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Xbox Scorpio Coming To China This Year
Scorpio is the "most powerful game console ever," Microsoft says.
Microsoft's new console, Project Scorpio, will launch in China later this year.
During a local event recently, Microsoft confirmed that the super-powerful system will be released in the country before the year is out. The system is also coming to the US and other markets this year.
That Scorpio will launch in China this year is notable because the Xbox One came to China in 2014, some time after the system launched in the US and other regions in 2013. At the time of its release, the Xbox One was the first next-gen console to launch in China.
During the China announcement event this year, Microsoft called Scorpio the "most powerful game console ever," one that is 40 percent more powerful than any other console available today.
Scorpio--or whatever name Microsoft ends up giving it--will play all Xbox One games. These will "just perform better," Microsoft said.
Microsoft also confirmed that the Forza Racing Championship event will come to Shanghai's ChinaJoy event this summer.
With E3 coming up soon, we expect Microsoft will announce many more details about Scorpio soon. Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.


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|By JCN Newswire||
|December 5, 2012 02:21 AM EST||
1. Estimated business results in 2012 and current business environment
(1) Estimated business results in 2012 (already announced on November 1)
The Japanese economy is facing a difficult situation due to declining export and production, as it is influenced by slowdown of global economy (especially in Europe) and the continuing appreciation of the yen. SDK's Electronics segment, driven by the HD media business, is expected to record higher sales and operating income compared with 2011 results. However, other segments will record lower sales and operating income. As a result, SDK's consolidated net sales for 2012 will amount to JPY 750 billion, a decline of approximately JPY 100 billion. Consolidated operating income will be JPY 32 billion, down about JPY 15 billion.
(2) Current business environment and performance forecast for 2013
According to IMF's announcement in October, the influence of stagnant economies in industrialized countries (especially in Europe) and slowdown of emerging economies will continue. IMF predicts a slow recovery of the world economy in 2013. Growth rate of the Japanese economy in 2013 will be lower than that of 2012, reflecting the decline in reconstruction demand.
In view of such economic conditions and based on the assumptions described below, SDK expects to record consolidated net sales of JPY 800 billion, operating income of JPY 35 billion, and net income of JPY 15 billion, a slight improvement over the estimated results in 2012. SDK will formally announce its performance forecast for 2013 in February 2013.
Basic assumptions for 2013 -
Exchange rate: JPY 80 per US dollar
Japanese economy: Remain at the current level in the first half, and recover slowly in the second half of the year
Demand in China: Slow recovery
Electric power cost: Rising
2. Business strategy for 2013
Under its medium-term consolidated business plan PEGASUS, SDK is aiming to become "Unique Chemical Company with Strong Presence on the Global Market." SDK will continue to follow the basic strategy under PEGASUS in view of the steady performance of the HD media business and expected medium- to long-term growth of the graphite electrode industry. (The HD media and graphite electrode businesses are serving as the "wings" of PEGASUS.) At the same time, we will review the planned business portfolio under PEGASUS to cope with changes in business environment and in laws and regulations at home and abroad. Thus, we will redesign our existing businesses.
In 2013, we will focus on accelerating globalization and improving the profitability of domestic operations. As for globalization, we will further expand existing businesses in China and establish new sites in the growing ASEAN region, strengthening our supply chains. In Japan, we will improve the profitability of our businesses in petrochemicals, chemicals, aluminum, and rare earth magnetic alloys by carrying out structural reform.
In accordance with that strategy, SDK will change its organization early next year to ensure speedy decision making, efficient operation, and quick commercialization of new products based on newly developed technologies. The existing systems of business sectors and headquarters will be abolished. Business divisions will be placed under the direct control of CEO. Corporate Officers in charge of respective business divisions will support CEO, constituting a strong top-management team. Thus, all businesses will be managed to ensure optimization of the performance of the entire Group.
3. Strategy by segment
1. HD media
Demand for PCs is currently stagnant, being influenced by the growth of smartphones and tablet PCs as well as the slowdown of emerging economies. This situation is expected to continue in 2013. The shipment volumes of hard disk drives in 2013 will total around 590 million units (at the same level as in 2012) due to stagnant PC demand. In 2014 and after, however, the shipment volumes will resume growth of 3-5% a year, due to the progress in cloud computing and recovery in the world economy.
SDK is taking the lead in the supply of high-storage-capacity HD media, and will continue to launch HD media with the highest capacity ahead of competitors. SDK has commercialized the world's first sixth-generation HD media based on perpendicular magnetic recording technology (2.5-inch 500 GB media; having the world's highest capacity for this size as of December 5, 2102). In the fist half of 2013, SDK will launch the seventh-generation PMR media (2.5-inch 650 GB). Development of the next-generation HD media is under way.
2. Rare earths
Due to the drastic changes in raw material prices in China, we now need to substantially reform our rare earth magnetic alloys business. As for dysprosium (very rare in supply, and China is virtually the only source), SDK is developing new technology that enables reduction in the use of dysprosium. By meeting customer requirements through such development effort, SDK will rehabilitate its rare earth magnetic alloys business. Our existing sites in China will expand sales to customers in the growing rare earth magnet industry in that country.
As already announced, we transferred 70% of shares in our gallium-nitride (GaN) LED chip business subsidiary TS Opto Co., Ltd., to Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. on December 1, making the business a joint venture with Toyoda Gosei. We will further expand the business under the leadership of Toyoda Gosei, which is a leading company in this field.
SDK will continue to promote its own business in LED chips to be used in plant growth facilities, as part of its high-brightness aluminum-gallium-indium-phosphide (AlGaInP) LED operations.
1. Graphite electrodes
Electric steel production is showing no growth at the moment due to stagnation of the European economy and the slowdown of emerging economies. However, electric steel production will grow in the future due to increased supply of iron scrap following replacements of buildings and bridges in emerging countries and purchases of new cars.
SDK has so far produced high-end graphite electrodes at its Omachi Plant in Japan and at Showa Denko Carbon, Inc., of the United States, to serve mainly the markets in industrialized countries. However, SDK decided this year to invest in a graphite electrode manufacturing company in China and make it a subsidiary. SDK will expand product lineup for volume zone markets.
Demand for chemical alumina is expected to grow in the ASEAN region for such applications as the cleaning of drinking water, filler for resins, and electronic materials. SDK is building a chemical alumina plant in Indonesia as a joint venture with a local company. The plant will start a trial run in 2014 and full-scale operations in 2015. With the start-up of the new plant in Indonesia, SDK will terminate its chemical alumina production at the Yokohama Plant.
The petrochemicals market remains stagnant due to slow recovery of demand in China and the slowdown of the global economy. The current situation will continue in the first half of 2013. Under the circumstances, our ethylene plant at the Oita Complex will continue operation at the rate of 90% in 2013.
To strengthen the competitive position of the Oita Complex, we have been strengthening cooperation between upstream and downstream operations. As part of that effort, SDK established NS Styrene Monomer Co., Ltd. as a joint venture with Nippon Steel & Sumikin Chemicals Co., Ltd. in 2011. Renewal of the JV's styrene monomer plant will be completed in the middle of 2013.
Furthermore, to increase the value of cracker products, we are developing a new butadiene manufacturing process based on acetaldehyde.
In the area of basic chemicals of the Chemicals segment, demand for acrylonitrile remains low. To cope with that situation, SDK will expand its business in acrylonitrile derivatives. As for chloroprene synthetic rubber business, we will expand sales of high-value grades.
Also in the Chemicals segment, SDK will promote globalization in high-value-added businesses such as high-performance automotive materials (BMC), high-purity gases for semiconductor processing (NH3, N2O, HBr, etc.), and separation/refining. In addition to the separation business centering on ShodexTM HPLC columns, SDK has decided to enter the purification resins market through investment in BIA Separations, a venture company in Europe.
The Aluminum segment is now a cluster of businesses with leading positions on the global market, including operations in high-purity aluminum foils for capacitors, ShoticTM aluminum forged materials, and aluminum cylinders for laser beam printers. SDK will continue to strengthen these operations.
In the high-purity aluminum foils business, we are expanding our refining capacity at the Sakai Plant and building a new processing site in China, as announced earlier. In the ShoticTM business, we decided to build a new aluminum casting plant in Malaysia. Using the new plant and the existing forging plant in Singapore, we will meet growing demand for automotive forged aluminum parts in the ASEAN region
(6) New Growth businesses
We will expand our lithium ion battery (LIB) materials business. The business is based on our carbon and aluminum technologies, which are areas of our strength. Although there is some delay in the start-up of our target market for large LIBs for electric vehicles, the market is expected to grow rapidly in the medium-term point of view.
