text:
Motorcycles 2021 Yamaha Enduro Motorcycles Revealed
2021 Yamaha Motocross Bikes Revealed
2021 Yamaha Motocross Bikes RevealedRelated: 2020 Yamaha YZ450F First Ride Review
About two months afterunveiled its and , the bLU cRU recently announced its two —the and . Since the quarter-liter trailbike enjoyed a major overhaul last year, the larger-displacement model receives the attention for 2021.
2021 Yamaha WR450F Updates
Dirt Bikes For Kids
Dirt Bikes For Kids
Beginning with the engine, the 2021 WR450F features an all-new, more compact cylinder head with a redesigned combustion chamber shape and steeper valve angles, along with a higher-compression piston, longer connecting rod, a refined wide-ratio, five-speed transmission to provide smoother shifting, and a different crankcase breather system which is said to be more efficient and thereby decrease pumping losses.
The Tuning Fork brand also focused on the WR450F’s chassis for 2021. The bLU cRU’s flagship enduro bike features the latest evolution ofaluminum bilateral beam frame, which has been redesigned with new wall thicknesses and flex characteristics that are designed to provide improved cornering performance, traction, and bump reaction to give the rider more confidence to push harder in a variety of off-road conditions. The engine mounts, top triple clamp, and front axle have been refined to reduce weight, match with the new frame, and improve handling and performance. The WR450F’s KYB suspension components have different compression and rebound characteristics to complement the new frame as well. Additional changes to the chassis include a newly designed front brake caliper, front disc, and brake pads.
2021 GasGas Motorcycles First Look
A glance at GasGas' first-ever production motocross bikes among others.Unsurprisingly, GasGas is going to campaign its new models in a variety of different racing disciplines here in the United States. Under the guidance of 10-time AMA National Trials champion Geoff Aaron, who serves as GasGas North America’s Off-Road Race Team manager, the brand will continue with its factory trials team and will also work with the GasGas Coastal Factory Racing Team and their team manager Barry Hawk as they prepare to contest the Grand National Cross-Country (GNCC) and Kenda AMA National Enduro series in 2021.
The final changes made to the WR450F for 2020 include a more compact electric start system, a redesigned, full-featured enduro meter with a higher-contrast liquid crystal display, and a new real-time fuel consumption meter with a low fuel warning light. According to Yamaha, the combined changes made to the WR450F deliver an increased power output with a more controllable, linear acceleration and lightweight handling characteristics. The 2021 Yamaha WR450F will be available from Yamaha dealers this month in next-generation Team Yamaha Blue for $9,799.
2021 Yamaha WR250F Updates
2021 Yamaha MT-07 First Look Preview
A number of updates on deck for the midsize naked motorcycle from Yamaha.Related: New 2020 Yamaha MT-07 Spied Testing
The WR250F comes with appearance differences for 2021 with a blue headlight, blue side number plates, black fork guards, and new graphics. Yamaha’s smaller-displacement enduro model will be available in October 2020 in next-generation Team Yamaha Blue for $8,599.
2021 Yamaha Tracer 7 GT Announced, Not Coming to USA .
Another machine we’d like to see make its debut in the USThe 7 GT is powered by the same crossplane twin that’s found in the MT-07, which has already proven itself to be a fun and capable powerplant. Plopping that mill into an upright touring motorcycle would put a lot of midsize, legacy touring rides currently available in the US, like the Versys 650 or V-Strom 650, on high alert. Especially if the bike stayed at or below $8,500.


text:
NETELLER and Skrill Backing Out of 100 Countries
NETELLER and Skrill, two commonly used payment options at many popular online poker sites, will no longer be providing prepaid MasterCard services to customers in 100 countries, their parent company has announced. This new reality will leave many poker players scrambling to find more efficient ways to receive withdrawals.NETELLER and Skrill are cancelling prepaid MasterCard’s in 100 countries, but the US and UK should not be affected.
European nations in the EU and European Economic Area (EEA) will not be affected by the change. That includes countries such as Norway, Switzerland, France, Austria, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Countries that will be affected include New Zealand, Australia, Colombia, and Brazil, among others.
The company that owns these two e-Wallet services, Paysafe Group, advised customers of the decision in a recent email.
“We regret to inform you that as of November 25, 2016, we will no longer offer the Skrill Prepaid MasterCard® in your country,” the letter stated. “You will not be able to use your card but your Skrill Account remains fully functional and your balance is unaffected. You can withdraw funds from your Skrill Account to your bank account or send money to any other Skrill user or online business accepting Skrill.”
Online poker players don’t like waiting weeks to get their money after requesting a cash out. And e-Wallet services, such as NETELLER and Skrill, are more convenient in that arena, because the money can be transferred from an online poker site to a prepaid MasterCard.
Once the money is on the prepaid card, it becomes available for use anywhere MasterCard is accepted, which is basically everywhere nowadays.
Paysafe Group backing out of 100 countries is going to cause a problem, because many poker players won’t be able to get their money as quickly. Other common withdrawal options include bank wire transfer and Entropay, neither of which allow customers to have access to the money as fast as NETELLER or Skrill.
PokerStars New Jersey, the only state in the country where the world’s largest poker site operates, currently accepts NETELLER and Skrill withdrawals. It’s unlikely this action will affect customers in the US, but Paysafe Group hasn’t officially announced that definitively at this time.

domain: news


text:
According to a company press release, Rio Tinto’s 2016 Pink Diamonds Tender collection of 63 rare pink, red and violet diamonds from its Argyle mine has delivered a record result, reflecting strong global demand for these increasingly rare diamonds. Known as The Chroma Collection, the 2016 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender comprised the highest quality, size and colour composition in the Tender’s 32 year history and was highly sought after, with winners from 10 countries including a strong representation from the sophisticated US collector market. The 2016 Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender achieved the highest average price per carat since the Tender began in 1984, although - true to form - the Anglo-Australian miner did not disclose the price. Reports from the record-setting 2015 auction suggested an average price per carat of well over $1 million. Over the past 15 years the value of Argyle pink diamonds sold at Tender have appreciated over 300%.
The centrepiece of the collection, the 2.83-carat Argyle Violet, is the largest and most valuable violet diamond recovered to date from the Argyle mine in the remote east Kimberley region of Western Australia. The Argyle Violet was secured by US based coloured diamond specialist, L.J. West Diamonds Inc. President of L.J. West Diamonds Inc. Larry West said “The Argyle Violet is an incomparable diamond that forms an important addition to our Art of Nature collection of rare gems. It is a truly unique treasure that we are proud to be exhibiting as one of the finest examples of a historic fancy colour diamond.” Meanwhile, Leibish & Co. announced that this year they won the first Internally Flawless Argyle Tender stone offered in over 20 years: a 0.71-carat Fancy Intense Pink (see images below).
Leibish & Co. has been a major participant in the Argyle Tenders over the past 10 years. The company has won a wide selection of Tender stones, going home last year with 26 Tender diamonds. This invitation only event works much different from any regular auction, as you have no idea what other people offered on the stones you are interested in. “You are bidding against the wall, and you have no idea what anyone else is willing to pay for the goods,” says Leibish Polnauer president of Leibish & Co. “Only the highest bidder takes the stone, while the rest go home empty handed.”
Rio Tinto Diamonds general manager of sales Patrick Coppens said “We are delighted with the results of this year’s historic collection. Argyle’s pink, red and violet Tender diamonds are in a class of their own in terms of rarity, beauty and provenance. These natural coloured diamonds are truly beyond rare.” Argyle Pink Diamonds manager Josephine Johnson adds, “The market fundamentals for pink diamonds - strong demand as a result of extremely limited supply - continue to support their significant value appreciation.“ Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine produces virtually the entire world’s supply of rare pink diamonds, with the finest from a full year’s production showcased in the annual Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender. The 2016 Tender was the first to comprise diamonds solely from Argyle’s underground mine.


text:
Why insiders think we'll see a new Xbox One at E3
And a new Xbox One controller, too.
We're less than three years into the life of Xbox One and PlayStation 4, yet reports abound about new versions of each.
Digital Foundry has done an excellent job laying out the many details of Sony's upcoming, unannounced PlayStation 4K and how it will co-exist with PS4. But Microsoft's new machine is far more mysterious.
We've seen reference to a new Xbox in an FCC listing for a new wireless chip and, just yesterday, what appeared to be details of the console's production in China.
Last night, trusted Microsoft source Paul Thurrot reported that we would see the company announce new Xbox hardware at E3 in June, along with a refreshed controller.
But reports are confused as to whether this console will be a beefed up competitor to PS4K or simply a slimline version of the current hardware.
Yesterday, an apparent Chinese production leak appeared to reveal details of an "Xbox One second generation" machine which entered production back in February. The listing indicated the console - or, far more likely, part of it - would weigh in at just 600-800g. It is highly unlikely this refers to the finished console unit - the current Xbox One weighs 3.2kg, which would make 800g far too drastic a reduction.
It does, however, appear to indicate production is already well underway for a release sooner rather than later - perhaps, immediately after E3?
This would fit with listings for a redesigned Xbox wireless chip, which popped up in an FCC filing earlier in the month. Under US law, all companies must submit new wireless technology to the FCC for testing. Documents supplied with the filing are largely devoid of information - deliberately so - although eagle-eyed fans noted the chip would be shipped with the same Xbox One safety information manual as the original console.
A non-disclosure agreement for elements of the filing is due to lift on 25th June - just after E3 takes place. All of which suggests we won't have too much longer to wait until see Microsoft's new Xbox - and find out if it is just a slim redesign, or something else entirely.
An Xbox One slim would fit with recent remarks from Xbox boss Phil Spencer, who played down expectation of a "Xbox One and a half" - effectively, what PS4K will be. Any hardware update would have to be "substantial", he said, which suggests the machine Microsoft has cooking will update the hardware with a new design rather than improved capabilities.


