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New Delhi: It’s around 3 am, and I am riding pillion with Kareem, a meat shop owner in New Delhi. As the wind on an early, humid morning slams against my face, I turn around to see Mehmood and Dilawar, also meat shop owners, following our lead.
After almost an hour’s drive from Nizamuddin Basti, we are in the vicinity of the slaughterhouse in Gazipur. The air stinks with the smell of meat, blood and sweat. “The smell remains, but there’s almost no business now,” Kareem tells me.
I walk in, after getting my IDs checked and the three meat shop owners backing me up saying I was ‘their friend’, into a packed house. This is the bhains mandi (buffalo market), where the animals are first brought in by their owners for sale.
Animals were being pushed outside tens of trucks for the farmers, middlemen and buyers present at the mandi. And there was a discordant cacophony of voices. “Pregnant buffalo for Rs 70,000 and the older one for Rs 25,000,” shouts one man. “Give me the one for dairy, but bring the price to Rs 50,000,” shouts back another.
There is utter chaos, but all eyes and ears are on the cattle up for grabs and their prices. “The mandi houses buffaloes, sheep, goats and other cattle. They are brought in by farmers from Punjab, Haryana and sometimes Gujarat and Chhattisgarh too. Some sold for dairy, and the others, which the doctors deem old, are sold for slaughter,” says Kareem, with a hint of dejection. The business, however, has dwindled off late.
Mohammed Dilawar at work in his buffalo meat shop at Nizamuddin Basti. (Debayan Roy/News18.com)
A couple of weeks ago, the central government rolled out a ban on sale of cattle for the purpose of slaughter at marketplaces. The rule has hit every stakeholder in the meat sector: dairy farmers, meat shop owners and traders.
The fear of being targeted, for one reason or the other, is visible on the face of nearly everyone in the mandi. “Earlier, we had the option to choose a buffalo which was healthy for slaughter. Now, we don’t. The doctors checking the animals are in a rush to wrap things up as fast as possible,” said Mustafa, a meat wholesaler from Kalkaji.
As the business at the mandi was underway, I followed some people who were done with their sale and purchase. They were slowly making their way to the only legal slaughterhouse, catering to farmers in Delhi, Punjab and Haryana.
It’s around 5:30 am, and I see a swarm of people waiting in line to get their animal slaughtered. “The farmers usually arrive around 5-5:30 am, and leave by noon with the meat. The rush was such. But now, with negligible business, the waiting time has reduced drastically,” says a dejected old man in the late sixties.
Delhi’s lone slaughterhouse is doing one-fifth of cattle business than a few weeks ago, with farmers either too scared to bring their buffaloes to the market or moving to trading sheep and goats, which, many think, is now ‘safer’.
“This new rule has made life hell for us. Even when I have to sell my animals for slaughter, I declare that they are for dairy,” Shankar Dhyanchand, a 60-year-old farmer from Sirsa, Haryana, tells me.
Each meat shop owner pay a tax of Rs 450 to MCD for transporting one buffalo for slaughter. (Debayan Roy/News18.com)
Widespread reports of cow vigilantes resorting to violence and harassment, at times leading to deaths of those at the receiving end, has only added to the fear.
'Save cows if you want, spare the buffalo'
As I stand at the slaughterhouse among farmers waiting for the meat, I am a party to their discussions. One of them is how the government has put the livelihoods of thousands of people at stake.
“Save the cow if you wish, but the buffalo has nothing to do with it… right? Including buffaloes in the ambit of cattle will spell doom for many like me,” Muhammad Qamar, a cattle farmer from Kapurthala, tells me.
The violence associated with cattle slaughter has only cemented farmers’ resolve: stay away from cattle as much as possible. But the resolve has come at a cost. The income many earned from selling buffaloes was not huge, but was better than what they were making from sheep and goats. Farmers’ income has fallen, leading to a trickle-down effect on their daily life.
This is a misplaced notion, I’m told. There is no popular concept of animal farms in India to carry out farm-to-fork policy.
Pramod Kumar, housekeeper at the bhains mandi in Gazipur, says the farm-to-fork principle was “totally impractical” in India.
“There are animals which are brought here for both dairy purposes and slaughter. Even when they are on their way to a legal slaughterhouse, the farmers are scared of being rounded up and the traders are afraid what will happen if they are caught with meat. In such a scenario, how is it possible for anyone to go to a farm? More importantly, where are these farms?” asks Kumar.
My community, a farmer says, does not rear cattle for slaughter. They always do it for dairy purposes. “There are no such farms where farmers are rearing cattle only for slaughter. It’s never existed in India. How can the government expect such farms to crop up just like that,” the farmer says.
Mohammed Abbas, a meat wholesaler at the Gazipur mandi, joins us and calls farm-to-fork principle a mere joke. “It’s not just the farmers who are suffering. We are at the receiving end too. Earlier, around 1000 buffaloes used to be brought in here, now it’s down to just 200. The government, along with the notification, must also tell us where these farms are so that we can survive,” Abbas says.
The Bhais Mandi at Gazipur which used to buzz with animals a month ago now runs empty. (Debayan Roy/News18.com)
'It looks like an agenda'
To start with, many believe that the notification has nothing to do with ‘prevention to animal cruelty’. How can you discriminate against animals when you talk about saving them, rue the farmers and traders.
“It’s a deliberate attempt to make lives of Muslims and Dalits, who are directly involved in buffalo trade, more difficult. We support the ban on cow slaughter, but why buffalo? The government thinks it’s only us who are dependent on buffalo. Buffaloes eat meal worth Rs 500 a day. With the farmers struggling to earn that much for their entire family, how are they expected to take care for buffaloes?” says a meat trader from Nizammudin Basti.
'Buffalo exports have dipped, lives are at stake'
I walked out of the slaughterhouse to get on the phone with Fauzan Alaivi, spokesperson of Meat and Livestock Exports Association.
“There is a lot of demand for buffalo meat, but there’s no supply. It all started with demonetization and then came this notification. Government records show that buffalo meat exports have fallen by 11% from January to June. Markets have become dysfunctional. Most farmers are scared of vigilante groups. This is not Switzerland that farm-to-fork can be implemented with ease,” says Alaivi.
Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) also expressed concern. “We are only a tertiary branch of the government and only execute orders, but I can’t deny that there is fear among farmers,” Dr Prahlad Kumar, additional director at the MCD’s veterinary sciences department says.
India’s slowly becoming a nation of misplaced notions, says Alaivi. “We did a survey after demonetization. Around 95% people who buy buffalo meat, out of the 10,000 we surveyed, are Hindus. So does this notification have religious roots? No. There are meat processing units in only five states. Now, what do the farmers, who stay in interior villages, do with their buffaloes? The government has no response to any of that,” he adds.


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When the redesigned Apple TV app arrived in May, it was compatible with Samsung smart TVs, as well as the expected Apple products. Apple promised that the app would eventually work on more platforms, and in the past weeks, it's arrived on Roku and Amazon's Fire TV Stick devices. 9to5Mac reported that the Apple TV app is available on some Sony smart TVs -- but Sony has confirmed that the app was never released and that the screenshot in the 9to5Mac report is not from a Sony television.
The Apple TV app rolling out to other smart TV sets will allow users to access Apple TV+, the company's new streaming service, which launches on November 1st. In a push to bring Apple TV+ to more customers, the company will make the app available on Amazon Fire TV, LG and VIZIO platforms in the near future.
Correction 11/1/19 1:15PM ET: This post has been updated to note that Sony has refuted the original report this story was based on. The story has been modified to remove any incorrect information and we apologize for the confusion.