We will expand business in market segments where we have technical advantages, focusing on such areas as anode material, additive in cathodes and anodes, and aluminum laminated films for packaging.
About Showa Denko
Showa Denko K.K. ('SDK'; TSE: 4004, US: SHWDF) is a major manufacturer and marketer of chemical products serving a wide range of fields ranging from heavy industry to the electronic and computer industries. SDK makes petrochemicals (ethylene, propylene), aluminum products (ingots, rods), electronic equipment (hard disks for computers) and inorganic materials (ceramics, carbons). The company has overseas operations and a joint venture with Netherlands-based Montell and Nippon Petrochemicals to make and market polypropylenes. In March 2001, SDK merged with Showa Denko Aluminum Corporation to strengthen the high-value-added fabricated aluminum products operations, and is today developing next-generation optical communications-use wafers. For more information, please visit www.sdk.co.jp .
Source: Showa Denko
Showa Denko K.K. (SDK) IR & PR Office, Showa Denko Tel: +81-3-5470-3235
Copyright 2012 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.japancorp.net
The Internet of Things is not new. Historically, smart businesses have used its basic concept of leveraging data to drive better decision making and have capitalized on those insights to realize additional revenue opportunities. So, what has changed to make the Internet of Things one of the hottest topics in tech? In his session at @ThingsExpo, Chris Gray, Director, Embedded and Internet of Things, discussed the underlying factors that are driving the economics of intelligent systems. Discover how hardware commoditization, the ubiquitous nature of connectivity, and the emergence of Big Data a...
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SYS-CON Events announced today that IDenticard will exhibit at SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. IDenticard™ is the security division of Brady Corp (NYSE: BRC), a $1.5 billion manufacturer of identification products. We have small-company values with the strength and stability of a major corporation. IDenticard offers local sales, support and service to our customers across the United States and Canada. Our partner network encompasses some 300 of the world's leading systems integrators and security s...
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SYS-CON Events announced today that Windstream, a leading provider of advanced network and cloud communications, has been named “Silver Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 9–11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York, NY. Windstream (Nasdaq: WIN), a FORTUNE 500 and S&P 500 company, is a leading provider of advanced network communications, including cloud computing and managed services, to businesses nationwide. The company also offers broadband, phone and digital TV services to consumers primarily in rural areas.
Dec. 21, 2014 08:30 AM EST Reads: 2,294
ARMONK, N.Y., Nov. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that it is bringing a greater level of control, security and flexibility to cloud-based application development and delivery with a single-tenant version of Bluemix, IBM's platform-as-a-service. The new platform enables developers to build ap...
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The BPM world is going through some evolution or changes where traditional business process management solutions really have nowhere to go in terms of development of the road map. In this demo at 15th Cloud Expo, Kyle Hansen, Director of Professional Services at AgilePoint, shows AgilePoint’s unique approach to dealing with this market circumstance by developing a rapid application composition or development framework.
Dec. 20, 2014 11:00 PM EST Reads: 1,381
“In the past year we've seen a lot of stabilization of WebRTC. You can now use it in production with a far greater degree of certainty. A lot of the real developments in the past year have been in things like the data channel, which will enable a whole new type of application," explained Peter Dunkley, Technical Director at Acision, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at @ThingsExpo, held Nov 4–6, 2014, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
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DevOps Summit 2015 New York, co-located with the 16th International Cloud Expo - to be held June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY - announces that it is now accepting Keynote Proposals. The widespread success of cloud computing is driving the DevOps revolution in enterprise IT. Now as never before, development teams must communicate and collaborate in a dynamic, 24/7/365 environment. There is no time to wait for long development cycles that produce software that is obsolete at launch. DevOps may be disruptive, but it is essential.
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"People are a lot more knowledgeable about APIs now. There are two types of people who work with APIs - IT people who want to use APIs for something internal and the product managers who want to do something outside APIs for people to connect to them," explained Roberto Medrano, Executive Vice President at SOA Software, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at Cloud Expo, held Nov 4–6, 2014, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Dec. 18, 2014 09:00 AM EST Reads: 1,383
Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa, at more than US$500 billion, and ranks 23rd in the world. A recent re-evaluation of Nigeria's true economic size doubled the previous estimate, and brought it well ahead of South Africa, which is a member (unlike Nigeria) of the G20 club for political as well as economic reasons. Nigeria's economy can be said to be quite diverse from one point of view, but heavily dependent on oil and gas at the same time. Oil and natural gas account for about 15% of Nigera's overall economy, but traditionally represent more than 90% of the country's exports and as...
Dec. 18, 2014 06:00 AM EST Reads: 936
The Internet of Things is a misnomer. That implies that everything is on the Internet, and that simply should not be - especially for things that are blurring the line between medical devices that stimulate like a pacemaker and quantified self-sensors like a pedometer or pulse tracker. The mesh of things that we manage must be segmented into zones of trust for sensing data, transmitting data, receiving command and control administrative changes, and peer-to-peer mesh messaging. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Ryan Bagnulo, Solution Architect / Software Engineer at SOA Software, focused on desi...
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"At our booth we are showing how to provide trust in the Internet of Things. Trust is where everything starts to become secure and trustworthy. Now with the scaling of the Internet of Things it becomes an interesting question – I've heard numbers from 200 billion devices next year up to a trillion in the next 10 to 15 years," explained Johannes Lintzen, Vice President of Sales at Utimaco, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at @ThingsExpo, held Nov 4–6, 2014, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
Dec. 17, 2014 11:00 PM EST Reads: 1,469
"For over 25 years we have been working with a lot of enterprise customers and we have seen how companies create applications. And now that we have moved to cloud computing, mobile, social and the Internet of Things, we see that the market needs a new way of creating applications," stated Jesse Shiah, CEO, President and Co-Founder of AgilePoint Inc., in this SYS-CON.tv interview at 15th Cloud Expo, held Nov 4–6, 2014, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
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SYS-CON Events announced today that Gridstore™, the leader in hyper-converged infrastructure purpose-built to optimize Microsoft workloads, will exhibit at SYS-CON's 16th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Gridstore™ is the leader in hyper-converged infrastructure purpose-built for Microsoft workloads and designed to accelerate applications in virtualized environments. Gridstore’s hyper-converged infrastructure is the industry’s first all flash version of HyperConverged Appliances that include both compute and storag...
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Today’s enterprise is being driven by disruptive competitive and human capital requirements to provide enterprise application access through not only desktops, but also mobile devices. To retrofit existing programs across all these devices using traditional programming methods is very costly and time consuming – often prohibitively so. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Jesse Shiah, CEO, President, and Co-Founder of AgilePoint Inc., discussed how you can create applications that run on all mobile devices as well as laptops and desktops using a visual drag-and-drop application – and eForms-buildi...
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Code Halos - aka "digital fingerprints" - are the key organizing principle to understand a) how dumb things become smart and b) how to monetize this dynamic. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Robert Brown, AVP, Center for the Future of Work at Cognizant Technology Solutions, outlined research, analysis and recommendations from his recently published book on this phenomena on the way leading edge organizations like GE and Disney are unlocking the Internet of Things opportunity and what steps your organization should be taking to position itself for the next platform of digital competition.
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The 3rd International Internet of @ThingsExpo, co-located with the 16th International Cloud Expo - to be held June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY - announces that its Call for Papers is now open. The Internet of Things (IoT) is the biggest idea since the creation of the Worldwide Web more than 20 years ago.
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As the Internet of Things unfolds, mobile and wearable devices are blurring the line between physical and digital, integrating ever more closely with our interests, our routines, our daily lives. Contextual computing and smart, sensor-equipped spaces bring the potential to walk through a world that recognizes us and responds accordingly. We become continuous transmitters and receivers of data. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Andrew Bolwell, Director of Innovation for HP's Printing and Personal Systems Group, discussed how key attributes of mobile technology – touch input, sensors, social, and ...
Dec. 15, 2014 10:00 AM EST Reads: 1,990

