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In 2010, Vishal Retail Ltd was a beleaguered entity. Burdened by debt of Rs 766 crore, the Ram Chandra Agrawal-promoted company was forced into a fire sale. Seven years on, things are certainly looking up for the retail chain, but it is still struggling with its operational efficiencies in the face of a more competitive and price-conscious market.
Vishal Retail, which began its operations in 2001 in Kolkata as a seller of readymade apparel, had become a significant player in the manufacturing and retailing of readymade apparels and non-apparels, besides fast-moving consumer goods. It sold everything from food and farm products to furniture, primarily catering to Tier-II and Tier-III cities.
The company operated in the ‘value retail’ segment – selling reasonably-priced goods, either manufactured in-house or procured from small- and medium-sized manufacturers. It ran apparel manufacturing facilities in Gurgaon and Dehradun, and a bakery in Gurgaon.
However, Vishal Retail’s fortunes began to dwindle in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008-09. It had to close down its manufacturing operations at both plants and give up on its plans to expand its operations.
The debt-laden company was subsequently forced into a restructuring exercise that was led by the State Bank of India. The move was initiated at the behest of HDFC Bank Ltd, HSBC, UCO Bank, Bank of India and ING Vysya Bank Ltd.
In September 2010, three years after listing on the bourses, Vishal Retail had to finally announce the sale of its retail, franchise and wholesale businesses to Chennai-based Shriram Group and private equity firm TPG for Rs 70 crore.
As of December 2010, the company reportedly had 172 outlets across 129 cities.
The company structure
Since Indian laws did not allow foreign entities to get into multi-brand retailing in 2010, the company was divided into two parts – TPG Wholesale Pvt. Ltd was the wholesale and franchise arm, while Airplaza Retail was the retail arm.
TPG Wholesale, which was later renamed Vishal Mega Mart Pvt. Ltd, was owned by private equity major TPG. Airplaza Retail was owned by Shriram Distribution Services Pvt. Ltd.
The two entities that constituted Vishal Mega Mart, remain unlisted. While the TPG-owned Vishal Mega Mart runs the back-end sourcing, franchisee, merchandising and logistics arms, Shriram Group’s Airplaza Retail runs the front-end retail shops. The former effectively acts as a franchiser to Airplaza and other independent franchisees who run under the same brand name.
The latest annual filings show that Airplaza Retail operates 174 stores, while the wholesale arm has a master franchisee network of 189 stores.
The erstwhile Vishal Retail, the listed entity, was spawned off into another retail chain, V2 Retail Ltd, by the original promoters.
Path to revival
But how well did the deal work out for Shriram and TPG? Did the new investors manage to revive the fortunes of the company?
While TPG declined to comment for this story, the Shriram Group did not respond to an email requesting comment. Moreover, there are few publicly available or reported details on the company’s operations or its growth strategy since the 2011 takeover.
However, a detailed analysis of filings with the registrar of companies by the two companies between 2012-13 – the first full year of operations following the takeover – and 2015-16, paint a reasonably pleasant picture of the goings on in the company.
Before it was sold off to the new owners, Vishal Retail had been losing ground steadily. Between 2008-09 and 2010-11, it had seen its net sales plummet more than 30% from Rs 1,393 crore to Rs 1,064 crore. The new management, however, can take heart from the fact that they have managed to reverse the trend.
Moreover, the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, or EBITDA, figures – a measure of operating profitability – may lead one to believe that the company has scripted a fantastic turnaround. But as one delves deeper, one may realise that the EBITDA numbers only give one side of the story.
In its first full year of operations since TPG took over, Vishal Mega Mart had registered a negative EBITDA of Rs 5.49 crore. In comparison, between 2013/14 and 2015/16, the company’s EBITDA zoomed 3.6 times to Rs 57.52 crore.
However, although the two companies recorded a steady growth in net sales, it did not translate into net profits. In fact, despite net sales growing by over 60% during the period, both companies remained in the red. The wholesale arm, however, managed to pare its losses by more than half during this period.
In fact, a CRISIL report of February 2017 only reiterates the fact when it says that the TPG-owned company has had modest operating efficiencies, marked by weak profitability. “The current scale of operations does not generate adequate profits to sufficiently cover Vishal Mega Mart Pvt. Ltd’s high overheads, and the goodwill amortisation charge (on the acquisition of Vishal Retail Ltd).”
When TPG had taken over the wholesale business of Vishal Retail, the PE firm had said that it will infuse around Rs 200 crore into the business to turn it around.
According to the filings with the Registrar of Companies, it did infuse a little over Rs 358 crore by way of equity between 2012 and 2016. Documents show that while in 2012 it had pumped in Rs 41 crore, in 2014 it put in another Rs 219 crore. In the latest round in 2016, the company had secured a further infusion of Rs 98 crore from the parent.
The Crisil report, however, put the total equity infusion at a much higher Rs 769 crore in the same period.
Considering that Vishal Mega Mart operates in the value retail segment, it has few competitors of significance. Therefore, exact comparisons are hard to make. Having said that, if one compares it to top retailers such as Reliance Retail, D-Mart and Aditya Birla Retail, Airplaza trails them on a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) basis, but the bigger wholesale arm Vishal Mega Mart has done better than its direct competitors Walmart India and Metro Cash and Carry India.
Although Vishal Mega Mart has managed to pare its debt significantly, it still remains high at over Rs 407 crore as on 31 March 2016.
The CRISIL report said that the company has high annual debt repayment obligations at Rs 80-100 crore for the next three years. It went on to add that its financial risk profile will remain ‘modest’, going forward.
According to the ratings agency, Vishal Mega Mart’s other risk remains the price sensitivity of the demographic – the lower middle-class segment in Tier-II and Tier-III cities – to which it primarily caters to. “It primarily competes with retailers in the unorganised segment, who are highly price sensitive,” the report said. Organised retail comprises less than a tenth of the total retail market in the country.
However, the ratings agency also said that Vishal Mega Mart is “positioned uniquely in the retail segment driven by its favourable product-mix and target segment”, and the “high proportion of apparels and general merchandise provides healthy profitability, while the food and grocery segment attracts footfalls, thereby ensuring that the company’s exposure to competitive intensity is relatively lower as compared to other players in the retail segment”.
So, all is not lost for the homegrown retail chain and, despite the challenges before it, Vishal Mega Mart seems to be on the path to revival. Only time will tell, whether it can script a success story with its unique positioning in India’s retail segment.


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DHAKA, Bangladesh -- Families of Bangladesh textile workers killed in the Rana Plaza tragedy started Monday submitting claims for compensation, 11 months after the disaster that killed more than 1,100 people.
The first batch of 22 claims were filed with officials overseeing a $40 million compensation fund, made up of donations from leading Western retailers in the wake of the country's worst textile disaster.
Wahid Soruar, a Bangladesh official overseeing the claims process from the industrial area of Savar outside the capital, said all families of the dead workers and those injured would be paid in coming months.
"We've launched the claims processing today," Soruar said. "Hopefully, claims for all 3,600 survivors and beneficiaries will be processed within three to four months."
All families will receive a minimum 50,000 taka ($650) by 24 April, the first anniversary of the tragedy, as an advance payment on their total compensation claims, said the International Labor Organization (ILO), which is backing the fund.
Britain's Primark announced last week it would start this month paying out $9 million to the families of 580 dead or injured workers who worked for its supplier New Wave Bottoms, one of five factories based at the Plaza.
Primark was one of more than two dozen Western retailers that had orders at the Rana Plaza factory complex that collapsed on the outskirts of Dhaka last April, killing 1,135 workers and injuring more than 1,500.
Poor Conditions Exposed
The tragedy shed unprecedented light on the poor safety conditions and wages in the world's second-largest garment industry after China.
Since the disaster, nearly 200 Western retailers from Europe and America have formed two umbrella groups to launch safety inspections in the country's 3,500 garment factories.
But retailers have been criticized for failing to swiftly compensate the victims, while the Bangladesh government has only paid money to 850 families as well as surviving workers whose limbs were amputated.
Total compensation from the ILO-run fund will vary for each family depending on the age of the worker when killed and other factors, according to officials.
"We'll compensate the injured workers and beneficiaries in line with the standard ILO regulations," said Roy Ramesh, head of the Bangladesh chapter of global labor group IndustriaALL, which is helping with the fund.
A Bangladesh legal aid group is scrutinizing the claims from the ILO-backed fund, and a three-member panel headed by a former Bangladesh chief justice will verify and oversee the process, he said.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2014

domain: news


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Category Archives: Scoop.it
Discover the Rocky Mountain region’s oldest, largest garden and home show – a nine-day spectacular event at the Colorado Convention Center. Feb 22 – Mar 1 , 2020.
Tickets to the 2020 Colorado Garden & Home Show, February 22- March 1st at the Colorado Convention Center are on sale now. Beat the crowds and buy now.
The Show runs from Saturday, February 22 to Sunday, March 1 at the Denver Convention Center. Daily hours vary.
Sometimes it’s good to take a moment and get in touch with Mother Earth. Not only are these products great for printing your company logo or message, but they also serve dual purposes. Th
People say they want sustainable products, but they don’t know realize how many possibilities there are.
These eco friendly products — from biodegradable bags to composting supplies — will make life easier and more enjoyable while protecting the environment.
‘Windy City Rehab’ lawsuit: Buyers sue Alison Victoria, Donovan Eckhardt, say $1.36M home is a disaster
Lawsuit filed by couple who bought Lincoln Square home says the luxury rehab leaked the day after the sale closed —and then things got even worse.
Ouch. Make sure to get inspections! Especially on a show that is staged. Too much risk involved for the buyer. That being said, television shows are usually on a time crunch for the production company. Remodeling homes should never be rushed.
Marvin Windows is evolving. New changes that reflect this evolution include combining the brand with Integrity to be known simply as Marvin moving forward.
“Together, we can help people live better through beautiful design and exceptional quality.” – Paul Marvin CEO


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In the age of digital data where intent signals come from all sorts of activities from mobile devices, one designer clothing brand has cozied up to Google in an effort to create an experience to deepen the connection with consumers.
Ivyrevel has created a way to use search, location and other types of data that comes from daily use of a smartphone to design one-of-a-kind dresses based on consumer behavior and activities.
The technology learns from signals collected by the smartphone application and translates that data into likes and dislikes to create a unique dress that tells a personal story about the wearer.
Ivyrevel, a fashion brand backed by the retail store H&M, calls the process Coded Couture. Downloading and activating the Android app on the smartphone opts consumers into the experience. The Android app monitors daily activity and collects the data through Google's snapshot API.
A week's worth of signals from location visited, preferences and searches are fed into an algorithm that produces a digitally tailored designed dress the consumer can purchase, according to the video.
Ivyrevel has its own fashion line sold at H&M, but Data Dress is an initiative from the brand's Fashion Tech Lab committed to reshaping the future of fashion. The design house, founded in 2013, has a goal to merge data and fashion.
The app launched in closed beta stage and is being tested by a select group of what Ivyrevel calls "style influencers," including Ivyrevel's co-founder Kenza Zouiten.
In the coming months, other influencers will share stories of how the Data Dress app captured their lifestyle in a dress. The app launches to the public in late 2017.


