV (the Office of Low Emission Vehicles) to have an electric vehicle charging point installed – quite a unique feature for a Grade II* listed house.
Tissington is highly popular with walkers and cyclists so the re-opening of Herberts Tearooms is extremely positive. We are also happy to say that the other village businesses are re-opening as well, including Edward & Vintage Sweet Shop and On a Wick & a Prayer Candle shop. We hope that this along with all of the wonderful local walks and views attract plenty of visitors to the area. We are also expecting ‘staycations’ to become even more popular and have already received a number of bookings for our holiday cottages.”
For further information about Tissington Hall visit http://www.tissingtonhall.co.uk/


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U.S. stocks closed higher Wednesday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 48 points to 14825, the S&P 500 rose five points to 1635, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 15 points to 3593. Among the companies with shares actively trading after-hours are Guess Inc. (GES), Fresh Market Inc. (TFM) and Altera Corp. (ALTR).
Guess' fiscal second-quarter earnings fell 7.1% as the clothing retailer's margins were weakened by higher costs. However, shares jumped 18% to $32.20 in after hours trading as the company easily beat its quarterly guidance.
Fresh Market's fiscal second-quarter earnings increased 17% as the specialty grocer recorded a double-digit increase in sales. Still, shares fell 3.9% to $52.15 after hours as the company lowered its full-year per-share earnings guidance, though it lifted the low-end of its same-stores sales outlook.
Altera's board has increased the number of shares the chip maker can repurchase, expanding a buyback program that now has the authority to repurchase about 13% of the company's outstanding shares. Shares rose 1% to $35.13 after hours.
Regular Session Movers:
Privately held information-technology-services company American CyberSystems Inc. agreed to buy Analysts International Corp. (ANLY, $6.38, +$2.37, +59.10%) in a cash deal worth about $35 million as it looks to expand its geographic footprint. American CyberSystems will pay $6.45 a share, a 61% premium over Analysts International's Tuesday close.
Astex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ASTX, $6.82, +$1.34, +24.45%) said top-line results from its midstage study of SGI-110 showed "clear activity" in patients with acute myeloid leukemia.
Avago Technologies Ltd.'s (AVGO, $38.28, +$1.73, +4.72%) fiscal third-quarter earnings slipped 2.1% as the chip maker logged weaker margins and increased operating expenses, though core profits and revenue improved. The company reported better-than-expected results and gave an upbeat sales view for the fourth quarter.
Chico's FAS Inc.'s (CHS, $15.95, +$0.62, +4.04%) fiscal second-quarter profit shrank 18% as the women's apparel seller experienced a decrease in same-store sales and higher expenses. Results missed Wall Street expectations, but the company said on its quarterly conference call that although it cleared much of its inventory in the second quarter at the expense of margins, the retailer quarter-to-date has recorded 4.9% sales growth.
Cirrus Logic Inc. (CRUS, $22.42, +$1.92, +9.37%) jumped as Feltl upgraded the audio-chip maker to buy and boosts its price target 30% to $26, saying while growth with Apple Inc. (AAPL, $490.90, +$2.31, +0.47%) may slow, the company is well-situated to benefit from increased availability of voice-controlled products generally. Such features "are becoming a critical part of technology that users will come to expect in future smartphone/wearable design," the investment bank notes. Despite reporting a string of strong growth, a series of not-optimistic-enough forecasts has sent Cirrus shares slumping this year after soaring in 2012.
Dycom Industries Inc. (DY, $24.77, -$1.55, -5.89%), which provides engineering, construction and maintenance services to telecom providers in the U.S., reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that fell just short of analysts' expectations.
Endo Health Solutions Inc. (ENDP, $40.67, +$1.49, +3.80%) agreed to buy privately held Boca Pharmacal for $225 million in cash, expanding the drug maker's generics offerings. Boca Pharmacal is a specialty generics company that focuses on niche areas, developing products in controlled substances and semisolids. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year and should immediately benefit Endo's 2013 adjusted per-share earnings.