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Attention versus Neuro Science: How a new advertising measurement stack is emerging to fix the problems with ad impressions and viewability
Surging global interest in advertising attention measurement from marketers, media and agency networks is forcing an industry-wide rethink of legacy “tonnage” metrics like audience impressions and viewability, which give blunt but often misleading signals about how ad impact and effectiveness is landing with consumers.
What you need to know:
- Emerging attention metrics are challenging the usefulness of legacy audience and advertising measurement proxies like impressions, viewability and reach as standalone planning and trading currencies.
- Combining blunt “tonnage” measures of impressions and viewability with more qualitative layers like advertising attention measurement and neuro science, which among other things, tracks long term memory encoding, is finally advancing decades-old audience and ad effectiveness measurement.
- The upside is they avoid privacy-challenged online user tracking and identifiers.
At least marketers, agencies and media are saying there’s more to this [measurement] game than just the tonnage metrics of reach and frequency. This debate has a been a long time coming, frankly.
Australia is leading a global charge into the attention economy with rapidly expanding international SaaS plays like Karen Nelson-Field’s Amplified Intelligence, now backed by some of Australia’s wealthiest individuals and family offices through venture capital fund Ten13.
Amplified Intelligence’s AttentionTrace platform has struck deals with four of the six global agency holding companies and myriad media companies and brand owners in Europe and North America. British advertising effectiveness supremo Peter Field called Karen Nelson-Field’s attention work “electrifying” at the Advertising Council’s launch of a global benchmarking report To ESOV ad Beyond.
Another attention measurement player is UK-based Playground XYZ, which recently struck an alliance with Publicis Groupe to incorporate its attention measurement system into programmatic trading.
In the more established field of advertising neuro science, Australia is also a leading global player through Neuro Insight, based on the the work of Professor Richard Silberstein in Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) at Swinburne University’s Brain Sciences Institute.
Between attention and neuro science, advertising and audience measurement appears to be taking its next big – and overdue – leap, without the increasing risks of invasive, privacy-challenged tracking of online users and their every move.
“This is the new frontier, which I think is really interesting, and being driven by the deprecation of the cookie,” Playground XYZ CEO Rob Hall told the IAB’s MeasureUp conference this week. “The best thing of all is there’s no [digital] identifiers. The power of attention-based metrics is pretty profound, compared to viewability. Comparing to viewability, [attention] is 7.5x more potent at driving awareness and 5.9x more potent at driving recall,” he claimed.
The managing director of Lumen Research, Mike Follett, which uses eye tracking data from two permanent panels in the UK and US, and temporary panels in France, Germany, Italy, Indonesia and Australia, explained the fallibility of impressions to the MeasureUp conference this way:
“If a campaign has 1,000 impressions, only 51 per cent may have been 'technically viewable' according to the IAB's guidelines. Even though 510 of those impressions were viewable – and they may have been visible for 5, 10, or even 15 seconds – their data might calculate just 90 people actually looked at the ad, and they looked for an average of 1.6 seconds. That means I got 148 seconds of attention per 1,000 impressions," said Follett.
"This is important, because we can start to compare between media and between formats, as well as whole media as well... if you were to buy 1,000 30-second TV ads, you might get 6,000 seconds of attention. 1,000, 15-second YouTube ads might get you 4,500 seconds of attention, whereas 1,000 mobile ads might get you 422 [attention seconds]. Using this common currency for media, you can start looking at more unusual formats... and this has quite a big implication for how much you should pay for these formats."
Neuro Insight CEO Peter Pynta also addressed the IAB’s Measure Up conference and told Mi3 in an interview this week that the global interest in attention measurement was a welcome development. “This is a good thing,” he said. “At least marketers, agencies and media are saying “Hang on, there’s more to this [measurement] game than just the tonnage metrics of reach and frequency. This debate has been a long time coming, frankly.”
Indeed, what looks like emerging are several new layers of measurement which adds a qualitative layer of advertising impact and effectiveness beyond the problematic legacy proxies of reach, impressions and viewability.
But if impressions and viewability are getting more granular by connecting them with topline attention measurement, that is, which media and platforms deliver better attention levels, Pynta argues there’s still further upside for advertisers by connecting those metrics with how advertising – and critically the creative and messaging – is landing and being processed in the brain for long term memory encoding.
“The closest thing we have to link real world sales [from advertising measurement systems] is long-term memory encoding,” Pynta said. “Memory encoding is the jewel in our crown. It is the highest correlation to real world sales.” Neuro Insights' long term analysis from its work globally puts that correlation at 86 per cent.
“The neuro science community around the world has overwhelming established that memory is there to guide consumer behaviour. In fact, memories only exist to guide people’s behaviour. That’s why the brain stores stuff the way it does. That’s why consumer behaviour and memory is so strongly correlated.”
Long-term memory encoding – or mental availability in the words of Ehrenberg Bass Institute’s Professor Byron Sharp – captures everything that’s going on “whether you’re aware of it or not”, added Pynta.
Only 15 per cent?
But Pynta has a curveball. He said “visual attention” accounts for just 15 per cent of memory encoding. Storytelling, emotion, frequency and context make up the remaining 85 per cent.
But of course, before the brain can start embedding ad messages into long-term memory for a chance at a purchasing decision later, the ad has to be seen. Reach, impressions and viewability, which currently underpin most advertisers media and channel mix allocations in the global $600bn ad market, fail miserably at this. They essentially deliver “opportunity to see” guide rails. Attention metrics turn the possibility that an ad has been seen to qualified active or passive ad attention, in the case of Amplified Intelligence’s AttentionTrace system.
From there, a combination of brain science, which informs an advertiser on the components in an ad which is landing in long-term memory encoding, and econometric modelling, might finally see real advances in audience, media and advertising effectiveness measurement. Indeed, another Australian start-up in automated econometrics from Mutiny’s War Chest SaaS platform, is also bringing new possibilities for proving advertising efficacy.
“Anything that evolves and moves the game along is a good thing,” said Pynta. “It’ll take a while to nail the real quality metrics that do tell you something about the outcome, which is why we’re so big on long-term memory. The outcome is poorly defined by tonnage metrics but this is a great evolution. It’s definitely going in the right direction. That is a very good thing.”
Attention case studies
On the IAB Measure Up webinar this week Playground XYZ’s CEO Rob Hall, spoke about the value of combining attention measurement with context which, he said, creates a powerful, data-driven, scalable advertising alternative that uses no identifiers or cookies. Playground XYZ has recently been named as Publicis Groupe's programmatic trading partner, and has shown strong results for luxury fashion brand Oroton.
His company has gone heavily into "attention time" metric, which, like Lumen Research and Amplified Intelligence, is a metric based on panel data and AI models that measures eye movement.
Hall used a lipstick brand as an example. "I might be around beauty and make up a lipstick environments. The problem is, you don't really know that those are the right places to put your ad. You intuitively think they are. And maybe you have some research from the past around your focus groups or whatever. But you don't have the real time feedback loop and the signals you need to say, ‘okay, I'm delivering my ad into beauty environments. Is it working?’" Hall said.
"And, of course, on top of that, what if there are a whole bunch of other environments that are right for you but you’ve started way too narrow? What if news was right, or gardening, or lifestyle or food? Attention signals can come in and help with that."
"The power of attention based metrics is pretty profound, compared to viewability. Comparing to viewability, it’s 7.5x more potent at driving awareness and 5.9x more potent at driving recall.
"So the juice is definitely worth the squeeze."
Hall used car manufacturer Suzuki's experience as an example. The company ran two different digital ad creatives for its Swift and Vitara models, but measured attention and adjusted the context in which each creative appeared based on the results.
"The Suzuki Swift is more urban and female-skewed and kind of urbanised, and the Vitara is a little more SUV based and maybe a little more family-oriented, and maybe slightly masculine," Hall said.
"And you can start to see these things come out. The Swift did better in food and drink, beauty and fitness, whereas the Vitara started doing better in games, in auto and vehicles, education, computer electronics. Those two creatives have two kinds of inherent audiences sitting behind them, and you’re able to pick up the signal of which contexts and which audiences in those contexts are resonating with and which aren’t. … things like that can give you a huge lift in attention time.”
Australians’ travel habits have irrevocably changed, as a 40 per cent remote workforce realises it can work from anywhere. But “Wandering Workers” are just one of the trends identified in Nine’s State of the Nation Travel report for 2022. There are “New Frontiers” and deeper levels of expertise Australians are searching for to spend tens of billions of travel dollars each year. One expert’s take? “Regenerative Travel” is where the riches are to be made.
Retail media growth and the secret sauce: Nando's sees 27% sales uplift, 70% new customers in Cartology omnichannel retail campaign with Fresh Magazine, social, front of store screens and more
Retail media is forecast to triple in size over the next five years from $850 million to $2.14 billion. It has become one of the most talked about emerging media sectors – and for good reason. It has a unique, data-led approach based on real customer insights and closed loop reporting, adding real accountability to campaign investment. Just ask fan favourite Nando’s.
And it continues its growth trajectory.


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Discount broker Clubfinance has acquired Sipp provider Intelligent Money’s direct-to-consumer business for an undisclosed sum.
The direct-to-consumer business has collective assets of around £100m.
Clubfinance founder David Scrivens says: “Intelligent Money’s consumer clients will not only continue to receive an efficient service but we hope they will also save even more money as a result of this deal.
“Even beyond the RDR, our investors will continue to be able to benefit from our commission arrangements on pre-existing investments and new non-advised business.”
Clubfinance is set to launch a Sipp product through its Frequent Trader platform in the coming months. Intelligent Money will provide administrative and trustee services.
Intelligent Money chief executive Julian Penniston-Hill says the direct-to-consumer legacy book was not core to its intermediary-only business.
He says: “Clubfinance is the ideal firm to take over these clients, being fully prepared for the introduction of the RDR and having a long and proven track record of delivering high value, low cost investment solutions for the direct-to-consumer market.”
Intelligent Money says it will continue to focus on growing its intermediary-only Sipp proposition.


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Ed Hicks Nissan Awards Longtime Employees on 40th Anniversary
CORPUS CHRISTI (Kiii News) -
Ed Hicks Nissan celebrated their 40th anniversary on Monday and awarded an employee who has been with them since day one.
"We wanted to do something extremely special for his 40th anniversary," said Gloria Hicks, a partner at Ed Hicks Nissan. "A Nissan Altima or a Nissan Frontier, and you get to pick the key to whichever one you want."
An awards ceremony was held Monday morning at the dealership, near SPID and Kostoryz, recognizing its tenured leadership and dedicated staff. Javier Vera was given a brand new Nissan Altima, and four other employees received Rolex watches for being with the company for 10 years.
Those who run the dealership said the awards ceremony is all part of building on a strong foundation they have with their employees and the community.


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Another day, another Samsung leak, this time about Samsung’s belated, pint-sized smart speaker, which will—if the rumors are true—be able to take charge of your TV and other appliances with IR receivers.
Just last week, there was a leak claiming that the Samsung Galaxy Home Mini would finally see a South Korean retail release on Wednesday (and just a day before Samsung’s Unpacked event in San Francisco). Over the weekend, XDA Developers’ Max Weinback tweeted a series of videos and screenshots that purportedly show the Bixby-powered smart speaker in action.
Among the most interesting tidbits was that the Galaxy Home Mini could act as an IR blaster, allowing you to turn on your TV, change channels, and take charge of other IR-enabled components from up to 40 feet away.
It’s a feature that reminds us of Amazon’s $120 Alexa-powered Fire TV Cube, which similarly uses built-in IR emitters to control your TV.
Mentioned in this article
Amazon Fire TV Cube (second generation)
That said, neither the Amazon Echo Dot nor the Google Nest Mini, which would be the Galaxy Home Mini’s closest competitors, boast IR emitters, so the addition of IR functionality to the Galaxy Home Mini would certainly up the ante as far as budget-priced smart speakers go.
Weinbech’s tweeted leaks also noted that the 2.4GHz-only Galaxy Home Mini would feature a microUSB charging port (compared to the barrel-shaped power ports on the Echo Dot and Nest Mini), as well as the ability to pair two Galaxy Home Minis together for stereo sound (a trick that both the Echo Dot and Nest Mini can do). Weinbech noted that the speaker won’t have a line-out jack, a feature that the Echo Dot has but the Nest Mini doesn’t.
Beyond that, most the other Samsung Galaxy Home Mini details have already been thoroughly leaked, including Bixby voice control (naturally), the ability to double as a SmartThings hub, AKG sound, multi-room and Bluetooth audio support.
The one detail we don’t know yet is when the Galaxy Home Mini, which was first revealed last August, would get a U.S. release. Hopefully we’ll hear some news during Tuesday’s Unpacked event.
A since-yanked press release on Samsung’s website said that the Galaxy Home Mini would arrive on Wednesday in South Korea, but it’s not clear when—or if—the smart speaker will arrive in other worldwide regions, including stateside.
And no, there’s still no word about the Galaxy Home Mini’s big brother, the Galaxy Home, which was announced at Samsung’s August 2018 Unpacked event but has barely surfaced since, save for a quick peek at Mobile World Conference last February.