text:
TERA Announces Lost Isle Update
October 13th marks a big day for En Masse Entertainment as a new update arrives in their hit action MMORPG, TERA: Rising! The Lost Isle will revamp the new player experience, combined with an improved and more functional character creation system.
In addition to this update offering a more fulfilling story and sped up process for leveling from 1-11, it has something nice in store for higher level players returning from a lengthy absence. Players with a character between 58 and 65 will receive a Returning Hero tab, easing them back into the memories of their old skill bar, and assisting in getting their gear up to snuff to stay competitive.
More specific details on this update will surely arrive as the launch date draws nearer. Keep an eye on TERA’s news page for more info.
Articles You May Enjoy
- Luvinia introduces Abbes Dungeon
- Luvinia Online has just released a new dungeon and raised the level cap in its latest update.
- Digital Extremes Announces New FPS: Keystone
- Digital Extremes announces Keystone™, a competitive first-person shooter with a distinct blend of first-person action and deck-building.
- Aura Kingdom DevBlog 2
- With our first round of class reveals this week, we’d like to go a little more in-depth about how classes function in Aura Kingdom as a whol...


text:
Avon Products Inc (AVP.N)
Feb 14 Avon Products Inc's quarterly revenue missed analysts' estimates on Thursday, hurt by a fall in the number of its sales representatives and a dip in demand for products in Latin American markets, sending its shares down as much as 19 percent.
Feb 14 Avon Products Inc reported lower-than-expected total revenue and a quarterly loss, hurt by dwindling demand for its beauty products and decreasing numbers of its sales representatives.
Nov 1 Avon Products' third-quarter profit and sales missed estimates as the U.S. cosmetics maker struggled to retain its salespeople in all markets, particularly Brazil and Russia.
Nov 1 Avon Products' third-quarter profit surged as the U.S. cosmetics maker recorded a tax benefit in Brazil.
Sept 17 Brazil's Natura Cosmeticos SA said on Monday it was not in talks with cosmetics maker Avon Products Inc about a possible takeover of the London-based company.


text:
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The pandemic changed many holiday traditions including family reunions in New Orleans. Many are missing the New Orleans spirit this year, which is why Brajuan Madison is sending her family a local gift card.
“They’ve been gone from New Orleans for over 10, 20 years so they have trinkets here that you can only find here, and it’s really good you go out of town and they’re like where do you get that it’s a little piece of New Orleans they can take with them,” Madison said.
“It’s the day before Cyber Monday and this is what it looks like. If you can see the package is behind me this is just a fraction of what has been sent out was about to be sent out,” said Fleurty Girl owner, Lauren Haydel.
Fleurty Girl’s holiday online shopping deals started days ago, but owner, Lauren Haydel says sales are up.
“Looking at the numbers, we’ve definitely seen more people ordering online not just for the holiday season but all year. So we are increasing every day we’re just like blown away we’re bringing in more people to help us to get this done,” Haydel said.
For safety, she’s encouraging folks to shop online and order early.
“There seems to be some chatter about shipping delays, and we want to make sure we get your gifts to you on time.”
Haydel says while she’s optimistic about what this holiday shopping season will bring, she’s also worried about making up for a much smaller Mardi Gras season.
“At Fleurty Girl, Mardi Gras is busier than Christmas so we need to have our best Christmas so we can keep going in first-quarter without parades. So we’re being really creative and we’ve got some other things up our sleeve. No pun intended since were a t-shirt company, so yeah it’s really important for people to shop local especially in New Orleans because we’re not going to have that Mardi Gras business so we need you,” Haydel said.
“They can’t come out from Mardi Gras for the holidays this is like a little token like he was a piece of New Orleans. We miss you guys and hope to see you guys soon when all this craziness is over,” Madison said.
For New Orleanians who want to spread that New Orleans love, what better way than shopping local.
Haydel says pandemic ornaments, as well as Mardi Gras memorabilia, are popular items this year.
Copyright 2020 WVUE. All rights reserved.


text:
Dropbox doubles Pro plans, intros new 500GB option
Dropbox has announced they will be doubling the storage capacities for their Pro 50GB and 100GB plans later today, and introducing a new 500GB plan in the process. Current Dropbox Pro users will automatically see their storage space bumped up without the any prompting or meddling. What’s more, Dropbox is also giving Pro users a three-month Pro 100 trial plan to shared with a friend, family member or co-worker.
As of this writing, the pricing for the 500GB plan has yet to be announced. Currently, these are the options available to users of Pro accounts:
- Pro 100GB (formerly 50GB) – $9.99/month or $99.00/year
- Pro 200GB (formerly 100GB) – $19.99/month or $199.00/year
Further information can be found here: http://blog.dropbox.com
Download Dropbox to your Android phone or tablet for free today!
You might also like
Mplayit, the worlds largest mobile app store has made a better way to view applications in the Android Market. Already selling apps for a number of different platforms such as
One of the reasons smartwatches are great is because they have so many of the same features as Android phones. However, smartwatches don’t come with the option of having a lock
Verizon today began offering its latest entry-level smartphone, the LG Enact. Priced at $19 with a two-year service agreement, the phone features a QWERTY keyboard, 4-inch 800×480 display, 5-megapixel rear


text:
Premium fuel prices at petrol stations in Argentina’s provinces soared as high as 43.50 pesos (US$ 1.57) per litre this weekend, after the state-run energy company YPF raised its prices for a second time in less than a week.
The 43.50-peso price tag was registered in Sauce, a city with 10,000 inhabitants located 393 kilometres south of Corrientes City, which sells YPF products.
YPF raised prices by five percent on July 1 and by an additional one percent this past Saturday, July 7.
Average premium fuel products — which car companies recommend for newer models — were selling for 36.5 pesos in Sauce at the end of June. They rose to 38.5 pesos on July 1 and 43.5 pesos (US$ 1.57) five days later.
The price hikes reflect a broader problem with pricing at fuel stations in the provinces, with the prices at Sauce reflecting a 44-percent difference with the average per-litre prices that drivers pay in Buenos Aires City. (On average, drivers in the capital pay 28.11 pesos per litre for premium.)
Competition in major cities means fuel providers are forced to keep prices low, while in the provinces some towns or smaller cities rely on just one or two petrol stations.
The Energy Ministry has tried to shift the responsibility for rising prices onto fuel providers, saying pricing “is totally liberal” in Argentina.


text:
The Toyota Prius is easily the most popular hybrid in America, thanks in large part to its excellent fuel economy.
Read This Article
The Toyota RAV4 EV broke cover at this year's Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS26), ushering in the first all-electric production crossover in the U.S.
For a car that costs a mere $24,000, the rich sure love to flock to the Toyota Prius.
Right before the holiday weekend, we caught the new 2015 Toyota Prius testing on Los Angeles roads alongside a current Prius model.


text:
Why James Haskell’s appearance at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Royal Wedding has infuriated some rugby fansThe Rugby star turned up for the marriage at St George’s Chapel in Windsor with fiancee Chloe Madeley12:34, 19 MAY 2018Updated19:06, 19 MAY 2018Get daily updates directly to your inbox+ SubscribeThank you for subscribing!Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid EmailJames Haskell has put the Royal Wedding before watching his Wasps teammates compete for a shot at the Premiership title at Allianz Park.Rugby star Haskell turned up for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s marriage at St George’s Chapel in Windsor with fiancee Chloe Madeley.He was invited by the newly appointed Duke of Sussex, a keen rugby union fan and patron for the Rugby Football Union, with the pair previously seen joking during a England training session.Flanker Haskell is due to leave the Coventry based club for Northampton Saints this summer and is currently ruled out from playing with a foot injury.David Beckham proves he’s still one of the coolest men alive at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s weddingWasps, who finished third in the Premiership table, are facing Saracens in their semi final on Saturday, with kick off at 12.30pm.Haskell’s desertion angered former England internationals, and BT pundits, Austin Healy and Lawrence Dallaglio.”It would be poor form really, wouldn’t it?,” Dallaglio said on BT. “He should be here with his teammates. I’m sure Harry wouldn’t mind, he loves his rugby anyway.”allMost ReadMost RecentUnai EmeryUnai Emery ‘proud’ to be new Arsenal manager as Spaniard appears to confirm himself as Arsene Wenger’s successor on his official websiteThe Spaniard appears to have prematurely announced himself as Arsene Wenger’s replacementFIFA World CupManchester United and Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero ruled out of World Cup 2018The 31 year old had been named alongside Willy Caballero and Franco Armani on MondayUnai Emery5 players Unai Emery will be looking to sign for cheap jordans on sale Arsenal as he plans to take club in new direction after Arsene WengerEmery has worked with many top players in his time and may be looking to take some of them to north London with himLiverpool FCJurgen Klopp tells Robbie Fowler when Liverpool believed they could win Champions League and which Real Madrid star they can exposeThe German sat down with the Kop hero to discuss the Kiev showpiece on SaturdaySummer transfer windowTransfer news LIVE updates: Latest deals and rumours as Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal target signingsJurgen Klopp, Jose Mourinho and incoming Arsenal boss Unai Emery are all scouring the market and the Reds could be the first to pounceLiverpool FCJurgen Klopp recalls the one moment Liverpool made him go “wow” this seasonThe Reds boss was speaking exclusively to Mirror Football columnist and Reds legend Robbie FowlerJurgen KloppJurgen Klopp finally opens up on how he really felt about Philippe Coutinho leaving LiverpoolThe Brazilian departed Anfield for Barcelona in January for a staggering 146millionTransfer NewsChristian Pulisic responds to Liverpool transfer speculation as Reds ‘get set to increase interest’PLUS: How Mohamed Salah has had a big impact on the local community in Liverpool away from the football pitchArsenal transfer newsArsenal ‘battling with Chelsea and Everton for Hamburg starlet Josha Vagnoman’PLUS: Unai Emery will have very little say in which players are brought into Arsenal this summerGolfGolfer wins $1.3m in first ever tournament victory then gets brutally friend zoned after going in for a kiss on live TVAaron Wise pocketed a cool 1.03 for the PGA victory but will have to work on his post victory celebrations.
cheap jordan sneakers The wave of border cheap jordans shoes crossings started cheap jordans sale up in cheap nike shoes January 2017 and ramped up over the summer cheap jordans sale as many Haitian immigrants cheap jordans in china in the United States who were cheap jordans online at risk cheap jordans sale of losing their temporary legal status cheap air force streamed into Canada on cheap jordans online expectations they could find a cheap jordans online safe haven. In the months since, cheap jordans on sale thousands of Nigerians cheap jordans shoes have made umjordanshoes.com the same cheap jordans online crossing. Border since President Donald Trump took office, some of whom have told Reuters they left the cheap jordans from china United States cheap jordans online because of cheap Air max shoes Trump policies and anti immigrant rhetoric.. cheap jordan sneakers
cheap jordans in stores It’s no wonder cheap yeezys Vans have been around for over 50 years. Not cheap air jordan only are the classic cheap air jordan slip on sneakersa Zappos cheap air force top cheap jordans free shipping seller, but the cheap jordan sneakers brand has also collaborated with retailers like Marc Jacobs, and more. They’re cheap nike shoes just as comfortable as the timeless skater slip ons, but cheap jordans in china boast new features that enable you towear them on more challenging surfaces and for longer distances cheap Air max shoes cheap jordans in stores.