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A jeweler has created what they’re billing as “the world’s first pumpkin spice latte ring” — a PSL-inspired engagement ring that’s also being described as “the world’s most expensive pumpkin spice latte merch.”
Angelic Diamonds — a self-described “customer-focused jewelry company specializing in the design and manufacture of fine diamond jewelry” based in northern England — whipped up the £10,000 ring (a mere $10,800 at the current historically-favorable exchange rate) to “add a little spice to proposals” this fall.
You can put in your request to buy one of the rings through the Angelic Diamonds website.
The new pumpkin spice engagement ring is really expensive but you still can’t drink it. https://t.co/4MMoLGH70P
— Fox5NY (@fox5ny) October 1, 2022
Photo | iStock


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Across two days, an exceptional mix of innovation managers, top academia, business leaders, entrepreneurs, food scientists, technology experts and societal opinion makers met at Reading’s Madejski Stadium to discuss the development of new projects in the areas of education, innovation, business creation and consumer outreach, setting milestones together in order to prepare for the future of our European food sector.
The Innovation Marketplace was run by EIT Food, in collaboration with the University of Reading. Relive the event by watching the video compilation
The University of Reading hosted a third day of partner networking and discussions at our Whiteknights campus, offering tours of our research centres and facilities.
Professor Steve Mithen, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at the University of Reading, said:
“It is an honour to host Europe’s most distinguished food professionals at the University of Reading. Our food system is increasingly connected across borders and requires close collaboration between researchers and industry to solve problems linked to poor diet and health”. Read more


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At around this time last year, Apple came under a lot of criticism as the “Antennagate” disaster began to unravel and threatened to destroy the brand value of the iPhone 4. After initially stumbling with its response, Apple moved from playing down the rumours to accusing its rivals of similar service, before finally launching a free bumper case programme for the iPhone 4. This helped finally stem the level of criticism the company was facing regarding its flagship product. However, things took another turn to the worse when Consumer Reports released a relatively scathing response and declined to recommend the iPhone 4.
In retrospect, the fact that the venerable publication refused to endorse the product did very little to Apple’s overall brand image. It did not discourage millions from buying the phone and nor did it help displace the iPhone 4 from the top rankings. In fact, until the arrival of the Samsung Galaxy S2 this year, no other rival device was able to displace the iPhone 4. However, the fact that it did receive a negative review, helped harden critics who have lambasted the iPhone as something that has more hype than performance.
This time around, Apple’s iPhone 4S managed to get a very good review. Consumer Reports confirmed that the device did not suffer from any antenna issues that plagued the iPhone 4. Moreover, it also mentioned that the iPhone 4S battery did very well when subjected to the standard tests. This should further help reassure consumers that the recent reports regarding poor battery life had more to do with a few software bugs rather than any inherent hardware problem. Apple has already indicated that it has started efforts to identify and fix the faults as soon as possible.
In the long-term, the new Consumer Reports review is sure to enhance the image of the iPhone 4S and help reinforce its position as the best selling smart phone on the market today.


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Airbnb, the vacation rental platform loved by travelers and loathed by many apartment buildings, is broadening its appeal before a 2020 stock offering with a venture into animal tourism.
Continue Reading Below
It's far more than a visit to a zoo, however: Users of the home-sharing company can choose from more than 1,000 options that let them do everything from observe animals in a natural setting to play with them. Choices include paddleboarding with corgis, honeybee therapy with urban beekeepers, afternoon tea with sheep and skateboarding with a bulldog. Multi-day safaris are another option.
The experiences are hosted by experts “as an antidote to typical tourist attractions that are notorious for ethical concerns" and underpinned by a new animal welfare policy developed with the international non-profit animal welfare organization World Animal Protection.
“With technology taking up so much of our lives, it’s easy to feel disconnected from nature and animals,” said Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. “Maybe this is why social media is dominated by animal memes. Life is better with animals, but for many busy people, looking at them through a screen is the closest they can get. With Airbnb Animal Experiences, locals and travelers are just a few clicks away from being alongside them in the real world.“
The move marks Airbnb's latest effort to expand beyond its core product. To attract guests who didn’t warm to its couch-surfer reputation, the company previously added boutique hotels and special designations for verified, high-quality properties. Since 2016, it has also been offering experiences, letting guests book local tours, cooking classes and other activities.
Since its inception in 2008, San Francisco-based Airbnb has grown into one of the world’s largest home-sharing platforms, rivaled only by Booking.com. According to the company, six guests are checking into an Airbnb listing every second. The company boasts listings in more than 99,800 cities around the world with over 900 cities having more than 1,000 listings.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.


text: The German company Könning Autokrane, based in North Rhine-Westphalian land, just expanded its fleet with a new Demag AC 160-5 all terrain crane. The machine has a maximum boom length of 68m and a 160t capacity. The IC-1 Plus control system was one of the crucial factors in Marcel Könning’s purchase decision. The company owner also explained its predominantly Demag machines fleet will be a benefit for them. “A lot of popular spare parts and components, such as runners, are the same for a lot of models, meaning that we need to invest much less in inventory,” explained Marcel Könning.


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Reader’s Digest outsources circulation marketing to TC Media
October 23, 2013 | Chris Powell | Comments
With circulation for its flagship publication in freefall, Reader’s Digest Canada has entered into a new circulation marketing agreement with TC Media, publisher of several leading consumer titles including Canadian Living, Coup de Pouce and The Hockey News.
Parent company the Reader’s Digest Association (RDA) called the deal the latest step in a “transformational strategy” adopted earlier this year to aggressively market its product to new audiences and channel its resources more efficiently and effectively.
Philippe Cloutier, general manager of Reader’s Digest in Montreal, said the deal covers five RDA subscriber titles: Reader’s Digest; its French sister publication Sélection du Reader’s Digest; Best Health; Our Canada and More of Our Canada. “We are confident that [TC Media] will help us achieve our goal of reaching new audiences,” said Cloutier.
Under the new deal, TC Media will provide a dedicated team to drive subscriber acquisition and retention for the RDA titles, as well as offering reporting, audit and creative services. It does not include cross-promotion with TC Media properties.
All of these functions were previously handled in-house. Nine positions in RDA’s consumer marketing department will be eliminated once the deal comes into effect, said Cloutier, although he said it would continue to have an “active” consumer-marketing department.
Cloutier told Marketing that North American publishers are increasingly realizing that circulation management is no longer a “core function” that should be managed internally. He pointed to U.S. publisher Wenner Media (which operates titles including US Weekly, Rolling Stone and Men’s Journal) and Disney Publishing as examples of companies that have outsourced circulation management.
The new deal expands an existing agreement between RDA and TC Transcontinental, which prints the RDA publications. The expanded agreement includes the development and implementation of a circulation marketing strategy addressing multiple channels including print, digital and what RDA called a “rapidly growing” e-editions business.
The latest publisher’s statement from the Alliance for Audited Media (AAM) showed Reader’s Digest’s total paid and verified circulation at 458,233, a decrease of nearly 100,000 from 552,664 in the corresponding year-earlier period. Once the country’s largest circulation magazine, Reader’s Digest has now tumbled into third place.


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Fan of it or not, Kickstarter has been behind many of this year’s headlines; Double Fine adventure, Wasteland 2, Project Eternity, Oculus Rift, all, and many, many others have found funding for projects many gamers have wished for for years. Until now it’s been limited to our state-side brethren, sort of. All projects had to be registered as US-based and required a legitimate US bank account to channel funds through. Not For much longer.
We knew it was coming this autumn, we just didn’t know when. We do now: 31 October.
“Beginning October 31, people in the United Kingdom will be able to launch their projects on Kickstarter. Beginningtoday [10 October], people in the UK can get started building their projects by clicking on the “Start a new project” button on theStart pageand selecting the UK as their country. When we’re ready for projects to launch on October 31, we’ll send an email letting them know that they can hit the launch button whenever they’re ready.”
The Kickstarter team go into the nitty gritty of the details over in that post, but here are a couple of the key points:
- There will not be a separate UK site, all projects will be listed alongside each other
- The only difference between payments and rates is that, in the UK, pledgers will send funds directly to Kickstarter and not use the Amazon payment system
Always wanted to make Hamlet: The Game an FPS* with 4th wall breaking allusions to Marlowe’s murderbut have never found a publisher to support you? Now you can set up the project and pitch to your heart’s content.
*Freudian Perspective Simulator, natch


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JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) vCJD (variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) safety alert for surgeons:
This article was originally published in Clinica
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has issued a safety alert to hospitals urging them to disinfect or dispose of instruments used in neurosurgery and when variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is suspected or confirmed. It also urged the hospitals to quarantine the instruments until an unclear diagnoses or biopsy has been clarified. Regular sterilisation techniques are not yet proven to be effective against the vCJD organism, which causes a degenerative and always fatal brain disorder. The hospital accreditation group issued the alert after hearing of two separate incidents at hospitals where as many as 14 patients may have been exposed to CJD. The patient operated on did not show symptoms of the disease prior to surgery.
You may also be interested in...
Amarin had argued that Vascepa’s sales success showed that its patents were not obvious, but the court found otherwise, even as it concluded that Hikma, Dr. Reddy's and West-Ward has infringed on the fish oil pill's patents.
FTC pursuing bogus health and other products or services capitalizing on Covid-19 fear with scams skyrocketing. However, FTC says its enforcement will consider whether businesses are making good faith efforts to produce products in high demand.
Warning letters show FDA's coronavirus investigations inthe consumer health marketplace didn't stop when it suspended facility inspections. The letters identify firms that previously marketed only bedding products as offering supplements with coronavirus claims or that are in other countries and are shipping to US consumers products promoted with coronavirus claims.


