text:
Global air cargo surged 4.5 percent in January from a year earlier, driven by solid growth across all regions, but rising protectionism could clip growth, the International Air Transport Association said.
The increase marked a significant acceleration on the 2.2 percent year-on-year growth in December and was well above the 1.4 percent rise in 2013 traffic, the industry body noted.
“The improvement in demand is good news. It is a step up from the mild strengthening that we saw towards the second half of 2013. And in real terms, volumes are similar to the 2010 post-recession peak,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s director general and CEO.
“But there is also ample reason to be cautious. Protectionist measures are part of the reason for a slower expansion of world trade than we would expect from current levels of industrial production. Companies continue to re-organize supply chains in their efforts to move manufacturing on-shore.”
Frederick W. Smith, chairman, president and CEO of global transport operator FedEx, sounded a similar note this week in a keynote speech to attendees at the JOC’s 14th annual TPM conference in Long Beach, Calif.
“The problem is not cyclical, it’s systemic, and it’s spreading,” Smith said, observing that “[p]rotectionism squelches competition and lowers economic growth.” He called for a renewed fight against trade barriers that impede global growth.
Growth seen in all regions
Middle Eastern carriers continued to lead the revival, increasing traffic by 10.7 percent in January, followed by resurgent European airlines, which benefited from the continent’s recovery from recession to increase volume 6 percent.
Asia-Pacific airlines, which account for nearly 40 percent of the world market, grew 3.8 percent, overturning a 1 percent contraction in 2013, thanks to improving European and North American demand for Asian manufactured goods.
Latin American carriers’ traffic grew 6.8 percent in January, a marked improvement on the slow growth of 2.3 percent in 2013, but weakness in Brazil, the largest regional economy, could dampen potential through 2014.
North American airlines reported the lowest growth in volume, just 0.7 percent, reflecting subdued business activity during January. But the underlying positive trend in manufacturing in the U.S. should boost exports, IATA predicted.
African carriers kept pace with the global market, with traffic rising 4.1 percent in January, but signs of growth slowing in South Africa and other major regional economies suggest air freight demand could be sluggish over the next few months.
Contact Bruce Barnard at firstname.lastname@example.org.


text:
Somerville, Mass. – Sproxil, a start-up developing
anti-counterfeiting technology, has raised $1.8 million in venture capital,
according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
year by a Dartmouth doctoral student, Somerville, Mass.-based Sproxil has
developed a mobile technology with which consumers can text message an item’s
unique code to confirm its authenticity, using simple labels and advanced
The company says it is targeting cash-based societies.

domain: news


text:
China will levy anti-dumping taxes ranging from 46.6 percent to 73.8 percent on imports from US suppliers, such as Tyson Foods Inc. and Pilgrim's Pride Corporation. the ministry said on its website. It added it would also levy anti-subsidy taxes ranging from 4 percent to 4.2 percent on US chicken producers.
The anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties were previously set as high as 105.4 percent and 30.3 percent, respectively.
Over the past four years, US exports of chicken to China have dropped 90 percent, costing sellers an estimated $1 billion after China slapped on high anti-dumping duties in 2010.


text:
Microsoft Responds to Bill Gates’ Xbox Spinoff Claims
Microsoft has officially responded to Bill Gates comments suggesting that he'd be in favor of the decision to spin-off the Xbox Division from the company he helped build.
In response to Bill Gates' suggestion that he'd support the decision to spin-off the Xbox business from Microsoft, the big M claimed that he was just voicing his support for its new CEO Satya Nadella, Eurogamer reports. Gates' comments were stated in an interview with Fox Business, where he claimed that the decision to spin-off the business wouldn't be as obvious as we think, hinting that it could be a viable strategy due to Microsoft's mindset towards unified gaming.
"We're taking PC gaming and Xbox gaming and bringing those a lot closer together," Gates said. "The power of the graphics chips means you can do great games there."
"So I'm sure Satya and the team will look at that. It's up to them. We're going to have an overall gaming strategy so it's not as obvious as you might think."
After these statements, Gates was asked if he would support Nadella if he wanted to spin-off the Xbox division of Microsoft, to which he replied, "absolutely."
Frank Shaw, Microsoft's communications chief, told Eurogamer that Gate's comments were reflective of his support of Nadella as a CEO, indicating that he trusts Nadella's judgments wherever it would take his company. Shaw also stated, "Microsoft is committed to gaming across multiple platforms with Xbox as the centerpiece of our gaming strategy. We remain committed to Xbox and the millions of Xbox fans around the world."
Since Xbox Music, Xbox Video, Microsoft Studios and the rest of Xbox's creative teams have been unified under Phil Spencer's trustworthy control, we have a feeling the Xbox division will be under the Microsoft name for a very long time.


text:
Macy’s Consolidation Results in Layoffs of 7,000
A press release from Macy's today outlined a consolidation plan which call for 7,000 employee layoffs. About 40% of this figure represents an the elimination of executive positions, with the remainder of the job cuts occurring in retail locations and as a result of divisional office closures.
The latest job cuts, representing about 4 percent of its work force, will affect 40 percent of its executive positions, plus more than 5,000 jobs in its roughly 850 stores. This total includes approximately 1,200 positions being added to new My Macy’s districts and regions.
Macy's expects that the corporate restructuring will reduce expenses by about $400 million per year by 2010, and allow them to survive the tough economic climate which has seen numerous retailers shutter their doors and arrange similar restructuring plans.
Most Recommended Comment
Greece, Boston, Fla, Massachusetts, United States


text:
This story was published more than 4 years ago.
Casino software firm Relax Gaming has announced that they've signed a content distribution agreement with 4ThePlayer and will work to integrate the developer's games into the Silver Bullet platform.
The agreement will see 9K Yeti and 100 Bit Dice added to the platform at the offset, with additional games like Zeus vs Thor, Shark, and 1 Left Alive coming in the future as they're released. The Silver Bullet platform now has more than 390 different casinos that they provide games to, with thousands of games from dozens of developers.
Commenting on the agreement Relax Gaming's Simon Hammon said, "We are delighted to welcome 4ThePlayer.com into the Silver Bullet partner program, significantly boosting the top-tier range of products we are able to offer our operator partners.
"The provider is fast carving out a great reputation in the industry for its forward-thinking approach to game development, and it is excellent to have this knowledgeable studio on board."
4ThePlayer Founder Andrew Porter added: "Signing with Relax Gaming is another step towards our goal of building the ultimate gaming experiences for players around the globe.
"Aside from the fact that Relax have an experienced team who have been running a successful third-party business for many years, they understood what we were trying to achieve with some of our crypto format inspired real money games."


text:
Study Finds Life of Online News: 36 HoursFor the relation we have with “today’s newspaper,” or verbal jazz, is the same that people feel for fashions. Fashion is not a way of being informed or aware, but a way of being with it. --Marshall McLuhan
Life is short in online news
How long did it take you to find this story?
A team of scientists from Hungary and the United States has found that the majority of online news items have a lifetime of just 36 hours. As reporters have always suspected, yesterday's news is stale, and the day before's news is invisible.
Zoltan Dezso of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and colleagues came up with the figure from an analysis of hits on Origo, Hungary's main online news and entertainment portal. They think it probably applies not only to other online news portals, such as this one, but also to other websites on which new items are posted regularly, such as online markets.
Fifteen Minutes of Fame: The Dynamics of Information Access on the Web
Z. Dezs˝o1, E. Almaas1, A. Luk´acs2, B. R´acz2, I. Szakad´at3, A.-L. Barab´asi
Study Finds Life of Online News: 36 Hours


