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Disney (DIS) has received a price target upgrade from Morgan Stanley. The firm raised its price target for the entertainment giant from $110 to $135 per share, reflecting a bullish outlook on the company's future prospects. This lift was fueled by promising signs in Disney's streaming endeavors and anticipated growth in its theme park revenues. Yahoo Finance's Madison Mills shares the latest developments. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live. Editor's note: This article was written by Angel Smith
In this article, we discuss 11 best cruise stocks to buy now. If you want to skip our discussion on the cruise industry, head over to 5 Best Cruise Stocks To Buy Now. 2024 is poised to be exceptional for cruise vacations, with unprecedented booking volumes across different income levels, surpassing pre-COVID-19 levels. Cruise operators […]
Blackwells, one of the two activist shareholders seeking Disney board seats, said last week the company needed to come up with an artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, and that such a move could offer a strong boost its stock. Disney, shares of which were up 1.3% in premarket trading after the news, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management is also campaigning for two board seats at Disney.


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Trouble in paradise: Dubai feels the chill of a global recession.
Property prices on Dubai’s upscale Palm Jumeirah, an artificial island shaped like a palm tree, fell sharply late last year. Construction work on the Trump International Hotel & Tower, the planned centerpiece of the complex, was halted in early December. A shortage of liquidity is clearly being felt in the region. Nevertheless, strong growth is expected in some countries.
“While not immune to the crisis in the global financial markets, looming world recession and falling oil and gas prices, Qatar is well placed to weather the storm and is projected to continue growing at around 10% in real terms in 2009,” says Howard Handy, chief economist at Samba Financial, based in Riyadh. “On the basis of most available growth projections [for 2009], this would make it the fastest-growing economy in the world,” he says.
Qatar’s economic growth is being fueled by exports of liquid natural gas sold under long-term contracts. It is inevitable that some of Qatar’s many real estate projects will be delayed, but this will help to remove capacity constraints and ease inflation pressures, Handy says.
Meanwhile, Bahrain-based Arab Banking Corporation (ABC), a major regional investment bank, is realigning its banking model to focus on building a universal banking business in North Africa and the Levant. Hassan Ali Juma, president and chief executive of ABC, says the bank is enlarging its distribution channels by opening new branches and widening product offerings to retail customers.
ABC’s primary focus is on organic growth, but the bank will consider any investment opportunities that arise, Juma says. “Change is always a challenging process that requires careful management,” he says.
The global credit crunch has largely frozen interbank markets and has had some impact on ABC’s funding, but the bank has made arrangements that will ensure there are no detrimental effects from current market conditions, Juma says.

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Microsoft is joining with an international organization for the vision-impaired to produce a plug-in for Word that’s meant to transform text into audio for people with severe reading difficulties.
The company announced Tuesday a collaboration with the Digital Accessible Information SYstem (DAISY) Consortium to create a standards-based plug-in for Word XP, Word 2003, and Word 2007 that will be available early next year.
“The timeline [aims] to have this ready by mid-March next year,” Reed Shaffner, worldwide product manager for Microsoft Word, told InternetNews.com.
The plug-in will translate documents formatted using Microsoft’s Office Open XML, the default format for Word 2007, into DAISY XML for use in players that support the group’s standard. Users who are either blind or who have some other serious “print disability” — which could range from dyslexia or macular degeneration to advanced Parkinson’s disease, for instance — are the target audience.
“The [Office] Open XML to DAISY XML translator for Microsoft Office Word will begin the translation of Open XML-based content into an enriched multimedia format accessible to users around the world, regardless of the degree of their visual impairments,” Jeff Raikes, president of the Microsoft Business Division, said in a joint statement issued by Microsoft and the DAISY Consortium.
The plug-in, when it’s released, will be available as a free download. Additionally, the source code for the plug-in will be released on the open source SourceForge site, enabling developers to port the plug-in to other platforms.
Founded in 1996, the Zurich, Switzerland-based DAISY Consortium is responsible for maintaining an XML-based standard for converting text (originally library books) to speech. The group developed the standard in connection with the Library of Congress’ National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped and other groups.
The consortium’s membership consists of international associations for the visually impaired and libraries for the blind. Corporate supporters include Microsoft, PC media player Plextor and audio products manufacturer Telex.
In 2002, DAISY’s standard received the backing of the American National Standards Institute and the National Information Standards Organization as ANSI/NISO Z39.86-2002; it was subsequently revised three years later as ANSI/NISO Z39.86-2005.
“The structure within DAISY publications makes it possible to navigate quickly by heading or page number and to use indexes and references, all with correctly ordered, synchronized audio and text,” the joint statement said.
Perhaps ironically, Microsoft’s Office Open XML, also referred to as OOXML, has been very controversial in the world of standards bodies. While it received international standards status by European standards group Ecma International almost a year ago, Microsoft’s attempt to have it certified as an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard on a so-called “fast track” basis faltered when it didn’t receive enough votes in favor during balloting in September.
While Microsoft’s OOXML isn’t out of the running for ISO certification, whether or not the company can resolve all the outstanding technical issues raised by voting ISO members and achieve fast track status will not be decided until February at the earliest.


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London, United Kingdom, 11th August 2010– ELSPA, the computer and video games publishing trade association has today announced that it will produce a UK download chart for PC games. Partnering with long term packaged goods charts specialist GfK Chart-Track, ELSPA has formed a working group of full members who all sell PC games by digital download. This working group have agreed to produce a closed beta chart with Chart-Track, the intention being that once all parties are happy with the process of data collection and the output, a chart will be available through Chart-Track.
The group represents some of the key players in digital distribution, including Ubisoft, THQ, Sega, NCsoft, Mastertronic, Kalypso Media, Midas Interactive and Square Enix. There are three other major publishers about to announce their formal involvement imminently. The group has been working on the project for a number of months and the scoping and data collection processes are advanced enough to now announce that a digital chart will be published. All stakeholders have committed that sales data from third party resellers will be included, allaying fears that data from Steam would be missing from this chart.
Andy Payne, Chairman of ELSPA commented, 'We formed this group specifically to deal with the supply of an official download chart, initially for the PC and initially for the UK. We are really glad that ELSPA members have stepped up to the plate and we have a legal agreement with Chart-Track for them to do the heavy lifting as they have the experience and knowledge of the industry. This chart will be owned by ELSPA and I would call for other members to join the group as soon as they can and not miss out in helping to form and shape this important development for all of us. We in the process of reaching out to TIGA and their membership and hope to have more on that very soon.’
John Pinder, Managing Director of GfK Chart-Track added, 'We at Chart-Track are thrilled to have been invited to extend our remit for the packaged goods charts into the digital space. Working with ELSPA and their members makes total sense and we look forward to delivering a chart very soon'.
Sam Collins, Commercial Manager at ELSPA added, 'It is great to be working with members to build a report which will not only deliver member value, but one which will help the UK interactive entertainment industry realise its potential in an increasingly connected digital economy'.
- ENDS -
For all press enquiries, please contact the ELSPA press office on T: +44 (0)20 7300 6143 or E: firstname.lastname@example.org
The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association represents all the major publishers of games in the UK. Founded in 1989 to establish a specific and collective identity for the country’s interactive leisure software industry, membership includes companies publishing and distributing leisure software in the UK. As a gateway to Europe, ELSPA works to protect, promote and provide for the interests of all its members as well as addressing issues that affect the industry as a whole, such as age ratings, child safety and IP protection.
ELSPA works with members and media to illustrate the beneficial contributions that the UK videogames industry makes to the British economy as well as its influence in other industries. In addition, ELSPA works with GfK Chart-Track to compile weekly, monthly and annual retail charts and sales reports for the UK market.