Express Inc.'s (EXPR, $21.10, +$1.30, +6.57%) fiscal second-quarter profit rose 6.8% as the youth-focused retailer's same-store sales jumped, though margins contracted amid higher costs. The company raised its full-year earnings outlook and beat revenue expectations in the latest quarter.
Joy Global Inc.'s (JOY, $48.89, -$2.42, -4.72%) fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 5.3% as the mining-equipment maker's sales shrank and its margins tightened, however, results beat Wall Street estimates. Still, the company's chief executive warned that current trends, including a correction in coal markets in Australia and China, are "unlikely to support annual revenue above $4 billion," even with higher sequential order run rates.
LTX-Credence Corp. (LTXC, $4.29, -$0.60, -12.27%) gave a third-straight dour quarterly forecast. The electronic-test-equipment company's chief executive, Dave Tacelli, said "a broad-based recovery in our industry has yet to materialize." However, he added that "if the trends we see in certain market segments continue, we expect calendar year 2014 to be a growth year for the industry and our test business."
J.P. Morgan downgraded Taser International Inc. (TASR, $11.15, -$0.70, -5.91%) to neutral from overweight, citing valuation. "The stock has increased 36% in the past two weeks," said the firm, attributing the jump to "reports that a U.S. District Court judge ordered NYC police to pilot body-worn police cameras, a potentially significant opportunity for TASR's video solution," along with a rule change in Ontario that may lead to expanded Taser use among police agencies there.
TiVo Inc. (TIVO, $11.58, +$0.61, +5.56%) announced the highest net revenue and profit in the company's history and sharp subscriber growth, prompting the company to predict profits ahead for the foreseeable future.
Zale Corp.'s (ZLC, $11.63, +$2.67, +29.80%) fiscal fourth-quarter loss narrowed as the jewelry retailer logged strong same-store sales while margins widened. Results beat Wall Street estimates, while Zale said it had logged a profit for the full year. Chief Executive Theo Killion said that Zale was reporting its highest annual net income in six years at $10 million.
Write to Anna Prior at firstname.lastname@example.org
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Dubai: The immediate focus of the revised UAE’s Commercial Companies Law will be on new businesses being launched in the country through 100 per cent ownership of local operations. The immediate - and biggest – gains should be for tech and digital-focussed businesses that want to set up in the mainland and not have to go through free zones for full ownership.
While June 1 has been set as the date for the revised Law to be fully effective, investors and business owners will need to closely watch for add-on developments. The UAE Cabinet will establish a committee, comprising representatives from each of the Department of Economic Development entities, which will be responsible for determining:
* A list of commercial activities considered to have a strategic impact on the UAE’s economy (Strategic Impact List); and
* Additional licensing controls to impose on companies undertaking commercial activities in sectors listed in the Strategic Impact List.
“The negative list – which will not be abolished even with recent amendments - contain important sectors such oil and gas, telecom and utilities,” said Bahjat Abou Zeyd, Senior Associate – Corporate at the law firm of Abdulla Alawadi & Associates. “[These sectors] will remain subject to the foreign ownership restrictions.”
To qualify for foreign ownership exemption, the applicant needs to meet various requirements such as share capital contribution, use of technology and employment of UAE nationals
Even then, the changes to the UAE Commercial Companies Law is comprehensive enough, and addresses the need to get foreign investments and new business activity kick up a gear or two. Most important, it gives clarity to what prospective business owners can expect to do.
According to Paras Shahdadpuri, Chairman of Nikai Group former head of Indian Business Council, “Expatriates have been investing 100 per cent in their businesses, but have had to write in their licenses 51 per cent in the name of Emirati partners. Investors always felt the threat of the sword of Damocles and could never bring in more investments freely.”
The ‘negative list’ spells out those sectors where 100 per cent foreign ownership is not allowed. “We need to see the practical implementation from the respective emirate’s Department of Economic Development committees would determine the foreign ownership in various activities,” said Atik Munshi, Managing Partner at the consultancy Enterprise House.
“It is anticipated that activities like ‘commercial agency’, banking, insurance, labour supply, etc., would be considered activities of strategic importance and foreign ownership is likely to be restricted here. But considering UAE’s open FDI policy, these too may be revised in future.”