text:
SEATTLE, October 25, 2010 - Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) today announced the expansion of its Starbucks Card Mobile payment test to nearly 300 company-operated stores in New York City, and Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island. This builds on the successful launch of Starbucks Card Mobile App for select BlackBerry® smartphones, iPhone® and iPod® touch, and the Starbucks mobile payment test which started in fall 2009. Now, Starbucks next mobile move will offer customers in the New York City area an enhanced Starbucks Experience, including the ease and convenience of paying for their favorite Starbucks® beverage with their mobile phone.
"Mobile technology is part of our customers' daily routine and with the expansion of mobile payment in our test cities, we're seeing more and more customers using their smartphones as their mobile wallets," said Brady Brewer, vice president Starbucks Card and Loyalty. "We've heard from our customers on My Starbucks Idea that they want a faster, more convenient way to pay. Now we're inviting customers in New York City and Long Island to experience mobile payment and the fastest way to pay at Starbucks. Mobile is just one of the ways we continue to innovate and enhance the experience for our customers."
In response to customer feedback, the Starbucks Card Mobile App was first developed for select BlackBerry smartphones and iPhone as these devices are used by more than 71 percent of Starbucks smartphone-carrying customers. To experience mobile payment at participating New York City-area Starbucks, customers just need to download the free Starbucks Card Mobile App on their supported BlackBerry smartphone, iPhone or iPod touch. In addition to the mobile payment feature, the app allows customers to manage their card account, reload their card balance directly from their smartphone with a major credit card, check their My Starbucks Rewards status, or find nearby Starbucks stores. With the Starbucks Card Mobile App, customers will have a barcode on their screen that they'll hold in front of a 2-D scanner on the counter to pay for their purchase.
The expansion of mobile payment into New York City builds on the successful test program currently in 16 stores in Seattle and Northern California and at more than 1000 Starbucks in U.S. Target stores. The overall Starbucks Card program is experiencing impressive growth and performance, and currently almost one in five of all in-store transactions are paid for with a Starbucks Card, an activity made even more convenient with the introduction of Starbucks Card Mobile App. Customers are on track to load more than $1 billion on Starbucks Cards this year, and at the end of the third quarter, sales of cards were up 17 percent over last year and the reload on existing cards was up more than 59 percent compared to last year.
"With the expansion of mobile payment to New York City, we expect to see more and more customers trading their plastic Starbucks Cards for the digital version on their mobile phone. In addition to the payment capability, customers can also keep track of their My Starbucks Rewards status and reload their card while they are on the way to Starbucks or in line," said Brewer. "Expanding our mobile footprint gives our customers a new way to connect with Starbucks on the go and transforms the way customers experience their Starbucks Card through the mobile app."
iPhone and iPod touch users can download the app from the App Store at www.itunes.com/appstore/. BlackBerry smartphone users can text the word "GO" to 70845 or visit http://www.starbucks.com/coffeehouse/mobile-apps/starbucks-card-mobile-bb from their device. It's available for a variety of BlackBerry smartphones including BlackBerry® 8800 series; BlackBerry® Bold series; BlackBerry® Curve™ series; BlackBerry® Storm™; BlackBerry® Storm2 and BlackBerry® Tour.
Visit www.starbucks.com/coffeehouse/mobile-apps for more information about the Starbucks Card Mobile app and payment system for supported BlackBerry smartphones and Apple® iPhone®, iPod® touch.
About Starbucks Corporation
Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting the highest-quality arabica coffee in the world. Today, with stores around the globe, the company is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through every cup. To share in the experience, please visit us in our stores or online at www.starbucks.com.
The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. Apple, iPhone and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
Apple, iPhone and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.


text:
Trucking Company Buy Out Leads to Layoffs
Watkins & Shepherd Trucking was purchased by Schneider Trucking roughly a month ago. The Green Bay, Wisconsin based carrier offers a broad portfolio of transportation services and became successful after investing in logistics management early on. There was some speculation as to how the award winning company would change the Missoula maintenance facility. The news is not good for the dozen or so employees who work there, as it was found that Schneider would be shutting the facility down effective immediately.
The company also announced that it would be closing down another location in California, leading to an additional 16 jobs being lost. The company maintains that the move was a decision based on cost-efficiency. Given their existing resources, they plan to address trucking maintenance issues in other manners and will not need the additional locations. There are also reports which suggest the layoffs will affect an additional maintenance facility in Fontana, California.
Watkins & Shepherd was founded in 1974 and maintained over 20 terminals throughout the country. The organization specialized in handling the transport and delivery of goods which were deemed difficult to handle, such as furniture. The company was recently rewarded with the 100,000th Volvo I-Shift Commercial Truck for their fleet. Schneider Trucking has stated that they will provide both separation packages and outplacement services to those who lost their jobs.
When economic conditions make it tough for trucking companies to operate, many opt to sell to larger, more successful organizations. While this can ensure that at least some of the companies resources are used efficiently, it can also result in closings and layoffs. This unfortunate reality has been one that many truckers have experienced as companies are bought out.


text:
Nikon will have new product announcements in the next few weeks. February is the time for the Coolpix line to be refreshed with the possibility of other new products to be revealed. Nikon has been consistent in the past with the February release schedule:
- In February of 2009 Nikon announced the 35mm f/1.8 DX lens plus Coolpix cameras.
- At the end of January 2008, Nikon announced the 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6, PC-E 24mm f/3.5, 60mm f/2.8 Micro lenses, Nikon D60 and Coolpix cameras.
- February 2007: Coolpix cameras
- February 2006: Coolpix cameras
- February 2006: Nikon D2Hs
One product that will be announced is already known: a new Nikon Coolpix camera with a 24-100mm zoom and fast f/1.8 aperture.
The CP+ Camera and Photo Imaging Show in Japan (February 9-12, 2011) will be a good place to display new products and there is a good chance that Nikon will hold a press conference right before (not confirmed). Another big show is Focus on Imaging 2011 in the UK (March 6th-9th, 2011) and as you can see on their website, the yellow color dominates the screen. In the US the next big events are Imaging USA (January 16-18) and WPPI (February 21-23, 2011) but I do not remember ever seeing new Nikon announcements at those shows (BTW, Nikon is an exhibitor at WPPI and a sponsor of Imaging USA).
Stay tuned as I start receiving more reliable information in the next few weeks.


text:
NPR’s Planet Money recently ran as story answering the question: “why are tire prices so damn high?” Here is a description of the story:
The price of tires has risen by about 40 percent in the past five years. That’s partly because rubber prices have gone up. But it’s also due to a tariff the U.S. imposed on Chinese tire imports.
As tire prices have risen, more people have been renting tires rather than buying them outright. And renting tires, it turns out, is often a bad deal in the long run.
On today’s show: How a celebrated attempt to help one group of people ended quietly hurting a much larger group. Also on the show: The Grizz.


text:
ISLAMABAD: If you're a regular coffee drinker, a new study might brighten your day. Researchers have found that consuming the popular beverage may increase longevity, and it doesn't even need to be caffeinated.
Mortality risk from these conditions was found to be 18 percent lower for subjects who drank three cups of coffee every day.
While this study does not prove a causal association between daily coffee intake and a longer lifespan, the researchers believe that their findings indicate that the benefits of coffee consumption may outweigh the risks.
"Coffee contains a lot of antioxidants and phenolic compounds that play an important role in cancer prevention," says Setiawan. "Although this study does not show causation or point to what chemicals in coffee may have this 'elixir effect,' it is clear that coffee can be incorporated into a healthy diet and lifestyle."
"Some people worry drinking coffee can be bad for you because it might increase the risk of heart disease, stunt growth, or lead to stomach ulcers and heartburn," she adds. "But research on coffee has mostly shown no harm to people's health."
Further studies are needed to gain a better understanding of how coffee might increase mortality. In the meantime, the researchers say that we should enjoy our daily cup of joe; it could be doing us the world of good.
Veronica W. Setiawan said that "We cannot say drinking coffee will prolong your life, but we see an association. If you like to drink coffee, drink up! If you're not a coffee drinker, then you need to consider if you should start."


text:
Peter Molyneux has said he hopes to release a playable prototype of his Populous follow-up, Godu, before the end of the year.
The UK games development luminary launched a Kickstarter campaign for the project on November 21, promising an "innovative reinvention of Populous", and a "reinvention of the god game" genre.
Yet in a bid to battle his reputation for hyperbole and over-promising, Molyneux aims to provide proof of concept with an early playable prototype.
"I hope by Christmas we have a prototype that people can download and say, 'Actually, you know what, they're already doing good work,'" he told Joystiq.
"And this is what needs to happen with Kickstarter and games. The promises... wouldn't it be amusing if I was the one to prove this right? These promises have to result in great games."
At the time of writing, the Godus Kickstarter fund sits at £194,733 of a targeted £450,000, with 17 days to go, and with gradually slowing donations is at risk of not reaching that goal.
The game is billed for release "in less than a year from now" for PC and mobile devices.