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LinkedIn has been really focused on improving the user experience in the last couple of months. It revamped its entire user interface, and also rolled out updated mobile apps. It has been adding new features to make the platform more engaging, and today, it introduced Endorsements. It’s a new feature which lets users recognize their connections for their specific skills and expertise.
LinkedIn has had a recommendation feature for a long time, but it was too cumbersome compared to this one. Users can endorse their connections using just one click. The feature has launched across multiple global markets, and will be launched worldwide soon.
Here’s LinkedIn’s official announcement:
“On LinkedIn, you have many smart, talented, and skilled professional connections. Starting today, we are introducing Endorsements, a new feature that makes it easier to recognize them for their skills and expertise.
With just one click, you can now endorse your connections for a skill they’ve listed on their profile or recommend one they haven’t added yet. Think your connection is great at programming AND project management? Let them know!
Here’s how you can endorse your connections:
On the top of a connection’s profile, you’ll see recommended endorsements for them. You can suggest additional skills as well.
You can also endorse them from the new Skills & Expertise section that now showcases these endorsements.
Want to see who has endorsed you? We’ll notify you via email and on LinkedIn whenever you are endorsed. You can scroll to the bottom of your profile page under “Skills and Expertise” to see the faces of people who think you’re great at what you do. You can also accept any new skills recommended by your peers that you may not have thought to include on your profile. Or you can also add a new skill by clicking on “add a skill” on your profile page.”
via LinkedIn Blog
Oracle has announced its earnings for Q1FY13, with total revenues down 2% to around $8.2 billion. While software revenues grew marginally, the hardware and services revenue was down significantly, weighing down on overall revenue growth.
Its operating income increased 7% to more than $2.8 billion, while its net income jumped up to $2 billion.
With its new acquisitions and product roadmap, Oracle seems to be focused on dominating the cloud-based software space.
Oracle CEO, Larry Ellison, said:
“A little more than a week from now we will announce lots of enhancements to the Oracle Cloud. There are more CRM, ERP and HCM applications as a service, and more Oracle database, Java and social network platform services. Our new infrastructure as a service is available in the Oracle Cloud and as a private cloud in our customers’ data center, with the unique ability to move applications and services back and forth between the two.”
Oracle’s cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities have increased to almost $31.5 billion. Its operating cash flow this quarter was up to $14 billion.
Oracle President, Mark Hurd, said:
“Exadata, Exalogic, Exalytics and our other engineered systems grew more than 100% in the quarter. For the full year, we expect to double engineered systems sales to well over $1 billion. Oracle’s new cloud business is also approaching a $1 billion annual run rate. These two businesses will drive Oracle’s growth for years to come.”
For now, it seems that cloud-based enterprise software and engineered systems will continue to drive revenue growth for Oracle in the coming years.
via Oracle – SEC
Moo.com, one of the most popular online business card printing startups, has acquired Flavors.me, a web service which allows users to create personalized digital profiles. Flavors.me currently has more than 500,000 users. The transaction includes the Flavors.me brand, technology and its entire user base.
Richard Moross, CEO of Moo.com, posted a press release on the Flavors.me blog:
“Hello we’re MOO.COM — and we love to print.
Yes — we’re a printer! (It’s just like the internet, only slower.) However, like you, we’re also passionate about great design — which is why we’re delighted to announce our acquisition of Flavors.me. But don’t worry — we’re not going to get all weird and start bossing you about. Just think of us as your mom’s new husband. The kind that buys you a car, obviously — not the kind that makes you call him dad (nobody likes that guy.)
We’re huge fans of Flavors — it demonstrates beautifully how the web has opened up great design tools for everyone. It also benefits from thousands of cool, beautiful customers (okay, maybe we do sort of want you to love us like we’re your real dad.) So we’re putting all our efforts into making it even easier for you to create an awesome-looking Flavors page.
We’re excited to start working together, so do drop by MOO.COM at some point and have a look around. And if you have any questions, please visit the Flavors help page — we’d love to hear from you.
Looking forward to a future of even more great design with you!”
The service will continue to run as before, and you can expect integration with Moo.com. The acquisition price hasn’t been revealed, but it isn’t likely to be very high. This purchase not only allows Moo.com to expand into adjacent verticals and provides additional cross-selling opportunities, but also expands its user base.
via Flavors.me Blog, Techcrunch
Facebook has been under tremendous pressure to monetize its massive user base through advertising or any other means ever since it went public. Its stock price has dropped significantly below its IPO price on concerns that it might not be able to monetize its growing mobile user base.
Today, it announced that it will start charging businesses and merchants to run and promote Facebook Offers on its social network. While the service was hitherto completely free, Facebook will now charge businesses at least $5 to promote Facebook offers to its fans and their friends. The cost of running an offer will depend on its reach.
Gokul Rajaram, director of product management for Facebook’s advertising and Pages businesses, said:
“We think this aligns incentives nicely. The best results on Facebook Offers will come from organic distribution plus paid distribution.
The requirement to pay for related ads will focus merchants on who and where they want the offer to reach.”
Facebook’s focus on generating revenue should offer some respite to investors, but its impact on the user experience remains to be seen.
Adobe reported its earnings for the third quarter of 2012, with revenue increasing to $1.08 billion, up 7% year-over-year. It reported an operating profit of nearly $278 million, and a net income of $201 million.
Its cash reserves increased to $1.16 billion, while its short term investments increased to $2.08 billion. Its operating cash flow for the quarter was $263 million.
Creative Cloud paid subscription growth in the third quarter was very encouraging, with the total user base growing to nearly 200,000 by the end. Its digital marketing suite also recorded nearly 40% year-over-year growth.
Shantanu Narayen, president and CEO of Adobe, said:
“Customers globally are adopting our new Creative Cloud subscription offering more quickly than we projected. We are the leader in the fast-growing Digital Marketing category with 40 percent year-over-year Digital Marketing Suite revenue growth this quarter.”
Adobe also projected revenue for the next quarter in the same range of $1.075 billion to $1.125 billion.
via Adobe Q3FY12 Earnings
Alibaba and Yahoo have had a very tenuous relationship, with the former trying to buy back its stake from the latter since years. Last month, it was revealed that Alibaba was trying to raise close to $8 billion in order to buy around 20% of its stake from Yahoo.
In a press release today, Alibaba announced that it had completed the repurchase of its shares from Yahoo In a transaction worth approximately $7.6 billion.
The transaction includes around half of Yahoo’s 40% stake in Alibaba, valued at $7.1 billion, and a one time cash payment of $550 million related to their existing technology and intellectual property licensing agreements.
Jack Ma, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group, said:
“The completion of this transaction begins a new chapter in our relationship with Yahoo! We are grateful for Yahoo!’s support of our growth over the past seven years, and we are pleased to be able to deliver meaningful returns to our shareholders including Yahoo!. I look forward to working with Marissa Mayer and her team in our continued partnership.”
It was initially expected that Yahoo would return most of the cash to shareholders, but under Marissa Mayer’s reign, that cash might be put to better use and fuel the growth of the aging giant through acquisitions.
Zynga has been an expert at growing its user base by acquiring smaller gaming studios and startups in the last couple of years. Just before its IPO, it acquired Draw Something, its biggest acquisition to date. While its stock price has crashed significantly in the last couple of months, it still has a significant amount of cash in its coffers.
Today, it acquired a California based game maker, A Bit Lucky Inc., for around $20 million. This is one of its relatively larger acquisitions. A Bit Lucky has been focused on mid-core games, which fall between Zynga’s casual games and hardcore online games. This acquisition adds additional genres to Zynga’s portfolio of games, and allows it to expand its online audience beyond just casual gamers.
Zynga currently has nearly 330 million monthly active users and 50 million daily active users. With acquisitions like these, it keeps adding talent to continue churning out new games, while also adding to its user base instantaneously.
Zynga’s stock price stands at around $3.10, giving it a market cap of around $2.4 billion. It has cash reserves of nearly $1.6 billion.
Oracle has resumed its acquisition spree, and acquired yet another enterprise cloud startup, SelectMinds, which is a provider of cloud-based employee recruitment and HR services.
According to Oracle’s official press release, “SelectMinds’ applications enable organizations to empower recruiters, hiring managers and employees to leverage social connections to distribute job opportunities, source higher quality referrals, market their employment brand and manage corporate alumni relationships.”
SelectMinds will enable it to add more capabilities to Taleo’s feature set and offer a more comprehensive solution to enterprise customers — one that leverages social channels like Facebook and Twitter, as well as their employees existing social networks to improving their hiring capabilities.
“The combination of Oracle and SelectMinds’ complementary social sourcing capabilities is expected to create a comprehensive recruiting, candidate sourcing, and talent management offering for organizations to reach quality referrals through social recruiting.”
Oracle competes in this space with the likes of SAP, Salesforce.com, and a lot of other smaller players. This is yet another acquisition by the giant to leverage the cloud and “social” to improve its enterprise software offerings.
The exact terms of the acquisition haven’t been announced yet, but they should be reflected in Oracle’s next earnings release.
Square was rumored to be working on its fourth round of funding since months now, at an estimated valuation of $4 billion. However, the disastrous Facebook IPO changed the fundraising market, and we didn’t hear much about that until now. Apparently, Square has announced its fourth round of funding which values it at $3.25 billion, impressive by any standard.
Square has raised $200 million in its Series D round, from investors like Citi Ventures, Rizvi Traverse Management, and Starbucks Coffee Company. It has grown significantly in the past year, and now has a run rate of nearly $8 billion in payments annually. It has grown to nearly 400 employees, and will continue to add more to fuel its expansion.
This latest round brings its total funds raised to around $340 million. It competes primarily with Verifone and PayPal.
They issued a press release announcing the same:
“Square (www.squareup.com), the company revolutionizing commerce, announced today that it has closed its Series D financing round. Investors participating in the round include Citi Ventures, Rizvi Traverse Management, and Starbucks Coffee Company.
One year ago, Square had approximately 150 employees and processed over $1 billion in payments on an annualized basis. Today, Square has over 400 employees and is processing over $8 billion in payments on an annualized basis.
Square’s growing revenue and workforce precedes the company’s plans for international expansion later this year.”
Google has apparently acquired Nik Software, a German software developer which created Snapseed, one of the top iOS apps of 2011 which won the iPad App of the Year award in 2011 and amassed a user base of nearly 9 million users in less than a year. Besides iOS, Snapseed is also available for Mac and Windows, and an Android app is also in the works.
Vic Gundotra who is heading Google’s social efforts, posted on Google+:
“Welcome Nik Software!
Today I’m excited to welcome +Nik Software to the Google family! We want to help our users create photos they absolutely love, and in our experience Nik does this better than anyone. Check out the examples from some of the world’s greatest photographers, and you’ll see what I mean.
This week we also hit an important milestone–over 400,000,000 people have upgraded to Google+. It was only a year ago that we opened public sign-up, and we couldn’t have imagined that so many people would join in just 12 months. While Google+ is all about creating a better experience across Google, it’s also a destination. And here too, I’m happy to report that we have just crossed 100,000,000 monthly active users on Google+ (plus.google.com and mobile app).”
While Nik Software also creates a number of other popular apps, Snapseed is what drove the acquisition. With Snapseed, Google+ has a much better chance of competing with Facebook and Instagram in the mobile photo sharing space.
Google also announced that it now has more than 400 million users on Google+, with more than 100 million monthly active users.
via The Verge, Google+