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In recent years, there have been many innovations in the area of packaging, but above all the ceramic and glass jars, in which new productions are now presented, have become veritable musthaves for passionados and collectors.
The finest tobaccos of the past decade come to life with Partagas Limited Reserve Decadas 2020, a limited edition release.
Partagás Legend pays tribute to forefathers of the handmade cigar business who brought this venerable brand to prominence.
The 20th Festival del Habano is being held this week in Havana. 2000 participants from 70 countries are gathering to celebrate cigars, their history and culture.
Partagás Capitols and Romeo y Julieta Club Kings are the two cigars that will be the first ones to be available within the new Línea Retro, a new design concept launched by Habanos this week.
Here are the details to the 20th edition of the annual Habanos festival including two novelties that will be introduced during the festival.
In 2015, Partagás presented its new Partagás Maduro No.1. The brand will now introduce two new sizes in the Maduro line at the 2018 Habanos Festival.
General Cigar celebrates the long brand history of Partagás with a new cigar line named Heritage.
Featuring a Shade Grown wrapper leaf and tobaccos from Vuelta Abajo, the cigar will come in a 130 x 20,6 (5 1/8 x 52) parejo size in Semi Boîte boxes of 25.
After this year’s Festival del Habano had ended Simon Chase was still in Havana, so he went in search of an old friend, the torcedor Hamlet Jaime Paredes, who is best known as the cigar roller in residence at the Romeo y Julieta Casa del Habano.
It’s hard to believe that the famous tobacco exporter Mark A. Pollack built this splendid structure located behind the Briones Montoto factory just to store his excellent tobacco. Fully renovated in recent years, the gorgeous building is housing a Partagás worksite while its walls shine a gleaming white.
A true Marvel – over the last 15 years, the now 80-year-old Arnaldo Bichot has shaped the brand Partagás. The Partagás Lusitanias Gran Reserva Cosecha 2007 is his masterpiece.


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Mercedes-Benz will produce EV batteries in Poland
25 January 2019 - Autoblog
MB plans to use $23 billion worth of batteries over the next decade
Daimler-owned Mercedes-Benz Cars will start producing electric batteries in Jawor, Poland, the Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Tuesday, as the company looks to ramp up its investments in electric batteries in the coming decade.
"We are very happy that an investor that has been with us for a few years has entrusted us again and in the same place in Jawor," Morawiecki said at a press conference.
Daimler is already building a plant to produce engines in Jawor.
Mercedes-Benz Cars board member Markus Schafer told the conference that the new investment would create 300 jobs and that investments would total over 200 million euros.
Daimler will buy battery cells worth more than 20 billion euros ($23 billion) by 2030 as it readies mass production of hybrid and electric vehicles, the company said in December.
The company is one of a number of German automakers expanding in electric vehicles as European regulators clamp down on toxic diesel emissions.
The auto industry currently has a range of different battery recipes competing for use in battery cathodes. One is NCA, or lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide, produced by Panasonic and used by Tesla.
Chinese manufacturers use a composition called LFP which has a lower energy density but does without cobalt, while Japanese carmakers use LMO, or lithium manganese oxide, which is used by Nissan and LG Chem.


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With the smartphone segment displaying an appreciable growth rate, rumours are abuzz with the possibility of Dell contemplating to enter into the smartphone domain very soon.
The PC manufacturer, which is struggling hard to fend off constant erosion in its market share for PCs, has reportedly developed prototypes for Google’s Android and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile platform, with the launch of the handsets is anticipated as early as next month, according to a recent report from the Wall Street Journal.
Incidentally, rumours about Dell’s venture in smartphone domain have been swirling since the PC maker stopped selling its Axima PDA in 2007, and the commencement of GSMA Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, which is scheduled to be held next month, has further heated up the rumours at the blogosphere.
In addition, Dell’s prior experience in handheld devices, coupled with its 2007 appointment of Ron Garriques, who had served as phone development head at Motorola, have further made the analysts to anticipate company’s entry into smartphone arena.
According to the latest report from WSJ, the number 2 PC manufacturer is developing high-profile handsets featuring the touchscreen display instead of keyboard, similar to that of Apple’s iPhone, while the second device incorporates a slide-out keyboard.


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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne has used the company’s second quarter results presentation to confirm two highly-anticipated models will be introduced within six months.
Speaking to investors and the media, Marchionne stated the 2018 Jeep Wrangler will be unveiled in November. It will be followed by the next-generation Ram 1500 will debut at the North American International Auto Show in January.
Both models are key to the company’s bottom line as Carsalesbase reports Jeep sold 191,788 Wranglers in the United States last year, while Ram sold a whopping 487,558 pickups.
Besides talking about the two upcoming models, Automotive News says Marchionne reiterated his plans to step down in the near future. The executive said he’s “not worried about succession” and his replacement will be selected from a “suitable stable” of people from within the company. There’s no word on who is his top pick but Marchionne’s replacement isn’t expected to takeover until early 2019.
Marchionne went on to announce the company will unveil its new five-year plan early next year. The plan covers 2018-2022 and the executive believes it will help ensure FCA has a smooth transition when a new CEO is named.


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Samsung has been known to manufacture a number of popular products, such as the Galaxy S4 and even its new Curved OLED TV, which the company announced would be making its way the the U.S. yesterday. It seems all of those amazing products may come at a price other than the money from your wallet as prosecutors in Brazil have filed a lawsuit against Samsung that accuses them of violating local labor rights.
According to details of the lawsuit, Samsung is being accused of having its employees in one of its factories in Brazil working extremely long hours for multiple days in a row. The lawsuit was filed once local officials discovered terrible working conditions after two separate inspections at Samsung’s factory took place in the Zona Franca de Manaus. The lawsuit details employees reportedly working on their feet for over 10 to 15 hours a day without any breaks, with some working for up to 27 days in a row.
A Samsung spokesperson said they will fully cooperate with the Brazilian authorities once they receive notification about the case by performing a full analysis of the process at which local employees work. Hopefully Samsung stays true to their promise as we enjoy our tech, but not at the cost of making the lives of its employees completely miserable.


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Kenanga maintains 'outperform' on Hartalega (HARTA, 5168)
KUALA LUMPUR: Kenanga Investment Bank Research is confident over Hartalega Holdings Bhd's prospects over the coming quarters on expectations of continued demand and rising average selling prices (ASP).
Following a meeting with Hartalega, the research house raised its FY21 and FY22 net profit by 45% and 106% respectively to account for higher ASP assumptions.
"We highlight that industry ASP has risen for Sept to Nov delivery suggesting that the robust demand will continue over the next few quarters.
In line with higher industry ASP, HARTA is expected to raise ASP by 30% and 40% in 2QFY21 and 3QFY21, respectively," it said.
It added that Hartalega is confident of sustained strong demand with capacity booked up until end-2021, which reassures that the lagged impact from the ASP hike will be felt in 2H 2021.
Kenanga maintained its "outperfrom" recommendation and target price of RM26.22 based on 19.7x 2021 earnings per share, after lowering its price-earnings rating as it believes valuations are already pegged to super-normal earnings.
Meanwhile, with the progressive commission of Plants 6 and 7, the group's annual installed capacity is expected to increase from the current 39 billion to 44 billion pieces by FY22.
"Beyond plant 7, NGC 1.5 is expected to have four plants built with an estimated capacity of 19b pieces and construction is expected to start some time in 2021.
"NGC 2 is expected to have 82 new production lines with a capacity of 32.3b pieces which we believe would be mostly for nitrile gloves and to start in 1Q 2022," it said.