text:
Articles by date
30 March 2017
Mobile now accounts for nearly 70% of digital media time (Search Engine Land)
Time spent with digital media continues to grow — but that growth is all mobile. Last week, comScore released its “2017 US Cross-Platform Future in Focus” report, which tracks consumer usage patterns across digital media channels and platforms.
What the Repeal of US Online Privacy Protections Means for You (New York Times)
Congress on Tuesday moved to dismantle online privacy rules created during the Obama era. The rules, which were scheduled to take effect this year, would have required internet providers to get permission before collecting and selling a customer’s online information, including browsing activities.
29 March 2017
It took a couple of years to wind its way through the courts, and the vanquished DotConnect Africa hasn’t given up yet, but ICANN has delegated the right to operate the .africa new gTLD and the ZA Central Registry has announced the launch dates.
The German capital of Berlin passed the one million .de domain name registrations in 2016, with 1,006,806 domains registered to its inhabitants at the end of the year, ahead of Munich (600,538) and Hamburg (585,772). But on a per capita basis Osnabruck once again is the leader with 1,516 .de domains per 1,000 inhabitants, again far ahead of all its competitors. As in 2015 it was followed by Munich (420) and Bonn (413).
In jedem Dorf, jedem Landkreis und in den Metropolen sowieso – .de-Domains sind in ganz Deutschland registriert. Über die genaue geografische Verteilung informiert alljährlich die Domainstatistik der DENIC eG.
US Congress Moves to Overturn Obama-Era Online Privacy Rules (New York Times)
Congress completed its overturning of the nation’s strongest internet privacy protections for individuals on Tuesday in a victory for telecommunications companies, which can track and sell a customer’s online information with greater ease.
The government already has the power to force technology firms to act as it wants over end-to-end encryption, but is avoiding using existing legislation as it would force it into a battle it would eventually lose, security experts have said.
28 March 2017
Brands Try to Blacklist Breitbart, but Ads Slip Through Anyway (New York Times)
Since the presidential election, hundreds of companies have decided to block their advertisements from running on Breitbart News, the alt-right website closely tied to President Trump’s administration. But several of those brands, from the Nordstrom department store chain to small start-ups, have appeared on the site anyway, another example of how little control companies often have over where their ads are seen online.
Are we finally reacting to the disruptive supremacy of Facebook and Google? by Will Hutton (The Observer)
The internet celebrated its 28th birthday a fortnight ago. It’s an invention that ranks alongside the wheel, immunisation against disease and the internal combustion engine as a transformer of human existence. As an open information digital connector, it is an extraordinary force for individual liberation, embodying the very best of Enlightenment values: more information is available to more people through their mobile phones and personal computers than ever before.
Chat apps that promise to prevent your messages being accessed by strangers are under scrutiny again following last week's terror attack in London.
Push for Internet Privacy Rules Moves to US Statehouses (New York Times)
Now that Republicans are in charge, the federal government is poised to roll back regulations limiting access to consumers’ online data. States have other ideas.
26 March 2017
Downing Street has called for social media companies to do more to expunge extremist material from the internet.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said on Sunday end-to-end encryption of messages offered by services like Whatsapp are "completely unacceptable" and there should be no "secret place for terrorists to communicate".
24 March 2017
YouTube Advertiser Exodus Highlights Perils of Online Ads (New York Times)
When Google acquired YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion, it was considered a pricey gamble, one made with the belief that an online service known for pirated videos and vapid user-generated content could appeal to major advertisers.
Senate lawmakers voted Thursday to repeal a historic set of rules aimed at protecting consumers' online data from their own Internet providers, in a move that could make it easier for broadband companies to sell and share their customers' usage information for advertising purposes.
23 March 2017
Did you want to know what happened at the recent ICANN meeting in Copenhagen? Or did you go and spend the week networking and socialising, and miss what happened in the meeting rooms? CENTR have produced a comprehensive report with 13 pages of meeting reports to get you through.
A number of top level domain registries are looking for more business opportunities. Some such as nic.at have ventured into providing backend registry services for new gTLDs. Others such as SIDN, the .nl registry has expanded by co-creating a DNS billing service in the Netherlands and taking over an e-identity company with 12 million users.
22 March 2017
Minds Machines Group, aka MMX, who operates 26 new gTLDs with over 852,000 domains under management has announced it is targeting one million .vip registrations as part of an expansion into Asia.
Google Tries to Stop Ads From Appearing Next to Hate Speech (New York Times)
Google moved on Tuesday to protect its lucrative advertising business by giving marketers greater control over where their ads appear online, after major clients withdrew spots that were shown next to hate speech and other offensive material.
Millions of televisions, computers and mobile phones are discarded in Australia each year. So what happens to all that electronic waste?
Google has been served with a search warrant by a Minnesota judge which requires the firm to hand over personally identifiable information on anyone who has searched for a particular name.
21 March 2017
There are 568 brands that have launched their own gTLD in 41 countries with 6,856 domains registered, an average of 12.07 domains per brand gTLD today. But previously finding this usage information was difficult. So now MakeWay.World has launched Stats Hub to enable a quick and easy way to see how many domain names each .brand gTLD has registered, how they’re being used, and any other TLDs owned by that applicant.
20 March 2017
The .NZ Domain Name Commissioner has issued proposed changes to enable the resolution of “conflicted” domain names following the release of second level domains. The changes aren’t changes to the process, which currently has no time limits, but rather one of engagement and requiring action to resolve the conflict.
19 March 2017
Extremists and hate preachers are estimated by marketing experts to have made at least $318,000 (£250,000) from adverts for household brands and government departments placed alongside their YouTube videos.
UN Broadband Commission: Time for a "New Deal" if Broadband is to reach everyone, everywhere (International Telecommunication Union)
The Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development held its 2017 Spring Meeting in Hong Kong, SAR of China, today, and committed to concrete actions that will spur the roll-out of broadband around the world. Currently, some 5 billion people are without mobile broadband access, meaning that the paths to access digital services and applications are currently blocked for much of the world's population, thereby holding back progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.


text:
Apple must be the most analyzed company in the world, with many pundits devoting careers predicting Apple’s demise. Yet the iconic, idiosyncratic company keeps proving the naysayers wrong, achieving enviable gains in its markets.
Such was the case last week, when Apple reported results for the third fiscal quarter (Q3) of 2018, results that propelled Apple’s market capitalization to above $1 trillion — the first U.S. company to reach that ethereal benchmark.
That’s good news for Broadcom, Qorvo and Skyworks, whose fortunes are tied to Apple more than they would like.
Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said the company achieved the best June quarter revenue and earnings, with $53.3 billion in revenue, which was 17 percent above the prior year’s quarter. Earnings per share (EPS) was $2.34, 40 percent above the prior year’s period.
Apple shipped 41.3 million iPhones during the quarter, 0.7 percent above the prior year’s quarter and down 21 percent sequentially. Cook said iPhone revenue grew 20 percent year-over-year, with the iPhone X remaining the most popular iPhone in the quarter. Quoting estimates from IDC, Cook said iPhone sales grew faster than the overall smartphone market and gained share in many regions, including the U.S. and China.
iPhone average selling price (ASP) was $724, up 20 percent year-over-year and down slightly from $728 in Q2.
The iPhone contributed 56 percent of Apple’s total revenue. Services was Apple’s second biggest segment, at 18 percent and growing 31 percent year-over-year to $9.5 billion. The Services segment includes revenue from the App Store, AppleCare, Apple Music, Apple Pay and licensing.
Guiding for Q4 (July through September), Apple expects revenue to be between $60 billion and $62 billion. The midpoint represents 15 percent sequential and 16 percent year-over-year growth. Presumably, this doesn’t include revenue from the next-generation iPhone, which won’t likely ship until at least October.


text:
We’re really excited to announce the launch of the biggest ever consumer campaign for our client Boost Drinks this week. Under the headline ‘Release the Boost’ the campaign will showcase the unique blend of awesomeness which Boost delivers.
Here at Alchemy Media we’re firm converts to the thirst quenching energy hit contained in each Boost drink which helps us get through even the toughest of days, so we were thrilled to be briefed to help spread the wonder of Boost.
Packed with energy and filled to the brim with fantastically flavoursome taste, Boost retails at an extremely competitive price point which starts at 49p a can. So when compared to other energy drinks in the market, it’s a no brainer on brand choice on every level. With a wide range of flavours, from Exotic Fruit to Citrus Zing and a tasty sugar free Pink Lemonade, there’s something to tickle everyone’s taste buds.
The campaign runs across an 8 week period focussing on Manchester, Birmingham and Northern Ireland. As Number 1 energy drink brand in Northern Ireland, brand awareness is already high so the activity here is focussed on driving repeat purchase through a mix of outdoor, radio airtime and digital channels which allow us to keep the brand front of mind throughout the day.
With a slightly different job to do in the mainland where brand awareness is currently lower, we’re running a mix of radio promotions, radio airtime and digital activity across video pre-roll, mobile, Facebook, Instagram and programmatic display. This media mix allows us to support the dual objective of positioning Boost as a credible brand whilst driving increased penetration and sales.
The campaign is targeting 16-35 year olds through high impact, engaging creative which communicates Boost’s fun and energetic brand values. With a competition to win a ‘cash boost of £1,000’ promoted on Capital Radio and a further chance to win an amazing £5,000 towards the holiday of a lifetime, we really believe the campaign is going to convert even more consumers to the great taste, energy hit and fantastic value which Boost Drinks delivers.
14th September 2016


text:
Maruti’s January sales jump 26% despite Modi’s demonetisation drive
- Rajnath Singh reviews administrative issues of central paramilitary forces
- Govt asks NBFCs to report details of clients to FIU-IND
- Jabong raises service levels, expects 25% higher gross merchandise value in FY18
- Donald Trump announces China tariffs, escalates trade war fears
- Packaged foods start-up Soulfull raises Rs35 crore from Aavishkaar Bharat Fund
New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki India Ltd’s January sales in the domestic market rose 26% to 133,934 units over a year ago, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The brisk volume growth was led by robust sales across all the segments, including entry-level models such as Wagon R and Alto.
Driven by bestseller Baleno, sales of compact car models increased by a fourth to 55,817 units, while sales of utility vehicles doubled to 16,313 units as compared to 8,114 units last year, on the back of the compact SUV Brezza.
Overseas shipment at the local arm of the Japanese carmaker also surged 45% to 10,462 units over the last year.
Maruti’s volumes have advanced at a brisk pace even as auto firms are reeling under the impact of demonetisation. Auto sales tanked the most in 16 years in January as the sudden scrapping of high-denomination notes dissuaded car buyers.