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For a special accessory that is supposed to complement the game, people sure are negative about it.
Pokémon GO players will soon be able to play without getting out their phones!
That means Tauros, Mr Mime and Kanghaskan could be caught in Japan for a limited time.
Good news single people! There are now Pokémon Go matchmaking events in Japan!
He’s caught ’em all in the U.S., Europe, Hong Kong and Australia, and now we get to find out what the gamer’s been up to in Japan, the birthplace of Pokémon.
The message from the creators also includes safety advice for gamers in Japan.
From parks to university campuses and even a Sega building, here are some of the new Pokémon Go gym locations players have been finding around the country.
Pokémon Go has officially launched in Japan along with the announcement that “poke-stops” and “gyms” are now located in the nearly 3,000 McDonald’s stores around Japan.
Because if there’s one place you’d expect to find a rare Pokémon, it would have to be at their home in Tokyo.
Ingress, the original augmented reality app from Niantic, the creators of Pokémon Go, is taking over Tokyo with a holographic portal that lets you see the state of the game in real-time.


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"...this is the primary force that could push interest rates up over the coming weeks and months."
Rates crept down by 0.125% across the board over the last week. The biggest highlight from a slow news week came from consumer sentiment. At this time of the year when people are typically opening up their wallets, consumer sentiment came in considerably lower than anticipated. This is one of the primary indicators analysts closely monitor in regards to the health of the economy. It came as a big surprise that people don’t feel confident spending their money at this time of the year. One thing to keep an eye on moving forward will be tax reform legislation. This is the primary force that could push interest rates up over the coming weeks and months.