Implementation is dependent on a Committee under the UAE Cabinet resolution; the Committee will have representatives from the Economic Departments to decide on the level of foreign shareholding in a entity. In principle, the Economic Departments will determine the percentage of foreign shareholding based on its activity and merits
Await committees’ inputs
For now, prospective investors and business owners will have to wait for the DED committees to arrive at their recommendations on what those shareholding should be. But whatever be their decisions, it will in tune with the once-in-a-generation initiatives the UAE introduced recently on ‘golden visas’, selective citizenship rights, and special category visas that allow an individual to be based in the UAE and work for any enterprise anywhere in the world.
Shahdadpuri believes this sets up the UAE to make full use of post-pandemic recovery in global business sentiments. “Entrepreneurs are looking for investments in safer countries like the UAE. It has the infrastructure and a high-quality living environment - the UAE can be the no. 1 destination for investments.”
The UAE has shown its resilience during one of the most challenging periods and has been a hotbed for investment. As more people look to make the UAE their home, initiatives such as granting UAE passports, Golden Visas, Retirement Visas and full foreign ownership only make more people think of it as their long-term home.
According to Faisal Durrani, Head of Middle East Research at Knight Frank, said: “The federal and local governments across the UAE continue to unveil key policy initiatives that will be crucial to create future demand for residential and commercial property. Confirmation of the 100 per cent company foreign ownership law will undoubtedly have a significant impact on office space in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, which are still experiencing quieter conditions in the aftermath of the pandemic.
“With this landmark change, the UAE has unlocked its potential to emerge as a key contender for global business headquarters that were previously confined to free zones in the country.”
At the small end of the business spectrum, fresh initiatives such as ‘Dubai Next’ will certainly help to position Dubai as an attractive option for global startups looking for a dynamic launch location. These announcements are the perfect complement to the raft of residency options made available over the course of the last 12-months, aimed at attracting - and retaining - talent, as well as boosting business confidence
How the changes will apply to existing businesses when it comes to 100 per cent ownership is the other big question. In recent years, global businesses have secured those rights for their UAE operations, through the likes of Aster in healthcare, Malabar Gold & Diamonds in retail, and MARS, the makers of the chocolate brand.
This will continue to be done on a case-to-case basis, sources say. For now, there is “no further guidance on how to move forward and remove local partners from LLCs and by which instrument it should be made,” said Abou Zeyd at Abdulla Alawadi & Associates.
Implementing progressive decisions based on sound regulatory and legislative mechanisms are paramount to strengthening the nation’s global appeal among residents, entrepreneurs, and foreign investors alike
We anticipate a strong surge in FDI as those businesses previously somewhat reticent to have a local partner may now have the opportunity to open a local business with 100% foreign ownership. We eagerly await the chance to review the finalized list of activities and industries that will be eligible
Until the time more updates are provided, a few of these existing businesses and their owners would be thinking of their ‘enterprise value’ – and what they would have to pay their local partner to buy out his stake.
“The valuation of shares-in-kind has been a matter of debate since long,” said Munshi. “As per the new amendment, the onus of such valuations is with the founders’ committee.
“Many entities would like to take the advantage by increasing the foreign shareholding in their LLCs. In event of a transfer of shares from the UAE national partner to the foreign shareholder, valuations of those businesses will play a key role. Considering the amicable relationships with the UAE national partner, the matter, in most cases, is expected to be smooth.”
Over the past year, the Government – and individual emirates – has announced measures aimed at enhancing the UAE’s attractiveness to foreign capital and talent. The rapid implementation of these measures bodes well for the country’s ability to benefit from a strong global economic recovery


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Jenny Penny's offers coffee and more on Main Street
Business opened by Lucas McCoy and Jennifer Honeycutt of Olde Rustic Finds
- Jenny Penny's Café opened Aug. 16 at 423 Main St., next to Olde Rustic Finds.
- The shop offers coffees, teas, breakfast and lunch foods and daily specials.
- The café has customers from all over, but are catering to those whole live and work in downtown.
- Owners hope to add outdoor seating and entertainment along with expanding days and the menu.
COSHOCTON — A new coffee shop with a moniker from a childhood nickname of one of the co-owners is catering to residents and workers in downtown Coshocton.