text: While it is not entirely accurate to blame the ignominious downfall of RIMM BlackBerry on current CEO Thorsten Heins, who only took over from Co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsille in early 2012 at a time when the company's decline into irrelevance was already in progress, it is safe to say that the amount of stockholder value destruction under Heins' watch has been unprecedented. As such, one would imagine that the compensation for Heins is "equitable" to his value created for the company and its shareholders, i.e. zero. One would be wrong: as it turns out, and as Reuters reports, in the case of an "exit" event, such as the (faux) $4.7 billion LBO by FairFax Holdings at a price that is just shy of it decade (and longer) lows Heins will profit handsomely, and certainly make far more money than anyone who was long BBRY under his watch. Because the golden parachute that awaits the German, is valued at a whopping $55 million: an amount he will pocket no matter how said exit is achieved, and at what price (or rather cost) to shareholders.


text:
Heavy discounting on holiday prices in the peak sales period is forcing travel agents to look beyond mainstream operators for business following a sluggish start to the year.
Package sales for the big four are said to be 17% down year on year, with one thought to be selling more than 85% of product inhouse.
Plymouth-based Peter Goord Travel owner Anthony Goord said online discounting by major operators was undercutting prices by as much as £500. “Operators are giving away more than our net cost. We’re having to move more upmarket, even though we want the volume sales. There’s no question the bucket-and-spade market is suffering,” he said.
Thomson commercial director Derek Jones denied discounts were any different to 2006 but said: “It’s clear some of our competitors on the web are discounting very aggressively and we will go so far to compete.”
First Choice retail managing director Cheryl Powell said: “There are online discounts, but nowhere near 18%.”
She said passenger numbers were “well up” so far, while Thomas Cook director of commercial relations Marc Bennett added: “We are comfortable with the position we are in.”
Meanwhile, Carnival UK managing director David Dingle said competition was “rampant” between agents.
“I’m amazed by how much commission agents are prepared to give away,” he said.
However, Ocean World Travel owner Michelle Dance said agents were discounting because there were so few new deals from operators.
Cadogan Holidays managing director Tom Allen said the operator had its best day on Monday January 22, officially the year’s most depressing day, while Norwegian Cruise Line general manager Francis Riley said sales were up 20% each day from January 22.
This is a community-moderated forum.
All post are the individual views of the respective commenter and are not the expressed views of Travel Weekly.
By posting your comments you agree to accept our Terms & Conditions.


text:
Joel Anderson will step down as president and CEO of Walmart.com, the e-commerce division of Walmart later this month, to take a job at an unnamed company.
The change in guard comes after a year in which Walmart’s online sales surged 30% to $10bn, according to trade publication Internet Retailer.
Fernando Madeira, the president and CEO of Latin America for Walmart.com, will replace Anderson. He will take charge of the US operations of Walmart.com in addition to overseeing the Latin America unit. Based in Sao Paulo, he will now relocate to the San Francisco suburb of San Bruno, where the Walmart.com business is located.
In his new role, Madeira will report to Neil Ashe, president and CEO of Walmart Global eCommerce.
Ashe, in a memo to Wal-Mart employees, referred to Madeira as "a high-energy leader focused on fostering creativity, innovation and building strong personal relationships to get results."
Anderson was named head of Wal-Mart’s e-commerce operation in 2011. Prior to that, he was senior vice president of Wal-Mart’s division in the northern Plains states for four years.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below formBy GlobalData
Earlier, Anderson was with giftware brand Lenox as president of the direct-to-consumer business.


text:
Samsung’s number of high-end devices has grown slightly this year. Last year we had only the Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9 Plus and Galaxy Note 9. This year we have the Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10 Plus, Galaxy S10e and the recently announced Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10 Plus.
This means there are two more phones to support the flagship line. Still, Samsung continues to look for the latest security packages for them.
The changelog is very short and cites the classic stability improvements and bug fixes in the system. The update weighs approximately 112 MB and is being released first in Europe.


text:
Even if Robin Thicke’s new album Paula was written with just one person in mind, record executives can’t be too pleased with the album’s commercial performance. In fact, for all intents and purposes, Thicke’s seventh album is perhaps the biggest flop of 2014.
As the Guardian reports, Paula sold just 25,000 copies in its first week. That’s an 86% decrease compared to the first-week sales of his previous LP, Blurred Lines, which moved 177,000 copies. It’s even worse in the UK, where just 530 people purchased copies of the album. That’s a 98% drop from Blurred Lines, which sold 26,000 copies in the UK in its first week.
Even the album’s No. 1 demo doesn’t seem wooed; according to Thicke, he hasn’t spoken to his estranged wife Paula Patton since the album’s release.


text:
NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s benchmark inflation rate fell to a five year low of 2.4 percent in September as food and vegetable prices dropped, the Commerce Ministry said Tuesday.
Wholesale price inflation was 3.7 percent in August and 7.1 percent in September last year.
India has suffered chronically high inflation. But the lower level of price increases, if sustained, could pave the way for the central bank to cut interest rates next year to boost economic growth.
The Commerce Ministry data released on Tuesday said the index for the food articles group declined by 1.4 percent due to lower prices for tea, fruits and vegetables, maize, poultry chicken and fish.
India’s recently established retail inflation index rose 6.5 percent in September, its slowest increase on record.
HSBC said in a report that the sharp deceleration in food inflation even with a weak start to monsoons this year showed that Indian government’s efforts, which included close monitoring of wholesale markets and supplementing local supply with imports, had helped contain price pressures.
“Apart from food, softer commodity prices and stable exchange rates have dampened fuel inflation. In addition, tight monetary and fiscal policy conditions have also contributed to the disinflation,” the statement said.


text:
The Certified Restoration Drycleaning Network (CRDN) has added two new staff members to its corporate management team in Shawn Fair, Director of Training, and David Grant, National Sales Manager, according to a press release.
In order to properly care for carpets in both residential and commercial locations, cleaning professionals need to know the characteristics of the carpet’s fiber—in other words, what type of carpet it is.
Featuring presentations from industry leaders Wayne Lawrence, Rachel Adams, Dave Dybdahl and Stan Collesano
February 6, 2013
The Mold Remediation Symposium, a special one-day event coming to Secaucus, NJ on Tuesday, April 9, is designed to instruct professionals on the latest in the cleaning, restoration and remediation of mold in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.
The IICRC has announced that the BSR-IICRC S600 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Carpet Installation and the BSR-IICRC S800 Standard and Reference Guide for Inspecting Textile Floor Coverings are now available for public review and comment, according to a press release.
Air movers (also known as air dryers or blowers) help to ensure floors dry thoroughly and evenly so they can be returned to use as quickly and safely as possible, says Mike Englund, a cleaning instructor and product manager for Powr-Flite.
A look in photos at the 2014 Experience Conference and Exhibition, which was held from April 24-26 at the Embassy Suites Convention Center and Spa in Frisco, Texas.
Have a limited marketing budget but realize the importance of neighborhood marketing? Try doorknob hangers, a low-cost, yet highly effective way to drum up more business. In this episode, John Braun discusses the value of this tactic as well as what you should include on the materials you're hanging.
Over 30 authors – over 40 articles…from attorneys, contractors, consultants, instructors and others, both inside and outside the restoration industry. R & R, C & R and Cleanfax, opened their archives and gave us the best they had, other chapters were created just for the “Get Paid!” book and its readers. And every one of them has ideas for how to get paid what you are owed.