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An increasingly competitive market has driven down the sticker price of leading electric vehicles by as much as 18 percent of their 2012 price, overcoming one of the main barriers to ownership, analysts say.
New research by Frost & Sullivan forecasts global sales will rise by 50 perent as a result from 120,000 units in 2012 to between 170,000 and 190,000 this year. By 2018, it expects worldwide sales to top 2.7 million, as the market expands beyond business fleets to private ownership.
"The scheduled introduction of about 15 new electric vehicle models in the next year, such as the BMW i8, the Tesla Model S, the Audi R8 and Q7, the Porsche 918 Spyder and the Mercedes SLS AMG ECell, will intensify competition in the global electric vehicle market and bring down prices," said Anjan Hemanth Kumar, leader of Frost & Sullivan's automotive and transportation team.
"Several new electric cars including Tesla Model S, Renault Zoe and Ford Fusion Energi are already best-sellers in their respective markets."
A 20 to 40 percent fall in lithium-ion battery costs over the past five years also has helped vehicle manufacturers lower the price of electric vehicles, Frost & Sullivan adds.
And it says moves to standardize charging infrastructure, investment in more convenient charging technology, such as rapid charge points or wireless inductive charging, and continuing commitment from governments across the globe to incentives scheme also have helped market penetration.
Norway has increased the share of electric vehicles to above 3 percent over 2013, while in the U.K., the government is planning a joint "communications push" with manufacturers to help develop the market further.
"Europe has invested close to €2 billion in various R&D projects ranging from electric vehicle powertrain to grid," Kumar said. "Added developments in battery technology in the United States, China and Europe will improve energy density and further reduce cost."
The news comes after the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) published figures showing registrations of pure electric and plug-in hybrid cars from the beginning of the year through July had reached almost the entire number sold in the whole of 2012.
This article originally appeared at Business Green.


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Huawei's flagship global corporate social responsibility programme is called "Seeds for the Future". It takes top students to China for a three-week work experience programme, and the 2017 list has been announced.
Apple has today announced the global expansion of its Everyone Can Code initiative to more than 20 colleges and universities outside the US, offering App Development with Swift Curriculum.
Global technology and digitalisation giant Siemens has given an industrial software grant with a commercial value of its product lifecycle management software of $447 million to the University of Western Australia.
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Thursday, November 29, 2007
Android: Easy Way To Develop Mobile Apps
As you know google has intrudec Android a Development Mobile Platform. With this platform you can develope easy app for mobile, the code is writted in Java. The source code is open and a communitie has been founded. Is interesting that now there's no mobile phone in market that supports android, in this case google thinks is more important firts a strong platform and after a mobile device. On the other hand the Apple case, first Apple introduce iPhone before the SDK (is expected for February 2008) and I think Apple doesn't have in the initial plans release the SDK, maybe iPhone jailbreak, a lot of interesting app for the iPhone and the Android Launch force the SDK. Also last news says about Apple has sent the SDK to developers few days ago.
What do you think about?
iPhone Dev Center


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The electronics store Comet has announced that it will be going into administration next week.
With nine outlets in the North-East, it is now feared that hundreds of jobs will be lost.
Stores will remain open whilst attempts are made to find another buyer.
Retail expert Keith Jackson says that things are not looking promising for the company in the current retail climate.
More top news
Sunderland's 2-2 draw at Aston Villa was probably as much as we deserved, given the share of chances
Boro bounced back from home defeat in some style with a thrilling 3-1 win at Sheffield Wednesday.
After the demolition of Northampton in the cup midweek, the Geordie nation would be well and truly up for the Arsenal visit.


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Trump's New Travel Ban Rattles Nerves In US Hospitality Markets
These are nervous times for international travel between the rest of the world and the U.S., something that could affect hospitality markets such as Seattle in unpredictable ways. So far, there is no reason for the local industry to panic.
But the industry should be paying attention. "Seattle’s international and overseas business is our fastest-growing market segment and we're continuing to talk with our marketing representatives around the world, to gauge customer sentiment and reaction to travel bans and the impact they might have on future demand," Visit Seattle president and CEO Tom Norwalk said.
"As the most trade-dependent city and state in the nation, we have a lot at risk," he said. The outlook for international and overseas visitors coming to Seattle continues to remain optimistic — "although, as we await the impact of the administration's newly revised 'travel ban' executive order, we are (and have been) concerned about the long-term effects of our nation appearing to be unwelcoming."
"We believe strongly in having sensible and stringent security in place and realize additional 'vetting' may be needed from certain areas of the world," Norwalk said. "But international travel and security don't need to be mutually exclusive — and the U.S. does have excellent security in place."
Find out more from Norwalk and our other expert speakers at the Future of Emerald City Hospitality on March 21, beginning at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast and schmoozing at the Triple Door.


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Today’s top entrepreneurship and business stories (25 January)
GEC 2017 Digital Pitch Competition open to entrepreneurs in Africa
During the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, this March, five entrepreneurs from Africa will have the opportunity to pitch their innovative idea on a global stage in front of fellow entrepreneurs, potential investors and others in the global entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The Digital Pitch Competition provides a platform for entrepreneurs in Africa and their innovations to submit a three (3) minute video on the GEN South Africa Facebook page to showcase their product or service. Entries are now open and will close on February 5. The videos submitted on Facebook are open for public voting before the final selection process. The top five (5) entries selected will have an opportunity to pitch their venture at the GEC March 13-16, where representatives from entrepreneurial ecosystems around the world will be attending.
To enter in the competition, like the GEN South Africa Facebook page, and then click the “Digital Pitch Competition” tab and register by completing the form and ensuring that all required information is provided. Then, upload your pitch video directly on the page before February 5. Please first upload your video on Vimeo or YouTube, and then insert the link into the competition form. If you have any questions, please send an email to firstname.lastname@example.org. Encourage your Facebook friends and entrepreneur network to vote for your video pitch by “liking” your video before the public voting closes on February 7. The top five winners will then be selected will be announced by February 17 on the GEN South Africa Facebook page.
The five winners will then get the opportunity to pitch their product or service at the GEC. Flights and accommodations for three nights will be covered for travel to Johannesburg. The winners will also receive recognition as a VIP guest. This will provide the winners an opportunity to network with key leaders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Anyone within the African continent with an innovative idea can participate in the competition — which includes people with ideas, those who are already operational as well as those in the prototype stage. Follow the conversation on the GEN South Africa Facebook page, and on Twitter with #GEC2017 on @GECGlobal.
WEF Africa meeting expected to bring millions to Durban
Sihle Zikalala, MEC for economic development, tourism, and environmental affairs, announced this week that the city would be hosting the World Economic Forum Africa from 3 to 5 May.
Zikalala predicted that direct revenue from hosting the event would be at least R63-million, with a total revenue of R155-million and the creation of more than 500 jobs.
The Africa forum will see regional and global leaders from business, government, and civil society discuss the creation of economic opportunities for the continent. “The reason we have lobbied for WEF Africa to come to Durban is precisely because of its immense potential to enhance the brand equity of both the city and province,” Zikalala said.
He is hopeful that the WEF Africa will become a “permanent feature” in Durban.
“The fact that it’s WEF Africa does not only mean that people from Africa will be attending. We will be expecting delegates from other major countries and so we need to promote the city and South Africa.”
Zikalala said the forum would give the province a chance to “showcase” itself to investors, particularly in the manufacturing sector. (via Bizcommunity)


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Shanghai has tried to lure headquarters of foreign multinationals for decades, but a recent policy change might just help the city to do this just a bit more effective, explains Shanghai-based lawyer Mark Schaub in IFLR.
Mark Schaub, Shanghai-based partner at King & Wood Mallesons, said that a larger change seems more subtle: the rules introduce more flexibility in approving MNC headquarters. “The authorities have been given leeway to approve provided requirements have been basically fulfilled. This will make it much easier in practice,” he said.
The most interesting provisions, however, relate to cross-border use of the yuan, although details have not yet been released. Those most interested in these new rules will be those with huge volumes of trade, such as mining and procurement companies.
Schaub added, “However, the regulations are unclear because the MNC’s headquarters in China will be a Chinese company. Instead, it may mean the parent company will have further access to RMB convertibility.” He predicted that MNCs with regional headquarters in Shanghai will be able to utilize RMB for cross-border use, perhaps in pilot programmes for companies that have shown a commitment to investing in China.
Mark Schaub is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.
On Thursday November 1 the China Weekly Hangout will focus on eight years of harmonious society under Hu Jintao and what we can expect the next eight years under Xi Jinping. Including Janet Carmosky who will report on the findings during the National Committee on US-China Relations China Town Hall on Monday. The CWH is held on 10pm Beijing time, 3pm CET (Europe) and 10pm EST (US). More on the logistics of the hangout later this week at the China Herald or our event page at Google+.
- Disappearing Shanghai – Howard French (chinaspeakersbureau.info)
- Fast food chains try to take on Chinese breakfast – Paul French (chinaherald.net)


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Streaming provider Roku bought hit with its worst outage to this point after a amount customers suffered disorders observing Netflix, YouTube and other channels for bigger than five hours.
The topic — which Roku acknowledged is now fixed — noticed some customers accept FBI anti-piracy warnings in role of their chosen programming, as Vary first reported. A Roku spokesperson advised TechCrunch that “a tiny share of shoppers” were affected.
As soon as it had restored provide an explanation for, Roku claimed the “technical glitch” will probably be fixed by manually updating gamers in the end of the settings menu, while some channels would require users to log in again.
The topic used to be a comely main blow to Roku, which analyst reports counsel remains the tip streaming provider within the U.S. irrespective of competition from the likes of Apple TV, Google Chromecast and Amazon’s Fire TV.
That acknowledged, 2018 hasn’t been stellar to this point. The company’s most newest monetary file in February didn’t tear down smartly with Roku’s share value tumbling 18 % in keeping with future revenue projections. The percentage value dropped 3.5 % over the past day to $34.08, giving the agency a market cap of around $3.Four billion.
There’s extra to reach from the corporate this twelve months. It plans to affix plenty of its competitors within the reveal computing home by launching swish audio system, swish soundbars, surround sound and multi-home audio programs that consume unique Roku Connect tool to be in contact wirelessly and be managed by reveal. The devices will probably be developed at the side of partners by a unique Roku licensing program.