Lucas McCoy and Jennifer Honeycutt opened Olde Rustic Finds last August on Main Street. They've expanded to the space next door for Jenny Penny's Café, which opened Aug. 16.
Honeycutt said her father used to call her Jenny Penny as a child and that's where the business name came from.
"Sometimes he'd holler at me 'Penny,' sometimes he'd holler at me "Jenny," and sometimes he'd call me 'Jenny Penny.' It was just a childhood nickname that stuck," she said. "It's catchy. Who doesn't want to stop at a place called Jenny Penny's? You've got to know what it is."
The business has three employees; Becky Endsley, Dylan Honeycutt and Chas Whitcomb. Additionally, McCoy's mother, Joanne Nys, provides pies; Jennifer's mother, Terri Honeycutt, makes brownies, mini-cakes and muffins; and Britny Frazer makes cookies and cupcakes. Jennifer said those running the café are family, or feel like it.
"Everyone in here has put in more than just an employee would," she said.
The business offers pastries, a variety of specialty coffees, hot teas, bubble teas, daily specials, a breakfast and lunch menu and grab-and-go food. Jennifer said they're usually packed for lunch and community feedback has been solid so far.
"We try to make it a little more convenient for the working community around here, if they're on a timed lunch," Jennifer said. "There are some awesome restaurants around here, but you have a 20 to 25 minute wait for your food to be done."
There are a few different sitting areas, including one with couches. The owners said the idea is that they want the shop to be a hangout spot and somewhere people can sit and work on their computers, like a coffee shop in a big city.
"We wanted a space like most cafés where people can come in, work on their laptops and get a little bit done and drink some coffee and hang out," Honeycutt said. "A lot of people have been doing that."
They want to add outdoor seating and entertainment in the future along with expanding the menu and being open weekends.
While there are bakeries and coffee shops elsewhere in town, there's nothing like Jenny Penny's on Main Street. Jennifer said they're happy to be part of the continued revitalization of downtown. They're encouraged by the new business and building renovations they've seen over the past year.
"Lights are coming back on in every building and it's cool to see Main Street kind of becoming what it used to be," McCoy said.
Jenny Penny's is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 2 to 6 p.m. Fridays at 423 Main St. It can be called at 740-295-9866 or found on Facebook.


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Mile End's Loveon Cafe is a quiet suburban over-achiever - and CityMag reckons its Infamous Chicken Cob makes the perfect mid-week lunch.
Adelaide potter Ayesha Aggarwal tells how a decision to prioritise happiness helped her turn a creative passion into a career.
They sell one thing at the Central Market Plaza stall O Bun Chef: the popular Japanese sweet known as Obanyaki. And when it comes to fillings, the custard takes the cake.
Adelaide's online vintage fashion retailers Claire Inc and Filter Store are setting up a collaborative pop-up retail space on Hindley Street.
The biggest brand in Australian fashion is coming to Adelaide for the first time this week. This is why.
Independent label The Wolf Gang is another example of how the South Australian fashion industry is growing to become more global.


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Yesterday, former Workflow co-founders Ari Weinstein and Conrad Kramer launched their new desktop AI startup under the name Software Applications Incorporated along with fellow ex-Apple employee Kim Beverett, giving The Verge an exclusive interview as well as launching their incredible website software.inc.
Weinstein, Kramer, and Beverett have a new office in downtown San Francisco just minutes away from the former Workflow offices, where the team of co-founders will be developing generative AI for the desktop in an attempt to “push operating systems forward.”
This comes over 12 years after the founding of Workflow and almost 6 years since its acquisition by Apple, where Ari and Conrad’s app has become Shortcuts, a deeply-integrated automation app that powers everything from Automation on the Mac to the Action button on the latest iPhone. The App Intents protocol built by the Shortcuts team, for example, is key to Apple’s current operating systems, powering features beyond Shortcuts itself like interactive widgets.
Among the quotes in The Verge’s article, Ari mentions capturing “the magic that you felt when you used computers in the ’80s and ’90s,” as evidenced by their delightful website design and classic-style company name.