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research in motion (rim) has signed a licensing deal with certicom which will expand the use of certicom's ecc-based security in blackberry products. the new licensing deal will allow rim to extend its use of certicom's security builder crypto toolkit and elliptic curve cryptography (ecc). these security technologies let rim products take advantage of “the most security per bit of any known public-key scheme,” yieldign “faster computations, lower power consumption, as well as memory and bandwidth savings.” under the agreement, rim will pay a one time intellectual licensing fee of us$3.5 million for a specified number of seats. once rim has reached its number of pre-paid seats certicom will receive additional revenue based on royalties. rim chose a good partner for security; certicom had previously signed a deal with the national security agency for extensive licensing rights of certicom's ecc-based intellectual property. read more on the agreement from the certicom press release.
user comments 3 comment(s)
|nice (8:26am est tue may 04 2004)
sounds good for us!! – by travisp13


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A local food bank is hoping people will help restock its shelves during a food drive Thursday.
Susan Chickness, a volunteer with the Pictou County Food Bank (East) and member of the United Commercial Travellers Pictonian Council 879, said Wednesday this is the time of year that the shelves get low at the food bank so the second annual food drive by UCT is more than welcome.
“This is the time of year people sort of forget about us,” she said, adding the bank receives many donations during the Christmas holidays but that supply only lasts until the spring.
“The UCT did it a year ago and did really well at it,” she said. “They are hoping to surpass last year’s count.”
Chickness said the East food bank is currently serving close to 700 families a month, which is an increase compared to last year’s numbers.
“We are hoping it is going to level off sometime or I don’t know what we are going to do,” she said.
Items in need include canned meat such as tuna, ham, chicken and turkey as well as personal items such as soap, shampoo and toothbrushes.
The food bank can also accept cash and gift card donations from any of the local grocery stores as well as Walmart and Giant Tiger. It uses monetary donations to purchase milk, eggs, hamburger and vegetables.
The UCT food drive will take place Thursday at Sobeys locations –West Side, Stellarton, Aberdeen – as well as Superstore on Westville Road and Foodland in Westville from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.


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JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a GBX 7,500 ($103.62) price objective on Reckitt Benckiser Group (LON:RB) in a report released on Monday, February 19th. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.
RB has been the topic of several other research reports. Investec reaffirmed a sell rating and set a GBX 6,400 ($88.42) price objective on shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group in a report on Monday, January 29th. Liberum Capital dropped their price objective on Reckitt Benckiser Group from GBX 8,700 ($120.20) to GBX 8,000 ($110.53) and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a buy rating and set a GBX 8,250 ($113.98) price objective on shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a buy rating and set a GBX 7,900 ($109.15) price objective on shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a GBX 6,600 ($91.19) price objective (down previously from GBX 7,100 ($98.09)) on shares of Reckitt Benckiser Group in a report on Monday, November 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of GBX 7,190 ($99.34).
Reckitt Benckiser Group (LON RB) traded down GBX 16 ($0.22) during trading hours on Monday, reaching GBX 5,649 ($78.05). The company had a trading volume of 1,502,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,700,000. The stock has a market capitalization of $39,820.00 and a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,054.18. Reckitt Benckiser Group has a 52-week low of GBX 5,608 ($77.48) and a 52-week high of GBX 8,110.43 ($112.05).
COPYRIGHT VIOLATION WARNING: “Reckitt Benckiser Group (LON:RB) Given a GBX 7,500 Price Target by JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analysts” was published by StockNewsTimes and is the sole property of of StockNewsTimes. If you are viewing this news story on another site, it was stolen and reposted in violation of United States & international trademark & copyright legislation. The original version of this news story can be read at https://stocknewstimes.com/2018/03/14/reckitt-benckiser-group-rb-given-a-gbx-7500-price-target-at-jpmorgan-chase-co-2.html.
Reckitt Benckiser Group Company Profile
Reckitt Benckiser Group plc is a manufacturer and marketer of health, hygiene and home products. The Company’s segments include ENA and DvM. The ENA segment consists of Europe, Russia/Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Israel, North America, Australia and New Zealand. The DvM segment consists of North Africa, Middle East (excluding Israel) and Turkey, Africa, South Asia, North Asia, Latin America, Japan, Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
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GJEPC applauds USTR's temporary suspension of tariffs on Indian jewellery
The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council has praised the United States Trade Representative decision to suspended tariffs on goods from countries including India for 180 days.
As the U.S. is a major export market for India’s gem and jewellery industry, the USTR’s temporary suspension of tariffs will have a significant effect on the industry, according to the GJEPC.
The USTR’s temporary tariff suspension is designed to allow more time to complete the ongoing multilateral negotiations on international taxation at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and in the G20 process and applies to India, Austria, Italy, Spain, and Turkey.
“I would like to thank USTR for giving the Indian jewellery industry an opportunity for sharing our views at the public hearing last month and considering our representation,” said GJEPC chairman Colin Shah, the trader’s body reported on its website.
“Most of the speakers at the hearing were of the view that a multilateral solution would be a preferable option, as a unilateral action undermines and weakens the Dispute Settlement Mechanism under WTO. The suspension of tariff on goods for up to 180 days is an indication that the USTR is willing to wait till a multilateral solution is found for Digital Service Taxes.”
Shah thanked the Government of India, especially the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, for its representations made to the USTR on the matter.
“The imposition of the proposed 25% import duty on 17 Indian jewellery items would have immensely impacted this labour intensive sector with loss of jobs and livelihoods and a shift of business to countries such as China and Mexico,” said Shah.
"American jewellery companies also bank on Indian companies to fund their business by giving long credit and memo facilities, which would have major repercussions.”
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If gathering restrictions are slowly lifted amidst the coronavirus pandemic, it’s likely to raise questions among restaurant owners about whether their businesses might reopen for dining with reduced capacity.
Anthony Lazzara, for example, has concerns about its benefits. He owns Anthony’s Chophouse in Carmel.
“If restaurants open at 50 percent capacity, personally I don’t think it will help that much with restaurants,” he said. “You’ll be generating a little more revenue but your bills and cost are not 50 percent off, so it doesn’t really help us to get 50 percent of the capacity back in. With us having a larger space, we can spread people out and still get a good amount of people in. It helps alleviate some of the pain because it’s sales, but it doesn’t necessarily fix anything.”
Anthony’s has a capacity of approximately 350 guests, including the 3UP Rooftop Bar. Anthony’s Chophouse offers patio seating as well, but that is weather dependent.
Lazzara isn’t sure how the public will react initially.
“Certain demographics are more susceptible, so are those people going to be going out at all or are they not?” he said. “I’m optimistic that people are so tired of being cooped up, they are going to go out no matter what. But again, how long will that last before the curve jumps back up again?”
Lazzara said his restaurant, which has been offering takeout, features the top scale of cleanliness in daily practices.
“You get a new fork with every bite you take pretty much,” he said. “Everything is made from scratch and it’s extremely clean all the time.”
Lazzara said he isn’t sure if sitting at the bar will be permitted anytime soon because guests are often sitting next to others and the bartender is right in front of the customer.
“If someone sneezes or coughs in a bar, it affects the entire area,” he said.
Lazzara said he is examining financial numbers to see if it would work to open under restrictions.
“In one regard, let me take one month of revenue and cut it in half, so what’s our cost?” he said. “At the same time, I think of my staff and I want to do everything I can to get them money in their pocket. If the business can’t succeed, you’re not going to have a job, anyway.”
If restaurants can break even and meet fixed costs, Lazzara said most would do it.
Kitchen employees would have to wear masks and Lazzara said he would check employees’ temperatures each day.
Bar Louie co-owner Frank Sweeney said his Carmel restaurant partners have been discussing what types of masks would work and daily temperature checks as well.
“We do have very high regular kitchen sanitation procedures in place, but the advent of COVID-19 has raised many new questions and issues,” said Sweeney, whose restaurant has not been offering takeout and is temporarily closed.
For table service, Sweeney said some measures discussed include gloves for every credit card transaction and changing them after each use; separate stations to sanitize pens and menus after every use; use of disposable menus; and removal of all table toppers and caddies.
“In regards to a limited capacity reopening combined with social distancing requirements, I think that is going to be a very tough challenge to navigate, especially for bars and restaurants with a heavy bar component,” Sweeney said. “The social interaction of any good bar is such an important part of the experience. Larger venues like ours at least have the space to be able to spread out seating our patrons as needed and required. That being said, we also have much larger overhead, so if sales are off 60 to 70 percent for an extended period of time, survival will become harder and harder for many restaurants awaiting for the return of pre-COVID-19 business levels.”
Sanitizer stations, foot openers for restroom doors and changing to automatic sinks have been discussed, too.
Papa Fattoush owner Ahmad Al-Maaitah opened his Greek and Mediterranean restaurant in the Arts & Design District in 2018 and has been offering carryout .
“It’s a community safety matter, and reopening gradually with restrictions and keeping physical distancing is very important to our customers, our employees and even us,” Al-Maaitah said. “Our capacity is 25 inside seats and 12 outside seats. Our plan after reopening is to increase the outdoor seating capacity and decrease inside to 50 percent. Kitchen protocol and precautions will stay the same, and new employees will be needed for different shifts, so no crowds at the same shift.”