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Sony and Nintendo have confirmed that Manhunt 2 will not be appearing on consoles in the US following the ESRB's decision to give the game an Adults Only rating.
As reported by GameSpot, both platform holders have corporate policies which forbid the release of AO-rated games for their systems.
A Sony spokesperson has since confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that Take-Two will not be allowed to publish Manhunt 2 for PSP or PS2.
Nintendo's official comment is as follows: "As stated on Nintendo.com, Nintendo does not allow any AO-rated content on its systems."
In addition, major US retailers such as Wal-Mart have a policy of not selling AO-rated games.
Take-Two's only options now are to appeal the rating with the ESRB or to rework the game and resubmit it for a new rating. The publisher has yet to release a statement regarding the final decision.
Manhunt 2 was originally scheduled for a July 10 release. As reported earlier, it has been banned by ratings authorities in the UK and Ireland.
GamesIndustry.biz writes about the games industry every day. What have you done lately?


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SINGAPORE: It looks like a convenience store from the outside, but walk through the doors and you’ll see that this isn’t where you can easily buy food and drinks on-the-go.
Here, there are items such as mini solar chargers, bamboo toothbrushes, compost buckets and menstrual cups – all eco-friendly products that are sustainable alternatives to seemingly convenient everyday products.
Welcome to the [Not-So] Convenience Store.
Opening to the public on Friday (Jun 7), it is the first exhibition at Temasek Shophouse at Orchard, near Dhoby Ghaut MRT station. Temasek Shophouse, part of the philanthropic efforts of Temasek Trust, provides a co-working space that promotes social impact and sustainability.
In conjunction with World Environment Day, the exhibition aims to raise awareness about how the “culture of convenience” – such as people’s dependence on single-use plastics and constant desire for new electronic gadgets – contributes to global warming.
Organisers also highlighted the world’s growing waste problem, which has snowballed to more than two billion tonnes a year.
Singapore alone generated more than 7.78 million tonnes of waste in 2017 — enough to fill 15,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, said the organisers.
Products on display in the [Not-So] Convenience Store are grouped into four categories to highlight different issues - electronics waste, food waste, household product waste and plastic waste. These are the four main pillars of waste that are generated by Singaporeans daily, according to the organisers.
Every item has an accompanying QR code that carries information on how it can help address the environmental impact of less sustainable alternatives.
Items are not for sale at the shop, but the QR codes link visitors to the respective product pages should visitors wish to buy them.
“We realise that the culture of convenience is really the culprit especially in a place like Singapore. Most of us want to do good but it’s just too troublesome,” said director of Temasek Shophouse Yvonne Tay at a media preview on Thursday.
“Maybe it’s really just a tweak of consumer habits,” she added. “That’s why we have something a little bit more tongue in cheek called [Not-So] Convenience Store.
“What we are trying to do is not to have a top-down approach and not to sound too preachy but something that is a little bit more fun and approachable, helping people to realise that there are so many alternatives to sustainability.”
The exhibition is free. It will open to the public from Jun 7 to Jul 31.
In addition to the exhibition, Temasek Shophouse will play host to a series of workshops and talks by eco-social enterprises and advocates, which will encourage Singaporeans to adopt a zero-waste lifestyle.


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Today's Strait Times(Digital Life section), a famous news paper here in Singapore, Ksatria Gameworks. We've been busy, these past few weeks, preparing a demo for the up coming Game Convention Asia this Sept 7-9, 2007. It was rewarding for me to see our company being featured in the article. Anyway, I'm just proud to be a Ksatrian! (Click on picture to see article)
After the GCA, we'll have time to optimize the engine, flushing out bugs and add more cool feature (RT Ambient Occlusion, etc.).


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YOUNG people were given the chance to see what it would be like running their own businesses from Sudbury market at the weekend.
As part of National Markets Fortnight – a nationwide initiative to promote markets – Sudbury Market Town Partnership and the Sudbury Town Team made it possible for young people aged 16 and over to become a stall holder for the day.
Twenty-three-year-old Amy Lightowlers set up shop selling her own unique style of costume jewellery, making a total of £135 during the day.
She said: “I had a great time and the organisers couldn’t have been more helpful. We were given lots of good advice.”
Amy, from Ballingdon Street, who has a full-time digital marketing job, says she will carry on selling her jewellery as a hobby rather than a career change.
Other young entrepreneurs included Ashley Stafford, who sold poems, and Ophelia Waky, who designs and makes costumes.
Lesley Ford-Platt, chairman of the Sudbury Market Town Partnership, said: “I would like to thank the existing stall holders for their help and support they gave the young people on Saturday – I know this was greatly appreciated.”


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New Look’s largest landlords will vote towards the style retailer’s newest rescue plan on Tuesday, throwing its survival into additional doubt amid the UK’s deepening excessive avenue disaster.
Sky News has learnt that British Land, which owns 19 New Look shops, and Landsec, which owns 10, will oppose its deliberate firm voluntary association (CVA) in an important vote on Tuesday.
Hammerson, the proprietor of London’s Brent Cross purchasing centre and Birmingham’s Bullring, can be mentioned to be leaning in direction of voting towards the CVA.
In complete, the three retail property giants personal simply over 40 New Look shops – a small proportion of its 490 UK outlets.
The style retailer, which is trying to push by way of its second main monetary restructuring in below two years, has a very fragmented landlord base, with roughly 350 totally different house owners of its UK retailers.
If accredited, its CVA would consequence within the firm switching its hire funds on the majority of its shops to a method calculated based on their turnover – a proposal that has angered the British Property Federation, which represents industrial landlords.
A New Look spokesperson mentioned: “Our proposed CVA and consequential recapitalisation transaction, which entails a fabric discount of debt, extension of the corporate’s banking amenities and a money funding of £40m represents the most effective consequence for all stakeholders, together with staff, suppliers, landlords and all different collectors.
“Our landlords have given us beneficial and constructive suggestions since we initiated discussions in May concerning a required transfer to turnover rents.
“Our CVA proposal recognises this in numerous materials modifications we’ve got made since our preliminary proposal, together with enhanced landlord break clauses, unchanged service costs, minimal hire ranges, and an elevated rating of leases.”
Alongside the hire cuts, New Look can be proposing an extra debt-for-equity swap.
Its effort to discover a solvent purchaser was unsuccessful, though The Sunday Times reported on the weekend that Boohoo, the web clothes retailer, was fascinated with shopping for New Look if it collapses into administration.
The chain employs 12,000 individuals, making it one of many largest retailers to face an existential disaster because the begin of the COVID-19 disaster.
Debenhams is among the many different chains in peril of disappearing from UK excessive streets.
British Land and Landsec declined to remark, whereas Hammerson didn’t reply to a request for remark.


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India's Tata Motors, owner of the luxury Jaguar Land Rover brands and the no-frills Nano, said sales of its passenger and commercial vehicles rose rose 41 percent last month to 76,823 units compared with 2010 figures.
In a statement on Thursday, the automaker said that the figure included 72,474 domestic sales in India and 4,349 export deliveries.
To date, the company has sold 544,492 vehicles in the current fiscal year, a rise of 9 percent from the year before.
Sales of Tata's budget Nano car, which sells in India for 140,000 rupees (2,500 euros), jumped 1,158 percent in November, from 509 units in 2010, to 6,401 last month. In the current fiscal year however, sales of the Nano have dropped 3 percent to 39,646 units.
Two weeks ago, Tata launched an upgraded Nano model to help boost overall sales which have underperformed expectations.
Since its launch in April 2009, the Nano has sold 130,000 units.
The figures published by Tata exclude sales information on the luxury Jaguar and Land Rover brands.
Reuters contributed to this report


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PepsiCo's profit beats expectations, boosted by Frito-Lay
The food and beverage company lifted its full-year earnings outlook and shares gained more than 2 per cent in premarket trading Thursday.
Frito-Lay helps PepsiCo crunch Wall Street expectations
PepsiCo said it now expect currency translations to hit its core earnings per share b...
Frito-Lay enters biscuits category
Frito-Lay, PepsiCo’s snack foods arm, on Thursday announced its entry in the biscuits category, to challenge majors like Britannia and Parle.
PepsiCo's Frito-Lay lines up 50 new products to counter rivals
PepsiCo's Frito-Lay plans to launch more than 50 new products as it invests in scale and innovation to continue its domination in India's Rs 7,500-crore salty snacks market.
FritoLays expects double-digit growth, launches 4 new flavours
Even as the strong global sales of PepsiCo Inc's snacks and drinks helped its profit go up by 26 per cent, its Indian arm also expects a double-digit growth this year, a senior company official said today.
Frito-Lays ropes in Kareena Kapoor as brand ambassador
PepsiCo has roped in Bollywood actor Kareena Kapoor as brand ambassador for its snack food products.
FritoLay ropes in MS Dhoni as its third brand ambassador