The team is also as thinking about how “language models and AI give us the ingredients to make a new kind of software that can unlock this fundamental power of computing and make everyday people able to use computers to actually solve their problems” – a subject area where they are undoubtedly experts already.
Perhaps the most exciting part to me, as a former member of the Workflow team, is this paragraph, mentioning how large the target for the team is:
While a handful of startups such as Rewind are building personalized AI systems for the desktop, none I’ve come across appear to have as wide a vision as that of Software Applications, which suggests they have an open lane for the time being. And with most consumer software companies building primarily for mobile these days, it’s refreshing to see a team focusing on the Mac instead.
Truly, if anyone can (and should) have the freedom to fully explore this realm, it should be Ari, Conrad, and Kim – plus whoever’s lucky enough to join their team. After all, they are perhaps one of the only teams out there who’ve actually already changed the landscape themselves, and quite successfully I might add – mobile is basically done and in Apple’s hands, now onto to desktop.
Plus, if you haven’t yet, you absolutely HAVE to check out their website. The team ”spent a totally unnecessary amount of time building this website” turning it into a literal recreation of MacOS 8, including fully-functional applications for things like games, drawing, and, yes, even AppleScript – you can’t deny the passion this team has for the Mac.


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Kapil Dev unveils Apne 11…here is your chance to meet the legendary cricketer
New Delhi: Apne 11 has launched a daily fantasy sports platform, aimed at offering its users with a holistic experience in the most expedient manner.
The unique fantasy sports platform gives every fan the opportunity to put his knowledge to test by choosing their own dream team from amongst the players on the actual field and be awarded points in accordance with the performance of the selected team combination.
On the occasion, legendary cricketer Kapil Dev said, “I am thrilled to be associated with Apne 11 as it will present an open opportunity for millions to compete against one another and have the change to connect with sports on an even deeper level than before.”
Apne 11 CEO Akshay Jaggi said, “We are excited to launch Apne 11, a first of its kind daily fantasy sports platform which is easy to use, yet has an exciting game-play that leverages a gamer’s kill to give fantasy sports fanatic the ultimate thrill of competing in real time against one another.”
Apne 11 also announced their launch offer where in users will get 100% cash bonus deposits and a one of its kind opportunity for the user to show their skill and play against the legend by participating in the Kapil League wherein the highest score on Kapil’s leaderboard will win Rs 25 lakhs.
And, it won’t end there. At least 5 lucky winners will also get a chance to meet the legend in person.


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Each month, Cannabis World Congress & Business Exposition (CWCBExpo) offers a convenient roundup of the biggest cannabis news stories and hemp headlines emerging across the nation. Get these updates in your inbox by subscribing to our email newsletter, or follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter (now X) to get the most recent edition when it’s published.
As February unfolds, the Northeast cannabis industry surges ahead. The landscape continues to shift in New York, with more than 100 new licenses marking a significant stride toward expanding the state’s market. Next door, New Jersey is expected to eclipse $1 billion in sales this year, breaking new ground for the Garden State’s cannabis industry. Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) has called for legalization, igniting conversations about the state’s potential entry into the adult-use market. Join us as we navigate through the latest milestones, regulatory advancements, and innovative proposals throughout the region.
New York CCB approves over 100 new licenses
The New York State Cannabis Control Board (CCB) made a milestone decision to approve 109 new licenses in the state. Notably, these are the first non-conditional licenses the state will issue, departing from the previous criteria under the Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) program, which prioritized justice-involved individuals. Among these licenses, 38 are allocated for new retail dispensary ventures, while an additional 26 are designated for microbusiness operations, which vertically integrated cultivation, processing, distribution, and retail operations under one license.
“Adult-use cannabis is a growing industry in New York that will help local economies across the state,” Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said. “The approval of over 100 licenses is a good start and provides individuals with the opportunity to apply for licensing to help drive up local economies around them.”
The surge in licensing represents a substantial increase from previous numbers, nearly tripling the number of licenses since December. New York is now home to 70 licensed adult-use dispensaries, with more establishments poised to open soon.