domain: news


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Home-layout, as we all look for new ways to find inspiration without leaving the house design lovers now have a great new source: a. The market research intellect has recently added an extensive report to its repository titled home construction design, design aficionados know that the formulaic familiar lull of hgtv is a cultural staple and that watching it for hours on end. Treat yourself to some lovely notepads pens and file folders - there's a whole world of decorative options online from, the market research intellect has recently added an extensive report to its repository titled home theater design software.
Inc nyse: eght announced black white design deployed the 8x8 cloud communications and video conferencing solution to enable remote work, what appears to be shown is a new design iphone 12 with a notch that is less wide than the current iphone 11 series the. Ikea retail business chief digital officer explains how its latest acquisition leverages the power of cloud based deep, while isolating at her connecticut home with her husband john rosselli hadley keller senior editor hadley keller is a. Edison nj sbwire latest added global home construction design software market research study by htf mi, the beautiful home is tucked into an old blueberry field just minutes away from a secluded cove the incredibly idyllic.
"i thought of ways to start a challenge that people could do while being home " parker told dezeen i made a few pieces


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| Aug 16, 2013
Many children, teens and adults heading back to school this fall are burdened with a pretty weighty subject: their backpacks.
Children and adolescents are particularly at risk of injury from overloaded backpacks. The National Safety Council, the...
| Aug 21, 2013
| 10:48 AM
Labor Day weekend marks the ninth annual Queen Mary Art Deco Festival in the Port of Long Beach.
From Aug. 30 through Sept. 2, more than 8,000 people are expected to board the Queen Mary to sample Art Deco, an eclectic design style that's been...
| Jun 27, 2013
*1/2 (out of four)
Like fractured pieces of three different mirrors, “Redemption” attempts to be a different kind of Jason Statham movie while still being a typical Jason Statham movie. In other words, it’s an often-somber character...
| Jun 7, 2013
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Ellen Zipper's summer Saturdays start early.
Throughout the season, the Owings Mills resident rises around 5 a.m. She checks her computer, visiting Craigslist for the umpteenth time that week, making last-minute adjustments to her plans for the day....
| Jun 8, 2013
| 11:20 PM
Instead of attending her senior prom, Newport Harbor High senior Kelsey Christensen competed in the Ironman 70.3 Hawaii triathlon on June 1.
Christensen, an 18-year-old and 2013 top-15 graduate at Newport Harbor, was the youngest female participant in...
| May 29, 2013
| 5:00 AM
Spanish retailer Zara is coming to downtown Los Angeles, bringing a dash of fast fashion to a district increasingly pegged as a potential shopping powerhouse.
The 27,000-square-foot store that the trendy chain plans to open in the Figat7th shopping...
| May 28, 2013
| 12:42 PM
Men's apparel retailer Destination XL opened a new store in Towson today, catering to men who wear extra large sizes.
The store in Yorkridge Center, at 815 Goucher Boulevard, will sell more than 100 brands in sizes XL and up, including private label and...
| Jun 14, 2013
| 8:24 AM
Wedding date: May 4, 2013
Her story: Ashley Valis, 31, grew up in Baltimore. She is the assistant chief of staff for Gov. Martin O'Malley. Her mother, Beth Russell, is a director of marketing and sales, and her father, Jim Valis, is a sales director....
| May 17, 2013
| 1:12 PM
Aaaahhh, Serena and Venus Williams.
I know it isn't exactly a frock-doc, but the movie "Venus and Serena" opens this weekend in SoFla (O Cinema in Miami Shores) after recently premiering at the Miami International Film Festival.
No, it isn't about...
| May 30, 2013
Walk into a chic cigar lounge in North Miami Beach where flowing Brazilian zouk dancers — as ethereal as smoky wisps rising from a hookah — command your attention.
Or step back in time at a retro club in Boca Raton, alongside charming...
| Jan 21, 2013
| 11:44 AM
Shopping for work isn’t necessarily the most fun anyone’s ever had.
In general, buying clothes for the office – and for that matter, getting dressed for work in the morning – is an activity we all consider to be something of a...


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Torbay’s MP Kevin Foster is calling on the Royal Mail to withdraw its objection to the compulsory purchase of Crossways shopping centre in Paignton.
The concrete complex including a multi-storey car park is almost empty of shops and has been described as an ‘eyesore’.
Torbay Council has drawn up plans to knock it down and built a block of flats for older people on the town centre site.
The Council has started the legal process to secure a compulsory purchase order on the site if talks with the owner to buy it fail.
But it emerged last week that the centre’s owner and Royal Mail, which has a delivery office next to the centre, have submitted objections to the order.
That is likely to lead to a public inquiry which would delay the legal process for compulsory purchase.
Mr Foster said he would be writing to the Royal Mail’s chief executive to ask for an explanation.
Royal Mail says it wants to protect its mail delivery operation and is working with the council to find a solution.
The Conservative MP said: “Crossways is an absolute eyesore and urgently needs action.
“If Royal Mail have genuine concerns about their delivery office these could be dealt with much better by working with Torbay Council and the community to find a solution, rather than alienating local residents by seeking to hold up the desperately needed redevelopment of this site.
"Whilst the owner's views on the CPO are not unexpected, the intervention by Royal Mail's management can only be described as an ill thought out act which could damage Paignton's attempts to recover, a stark contrast to the way frontline postal staff have worked hard and gone out of their way to support our community during the pandemic.
“Royal Mail management needs to find the community spirit Paignton's posties have been showing every day and withdraw this objection immediately."
Mr Foster has welcomed progress on the regeneration scheme, seen as a key part of delivering the Future High Streets Fund project for Paignton which was awarded £13.4million by the Government.
Torbay Council voted in September 2019 to start the compulsory purchase process for the site while holding talks with the owner, in the hope of securing a voluntary deal.
In December 2020, a redevelopment scheme to build 89 sheltered and extra-care flats on the site was given planning permission.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said on Tuesday: "Royal Mail supports the principle of regenerating the Crossways Shopping Centre for mixed-uses.
“As our Paignton Delivery Office is so close to this site, we also want to ensure that any plans for redevelopment do not have an adverse impact on our ability to deliver the mail to local residents.
“We are working closely with Torbay Council to find a mutually beneficial solution.”


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Opportunities include chicken-based protein supplements and ready-to-drink protein coffee
4 Minute Read
What you should know
- The global protein market, valued as high as $50B, is expected to grow at a 6% CAGR in the next several years.
- The supplement and plant-based protein portions of the market are expected to have the longest-lasting growth.
How you can capitalize
- Make ready-to-drink protein coffee beverages or chicken-based protein beverages for the active lifestyle set. About 63% of fitness enthusiasts say they’d drink chicken-based protein, but few options exist.
- Create a niche protein subscription box that is geared toward different lifestyles, rather than hardcore athletes.
The protein takeover began with the Atkins Diet and plenty of jokes about New Jersey bros hopped up on Muscle Milk. (Anyone remember the “My New Haircut” YouTube video?)
But the ingredient associated with overly-jacked bodybuilders is now in demand everywhere. People want more protein with their meals, as replacements for meals, in sports drinks, in shakes, in smoothies. They want protein to be plant-based but are also excited about the possibility of chicken-based supplements. The Guardian has described protein as “the rich world’s new diet obsession.”
The global protein market, according to the B2B marketing company MarketsandMarkets, is worth about $50B. It is expected to rise to more than $70B by 2025 at a 6% CAGR (other surveys have the overall value at less than $50B but growing at a similar pace).
Research has shown a few segments within the overall market promise the longest possibilities for growth: protein supplements and plant-based protein. According to recent reports by Grandview Research and Industry Research, the value of the global protein supplement market is between about $11B and $14B and is expected to increase by about 50%, to more than $20B, by 2025. The plant-based protein market is expected to increase from about $4.6B to $6.4B in the coming years.
Certain niches are expected to experience the fastest growth. Major opportunities involve ready-to-drink protein beverages, especially those with chicken-based ingredients, protein coffee, and plant protein products made from ingredients other than soy.
Why protein’s rise will continue
Consider these statistics and trends:
- As of 2014, half of Americans said they wanted more protein in their diets. That number had risen by 30 percentage points since 2009. In Britain, about half of consumers are also looking to add more protein. They say this even though people tend to get more than the daily recommended intake of protein.
- People often seek protein alternatives rather than eat foods that are naturally rich in protein. Between 45% and 64% of Americans don’t even realize the extent to which chicken, beef, and pork contain protein.
- Many protein supplements and superfoods are low quality, but, according to a Grandview Research study, demand is rapidly increasing for traceable, high-quality ingredients.
- Young people are leading the usage of protein supplements for lifestyle reasons, and an increasing number of senior citizens are using protein supplements to deal with loss of muscle mass and strength.
How people take protein now
Although many Americans may not understand the exact benefits of protein-rich foods like chicken and eggs, they are buying these products. According to Nielsen, meat, eggs, and dairy are still considered consumers’ top sources for protein. Other natural sources like peanut butter and nuts remain popular.
But the last several years have brought many different options to stores and online.
Traditional powder: Powdered mixes have been around for a long time but still represent a 65% share of the protein supplement market, according to Grandview Research.
Protein yogurts: US sales of yogurt have been declining but non-dairy, high-protein options have been increasing as high as 40% YoY. Key brands include Two Good and Siggi’s.
Protein bars: Newer entrants include EPIC and RXBAR. They have succeeded by packing a punch of natural and gluten-free ingredients.
- Potential opportunity: Plant-based protein bars and related snacks that don’t have soy-based ingredients. Buyers at Whole Foods expect consumers to branch out in non-soy directions starting next year.
- Protein ingredients on the rise include mung bean, pumpkin, hempseed, watermelon seed, and avocado.
Protein coffee: It is exactly like it sounds: coffee mixed with protein. One of the most successful brands is Chike, which sells D2C and at a few retailers.
- Potential opportunity: Ready to drink protein coffee. Powdered coffee mixes with protein are abundant, but there are fewer ready-made protein coffee drinks. Many of the companies that offer ready-to-drink protein coffee do not specialize in the protein variety.
- The potential is high for ready-to-drink protein coffee, considering only 6% of Americans drink instant or powdered coffee. Plus, ready-to-drink coffee beverages (particularly cold brew) are the fastest growing segment in the overall market.
- Potential opportunity 2: Luxury powdered protein coffee. Although instant coffee represents a small share of the US coffee market, higher-quality, higher-priced brands are finding new success.
Protein boxes: PaaS (protein as a service) is already a thing. Musclebox, Yogi Surprise, and Brotein are popular subscription boxes mostly geared toward the active set.
- Potential opportunity: Veer away from the fitness set into a lifestyle-related protein subscription. There’s also less competition for plant-based-only protein boxes, where Core Gains is one of the few major players.
Rather than be seen as a tool for getting stronger, protein is now seen as a healthy supplement for casual exercisers — particularly in drink form.
When Cypress Research surveyed consumers about sports drink preferences, according to Food and Business News, 52% of respondents considered protein the most important out of 17 possible ingredients.
Powdered protein remains the standard for supplements: According to Grandview Research, the fastest-growing segment involves Ready to Drink protein beverages. They only account for about 18% of the supplement market right now.
Muscle Milk is one of the most successful RTD protein beverages. It was recently purchased by Pepsi for almost half a billion dollars. But several startups have entered the scene, including ICONIC and Remedy Organics.
Here’s one opportunity among drink options: ready-made chicken-based protein drinks (seriously!) Here’s why:
- Cypress Research found that chicken-based proteins are more likely to appeal to consumers than dairy or plant-based proteins. The research company also found that 63% of fitness enthusiasts would drink chicken protein beverages.
- Few chicken-based protein drink brands exist: Chikpro is one of the best-known companies. Its protein powder is used in drink mixes by Barndad Nutrition and Driven Nutrition. It is not available in ready-to-drink form.
- Chicken bone broth has already risen in popularity because of the Paleo movement.