Dhoni is the first cricketer to endorse FritoLay's snack foods business, even though PepsiCo has been associated with cricketers. In Pics: Sachin strikes again


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2011 Volkswagen Passat
According to Auto International, Volkswagen is set to release the latest update its Passat mid-size sedan at the upcoming Paris Motor Show. Further, the German automaker could have both the sedan and wagon versions already in European dealerships before the end of the year.
- Mid-engine Corvette spied in daylight
- Matt LeBlanc threatens to quit Top Gear
- Best Lease Deals for June 2016


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Nissan has aroused curiosity of its potential clients and car enthusiasts when it will a concept version of the next-gen Nissan GT-R.
The existing GT-R launched in 2007 was previewed by two car concepts including the Nissan GT-R Concept and the Nissan GT-R Proto. The former was surprisingly introduced at the Tokyo Motor Show 2001 while the latter arrived at the Tokyo Motor Show 2005. And now, the next-gen GT-R’s introduction is expected to be similar with the two aforementioned .
The on-going GT-R was launched in 2007 and was previewed by two car concepts
And now, the next-gen GT-R’s introduction is expected to be similar with the aforementioned two
The Senior VP (Global Design) of Nissan - Mr. Alfonso Albaisa just gave only one word when being asked about the possibility of a new concept for the GT-R’s successor - “Naturally.” He also revealed that the new GT-R is not involved in the limited edition GT-R50.
The final design of the next-gen Nissan GT-R hasn’t been completed yet
The current GT-R is powered by a 3.8L twin-turbo VR38DETT V6 petrol engine
According to the latest car news, the final design of the next-gen Nissan GT-R hasn’t been completed yet. It is said to get a very muscular look like the ongoing model with a new platform.
As reported, the Japanese car manufacturer wants to build the next-gen GT-R to be the fastest car in its segment. The current Nissan GT-R is powered by a 3.8L twin-turbo VR38DETT V6 petrol engine which is capable of cranking out 562 hp and 637 Nm of torque. Meanwhile, Godzilla’s NISMO version gets an improved engine with an output of 592 hp and 652 Nm of torque.
It is predicted that the all-new Nissan GT-R will make its official debut in the early next decade.
The all-new Nissan GT-RGT-R will make its official debut in the early next decade
>>> Also check out:


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(Bloomberg) — Sq. Inc. is altering its company title to Block Inc., signaling a push past the corporate’s primary gross sales and funds merchandise into companies like music, money transfers and the blockchain.
Most Learn from Bloomberg
The corporate, co-founded and run by cryptocurrency fanatic Jack Dorsey, will proceed to name its vendor product Sq., and the brand new company id received’t result in any organizational adjustments. The corporate’s inventory ticker — SQ — can even keep the identical.
CEO Dorsey — who resigned from the identical function at Twitter Inc. earlier this week — has lengthy needed to construct Sq. from a digital-payments firm right into a broader group with quite a lot of standalone enterprise models. In that vein, Sq. lately acquired Tidal, the music streaming service led by rapper Jay-Z, and began a monetary companies division centered on Bitcoin known as TBD54566975. (That unit’s title was derived from a optimistic numerology report linked to the quantity.)
The San Francisco-based firm additionally owns Money App, a client funds and investing product, and Sq., its unique gross sales and register service utilized by small companies. As the corporate expanded, it grew to become complicated to have a company title that overlapped with simply one among its companies. It’s the identical technique that social media big Meta Platforms Inc. adopted final month, when it modified its title from Fb Inc. to widen the main target from its flagship product.
“We constructed the Sq. model for our Vendor enterprise, which is the place it belongs,” Dorsey stated Wednesday in an announcement. “Block is a brand new title, however our goal of financial empowerment stays the identical. Irrespective of how we develop or change, we’ll proceed to construct instruments to assist enhance entry to the financial system.”
The title Block has quite a lot of inspirations. “Constructing blocks, neighborhood blocks and their native companies, communities coming collectively at block events filled with music, a blockchain, a bit of code, and obstacles to beat,” Sq.’s assertion says.
Linking the title Block to blockchain — the decentralized know-how underlying cryptocurrencies and different digital belongings — will definitely make sense to individuals who comply with Dorsey. The CEO is a Bitcoin fanatic, and sometimes tweets concerning the cryptocurrency and blockchain-related applied sciences. Sq. Crypto, a challenge geared toward advancing Bitcoin, will now be known as Spiral.
Dorsey’s departure from the helm of Twitter this week led to hypothesis that he can be focusing extra of his consideration on Sq. — now Block — and its effort to maneuver into new companies and popularize digital currencies and use of the blockchain.
In latest months, Dorsey has revved up Sq.’s efforts in a number of cryptocurrency-related areas. In October, he tweeted that Sq. is contemplating constructing a Bitcoin-mining system based mostly on customized silicon that may very well be utilized by folks and firms worldwide.
In November, Sq. printed a white paper describing plans for a decentralized cryptocurrency alternate for buying and selling Bitcoin, fiat cash or real-world items.
(Updates so as to add particulars on Sq.’s crypto efforts in ninth and tenth paragraphs.)
Most Learn from Bloomberg Businessweek
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.


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Google said Kurian is joining the unit on Nov. 26. He will take over the leadership role in early 2019. Greene will remain chief executive of the business until then.
Kurian spent more than two decades at Oracle, rising to the level of president of product development.
Diane Bryant, a former Intel (INTC) executive, in June resigned as the chief operating officer of Google’s cloud-computing business. Bryant left after serving seven months as COO.
Greene joined Google’s cloud-computing unit in late 2015. Greene previously co-founded and ran VMware (VMW).
The Google cloud-computing business ranks third in the industry. The Amazon Web Services unit of Amazon.com (AMZN) leads the infrastructure-as-a-service (or IaaS) market, followed by Microsoft (MSFT).
To date, many of Google’s cloud customers have been technology firms, such as social media firm Snap (SNAP), Spotify, Evernote and Zulily. Under Greene, Google aimed to woo enterprise customers with cloud-based data-analytics and artificial-intelligence tools.
Google stock dipped 0.3% to 1,068.27 on the stock market today. Google stock is up 3% from a year ago.
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Train geeks are going to love this one: Lionel, the 114-year-old toy train manufacturer is now based in Concord, along with its new president.
The company, with 85 employees in Cabarrus County, promoted Howard Hitchcock to president and officially relocated its home from New York on Friday.
But Lionel has had operations near Charlotte Motor Speedway for three years. Hitchcock says the headquarters move to Concord has been progressive as the company consolidated its business operations.
“It’s been more of an evolution than a revolution,” he said during a morning interview at the Performance Drive headquarters, located within sight of the NASCAR oval track in Concord.
It makes sense for a company with a four-year-old auto racing die-cast component to be based in NASCAR country, Hitchcock says. Some of the same N.C. personnel are now involved in Lionel's toy train-making segment, he says.
The company's O-gauge toy trains are made in China. Some products are shipped to Lionel operations in Virginia for final assembly and painting.
Hitchcock says the Cabarrus operations will grow larger when an Ohio-based Lionel unit moves to Concord in the summer. Soon the company will have more than 100 employees in two buildings in Concord. Those buildings will total about 200,000 square feet.
On Friday, Hitchcock replaced Jerry Calabrese as the leader of Lionel. The company says Calabrese, who was based in New York, stepped down as president and chief executive. Chris Elrod, who was previously named CFO of the company, remains a “key leader” at Lionel, the company says.
One of the first products to be launched from its Concord headquarters is a Big Boy steam locomotive that features synchronized smoke and a coal supply that appears to be depleted as the train runs along the O-scale track.
That toy train will be delivered to customers in the fourth quarter. The company also is using “made-to-order” methods to determine which railroad paint schemes will be featured on the Big Boys. The American Locomotive Co. made the original, full-scale train in the 1940s for the Union Pacific Railroad.
Ken Elkins covers manufacturing, international business and economic development for the Charlotte Business Journal.


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Subaru has released a new promotional video that highlights the 2015 WRX. See the clip inside
Subaru has released a new promotional video that highlights the 2015 WRX.
Recently unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the WRX has a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine boxer that produces 268 bhp (200 kW) and 258 lb-ft (349 Nm) of torque. It can be connected to a six-speed manual or an optional Sport Lineartronic CVT that has a Subaru Intelligent Drive (SI-DRIVE) system with three different modes: Intelligent, Sport and Sport Sharp. Performance specifications haven't been released but Dominick Infante says the car can accelerate from 0-60 mph in "just over" five seconds with a manual transmission.
The car's styling won't win everyone over but the cabin comes nicely equipped with sport seats, a flat-bottomed steering wheel and an automatic climate control system. Customers can also order heated front seats, leather upholstery, GPS navigation and a 440-watt Harman / Kardon audio system.