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It was one of the biggest economic surprises of the year so far, a first quarter fall in U.S. GDP. Some claimed that this was a minor technicality, others think that a recession is inevitable. This article will highlight what’s going on and analyze which way the economic winds are likely to blow.
Before talking about GDP, there’s something to know about little. Let’s take a look at this looming recession.
Let’s start with GDP decline. It came as a bit of shock. The U.S. first quarter growth turned out negative out negative at -1.4%.
This followed a pretty steady 6.9% growth rate at the end of last year. Moreover, this was far below the median analyst projections which had Q1 GDP growing at 1%. Now despite how gloomy this would have made most people, the markets seemed to rely on the news. This had many people scratching their heads, wondering what the hell was going on. It could be because people thought that the reason for this fall in the Q1 numbers was more technical than anything fundamental. So what does that mean?
We had a negative change in inventories and a large fall in net exports. The trade subtracted 3.2% from GDP whereas the former was 0.84%. If we’ll run the numbers, we’ll arrive at the -1.4% that we got for GDP.
According to the press release from the bureau of economic analysis “The decrease in real GDP reflected decreases in private inventory investment, exports, federal government spending, and state and local government spending, while imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP increased”.
Now what this could imply is that one of the engines of U.S. economic growth, consumer spending is still quite strong, whereas all the other factors that could impact on that GDP collection were weighing down on it.
So does this adequately explain the fall and is it much to do about nothing?
IN short, yes.
There was a large drop in government spending this quarter on account of limited stimulus. Moreover, because the U.S. consumer demanded a great deal of goods in the first quarter, they had to be imported. On the flip side though, consumer spending in other countries and particularly those in Asia has been lower.
That means that the U.S. was not importing more than it was exporting in the first quarter bigger gap in net exports. On top of this, investment has fallen because inventories have fallen as well.
While there was a large stock of inventories in Q4 of last year, U.S. consumers have voraciously worked their way through that this year.
Moreover, given supply chain issues, companies in the U.S. have not been able to easily replenish these stockpiles. So on the face of it, it appears as if the core of the GDP calculation which is consumer spending is holding up better relative to other countries around the world and hence the reason for that trade imbalance. This then led many analysts to claim that the numbers did not concern them and they still saw strong U.S. growth this year.
For example, Gargi Chaudhri, of Blackrock ishares investment said “I would also say that when we forecast second and third quarter GDP, I think we are going to see some of the draws from government spending and from net exports that we saw in the first quarter probably point to a more resilient U.S. economy”.
Let’s not forget the infrastructure bill that was passed last year in congress.
These massive government spending packages don’t happen overnight and the funds take at least six months before they start going out, that means that we may not have seen the effect of spending last quarter, it may come in this quarter.
Also if it is believed that supply chains are likely to ease up more on that in a bit, then you can expect those net exports to also normalize.
Now similar arguments were made by Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon macroeconomics “This is noise; not signal. The economy is not falling into recession”. He went out to point out that net trade imbalances could actually boost net exports in Q2 and Q3.
Gus Faucher, of PNC financial services said quote “The U.S. economy is not in recession. A few temporary factors trade inventories and government caused the economy to shrink”.
Indeed the broader collective of Wall Street analysts don’t think that we’re heading for a recession anytime soon.
That’s thanks to this Handy Wall street journal economic survey for April.
It asked a total of 77 economic analysts, their projections on the number of key variables. One of those was economic growth and the average estimates were 2.9, 2.8, and 2.56% respectively.
That’s because many appear to be basing their assumptions on historical norms which are quite frankly not fit for purpose in the current economic climate.
That’s because right now inflation is at levels that we have not seen for over 40 years.
Inflation that appears to be still on the rise and is showing no signs of slowing down. This inflation is of course destructive for everyone’s wallet but it’s less likely to cause a recession than the methods used in order to rein it in.
The Fed has been favoring one side of that dual mandate growth at the cost of some seriously high and destructive inflation.
So in order to try and rein in that inflation, the fed has to dramatically reverse course and start raising rates. In fed parlance, it’s trying to achieve a quite soft landing essentially guide inflation down with higher interest rates without damaging the economy.
The only problem is that asking to trying to land a jumbo jet on an aircraft carrier. It’s more likely to be a crash that overshoots the deck.
The fed started this reverse course towards the end of last year when it began tapering its bond buying this taper sped up this year and resulted in the very first interest rate rise in March of 25 basis points.
The fed is currently having its May meeting and the market expectation is that it could raise rates as much as 75 basis points.
Even the lowest estimates of 50 basis points is still quite significant given that the previous hike was only 25 basis points.
Now of course, raising interest rates does not come without risk that’s because when the fed raises the base rate, fed funds rate, interest rates throughout the economy also go up.
Higher interest rates mean lower growth because people are less likely to take out loans, companies can’t take out loans for investments. It could also lead to severe stress as people and companies that have taken out debt now have higher interest payments to make.
The point is that because the fed was subsidizing its growth objectives during covid at the expense of inflation. It now has to go other way and severely restrict that money supply.
The only problem here is whether these fed actions can really have any sort of impact on inflation.
That’s because one of the biggest drivers of our current inflation is outside control of our fed and that is cost push inflation or more specifically supply chains and energy prices.
If the war in Ukraine is unlikely to end soon nor the accompanying sanctions.
But also the Chinese government appears unrelenting in its lockdown policies.
For example, shanghai population (28 million people) is entering its fifth week of lockdown. And while there have been some hints that it could be eased people in the city have not yet felt any reprieve.
Beijing now appears to be at a tipping point as some apartment complexes appear to be getting locked down.
More venues are being closed and restrictions put in place. Right now, it’s not a matter of if but when Beijing is going to go into a hard lockdown.
Now the impact that these policies have had on the Chinese economy is hard to tell. That’s partly because the lockdown started at the tail end of Q1 and partly because their numbers can’t fully be trusted. But there are already some indicators that things aren’t likely to look good.
That’s thanks to the April manufacturing and non-manufacturing numbers which show a massive fall over the month.
According to a statement by the statistics bureau, the deterioration in manufacturing activities was due to declines in both productions and demand. So it’s quite clear that china’s GDP is in for a nasty shock.
Even if the government stats are able to miraculously show some growth. The impact that these lockdowns are having on the rest of the world is profound.
Firstly, given that slowdown is in demand as well. This means that Chinese consumers are less likely to be buying western goods.
Net exports are impacted by the amount of goods that are being imported in these regions.
This further weighs on the GDP numbers in the second quarter.