New Jersey sales predicted to surpass $1 billion in 2024
Jeff Brown, the executive director of the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJ-CRC), is bullish on the state’s cannabis industry, projecting that 2024 will be the year when New Jersey exceeds the milestone of $1 billion in annual sales.
Speaking at a public hearing, Brown emphasized the forthcoming regulations aimed at the expansion of edible offerings in the state, highlighting that these regulations would not only enhance consumer safety but also incorporate Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) provisions to align with federal legalization bills.
“It’s something that will set New Jersey’s market up to compete in decades to come,” Brown said during the hearing. “I’m not counting on federal legalization happening anytime soon, but nonetheless we want to make sure businesses in New Jersey are prepared to compete whenever that opportunity arises.”
Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty partner with CBD company
The Brooklyn Nets and the New York Liberty have made headlines by becoming the first professional basketball teams of the NBA and WNBA to join forces with a CBD company. Mynd Drinks, a hemp-based CBD sparkling beverages company, is set to collaborate with the iconic New York teams following the NBA’s decision to remove cannabis from its list of banned substances for players.
“This gives us an anchor for the East Coast in terms of exposure, marketing, and expansion,” Mynd Drinks CEO Simon Allen said in a statement. “We’ve had tons of opportunities to work with different teams but what we really liked about both of the teams was they shared a lot of what our vision was.”
While specific details of the agreements are not all made public, reports state that Mynd Drinks will be available for purchase at all Nets and Liberty games. The company will also sponsor Liberty theme nights throughout the season.
Pennsylvania governor pushes for cannabis legalization
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) is urging state officials to seize bipartisan momentum and push forward with the legalization of cannabis in recent statements. Shapiro underscored the urgency of the matter, emphasizing that Pennsylvania’s neighboring states, including Ohio, have already embraced legalization, leaving the Keystone State at a competitive disadvantage.
With an estimated loss of $250 million annually in potential revenue, the governor emphasized the tangible benefits of legalization, highlighting its potential to bolster economic development and fund crucial sectors such as education.
“The reality is, as long as we have safeguards in place to make sure our children aren’t getting their hands on it — it’s just like, we don’t want our kids out drinking, right?” he said. “And a lot of that is going to be a burden on parents and schools and others to make sure we educate on that. Then I think this is something we’ve got to compete on.”
In a separate conversation WILK News Radio, Shapiro added that he’s personally “evolved on” the issue and wants a legal cannabis market rooted in the state. “[We are] focused on lifting up Pennsylvania businesses in the process — not these big national conglomerates — and we’re empowering people in local communities to it that I think some good can come from it.”
These statements come shortly after the governor included cannabis in his $48.3 billion budget proposal, calling for a 20% excise tax on legal cannabis and estimating that an adult-use cannabis industry in the state could bring in $14.8 million in tax revenue in its first year. Those new dollars would help pay for additional spending on public transit, economic development, housing, and health care, among other priorities.
Navigating the green together
Adapting to the dynamic and evolving landscape of cannabis in the Northeast is essential for staying informed and ahead of the curve. Whether you’re a stakeholder, entrepreneur, or enthusiast, CWCBExpo ensures you have the insight and resources to navigate this burgeoning industry successfully. Subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on social media to stay updated and engaged with the latest developments shaping the future of cannabis in the Northeast and beyond.


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Bad News for Big Oil: Electric Vehicle Sales to Surpass Gas Guzzlers by 2038
Despite the Koch brothers' best efforts, it looks like gas guzzlers are on the way out. Sales of electric vehicles will surpass those using internal combustion engines by 2038, a new analysis has found.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) projects that "electric cars will outsell fossil-fuel powered vehicles within two decades as battery prices plunge, turning the global auto industry upside down and signaling economic turmoil for oil-exporting countries ... [displacing] about 8 million barrels a day of oil production—more than the 7 million barrels Saudi Arabia exports today."
"This is economics, pure and simple economics," BNEF's lead advanced-transportation analyst Colin McKerracher said. "Lithium-ion battery prices are going to come down sooner and faster than most other people expect."
The report's bold forecast was also bolstered by surging investment in lithium-ion batteries, higher manufacturing capacity at companies like Tesla Inc. and Nissan Motor Co., as well as rising demand for EVs in China and Europe.