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China brands catering to the urban middle class have posted impressive performances, with technology and retail jumping 16% to USD 163.7 billion and 22% to USD 74.2 billion respectively, according to the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands report by WPP and Kantar Millward Brown.
Education and travel agencies showed the fastest growth, surging 46%, but still paled in dollar amount to technology and retail sectors.
Ctrip ranked 38th on the brand list with a value of USD 2,260 million, up by 32% YoY. The upsurge made Ctrip one of the Top 20 Risers in Brand Value this year.
Ctrip along with China Lodging Group's budget brand Hanting Hotels (ranked 79th) "responded effectively to the increased desire for travel, enabled by growing consumer affluence and both brands were well positioned to benefit from government focus on domestic tourism as driver of consumption", according to the brand report.
Chinese tourists spent USD 87 billion on online travel purchases in 2016, up by 34% year-on-year, according to Ctrip.
Newcomer travel agency brand Caissa, ranking 79th on the list with a brand value of USD 429 million, has seen success from the strategy of focusing on going premium to attract wealthier middle class consumers, identifying a niche market of travelers looking for a refined experience.
State-owned travel agency group CITS (ranked 97th), with tourist offices throughout China, declined in value by 18% to USD 235 million.
The Big Three airline companies in China, namely Air China (ranked 20th), China Eastern (ranked 29th) and China Southern (ranked 33rd), were among the Top 10 companies in overseas revenue.
Overall, the top 100 most valuable Chinese brands have grown 6% to hit USD 557.1 billion in brand value, with technology, banks and telecom providers leading the brand value contribution. Tencent continued it reign as China’s most valuable brand, rising 29% to USD 106 billion as the first 100-billion-dollar Chinese brand.
Read original report


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A range of smartphones with Canonical's Ubuntu operating system on board will be shipped early October, according to new reports.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, founder and CEO of Canonical Ltd Mark Shuttleworth revealed that the company will start shipments from October 2013.
The smartphones, reported to be unveiled for the "two large geographic markets in October," will be available to developers from February 2013. It is not yet revealed as to which markets will receive the Ubuntu based-smartphones and which devices will integrate the operating system.
The Journal also noted that developers will receive the operating system on Samsung's Galaxy Nexus.
"Application developers will have access to the smaartphone operating system, which is optimized for the Galaxy Nexus handset manufactured by Samsung Electronics Co., in late February," it reported.
The current year had seen the launch of several new operating systems, the latest being BlackBerry 10 OS in January. Mozilla Foundation made its first venture into the smartphone market with two Firefox OS-based devices, Keon and Peak
According to CNET, the operating system will also be used in entry-level smartphones.
Another technology website Pocket-lint reported, "The "entry level" Ubuntu device is expected to run a 1GHz Cortex A9 processor, 512MB - 1GB of RAM, 4-8GB eMMC + SD, and a multi-touch display. The high-end Ubuntu "superphone" calls for a Quad-core A9 or Intel Atom processor, 1GB of RAM minimum, multitouch, and desktop convergence."


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Independent Means Inc. President Joline Godfrey stated that her company’s recent “An Income of Her Own” conference was designed to teach teen girls the skills and self-confidence they need to become successful entrepreneurs.
“We want teens to come away with three things: awareness that business ownership is an option, familiarity with the basic concepts and language of business and exposure to business women as role models,” explained Godfrey.
The conference, held last week in the San Francisco area, included a full day of hands-on activities in which girls learned about business concepts, brainstormed about possible new businesses and products, played games that taught historical business concepts and introduced girls to the business lexicon, and met with successful women business owners.
A spokesperson for Prudential, a sponsor of the conference, said “We are continually impressed by the innovated ideas the teens generate during the conference. They have an amazing entrepreneurial spirit that we want to encourage.”


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Wine connoisseurs have the chance to buy a truly vintage tipple on Saturday when three bottles of “yellow wine” dating from 1774 go under the hammer in France.
The bottles of Arbois Vin Jaune, among the oldest wines in the world, are estimated at 15,000 euros – 20,000 euros ($17,000 -$23,000) each, according to auction house Jura Encheres, which will conduct the sale in the eastern town of Lons-le-Saunier.
Auctioneer Philippe Etievant said a group of experts in 1994 tasted a bottle of the 1774 wine and scored it 9.4 out of 10. In 2011, a similar bottle sold for 57,000 euros at auction.
The wine is still made in the Jura region.


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China has waived inspection and quarantine requirements on a list of obscure animal feed ingredients, apparently as a strategy to reduce reliance on soybean meal as an ingredient in the country's feed industry. The move illustrates China's practice of manipulating such rules to manage trade.
China's Administration of Customs 2018 Bulletin No. 51 announced that inspection and quarantine certificates will no longer be required for a list of 71 items as of June 1, 2018. The list includes 18 items that are by-products of agricultural processing used as animal feed--all but a few of the items under the broad Harmonized System (HS) category 23. The items include rapeseed meal, peanut meal, cottonseed meal, palm and coconut meal, fish meal, sugar beet and bean pulp, the residual from sugar cane processing, wine dregs, and feed additives. Other products on the list are obscure types of fats, oils and fibers, also residual material from processing industries.
What is notable are the three categories under HS 23 NOT included: soybean meal, distillers dried grains, and wheat bran. Imports of these excluded items will still be subject to rigorous inspection and quarantine inspections at the border.
While the Customs notice claims that the items were selected on the basis of risk evaluation, the choice of items appears to be based on strategic considerations of protecting domestic industries and fostering alternatives to soybean meal. Imported soybean meal, distillers grains and wheat bran imports would compete with products of important domestic processing industries in China.
A commentary on the announcement interprets the Customs waivers as a strategic measure to diversify sources of high protein meal to reduce reliance on soybean meal--the dominant source of protein meal used in China's animal feed. The article quotes an unnamed industry analyst who notes that imports of alternative protein meals are currently very small and the analyst speculates that easing the way for imports of rapeseed, peanut, cottonseed, palm, and sugar-derived meals could diversify China's sources of high protein feeds.
The analyst also observes that distillers dried grains--the most popular alternative to soybean meal--was not included in the "liberalization." Last year China imposed antidumping duties of distillers dried grains. Its exclusion from the customs announcement appears to be another indication that Chinese authorities want to keep imported DDGS out of the market.
The commentary did not notice that wheat bran (HS 230230) was also one of the few items in the HS 23 category omitted from the customs announcement. The preservation of quarantine certificate requirements for wheat bran is likely intended to protect China's flour mills which derive significant supplementary revenue from selling bran (the by-product of milling wheat) for use in animal feed. Wheat bran prices have already been under downward pressure in China.
The customs announcement also appears to dovetail with China's strategy of promoting imports from "One Belt One Road" countries. Palm kernel and sugar cane residual products are imported mainly from Southeast Asia. China began importing peanut meal from Sudan and fish meal from Mauritania in 2016. Imports of sunflower seed meal from Kazakhstan began last year.
If challenged on the exclusion of soybean meal, DDGS, and wheat bran, China's Customs Administration will likely produce some sort of "risk analysis" that claims these three items pose a threat of introducing weeds or contaminants to China. It seems more likely that opening trade with new partners in Africa, Central and South Asia poses a risk of introducing foreign material, invasive weeds and pathogens, but customs authorities are welcoming this trade and likely rushing through approvals in the interest of promoting trade with "belt and road" countries.
This liberalization echoes another attempt to engineer trade using the same group of products two decades ago. During the 1990s China slashed tariffs on imports of items in HS 23 and waived the value added tax on imports of these items. That move was intended to fill deficits of protein in animal feeds without directly competing with grain products produced by China's farmers. It also represented a goodwill gesture of trade liberalization as China negotiated its accession to the WTO two decades ago.
The immediate result of the 1990s tariff cuts was a flood of soybean meal imports during a downturn in grain and pork markets that led to huge losses for Chinese soybean crushers. The VAT was reinstated for soybean meal to protect the crushers, and China has never been a major importer of soybean meal since then. But other items in HS 23 remained exempt.
Imports of DDGS from the United States was another unforeseen outcome of the 1990s liberalization but it took a decade to develop. Distillers dried grains were a fairly obscure commodity during the 1990s. After the U.S. ramped up its ethanol industry during the first decade of the 21st century, China's feed mills discovered imported DDGS could be a useful and cost-effective feed ingredient. Imports didn't get going until 2009, but China's imports of DDGS spiked at over 7 million metric tons and $2 billion during 2015.


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The FTSE 100 was set to open 22.2 points higher before the bell on Friday after closing down 1.63% in the previous session at 7,039.81.
Stocks to Watch
Sales, Marketing and Support Services Group CDC said on Friday it saw “strong growth” in the “less seasonally significant” first quarter of its new business year.
DCC said the group’s operating profit was in line with expectations and well above that of the previous year, thanks to the strong growth of DCC Energy. The FTSE 100-listed company added that its DCC Healthcare unit traded “vigorously and in line with expectations”, while its DCC Technology wing also recorded strong growth, benefiting from its recent acquisition of Almo.
Luxury fashion house Burberry said Friday that first-quarter same-store sales were up just 1% year-over-year as sales were hit by shutdowns across mainland China.
Burberry said retail revenue for the 13 weeks to July 2 was £505.0 million, up 5% at reported exchange rates and unchanged at constant exchange rates. Excluding mainland China, same-store sales increased 16%, while same-store sales in Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa increased 47% year-over-year.
As the cost of living crisis intensifies, UK buyers are cutting their budgets in almost every area. But there is one notable exception – money being spent on clothes is above pre-pandemic levels, with the return of weddings, vacations and socializing fueling a boom in “revenge spending” or the purchase of those treats missed during months of pandemic shutdowns. Shoppers are paying almost a fifth more for clothing than a year ago, according to research by Kantar for the Guardian found, taking the value 1% ahead of the 2019 figure. – Guardian
The ministers issued an ultimatum to the chief executive of Heathrow, asking him to come up with a plan to resolve airport staffing issues, it was reported. According to a letter from the ministry of transportDirector General of Aviation, Maritime and Security and Director General of Civil Aviation Authority. – Guardian
by Mike Ashley Frasers banned staff from working from home on Fridays after some employees were caught posting too often on social media. The retailer, which owns Sports Direct and House of Fraser, ended its flexible Friday policy and asked staff to be in the office all week. An internal memo, sent by the company’s chief operating officer, said “Frasers Friday” had become “an unproductive day of the week.” – Telegraph
Solar panel owners are losing hundreds of pounds due to rules that allow energy companies to underpay them for electricity. After months of soaring electricity prices, a three-bedroom household fitted with solar panels should now be able to earn over £400 a year selling reserve solar power to the grid. But under export tariffs offered by some energy companies, they would only receive £22, according to the analysis.- Telegraph
Europe may have to ration energy this winter if Russia cuts gas while Britain will also face “really very high prices”, senior energy officials have warned. The bosses of Shell and national gridIstanbul’s electricity system operator has issued stark warnings of a gloomy winter ahead, after President Putin threatened that sanctions could have catastrophic consequences for energy markets. – The temperature
Close in the United States
Wall Street stocks closed mostly lower on Thursday as second-quarter bank profits began to rise.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.46% at 30,630.17, while the S&P 500 was 0.30% lower at 3,790.38 and the Nasdaq Composite saw the session 0, 03% firmer at 11,251.19.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert on Sharecast.com


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The European Union continues to import Russian raw materials such as titanium and nickel despite the Russian all-out war against Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, according to Investigate Europe, an international team of reporters and editors.
Since February 2022, European companies have purchased “critical” raw materials worth 13.7 billion euros from companies linked to the Kremlin, Investigate Europe analysis found based on data from Eurostat and the European Commission’s think tank, the Joint Research Center.
In eleven packages of sanctions against Russia, the EU has provided exemptions for over 30 types of “critical” raw materials that supplies from other sources cannot replace due to different factors, such as cost or global shortage of the said materials.
“Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the 27 EU countries have adopted 11 sanction packages, targeting raw materials including oil, coal, steel and timber. But minerals that the EU considers as “critical” raw materials – 34 in total – still flow freely from Russia to Europe in vast quantities, providing crucial funds to state enterprises and oligarch-owned businesses,” according to Investigate Europe.
The raw materials that European companies continue to import from Russia are essential for the production of electronics, solar panels, and electric vehicles, as well as aerospace and defense industries.
From January to July 2023, the EU continued to import critical raw materials from Russia, with shipments amounting to more than 3.7 billion euros, according to Investigate Europe.