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Thursday, April 15, 2010
Steve and Becky Snyder, owners of Hollywood Hill Winery in Woodinville. They're among the oak barrels filled with wine in their garage at their home in Woodinville. Right now its wine isn't sold through a distributor, though Steve Snyder expects that will happen eventually.
© 2010 The Seattle Times Company


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JAST USA Is Holding a Halloween Sale
Treat yourself to some sweet discounts on eroge during JAST USA’s Halloween Sale.
The JAST USA Autumn Sale Has Begun
Select eroge prices fall like leaves during this year's JAST USA Autumn Sale.
The JAST USA Summer Sale has Begun
Get the most out of the summer season by getting hot and sweaty with the annual JAST USA Summer Sale.
VN Crash - MangaGamer VS JAST USA Sale
MangaGamer and JAST USA have come together for VN Crash, a combined sale event for April Fools’ Day.
JAST USA is Holding an Autumn Sale
JAST USA, publisher of localized Japanese video games, has launched a seasonal sale, offering 87 titles at a reduced price.
JAST USA Announces Valentine's Day Sale for 2018
Visual novel publisher, localizer, and translator JAST USA has announced a Valentine's Day sale, bringing discounts on dating sims, long-form romances, and adult games.
JAST USA Sakura Sale Currently Underway
In honor of the ongoing Sakura-Con, JAST USA is holding a "JAST USA Sakura Sale" where their entire massive large library of games is 30% off.
JAST USA's End of Summer Sale
Following in Mangagamer's footsteps, JAST USA has started their own "End of Summer" sale, featuring a plethora of titles.
Groupees JAST USA Bundle on Sale
Charity bundle website Groupees is currently selling a bundle chock full of JAST USA eroge titles.
JAST USA is Holding a Spooky Halloween Sale
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Terrell Plaza purchase expected to boost Austin Highway recovery
- Tricia Lynn Silva
The developer of several high-profile shopping centers in the Alamo City has purchased an older, in-fill site on the North Central Side.
Irving, Texas-based David Berndt Interests Inc. (DBI) is the new owner of Terrell Plaza.
The center, which entered the local shopping scene back in 1957, spans some 207,000 square feet at 1201 Austin Highway.
The seller was Farrell Estates Ltd., a Canadian firm based in Richmond, British Colombia. The purchase price was not disclosed.
DBI's strategy for the center is still in its early stages, according to DBI Principal David Berndt.
"We have some plans. By this summer, we should have a pretty good idea of what we are going to do," says Berndt, adding that plans do include re-organizing existing tenants.
DBI's partner in the project is Cleveland-based Developers Diversified Realty Corp., Berndt adds.
Terrell Plaza marks the latest joint-venture retail development for DDR and DBI. Past projects include Westover Marketplace, Bandera Pointe and most recently the Village at Stone Oak.
Terrell Plaza is located in proximity to several high-end neighborhoods -- including Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills and Olmos Park.
But after being around for more than 50 years, the center has begun to show its age.
The layout of the property is obsolete, according to Bryan Parman, a vice president in the retail services division of San Antonio-based NAI REOC Partners.
The back of the property, for example, is made up of a "hodgepodge" of office spaces, says Parman, who had been leasing the center for Farrell.
Obsolescence aside, Terrell Plaza has snagged some noted tenants over the past few years, including Big Lots and HobbyTown USA.
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EA shuts down Fairfax-based Mythic Entertainment game studio
Electronic Arts is shutting down Fairfax-based Mythic Entertainment, a nearly two-decade old video game studio known for massive multiplayer titles "Dark Age of Camelot" and "Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning," according to Kotaku and other gaming sites.
The studio most recently released the mobile remake of the classic "Dungeon Keeper," a nominally "free" game that was widely criticized for being packed with micro-transactions, without which the game was virtually unplayable.
EA, which bought Mythic in 2006, said in a statement to Kotaku that it is "working with all impacted employees to provide assistance in finding new opportunities, either within EA or with other companies via an upcoming job fair ."
The news is a blow to the Baltimore-Washington corridor's status as a major video game development hub. The region is also home to Rockville-based Zenimax Media, parent company of id Software and Bethesda Softworks, as well as Sparks, Md.-based Firaxis Games, best known for the "Civilization" series.
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Angry investors punish lacklustre BP
A LACKLUSTRE trading statement from BP today gave investors a good enough excuse to vent their continuing anger with the oil giant and its chief Lord Browne, causing the stock to fall more than 4% in an otherwise buoyant market.
Analysts noted that BP's summary of fourth-quarter trading revealed it had done little wrong. But investors seized on figures showing production volumes were at the bottom end of expectations and indications that refining margins had fallen.
The shares, which were trading at 422p before the announcement, fell to 406p, highlighting the importance of next month's major strategy statement to BP's hopes of turning around investor sentiment.
BP revealed that annual production growth had fallen just short of the revised 3% target outlined in October last year. This goal had been set following a series of downgrades, the first from the 5.5% figure nominated at the start of the year.
That string of nasty surprises damaged Browne's reputation as Mr Reliability and triggered a strategic review of its asset portfolio.
'There are no positive surprises in today's announcement and volumes have come in at the bottom end of the revised range so that is being seen as negative,' said Commerzbank analyst Jon Rigby. 'They have also indicated their refining margins have fallen and people had expected them to rise.'
The impending release of BP's strategic review was also blamed for the share sell-off, some saying investors are no longer sure about what they are getting when they buy BP and would prefer to wait until the results of the study are unveiled.
The first evidence of the review emerged yesterday when BP said it had sold the Forties oil field in the North Sea, along with some assets in the Gulf of Mexico, for $1.3bn (£812m). The sale, which was seen as part of BP's fresh strategy of focusing on financial returns rather than its long-used benchmark of volume growth, is expected to be the first in a string of disposals that could raise more than $3bn.
BP said today chemical margins had been weaker in the fourth quarter compared with the previous three months as prices lagged behind the rise in feedstock costs.
In the refining division, margins were lower as a result of seasonal declines and significant rises in crude prices late last year. But gas sales had benefited from price gains.
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BERLIN -- Outside, the night air is laced with wet snowflakes, dancing and swooping against a sky that's been dark since 4 p.m. The smell of industrial-grade grills, roasted chestnuts and petroleum interlace with laughter and the flamboyant hisses of an open pit, as Christmas market patrons mull around in large winter coats, many with a cup of Glühweinin hand.
Inside, Ute Gumz shuttles to and fro within the heated market tent she rented to sell her range of Alpaca-fleece clothing, a business she has dealt in for the past seven years. The 70-year-old southern German sports medium-length white hair with a face that glows. Sorting, explaining, arranging and sorting again, Gumz hardly stops moving -- or laughing, even as she claims to be too old for such an undertaking.
"This here is incredible," admires Gumz, whisking an intricate floral-pattern sweater jacket down from one of the racks. "With every color-change of the pattern, two threads have to be knitted together at the back. That can mean knitting 2,000 threads together, two to three days of handwork for some of these patterns."
Despite her passion for the pieces she sells, Gumz says she isn't holding her breath for a business-breakthrough at this year's Christmas Market at Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin.
"Sales are going well enough, and you wouldn't believe how interesting some people can be," she said. "But honestly, most visitors aren't anticipating something as high-quality as Alpaca wares here, and you can feel that."
Part kitsch and part charm, Germany's famous Christmas markets are simultaneously treasured and loathed, from their centuries-old tradition and economic influence, to over-commercialization and controversy about the long, underpaid hours some workers are expected to put in. Even as online shopping takes off in Germany, its Christmas markets continue to thrive, generating an estimated 3 to 5 billion Euros annually for the country. But striking the delicate balance between profitable and meaningful experiences for both vendors and patrons at the country's so-called Christkindlmärktecould prove critical for the future of the industry.
"Most people are here to eat, drink and make smaller gift purchases," Gumz said. "It could be that I turn an incredible profit by the end of the season, you never know. But that will definitely determine whether I return next year.”
As vendors like Gumz seek reassurance their personal and financial investment is paying off at bigger Christmas markets, small market organizers are experimenting with a variation on traditional formats.
The NowkoellnChristmas Flowmarkt, a small, indoor market for DIY wares, will open its doors for the first time this weekend. The event is a spinoff of the Nowkoelln flea market – a mix of second-hand sellers and DIY vendors, which in three years has grown into a sizable neighborhood event along Berlin’s Maybachufer at the border between the trendy Kreuzberg and Neukölln districts.
“The community makes this happen, the people do the work,” founder Michael Gross said. “The market was needed and it appeared. There was a demand for it."
Gross and his colleagues curate neither the year-round flea market nor the Christmas Flowmarkt. Instead, vendors sign up on a first-come, first-serve basis, relying on the community and word-of-mouth to attract the most appropriate constellation of sellers and buyers to the market. A three-Euro entry fee and vendor contributions help finance the indoor location –- for many, a welcome alternative to the bitter, north-German cold.
Gross says he feels Nowkoelln’s more organic approach to market organization is striking an important chord with the public:
“The immediacy makes it more fun than shopping on the web. You interact with the vendor in front of you, you touch and get to know an item, and maybe you bargain with the vendor in the end… Maybe you found something you can’t get anywhere else… and then you get to take your purchase with you right away.”
Christmas markets have long been prone to over-commercialization. Circus-themed grounds, carnival rides and low-quality, mass-produced wares have long been present on the scene, particularly at some larger markets in tourist-heavy parts of most cities. Though short-term profits may be high here, local patron and tourist attention seems to be shifting towards more unique setups.
The Rixdorfer Weihnachtsmarktin central Neukölln is a three-day Christmas market reserved exclusively for non-profit fundraising. It’s not uncommon to see strapping, uniformed men and women from the city police force or fire brigade doling out Glühwein, turning Bratwurst or selling wares like oil lamps or crafts. Almost all workers volunteer their time.
Founded 40 years ago by a coast guard member and humanitarian hero, “Herr Lemke”, the Rixdorf Christmas Market is now organized by the Neukölln district office –- making it one of the few state-managed Christmas markets left in Berlin.
Remarkably, some 60,000 to 70,000 visitors descend upon the market in only three days, with vendors unofficially reporting record sales for last weekend’s 2012 event.
“It works because everyone contributes something,” Neukölln Town Twinning Officer Christian Baermann said.
“Each vendor is a piece of the larger puzzle –- we create the framework for everyone to come together… And it seems to be what everyone wants.”
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com


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On May 28th Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd reported a 26% surge in net profit to Rs32.1bn (US$460.8m) for the fiscal year ended March 31st 2019. The Indian drugmaker benefited from an 8% fall in tax expenses. Revenue rose by 10% to Rs290bn (US$4.1bn) for fiscal year 2019.
Despite a dip in sales of India formulations, Sun Pharma's revenue gains across other markets lifted total sales from operations. Sales of US formulations rose by 22% to Rs106.7bn, while revenue from emerging markets increased by 11% to Rs53.6bn. In India the company had recently switched its local distribution network from a third-party company to its wholly-owned subsidiary. The drugmaker attributed the 8% drop in sales to Rs73.5bn in India to the change in distribution.
The company, which claims to be the market leader in India with an 8% share, launched 12 products in its domestic market in the past three months of fiscal 2019. Sun Pharma's capital expenditure on research and development accounted for 7% of sales during the year.
The Indian pharmaceutical company has been focusing on increasing revenue share from the sale of specialty drugs, including the treatment of conditions such as psoriasis, dry eye disease. across markets. The company launched its skin cancer drug, Ilumya, in October 2018. For fiscal year 2020 Sun Pharma expects Ilumya sales to drive revenue in the US, while it is also banking on the launch of its dry eye drug, Cequa to contribute to top-line growth.