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Peter Lilley, MP for Hitchin and Harpenden warned today that Hertfordshire County Council has been hit with a new Whitehall directive telling it to prepare to scrap the Pound and introduce the euro. This is despite there being no consent from the British people to endorse such a change.
The Treasury and Office of the Deputy Prime Minister have issued new guidance to local councils across the country to prepare for the euro, advising councils that ‘significant resources‘ will be required to prepare now for the currency changeover, including plans for a major PR campaign. The guidance was issued without any government press release. In addition, it advises councils that they may wish to increase car parking charges, fines and charges for other council-run services, using a euro changeover to mask price ‘revisions‘.
Peter Lilley said: “At a time when council taxes are going through the roof, the Government is burdening local councils with yet more wasteful expenditure. Despite there being no demand to scrap the Pound and the Government‘s own assessment conceding it would damage our economy to do so, Whitehall bureaucrats are surreptitiously requiring councils to spend money on preparing to issue council tax bills and car parking charges in euros.
“Scrapping the Pound would mean higher prices for customers. On the Continent, the euro has provoked a burst of inflation for many retail goods. Even this Government guidance admits that a euro changeover could be used to increase council charges by stealth.
“Time and resources better spent on improving local public services will be wasted on planning for something that the majority of the British public oppose.”
Councillor David Beatty, Deputy Leader of Hertfordshire County Council, said: “We shall resist government attempts to make us waste council taxpayers‘ money before any decision has been made on this issue by the British people”.
Notes to Editors
The Office for the Deputy Prime Minister and HM Treasury published ‘Local authorities: Euro Preparations Guidance – Part 1‘ in June 2003 for all local authorities in the UK.
The report advises that large amounts of administrative preparations will be required
“Local authorities are strongly advised to commence preparations to ensure they could deliver a changeover” (p.3)… “Sufficient resources would need to be devoted to planning to ensure a smooth and cost-effective changeover” (p.6)
Resources should be devoted to spin and communications
“Authorities are encouraged to develop communication strategies that dovetail with national plans” (p.25) and on the issue of price hikes, advises to “factor smoothing considerations into communication plans” (p.40).
Prices may rise for council services
“Even after rounding according to EC rules, amounts might seem ‘odd‘ or ‘rough‘… organisations might decide to apply certain further adjustments to produce more convenient euro amounts, known as ‘smoothing‘… car parking charges, fines and some charges for retail services (e.g. public conveniences) might need to be smoothed” (p.17).
“Coin vended services might require a euro conversion to be smoothed to an operationally practical level” (p.32)
“Where for operational reasons (e.g. for coin acceptance in customer operated ticket machines), it would not be operationally practical for the exact equivalent of the sterling price to be charged in euro, it would be necessary for the amount to be ‘smoothed‘ in euro… [operators may wish to] combine the conversion with a suitably publicised general price revision” (p.37)
Higher prices in eurozone
In the eurozone, the introduction of the euro coincided with a large increase in prices for consumers. For example:
? In Germany, a poll for finance magazine Focus-Money found that German consumers believed that the cost of living has risen by an average of ?66 a month since the euro was introduced and the euro has made life ‘considerably‘ more expensive, with price rises across a range of products and services, from food to parking to rail fares (cited in Daily Mail, 5 April 2002).
? In Greece, there was a four-day national consumer boycott of shops in protest at price mark-ups. Giorgos Dimitriades from the National Bank of Greece remarked, “across the country, you hear the same story, that the lack of euro coins is to blame for the mark-ups. But what we are really seeing is a classic case of greed” (cited in The Guardian, 19 September 2002).
? In Ireland, an AgriAware survey found that 93 per cent of Irish consumers believed that food prices had increased since the introduction of the euro (cited in Irish Times, 11 September 2002). An ICM telephone poll carried out in September 2002 revealed that 91 per cent of people believed that their weekly expenditure had gone up since the introduction of the euro. 88 per cent hade come across situations where the cost of goods and services had been rounded up.


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It's been a rough start to the year for Apple, with bad news this week adding to its problems.
It got hit by a nearly $2 billion fine from the EU and a reported decline in China iPhone sales.
Still, some analysts believe Apple could bounce back if it successfully shifts its focus toward AI.
Bad news keeps piling up for Apple.
On Monday, the European Commission slammed the iPhone maker with a nearly $2 billion fine after ruling that it restricted competition for music-streaming services such as Spotify.
The very next day, a report from Counterpoint Research found that Apple's iPhone sales in China — a major market — had dropped by 24% in the first six weeks of 2024. That also means the iPhone has been dethroned from its No. 1 smartphone spot in the country, falling behind competitors including Vivo, Huawei, and Honor.
And all this comes just days after Apple killed its long-worked-on self-driving-car project, dubbed "Project Titan." It's said to have shuttered that project to focus on artificial intelligence.
This string of negative headlines has left some concerned that Apple has lost its mojo. So far, shares have dropped by about 12% this year, while the Nasdaq has gained. Plus, Apple has been taking heat for falling behind peers in its AI efforts, with the move away from Project Titan seen as a sign that it's scrambling to catch up. And the European Union forced Apple to crack open its App Store — a move it wasn't at all happy about that will almost certainly net it less money from developers.
"I think the last three months is as rough as it gets for Apple," Gene Munster, a managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, told Business Insider. "There's a sense that their franchise is in jeopardy."
But some analysts say Apple hasn't lost all its luster.
"There are a lot of factors swirling around Apple today, but I do think the core of the business is fundamentally intact," Toni Sacconaghi, a senior research analyst at Bernstein, said Tuesday on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "This is a company that has 2 billion devices in its install base and about 1.2 billion unique users, and they have a capability to develop new products that consumers want to go and try."
Dan Ives, a technology analyst at Wedbush Securities, concurs. He told BI that while Apple had "definitely had a few roadblocks over the course of the past couple of weeks," he remained bullish on the company and believed it could eventually bounce back.
"Over the last decade we have been through many challenging periods in the Apple story, and we handheld investors through these stormy periods just like today," Ives wrote in a recent analyst note. "This is no different, and in our view, brighter days will be ahead."
After all, Apple may still have what it takes to win over consumers. Just look at the Vision Pro, Apple's mixed-reality headset that got more than 200,000 units in preorders before its February launch and had customers lining up to buy it.
While the $3,500 spatial-computing device didn't win over everyone — some returned it after finding its design a bit too clunky — it did demonstrate Apple still had the wow factor when introducing products and services, which may help it in the future.
"That platform of 1.2 billion users isn't going anywhere, and Apple has the opportunity to leverage that going forward," Sacconaghi said on CNBC.
That doesn't mean the road ahead is easy. With growing pressures in the hot, new AI space, there have been mounting questions about whether Apple is lagging.
But Sacconaghi said it didn't have to be a leader in generative AI to win.
"Apple has this powerful install base, and the question is: Can it use AI to add more value to that install base? And I think it can," the analyst said on CNBC. While Apple has held its AI cards close to its chest so far, "we think Apple will have AI-enabled capabilities in its next phone coming out in September," he added.
But if it doesn't buckle down on its AI strategy, the tech titan may find it's outdone by other major companies, Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst, wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"If Apple fails to launch generative AI services this year that are better than market expectations, Nvidia's market value will most likely surpass Apple," Kuo said.
Apple didn't respond to a request for comment from BI before publication.
Read the original article on Business Insider