text:
Swisscontact, on behalf of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF), on February 8 launched a new e-trade portal project in partnership with two Cambodian government institutions – the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE) and Cambodia Post.
The initiative aims to digitise the customs clearing process for small packages sent through the Cambodia Post.
The launch comes a month after the government and the GATF signed a memorandum of understanding that formalised the terms of the project, which is tailored to enable the Kingdom to fulfill its commitments under the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement.
Swisscontact noted in a statement that the two government agencies already have electronic systems in place to handle small parcel clearance, but lack a “digital link” that it said would allow them to unlock a tonne of potential.
Instead, customs declarations continue to be filled in and processed by hand, and only upon or after the shipment’s arrival, it said.
Through its implementing partner Swisscontact, the alliance aspires to tear down that roadblock with the new initiative, which seeks to develop the missing “digital link” between the two institutions.
That link would permit faster package clearance, end dependence on inconvenient paper processes, and enable shipping information to be transmitted before a package arrives at its destination country.
Swisscontact said the GATF is also working with the Cambodia Women Entrepreneurs Association (CWEA) to see to it that micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) – many of them women-led – can take full advantage of these improvements.
In this regard, the project is to set up a new online portal to act as an e-trade “one-stop service point” for MSMEs to ship goods abroad and build up their export capabilities.
Cambodia Post director-general Then Samvisoth said that allowing the customs and security information of items to be shared in advance would facilitate the movement of cross-border postal deliveries.
“This, together with the creation of the e-trade portal, will ultimately lead to better engagement of Cambodian MSMEs in the global e-trade, allowing them to enter new markets and grow their businesses.
“Cambodia Post sees this project as the very first milestone that will open further opportunities to expand our cooperation with the alliance in the future, particularly in enhancing postal capacity and helping Cambodian businesses to better seize better global e-commerce opportunities,” he said.
CWEA president Keo Mom highlighted that the new e-trade portal would enable more local women to do business effectively, saying the association is “grateful” to contribute to women’s empowerment through trade.
“It is a great honour to be supported by the alliance on this project. MSMEs will be able to take full advantage of improved customs processes for postal shipments on small package exports. If other countries can do it, why don’t we?”she stressed.
Once implemented, the project will provide a lift for Cambodia’s MSMEs, which account for only 10 per cent of its total exports despite a dominant role in the economy. That figure trails the 30 per cent share of exports reached by MSMEs in other regional economies.
Getting up to that level could potentially add $3.2 billion in exports to Cambodia’s economy, according to the release.
GATF director Philippe Isler said the “transformative project” shows how the benefits of digital trade and e-commerce can ripple through an entire economy.
“Projects like these can break down the barriers that hamper competitiveness in global markets and also ensure that smaller businesses are not only aware of the new opportunities that result, but that they can make the most of them, too,” he said.
Speaking at the event for the launch, Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak said the initiative would support the implementation of the Cambodia Trade Integration Strategy 2019-2023, E-Commerce Strategy and Go4eCAM e-commerce acceleration project.
These outline the tools and guidance needed for economic diversification, and to “leverage opportunities in new growth sectors – especially the emerging digital economy and cross-border e-commerce – for Cambodian SMEs”, he said.
“This project comes at a time when cross-border e-trade and development are needed like never before, particularly as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic accelerates the shift towards e-commerce.
“The Ministry of Commerce very much looks forward to carrying out joint activities with the alliance and Swisscontact, and other partners, and expects great progress from the project,” Sorasak said.


text:
Talks about privatizing Pa. liquor stores heat up
Beer distributor talks about proposal
More debate took place at the state Capitol over privatizing Pennsylvania's liquor stores on Tuesday.
The latest plan to sell the state stores would disband the state system and auction licenses to sell wine and liquor, giving existing beer distributors the first shot.
It would allow up to 1,600 privately run outlets across the state.
"We are trying to give consumers what they want, like convenience, and get government out of the business it shouldn't be in," said Rep. Glen Grell of the 87th district. "We have provisions in the bill to help those potentially displaced state store workers, but there will be job openings for those folks."
Not everyone agrees with the proposal.
A family-owned beer distributor in York County said Tuesday that the cost of a license will be too high for small business owners.
"It was nice that they offered to sell us the wine and spirit licenses first, however it's not to our benefit," said Sharron Matzler of North York Beverage.
Mike Turzai of Allegheny County is backing the privatization bill.
A Turzai spokesman said the licenses could go for as much as $500,000.


text:
Samsung was the very first hardware vendor who made a tablet for Windows 8.
If you followed the Build conference you must remember the Samsung slate which was distributed by Microsoft at the Build conference which had Windows 8 Developer Preview pre-installed.
This week at Computex Samsung is showing off a cool looking Series 7 all-in-one PC designed to run Windows 8.
This pc will have a touchscreen support for up to 10 fingers and it will also respond to voice commands,similar to Microsoft Kinect, as said by Samsung.
At present Samsung isn’t revealing much info about the product There’s no official word from Samsung on what processor it might have.
There’s also no word on the memory, storage or any other specs.
Hopefully, Samsung will reveal more info about this all-in-one pc and it will go on sale on or around the time Windows 8 is launched in the fourth quarter which is around October 2012.


text:
The official confirmation of Realme X3 SuperZoom has been made by the company’s India head Madhav Seth
The official confirmation of Realme X3 Super Zoom has been made by the company’s India head Madhav Seth.
The Reality India CEO has posted on Twitter a photo with a starry sky, taken from RealmeX3 Super Zoom.
In this tweet it has also been confirmed that the smartphone will get support of 60x zoom and Stary Sky mode.
X3 Launching Soon in India
- At present, no information has been given about the launch date of this upcoming smartphone.
- But since the company has teased this smartphone. In such a situation, it can be understood that it will be launched in the Indian market soon.
- However, before this, on May 11, the company will launch the Narzo 10 series.
Realme X3 Smartphone an upgrade to Realme X2
- X3 will be launched as an upgrade to Realme X2.
- At present, the company has confirmed the Realme X3 SuperZoom 60X.
- We hope that the regular Realme X3 will also be launched.
- It can be understood from the name itself that the X3 SuperZoom will get a powerful camera setup with a periscope zoom lens.
“Starry Mode” to take photos of the cosmos
- According to Tipster Sudhanshu, through the Starry Mode feature, users will be able to click the photo of the full sky with Milky Way or at least stars.
- Apart from this, Realme has not given any more information about the Realme X3 series. Speaking of old reports, a 4,200mAh battery, Snapdragon 855 processor and 108MP primary camera can be given with a 30W charger.
- However, these can not be confirmed.
- Realme X3 Smartphone will include a “Starry Mode” to take photos of the cosmos.


text:
PalmOilMagazine, JAKARTA – Until now palm oil needs keep increasing globally as same as the increasing population and people’s economy. But some importer countries claim to improve the cultivation to be better to protect the environment.
Director Assurance RSPO and Deputy Director in duty RSPO Indonesia, Tiur Rumondang said that RSPO exists to convince other countries that the cultivation has surpassed the tight process not to damage the forests and environment.
She also mentioned that many still question the same – why was RSPO made? To answer the question, many opinions, researches, and studies mentioned that palm oil plantations raised the negative. If the cultivation is done well, such as, sustainable cultivation, maintaining the stability of environment service, it could minimize the negative.
Unfortunately, many saw the negative only - even among the users and stakeholders whole over the world. The facts showed that many could get the positive immediately if the plantations are sustainably cultivated. There would be environment protection, diversity, and social – economic impacts.
In general the global impact that could be known could be from the data of RSPO, such as, the plantations having RSPO certificate covered 4,4 million hectares, 4.971 members from 7 categories, such as, the plantation, social and environment non-profit organizations, bank, consumer goods manufacturer, retailer, and processor, joined by 98 countries, 17,21 million tons of certified sustainable palm oil production, 3.321 companies within certified supply chain as the members, producing 19% of sustainable production of the total production.
“We would keep going forward and the numbers are the easiest measurement used to know if we are in progress and how much the impact derives from palm oil industries. These are the fair ways to know the impacts both from the environment and the development that we could not avoid,” she said in online discussion that PalmOilMagazine did join in the early of March 2021. (T2)
For more, please read PalmOilMagazine, March 2021
Please go to: http://store.infosawit.com/