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Royal Enfield sales in India dropped for the tenth straight month in August, according to a newly released company sales report.
August sales for the Chennai, India-based manufacturer declined 24% year over year, to 52,904.
Royal Enfield has sold 290,798 units since its fiscal year started in April, down 20% from the prior-year period.
Additionally, motorcycle models with engine capacity up to 350cc declined 32% to 44,694 units year over year.
The drop is the latest in a 10-month long sales decline at the OEM, which began in November 2018 when sales fell 6% to 65,744 year over year, according to the monthly sales reports.
However, the OEM experienced 124% growth — to 8,210 units — for models with engine capacity exceeding 350cc. Sales of the Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT 650, released in the spring and collectively dubbed “650 Twins,” contributed to that growth.
Royal Enfield’s exports to other countries increased 205% to 4,152 units.
Join us for PowerSports Finance Summit 2019, October 23-24 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. The summit is the only full-length forum for those companies involved in the financing of motorcycles, jet skis, side-by-sides and other specialty vehicles. Register now at www.powersportsfinance.net and save with early registration rates ending this Friday, September 6.


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Vinamilk to set up coffee chain
The company’s board recently sought shareholders’ permission to add nine new businesses to the company’s portfolio, including beverage and food sales. It plans to open more Hi-Cafe outlets starting this year.
Hi-Cafe will come up against local brands Highlands Coffee, The Coffee House, Phuc Long, and Trung Nguyen, and foreign brand Starbucks, which together have hundreds of stores across the country.
Vinamilk, which has more than half of Vietnam’s dairy market, reported a 5.7 percent growth in revenues last year to VND59.6 trillion ($245 million).
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By BILL LYNCH, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – The air in candle maker Brooke Smith’s kitchen smelled good, even though it had nothing to do with morning oatmeal.
On one eye of his electric stove, a block of beeswax in a metal pitcher was slowly melting. The pitcher leaned back into a pot of boiling water.
As the wax melted, it gave off a faint smell of honey.
Once the wax became liquid, Smith checked the temperature. There was a great place to pour the wax into one of the hundred candle molds that Smith keeps. A little too hot or a little too cold and the spark plugs may not turn well.
The wax also needs to be poured at the right speed – slow and steady. Too fast and the candle may end up with unwanted air bubbles.
The 38-year-old said the candle molds also need to be at the right temperature. The whole process is not that difficult, but it requires patience and attention to detail.
People also read…
Of course, mistakes are made from time to time. The spark plugs don’t look quite right.
She shrugged and said, “The good part is, making mistakes isn’t that bad.”
You can just remelt the wax and try again.
Smith launched Charleston Bee Works from his South Hills home just a few months ago and really didn’t start doing much business until the 2021 holiday season.
“I started with this during the pandemic,” she said. “It was a pandemic pastime.”
Originally from eastern Kentucky, Smith and her family moved to Charleston at the start of the pandemic. Smith’s husband, Kevin, had just accepted a position as Associate Director of Pulmonary Critical Care Fellowship at WVU’s CAMC.
Prior to Charleston, Smith worked in public administration for nonprofit organizations but stayed home to raise their three young children.
They had come to Charleston because they loved the area and its proximity to home.
“We loved coming here,” she said, “I’m literally a coal miner’s daughter.”
Charleston was also a gateway to many outdoor activities.
“We hike and we paddle,” Smith said. “We just got back from a few days in Canaan.”
At the start of the pandemic, information on the spread of COVID-19 was still being developed. Smith said they adapted and adjusted as best they could. Her husband’s job was necessary, but keeping Smith and the children safe was stressful.
“I got into candles because I needed to bring some peace into the house,” she said. “I needed calm. I lit a lot of candles.
The light is soothing, Smith said.
Making candles seemed fun. It gave him something to think about and something to do with his hands.
She read books on candle making, watched videos and discovered beeswax.
“It’s the cleanest, most natural wax you can use,” she said.
Smith and his family support local farms and businesses. She had JQ Dickinson salt in her kitchen. Paintings and photos by local artists decorate the walls of the house.
“We were already buying local honey at the Capitol Market,” she says.
Smith contacted local beekeepers and purchased their wax. In addition to candles, she started making soap and hand lotion.
Some of its items are scented or colored.
“These are all natural ingredients,” she says. “I use essential oils and the beeswax kinda helps hold it together.”
She made candles and soap, gave them as gifts to friends, who were delighted with them.
Then last fall, Smith started selling online.
It was something of a hit and Smith did very well during the holidays.
“A lot of people like candles,” she said with a shrug.
Then Steph Woody of Vandalia Donut in Elk City asked him about the sale of Charleston Bee Works candles in his shop.
“She was awesome,” Smith said.
Then Buck and Bette on Summers Street in Charleston began selling Charleston Bee Works products. Smith sells candles at Hoot and Howl in Morgantown and her lotion bars have just been added to The Shoppe in Nitro.
Smith sources locally. Its beeswax comes from Mountain State Honey in Tucker County and Sugar Bottom Farm in Clay County. She gets honey for her hand soap from Elk Valley Crafters.
She takes pride in her candles, which she says are cleaner and healthier than other types of candles.
“They’re prettier too,” Smith added.
And they last a long time, although it also depends on the size of the candle.
“I don’t know the math for sure,” she said. “From what I’ve read you get one to two hours per ounce, but the pillar candles will last for days.”
Work keeps her busy – like a bee.
“I do this every day,” she says. “I make candles every day.”
Smith wasn’t complaining. She liked the work, her house smelled good, but the candle maker wasn’t clear what size she wanted Charleston Bee Works to get.
She talked a bit about expanding her offering, adding more products and maybe more locations to sell candles and soaps, but she seemed to appreciate how nice her small business could be.
However, it was getting too big for his kitchen.
“I’m just running out of space,” Smith said.
For more information, visit charlestonbeeworks.com in line.
For additional copyright information, see the distributor of this article, The Charleston Gazette-Mail.


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Funding to the tune of £80 million for the development of the new Banbury Gateway retail park has been secured after the park was purchased from developers LXB Retail Properties Plc by The Crown Estate.
The business, which owns more than £8.1 billion of property on behalf of the Crown, announced the purchase on Monday along with its commitment to fund the development of the 26,500msq Acorn Way site, currently occupied by Prodrive.
The investment will include pre-letting spaces to Marks & Spencer.
James Cooksey, the firm’s head of regional portfolio, said: “Consumer trends continue to show a preference for destination retailing, which is why we increasingly see retailers consolidate into larger, more dominant schemes.
“These market dynamics, our specialist skills and critical mass underpin our investment in assets like Banbury Gateway.”
Gateway was given the green light last week after a judicial review was thrown out by a High Court judge. The park could be complete by spring 2015.
Any profit from property owned by The Crown Estate goes to the Treasury.


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India’s rice production this kharif season could reduce by 10-12 million tonnes due to a drought in four states and a shift towards other crops elsewhere, said food secretary Sudhanshu Pandey on Friday.
The preliminary estimate—it might change later due to good late rains—is the first official number on monsoon’s impact on kharif rice production in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal. In the 2021-22 crop year, India produced over 111 million tonnes of rice in the kharif season.
Pandey said the central government banned exports of broken rice on Thursday night as a “mind-boggling” increase had caused domestic shortage and increased poultry and feed meal rates. Broken rice is largely meant for the non-human consumption and it is used as a feed meal in the poultry industry.
Data sourced from various agencies show that in Financial Year 2021-22 (FY22) out of the 3.8-3.9 million tonnes of broken rice exported, around 1.6 million tonnes (over 41 per cent) went to China for use as feed meal.
“During April to August this year (FY-23), exports of broken rice has risen by a mind boggling 4178 per cent compared to the corresponding period of 2019, while between Fy-18 and Fy-19, too exports of broken rice from India has jumped by almost 319 per cent,” Pandey told reporters.
“We have kept parboiled rice and basmati rice outside the purview of any sort of restriction be it higher export duty or total ban because these are used for human consumption in several countries across the globe,” he said.
The share of broken rice in India’s total exports–estimated to be around 21.2 million tonnes in 2021-22–has increased to 23 per cent in April-August 2022 period compared to 1.34 per cent in the corresponding period in 2019.
Pandey said apart from easing a shortage in the domestic market, the export ban would ensure that the drawdown of rice from Food Corporation of India (FCI) inventories towards ethanol production is not huge.
“The ban on broken rice exports will also ensure that it is available for domestic ethanol manufacturing and the pressure on FCI rice to meet the needs of grain-based ethanol players is less,” said an industry representative from the grain-based ethanol manufacturing sector.
In full 2021-22, around 81,000 tonnes of broken rice was allotted from FCI’s godowns for ethanol production. The amount jumped to 1.4 million tonnes till August 2022 as broken rice was unavailable in the open market.
Pandey said between January 1 and September 8, broken rice prices had risen by 37.5 percent while maize prices have also gone up by 26.31 during the same period as broken rice is simply not available.
About the government imposing 20 per cent export duty on some rice types before the ban on broken rice, Pandey said that the step will help in lowering prices.
A government notification on banning the export of broken rice said that between September 9 and September 15, consignments and shipments where loading has started in the ports before the ban and shipping bills is filed of vessels berthed or where broken rice consignments have been handed over to the customs will be allowed to be exported.
This exemption has been granted to ensure that in-transit shipments and goods which have already left the hinterland do not pile up in the ports as was the case when wheat exports were banned on May 14, 2022.
Last evening, the Centre imposed a 20 per cent export duty on select rice varieties but kept major items like basmati out of its purview.