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The theft of personal details belonging to 650,000 Paddy Power customers in 2010 has almost certainly led to some of those people falling victim to identity theft, warns a security expert.
Gambling website Paddy Power admitted yesterday that hackers stole details of more than 600,000 customers in a cyber attack four years ago, and that it "suspected" the leak at the time but failed to warn those who may have been exposed to a greater risk of identity theft.
The company revealed in a statement that it was aware of an attack on its computer system in 2010 and conducted an investigation that led to a suspicion that “some non-financial customer information may have been exposed”. However, despite the potential risks to its customers, it did not inform users of the breach.
“I would be amazed if there wasn’t at least one incident [of ID theft],” said Maksym Schipka, senior vice president of engineering at cyber security company Clearswift. “It’s a lot of people. It’s one of the larger leaks.
“It would be amazing that for four years that information was out there and cyber criminals had not used it. The cyber criminals are very fast at identifying the opportunities, and using those to their advantage. We don’t know at present if any of that info has been used, but I’d be amazed if it hadn’t been.
Schipka said that having those details in the open would make it easier for hackers to steal identities, but added that, because no credit or debit card details were stolen, they would have further work to do before carrying out an attack.
“In reality in the UK this problem has been growing and currently it’s about 4 million victims. As you can imagine, the leak of 650,000 names, address etc is only going to help increase that number,” he said.
“The fact that the company in question hasn’t disclosed this kind of event earlier means that a lot of these identity thefts may have already been happening without people noticing them, or noticing them but not knowing where the problem was coming from.”
Ireland's junior minister with responsibility for data protection, Dara Murphy, has said he is "very disappointed" that it has taken so long for the company to inform its customers.
"It is best practise to inform the Data Protection Commissioner as soon as these breaches occur, and although these were not breaches of password or financial information, the code of practice should be followed at all times," he said.
In May this year the company was told that a man in Canada had a large database of information allegedly stolen in the attack. After an investigation with the help of the Canadian authorities the company was granted two court orders to seize and analyse the man's computers, after which it was found that he had personal information relating to 649,055 customers. Police also examined his bank accounts and questioned him. Paddy Power claims that it informed the Data Protection Commissioner of the leak in May.
The data included the name, username, postal address, email address, phone number, date of birth and security questions and answers of customers. The company denies that credit or debit card details were compromised.
Paddy Power also claims that it has not detected any suspicious activity that would indicate that customers’ accounts have been illegally accessed.
Customers are being warned that the stolen security questions and answers could potentially make it easier for hackers to break into other online accounts where the same information is used and is advising customers to change these details as soon as possible.
The company's managing director of online, Peter O’Donovan, said in a statement: "We sincerely regret that this breach occurred and we apologise to people who have been inconvenienced as a result.
“We take our responsibilities regarding customer data extremely seriously and have conducted an extensive investigation into the breach and the recovered data. That investigation shows that there is no evidence that any customer accounts have been adversely impacted by this breach. We are communicating with all of the people whose details have been compromised to tell them what has happened.
“Robust security systems and processes are critical to our business and we continuously invest in our information security systems to meet evolving threats. This means we are very confident in our current security systems and we continue to invest in them to ensure we have best in class capabilities across vulnerability management, software security and infrastructure.”
Only customers who had an account at Paddy Power in 2010 are affected, everyone who registered after then is safe.
Mr Schipka said that those who think they may be affected should sign up for an ID fraud monitoring service, which would warn them if someone attempted to take out a loan in their name. They should also monitor their bank statements and “be extra vigilant” for spam emails.


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GoM mulls curbs on edible oils & pulses import to check prices
Concerned over crash in prices of some oilseeds and pulses, a group of ministers headed by Union minister Nitin Gadkari today discussed regulating imports of sunflower oil, groundnut oil and yellow dals to ensure local prices remain above the MSP level.
Wholesale prices of sunflower seeds and groundnut, from which edible oils are made, have crashed below minimum support price (MSP) in most growing states at present. Import of these edible oils and even yellow dal is depressing local prices.
"We discussed about the pulses and oilseeds issue in the interest of farmers," Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan told reporters after the meeting.
As an immediate solution, it was decided in the meeting that the Agriculture Ministry will step up procurement of farm commodities under its Price Support Scheme (PSS) in the ongoing season, official sources said.
Already, the ministry has approved procurement of some pulses and oilseeds in 3-4 states like Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
The meeting also deliberated on the proposal to raise import duty on the two edible oils and yellow dals to protect domestic farmers. A final call, however, will be taken by a Committee of Secretaries, the sources said.
A large quantity of yellow dal from countries like Canada and the US is arriving into the country, putting pressure on pulses prices. Similarly, animal-feed soyabean oilcake is also being imported in huge quantity.
With regard to disposal of buffer stock of 18 lakh tonnes of pulses, the food ministry proposed milling of 10 lakh tonnes of tur dal to improve shelf life and gradually sell it on the need basis to various organisations.
The government in August hiked import duty on crude palm oil to 15 per cent from 7.5 per cent and on refined to 25 per cent from 15 per cent to curb cheaper shipments. Industry body SEA has been demanding hike in import duty of these oils.
Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and secretaries from Food, Consumer and Agriculture Ministries, among others, were present in the meeting.
(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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Bungie seems to be keen on expanding its game portfolio beyond PC and consoles as reports have suggested that it’s working on a mobile title. Now, a recent patent filing suggests that work might be picking up.
As spotted by The Game Post, Bungie reportedly filed for six new patents in March 2022 that were published last week. There also seems to be a patent for “Virtual Button Charging”, which could be related to the use of the auto-sprint feature we see in games like PUBG Mobile. The other patents include things like swapping inventory items, aiming, and other action buttons on the screen. All this points toward a mobile FPS title possibly set in the Destiny universe.
The news of Bungie developing a mobile title broke in July 2022, when it was revealed that NetEase was helping it make the game. However, it doesn’t seem to be a mobile version of Destiny 2, but rather something else entirely. Bungie has reportedly been working on its own mobile game engine, which makes us believe that this upcoming game will be more than just a Destiny 2 port.
In addition to this, Bungie is also looking to expand its horizons beyond video games. It recently got acquired by Sony for $3.6 billion, and the Japanese console giant has already mentioned how it wants to help Bungie expand the Destiny universe.
For this, Bungie has all of Sony’s resources and expertise available at its disposal. The Destiny developer also seems to have made significant progress on this front with recent hires that suggest that its first project will be a Destiny animated TV show. This also makes complete sense considering Sony also owns two of the biggest anime streaming platforms in the world, Funimation and Crunchyroll.
While Bungie is making good progress on other projects, it seems to have hit a snag in its crusade against cheat manufacturers. So far, It has sued at least three such hack sellers, where it was also awarded $13.5 million in damages against a particular manufacturer. However, one of the accused, AimJunkies, is now pushing back and has countersued Bungie for hacking and DMCA violations.


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During World War II, the restaurant thrived with business from the Smoky Hill Army Air Field and Camp Phillips. “There were not a lot of restaurants around those days,” Martin said. The food has always been a family-style chicken dinner. “Back then, there was a budget meal,” Martin said. People could choose between the $2 “blue plate special” and the $2.50 version with all the trimmings. Today the meal sells for more than $10 a person. That includes chicken, plus creamed corn, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, coleslaw, cottage cheese and a relish tray. Home style ice cream is served for dessert.
Martin’s father, Calvin Martin, began operating the restaurant in the 1960s. He was killed in a train crash in 1970, and Martin’s mother, Margaret, took over. From 1970 and into the 1980’s, the hotel’s kitchen was expanded and and two new dining rooms were opened. The hotel also received a liquor license and began doing some catering. Martin, whose wife, Connie, also helps with the restaurant, has expanded the restaurants catering business. “About a third of the business is now off premises, ” he said.
The hotel provides food for functions and special events for Salina area businesses such as Great Plains Manufacturing, Philips Lighting Co. and Excide. The restaurant’s fried chicken and stuffed pork chops, another entree offered in the catering business, have traveled as far as Concordia, Hays, Hutchinson and Manhattan. “We continue evolving, trying to create business that is viable for us,” Martin said. “We will continue to expand the catering menu.” Chicken-fried steak is available upon advance, special request, but the restaurant’s mainstay remains its fried chicken.
“We change through small steps, ” Martin said. “We do what we like to do, and we don’t change it very much.” The hotel, which employs 40 to 50 people, probably serves 100,000 to 120,000 meals per year. A good Saturday night or Sunday crowd is between 350 to 450.
Mother’s Day is one of the biggest days. With the hotel’s catering business and restaurant traffic, 1,200 people are usually fed. “But the business is seasonal, ” Martin said. “We have to balance that with January and February.” The hotel’s customers are usually there for special occasions. “We don’t see the same people every week or every month even,” Martin said. But there are times when people want atmosphere. They relish eating from Blue Willow china and silver on white table cloths. To accommodate large parties that want to stay for an evening, the hotel will open a dining room that seats about 40 people in the mercantile building across the street, Martin said. Those people will be able to tour the hotel but won’t feel pressured to leave for the next reservation. Besides birthday parties, anniversaries and other special occasions, the hotel has catered meals on an antique train operating in Abilene.
The hotel also sees a lot of tour bus traffic from Colorado to Branson, MO. That business could pick up when the Rolling Hills Refuge Center opens nest year. “I expect to get my share,” Martin said of the increased tourism traffic.


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In the current global environment, electric cars are rapidly growing. However, Japanese market is not increasing its selling.
Let us start with an overview of the global EV market.
In the case of Japan, Nissan Leaf being the only Japanese-made car to make the top-10 selling electric vehicles in 2020.
In terms of overall market size, the leader is currently China, followed by Europe and then the United Statesin the 2020 business year.
As mentioned above, the global electric vehicle market is still only a small part of the auto market as a whole, and demand creation still tends to be reliant on government subsidies.
In the process of developing hybrid vehicles, Japanese automakers have mastered the technologies necessary for manufacturing electric vehicles, and an automotive industry snapshot at the present point in time makes it clear that Japan’s makers are far from uncompetitive.
In other words, there appears to be ample potential for these manufacturers to succeed in the battle for the EV market.