Then, of course, the impact comes that these lockdowns are having on the production and distribution of those goods. China’s closure of these ports and restrictions of truckers coming into coveted hotspots is having an incredibly destructive impact.
There is a risk that when these lockdowns do eventually lift, there’s going to be a barrage of orders from companies in the west that are wary of running out of inventories. This is likely to flood western ports with a crush of imports once again.
According to Jacques vandermeiren, the chief executive officer of the port of Antwerp “we expect a bigger mess than last year. It will have a negative impact and a big negative impact for the whole of 2022”.
So what does all of this mean?
Disruption of manufacturing in china and also in the west on account of limited supplies for one thing. You then also have that immense cost push pressure on inflation, the higher inflation goes, the more fed will have to tighten, the more it hammers the economy a triple whammy. But of course, china’s lockdowns are not the only risk weighing on the global economy.
We are now in the third month of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and to say that it has been a disruption is putting it mildly.
Not only invasion has itself completely destroyed Ukraine’s economy, to say nothing of the suffering inflicted upon its people.
But the sanctions against Russia are likely to send it intodeep recession too. In fact, those sanctions are likely to cause even more global economic damage than the conflict itself.
Russia is starting to make good on its promise to stop sending gas to those countries that don’t pay for it in roubles.
And the first two countries to have experienced that are Poland and Bulgaria when Gazprom recently turned off the tabs.
Europe cried foul and screamed blackmail which it no doubt was. But as long as they are dependent on that gas they can’t say much more. About a quarter of Europe’s energy generation is thanks to gas and about 40% of that comes from Russia.
This recent action by Russia and the looming threat of further blackmail has been weighing on other countries that could be in the firing line.
Countries are trying to adapt and wean themselves off Russian gas. However, many fear that this cannot be done fast enough. If there is a situation in which Russian gas is turned off for the rest of Europe, then the unthinkable gas rationing is likely to take place.
Industries will have to lobby governments in order to make the case as to why they should be allowed to receive gas over homes and other businesses. Companies will go under. If this story plays out then it will be hard for Europe to escape a recession.
According to the Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank “In severe crisis scenario, real GDP in the current year would fall by almost two percent compared to 2021”. Naturally this is not good for Europe but it’s bad for the rest of the world too.
A slowdown in Europe means less demand for U.S. goods and hence a worsening in the trade balance and GDP also.
We cannot forget the impact that an oil and gas embargo will have on the prices of these commodities.
Countries in Europe will be scrambling to make up the shortfall with imports from other regions. This will, of course, push up prices for everyone around the world.
This will result in more inflation which the fed will have to fight with policies that impact on growth. It’s not at all unrealistic to assume that we could be heading for a period of low growth and high inflation i.e. stagflation.
Not since the 1970s, have we seen this economic reality play out a reality that no one thought likely until a few months ago. So are we heading into a slowdown or even possibly a recession?
Here are views of others about this quagmire.
Let’s start with perhaps one of the most well-known global financial organizations out there, IMF. It has recently slashed its growth estimates for the region and warned of severe economic consequences for Europe given the ongoing war.
This has forced it to lower its growth forecast not only for the region but also entire global economy. This was part of its global economic outlook report published about a week ago.
And speaking of the IMF, one of its ex-chief economists seems to think that we are at serious risk of falling into a recession.
Kenneth Rogoff, is a well-known Harvard economist and he made this case in a guardian op-ed. He thinks that the risk of a U.S. recession has recently soared with the main uncertainties now being its timing and severity. He also thinks that China’s zero covid policy is causing significant economic damage and it could already be in a recession. As it relates to the old continent “a recession in Europe is almost inevitable if the war in Ukraine escalates scary stuff”.
Another important perspective on this is that of Bill Dudley, an ex-federal chairman, he recently wrote in a Bloomberg op-ed that “the fed has made a U.S. recession inevitable”. In the piece he takes swipes at current fed policy and thinking.
One thinking is that they had no impact on high levels of inflation that we currently see and yes it does still think that. And the others think that it can somehow engineer a soft landing because of similar episodes in the past.
Dudley claims that “the fed’s application of its framework has left it behind the curve in controlling inflation. This in turn has made a hard landing virtually inevitable”.
Now another report is from Deutsche Bank. In it db’s chief economists warn that the U.S. is on the brink of a major recession and that it will be much worse than expected.
They said “we regard highly likely that the fed will have to step on the brakes even more firmly and a deep recession will be needed to bring inflation to heal”.
They also estimate that in order to significantly bring inflation down to those target two percent levels, the fed’s fund rate will have to rise to at least the five or six percent level. For a world that’s already so indebted such a measure is not likely to end well.
What are all investors saying?
A survey that polled over 1200 major investors worldwide, it was conducted over the first few days of April. What the survey finds is that, a worldwide recession could be just around the corner.
Moreover, according to the sentix economic indicator, investor confidence in the Eurozone is now at its lowest level since the early days of the pandemic.
But perhaps one of the most illuminating surveys about a potential recession is that which polled 4,000 adults in the U.S.
According to the survey, a full 81% of the respondents say that they think the U.S. is likely to experience a recession this year.
Moreover, the vast majority of those surveyed said that they are worried about this recession. Now what do people do, if they are worried about economic hardship. They save, they slow their spending which, of course, ends up further impacting economic growth. If consumer sentiment does eventually sour, that could be a further drag a GDP. Remember that the consumption part of the GDP calculation was the one that everyone was trumpeting earlier. Less consumption, lower GDP and a recession bake some inflation into that equation.
Some thoughts are; the negative Q1 GDP numbers were no doubt a shock when the consensus estimate is for 1% growth and you’ve a 1.4% contraction that’s sure to ring alarm bells. There were some large adjustments to the net exports and investments but they are still an important component. Moreover the assumptions that these are likely to reverse themselves in Q2 are hopeful at best.
Given everything else that’s going on in the world right now demand for exports is likely to be muted and supply chains are only going to get more strained. Not only this will have a negative impact on output and consumption but it’s also going to add further pressure to inflation. Inflation that is frankly out of control, the fed is going to have to try and rein it but it’s between rock and a hard place. Does it risk a recession with severely restrictive monetary policies when a great deal of price pressure is coming from something that it can’t control?
It will be hard to stave off a recession. Europe seems poised to enter one given that Putin is not interested in ending the war and wants to settle scores. China is probably already in a recession and even if it isn’t, you’ll want to take its official numbers with a truckload of salt and then you have U.S. consumer confidence which could likely be further harmed by high inflation, low growth, and higher interest rates.
So the main question now appears to be not if we will head into a recession but when?