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WearMyVoice.com gives voice to Bag Free Beecroft (https://www.facebook.com/BagFreeBeecroft)
BAG FREE BEECROFT Beecroft is Better!
What we do in our local area DOES make a difference.
David Attenborough: “We have a responsibility, every one of us. We may think we live a long way from the oceans, but we don’t. What we actually do here … has a direct effect on the oceans – and what the oceans do then reflects back on us.”
Bag Free Beecroft is a campaign organised by Greens member and Ward C Hornsby Shire Councillor Emma Heyde. Emma said she was inspired by friend’s stories of plastic waste at beaches and waterways, and their unsightly effect. Local residents joined together to sew reusable bags and provide them for shoppers at the Beecroft shops. Shoppers are responsible for bringing their own reusable bags, and the movement has been actively supported by the community as cost-effective and good for the environment.
“We have created a partnership between shoppers and businesses in Beecroft,” said Emma. “Shoppers bring their own bags; businesses don’t hand so many out. Now Woolworths is on board with that partnership. Everyone who has volunteered their time and skills to help reduce plastic waste in Beecroft deserves to feel a huge sense of achievement. We weren’t the only ones working to get rid of plastic bags, but our campaign made Woolies sit up and listen. We’re really proud of that.”
Bag Free Beecroft: https://www.facebook.com/BagFreeBeecroft/


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Outrage as Rabbit Pizza restaurant advertises itself... with a billboard made from REAL rabbit skins
- Hell Pizza in New Zealand covered billboards in rabbit skins for promo
- Animal rights supporters blasted the stunt as 'a new low'
- But Hell Pizza says the pelts were a by-product from meat proecessors
A pizza chain in New Zealand has sparked an online row after nailing hundreds of rabbit pelts to a billboard to advertise its new Easter Pizza.
To raise awareness of the smoked wild rabbit-topped dish, Hell Pizza covered billboards throughout the country in the animal skins with the tagline: 'Made from real rabbit. Like this billboard.'
Inevitably, online commentators took to social media sites to either vent their anger or defend the chain.
Controversy: Hell Pizza covered billboards throughout the country in the animal skins with the tagline: 'Made from real rabbit. Like this billboard' to promote their new pizza
On The company's Facebook page, Sophie Gao, posted: 'A new low, definitely won't be supporting your business again.
'This billboard is not doing your business any favours - pure idiocy.'
Conner Bond added: 'I will never support your business again. I'll make sure my friends don't either.'
New Zealand Vegetarian Society, which has endorsed some of the chain's meals, also joined in, saying: 'While we've been pleased to have Hell's vegetarian and vegan pizzas NZ Vegetarian Society Approved, impressed at their efforts to ensure avoidance of cross-contamination and can appreciate Hell's humour, this is deplorable on so many levels.
'While we "approve" Hell's veg pizzas, we do NOT approve of this.'
Some of the angry reactions from Twitter to the advertising stunt
However, Siang Tay defended the PR stunt, posting: 'Lots of comments about the shocking use of the rabbit pelts.
'How arrogant it is to display these cute bunny skins for the whole world to see... But what about your nice leather shoes? Or your pretty leather bag? How about that luxurious leather sofa?'
Sandra Russ said: 'Loved Hell's pizza before. Love them even more. This is AWESOME!!! Well done!! Very creative and hilarious. Will definitely be trying a rabbit pizza. Mmmmm!!'
To address the furore, Hell Pizza posted a statement defending the pizza on their Facebook page.
Rascally rabbits: The animals are seen as a huge pest problem in New Zealand. File picture
It said: 'As well as being a delicious meat, and even quite cute, rabbits are unfortunately also a noted pest that is damaging to the New Zealand environment, particularly in the South Island.
'For those who are concerned, we sourced these rabbit skins via a professional animal tanning company, who in turn sourced them from local meat processing companies where the skins are a regular by-product.
'Our Rabbit Pizzas are made purely from wild rabbits from Southland and Otago.'
Hell Pizza's gourmet special pie is topped smoked wild rabbit, toasted pine nuts, beetroot and horopito relish, cream cheese, rosemary and fresh spring onions.
Hell was established in 1996 and now has branches in the UK, Korea, Canada and India. In 2006 it was sold to the franchise that owns Burger King.
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Student and staff innovators celebrate success
Inventive products and services pioneered by students, staff and recent graduates have been showcased at the University’s annual innovation awards.
Winning entries include a process that turns disposable coffee cups into fertiliser, an app for buying and selling from charity shops and an online hub that supports brands in the emerging clean beauty sector.
The 2018 Inspire Launch Grow awards were hosted by Edinburgh Innovations, which supports entrepreneurs as part of its industry engagement service for the University.
Some 22 finalists presented their businesses to a panel of judges earlier in the month. Winners in five categories were announced at the awards event on Wednesday, 13 June. Prizes of up to £5,000 were presented.
Finalists ranged from businesses at the early stages of developing their product to more established companies with growing customer bases.
Winner of the Emerging Innovation Award for staff was University spin-out company Carbogenics, founded by Dr Jan Mumme of the School of Geosciences.
Winning was unexpected, especially against such strong competitors. We have felt so supported by the University and our business advisers.
Carbogenics has developed a novel process to turn disposable coffee cups and other non-recyclable paper-based waste into a material called CreChar. It can be used as a soil enhancer as well as other applications, such as the treatment of waste water and boosting the productivity of biogas generators.
The process of making CreChar is carbon negative – it removes more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it creates.
The winner of the Emerging Innovation Award for students was Crover. Founded by Lorenzo Conti, a PhD student in the School of Engineering, it has developed the first remote probing device that is able to move within silos of stored grain.
Crover gives real time measurements of factors such as moisture and temperature, enabling early detection of potential spoilage and reducing waste and financial losses.
Recent MBA graduate Raquel Wing’s company The Clean Hub won the Enterprise Award. It is the world’s first and only resource hub and support network for founders of so-called clean beauty companies – those that use no known toxins. It already has around 180 brands signed up.
The Social and Environmental Award was won by One Cherry, which was founded by Anton Puzorjov, a PhD student in the School of Biological Sciences.
One Cherry is an online marketplace for second-hand retailers, such as charity shops. Shops can upload images of their stock in less than 20 seconds per item, expanding their reach to customers, and customers can shop for second-hand items from anywhere and on any device.
The Innovation Cup went to uFraction8, founded by engineering alumnus Dr Brian Miller. He and his team have developed a pioneering hydrodynamic technique for cell separation and de-watering. His innovation uses less energy and produces higher yields than conventional methods.
A special Entrepreneurial Achiever Award was presented to Enactus Edinburgh, a group of 83 students that recently won a national competition for social entrepreneurs and will represent the UK at the Enactus World Cup in California in October.
Among the judges were senior figures from Scotland’s angel investor scene. Also present were successful entrepreneurs who have previously been supported by Edinburgh Innovations and its service for student entrepreneurs, LAUNCH.ed.
Speakers included David Hunter, creator of Shotscope, the golf performance tracking system. Mr Hunter has received support from Edinburgh Innovations and its LAUNCH.ed service, having studied at Moray House School of Education in 2012-13.
I congratulate all the finalists and winners, and we look forward to continuing to support them on their journeys as entrepreneurs.


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In April, Everi Holdings made its first foray into the electronic bingo market when it announced that it had reached a deal to acquire assets from Video King for roughly $59 million.
Everi Holdings is a Nevada-based company known for producing slot machines and providing casinos, including reliable casino sites, with financial equipment and services. Video King provides electronic bingo technology such as gaming tablets, games, video gaming content, instant win games, and backend systems.
The deal is likely to close in the coming weeks, and it will see Everi take possession of the “majority” of Video King’s assets while the company’s original private owners will also keep a share.
Speaking about the deal, Everi CEO Randy Taylor said:
“Over the past several years, we have had great success with executing acquisitions that grow our product capabilities and the markets we serve. During this time, we have established a track record of successfully scaling up acquisitions that have delivered an attractive return on investment and helped drive strong cash flow. We are highly confident that by helping to elevate our current Games, FinTech and Digital solutions with and adjacent to our established customer base, the acquisition of Video King will meet those same criteria and offer Everi with another lever for growth.”
As soon as the deal closes, the purchased Video King assets will begin contributing to Everi’s overall revenue and its EBITDA figures. Everi said that the purchase will allow it to “enable additional growth” in its gaming business segment.
The acquisition is a real boost to Everi’s digital gaming portfolio, with Video King licensed in 60 global jurisdictions. Video King generated $25 million of revenue in 2022, most of which was recurring revenue resulting from more than 50,000 installed electronic bingo tablets in tribal and commercial casinos.
Tim Stuart, the CEO and a co-founder of Video King, was upbeat about the company’s future following the acquisition:
“We are confident that as part of Everi, Video King will be in a very strong position to expand our product offerings to provide our long-time loyal customer base with new enhanced games for our tribal, charitable, and military markets. The combination of Everi’s games and other digital offerings with our strong electronic bingo base create a unique opportunity to accelerate future growth.”
Over the last year, Everi has been working to increase its presence in the North American gaming scene, both online and retail. At the beginning of April, the company announced a deal with Churchill Downs to expand the capabilities of the track’s mobile app for both the Churchill Downs Racetrack and the Kentucky Derby.
The company also revealed plans to open a new production facility in Las Vegas. The existing facility is in Austin, Texas, and it is hoped that the move to Las Vegas will make the process more efficient.
Everi’s acquisition of Video King will go a long way towards boosting the company’s North American footprint as it seeks to become one of the leading gaming technology providers. As explained by Tim Richards, the company’s Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Digital Officer:
“Video King provides Everi with an expansive new channel to deploy our growing catalog of digital games, as well as enhance the player experience by incorporating our digital wallet and loyalty products while adding a new source to generate recurring revenue. With an expanding demographic audience looking to engage in increased social and leisure activities, we see a significant opportunity to collaborate with the Video King team to develop new gaming content and play enhancements to optimize player engagement and drive increased customer traffic.”