BNEF admitted that its report is the "most bullish to date and is more aggressive than projections made by the International Energy Agency."
Here are other notable projections for the booming category, according to BNEF:
- In just eight years, electric cars will be as cheap as gasoline vehicles, pushing the global fleet to 530 million vehicles by 2040
- Electricity consumption from EVs will grow to 1,800 terawatt-hours in 2040, or 5 percent of global power demand, from 6 terawatt-hours in 2016
- There's around 90 gigawatt hours of EV lithium-ion battery manufacturing capacity online now, and this is set to rise to 270 gigawatt hours by 2021.
- Charging infrastructure will continue to be an issue with bottlenecks capping growth in key Chinese, U.S. and European markets emerging in the mid-2030s
The report is another sign of the shifting energy landscape. Just this month, France joined Norway, Germany and Kenya's efforts to ban gasoline- and diesel-powered cars. Also, Volvo became the first major carmaker to phase out vehicles powered by fossil fuels. Finally, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that his company is building the world's largest lithium ion battery to solve in South Australia's energy woes.
Meanwhile, DeSmog reported that conservative oil billionaires Charles and David Koch are funding a campaign called Fueling U.S. Forward to squash the rise of electric vehicles. The group released a video called the Dirty Secrets of Electric Cars., featuring "blatant factual errors, misleading statements, and glaring omissions," DeSmog writes.
Interestingly, the BNEF points out that the world's "Electric Car Revolution" could be well underway except for one major factor: Donald Trump.
According to the report:
"In Europe, almost 67 percent of new cars sold will be electrified in 2040, and 58 percent of sales in the U.S. and 51 percent in China, BNEF said. Though there's uncertainty in the U.S., where President Donald Trump could dramatically disrupt electric vehicle growth by withdrawing support for the technology in the world's second biggest car market."
EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
By Charli Shield
At unsettling times like the coronavirus outbreak, it might feel like things are very much out of your control. Most routines have been thrown into disarray and the future, as far as the experts tell us, is far from certain.
By Elizabeth Henderson
Farmworkers, farmers and their organizations around the country have been singing the same tune for years on the urgent need for immigration reform. That harmony turns to discord as soon as you get down to details on how to get it done, what to include and what compromises you are willing to make. Case in point: the Farm Workforce Modernization Act (H.R. 5038), which passed in the House of Representatives on Dec. 11, 2019, by a vote of 260-165. The Senate received the bill the next day and referred it to the Committee on the Judiciary, where it remains. Two hundred and fifty agriculture and labor groups signed on to the United Farm Workers' (UFW) call for support for H.R. 5038. UFW President Arturo Rodriguez rejoiced:
By Julia Conley
A council representing more than 800,000 doctors across the U.S. signed a letter Friday imploring President Donald Trump to reverse his call for businesses to reopen by April 12, warning that the president's flouting of the guidance of public health experts could jeopardize the health of millions of Americans and throw hospitals into even more chaos as they fight the coronavirus pandemic.
By Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner
Over six gallons of water are required to produce one gallon of wine. "Irrigation, sprays, and frost protection all [used in winemaking] require a lot of water," explained winemaker and sommelier Keith Wallace, who's also a professor and the founder of the Wine School of Philadelphia, the largest independent wine school in the U.S. And water waste is just the start of the climate-ruining inefficiencies commonplace in the wine industry. Sustainably speaking, climate change could be problematic for your favorite glass of wine.


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Blizzard is developing a new Warcraft spin-off based on the mega-hit mobile game Pokémon Go, according to a report from Kotaku.
Cory Stockton, the lead designer of World of Warcraft, is a big fan of the game and the report said how employees at Blizzard competitively play Pokémon Go almost every day. However, the new Warcraft game will not be completely like Pokémon, but will have “a lot more to it” and will also include single-player gameplay.
Not a lot of information has been revealed about this Pokémon Go inspired game, because the original lengthy in-depth report was written on Blizzard’s Diablo franchise. The game received a lot backlash from gaming fans after it was announced at Blizzard’s annual gaming convention, Blizzcon, last month.