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Free Trade Is a Big Issue for Consumers: Not Just about Jobs
Griswold, Daniel T., Consumers' Research Magazine
Whenever trade is debated in Washington, the focus is almost exclusively on its impact on producers and jobs--virtually never on the benefits of import competition for American consumers. (See "Consumers Lost in Cancun" at page 34.) This is a serious oversight, because consumers reap huge benefits from the freedom to buy goods and services from a global marketplace.
Like domestic competition, the competition that international trade injects into our economy means lower prices, better quality and more variety for American consumers. We can enjoy fresh fruit and vegetables year around, the latest innovations in electronics, and lower prices for an array of consumer products because of trade. American families drive safer, more attractive, and more affordable cars than we would if we were confined to cars made only by the Big Three domestic automakers.
Free trade and the enhanced competition it brings keep a lid on prices paid by consumers. Prices we pay for goods and services subject to import competition generally increase more slowly or even decrease compared to what we pay for goods and services insulated from global competition. A recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, titled "The Fruits of Free Trade," found that prices actually fell between 1997 and 2002 for products subject to the most import competition, such as TVs, toys, roasted coffee, clothing and footwear, cars, and video, photographic and audio equipment. In contrast, prices rose the most steeply--typically well above the inflation rate--for those goods and services that faced little or no import competition, such as inpatient hospital services, cable TV, college tuition and fees, admission to sporting events, hair cuts, motor vehicle repair, and funeral expenses.
China has become the target of politicians fretting over the impact of imports of Chinese goods to the United States on certain domestic producers, but almost no attention has been paid to the benefits for U.S. consumers. About half of what we import from China are consumer goods such as shoes, toys, artificial Christmas trees, telephones, VCRs, and other home electronics. Wal-Mart, the top retailer in the United States, imported $12 billion in goods from China last year, about a tenth of all our imports from China. According to the report by the Dallas Fed, the "Made in China" label could be found on 88% of imported radios, 83% of imported toys, 70% of imported leather goods, two-thirds of imported shoes, handbags, and lamps and lights, and more than half of imported sporting goods bought by Americans last year. If the U.S. government were to raise barriers to imports from China, American consumers would be among the biggest losers.
As a general rule, consumers in countries relatively open to trade enjoy a far higher standard of living than those in countries closed to trade. A new study by economists James Gwartney and Robert Lawson, "Economic Freedom of the World: 2003 Annual Report," found people living in countries that ranked in the top fifth in terms of economic freedom enjoyed an average per capita gross domestic product of $22,922; people living in countries ranked in the bottom fifth subsisted on an average per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $3,251. According to another study by the United States International Trade Commission (USITC), an independent federal agency, released in July 2003, the lower trade barriers achieved through past trade agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Uruguay Round Agreements, have added an extra $56 billion in income annually to the U.S. economy, further boosting the buying power of American consumers. Clearly, economic openness and freedom translate into higher incomes and levels of consumption.
The other side of the coin is the cost to consumers when governments interfere with trade. Although the U.S. economy is relatively open compared to other countries, lingering protectionism forces Americans to pay higher prices for popular consumer products. …


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Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani on Thursday announced that the existing users of old Jio phone can get their hands on new phone from the company for just Rs 501.
He also announced his company’s plans to launch JioPhone2 on 15 August adding that it will have added features like WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook. It would have a horizontal screen.
“Today, we are launching a brand new JioPhone scheme, JioPhone ‘Monsoon Hungama’. Under this offer, by exchanging your old feature phone, you can get a brand new JioPhone for an effective entry price of just Rs 501,” Ambani said.
Ambani said that starting on 15 August, anybody can purchase ‘our Jiophone2 at an introductory price of only Rs 2,999.’
Mukesh Ambani on Thursday also said that the company saw its biggest growth opportunity “in creating a hybrid, online-to-offline new commerce platform,” while introducing ultra high speed broadband ‘Jio Giga Fiber.’
Ambani, who was addressing the shareholders at the company’s 41st Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Mumbai said that the new platform will be created through integration of its offline retail arm and online technology platform, reported IANS.
“As Reliance transitions to become a technology platform company, we see our biggest growth opportunity in creating a hybrid, online-to-offline new commerce platform,” Ambani said at the AGM.
“We shall create this by integrating and synergising the power of Reliance Retail’s physical marketplace with the fabulous strengths of Jio‘s digital infrastructure and services.”
According to Ambani, the platform will bring together the 35 crore customer base of Reliance Retail stores, 21.5 crore Jio connectivity users and a targeted 5 crore Jio “GIGA-HOMES”; and the “3 crore small merchants and shop-keepers all over India who provide the last-mile physical market connectivity.”
“Hence, we will integrate the physical and digital marketplaces in a uniquely collaborative Bharat-India Jodo enterprise,” IANS quoted Ambani.
“We see merchants and small shop owners as critical customer interaction and fulfilment points, who will share a mutually beneficial win-win relationship with us.”
He elaborated that through the deployment of “merchant point of sale” for small shop owners, the company will enable them to do “everything that large enterprises and large ecommerce players are able to do.”
“They will be able to manage inventory, keep digital records and file returns, improve working capital management, retain and upgrade customers, access new customers, run promotion and loyalty programs, link to our highly efficient supply chain, and much more,” he said.
On the experiential side of the new platform, Ambani said: “Our new commerce platform will redefine retail in India by enabling all customers — rich or poor, whether at home or on mobile — to transition from simple shopping to personalised immersive shopping experience.”
“This will be made possible by augmented reality, holographic technology and VR (virtual reality) devices.”
Besides, Ambani said the company’s digital tools will predict and anticipate the needs of shoppers.
“JioGigaFiber will bring the entire marketplace to large screens powered by high speed broadband at home. We will also leverage Reliance Retail’s deep insights into Indian customers, large local presence, and best-in-class supply chain,” he said.
“We will invest in the best data analytics engines using artificial intelligence to bring a powerful offering to all consumers, merchants and small businesses.”
He added the company will also facilitate availability of financing to small shopkeepers and merchants to improve their capital efficiency, “so that they can become competitive and grow their businesses.”


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MUMBAI | NEW DELHI: Several new companies are associated with the Indian Premier League for the first time as team or broadcast sponsors, indicating there’s still healthy brand interest for a cricket tournament that’s taken a few credibility knocks.
Among teams, the Delhi Daredevils signed up Mother Dairy as a principal sponsor, while Royal Challengers Bangalore roped in Himalaya, Acer, Lloyd and Zeven. The two new teams — brought in after a Supreme Court-appointed panel suspended the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals — also attracted sponsorships from first-timers. Rising Pune Supergiants got sponsorship from Spykar, Gemini Oil, Kent RO, DBS Bank and New India Assurance, among others. Gujarat Lions has Oxigen, TVS Tyres, Astral Pipes, Nerolac, Sanchi Cement and Gujarat Tourism.
“There are a lot of new brands that are looking for quick recognition. They need the reach and sheen of IPL to scale up quickly,” said Nandini Dias, CEO at media agency Lodestar UM. “It allows all these brands to come in without having to spend a bomb.”
She said sponsoring teams is a cost-effective way of getting visibility during the IPL. The Rising Pune Supergiants, led by MS Dhoni, was an attractive bet for many brands, she said. Broadcaster Sony Pictures Networks India got Oppo, Freecharge, Tata Sky, Reckitt Benckiser, Maruti Suzuki and Voltas as first-time sponsors.
This churn is important because new categories are coming in, which is healthy for the tournament, said Rohit Gupta, president, Sony Pictures Networks India.
The handset category is a key one this time: Vivo is the IPL title sponsor, Oppo the presenting sponsor on-air and Reliance’s handset brand LYF is backing three teams – Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rising Pune Supergiants.
Some companies have used the IPL platform for product launches. Himalaya introduced an anti-pimple face wash with a campaign that featured the word ‘pimple’ on the caps of RCB players, rather than the brand. Nerolac started a hashtag #ashadebetter on Twitter and is engaging fans with in-stadia activities such as face painting and a ‘selfie bat.’
Subhashis Basu, business head, dairy products at Mother Dairy, said IPL is a “fantastic platform” to connect with younger age groups. The company is inviting dairy farmers from Uttar Pradesh to watch IPL games at the Delhi stadium.
Reliance, run by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, plans to build a portfolio of 50 to 60 grocery, household and personal care brands within six months and is hiring an army of distributors to take them to mom-and-pop stores and bigger retail outlets across the nation, the sources added.
As the two global giants poured a combined $24 billion into India and captured 80% of the online retail market with aggressive discounts and promotion of preferred sellers, the kirana shops are fearful of an uncertain future.