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With the release of representative flagship of iPhone 12 series, Huawei mate 40 series and other major mobile phone manufacturers, this year's heavyweight flagship has basically come to an end. Many eyes have begun to focus on the new year's flagship next year. Among them, the brand-new Samsung Galaxy S series, which has always been on the debut stage, is particularly noticeable.Now there is the latest news. After the appearance and configuration information of S21 series has been reported many times before, recently, some well-known overseas informants have further submitted the HD rendering images and configuration details of S21 Ultra.
It is reported that the new Samsung Galaxy S21 series flagship is expected to be released in January. We will see more details.


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SANTA ROSA -- Medtronic CardioVascular announced today that its parent company, Medtronic Inc., will acquire a developer of medical technologies for the interventional treatment of cardiovascular disease and two affiliated companies for $350 million.
Headquartered in Italy, Invatec’s array of stents, angioplasty balloons and accessory products complement therapies and products in Medtronic’s CardioVascular business. Medtronic will also acquire Fogazzi, which provides polymer technology to Invatec, and Krauth Cardiovascular, which distributes Invatec products in Germany.
The acquisitions bring Medtronic an established international business with a European center of technology development and manufacturing.
“Medtronic’s acquisition of Invatec will accelerate the growth of our CardioVascular business, adding important new products for the coronary and peripheral vascular markets,” said Scott Ward, senior vice president at Medtronic and president of the CardioVascular business.
Medtronic’s CardioVascular business, which develops coronary, peripheral and aortic stent systems, employs about 800 in Santa Rosa.


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Announced at the “Plant-A-Palooza” event yesterday (June), the duo explained how chefs from both companies have worked together to “write, develop, test and perfect the recipes” that will end up on Sodexo menus at hundreds of universities, hospitals, and corporate cafeterias across the country.
They can also be integrated or used to build stand-alone, plant-based, “concept” restaurants in all of Sodexo’s client sites.
As part of the deal, the Humane Society of the United States and Sodexo have launched their branded Mexican-themed concept, Y Mas, which features dishes such as jackfruit and avocado tortas, chipotle quinoa burrito bowls and garlic roasted cauliflower burritos.
It forms part of the American organisation’s campaign to “reduce consumption of meat, eggs and dairy” and help operators add more plant-based options to menus and reduce their overall meat purchases.
Kitty Block, The Humane Society of the United States president and chief executive, said: “We are especially proud to expand this programme with Sodexo.
“For more than a dozen years we have worked closely with Sodexo to improve the welfare of mother pigs, egg-laying hens and broiler chickens in its supply chain, and with this latest step, the company has once again shown its commitment and demonstrated yet again how a thriving business can align with policies that benefit animals.”


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DEMA Submits Comments Opposing US Department of Labor’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Amend FLSA
Monday, September 14, 2015
Posted by: Rachelle Reimers
The Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA) recently submitted comments opposing certain aspects of the U.S. Department of Labor’s July 6, 2015 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations implementing the exemption from minimum wage and overtime pay for executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees (known as the “white collar” or “EAP” exemptions). The comments were submitted by Tom Ingram, Executive Director of DEMA, on behalf of the Association.
DEMA supports the principle in President Obama’s March 13, 2014 Presidential Memorandum that the FLSA regulations need to be modernized and streamlined. However, DEMA has heard from numerous members expressing serious concerns about the significant impact of the changes proposed in the NPRM. It is DEMA’s belief that changing the FLSA by merely altering the definition of the exempt employee salary threshold seems to be inadequate to meet the President’s goal of “modernizing and streamlining” the law and the diving industry, both business and workers, may suffer greatly.
“It is our fear that should these changes in the NPRM be enacted as written, the changes would have a devastating effect on our Industry. In order to control overall labor costs, we see a number of strategies being implemented by industry business that could ultimately result in industry employees experiencing a reduction in compensation, work hours, benefits, ability to attend educational and technical conferences, and so on,” commented Ingram. “In an industry where labor is amongst the highest costs, and our consumers require such personal attention, we fear that this will ultimately lead to increased prices for our customers and in turn, reduced demand as price-sensitive consumers move to other recreational activities that are less labor-intensive and consequently less expensive,” Ingram concluded.
Some of DEMA’s suggestions for updating and modernizing the FLSA include regional/state salary thresholds, a lower exempt threshold, and greater flexibility for non-exempt employees.
For more information, see all of the comments posted on the regulations.gov website and the official comments submitted by DEMA. DEMA will continue to monitor the progress of these rules and is prepared to comment further


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China encourages further investment in Nigeria's manufacturing sector
Updated: 2014-05-07 13:41
(Xinhua)Comments Print Mail Large Medium Small
Premier Li visits Africa
Nigeria has a huge population and consumer market, while China has an edge in the processing industry, Gao told Xinhua.
The two countries can further deepen bilateral cooperation in areas like textile, garment and household appliance industries on the basis of their current economic and trade cooperation zones, while gradually expanding the scale and level of cooperation, Gao said.
Nigeria is China's third largest investment destination in Africa and China's accumulated investment in Nigeria has reached $1.95 billion by the end of 2012.
In recent years, investment from China's private enterprises in Nigeria has increasingly been active as over 40 Chinese private firms have entered Nigeria with a total investment of 800 million dollars in the fields of agriculture, textile industry, construction materials, mining and others,Gao said.
Chinese enterprises invest in Nigeria's seed cultivation and have become the Nigerian government's seed providers, which helps boost local self-support in grain, he said.
Chinese and Nigerian enterprises have joined hands in operating satellite networks, with digital television signals covering 84 percent of the African country, which promoted cultural exchanges of both countries, Gao said.
Within the framework of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum, Chinese enterprises and the Nigerian government have worked together to build two economic and trade cooperation zones in Nigeria and to open chinaware, furniture and household appliance manufacturing factories, which have created more than 4,000 jobs in the country, Gao said.
Nigeria currently has become China's third largest trade partner and second largest export market in Africa, while China is Nigeria's third largest trade partner.
Trade value between China and Nigeria reached 13.6 billion dollars in 2013, almost five times the figure in 2005, Gao said.
China and Nigeria have achieved remarkable results in cooperation in infrastructure construction. Nigeria is a country where Chinese enterprises undertook most infrastructure projects in Africa, Gao said.
Chinese enterprises have repaired an accumulated length of 4,500 km of railway in Nigeria since 1995, as they currently are building modern railways and metropolitan light rails there, he said.
Chinese enterprises and Nigerian telecommunication operators have cooperated closely to raise Nigeria's mobile phone subscription rate to 91 percent in 2013 from less than 1 percent in 2001.
Chinese enterprises have also actively embarked on cooperation in the construction of power plants, highways, and airport terminals, among others, in Nigeria.
Both China and Nigeria are big developing countries. The two countries each have their own advantages in the fields such as resources, funds, manpower and market, and their economies are highly complementary, Gao said.
In the near future, Gao said, China and Nigeria will continuously deepen their cooperation in trade, investment in the manufacturing industry, agriculture and infrastructure, in order to push forward their economic and trade cooperation to a broader and higher level.


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When EU car sales rose 4.8 percent in July it was quickly feted as the turn-around of the ailing Old Country car market . Being our curmudgeonous selves, and aided by a bit of first-hand experience , we did not buy into the story. A month later, the EU market is back on its downward track, and it is making history.
New passenger car registrations declined 5.0% in August, reports the EU auto manufacturer umbrella organization ACEA, which finally returned from its annual month-long vacation. January through August, new cars sales stand at 7,841,596 units, or 5.2% less than in the same period last year, which has the dubious honor of being “the lowest January to August level ever recorded,” ACEA says.


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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a new antibiotic from Cubist Pharmaceuticals to treat common skin infections often acquired in the hospital.
Regulators cleared the company's Sivextro as a pill and as an intravenous solution for adults with skin infections caused by bacteria that are often resistant to older antibiotics.
It's the second FDA approval in less than a month for a new antibiotic to treat such infections. In late May, the FDA approved a similar drug from Durata Therapeutics Inc.
Antibiotics like penicillin and streptomycin first became widely available in the 1940s, and today dozens are still used to kill or suppress the bacteria behind illnesses ranging from strep throat to urinary-tract infections. The drugs are considered one of the greatest advances in the history of medicine, and have saved countless lives.
But in recent decades some common bacteria have grown resistant to antibiotics that were once highly effective. Experts say overuse and misuse of the drugs by physicians has contributed to the rise of these so-called superbugs.
The FDA gave Sivextro an expedited review under a 2012 law designed to encourage drugmakers to invest in researching and development of new antibiotics. Under the measure, Cubist will receive an additional five years of exclusive marketing rights to the drug.
Continue reading this story on the...


text: Being quarantined in our homes for months has helped us reexamine our part in the climate catastrophe. It has raised awareness about the power of making smarter and more sustainable purchases, and how our decisions can help salvage the damage. Bollywood celebrities, too, have been making more attempts to go green with their sartorial choices, whether it is through upcycling old clothes or being more #VocalForLocal. Among them is Vidya Balan, who is “placing an emphasis on conscious creation and consumption.” The actor is currently e-promoting her upcoming biopic on mathematics genius Shakuntala Devi, slated to release on Amazon Prime Video on July 31, 2020. For the virtual promotions, the actor has picked everything from a kurta using natural fibres to a Korvai Kora cotton sari weaved at a grassroot level. The 41-year-old’s most recent look saw her sporting an ivory handmade dress by Pramaa By Pratimaa Pandey. Keep reading for all the details on her OOTD.