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GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado – Grand Junction Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram is hosting its first-ever Boo Crew Costume Drive with TV station News Channel 5 to help foster children get a chance to dress up for Halloween.
The dealership is acting as the drop-off location for any new or gently used costumes, as well as the storefront for foster families – or any other child without a costume – to search the rolling clothing racks for a perfect fit.
“Families call me ahead of time, so I get their gender and ages to make sure we have some choices in stock for them,” Jennifer Edwards, customer-relations manager, told Edmunds.
The dealership has invested about $800 in child-friendly decorations and giveaways for the event, as well as visiting several thrift shops to buy several costumes to launch the drive, Edwards said.
“You would be surprised how many foster babies there are, so we had to make sure we had infant costumes in stock,” she said.
Edwards admits this is an unusual way to get people into the used-car portion of their showroom, where they set up the display, but the drive was never about moving metal.
“This is something we do out of the goodness of our hearts,” she said.
Edmunds says: This dealership serves as a good neighbor to even the smallest members of the community.


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Kelley Blue Book has announced the winners of its 2012 Brand Image Awards, which are based on responses from drivers who fill out the company's Car Brand Perception Survey. The awards track how the general public feels about certain brands, regardless of whether that opinion is rooted in fact.
"Image isn't everything, but it is more than enough to get shoppers into the store, and that's half the battle for automakers and their dealers," said Jack Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for KBB. "With standout vehicles, memorable marketing and positive word of mouth, the winners of Kelley Blue Book's 2012 Brand Image Awards have secured enviable positions in the minds of in-market shoppers."
Ford was the big winner, taking home four awards, including both Best Interior and Best Exterior design. Mercedes-Benz repeated for the fifth time as the Most Prestigious automaker, while Honda nabbed awards for Best Value and Most Trusted, mainly thanks to its history of reliable vehicles.
While a brand may have a reputation for offering reliability, no car is immune to mechanical issues. Fortunately, drivers who keep up with their auto maintenance can ensure that they avoid the more expensive car repairs that may pop up.


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The last vestiges of Palm have left HP, as All Things D and multiple other sources have confirmed in the last hour that the former Palm CEO and technical mastermind behind webOS has officially left HP after serving his initial commitment of 12-24 months following the acquisition by HP in 2010 after struggles in the marketplace forced Palm to seek a buyer.
Jon Rubenstein became head of Palm in 2008 following years of losses and false starts for the hardware manufacturer as it struggled to maintain marketshare in a marketplace dominated by the iPhone and facing the threat of Android. Under Rubenstein, Palm set out to compete head on against the iPhone by completely killing any association with GarnetOS and starting from scratch with the Linux-based webOS operating system. At the time of the operating system’s debut during CES 2009, it was hailed as a remarkable alternative to both Android and iOS.
Released in June of that year, the Palm Pre was backed by an exclusivity agreement with Sprint along with an equally massive marketing campaign which ultimately stumbled in terms of showcasing both the Pre and operating system, as most of the coverage was focused on the commercials themselves, which featured a rendered model of a woman that confused and frightened more people than sold the phone.
While the Pre did well initially, sales quickly dwindled to the point that Sprint was forced to endure months of slow sales before Palm was forced to seek other carrier partners in order to shore up hardware sales. Following launches on AT&T and Verizon with Wi-Fi enabled Pre variants in 2010, Palm were still struggling to make webOS successful in an increasingly crowded marketplace despite the critical acclaim of the operating system, to the point that the company was increasingly seeking to sell itself.
After months of rumors and speculation, Palm was purchased by HP in the summer of 2010 for 1.2 billion with the goals of having the resources necessary to further refine and develop the operating system, with an eye to expanding its presence beyond mobile devices, such as HP computers and printers. By 2011, the operating system and hardware was near moribund, with the only new product being the stillborn Pre 2 on Verizon Wireless since the acquisition.
The company seemed to be on an upswing in March with the announcements of the Pre 3, Veer 4G and TouchPad, which were meant to anchor the operating system with new hardware, but the announcements did little more than excite dedicated enthusiasts while leaving others indifferent.
Jon did not specify what his future plans were at the time of departure.


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What's for dinner? Let's ask some scientists in white lab coats. They are cooking up something new -- a burger made of meat that was never the living flesh of an animal. Hold the "yum" for the moment.
The test-tube hamburger, made from the stem cells of a cow grown into thin strands of muscle fiber, was the subject of a public tasting at Riverside Studios in London Monday, although only two tasters were allowed to try it. They both described it as almost like a conventional burger; one said it just wasn't as juicy.
The 5-ounce patty won't be coming to a kitchen near you anytime soon. As The Washington Post reported, it was the result of a five-year project, although it took only three months to grow the cells. Much more remains to be done.
A scientist, Mark Post, created the meat in his lab at Maastricht University in the Netherlands with the help of Peter Verstrate, a Dutch food technician. Quite apart from the remaining scientific questions to explore, there is the cost. This small burger cost $300,000 to develop. There's no getting a bag full of these burgers with fries just yet.
But why bother trying to improve upon nature? For some very good reasons. The world's population has grown to more than 7 billion, and this horde threatens to outstrip available resources. If the ersatz burger proves nutritious and reasonably like the real thing, famine itself might be kept at bay.
Moreover, cattle eat a prodigious amount of grass and consume large quantities of water -- resources that could be used to grow grain to feed more people. There's another benefit, too: Cattle are infamously flatulent and send tons of methane gas into the air, contributing to global warming. If all meat were grown in the lab, greenhouse gas emissions would be cut 80 percent globally by one estimate and water use by 90 percent.
Vegetarians can see an ethical benefit in burgers for which -- as they say in the movies -- no animals were harmed in their production. But not everybody is going to be charmed. You can almost bet your lunch money that someone will claim that this latest variant of frankenfood will cause humans harm. That bias exists far ahead of any evidence.
Indeed, the biggest problem with producing meat from the lab may not be the extraordinary technology that allows it to be created; it may be the public relations struggle to have it accepted, even if can be sold for far less than natural meat. And you thought Spam had a PR problem.opinion_editorials