text:
10 August 2017, Melaka – YAB Datuk Seri Utama Ir. Haji Idris bin Haji Haron, Chief Minister of Melaka today officiated the ground breaking ceremony of Smart Industrial Centre (SIC) Melaka at the Bukit Rambai Industrial Park, Melaka. The project, a collaborative venture between Konica Minolta Business Technologies (Malaysia) (hereinafter KMMY) and its business partners, marks Malaysia’s first-of-its-kind manufacturing cluster centered on digital manufacturing concept.
Also present at the ceremony were YB Datuk Wira Othman Muhamad (Speaker of Melaka State Assembly), YB Datuk Seri Haji Naim Abu Bakar (State Secretary of Melaka), Mr. Kazushi Izuchi (Counsellor of Japan Embassy in Malaysia), Encik Zabidi Mahbar (Executive Director, Strategic Planning, Malaysian Investment Development Authority – MIDA, representing YBhg. Dato’ Azman Mahmud, CEO of MIDA) and key management personnel of Konica Minolta Japan and Malaysia.
On congratulating KMMY and its business partners for the ground breaking ceremony of SIC Melaka, YBhg. Dato’ Azman Mahmud, Chief Executive Officer of Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) said, “The company’s initiative of developing SIC Melaka is laudable as it will provide a platform for KMMY’s vendors, especially our Malaysian companies to embrace smart manufacturing. Through this establishment, local vendors stand to benefit via access to technical expertise as well as opportunity for technical collaboration with KMMY. I would like to encourage more foreign multinational corporations (MNCs) to emulate Konica Minolta in its drive to develop its local supply chain, which in return will also enhance forward-and-backward linkages, create quality jobs as well as enhance the overall competitiveness of the local supply chain network.”
SIC Melaka, with estimated total investments of US$56 million (exc. investments on facilities and digital manufacturing) is poised to act as a catalyst to an even more vibrant manufacturing sector in the state of Melaka. For the record, Melaka is among the top ten largest recipients of approved investments in the manufacturing sector for the year 2016. A total of 23 manufacturing projects valued at RM1.4 billion were approved by MIDA last year, with the potential to generate more than 2,200 jobs for the locals once implemented. “Konica Minolta is an exemplary foreign investor that continues to create value for Malaysia by contributing to the nation’s agenda. Presently, this Japanese renowned technology company has chosen Malaysia as the destination for its latest state-of-the-art manufacturing plant to manufacture advanced copier machine, production printers and parts. In fact, just in March last year, KMMY organised its inaugural Supplier Conference here in Melaka, a conference usually held in China for the past 10 years. Today’s event is certainly a welcome addition to the various initiatives undertaken by KMMY, especially so when the initiative blends well with the way forward of Malaysia,” concluded Dato’ Azman.
Amidst the ongoing waves of Industry 4.0, the Malaysian Government has been encouraging the business community, particularly local companies to adopt automation and smart manufacturing concepts and technologies that will serve them well in terms of productivity and competitiveness. KMMY, the first manufacturer in Malaysia to produce multi-functional peripherals (MFPs), has been gradually introducing new ways of production by utilising digital manufacturing with the aim to eliminate inherent constraints in traditional manufacturing. Through this venture, KMMY will extend its digital manufacturing concept to seven (7) suppliers/ vendors, which consist of both foreign and local companies.
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Haffizam Abu Seman
Director of MIDA Melaka
MIDA is the government's principal promotion agency under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) to oversee and drive investments into the manufacturing and services sectors in Malaysia. Starting operations in 1967 with a relatively small set up of 37 staff, MIDA has grown to become a strong and dynamic organisation of over 700 employees. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur Sentral, MIDA today has 12 regional and 23 overseas offices. This year as the organisation celebrates its 50th anniversary, MIDA continues to be the strategic partner to businesses in seizing the opportunities arising from the technology revolution of this era. For more information, please visit www.mida.gov.my and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
LIST OF KMMY’S BUSINESS PARTNERS IN THE SMART INDUSTRIAL CENTRE (SIC) MELAKA
(in alphabetical order)
|Allied Precision Technologies Sdn. Bhd.||
(metal parts and assembly)
|Guppy Plastic Industries Sdn. Bhd.||
(plastic parts and assembly)
|Kamigumi Global Solutions Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.||Global logistic service||13.5|
|KMC Inc.||Consulting and software development solution||
|Pacestar Industries Sdn. Bhd.||
(metal parts, and assembly)
|Seki Aoi Techno (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.||High density printed circuit board||1.6|
|Xin Tong Lian Packing (M) Sdn. Bhd.||Total packing service||9.4|


text:
QIC Real Estate has launched a two-month integrated fashion campaign across five of its shopping centres in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and the Gold Coast.
QIC Real Estate has today launched its Autumn/Winter 22 fashion campaign, My Style My Way, encouraging customers to embrace individuality this season.
Launching across five of QIC’s largest shopping centres in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and the Gold Coast, the My Style My Way campaign is based on the simple premise that fashion is whatever you want it to be.
Led by Australian journalist and television presenter, Brooke Boney, the two-month integrated campaign is built on the insight that customers are rediscovering their own style as they navigate a new way of life.
Bronwyn Cooper, head of marketing at QIC Real Estate explains: “Following a challenging two years, customer sentiment has shifted, as people change their priorities and are looking to reconnect, refresh, and experience life’s moments through a new lens. The My Style My Way campaign aims to empower Australians to come together, shop, and celebrate themselves and each other as we head towards a brighter future together.”
“We are excited to partner with three local personalities all renowned for their personal and unique style, and we’re expecting strong interaction and engagement from our customers,” said Ms Cooper.
Executed via a suite of inspirational and inclusive digital content, and a packed calendar of free and ticketed in-centre events, the Autumn/Winter campaign also features local personalities ex-Australian cricketer Lee Carseldine and fitness icon Brooke Jowett.
Together with Brooke Boney, they will host exclusive events to inspire customers to embrace their fashion individuality and provide guidance on their top looks for the season.
Brooke understands the role fashion plays in building an identity and is calling for Australians to embrace their individuality and express themselves through their style.
“My advice is to seek clothes that make you feel confident, because nothing will look better than something you feel good in. It doesn’t matter what the trend is or what the style is, what matters is how you feel in it and how you would wear it,” said Brooke Boney.
My Style My Way launches on 9 May 2022 across QIC’s shopping centres including Robina Town Centre, Castle Towers, Canberra Centre, Eastland, and Pacific Werribee. Customers will be able to see Boney, Carseldine and Jowett as they visit key centres during the campaign’s two-month program of events.


text:
There's no question about it. The job market is still tough for people such as Lorraine Bero who has been out of work for two years and two months.
"I'm hoping there's something around the corner. I keep on looking, and I keep putting my resumes out," she said.
Silicon Valley remains a high tech center, and that's where the good news is.
"We saw an addition of 3,700 jobs and more than half of that in computers and electronics products. It's a really positive sign," state labor market analyst Janice Shriver said.
Here's another positive sign: In January, there were 40,000 online job ads, compared to 30,000 a year earlier and tech jobs topped the list. Over 2,000 ads were looking for software engineers, nearly 1,000 marketing managers, 823 web developers and almost 600 systems analysts.
"I would say that's a positive indication that there is something bouncing back as far as the economy is concerned," unemployed clerical worker Darrell Raglin said.
Cybercoders, a recruiting firm, had the most ads, followed by Apple, Google and Cisco. But there are non-tech job openings, too. Safeway started interviewing to fill 170 jobs at a new super store under construction in Campbell.
"They took and interviewed 294 folks, and out of that 294, there was about 80 conditional offers made," Work2Future Business Sevices Manager BJ Sims said.
That means 90 jobs are still potentially open. Interviews will be held again at Work2Future in San Jose on Wednesday.
As today's unemployment figures indicate, one month doesn't make a trend. But for the first time since the recession began, we're starting to see a bit of optimism.


text:
BOSTON ( TheStreet) -- We're sorry. The home, car, plane ticket and sandwich you wanted are all out of stock. Can we interest you in a gift card?That's kind of how it went for many consumers this year as prices and loan rates rose, brands and discounted gadgets disappeared, airlines played hardball and restaurants just toyed with their emotions. With some products gone completely, others never to be found new again and still others facing steep markups or obsolescence next year, here are 10 items consumers should have bought when they had a chance:
This former military mainstay was supposed to handle anything that was thrown at it, but couldn't manage 20 years in the American auto market. Somewhere, a Jeep driver is laughing. One of the hardware heroes of the first Gulf War -- if only because Patriot missile systems made lousy lawn toys -- the original Hummer produced by AM General first hit U.S. streets as a civilian vehicle in 1992. It wasn't until GM ( GM) bought the brand in 1998 and spun it off into smaller H2 and H3 models that the iconic vehicle gained traction. "The Hummer, in that form, was the perfect symbol of the consumerism and the economy that we were all a part of in the early 2000s," says Charlie Vogelheim, executive editor at Intellichoice. "When you consider anyone buying, owning and operating the H1 in a suburban environment, it's absolutely ridiculous, but to fault GM for offering different iterations of it is hard when consumers were lining up for it." Ten years later, however, amid soaring gas prices, shrinking vehicles and alternative fuel sources, GM started to give the Hummer second thoughts. Impending bankruptcy and slumping sales made the hardy Hummer expendable and, after a Chinese automaker passed on buying the brand, GM put it to rest this year. It made the last one in May and offered deep discounts on the remaining supply. Hummer haters rejoiced, but the death of the symbolic all-consuming SUV did little to curb appetites for big trucks. Porsche's Cayenne SUV, fetching $75,000 to $100,000, is the brand's top-selling model. The redesigned crossover Ford Explorer is actually longer and wider than the SUV it replaced. The Jeep Grand Cherokee grew even without changing its designation. The difference is that each of those vehicles looks like the family car when sitting in the mall parking lot, while the Hummer still looked like a rich guy playing war games. "It was over the top and extreme in a segment that grew over the top and extreme," Vogelheim says. "In the current sensibilities, it's the opposite of everything the consumer is looking for after the economic downturn in terms of obvious consumption."