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How often do you think long and hard about your security set-up? If you’re like most SMEs, then the answer is probably not often enough. After all, why should you? With many of your services hosted in the cloud, you can trust your providers to keep your sensitive data secure, right?
But as the significant number of large data breaches over the last few years show, everyone is at risk. From Sony to Tesco Bank and TalkTalk – all sectors and industries have been targeted by cybercriminals. Not to mention the thousands of unreported attacks on smaller organisations. A recent report by the British Chambers of Commerce found that one in five small businesses (those with fewer than 99 employees) have fallen victim to a cyber attack. A report by Barclaycard puts the cost of a cyber attack on a UK small business at between £75,000 and £311,000 in lost sales, business disruption, recovery of assets and fines. What’s more, the same report cites that only 15% of businesses consider themselves as very confident in having adequate security measures in place.
Security is an investment, not a tax
It’s clear from these figures that small businesses need to rethink their attitude towards cyber threats. While the cloud’s flexible, pay-as-you-go nature makes it a cost-effective alternative to on-premise solutions, it also means you can’t physically keep an eye on data at all times – with some, rightly or wrongly, considering this to be a risk too.
The answer lies in taking a risk-based approach to cyber security spending. What tools are outdated and are simply better to replace? Which vendor is best placed to meet your security needs? By asking the right questions to your current/future provider, you’ll be in a better position to understand your security risks.But scalability is only half the challenge. The second piece of the speed puzzle when it comes to telephony is utilising data to streamline the customer experience.
Data driving standards
Cloud systems offer huge amounts of data, as well as easy-to-access and operate web platforms that allow non-expert SMEs owners to analyse information. With this in their armoury they can identify where the customer experience is dragging, peak times that may lead to longer waits and underperforming teams.
All of which helps them to make the right decisions around staffing and resource – ensuring that their customers are getting through to the right people, at the right times, without having to wait too long. As well as adding greater context to the customer database, so marketing can be more targeted and relevant.
As with the new telephony systems themselves, data management is not an infrastructure upgrade. Meaning it’s simple for SMEs to install and use, straight out of the box.
A fast world
The world isn’t slowing down. And in the coming years customers will expect speed and relevancy in their every interaction with a business. To the point that offering rapidity will not even be a huge benefit – instead it’ll be a basic expectation, and the companies who persist with slow, legacy tech that harms the user experience will quickly find their customer base dropping and their competitors growing.
The good news is that avoiding the slide is easy to do. Cloud telephony is ideally suited to SMEs because it’s easy to install and easy to use. It offers them the ability to quickly respond to customer demands and can grow and shrink according to need.
The only speed question left is how quick will SMEs be to adopt it…
Maximise the opportunity to increase your flexibility and productivity by transitioning to cloud communications
You may also be interested in:


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Charles Arthur and Jemima Kiss: We follow the events unfolding during Apple's keynote address on the stage at the Moscone Center in San Francisco where Jobs is expected to reveal the details behind iCloud
Is Apple going to release a new iPhone - or two? Will it release a tablet computer? A "netbook"? Will Steve Jobs, on medical leave, appear on stage? Bobbie Johnson liveblogs from the floor of the Worldwide Developers conference (WWDC) in the Moscone centre, San Francisco
Apple has announced that it's delaying the launch of Leopard, the next version of its OSX operating system, until October. That's at least six months after it had been intended to appear; the scheduling of the Worldwide Developers Conference for June had implied that it would launch then.
Just went to Steve Jobs's blog, The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs, Aged 51 1/2, to get the facts about his underwhelming WWDC performance (even Wired's top Apple Cultist Leander Kahney wrote Has Steve Jobs Lost His Magic?) only to find that all the earlier content has disappeared. The blog has been renamed In Memorium and just says: "RIP. It's gone...."


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A couple of weeks ago, Huawei made an announcement which surprised a lot of people, an announcement made regarding their new phone, the Huawei P8 Lite (2017). The surprise did not come due to the Chinese company releasing yet another fine mid-range phone, but most of the surprise came due to the naming of the phone, and not because of the moniker used, but due to the name used in general. You would’ve thought the name would be the P9 Lite, from 2016, the previous year, and not the P8 Lite, from 2015, which is the case.
But aside from the illogical controversial naming, the P8 Lite seems to be a very decent mid range phone overall, and now it’s coming to the UK. Vodafone will start selling the phone on the first of February, and at the beginning, this will be only in stores, and through telesales. For an unknown reason, online sales will commence after some time. The phone comes with the good news that it won’t cost you a lot, considering today’s market. You would be able to purchase the phone on Pay as you go for 185 pounds, and if you wouldn’t mind waiting, then you can also go on a 16 pound a month plan for 24 months. One important thing to note is that only the black model will be available.
The P8 Lite would run on Android 7.0 Nougat, underneath Huawei’s latest EMUI 5.0 overlay, and it comes with the 5.2-inch 1080p touchscreen, a 12 MP camera, and an 8 MP selfie snapper. The phone has 3GB of RAM, 16 GB of built-in storage, and also supports microSD for expansion. The phone also has an impressive 3000 mAh battery.


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Gaming News Archives
SPGT, short for Single Player Game Transmitter, is an open-source project that provides support for remote desktop transmission of games and other interactive 3D applications.
14 April 2013 - SPGT Gaming - 10 Comments
Unigine Corp has finally brought their in-house OilRush game to Valve's Steam Linux client. The debut on Steam came as part of the game's v1.34 update.
12 April 2013 - Unigine OilRush - 10 Comments
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the latest installment to Valve's Counter-Strike franchise, is being tested on Linux and might soon be released to the general public.
10 April 2013 - Counter-Strike: Global Offensive - 38 Comments
The 14th alpha release of the visually impressive Unvanquished open-source game has been released. Notable to this month's alpha update are enhancements to the game engine's OpenGL 3.x renderer.
8 April 2013 - Unvanquished Alpha 14 - 4 Comments
The Spearmint Game Engine, which aims to be a more impressive and feature-rich version of ioquake3, as well as Watermint, a "realistic" fork of Spearmint, are still actively being pursued.
7 April 2013 - Open-Source Gaming
While ioquake3 projects continue to thrive as open-source projects spun off from the id Tech 3 game engine, when it comes to the open-source Doom 3 (id Tech 4) engine, there is barely any public activity.
7 April 2013 - Doom 3 - 16 Comments
The Activision and Raven Software game studios have open-sourced two of their games for "for people to learn from and play with" the code.
4 April 2013 - Jedi Gaming - 35 Comments
Wildfire Games has released 0 A.D. Alpha 13 "Magadha", the latest development installment of this popular open-source ancient warfare game.
3 April 2013 - 0 A.D. Magadha
The popular "Garry's Mod" sandbox physics game built atop Valve's Source Engine is expected to be introduced to Linux gamers today.
1 April 2013 - Garry's Mod - 15 Comments
For those that have followed Phoronix over the years know that I am a big supporter of the Unigine game/3D engine. The engine delivers absolutely beautiful graphics and there is first-rate Linux support. The developers at Unigine Corp are very Linux-friendly. Unfortunately, games and other software based upon Unigine aren't too quick to come to the Linux gaming scene.
31 March 2013 - Unigine - 9 Comments
Ryan Gordon has released a "heavily-upgraded" version of Postal 1 to Steam Linux users along with other titles.
28 March 2013 - Postal - 45 Comments
Another round of updates have gone into the impressive multi-platform multi-renderer Unigine Engine.
26 March 2013 - Updates - 9 Comments
Aside from the Urban Terror game update, there's also a new version of Red Eclipse this weekend.
23 March 2013 - Red Eclipse 1.4 - 2 Comments
The Urban Terror open-source first person shooter has been updated to version 4.2.010, with the new version bringing a variety of improvements throughout the game.
23 March 2013 - Urban Terror - 9 Comments
Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition is one of the newest game titles being ported to Linux that's worth mentioning and is being distributed via Steam.
21 March 2013 - Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition - 32 Comments
While Left 4 Dead 2 was the first Valve game I saw natively running on Linux when meeting with Valve to talk about their Linux plans early last year, the Source Engine game still hasn't been publicly released. Fortunately, the public release is getting closer.
21 March 2013 - Left 4 Dead 2 - 28 Comments
The company behind the Humble Indie Bundle is now trying to promote weekly sales of DRM-free cross-platform games.
20 March 2013 - Humble Bundle - 5 Comments
Last year I wrote about the Torque 3D game engine wanting to come to Linux and they were attempting a crowd-sourced campaign to finance the port. The campaign was a flop, but a developer has been bringing the support anyways to Linux.
15 March 2013 - Torque 3D - 8 Comments
One day after Day of Defeat was released for Linux, Valve has made Half-Life 2: Deathmatch available via the Steam Linux client.
14 March 2013 - Steam - 29 Comments
The latest Humble Indie Bundle game offering, "Humble Bundle with Android 5", has crossed one million dollars in sales. There's still time to go and more DRM-free cross-platform games have been added to the pay-what-you-want sale.
12 March 2013 - Humble Bundle - 7 Comments
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