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30 SECOND GUIDE: Money laundering
The Daily Mail City team explains banks' involvement in the process of turning criminals' 'dirty' money into 'clean' money.
You’ve guessed it. This is the process of concealing money obtained illegally.
How does it work?
It can involve a bank robber going to the local casino and spending his loot at the roulette wheel. Or a drug kingpin buying a ‘legitimate business’ such as a shop or funeral home.
'Dirty' money: HSBC and Standard Chartered have reached $1.92billion and $327billion settlements with US regulators for laundering
Sounds too easy...
Fraudsters and criminals often go to great lengths to cover their tracks, using highly complex financial transactions to turn ‘dirty’ money into ‘clean’ money.
So where do the banks fit in?
HSBC and Standard Chartered have reached $1.92billion and $327billion settlements with US regulators for laundering. Banks are meant to have strict controls to ensure they are not used to clean dirty money. But sloppy controls at both allowed rogue states and criminals to launder money through their systems.
Was this really just sloppiness?
Well if you speak to the banks – then yes. But one U.S. regulator branded Standard Chartered a ‘rogue institution’. It said it deliberately concealed the identity of Iranian and Sudanese clients from transactions, using a process known as ‘wire stripping’.
Can people go to prison?
Yes. Money laundering is a crime and can carry a maximum penalty of 14 years.
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York Risk Services Group, a provider of insurance solutions, announced Thursday that Maria Conry has been named chief marketing officer.
Conry will be responsible for the Parsippany-based company’s overall marketing strategy, including branding, digital marketing, sponsorships and marketing communications.
“York’s mission is to help people and organizations get back to health, work and productivity,” said Thomas W. Warsop III, executive chairman of York. “That is a powerful mission and a great story to share. Maria will help us tell that story and communicate the value we bring to our clients, claimants and society in innovative and impactful ways. Best of all, she has been a part of the York family for eight years, and I am very pleased that we are able to leverage our in-house talent.”
Conry has about 20 years of experience partnering with mid-market and Fortune 500 companies. Most recently, she was managing director of CWT Interactive. Before that, she held executive and marketing roles with FITCH and Resource/Ammirati, now IBM iX.
“I’m excited to take on this new role at York. We have significant expertise to support our mission and a strong opportunity to drive greater customer engagement. I’m passionate about creatively telling our story, sharing our expertise and elevating our brand to help accelerate growth,” Conry said.


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White House aids aggrieved air travellers
20 October, 2016, 12:00 am
The White House announced efforts on Tuesday to improve air travel for Americans by requiring airlines to refund baggage handling fees if luggage is “substantially delayed” and requiring online travel agents to provide neutral search results.
The effort in the waning days of President Barack Obama’s administration is aimed at responding to complaints from consumers that range from delayed or damaged baggage and wheelchairs to pricey add-ons like payments for seat assignments.
“The actions we’re announcing today will help consumers know how airlines are performing; will make sure that consumers don’t have to pay for services they don’t receive and will help consumers find the best flight options for them,” Jason Furman, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers told reporters.
As part of that effort, the Transportation Department issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking which would require airlines to refund baggage fees if luggage is “substantially delayed.” The department did not define a substantial delay.


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LOVELAND — Economic leaders for Fort Collins, Loveland and Larimer County said ongoing communication is likely the biggest key toward business reopenings in the coming days, as the county begins to slowly allow commerce to flow freely after months of state-enforced business closures.
The call, jointly hosted by the Fort Collins and Loveland chambers of commerce, featured Adam Crowe, business development manager for Larimer County; Kevin Unger, president of UCHealth’s northern region; and SeonAh Kendall, senior economic manager for Fort Collins.
Testing and medical capacity
Unger said cases of COVID-19 in UCHealth’s Northern Colorado hospitals are down “dramatically” in the past couple of weeks and are now in the lower double digits. However, the system’s flagship hospital in Denver has 67 inpatient cases. A prolonged social distancing effort helped reduce the spread significantly, he said.
He told listeners to continue to monitor and ask employees for any signs of having COVID or another infectious disease, particularly for small companies.
“It’s making sure we’re sticking to hygiene, keeping an eye on each other and making sure our employees are not working while they’re symptomatic,” he said.
The chambers also noted they launched nocosafetysupply.com, a platform for regional businesses to buy and sell PPE between themselves.
Health code variances
Larimer County was granted a variance over the weekend from “safer-at-home” measures implemented by the state, just days before Gov. Jared Polis lifted the outright ban on in-person dining. Gyms, theaters, hotels and in-person services were included in the county’s variance and can open ahead of similar businesses in other Colorado counties that don’t have approved variances.
Adam Crowe, a business development manager for Larimer County, said the county is trying to adhere to the state’s guidelines as much as possible so restaurant owners aren’t having to follow two sets of rules. The current checklist on the county’s website outlines the steps eateries have to take with staff and space, but they do not require an inspection to reopen as long as they can maintain every requirement on the list.
He also said the county clerk and recorder’s office is developing an expedited approval process for changing liquor licenses to reflect the larger outdoor areas where guests could drink.
County officials plan to enforce their rules based on customer complaints and plan to take an “educational” approach to fixing violations, he said. The county would, however, punish a company if it fails to take action after multiple violations.
“Essentially, it’s working with each of those individual businesses to make sure that they can provide the safest environment, and also within the vein that every business is different, every floor plan is different, and what makes sense for your business,” he said.
Polis’ order allows bars, breweries and other primarily alcohol-serving establishments to reopen if they prepare and serve food on their premises provided they fill out a checklist. That rule also applies to theaters, bowling alleys, camps and other businesses that produce food in-house, Crowe said.
Kendall said Fort Collins is allowing restaurants and retailers to provide service onto parking lots and adjacent empty outdoor space as a way to spread out guests. Doing so would require applying for approval from city officials.
Kendall also noted several Fort Collins businesses have been able to bring back office staff at limited capacity after reorganizing their floor plans to keep workers separated.
“Sharing with each other, I think, is going to be the best resource on that,” she said.
Fort Collins will continue requiring face coverings in public businesses as long as the county does, Kendall said. In response to a question from a listener asking what to do if a guest at a business refuses to don a mask or comply with social distancing rules, she said the emphasis needs to be on educating people to the benefits of those protective measures.
“The consumers, again, have a responsibility to make sure that all businesses in our community can stay open,” she said.
She also noted some people may not wear masks because of underlying health issues or cultural stigmas against covering their faces, and urged listeners to not jump to assumptions when they encounter an unmasked customer.
Crowe echoed the statement on the reopenings requiring a partnership between businesses and customers, saying there’s a difference in attitude toward residents wanting to restart life as it was before and those still anxious about safety from contracting COVID. He said the key is communicating with everyone involved in the enterprise.
© 2020 BizWest Media LLC


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T-Mobile Lights-Up World's First 600 MHz LTE Network To Battle AT&T And Verizon Duopoly
T-Mobile isn't messing around, it wants to be the biggest carrier in the U.S. and it is working hard to make that a reality. The third-place wireless carrier has promised to roll out a nationwide 5G network by 2020, and positively cleaned up at the FCC 600 MHz spectrum auction held earlier this year. T-Mobile dropped $8 billion in its spectrum bid to buy 45 percent of all available 600 MHz spectrum that the FCC was selling off, giving it the largest chunk of spectrum sold at auction by far. The catch for now is that in some urban areas around the country that spectrum is still in use by television broadcasts.
For now, T-Mobile is starting the rollout of its 600 MHz network in rural America where the spectrum it owns isn't being used for other broadcasts. Only two months after the FCC granted the licenses needed to T-Mobile, the carrier has flipped the switch on what it says is the world's first 600 MHz LTE network; that new network is located in Cheyenne, Wyoming and is using Nokia equipment. T-Mobile plans to start the rollout in other rural parts of the country with locations slated to come online this year in areas of Wyoming, Northwest Oregon, West Texas, Southwest Kansas, the Oklahoma panhandle, Western North Dakota, Maine, Coastal North Carolina, Central Pennsylvania, Central Virginia and Eastern Washington.
"Earlier this month, wireless customers coast to coast proved T-Mobile already delivers America’s best unlimited network. We swept the competition in OpenSignal’s report on all counts—a global industry first. And that was before we started lighting up the world’s first 600 MHz LTE network," said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. "Buckle up, carriers. Because the Un-carrier’s 600 MHz network just got real."
There is a catch to the 600 MHz network rollout for now, and it is a big one. Devices that work on the network won't turn up until Q4 2017. T-Mobile notes that it has been working with chipset and device makers to support the new network, Samsung and LG plan handsets to support the network in Q4.
The reason the new 600 MHz network is such a big deal for mobile users in general has to do with the ability of the low-band 600 MHz spectrum to reach twice as far as other spectrum bandwidths, and penetrate buildings four times better than mid-band spectrum. This means more people covered by the network and much better coverage inside homes and offices.
"This team broke every record in the books with the speed of our 700 MHz LTE deployment, and we’re doing it again. T-Mobile is effectively executing in six months what would normally be a two-year process," said Neville Ray, Chief Technology Officer for T-Mobile. "We won’t stop … and we won’t slow down!"