text:
Singapore’s book industry was hit hard by COVID-19 when circuit breaker measures forced brick-and-mortar stores to close temporarily. Now that a year has passed, how has the industry evolved according to the pandemic? Three stakeholders in the industry – publishers, booksellers, and readers – weigh in on how important digital marketing is, whether physical stores are still relevant, and what the industry’s future should look like.
Singapore’s retail sector took a lashing due to Covid-19 last year, a result of nationwide measures that temporarily shut physical stores. But even as shops were gradually allowed to open, social distancing rules meant fewer in-store customers at any one time. For independent booksellers and publishers such as BooksActually and Epigram (Huggs-Epigram Coffee Bookshop), this meant closing their brick-and-mortar operations. In order to survive, these local stalwarts have had to evolve their business models by upping their online game.
While independent publishing house Ethos Books does not have a physical outlet, its marketing and publicity manager, Ng Wei Lin, says that bookstores make up a large portion of its sales, including for national bestsellers like Teo Yeo Yann’s This is What Inequality Looks Like.
“We were greatly affected by the closure of the bookstores during the circuit breaker,” Ms Ng says. “Thankfully, the strong support of the arts and reading community contributed to a spike in visitorship and purchases on our webstore.”
To thank its customers for their support, Ethos Books gave away a free e-book with every paperback purchase of the same title from its webstore. What started out as a month-long campaign has been made permanent. Ms Ng explains, “We believe in making our books accessible to our readers, and with this initiative we encourage them to keep the e-book in their personal library and share their paperback with a friend.”
CEO of Epigram Books, Edmund Wee, thinks that a digital presence during Covid-19 is more important than ever now. He says, “All of these brick-and-mortar stores are shutting down, and if they are still around they also have online shops.”
According to Mr Wee, while overall sales are down 80 per cent, online sales for Epigram Books has more than doubled to between 20 and 30 per cent since the arrival of Covid-19. He wishes it would increase to 50 per cent, so that there would be a “a bigger buffer if anything happens.”
BooksActually – the odd one out
In an unexpected turn of events, BooksActually has thrived during the pandemic. So much so that customers who had anticipated returning to one of Singapore’s most endeared literary spaces were greeted with surprising news that its doors would remain shut even as circuit breaker measures eased.
In September 2020, owner Kenny Leck and his team announced that they would fully migrate online. And that it would be leaving its former location at Yong Siak Road in the heritage Tiong Bahru district.
The move was strategic. Mr Leck shares that “sales have been the same whether it’s physical or online.” Combined with the cheaper rent at BooksActually’s new home in Little India and grants from the Government, they are now able to save around S$2,000 (US$1,485) in operational costs each month. He says they were previously paying around S$9,500 on rent.
This growth has prompted Mr Leck and his team to entertain the small possibility of becoming the “Amazon of Southeast Asia”. But he notes that they are conscious of not straying away from the open-minded, approachable ethos that grounds BooksActually, and becoming “soulless”.
Surviving online in the Covid-19 economy
All three booksellers and publishers whom The HomeGround Asia interviewed agree that establishing a strong online presence has been key to surviving, and even flourishing, in this new business environment.
BooksActually has filled their social media with live streams, resharing of book articles, and quirky events. For instance, Mr Leck recently hosted a mukbang (live-streamed eating show made popular in Korea) session with award-winning local poet, Cyril Wong, where they talked about books while eating.
Going online has “driven engagement” Mr Leck shares, as his team regularly receive friendly e-mail inquiries and direct messages on social media from customers. This was seldom the case during BooksActually’s brick-and-mortar days. He says that back then, his team had maintained “a respectful distance” from their customers. “But behind a screen, that stranger effect is reduced vastly,” he shares. “It’s crazy the amount of engagement we get from customers.”
Says Ethos Books’ Ms Ng, “Covid-19 encouraged us to be creative, flexible and explore alternative ways to market our titles online and through digital events.
“When physical events are curtailed, our social media allows us to continue connecting with existing readers and to reach new audiences. Such forms of digital engagement lead to online modes of discovery, contributing to webstore browsing and sales.”
The team also invested in a camera setup to stream their literary events virtually. Ms Ng adds that they are committed to making content widely accessible, especially for customers “who may not have the means to join [them] in person.” With two book launches in the works, these will be held physically and streamed live on social media for maximum coverage.
But holding virtual events is not cheap either, says Epigram Books’ Mr Wee. In January, the prize-giving ceremony for the Epigram Books Fiction Prize was streamed on Facebook and opened to the public. Whereas, in the past, only stakeholders were invited to attend. But Mr Wee says they will unlikely do it again virtually, because he admits that he is not proficient with using social media and technology, and would not be able to make it look as “good as the Oscars.”
Even so, the significance of the ceremony remains the same, whether online or physical: “The main thing is not the dinner…[nor] the event. The main thing is, can we get enough publicity for the winner?” he asks.
The state of affairs with brick-and-mortar bookstores
If online engagement is king in a Covid-19 economy, then are brick-and-mortar bookstores still relevant?
To Mr Wee, their appeal is undeniable. The experience, for one, is unlike shopping online on websites like Book Depository.
“People do like to go to bookshops…If you have time to browse in a bookshop, the browsing experience is quite enjoyable for some people,” he says.
English tuition teacher Sylvia Wang, 37, shares this sentiment. She returned to Kinokuniya after restrictions were lifted in Singapore and enjoyed walking around the store to “browse and buy whatever catches [her] eyes.”
Similar to other retail spaces, Ms Ng from Ethos Books believes that bookstores will endure and evolve into different formats and models.
“There is something special about walking into a dedicated space for books to discover, escape, reflect, and recharge,” she says. “Just as physical books and e-books are both sides of a coin, we believe that bookstores will stick around to complement the digital sphere, especially when many readers are drawn to the enticing scent and experience of a physical book.”
Still, it remains undeniably challenging for indie businesses to compete with out-sized online stores like Amazon in terms of price, inventory and reach. And with Amazon’s anti-competitive takeover of its primary rival the UK’s Book Depository in 2011, competition has been further reduced. Currently, Books Depository touts a 20-million catalogue of discounted books with free shipping to over 160 countries, almost dominating the global book market. It is no surprise that as the world went into lockdown, Amazon grew exponentially over the past year, reporting a near 200 per cent rise in profits in 2020.
Despite some tough global competition, Mr Wee insists that brick-and-mortar bookstores are quintessential to the industry in order to fight against online behemoths.
“What is stopping people from buying more books in Singapore is the availability of bookshops. You can’t find bookshops everywhere – whole of Orchard Road there’s only Kinokuniya,” he says.
But BooksActually has no urgent plans to return to their physical store.
“At this moment, we are selling more books than we were at a physical bookstore,” explains Mr Leck. “I actually met my aim of a bookseller, which is not just the money, but trying to disseminate all these books to as many people as possible…Why do I want to go back to a physical bookstore when that didn’t really help my cause at all?”
High rents have also made it much harder to set up book retail shops in Singapore, hence Mr Leck says that they “definitely still want to own a property,” which will remove the worry of rising rental costs.
The next chapter
Having survived the pandemic so far by increasing its online presence, Mr Leck says the next step is for the local book industry to improve its ability to market books, a perennial issue that has only worsened during the pandemic.
“There’s a lot of mindset [in the book industry] that refuses to look, change, and explore, and that has impacted the marketing and publicity of things. And that to me has always been perpetually worrying,” he laments.
Mr Wee adds, “Publishers must publish more books that people want to read…books that resonate with the public…If you have competition, whether during Covid-19 or not, from online or physical stores, you just have to become better at selling them.”
On the other hand, Ethos Books thinks that the industry has been “generating a consistent and healthy engagement” with consumers and “done admirably” in its outreach efforts, so far: “As people who care for nuance, we are also careful not to overwhelm the readers and contribute to digital noise. This balance is a difficult one to strike.”
Instead, they worry about how the industry can help expose “unacceptable types” of inequality that is “worsening with each global crisis.” Ethos Books also supports a more equal distribution of resources that will give more people the means to access the variety of cultural produce on offer.
Explains Ms Ng, “When wealth is distributed more evenly and power is decentralised, individuals would be empowered to support a wider array of goods and services. This would lessen the precarity of niche markets and prevent the homogenisation of culture in the hands of a powerful few.”
Instead, she suggests that the industry commits to work and economic practices that “allow individuals to opt for lifestyle choices that support the values of equitability and fairness.”


text:
Google is launching an interesting change to the search engine. The company today announced that the company is launching a new change that will help it serve more diverse results.
The company wants to increase the diversity of search results by showing results from different sites. In the past, you may have seen search results with multiple results from the same site in the top results. But with today’s change, Google will try to change things up by showing results from different sites.
That doesn’t mean Google will completely eliminate the chances of showing more than two listings from the same site on the top search results, the company says there are cases where it will still show more than two listings from the same site, depending on the relevancy. The same applies to search results from subdomains of a site, which will be considered a single site by search results unless there are different variables depending on the context.
Google isn’t exactly saying how the change will be rolled out, but my guess is the company will slowly roll it out over the next few months. Google tends to take its time when rolling out major changes like this, so that shouldn’t be much of a surprise.