text:
All businesses — HVACR wholesale distributors included — talk about customer service. But how many businesses — HVACR wholesale distributors included — are willing to guarantee it in writing?
Virginia Air wrote it down. What they committed to paper were 11 service guarantees that tell their customers what Virginia Air will do to make them successful. Embodied in those service guarantees are the principles that built Virginia Air from one York factory store in 1987 to a $100 million business with 13 locations in five states today. The most well-known service guarantee is the three-ring policy created by Virginia Air's founder, Kenneth Baker. If a phone at a Virginia Air branch rings more than three times, the caller gets $100. “Our customers love it,” says Chris Baker, Ken's son and Virginia Air's president & COO.
Virginia Air was established in 1987 after Ken Baker, who was then vice president of finance for York International along with the current president of York, visited Richmond, VA, to interview potential distributors for the conversion of the Richmond factory branch to independent distribution. Finding no suitable candidates, Ken jokingly told the president that he would shoot himself if he could not do a better job at running a distribution center than the candidates they had just interviewed. Six months later, Ken took over as the distributor, and the store thrived.
It was in that first store that Kenneth Baker established a culture that placed customer service above everything else. Chris Baker came to understand the importance of this culture when he joined the business to run Virginia Air's second location in Chesapeake, VA. Chris Baker said that branch was the “red-headed stepchild” compared to the success that the Richmond store enjoyed. “When I got down there, it was a bit lackadaisical,” Baker recalls. “They weren't committed to our customer service principles.”
What it took to turn the branch around was a passionate embrace of customer service. “We have a culture, but it takes time to buy into that culture,” Chris says. Hiring employees for attitude and intellect takes precedence over HVACR experience. Baker says Virginia Air can provide its employees with the training and technical skills to work with customers. But attitude and a desire to do right by the customer is something even more important. Those are the people that Baker looks for when hiring employees.
Page 2 of 4
Virginia Air has developed an ongoing management trainee program, hiring bright college graduates to work their way up in the company. Three employees are typically going through its program at any given time. In addition to the management training programs, all employees are encouraged to take courses, increasingly through Virginia Air's web-based tools, that will help them to get ahead and move to the next level within the business.
“It becomes self-accountable with our employees,” Baker says. Along with solid performance reviews, they know the courses or trainings that they complete help to put them on an upward trajectory within the organization. Virginia Air is in the process of revamping its training program to create a more rigorous and centralized curriculum.
As Virginia Air grew and expanded to markets outside of Virginia, an obvious question customers and employees asked was, “Are you going to continue calling it Virginia Air?” After all, they established branches in North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Would customers shy away from a business with an out-of-state name? Baker says the issue quickly fades away as customers are drawn to the company's service focus of the branches.
“We do look for a consistent feel and look to our facilities and our people,” Baker says. “We've elevated the perspective of the industry from the mentality of a branch that is dirty and disorganized to one that is professionally organized and well lit.” He says they're continuing to upgrade some of their more recent acquisitions.
The focus on professional-looking branches also relates to how customers are treated: as professional contractors and not dealers. Each year, Virginia Air hosts a series of Professional Contractor business meetings throughout their markets in January to bring their customers up to speed on the state of the industry, their business and marketing initiatives, product roll-outs and trends for the upcoming year. While some may not see a difference between “dealer” and “professional contractor,” Baker says words do matter.
Page 3 of 4
By treating their customers like professional contractors, Virginia Air is acknowledging that they are business people and they want to help contractors grow their business. “In this industry, our niche has been about going out and helping people that want to truly form partnerships with distributors and suppliers,” Baker says.
Instead of being a distributor that pushes the brands they represent and passes along marketing materials and sales incentives, Baker is talking about building their customers' brands. Baker acknowledges that customers don't always believe him. After all, customers have heard that from distributors many times before and it's typically nothing more than a sales pitch. But once they work with Virginia Air, they rarely leave. “They're very pleased with the decision and the partnership,” he says.
Which goes back to Virginia Air's 11 service guarantees. They did not create the guarantee that says an employee will pick up the phone within three rings as a gimmick. It says a customer's call is important and staff should handle it immediately. Baker says nine times out of 10, the Virginia Air employee who picks up the phone will be able to answer a customer's question — even if the customer was calling someone else. “Our staff has to be great at multitasking,” he says. “We have specialists for a number of things, but most of our employees are very well cross-trained. Everybody has to be willing to and want to do everything.”
York is Virginia Air's primary unitary line, and its ties with York are very strong. Each year, Virginia Air coordinates a trip with its customers to the York manufacturing facilities in Wichita, KS, and Norman, OK, with all expenses covered by York and Virginia Air. Mitsubishi, Climate-Master and Honeywell continue to show growth for Virginia Air, and they offer similar contractor rewards programs.
Virginia Air also continues to invest in its customer appreciation events. Even during the economic recession, Baker says it continued to offer its contractors incentive trips and golf tournaments as a way to demonstrate its continuing bonds with them. Virginia Air also recently allowed contractors to accrue rewards over a two-year period to allow more of its smaller and medium-size customers opportunities to take advantage of the trips.
Page 4 of 4
One of the greatest strengths of the relationships with its customers lies in marketing. As Baker points out, the marketing program does not revolve only around the products or Virginia Air but the contractors themselves. It's a bottom-up approach. “We work hard to build the contractors' brand as opposed to promoting the brand of the boxes we're selling,” Baker says. He credits York with giving Virginia Air the flexibility to tailor its marketing programs around the contractors. After all, the contractors are the ones that are out in the local markets, advertising their services and helping consumers make their HVACR decisions. “They need to get out there and promote their brand,” Baker adds.
Too often, contractors focus on the technical and business aspects of their business. That is, they're making sure that their technicians are getting the jobs done and then they have to deal with all of the associated payroll and human resources issues. In such an environment, marketing takes a back seat. “In an economy like this, marketing is critical,” Baker says. “But marketing is one of the things that most HVAC contractors need help with, and they just don't know where to put their money. We find that if we can offer them solutions, they really embrace it. They look to us for guidance and funding.”
Baker and his staff spend a “huge amount of time” and thousands of dollars focused on the curriculum for its Business Training University courses. These courses cover accounting, operations, marketing and sales and are in addition to its technical training courses. Most Virginia Air territory managers participate in the same training so they have a common understanding with their customers of the issues.
Of particular focus this year will be basic blocking and tackling issues related to sales. Baker says the $1,500 tax credit on high-efficiency systems that helped to spur sales also created a certain amount of complacency among sales teams. They didn't have to worry about financing or upselling or discuss return on investment — the $1,500 tax credit did all of that for them. Baker says Tom Piscitelli's five-day sales boot camp, offered through Virginia Air, aims to address these issues. “Business training is one of the cornerstones of our customer service and demonstrates the partnership with our customers.”
Baker reports that 2010 was Virginia Air's best year ever, and the results from 2011 finished just shy of that mark. Given the overall economy in recent years, Baker counts this as a success. His business saw a “huge shift” from midtier and premium efficiency products back to standard efficiency — a reflection of the end of the tax credit. He's optimistic that 2012 will be a good year for Virginia Air and its contractors.
Baker says Virginia Air is always evaluating strategic acquisitions to grow the business. While they are a $100 million company, “we're built on the foundation of a $250 million company,” he says. “We're very strong and we have very big plans for the next five years to get to that goal.” Baker and his team have a solid plan in place to make this happen.
He sees “massive growth opportunities” ahead. Baker expects to help their existing customers grow, and he expects that Virginia Air will continue to gain momentum in some of their newer markets in Ohio and North Carolina as more customers understand the value proposition that they bring to customers. “It's refreshing to go in a year after you've got someone as a new customer, and they're very appreciative and very happy and, most times, they're more successful than they were a year earlier.”
Michael Maynard is a contributing editor based in Providence, RI. He writes frequently on HVACR, construction and architecture issues. Contact him at micha[email protected].


text:
Looking back over history's great works of art, one can accept that, in terms of inspiration, angels, madonnas and seraphs seemed to do the trick. On a less celestial but still wondrous level, consider the artistic glories at hand during the reception for "Food, Fresco, Farm, and Fotograph," a celebration of food at Six Summit Gallery in Ivoryton. Featured is a juried art exhibit with appropriate works by several noted food painters including Kathleen Lee, whose "Apples" is shown here.
A celebratory reception takes place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the gallery, and a farmers market, music, live cooking demonstrations, dancing, face painting, henna and fresh food are all part of the fun. Show runs through Sept. 30; (860) 581-8332, sixsummitgallery.com.


text:
Wahlburgers, the fast-casual burger chain co-owned by actors Mark and Donnie Wahlberg and chef Paul Wahlberg, will begin selling its fan-favorite condiment “Wahl Sauce” in grocery stores around the country, the company announced Monday.
Wahl Sauce will be sold in 12-ounce bottles alongside other Wahlburgers-branded offerings, including its special beef blend, according to a press release. To start, the bottles will be available at select retailers including Hy-Vee and Acme Markets in a handful of states.
"Ever since launching our Wahlburgers At Home product line, customers have been asking when they can buy Wahl Sauce," Wahlburgers co-founder Paul Wahlberg said in the press release. "It has always been our mission to give our fans an opportunity to have a Wahlburgers experience at home since many do not live near a restaurant."
Other retail partners, including the Meijer grocery store chain, are expected to begin stocking the product later this year. The product launch was conducted with partnership with ARKK Food Company and Legacy Foods Manufacturing.
The Wahlberg brothers founded Wahlburgers in Massachusetts in 2011. The fast-casual chain was the subject a reality series of the A&E reality series “Wahlburgers from 2014 to 2019.
Wahlburgers operates 48 locations in North America and Europe, according to trade publication Fast Casual.