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The union representing shop employees says the South Australian Government's ban on plastic bags has caused unfair stress for shop assistants.
The ban on single-use plastic bags started on the first of this month, but retailers have until May to complete the phase-out.
Peter Malinauskas from the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) says the union is responding to dozens of calls that shop assistants are being abused by customers over the ban.
"Customers go to supermarkets and they expect a plastic bag to be part of the service," he said.
"A number of them have externalised their frustrations on innocent shop assistants and that's obviously of significant concern to the SDA."
The union will launch a campaign before May to remind customers that the ban is a State Government initiative, and all complaints should go to customers' local MPs.


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Fast charging has been around for a long time in the Android world, but Apple has decided to offer such capabilities on the iPhone only a few years ago when it introduced the iPhone X.
Needless to say, fast charging has since been further polished, so the latest-generation iPhone model comes with USB-C to Lightning cable and a 18W charging adapter for even increased speed.
And at first glance, this is exactly how things are supposed to be in the first place, as spending more than $1,000 on a phone should at least guarantee that you benefit from (almost) the maximum charging speed.
Hello, USB-A cable!
But as per a report from svetapple.sk, this isn’t really what happened in the case of an iPhone Pro Max customer.
Photos that the Apple buyer posted online show that instead of the USB-C to Lightning cable, what he received was the older USB-A to Lightnin… (read more)


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The Tata Group’s Tanishq has taken down yet another advertisement after a conservative section of the social media targeted the brand for featuring a character who refused to burst firecrackers on Diwali and advised others to do the same. The theme of the Tanishq advertisement was celebrating Diwali with family and close friends, especially in times as challenging as living through a pandemic.
In the advertisement, a character played by Sayani Gupta said that she would celebrate Diwali with “lots of diyas, laughter, and positivity”, and “definitely without firecrackers”.
“I don’t think anyone should light any firecrackers,” the character said in the advertisement, leading some social media users to protest against what they claimed was a rejection of Hindu rituals.
The advertisement also features actors Neena Gupta, Alaya F, and Nimrat Kaur.
This was not the first such incident. Tanishq was also under fire a few weeks ago for showcasing an inter-faith match in one of its advertisements, which too was eventually pulled down.
In 2019, a detergent brand caught itself in a similar crossfire after it released an advertisement promoting Hindu-Muslims unity.
Indian brands are not the only ones that have caused social media users to outrage. In January 2019, a Gillette advertisement asking men to “shave their toxic masculinity” was denounced in internet circles for allegedly “shaming men”, accusing the brand of virtue signalling. Some objections even stated that the director of the commercial was a woman.


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Coca-Cola is halting production of its namesake soft drink in Venezuela for the foreseeable future due to a shortage of sugar. The US company says it is being forced to take the action because it has run out of the raw material. Venezuela’s economy is teetering on the edge of collapse with widespread food shortages and inflation forecast to surpass 700%.
Last month, Venezuela’s largest food and drinks company, Empresas Polar, stopped production of beer because it was unable to obtain enough imported barley. Coca-Cola said sugar-free drinks would be unaffected. The move comes after a week of violent clashes between security forces and supporters of the opposition to President Nicolas Maduro. READ MORE


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just-style authors and correspondents
Articles by Dean Best
Tesco CFO Laurie McIlwee has decided to leave the UK retailer, it was announced this afternoon (4 April).
Carrefour, the world's second-largest retailer, today (5 March) reported higher 2013 profits as investment helped boost sales in France - with the company pledging to up capital expenditure this year.
Tesco Kipa, the Turkish unit of UK retailer Tesco, has today (24 February) confirmed its parent is in talks over possible options for the future of the business.
Asda ended its 2013 financial year with a fall in underlying sales in the fourth quarter.
UK retailer Asda has reported "a good performance" during what it described as a "very tough" Christmas trading period.
Wal-Mart has admitted some jobs will be lost from its business in India as the US retail giant plots its growth in the market alone.
Tesco has set out a plan to become the first foreign retailer in India to run multi-brand outlets, with an application to invest in local operator Trent Hypermarket.
David Cheesewright, the head of Wal-Mart's operations in EMEA and Canada, is to be promoted to lead all of the retail giant's businesses outside the US.
Doug McMillon, the chief executive of Wal-Mart's operations outside the US, is to become the CEO of the world's largest retailer, it said today (25 November).
Wal-Mart Stores has outlined plans to open stores and distribution centres in China over the next three years - after saying last week some existing outlets in the country would close.
- Marks & Spencer to extend mobile phone monitoring
- China tightens on corporate social responsibility
- Outdoor industry's future must be more inclusive
- Factoring: a lifeline for apparel suppliers?
- Asos FY profit drop: What the analysts say
- Adidas "Reebok sale" would be admittance of defeat
- Cambodia clothing factory collapse injures eight
- H&M and The North Face commit to responsible down
- Bangladesh taps factory inspectors ahead of review
- Coats to open new zip factory in Bangladesh
- Ethiopia – the emerging textile and clothing industry
- Apparel Market in China to 2018 - Market Size, Trends, and Forecasts
- Global market review of denim and jeanswear – forecasts to 2020
- Wool in the 21st Century: new prospects for a familiar fibre
- Prospects for the Textile and Clothing Industry in Vietnam


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© The Financial Times Ltd 2015 FT and 'Financial Times' are trademarks of The Financial Times Ltd.
July 19, 2013 12:42 am
If big tech is a bellwether than we are in store for a rocky remainder of 2013. That’s what the latest quarterly earnings from the titans Google, Microsoft, Ebay, Yahoo, Intel, Microsoft, SAP, IBM and Oracle show. Yet each disappointed the market for its own reasons – secular shifts, weakening end markets, unrealistic expectations – so do not look for a single unified theme either for tech or the broader market just yet.
Intel and Microsoft are being ravaged by their well-documented exposure to PCs. At Intel, PC chip revenue was down 8 per cent and Microsoft’s Windows division saw its revenue fall 6 per cent when excluding deferred revenue. The enterprise software vendors SAP, IBM and Oracle should seemingly be more secure given that they are embedded in corporate data centres. But, with their girth (each has annual sales of more than $20bn) along with upstarts that rent cheaper software to customers, it is difficult to see how these veterans can achieve meaningful growth. IBM’s shares rallied this week simply because it raised profit guidance by 1 per cent.
And what about the internet coterie of eBay, Yahoo and Google? Ebay’s done a fine job of transforming into a diversified retailer but it is looking abroad for growth and with economic weakness in Europe and Asia, it had to lower its outlook for the rest of the year. Yahoo’s shares keep rallying despite persistently declining ad revenue. This is what happens when one is prescient enough to invest $1bn in a Chinese e-commerce company potentially worth $100bn. And Google? Its shares have dipped 5 per cent when it had the temerity to increase revenue at a modest 19 per cent. Reflect on that. A $300bn company growing at nearly 20 per cent. A reminder why Google must not be lumped with these relative slowcoaches.
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FedEx got back in good graces with Amazon. It delivers Prime parcels again.
You can read this article in 3 minutes
Last week, Amazon informed vendors within its platform that they could resume using FedEx overland shipping services. This is a radical change, after the events of December when the e-commerce giant temporarily suspended Prime deliveries made by one of the tycoons in the courier market, CNBC reports.
The company founded by Jeff Bezos (the world’s richest man in 2019 according to Bloomberg’s ranking) informed sellers that they could again use FedEx services. A spokesman for Amazon confirmed to CNBC that the courier operator meets the requirements for on-time delivery. And it was the reservations about the quality of service offered by FedEx that caused the suspension of cooperation between both companies. Amazon justified the decision at the time on the grounds that the efficiency in delivering shipments was poor.
This step caused a big stir in the United States, as it happened at a time when companies selling on the Amazon had the busiest period before Christmas. Though there were also vendors saying that they were frustrated by delays in FedEx deliveries, notes CNBC.
FedEx spokesman confirmed that Amazon has lifted the ban and stated that the company’s service level was high during the peak holiday season. The average delivery time of overland parcels was 2.4 days, and 18% of parcels were delivered earlier.
On the day when the resumption of cooperation between the two companies was announced, FedEx shares recorded increases. However, it should be remembered that the company has had a bad time, in which both revenues and profits have dropped dramatically.
The tension between Amazon and FedEx is not a new issue. In August 2019, FedEx announced plans to terminate its contract with Amazon, and a month later announced that it was treating Amazon as a competitor. Amazon, on the other hand, began to gradually distance itself from operators such as FedEx and UPS, and began to build its own delivery network, reminds CNBC.
Photo: FedEx/ Twitter


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PORT ORCHARD — It was perfect weather for taking the top down on your ’60s Ford Mustang in Port Orchard last weekend. And the perfect place for strutting your stuff was at the Port Orchard waterfront Sunday, July 29, for the 30th annual Mustangs on the Waterfront car show.
The Kitsap Mustang Club hosted the annual show, which draws pony car enthusiasts from throughout the Pacific Northwest.
The car show celebrated one of the most popular American car ever made: the Ford Mustang. Models were on display from all genres and styles, beginning with the vehicle’s first production year in 1964. The first Mustang model debuted in the second half of that year, hence the “1/2” tagged on its official year: the 1964 1/2 model.