text:
For Immediate Release
November 7, 2008
Comptroller Susan Combs Reports Continuing Increase
in Sales Tax Collections
(AUSTIN) — Texas Comptroller Susan Combs says the state collected $1.73 billion in sales tax revenue in October, up 5.2 percent compared to October 2007.
“Sales tax collections grew in the first two months of fiscal 2009, however, at slower rates than generally seen over the past three years,” Combs said. “Collections have continued to increase overall, but remittances from the key retail trade sector have begun to decline slightly as consumers grow increasingly cautious and confidence erodes.”
Today, Combs distributed $548.3 million in November sales tax rebates to cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose taxing districts. Local sales tax allocations are up 4.4 percent compared to November 2007.
Combs sent Texas cities $373.8 million in sales tax allocations, up 4 percent compared to November 2007. So far this calendar year, city sales tax allocations are up 5.2 percent compared to the same time period last year. Texas counties received November sales tax allocations of $33 million, up 8.7 percent compared to one year ago. For the calendar year-to-date, county sales tax allocations are running 7.6 percent ahead of 2007.
The 137 special purpose taxing districts around the state received $20.5 million in sales tax, up 23.4 percent compared to last November. Ten local transit systems received $120.9 million in November sales tax rebates, up 1.7 percent compared to a year ago.
October state sales tax collections and November sales tax allocations to local governments represent September sales reported to the Comptroller in October by monthly tax filers and July, August and September sales reported to the Comptroller in October by quarterly tax filers.
For details of November sales tax payments to individual cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose districts, locate the Monthly Sales and Use Tax Allocation Comparison Summary Reports on the Comptroller’s Web site at www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/allocsum/compsum.html.
Comptroller Combs would also like to remind local governments help is available if they suffered a loss of sales tax revenue due to business disruption caused by Hurricane Ike. Local governments in the 29 counties declared FEMA disaster areas can, upon request, receive an advance local sales tax allocation in November and December if their allocation declined from November and December of 2007. The difference would be made up by the advance allocation in those two months. Taxing entities that choose to accept the offer will have to make repayment during 2009. Of the 241 local taxing jurisdictions in the FEMA disaster areas, 120 had lower sales tax allocations this month compared to November 2007.
The Comptroller’s next local sales tax allocation will be made on Friday, Dec. 12.
@Your Service: sign-up for vital e-mail updates on the Comptroller news and topics of your choice at www.window.state.tx.us/subscribe


text:
Conviva’s “State of Streaming” study released on Wednesday, and contained fascinating revelations and statistics pertaining to the cord-cutting world.
Whether it be the explosion in streaming numbers, the vital role of quality advertising or major sports developments, there’s no shortage of intrigue to be had for
Read on for insight into the most notable findings from the “State of Streaming” report.
Streaming numbers explode in 2019 Q4
To be more specific, Conviva found there to be a 58% increase in year-over-year streaming, all told. Talk about a bombshell and a rapidly changing home entertainment situation!
Although it’s not explicitly stated in the study, Disney+ and Apple TV+ launched in November. Their novel presence on the streaming market certainly had to do with the boom.
Despite the benefit of being under Disney’s umbrella, neither Disney+ nor Hulu outpace Apple TV+ in subscribers. It helps that Apple is present and has more to offer in terms of in-house, branded device versatility.
But of course, the Mouse House is a hub for so many beloved stories. Disney+ boasts a catalog loaded with animated originals, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars.
Better overall quality; Roku most improved device
According to the “State of Streaming,” 55% of global viewers watch through connected TV. For the record, 24% are mobile, 11% are PC and 10% are other devices.
Among the connected TV devices, Roku has easily the most users at 43%, with Amazon Fire TV the next closest (18%).
In addition to being the leader in its device category, Roku made the most significant improvements year-to-year. Their video start failures decreased 56% to only .14% of the time.
Apple TV is just behind Xbox in fourth among connected TV device viewing time. However, Apple TV improved video start time by 25%, buffering by 30% and still boasts the best picture quality with a 7.61 bit rate.
While Roku is the big winner, everyone is experiencing superior streaming quality thanks to the exploding market. Buffering decreased 37%, video start failures dropped by 12%, picture quality upped by 21% and video start times were 6% faster.
Although advertisements experienced a 7.8% increase from the prior quarter in playing as intended, there was still a 36.5% failure rate overall.
The NFL rights deal looms large
It can’t be understated how vital the NFL is to the future of streaming.
During NFL game day peaks, global streaming spikes of 29% on Sunday and 28% on Monday occurred. Pro football is definitely expanding to a much more international audience.
No doubt, some of the broader appeal is aided by the NFL’s efforts to have annual games in London, and the incorporation of overseas players onto rosters, among other initiatives.
Here’s a quote from “State of Streaming” to summarize what’s on the horizon in the coming years — and how the link between the NFL and linear TV is about to be broken:
In many ways the NFL and television owe each other a debt, but looking towards 2021 rights negotiations, major streaming players will likely look to capture more of the prestigious pie. Given the increased competition and content spend in the streaming space, NFL’s deep audience loyalty and volume of content must look pretty appealing, even at a steep cost.Conviva’s State of Streaming Report
CBS All Access allows subscribers to stream NFL games that they air every Sunday. This helps out-of-market fans whose teams aren’t broadcast locally to see their favorites play.
Fox just streamed the Super Bowl in 4K Ultra HD, so it’s only a matter of time before the league at large follows suit on a larger scale. Plus, NFL Sunday Ticket is up for grabs as well.


text:
Audio Damage has announced its Blue Monday Sale, offering a 40% discount on its products.
Our annual Blue Monday Sale is now active! Use the code HOWDOESITFEEL at check-out for 40% off your entire order*, including bundles. This is the biggest discount we’ve ever had, and you can take advantage of our brief fit of insanity. Visit theAudio Damage store now!
*excluding hardware products, sorry! Our agreements with the retailers that carry our hardware products preclude this sort of crazy behavior.
The sale ends December 2nd, 2013.
More information: Audio Damage


text:
Personal assistants – also known as virtual or smart assistants - have come a long way in the past seven years. Artificial intelligence (AI) is not as exclusive as it was in 2011 when Apple first integrated Siri into the iPhone. Thanks to time and e-commerce competition, personal assistants like Alexa and Google Home are now available to the mass consumer market.
While everyone else was focused on automation and self-driving cars, companies like Amazon were on the verge of a technological breakthrough. In just a few short years, e-commerce giants would revolutionize our daily routine through the creation of AI-powered handheld devices.
Siri might not have been the first voice-enabled assistant, but it was certainly the name that stuck. She has made her way from the iPhone 4S in 2011 to the Apple HomePod this month. Pre-orders for Apple’s new personal assistant are rolling in and it’s only a matter of time until we see how it performs.
Back in 2011, iPhone users were blown away by Siri. She could make phone calls, send text messages, manage your calendar, and open the Pandora app. Apple has spent several years improving on its speech recognition technology, but Siri is still falling behind.
Google Now (Google’s Siri) was released in 2012 and has recently been replaced by the Google Assistant. The Google Assistant is pretty much an upgraded version of the same voice-enabled technology, but it can be integrated with smart devices.
Like the other AI-powered personal assistants, the Google Assistant is evolved based on a learning process. These devices will actually get to know you by storing information from previous conversations, and then draw on that database of knowledge in the future. The more you interact with your device, the better it will be at having a conversation with you.
That is the beauty of artificial intelligence: the everyday consumer can now teach a machine how to be smart. On the back end, programmers have installed all the tools the machine needs to start the learning process.
Same Technology, Greater Applications
It seems like we jumped from Siri to Alexa overnight. One day we were asking Siri to make a phone call, and the next we were asking Alexa to buy our groceries, arrange our rides, and change the temperature in our homes. What will come next?
By giving consumers so much in such a short period of time, the tech behemoths have changed our expectations for the future. The application of AI-powered technology is endless – especially with top-notch programmers teaching these personal assistants new skills on a daily basis.
However, spending too much time expanding on a knowledge base that people already underutilize is not the best direction to go in. In 2018, Amazon, Google, and their contenders will figure out how they can get the most out of existing skills.
Personal assistants are incredibly popular in the kitchen or living room because that is where they were intended to be used. But what about in your car or office? What if your personal assistant could fully operate your laptop for you, or turn the heat in your house back on when you’re driving back from a road trip?
With a few tweaks, personal assistants can have a much wider application – and companies like Ford, HP, and Panasonic are already making that shift. It’s all about teaching these devices how to communicate with each other, and it won’t be long until these companies start to deliver.
Did you like this article? Is there something you’d like us to write about? Let us know in the comments! Please also be sure to like and share with your friends. Check out more helpful articles like this from Digital Bloggers.


text:
A survey of Georgia's small businesses show that nearly all of them have felt the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, but a low percentage feel the damage will be deep, longstanding and traumatic.
Call them optimistic.
Of the Georgia companies surveyed, just 15% said they have enough cash to survive for three months or more, but 62.4% expect operations to return to normal within six months.
The questionnaire was sent to more than 100,000 companies across the country by the Census Bureau. Georgia's results were similar to national trends.
Many economists and other experts fear that the pandemic will kill thousands of low-margin and debt-saddled businesses.
"I think there's going to be a shifting of the deck," said Leslie Kuban, an Atlanta-based franchising consultant. "Most businesses don't have a rainy day fund."
Few of those surveyed think they’ll be among the victims: Just a tiny slice — 4.3% — believe that their business will never get back to pre-pandemic levels.
The survey was conducted at the end of April and first week in May, the period when Gov. Brian Kemp was lifting many restrictions on companies and a stay-at-home order.
Slightly more than half of the Georgia companies – 51.5% – told the Census Bureau that the coronavirus and the shutdowns aimed at slowing its spread had a large impact on their business. A moderate impact was reported by 41.1%.
Nearly 42% said they had closed because of the pandemic. Only 10.6% of companies missed loan payments, while 25% said they had missed some other payments.
Three of every four companies saw revenues decrease, but just one in four cut workers.
Of Georgia companies surveyed, 79% said they had applied for loans through the Payment Protection Program, created in March to soften the pandemic blow. But just 35% said they'd received money from that program.
About the Author
Credit: Ben Hendren for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution


text:
Accessories for Sale
The soft top version of the new Stingray has been revealed – the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible – ahead of a debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. But aside from issuing the two photos of the new convertible Stingray, Chevy isn’t giving anything away ahead of its debut at Geneva in a few days. But it’s not much of a stretch to expect the same 444bhp 6.2 litre under the bonnet as the regular Stingray, enough to get the Stingray to 62mph in under 4 seconds and no doubt the convertible just a shade behind.Thu, 29 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0700
By Liz Turner First Official Pictures 29 March 2007 09:09 Chevrolet Trax: the lowdown How low can you go in the US? That’s the question three compact concepts are asking the public at next week's New York Motor Show. GM revealed just one of the minicars today - this cute, four-door Trax.Mon, 17 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700
Welcome to the inaugural CAR Pubcast™ – where you can hear the CAR Magazine team debate the greatest supercars of 2010. It's to accompany a feature in the new June 2010 issue of CAR, out this week and you can hear the bread rolls being thrown as we argue over the fastest cars to grace our pages this year. The cover story is The Supercar World Cup, as we travel around the world in our endeavour to anoint the year's greatest supercar: the ones that get us drooling, set our pulses racing and make us buy an extra lottery ticket, just in case.
G Yamaha Zuma Yw 125 2010 Oem Front Headlight on 2040-parts.com
Boca Raton, Florida, United States
“PLEASE READ THE DESCRIPTION AND ANALYZE THE PHOTOS TO ENSURE THAT THE CONDITIONS OF ARTICLE THAT ARE BUYING REMEMBER BEING USED”


text:
At Google's Developer Conference this week it was announced that Google Assistant will be able to make appointments for people over the phone for things like reserving seats at a restaurant or making an appointment for a haircut. The real opportunity, however, may be for businesses to take advantage of this technology.
Say goodbye to the old AdWords
If you’ve yet to get used to the new look and functionality of AdWords, it's high time you get acquainted.
Google is still updating the new AdWords interface with features only available in the old one but says the old version will be phased out by the end of this year.
MAN: Microsoft’s new AI-powered display ad network
Just launched, the Microsoft Audience Network (MAN) is a new display ad network that allows Bing Ads advertisers to target Office365 subscribers along with Windows, LinkedIn, Outlook, and Skype.
Ads will be shown on Microsoft properties including MSN, Outlook.com, the Edge web browser and as yet undisclosed third-party properties.
MAN is initially available only in the US, UK, Canada and Australia
Google updates their image publishing guidelines
Images on webpages can have a big impact on user engagement — nobody wants to see great walls of text. However, it’s essential images are used correctly - especially when it comes to mobile.
Google provides some useful tips in their image publishing guide which has just been updated. These tips can help your images rank better and bring more traffic to your website.
Could it happen here? Shopping ads dominate US paid search
A new report from digital agency Merkle highlights stunning growth in AdWords’ shopping ads in the US market, where over 60% of paid search clicks are now from shopping ads.
That’s up from 25% of paid search clicks three years ago, and up from 55% in Q4 2017.
Shopping ad spend, naturally, has also risen by over 40% since Q1 2017. And shopping ads now account for 82% of all non-brand paid search clicks for retailers.
While shopping ads have yet to take off in the NZ market, we think it’s only a matter of time.
What we’ve been reading this week
- 1Snapchat Founder Evan Spiegel Made $504 Million in 2017 — Over 3 Times as Much as Elon Musk
- 2Santa Clarita Principles could help tech firms with self-regulation
- 3Are the Days of Human-Managed PPC Numbered?
- 4USA Digital Advertising record-breaking figures
- 5As voice assistants go mainstream, researchers warn of vulnerabilities


text:
U.S. investors had the jitters on Tuesday, worried over third-quarter earnings reports and hoping for some clarity on the timing of a possible bailout request from Spain.
The day started in Asia with the key indices ending their trading sessions mixed. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was down 0.1 percent to 8,786.05, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong was up 0.4 percent to 20,840.38.
European markets closed slightly down after a relatively flat day of trading, as investors awaited details on the timing of a possible Spanish bailout.
The CAC 40 in Paris fell by 0.6 percent to 3,414.24. The DAX in Frankfurt dropped by 0.3 percent to 7,305.86; the FTSE 100 in London and the FTSE MIB in Milan were both down 0.2 percent to 5,809.45 and to 15,495.79, respectively.
Overall, retail and luxury stocks made gains, with the day’s strongest performers including Compagnie Financière Richemont, which was up 2 percent to 58.65 Swiss francs, following an announcement earlier in the day that it had acquired the Swiss watch and components manufacturer VVSA. Other risers included Mulberry, up 2.4 percent to 12.30 pounds; ASOS, 2.8 percent to 22.40 pounds; Brunello Cucinelli, 1.8 percent to 13.80 euros; and Yoox, 1.8 percent to 10.18 euros.
Last week, Spain’s government said that debt levels would likely increase further in 2013, reaching 90.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Spain is widely expected to ask for a bailout from the EU and the International Monetary Fund, following in the footsteps of Greece, Portugal and the Republic of Ireland.
Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy indicated that a request wasn’t imminent.
The skittishness of investors hit the U.S. equity markets mid-day, and ultimately resulted in the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 0.2 percent to 13,482.36. The S&P Retail Index was down 0.4 percent to 653.92.
The retailer that lost most ground was Express Inc., which dropped 22.2 percent to $11.68, after the retailer lowered its third quarter profit forecast. Other retailers that posted declines were J.C. Penney Co. Inc., which lost 4.2 percent to $23.56, and Ann Inc., down 3.3 percent to $36.46.
Bon-Ton Stores Inc. was one of the few that bucked the trend and rose 7.5 percent to $11.12.
Assouline is paying homage to the late Azzedine Alaïa with a reprint of "Alaïa Livre de Collection.” The book is comprised of photographs of the designer's summer 1992 runway show with models Christy Turlington Burns, Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks, pictured here at right. #wwdfashion #alaia #tyrabanks
Fall 2018 accessories take on a painterly hue, with Nebulas Blue among Pantone’s top 10 colors of the season. (📸: @jonghyupstudio ; editor: @twallz21 ; stylist and set designer: @haideefindlaylevin ) #wwdaccessories
@americanapparelusa is relaunching the brand outside of the U.S. today, opening its online store to more than 200 countries. The company is also contemplating a return to brick-and-mortar, though details have not been confirmed. In tandem with the expanded distribution is a recasting of a social media ad campagn, called “Back to Basics,” pictured here, with a focus on diversity and a cast of models above the age of 21. Read more on WWD.com #wwdnews #wwdfashion
Exclusive: @britneyspears is continuing to expand her brand. The pop icon, who appears in @kenzo ’s latest campaign, is partnering with Epic Rights to launch a line of branded merchandise. Read @hernameislex ‘s story, link in bio. #wwdnews #britneyspears
The Duchess of Cambridge channeled Princess Diana’s look upon giving birth to Prince Harry, when she and the Duke of Cambridge departed the hospital with the new baby Prince this afternoon in London. #wwdeye #princeofcambridge
The new Prince of Cambridge has arrived! The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge posed with the 8-pound newborn. She wore a look from one of her go-to designers, @jennypackham. Tap link in bio for more. #wwdeye #princeofcambridge
Jewelry label @alisonlou has made a name for itself with fine jewelry that speaks to the Millennial market. Now @twallz21 reports that the label is bringing those playful ideas to a new affordable line of lucite hoops with the launch of Loucite by Alison Lou. Here’s a look from the line modeled by @emrata. #wwdaccessories
@sarahjessicaparker and @gilt are teaming up on a bridal ready-to-wear line. Tomorrow, Parker will launch SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker Bridal — and as part of the launch, Gilt will offer 15 exclusive styles from the SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker footwear collection that were designed to complement the new line. Made out of 10 styles, the line is designed for a variety of occasions, from bridal showers to receptions. Get more details on WWD.com #wwdfashion


text:
Crumbs of comfort: When times get tough, Britons reach for chocolate digestives
In these times of trouble, Britons are increasingly reaching for the biscuit barrel and a cup of tea.
Sales of traditional favourites, from chocolate digestives to custard creams, have risen at the same time as the country’s economic woes have worsened.
The total market is up by 22 per cent over the past five years to some £2.2billion.
Food for thought: Chocolate biscuits are also good for your health, a major study has revealed
Along with meat pies and sausage rolls, biscuits fall into the segment of comfort foods, which have enjoyed something of a revival in recent years.
Luxuries such as eating out, trips to the cinema and gym memberships have been cut out as families hunker down at home to conserve cash, while dunking a biscuit in a cuppa provides the sugar rush and emotional pick-me-up people feel they need.
Research by Mintel found 54 per cent of the nation regularly indulge in a biscuit or two with a hot drink. The group forecasts biscuit sales to grow a further 15 per cent to reach £2.6billion by 2015.
Soggy: 54 per cent of the nation regularly indulge in a biscuit or two with a hot drink
This year the sweet biscuit market alone is forecast to reach £1.9billion, having increased a sensational 20 per cent since 2005. It is predicted to grow a further 16 per cent over the next five years.
Mintel’s senior food and drink analyst, Amy Lloyd, said: ‘The UK biscuit industry has benefited from consumers reaching for the biscuit barrel throughout the recession. The ritualistic nature of eating biscuits with a hot drink appeals to consumers, demonstrating how ingrained this occasion is within British culture.’
However she said it was important for manufacturers to find new biscuit varieties that appeal to young adults, who are less likely to drink tea than their parents’ generation.
Mintel said chocolate digestives and individually wrapped varieties are in joint first position as the nation’s favourite sweet biscuit.
More than half the population (53 per cent) have bought one or other of these in the past year.
Cookies, such as chocolate chip, came in next, with 42 per cent having bought them, ahead of custard creams and Bourbons on 39 per cent.
Further down the league table are sweetmeal or wholemeal digestive biscuits (36 per cent) followed by Rich Tea (34 per cent).
Mintel said there is significant evidence that people are trying to limit the impact on their health of these little indulgences. Varieties with lower fat and sugar are growing in popularity with annual sales of £468million.
The study found one area where the trend has not been so positive, with an 11 per cent fall in sales of biscuit selection boxes over the past two years.
Most watched News videos
- Magic parker! Incredible video of driver getting out of space
- Police officer sobs as he is arrested on suspicion of blackmail
- Shocking dashcam captured moment car turned and hit cyclist
- Staff attempt to break up scuffle aboard Carnival Legend cruise ship
- Moment sex offender Matthew Falder is arrested in June 2015
- Hunter claims to have found 'hard proof' of a UFO above Everest
- Theresa May tells This Morning she's getting on with the job
- Emergency services at scene of Horsham level crossing crash
- Funeral held for Florida school shooting victim Jaime Guttenberg
- Nikolas Cruz caught in chilling footage after shooting 17 people
- Nikolas Cruz fights other students year before shooting
- Theresa May rejects the call for her to reverse Brexit


text:
Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A: Friday July 8th
Cow Appreciation Day is here again at Chick-fil-A:
Holy Cow! It’s time to break out your cow-spotted apparel and leave your wallet out to pasture. On Friday, July 8, Chick-fil-A® restaurants nationwide will celebrate the annual Cow Appreciation Day event by offering a free meal to any customer who visits one of the chain’s mall or stand-alone restaurants fully dressed as a cow.
This year, customers who aren’t too chicken to dress completely as a cow will again be rewarded with a free Chick-fil-A Meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner), which includes an entrée of choice, a side item and a medium Dr Pepper® (or other beverage). For those too chicken to wear full cow costumes, Chick-fil-A will award a complimentary entrée to customers partially dressed in cow attire, such as a cow-spotted scarf, purse, tie, hat or other accessory.