text:
Fans of a particular show featuring three middle-aged men with an unhealthy penchant for cars, plus a fourth individual whose interests are rather more elusive, probably remember a 2008 episode in which the Top Gear crew lambasted the Tesla Roadster. (If not, a particularly low-quality recording is embedded below.) On that show, Jeremy Clarkson could be seen flogging one around the track, complaining about a range of only 55 miles before showing that car being pushed into the garage, supposedly out of charge. Not true, says Tesla, who has filed a lawsuit against the BBC for libel and malicious falsehood. Tesla claims that, among other things, two cars were provided and at all times at least one of them was ready and willing. Beyond that, Tesla knows that neither car ever dropped below 25 percent charge, meaning the whole pushing into the garage thing was, well, staged. It's hard to look at this as much more than a PR move, Tesla waiting over two years to file, but that doesn't mean the complaint isn't legit. Now it's time for the Beeb to roll out its crew of tame racing lawyers. Some say their suits are made of wool, and that their briefcases contain actual briefs. All we know is they're very well compensated.
Update: Well, the hornets' nest has been kicked, and it didn't take long for the swarm to arise. The BBC has dropped a bombshell, saying that it "stands by the programme and will be vigorously defending this claim."
Tesla sues Top Gear for libel, New Stig unavailable for comment (update: BBC responds)
Tim Stevens|March 30, 2011 6:42 AM
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices are correct at the time of publishing.


text:
Airtel Mobile Commerce Uganda Limited (AMCUL) and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) have announced the launch of an open application programming interface (API) initiative.
An API enables different systems to communicate with one another effectively, easing business processes and service delivery.
In Uganda today, the vast majority of APIs are private and only available to third parties at exorbitant costs.
This will grant innovators easy and secure online access to integrate their businesses with Airtel Money services, making it easier for them to offer payment services to various value chains.
By opening their APIs to third-party innovators, AMCUL will offer services that can enable merchants to transact with their respective customers in a safe, instant, and secure way.
AMCUL Managing Director Japhet Aritho said:
Japhet Aritho, the AMCUL Managing Director, told us that
“In a bid to deliver competent solutions that are customized to our customers needs, we endeavor to partner with a number of entities to ensure digital financial inclusion for all. We thrive on continuous research, innovation, and the introduction of products and services that securely remove barriers. As such, AMCUL has partnered with key players in the digital financial space to empower and connect our low-income customers with access to and utilization of digital services that leverage innovation and technology to promote financial inclusion,”.
This will be achieved through the open API initiative that we have launched yesterday on 24th June, 2023.
He further said that the success of such developments, which accelerate the integration of merchants with Airtel Money across the country, is hinged on impactful strategies as exhibited today.
UNCDF’s partnership with AMCUL is part of its flagship program to drive the growth of inclusive digital economies.
Fostering inclusive innovation to deliver affordable services to low-income communities in Uganda, such as smallholder farmers, women, refugees, youth, and MSMEs, is an integral element of this digital agenda.
Since 2017, UNCDF has been convening the country’s digital financial services industry players to promote lowering the barriers to accessing key APIs and opening the innovation space for new solutions to benefit everyone, particularly underserved customers.
written by @enock katamba
- Mr. katamba Enock: Professional designer with experience in web designing who started this activity in 2019 at Kyambogo University after graduation . Contact me on : (+256-758287080)
- Celebrity GossipMarch 5, 2024Pastor Jengo Accused Of Selling Late Pastor Yiga’s Property
- International newsMarch 5, 2024Diplomatic Initiatives Intensify To Broker Israel & Hamas Ceasefire
- EntertainmentMarch 2, 2024Catherine Kusasira Flown Out Of The Country For Heart Surgery
- SportsMarch 2, 2024Darwin Nunez gives Liverpool all three points today


text:
INDIANAPOLIS — The holiday season is underway. Like he's done for the last 26 years, the Rev. Richard Hunter is getting ready to make sure those who need help receive it through his annual Christmas Help Program.
"This year, the program started at 60. We're up to now almost 600 people. Six-hundred families. Let's put it that way because it's more people than that we actually help," Hunter said.
The economic situation is still dire for many families, many of them impacted by the pandemic. Hunter explained what families will be getting from his program to help out during this tough time.
"We give them a weeks worth of groceries. We also buy a turkey. With those two things, we're able to try and help a number of families," Hunter said.
He noted that the program doesn't stop with food.
"We'll go just as far as the money will go. Turning on utilities, doing clothing. Any way we can find to help the family, we do that," Hunter said.
Hunter said he and those who volunteer their time to help and work hard to not turn anyone away. If necessary, he uses his own money to help families enjoy this holiday season
"Take the money you would have spent on groceries and make sure your utilities are on. If your child needs a toy, go buy a toy if they don't have one. Do those things to make Christmas more Christmasy," Hunter said. "We're asking for donations to buy this food. This is brand new food. It's not food that's been in the store. It's coming straight out the warehouse through Kroger. We pick it up at the warehouse and put it straight in the box."
If you can donate to the Christmas Help Program, call 317-329-6855. If your could use some of the help Rev. Hunter is offering, call 317-347-1690. Leave your name, number, and the size of your family. You must be able to pick up your box on December 10 at 2186 Sherman Drive between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.


text:
He said Bangladesh has been exhibiting a strong economic growth prior to the pandemic.
Salman F Rahman came up with the statement while addressing a webinar titled "Business Opportunities and Investment Insights in Bangladesh.”
GlobalConnect@SBF, an initiative of the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) together with Enterprise Singapore, Bangladesh High Commission in Singapore, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), Public-Private Sector Federation (PPPA) and FBCCI organized the webinar.
The webinar provided an overview of Bangladesh's economic outlook, current ongoing developments and present business opportunities available in Bangladesh and the transition towards the post COVID-19 “new normal”.
Md Mustafizur Rahman, Bangladesh High Commissioner to Singapore and Prasoon Mukherjee, Vice Chairman of SBF South-Asia Business also delivered speeches during the webinar, where Sheikh Fazle Fahim, the President of FBCCI, moderated the Public Sector Plenary session.
Recalling the coordinated and comprehensive efforts by the government, FBCCI President Sheikh Fazle Fahim said the country’s economy is demonstrating a recovery trend with positive growth in July 2020 in trade -both export and import, remittance and foreign reserve.
“Despite the COVID 19 crisis, we have been able to post a GDP growth of 5.24 percent, remittance growth of 5.4 percent and forex reserve growth of 10 percent in FY19-20,” he added.
Ensuring potential investors of Bangladesh as a favourable option, Sheikh Fazle Fahim further said, “With coordinated and comprehensive efforts we are confident in our economy.”
Md Sirazul Islam, Executive Chairman of BIDA, highlighted numerous potential sectors such as agro-processing sector, light-engineering sector, technology for investment.
“We’ve been significantly improving the ease-of-doing business in Bangladesh with the introduction of our One-Stop Service (OSS) for the investors, availing more than hundreds of services from a wide range of agencies,” he added.
Ariful Houqe, Director of BIDA; Dr Masrur Reaz, Chairman of Policy Exchange, Samuel Lee, Assistant Vice President PSA Marine; Syed Nasim Manzur, Director of Apex Group; Syed Farhad Ahmed, Managing Director and CEO of Aamra companies, among others, presented insightful information of the opportunities of FDI for the economy of Singapore in Bangladesh.


text:
Food ordering app Deliveroo is to hand out free air quality masks to its delivery riders and the public in a bid to improve cyclist protection against air pollution as the company marks Clean Air Day.
Clean Air Day
Nissan has unveiled a concept, zero-emission ice cream van for Clean Air Day as the firm looks for a solution to the issue of the amount of carbon emissions produced by vans currently in use.
NHS workers have taken to the streets of Aberdeen in a race to show how easy it is to travel in a major city without a petrol car.
Pollution from cars and vans costs almost £6 billion in damage to health each year in the UK, with the worst impact from diesel vehicles, research suggests.


text:
Bitcoin, in addition to different cash, have entered a short-term bullish cycle. All high 10 cryptocurrencies are within the inexperienced zone. The highest gainer is Bitcoin Money (BCH), whose price has risen by greater than 12%.
In the meantime, the dominance index of Bitcoin retains happening and now makes up 65.6%.
The related info for Bitcoin under factors to the following route.
The information is related at press time.
BTC/USD: Preparing for $9,000?
Bitcoin (BTC) has been dominated by bulls over the previous couple of days. Its price has elevated by 3.50% over the past 24 hours.
For the closest value prediction, the main crypto is about to face a brief decline adopted by additional progress. On this case, the closest stage is $8,500, which is perhaps achieved quickly. Declining buying and selling quantity helps the closest value lower.
On the larger time-frame the scenario is extra optimistic. The buying and selling quantity has been going up for the reason that starting of 2020.
At the moment, the development is bullish on the every day chart with the closest mark at $9,000. If the cryptocurrency market stays in a bullish wave, the aforementioned mark is perhaps reached within the first days of February.
Bitcoin is buying and selling at $8,723 at press time.