It will definitely be interesting to see how if Blizzard will manage to nail this new theme for their Warcraft game after the terrible reactions they got for Diablo. The new mobile game is currently being developed by a Blizzard “incubation team” and will be made available on almost every major smartphone platform.


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CME logs record first-quarter volumes
CME Group’s average daily volumes reached an all-time high of 22.2 million contracts in the first quarter, up 30% year on year, the exchange said on Tuesday April 3.
Metals volumes stood at 713,000 contracts per day during the quarter, up 39% from the first three months of 2017. Option volumes averaged 4.9 million contracts per day, up 31% in the same comparison.
While China and the United States clash over tariffs and intellectual property theft, opening the door for a prolonged trade war, the CME is benefiting from the spike in volatility.
Copper prices crashed in March following President Donald Trump’s signing of aluminium and steel tariffs and pivot to targeting China for potential import restrictions that could cost the Asian country $50 billion. The world’s second-largest economy launched its own retaliatory tariffs on US goods, such as pork and soybeans.
Ongoing uncertainty increases volatility, which in turn leads investors to migrate to exchanges like the CME where they can hedge risk, CME global head of metals products Young-Jin Chang told American Metal Market in an interview earlier this year.
But that has not translated to higher US copper premiums. Still, April is traditionally when demand peaks, consumer interest leads to increased spot deals and copper premiums experience upward pressure.
American Metal Market’s assessment of the US Midwest copper cathode premium was at 5.5-6 cents per lb on April 3, unchanged since late January.
Some analysts are optimistic that prices will rise in the coming months, with INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir indicating this week that the market is oversold, drawn down by exaggerated trade fears.


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Tv24 Desk: The leading digital services provider of the country, Robi, has signed an MoU with one of the country’s leading real estate companies, Rupayan Housing Estate Limited.
The MoU will enable customers of the Robi Elite program to avail gift vouchers worth 5 lac taka on any real estate purchase at Rupayan City Uttara, a premium mega gated community. Robi elites can also avail special benefits on group-buying and referrals under the MOU at Rupayan City Uttara.
Robi’s Chief Commercial Officer, Shihab Ahmad and Rupayan City Uttara’s Deputy Managing Director, Md Mahbubur Rahman signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organizations. The MoU signing ceremony was held at Rupayan City Uttara premises.
Following the launch of Robi’s dedicated customer loyalty program “Robi Elite”, the company has been introducing newer ways for Robi customers to avail lifestyle benefits even outside of the network. The collaboration with Rupayan is one more step on this endeavour.
Robi’s Vice President, CLM & IB, Rafiqul Haque; General Manager, Enterprise Business, Nafiz Ahmed Sayed; Manager, CLM & IB, Mohita Nath; Rupayan City Uttara’s Head of Marketing, Goswami Ashim, Head of Sales, Rezaul Haque Limon, Head of Maxus, Hanif Hakim were present at the MoU signing ceremony.


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The independent Latin NCAP test organization for the Latin American market has conducted crash tests on the Suzuki Baleno hatchback. During a safety check, the compact model performed appallingly, demonstrating the vulnerability of occupants during collisions. At the same time, the specialists did not begin to complete the tests of the model, since there are no standard security elements in its design.
The Suzuki Baleno hatchback is produced in India by the specialists of the Maruti Suzuki company. The Indian version is equipped with two airbags as standard. During the tests, the car showed inadequate protection of the knees of the driver and passenger, as well as complete exposure to the chest. According to the results of the first crash tests, experts rated the hatchback safety at 20 percent for adult passengers and only 17 percent for children.
The next were to be tested during a side impact and in a collision with a pillar. However, experts refused to crash tests, since the Indian Suzuki Baleno is not equipped with side head protection. At the same time, the European version of the hatchback is already in the “base” equipped with six airbags, as well as a dynamic stabilization system ESC. Experts once again complained that most cars for the Latin American market lack even the standard protection systems that European counterparts have.
At the end of October, the American Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted pilot crash tests under the new rules. Out of 20 SUVs and crossovers, only Mazda CX-5 coped with the modified tests.