text:
2014 Great Yorkshire – Sunday 14 November 2014
The 2014 Great Yorkshire Pork Pie, Sausage & Products Competition is being held once again at Cedar Court Hotel, Bradford, on Sunday 16 November. The event remains the UK's biggest regional meat trades competition, with entries from independent retail butchers, farm shops and bakers who make pies on their own premises
There are classes for different types of pork pie (traditional, stand and speciality cold eating), as well as for sausages (thin, thick and speciality), and black pudding.
Managing Director of 2020 Research Bob Peters is extremely pleased to be returning as one of the judges. “I thoroughly enjoyed the event last year, and am endebted to Ted Jones for his guidance in telling me the key factors to look for when judging a pork pie. The quality standards last year were extremely high, and reflected very well on the quality of our regional products. I am eagerly looking forward to this year’s competition”.
For more details see www.greatyorkscomp.co.uk/


text:
The plot keeps thickening: maybe Raf Simons didn't step down from Jil Sander with his eyes on the top spot at Christian Dior (or Yves Saint Laurent!) as we previously thought. WWD's Bridget Foley says Simons was actually fired from the Milan-based label:
Simons leaves — more correctly, he was unceremoniously dumped — at the top of his game. A designer of women’s wear neither by education (he studied furniture design) nor first sartorial vocation (he started in men’s), in 2005.
Raf Simons made a surprise appearance at the Versus show on Sunday night, telling reporters, "I am leaving Milan tomorrow, forever." Forever! That sounds extreme, but who knows. In today's WWD, Bridget Foley writes that Simons was l... Read Post
Last week Raf Simons found himself unemployed after Jil Sander abruptly decided to return to her own label after eight years, but apparently there's more to the story than they're letting on. WWD's Bridget Foley wrote on Tuesday Sim... Read Post


text:
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today announced new regulations that will strengthen consumer protections for prepaid accounts and cards.
The new rule, which runs nearly 1,700 pages long, will also apply to mobile wallets and person-to-person payment products.
Prepaid accounts are an alternative to traditional checking accounts, particularly for those who are unbanked. Typically, a third party, such as an employer, will load funds onto the prepaid card, and the user can make purchases, pay bills or withdraw cash with it.
Prepaid cards have been a booming business. About 23 million individuals use them regularly, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts. In 2012, customers loaded nearly $65 billion onto re-loadable prepaid cards, up from less than $1 billion in 2003, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The new framework put forward by the CFPB requires financial institutions to disclose their cards' fees to their clients, and applies credit protections for those who use prepaid cards that allow small overdrafts. The rules also set guidelines for issuers who wish to charge clients for that additional credit.
In all, the regulations provide users with consumer protections that are akin those offered to checking account holders. The new rules are effective as of October 1, 2017.
"Though many prepaid companies already offer some of these same protections to their consumers, it is vital for consumers to have assurance that these protections are now the law of the land," said Richard Cordray, director of the CFPB.
The new regulation includes a "Know Before You Owe" disclosure, which customers can use to compare fee information across different cards. Applicable costs on a prepaid card include monthly fees, extra charges for customer service and fees for ATM withdrawals and balance inquiries.
Individuals who buy a prepaid card at a retailer will find the short-form disclosure on the back of the card's packaging. Those who sign up for a prepaid account on the web will receive this disclosure electronically.
Long-form disclosures, meanwhile, include all of the fees that may apply to consumers. You'll receive this information prior to opening the prepaid account, and you can access it on the web or by phone if you're buying a card at a store.
If your card is lost or stolen, the new regulation will protect you from unauthorized transactions, limiting your liability to $50 — provided you report the card missing within two business days.
In a bid to make comparison shopping easier for customers, the rule also requires companies to post their card agreements online and submit them to the CFPB, which will upload them to a site for viewing. Institutions have until October 1, 2018 to send their applications to the Bureau.
Some prepaid cards have overdraft credit features, in which the institution will process a small charge that exceeds the balance on the card. Typically, institutions will charge an additional fee for that overdraft protection.
The new rule will now require that prepaid companies ensure that consumers are able to repay the debt before they extend credit. Those companies will also need to provide these clients at least 21 days to pay down the credit before they can assess a late charge.
Further, the new rule has put a cap on fees for this overdraft protection. For the first year in which a customer has opened the account, the total cost for the credit features may not exceed more than 25 percent of the credit limit.
Issuers must also provide customers with 45 days' notice if they raise interest rates prior to new purchases. In that time, the client may cancel the account.
"The biggest deal is that this rule prevents consumers from incurring overdraft fees," said Thaddeus King, an officer for the consumer banking project at The Pew Charitable Trusts.
"The reason most people turn to prepaid cards is to avoid debt and overdraft fees," he said. "For the past few years, there haven't been any federal regulations on this subject."


text:
Namdhari’s Group, one of India’s leading agricultural production companies, plans to increase its export business from around 2500 MT in FY22 to 3500 MT in FY23. Namdhari’s has established its presence as a major player in quality seeds for international and domestic markets and fresh fruits and vegetables for export.
The company currently exports a range of fresh vegetables to Western Europe, Australia and the Middle East and will also be adding new products. With over 500 commercial seed varieties in 20 different crops under our belt, Namdhari’s Seeds develops hybrids that meet diverse market demands, match regional preferences and are also disease resistant and yield tasty products.
Today, Namdhari’s has seed production facilities spread across India. Namdhari Seeds has also extended its research and sales activities to Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Southeast Asia and Middle Eastern countries. It is one of the few seed companies in India that has grown locally and expanded internationally.
“The domestic market contributes 75% of our income and the remaining 25% comes from exports. Total exports for the current fiscal year would be in the range of 2500 metric tons and we aim to increase this figure to 3500 metric tons in the coming fiscal year. Our biggest exports would be to Western Europe. All our products comply with the strict quality standards of the countries to which we export. A lot of our products make their way to supermarkets all over the world,” says Gurmukh Roopra, CEO of Namdhari Group.
“We have a packing station certified by APEDA for the export of vegetables and fruits, we are certified by the BRC and the FSSAI. Regarding the domestic market, we produce and process more than 200 tons of fresh fruits and vegetables per day. We work closely with dedicated farmers and also grow a variety of domestic and exotic crops on our own state-of-the-art farms across the country. We are the largest baby corn producer in India and grow out of season and exotic fruits and vegetables throughout the year. Crops like tomatoes, peppers, watermelon and melons have been a huge hit and have benefited thousands of farmers across the country. At one time, the seeds had to be sold under government supervision due to the huge demand. We have been able to achieve this success mainly through the indigenous breeding program, with most of the crop development programs being carried out in different parts of the country. » says Gurmukh Roopra, CEO of Namdhari Group.
Namdhari’s grows strawberries, blueberries, custom sized and seedless watermelons, a variety of melons, specialty vegetables like lettuce, mini vegetables, micro vegetables, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, squash musk, a variety of tomatoes, squash, cucumber, pepper and okra among others. The company owns a 200-acre farm in Bidadi, near Bangalore, which houses the Namdhari R&D center.
The Namdharis R&D department houses laboratories for molecular biology, tissue culture and plant pathology. Additionally, the company has research and testing stations in different parts of the country. More than 30 scientists are employed in this department.
“India has become the second largest vegetable producer in the world and the seed industry has contributed immensely with genetically superior seeds. Among Indian companies, Namdhari Seeds is one of the largest sellers and exporters of vegetable seeds in the country. Many small growers benefit from growing our seeds. We provide technology for seed production in different regions of the country. Currently, more than 10,000 producers produce seeds for us, each producer will create employment for 5 to 10 people. Today, Namdhari’s is India’s only true seed-to-table company with an outward-looking approach and having operations in India, Indonesia, Thailand, Mexico, Turkey and Bulgaria. Not only do we produce fruits, vegetables and staples, but we also make them available to people through large-format retail stores, which include kitchens that prepare iconic delicacies for customers. Added Gurmukh Roopra.
Namdhari’s has 23 Namdhari’s Fresh stores and 8 Simpli Namdhari’s stores. As a concept, Namdhari’s Fresh stores are smaller in size, 1200-1500 square feet, with a limited assortment, correlating to how modern retail in India began.
The Namdhari Group aims to become a leading regional player in the state before expanding its operations to Hyderabad. The company is planning an investment of Rs. 50 crores in Hyderabad over the next 24 months to set up 5 Simpli Namdhari experience stores, cultivation facilities and Simpli Food standalone stores. The company also plans dairy subscriptions. Namdhari’s also had its own house brands which include a line of baked snacks, a line of less fried snacks, ready-to-go foods, ready-to-cook foods at home, and a line of dairy products. products including milk.