text:
McDonald's just pulled an ad in the UK about a widow and her son after it received backlash from viewers who said it was insensitive to grieving kids.
More than 150 people complained about the 90-second ad to the UK Advertising Standards Authority before the fast-food giant decided to pull the commercial from the air, CNN reported.
In the ad, which was viewed beyond the UK after it went viral online, a mother describes the ways her son differs from his late father. The one thing they have in common: a love of McDonald's Filet-O-Fish sandwiches.
Beyond formal complaints, many were vocal in their distaste for the ad.
—Tony Richman (@TonyLRichman) May 12, 2017
—Alun Saunders ❄ (@alunsaunders) May 14, 2017
—Dean Logan (@Deano1739) May 16, 2017
"It was never our intention to cause any upset. We are particularly sorry that the advert may have disappointed those people who are most important to us — our customers," McDonald's said in a statement reported by CNN.


text:
MTV, using Microsoft's WMV formar with DRM technology, has decided to enter the realm of music downloading, going up against bigguns like Apple and iTunes. Their service is called "Urge", and will start off with over 2 million songs available, and they are expected to begin advertising their service on their various TV network stations sometime soon. Words on pricing, availability and other information are not yet available. iTunes is getting more and more competetion.
Downloads and Drivers
From the Forums
Subscribe to TechSpot
Receive a weekly update of our best features and tech news you don't want to miss:


text:
Sheikh Ahmed named Dubai Lynx Advertising Person of the Year
The Dubai International Advertising Festival has named Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and CEO of Emirates Airline & Group, who has been instrumental in establishing the company as a global brand, as the 2011 Dubai Lynx Advertising Person of the Year Award.
The Advertising Person of the Year Award honours someone who by their efforts, energy and dedication, has lifted the presence and profile of the region within the international advertising, marketing and communications community.
Through effective and creative marketing as well as a commitment to sporting sponsorship, Sheikh Ahmed has kept Emirates at the forefront of the airline industry.
Sheikh Ahmed embarked upon his career in the aviation industry in 1985 when he was appointed President of Dubai Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), the same year that Emirates Airline was launched and he was appointed its Chairman. In September of that year, Emirates introduced its launch advertising campaign.
Under his leadership Emirates has grown from being a regional airline with just two leased aircraft and three destinations, becoming the third largest airline in the world with a fleet of 152 aircraft, flying to 111 destinations across six continents.
Emirates are today the world’s fastest growing intercontinental carrier. In recent years, its ad campaigns have won three Dubai Lynx awards and three Cannes Lions, amongst many other awards. Sheikh Ahmed’s efforts towards the development and brand marketing of Emirates Airline have also greatly contributed to Dubai being the region’s top leisure destination.
“Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum is a great believer in the power of building relationships and connecting Emirates Airline with people through creative and successful marketing communications as well as through regional and international sports sponsorship,” says Philip Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and the Dubai International Advertising Festival, who with Motivate Publishing are joint organisers of the festival. “Under his leadership and guidance, not only has he made Emirates into a dominant global brand, but also helped put Dubai on the map.”
“At Emirates we have always recognised the fundamental role that classic communication techniques, like advertising, play in our marketing mix. Advertising enables us to strategically target our audience based on the type of media that they consume, allowing us to isolate specific target groups for any given campaign,” comments Sheikh Ahmed.
“In addition to advertising we employ a robust mix of classic and contemporary marketing disciplines to engage our customers around the globe. Utilising these practices such as sponsorship, events, public relations and advertising we have been able to move the Emirates brand from a locally known enterprise, to an international powerhouse.
Finding the right balance of marketing techniques requires a strong and dedicated team and this award recognises the dedication of our highly skilled Corporate Communications division at Emirates.”
Sheikh Ahmed will be honoured during the Dubai Lynx Awards Ceremony and Dinner to be held on March 30 at the Madinat Jumeirah Arena in Dubai.
Joseph Ghossoub, President and CEO of Menacom (formally The Holding Group); Tanvir Kanji, Head of Inca Tanvir and Ramzi Raad, Chairman & CEO of TBWA\RAAD Middle East, have been previous recipients of this honour.
Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.


text:
At least eighteen people were confirmed dead at Agric Bus Stop, Ikorodu, Lagos State, at about 10:45AM on Friday, 25th February, 2022 when a yellow danfo waiting to pick commuters and an over speeding trailer ‘birthed’ a multiple auto-crash.
The fatal accident involved three trailers, five Cars, one Mini Bus and one other vehicles.
All the passengers in the mini-bus died instantly leaving only the driver injured.
Some of the commuters as well as passersby sustained injuries in the accident.
Meanwhile, the Governor of Lagos state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Friday, 25th February, was a guest at the official commissioning of Kimberly-Clark Manufacturing Plant located at Odonguyan area of Ikorodu.
Website Designing/Management/Social Media – Iyanu Victor
Also president was the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.
”It is a delight every time I see businesses doing well and expanding opportunities for our people in Lagos.
”I was at Ikorodu today as a guest at the official commissioning of Kimberly-Clark Manufacturing Plant located at Odonguyan area of Ikorodu.
Certified French Tutor in Nigeria with Years of Experience – Ms Blessing Akpan
”Kimberly-Clark has investment worth over $100 million in our State. The new factory will employ thousands of Lagosians directly and indirectly through sourcing, production, distribution and supply chain management of its flagship product, Huggies Baby Diapers.
”Congratulations to the management and staff of the company for the growth of their business.
”Lagos will continue to be a home for viable businesses and our administration will continously improve on the ease of doing business in the state.”


text:
The video game console market leader – Playstation – and it’s company Sony are yet to face the biggest challenge in their company history. And there are reasons why some folks are still bullish about it.
Let’s just leave aside the price of playstation3 for a moment. History shows that PlayStation 2 was launched in North America on November 2000 for $299. Sales were initially slow, but PS2 slowly built momentum and eventually commanded a 75 per cent market share against the technologically superior Xbox and GameCube in North America, Aisa, Australia and Europe. Even Sega – the market leader a decade ago – no longer makes consoles after being muscled out. So much for the survival of the fittest theory.
Six years later, PS2 is still selling in huge numbers, and big-name exclusives like Yakuza, Final Fantasy XII, Okami, God of War and Guitar Hero II are yet to come. Sony’s brand equitity and track record in keeping its consumers happy will prove invaluable when consumers shop for a next-gen console.
Sony will build on the success of its big-name franchises, but has also wisely shown a commitment to introducing new games for the upcoming console. Sony’s PS3 version of the popular SingStar karaoke game shows the company is still acutely aware of digital entertainment trends, with online MySpace-style pages where users can upload videos of their performances. There is a reason why Guitar Hero is a PS2 game and not yet on Xbox.


text:
Google finally released demonstration video on its new and revolutionary product, Google Glass.
Google Glass is a new portable device. Basically, it is a pair of glasses that operate like a smart phone.
In an interview with The Huffington Post Google CEO Larry Page said “Imagine your brain being augmented by Google,” in reference to the project.
With all of the features that the video, including real-time directions, on screen information, voice activation and many more, the video still fails to reveal what the product will look like on the wearer.
The glasses may be stunning physically and in terms of practicality, but the full acceptance of the glasses into everyday life may require a change on everyday dress as well as functionality due to its look and features.


text:
Starbucks is expanding mobile payment options for phone-toting customers.
The coffee shop chain is partnering with Square, a mobile payment start-up, to launch an initiative this fall that will allow customers to pay with an app on their phones. It didn't specify the launch date.
About 7,000 company-owned Starbucks stores initially will participate. There are about 4,000 other stores operated by licensees.
Here's how the new feature works. Customers must download a Square app called Pay with Square, and input their photo and credit card information. After ordering an item, they waive the phone on a scanner.
Starbucks' scanners already are installed because they're used for the company's own mobile payment service, which is part of its app.
Adam Brotman, chief digital officer for Starbucks, says its mobile payment system will co-exist with Square's features. Starbucks' app will continue to offer frequent-buyer points, while Square will be limited only to handling payment.
For Square, the initiative means the start-up finally has its first companywide agreement with a national retail chain. Known for its payment dongle that transforms smartphones and tablets into credit card scanners, Square has courted about 2 million businesses and merchants since its debut in 2010. But nearly all are small-business owners that pay 2.7% of the transaction amount for the feature. "It's a trailblazing deal for us," says Ricardo Reyes, a spokesman for Square.
Starbucks stores will not use the dongle. Square's functions will be integrated into the stores' point-of-sales system. "Most customers are walking in with their phone in their hand," Brotman says.
As part of the joint venture, Starbucks will invest $25 million in Square and hold an equity stake. Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman and CEO, will join Square's board of directors.
Technology Live covers computers, electronics, and the Internet, with a focus on cutting-edge technology that has a real impact on your life. Our reporters and editors -- based in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, and Washington – offer news and tips to help you make the most of your digital domain. More about the team
Sign up for Technology Live e-mail alerts