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Crytek has officially denied knowledge of Microsoft's next console, following rumours last week that it was already working with the successor to the Xbox 360.
"Crytek do not have any next generation hardware from Microsoft, nor do we know when Microsoft may announce future hardware or what that hardware will entail", read the short official statement.
"Crytek are working at pushing the boundaries of what current technology can bring, including our focus on DX11 which will be released shortly as an update for Crysis 2, and we believe this work, added to our estimations of what the new hardware will provide, set up CryENGINE as a next generation engine for all consoles."
The story originated with website videogamer.com whose "high-ranking industry source" also suggested the developer was working on Timesplitters 4 as a launch title for the new console. The shooter was not mentioned in the denial.


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Google has heavily marketed the Tensor as being an in-house chipset but new information has now surfaced showing that the processor isn’t as original as indicated.
Andrei Frumusanu of Anandtech has revealed code showing that Google Tensor shares a lot in common with Samsung’s Exynos chipset (via Notebookcheck). The Tensor has been found to be a mid-point between the Exynos 2100 chip and the upcoming Exynos 2200. Multiple references to the Exynos 9845 (S5E9845) have also been spotted in Google’s own kernel code. In comparison, the Exynos 2100 is internally referred to as the Exynos 9840 (S5E9840).
Exynos 2100 = S5E9840
Tensor / GS101 = S5E9845
— Andrei F. (@andreif7) October 29, 2021
— Andrei F. (@andreif7) October 25, 2021
From code alone, it’s quite obvious that Google’s Tensor is more of a heavily-customized Samsung Exynos than being a completely unique chip built from scratch.
Still, benchmarks have indicated that Google has actually put plenty of stuff of their own in the chipset. A recent benchmark comparing various flagship processors showed that the GPU found on the Tensor is the most powerful in the Android world.
While CPU and machine learning benchmarks haven’t been as satisfying, the Google Pixel 6 and 6 Pro have aced speed tests, even outperforming other Android flagships in some cases.
References to the Exynos 9845: https://t.co/8s6XhQIeLj
— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) October 28, 2021
In conclusion, Google Tensor may have a strong relationship with Samsung’s Exynos, but its real-world performance has proven that it’s nothing to be concerned about. It would have been a lot cooler though if Google had been more honest.
ALWAYS BE THE FIRST TO KNOW – FOLLOW US!


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We are very proud of this new i7 model. It is the first chair on the market comes with a touch screen platform with a smart phone. - Dr.Kevin Le, Ph.D
(PRWEB) March 15, 2015
"Luraco” was featured on NewsWatch as part of its monthly Tech Report, which takes a look at the latest and coolest technology products and services available to consumers. Andrew Tropeano, the host of NewsWatch and a technology expert, conducted the app review and shared with viewers how this medical massage chair helps relieve pain, anxiety, and depression.
According to American Chiropractic & Rehabilitation, people should treat themselves to 1-2 massages per month. Unfortunately, not everyone has the time to go out and get that many massages. Well, Luraco Technologies has a solution that can help anyone get the treatment they need from any home or office.
The i7, Luraco’s newly developed medical massage chair, is considered to be one of the most advanced massage chairs on the market today. The i7 helps relieve pains from musculature injuries and it also helps relieve stress and anxiety. It has also been credited for reducing depression, blood pressure, and heart rate.
The chair is beautifully crafted with real genuine leather and all touch surfaces, but the chair’s features are even more impressive. While relaxing in the chair, the i7 measures a person’s heart rate and blood pressure. It has a zero gravity feature, which uses the technology that was first developed by NASA. And the chair massages the entire body, from head to toe.
Luraco Chief Technology Officer Dr. Kevin Le, Ph.D said, “We are very proud of this new i7 model. It is the first chair on the market comes with a touch screen platform with a smart phone.”
The i7 is the first smart massage chair on the market that UL and FDA listed. It is also the very first massage chair that was researched, developed and assembled in the United States. But that’s not a surprise from Luraco, they are known for developing technology solutions for the United States military.
To learn more, visit http://www.luraco.com today.
NewsWatch is a weekly 30-minute consumer oriented television show that airs on the History Channel, FYI Network, and ION Network. NewsWatch regularly features top technology products and services, mobile applications for iOS, Android, and Windows devices, unique and beautiful travel destinations around the world, health and medical tips, and entertainment interviews on the show. NewsWatch airs on the History Channel at 6:00 – 6:30 AM ET/PT and on the FYI Network from 7:00 – 7:30 AM ET.
NewsWatch is located in the greater Washington, DC area and has been on air for over 25 years. For more information or to watch the most recent episode, visit http://newswatchtv.com/tech-report.html.


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Demand for convenience and ready-to-eat food in India will explode over the next five years as a major shift in food-purchasing habits by the growing numbers of middle-class city dwellers takes hold, according to new research.
The Indian confectionery market witnessed the launch of over 200 products in various categories last year, thus ranked, according to Datamonitor, in the top 20 in terms of global new product launches in 2009.
The Korean functional food market hinges on obtaining the nation’s precious ingredient claim approval, but breaking that barrier opens the floodgates to huge market potential, according to an industry expert.
A cranberry ingredient from US firm Proprietary Nutritionals Inc (PNI) can be supported by a health claim in the Korean market, after the nation’s regulator approved a claim linking it to urinary tract health.
The Indian joint venture between Yakult and Danone established in 2005 to bring Yakult probiotic drinks to the Indian market is expanding with Bangalore targeted as the point of entry for southern markets.
Direct foreign investment in the Indian food processing industry rocketed 175 per cent during 2009-10 to reach $279.33m and now plays an important role in developing the sector, according to the national government.
Nestlé chocolate products recorded double-digit growth in emerging markets, driven partly by the performance of the lowest priced products in its portfolio, said the group as it posted gains of 7.5 per cent in net profit for the first six months of the...
Seasonings and flavorings firm McCormick has signed an agreement to purchase a 26 percent share in Eastern Condiments Private Limited, an India-based spice and seasoning business, the company has said.
Around US$30bn worth of investment is needed to “revolutionise” India’s food processing sector to boost the volume of processed products to 10 per cent of overall output by 2015, according to a new report.


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THURSDAY, Dec. 17
A great idea and new experience helps revive shoppers and lookers during Alton Main Street’s 3rd Thursdays event, which has the tag line, “Come Happy, Come Hungry, Come Ugly.” From 5 to 8 p.m., Downtown Alton shops are open later, feature specials and lots of fun during this holiday shopping opportunity. Laugh it up and enter an ugly sweater contest!
FRIDAY, Dec. 18
This is a must whether you get tickets for opening night or meet with sold out shows, make sure you see the latest installation “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
If the blockbuster is sold out, go for a feel-good, beautiful seasonal classic, “White Christmas,” on the big screen at 7 p.m. at The Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville.
SATURDAY, Dec. 19
U.S. Bank Wild Lights at the St. Louis Zoo is a great way to see the world-famous zoo from a different perspective from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
SUNDAY, Dec. 20
Visit The Loading Dock Ice Skating Rink now in Grafton. It’s been open a few weeks, so likely a nice, peaceful skate will end the weekend in a relaxing way. It’s open from noon to 8 p.m.


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The attacks come after state and local ransomware attacks in New York, Louisiana, Maryland and Florida resulted in the loss of significant sums.Technologyread more
China's pursuit of the Middle East may spur growth in the Islamic finance sector.World Economyread more
Twitter and Facebook have suspended accounts believed to be tied to a state-backed disinformation campaign originating from inside China.Technologyread more
United States Steel Corp will temporarily lay off hundreds of workers at its Great Lakes facility in Michigan in coming weeks, according to a filing the steelmaker made with...US Marketsread more
The report comes as Trump in recent days has lashed out over media reports about growing recession fears.Politicsread more
Beijing will lower borrowing costs for companies, but that may not boost the economy as much as some hope.China Economyread more
Stocks are bouncing higher but could be trapped in a range longer term, until there's a resolution of the trade wars.Market Insiderread more
Stocks in Asia mostly traded higher Tuesday morning as minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia's July meeting were released. The People's Bank of China also published its...Asia Marketsread more
Powell will have the opportunity if not to walk back the "midcycle" assessment then to at least provide some further explanation about what it means.Economyread more
Apple has spent more than $6 billion on original TV shows and movies for its forthcoming Apple TV+ service, according to a Financial Times report on Monday.Technologyread more
The Business Roundtable, led by Jamie Dimon, gives a new definition of the "purpose of a corporation."Marketsread more
Check out the companies making headlines midday Wednesday:
FedEx — Shares of FedEx dropped 5.14 percent after the company reported lower-than-expected third-quarter earnings and reduced its earnings outlook for fiscal year 2019. The company reported earnings of $3.03 per share, 8 cents below a Refinitiv estimate. FedEx also reported declining international revenue due to unfavorable exchange rates and trade conditions.
General Mills —General Mills rose 3.46 percent after its third-quarter earnings beat estimates. The food company reported earnings of 83 cents per share, 14 cents above a Refinitiv forecast. General Mills also raised its earnings outlook for the 2019 fiscal year.
UBS Group — Shares of Swiss bank UBS dropped 2 percent after its chief executive spoke before a conference in London this morning. CEO Sergio Ermotti said the bank will cut an extra $300 million from 2019 costs after investment banking revenue plunged and stressed that investment banking conditions are among the toughest in years.
Nevro — Nevro shares skyrocketed more than 30 percent after the medical device company announced its CEO Rami Elghandour was stepping down from his post. Investors also cheered the company's revenue guidance for 2019.
Smartsheet — Smartsheet shares rose more than 3 percent after the software company reported a loss of 7 cents a share, which is better than the FactSet estimate of a 14 cent loss. The company also issued better-than-expected revenue guidance for the first quarter and for fiscal 2020.
AAR — AAR fell more than 4 percent after the aerospace maintenance company cut its fiscal-year earnings guidance. The company now expected earnings for fiscal 2019 to range between $2.50 and $2.57 per share, down from about $2.80.
Tencent Music Entertainment — Shares of the music streaming service fell 8 percent amid concerns the company could struggle amid rising licensing and production costs. The worries overshadowed better-than-expected quarterly revenue numbers.
Viacom — Shares of the media company fell more than 5 percent after warning that DirecTV could drop its channels if a new contract isn't reached by a midnight Friday deadline. Viacom — which owns MTV, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central — has accused AT&T, which owns DirecTV, of abusing its powers after buying Time Warner Inc. Viacom's stock is now on pace for its worst week since early December.