text:
AUCKLAND, Wednesday: Storm Day has joined Special Group in the newly created role of head of account service after being the marketing director of Lewis Road Creamery.
During her time at Lewis Road her role was to guide the brand as well as being responsible for driving brand value in New Zealand and export markets including China and the US.
Before joining Lewis Road, Day was group business director at Assignment on brands including Tourism New Zealand, Kapiti, Hyundai, TVNZ and New Zealand Story.
At Special, Day will be responsible for leading the agency’s global Tourism New Zealand account as well as leading the entire account service department.
“Excuse the pun, but there is something very special that’s happening at Special!”
“It’s a real coup to attract someone of Storm’s calibre,” said Special Group partner Tony Bradbourne.
“Her insights and experience will be invaluable for our clients and staff alike. It’s unique having someone who has done so well in that position now leading our amazing account service department.”
Day said: “I’ve loved my time at Lewis Road; it was a difficult decision to leave, but excuse the pun, there is something very special that’s happening at Special.
The work Special is producing is incredible. The Good Morning World campaign for Tourism NZ is world-class, and their Transtasman offering is second to none.”
Special MD Michael Redwood said: “Storm has an exceptional track record of excellence and achievement. I can’t wait to be working with her again.”
Share this Post


text:
Kroger Scholars is open to children (biological, adopted and stepchildren) of employees who have two years of service and have worked at least 1,000 hours per year.
The Kroger Co. Foundation has revealed the Kroger Scholars for the 2023-24 academic year, awarding $300,000 to 120 students. All scholars are the children of Kroger associates and receive $2,500 toward any accredited two- or four-year college, university or vocational program. Launched in 2008, the Kroger Scholars Program has awarded more than $4.8 million in scholarship funds.
"This opportunity means the world to me. For the past 15 years, my dad has been a part of the Kroger Family, and I had the honor of joining it two years ago," said Olivia Giovanoni, a Kroger Scholar pursuing a degree in hospitality at Purdue University Fort Wayne, in Indiana. "I'm so grateful for this scholarship and being a part of the Kroger family."
[Read more: “EXCLUSIVE: The Evolution of Summer Internships”]
The 2023-4 Kroger Scholars will be represented at more than 90 institutions across the nation. Students were selected based on a broad range of criteria, including volunteerism, civic service, extra-curricular activities, academic performance and work experience.
"The contributions and dedication of our associates make us proud every day, and we take even greater joy in celebrating their personal accomplishments," said Patty Leesemann, head of philanthropy at Kroger. "It is our honor to be part of this special moment and help ease the financial burden for students and our associates. Congratulations to our 2023 Kroger Scholars."
A company-wide program presented by The Kroger Co. Foundation, Kroger Scholars is open to children (biological, adopted and stepchildren) of associates in the Kroger family of companies who have two years of service and have worked at least 1,000 hours per year.
Kroger also offers a tuition reimbursement program for its associates, contributing up to $21,000 for both part- and full-time associates. The grocer enables its associates to earn everything from GEDs to PhD degrees.
In addition, Kroger pledged earlier in the month to expand resources for associates after its merger with the Albertsons Cos. is completed. Kroger revealed that it will provide the combined Kroger-Albertsons workforce of more than 700,000 part- and full-time associates access to its continuing-education benefit.
Kroger’s nearly half a million associates serve more than 11 million customers daily through digital shopping and retail food stores under a variety of banner names. Cincinnati-based Kroger is No. 4 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons, which operates more than 2,200 retail stores in 34 states, is No. 9 on PG’s list. PG also named Kroger and Albertsons among its Retailers of the Century.


text:
The price of copper is believed to provide a reliable measure of economic health, as changes to copper prices can suggest global growth or an upcoming recession. With high volatility and strong liquidity, copper is attractive to traders. Copper spot price is affected by extraction and transportation costs, as well as supply and demand. Use the copper price chart to follow live prices and stay up to date with the latest news and analysis to trade copper prices consistently.
Copper traded slightly lower on Tuesday, discouraged by a revised sales forecast from Freeport-McMoRan. The US-based mining behemoth reported strong Q4 earnings on Tuesday, boosted by elevated copper prices and a recovering global economy. However, the company trimmed its 2021 copper sales volume forecast to 3.8 billion pounds from last October’s 3.85 billion. A stronger Greenback is also dragging on commodity prices, with the DXY index up over 0.30% since the start of January.
The red metal’s outlook remains largely positive amid a weak US Dollar, rebounding global economy and a green energy revolution. China, a major global importer and consumer of copper will remain vital to prices. While Chinese copper imports slowed towards the end of 2020, China imported a record 6.68 million tons, according to the General Administration of Customs.
Strong import demand from China is likely to continue as stimulus efforts focus on bolstering the economy through infrastructure related spending. The latest economic outlook from the IMF (see below) projects the Chinese economy to expand 8.1% this year on an annual GDP basis, supporting a robust recovery outlook. The pace of imports may continue to slow depending on the Chinese economy’s appetite for the metal.
The United States may drive price action in the coming weeks and months as lawmakers grapple over President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus aid proposal. Currently, Republican lawmakers are voicing objections over the immense size of the aid package, raising concerns over the chances of getting it passed through an already tightly divided Congress.
The relief package would help shore up the economy, but its passage may serve as a proxy to judge overall support for a more targeted infrastructure package down the road. Democrats want a robust infrastructure bill focused on green energy, which is heavily dependent on copper and other industrial metals. Thus, the US political climate may be key for prices in the coming months.
0 thoughts on “COPPER price”


text:
China door opens for natural skincare group BWX
The Chinese agency that regulates drugs and medical devices says imported ordinary cosmetics will no longer be tested on animals from May, opening the door to the mega $85 billion beauty market for natural skincare products maker BWX.
Many companies, including BWX – which counts skincare and makeup brands Sukin, Andalou Naturals and Mineral Fusion as part of its stable – have opted out of entering the world’s second largest beauty market over what was deemed unethical and unnecessary testing.
Central to the $615 million company in its product offer is it is cruelty free and vegan, with no animal testing and an avoidance of animal by-products.
The Beijing-based National Medical Products Administration has been reviewing the animal testing rules since last year, and these revisions now level the playing field with domestic Chinese manufactured goods, which have been exempt from animal testing since 2014.
BWX chief executive Dave Fenlon said the news is a “game changer” for the company.
“What it does is clearly signal natural is good, and it’s clear Chinese consumers want this,” he said. “Through cross-border e-commerce they have already enjoyed these products in their skincare regimes. But this is a game changer for us – over 90 per cent of the market is in domestic sales channels.”
Ordinary cosmetics – defined as beauty products that do not have active ingredients (eg. anti-acne creams) – will be exempt from animal testing under this new change. But companies must obtain the “good manufacturing practices” certificate issued by the their own respective governments.
Mr Fenlon said on Friday he has written to the Australian government in order to get alignment on what is considered to be “good manufacturing product” certificate.
“If we want Australian businesses to be successful in a post-COVID world, this is a great opportunity for us, but we need to get over this last hurdle,” he said.
BWX historically was selling into China via retail daigou channels. At the time of the float in 2015 this channel made up about 10 per cent of sales. China sales are now virtually zero, given the daigou exodus in the wake of COVID-19.
BWX has focused on expanding distribution instead in Europe, the US and Australia. At the half year results, Mr Fenlon announced BWX is on track to meet its full-year guidance for at least 10 per cent sales and earnings growth.
In tandem he flagged a new five-year equity deal with Chemist Warehouse, which means the entire range of BWX products will be available on the pharmacy chain’s online stores in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. Chemist Warehouse is also the biggest retailer in the health and beauty market on Chinese platform Alibaba.
Goldman Sachs expects China’s domestic cosmetics spending will grow at a 12 per cent per annum growth rate between 2019 and 2025, to more than 1 trillion yuan ($150 billion).
Blue Ocean Equities analyst Phil Pepe believes this news presents a major opportunity for BWX to sell all three of its major brands onshore in China, both directly and with its new strategic partner.
“Naturals is a growing category. [BWX products] are a number-one seller, and a Chinese retailer will want to start stocking the number-one selling product,” he said.
Mr Pepe retained his “buy” rating on BWX, noting its key brands are delivering strong growth and expanding distribution channels.
The stock gave up some recent gains, falling 4¢ to $4.35 on Friday, likely a reaction to news that major shareholder Dutch manager NN Group recently sold out of the company.
Introducing your Newsfeed
Follow the topics, people and companies that matter to you.Find out more
Latest In Manufacturing
Fetching latest articles


text:
By Jillian Berman
Tens of thousands of Americans joined credit unions on Saturday, as the Bank Transfer Day movement encouraged consumers to move their money out of big banks.
Credit unions raked in 40,000 new members Saturday, the culmination of a social media push known as Bank Transfer Day, according to a survey from the Credit Union National Association. Eighty percent of larger credit unions signed up new members on Saturday, the survey reports, and credit unions overall added $80 million in new savings account funds Saturday.
The weekend capped a surge in new membership that lasted more than a month. At least 650,000 customers joined credit unions between September 29 — the day Bank of America announced it would charge customers $5 to use their debit cards for purchases — and the first week of November, according to a separate CUNA survey. That’s more than joined credit unions in all of 2010.
The Bank Transfer Day push touched a nerve with consumers who were fed up with banks charging fees for once-free services. One-third of customers said in a survey last month that they would leave their bank if it started charging a debit card fee. Many banks ultimately back tracked on proposed charges after witnessing the consumer outcry.
Bank of America dropped its plan to charge the fee earlier this month, after customers, lawmakers and even President Obama derided the bank. Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase and other regional banks also scrapped plans to charge debit card fees last month, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Consumers’ decisions to leave the banks boosted credit unions across the country. In Los Angeles, hundreds marched on the city’s financial district Saturday and dozens transferred their money on the spot. Officials from Florida-based Space Coast Credit Union told the Daytona News Journal that the credit union saw a 10 percent boost in phone calls on Saturday compared to a regular weekend.
Nearly 90 percent of credit unions in Maine said they saw an increase in customers between October 1 and Saturday’s Bank Transfer Day deadline, according to the Lewiston Sun Journal. In Missouri, more than 7,100 consumers switched to credit unions in the six weeks leading up to Bank Transfer Day, according to Patch.
But the largely local non-profit credit unions aren’t the only ones seeing a boost from consumer frustration with banks. More customers have also started using financial services at Walmart since Bank of America announced the debit card fee, The New York Times reports.