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The biggest event for Tesla owners in California, the Tesla Owners California Takeover, will take place in August and there may be Cybertruck, Elon Musk hinted. The event is designed to bring Tesla owners together to spend time in a friendly atmosphere.
The Tesla community, largely consisting of the owners of the company's cars, has always been friendly, and the relationship between its members is filled with only positive emotions. Tesla car owners have formed Tesla Owner Clubs around the world, with the US having the largest number. California was Tesla's home before the manufacturer moved its headquarters to Texas, so the state has the highest penetration rate for the company. This is the reason why California is home to the largest and most influential Tesla Owners Club in the world.
Tesla Owners California often holds large-scale events in an attempt to rally Tesla owners even more. The new, largest event in California this year will take place in the summer. The club notes that the best thing about Tesla is the owners, and invites them to the second annual Tesla Owners California Takeover event. The event will be held in a family format because the Tesla community is one big family.
The event will take place at Fields at Madonna Inn, 100 Madonna Road, San Luis Obispo, California on August 6, 2022. During the event:
- Meet and greet with their favorite Tesla YouTubers and influencers
- Educational workshops and seminars
- Showcase and contest of the best-customized Teslas
- Assembly of rare and original Tesla Roadsters
- Exhibitor expo of unique Tesla accessories, services, and products
- Meet up with their local Tesla owners club
- Raffle prizes and cool Tesla giveaways
- Activities for the kids, including a Tesla coloring contest, bounce house, and obstacle course
- Entertainment including DJ, food trucks, and much more.
In addition, there is a possibility that the iconic Cybertruck will join the event, which no doubt would create a big sensation. In response to a tweet from Tesla Silicon Valley Club inviting people to join the event, CEO Elon Musk responded with two tweets: the first contained the word "Probably" and the second contained the word "Cybertruck." All this hinted that the head of the company would consider bringing the electric pickup truck to the event, and possibly join himself. Keep in mind that Musk did not say he would join or bring Cybertruck there.
Cybertruck— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 20, 2022
To participate in the Tesla Owners California Takeover, you must purchase a ticket, which costs $30 per person (not per car). Members can receive a cool limited edition Cybertruck T-shirt upon registration. Children under 18 join for free. Organizers warn that refunds for tickets are not possible, as part of the proceeds will go to the 17 Strong charity. 17 Strong grants Victory Trips to young adults, ages 18 to 40, who have battled a life-threatening illness like cancer.
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About the Author
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.


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Music and masa at Somerton Tamale Festival
Munch savory, sweet varieties made by 44 vendors while enjoying bands and dance groups.
For many people, the holiday season just isn't complete without tamales.
This Saturday, the Somerton Tamale Festival will give folks the opportunity to sample different types of tamales and buy some to take home.
Luis Heredia, sponsorship coordinator and director of the Somerton Tamale Festival, said 44 vendors will be on hand for the festival.
“We will have a wide variety of different tamales, and people will have the chance to experience different recipes and ways to make them,” he said, adding that the local businesses, church groups, families and other vendors each will make between 100 and 200 dozen tamales.
Describing the day as “the Woodstock of tamale events,” Heredia said more than 30,000 people typically head to the small town southwest of Yuma for the day devoted to masa and flavorful fillings.
“The pork tamales are more savory and are juicier when cooking in the masa,” Heredia said, adding that people also cannot go wrong with a beef tamale with added red chile and other seasonings.
In addition to traditional fillings like beef, pork and chicken, sweet tamales will be filled with fruits like peach, pineapple and strawberry.
This is the 10th year of the festival, which is sponsored by the Arizona State University El Diablito Alumni Chapter. Proceeds benefit the 2017 El Diablito Sun Devil Fund Scholarship.
There will be plenty of live entertainment, including blues, reggae, Los Horoscopos de Durango and a Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute band.
Visitors also can enjoy watching belly-dancing performances, folkloric dance, Mexican roping and much more, Heredia said.
Heredia, who said he especially enjoys green chile tamales, said the Tamale Festival is an ideal way to celebrate the season with food.
“We are also a vacation spot, so we have a lot of winter visitors who come here from places like Canada and Minnesota. During the afternoon we see a lot of farm workers come in and we also have lots of families,” he said.
“Anyone attending will get to taste lots of great food, and the atmosphere is great.”
Somerton Tamale Festival
When: 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 17.
Where: Along Main Street in Somerton, about 11 miles southwest of Yuma.
Admission: Free; purchase tickets for $2 per tamale; one dozen tamales costs $20 or 10 tickets.


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Maharatna steel PSU, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), has gone back to be being the leader of crude steel production in India in FY 2019-20.
As per an official release from SAIL the company produced 16.15 Million Tonnes of crude steel during the financial year 2019-20 this is stated to be the highest among all other steel producers in the country. As per sources the number one position in the last fiscal was held by JSW steel.
During the FY 2019-20, SAIL also achieved the best ever annual sales of 14.5 Million Tonnes (MT) with a growth of 2.8% over the corresponding period last year (FY 2018-19).
Commenting on the results SAIL’s chairman, Mr Anil Kumar Chaudhary, said “SAIL has been continuously focussing on ramping up its steel production from the new units, which came up under modernization along with optimally utilizing the older units. The concerted efforts to increase volumes have resulted in the Company becoming the largest domestic steel producer in FY’20”.
“SAIL has been continuously focussing on ramping up its steel production from the new units, which came up under modernization along with optimally utilizing the older units.”
— SAIL’s chairman, Mr Anil Kumar Chaudhary
The Company’s strategies to expand its market portfolio also yielded the highest ever exports of 1.18 Million Tonnes during FY 2019-20 which is an astounding 54% growth over CPLY.
It was further stated that the company has been building its sales momentum through its continued thrust on the marketing initiatives and activities.
During FY’20, SAIL also launched its branded “SAIL SeQR” TMT bars, a product which is a notch higher in its class in terms of various quality and safety aspects. ‘We also have been gradually increasing our share of exports and went for deeper penetration of the market with our world class products including railway products’ said Mr Chaudhary.
In the first year of launch itself, around 2 lakh tonnes of branded SAIL SeQR TMT has already been sold and it has evoked excellent response from the market stated the release.


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Nike to replace adidas as NBA kit sponsor in exclusive eight-year deal 'worth more than $1bn'
- Nike set to sign an eight-year deal with National Basketball Association
- The sportswear giant will be first sponsor to have its logo on team kits
Nike has signed an extended eight-year merchandising and marketing agreement with the National Basketball Association.
The sportswear giant will become the first NBA apparel partner to have its logo appear on team kits.
Nike will pay NBA about $125M a year for an official uniform supplier deal according to Wall Street sources, which is a 245% increase from what Adidas paid for previous arrangement.
Nike will become the first NBA apparel partner to have its logo appear on team kits
In March, Adidas proactively announced that it would not seek to extend its deal with the league. Adidas began an 11-year deal with the NBA in 2006 taking over for Reebok, a brand which it owns.
Adidas has been the association's apparel partner since 2006 and its 11-year deal, worth about $400 million, expires at the end of the 2016-17 season.
Unlike the deals with Reebok and Adidas, the Nike logo will appear on game jerseys, warm-up outfits and shooting shirts.
Nike will become the NBA's official on-court apparel provider beginning with the 2017-18 season.
'This partnership with Nike represents a new paradigm in the structure of our global merchandising business,' NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.
'As our exclusive on-court apparel provider, Nike will be instrumental in our collective efforts to grow the game globally while applying the latest in technology to the design of our uniforms and on-court products.'
Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors are contesting the NBA Finals
The Nike logo will appear on game jerseys, warm-up outfits and shooting shirts
NBA SHIRT SPONSORS:
A marketing partner of the WNBA since its inception in 1997, Nike will now have an expanded presence at WNBA All-Star and other events throughout the season.
Also, for the first time, Nike will become a marketing partner of the NBA Development League (NBA D-League), engaging in season-long marketing activities with a major presence during the NBA D-League All-Star Game.
In addition, the partnership will activate around several NBA events such as NBA All-Star, NBA Global Games, NBA Draft presented by State Farm, Samsung NBA Summer League and NBA 3X. Nike will remain the official partner and apparel provider of Basketball without Borders.
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