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The way people pay for stuff is changing, and as consumers branch out beyond cash and credit, financial-services firms like MasterCard want to make sure they're providing the options. To do that, a key focus for the company is to attract younger consumers to join its Priceless program, and use the loyalty offering to develop new ways to pay -- and disseminate data along the way.
MasterCard has invested in entertainment and live-music events for a while now, sponsoring the 55th Annual Grammy Awards in 2013, teaming with Justin Timberlake through its Priceless Cities program, and offering special access at Beyonce concerts to cardholders. In its latest effort to appeal to the younger set, MasterCard has latched onto the electronic dance music phenomenon with an extensive sponsorship and partnership with electronic dance event company SFX, which hosts festivals across the globe labeled with names like Tomorrowland and Stereosonic.
MasterCard becomes the exclusive financial services sponsor for all of SFX's platforms, while operating the single sign-on technology used by EDM partygoers for buying tickets and merchandise and finding their ways around venues. The deal gives MasterCard a way to spread its MasterPass digital payment technology among a key audience of young 25-34 year-old adopters who could become bigger spenders as the years roll on.
Ad Age asked MasterCard Worldwide's CMO Raja Rajamannar about the company's attempts to woo younger consumers, its musical connections, and how his role has changed since MasterCard has put more resources into tech development.
Ad Age: MasterCard has focused a lot of its loyalty marketing efforts on tie-ins with musical artists and events such as Justin Timberlake and electronic dance music. Why is live music a good fit for the Priceless program and the types of consumers you'd like to attract to Priceless?
Mr. Rajamannar: We are continuously looking for ways to increase our brand salience and loyalty. Seventeen years ago, we created a powerful platform called Priceless where we celebrated the priceless moments in people's lives. Today we are evolving Priceless to create priceless experiences by connecting people to their passions. Music is a major passion of our consumer and therefore is a natural fit for our brand. EDM is the fastest growing music segment and gives us the opportunity to connect with a very important consumer segment: Millennials in particular and the 18-34 years audience more broadly.
Ad Age: You just signed a multi-year deal with SFX, the firm that MasterCard will work with as a tech development partner. Can you elaborate on the plans for your work with SFX?
Mr. Rajamannar: SFX produces over 1,600 events in over 20 countries, giving us the opportunity to connect with hundreds of millions of consumers and fans globally, and what we want to do is tap into their passion and create a complete experience for them, before, during and after the concert. For MasterCard this means integrating our product technology and marketing platforms into how fans download music and purchase tickets, how they buy and receive concessions or memorabilia at the event, and we are even looking at how we create unique VIP experiences -- say on-site at an exclusive restaurant. We will also look to integrate "Priceless Surprises" which has already proven to be popular with fans across other genres of music and in other passion categories. It's taking a look at the complete consumer journey and providing them with seamless and memorable experiences.
Ad Age: This type of technology-development initiative represents a major departure from what most people think of when they think of MasterCard. How has your role as CMO changed in light of MasterCard's tech-development efforts?
Mr. Rajamannar: Two things come to mind. First, when our CEO, Ajay Banga, joined MasterCard in 2009, he began an effort to transform our image from a payments company to a technology company, and part of that is changing consumers' perception. You can see this commitment in the new products and solutions we now bring to the marketplace, such as MasterPass, our digital payment solution or our Qkr payment app used at Yankee Stadium.
Second, the proliferation of mobile devices presents us with a unique opportunity to connect with our consumers, and to engage them in interesting and unprecedented ways. However, unlike for most other companies trying to leverage mobility as a marketing platform, for us at MasterCard, the product itself -- mobile payments, is core to our business. So both product and marketing are more intricately tied and focused on delivering seamless and unique experiences before, during and after the payment transaction.
As marketers we seek to differentiate and drive preference for our brand, and we do that through incorporating unique Priceless experiences around our products, including Priceless Cities, Priceless Surprises, and Priceless Causes.
Ad Age: How does culture affect the way consumers adopt things like wearables for event information and transactions? Are there distinctions among various regions globally?
Mr. Rajamannar: While the physical and digital worlds continue to converge, not all markets are the same; not all standards are the same. If we look at some emerging economies, they do not have significant legacy investments in technology platforms and that can leap frog them to newer technologies like wearables. The appetite for these things in markets such as the U.S. is also significant, and across multiple areas of application -- from finance to health to daily living. There are some markets which tend to be early adopters for such technology categories. And within a given market, there are segments that tend to adopt these much earlier than the others. Point is, each market has a unique ecosystem, and what we are focused on is creating that unique and seamless experience for consumers no matter where they are. One way we do this is by pulling out those common passion themes like music and sports, and then delivering experiences around them in a meaningful way. That could be via wearables, mobile, gaming, tablet, PC -- without losing sight of the uniqueness of the market, and of course, making sure that the economics of the business case work, too.


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With their consistent mix quality, the systems reportedly reduce labor time and increase efficiency by decreasing the need for hand coating.
January 16, 2020
Sulzer Mixpac USA Inc. recently announced that its MIXPAC MixCoat Flex and MixCoat Spray cartridge-based two-component dispensing systems are ideal for touch-up and repair work of weld seams and difficult-to-reach areas on Navy ships.
With these acquisitions, Seal For Life reports that it has broadened its portfolio of protective coating technologies, expanded its range of applications, and significantly grown its presence in North America.
January 10, 2020
Seal For Life recently announced that it has completed the acquisitions of Flame Control Coatings, Highland International, LifeLast, and US Coatings.
The Pan Pacific Microelectronics Symposium reportedly promotes international technical interchange and provides a forum for networking among microelectronics professionals and business leaders throughout the world.
December 31, 2019
SMTA recently announced that the program is finalized for its 25th Annual Pan Pacific Microelectronics Symposium, which will take place February 10-13, 2020, at the Westin Hapuna Beach Resort on the Big Island of Hawaii.
All three Housing Market Index components registered gains in December 2019.
December 27, 2019
Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes increased five points to 76 in December, from an upwardly revised November reading, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI).
The electronics industry’s expected direction in the next six months remained generally optimistic, with all business indicators looking positive.
December 26, 2019
Growth is slowing worldwide and the electronics industry’s outlook is less optimistic than in previous quarters, although it is still generally positive, according to the results of IPC’s fourth quarter 2019 “Pulse of the Electronics Industry” survey.
The Association for UV+EB Technology is excited to announce the dates and location for the RadTech 2020 UV+EB Technology Expo and Conference, taking place March 9-11, 2020 at Disney Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, FL.
Attendees of the American Coatings Show & Conference can experience immediate business opportunities, a complete portfolio of high-grade competitive products, and access to top coatings decision makers.


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Official celebrations for Air Canada's new, non-stop flight between Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) and Kelowna International Airport (YLW), which arrived to Kelowna for the first time in late June, took place at YLW on July 5.
"We are excited to launch the only non-stop service between Montreal and Kelowna, connecting two leading tourism destinations popular with Quebecers and British Columbians alike," said Senior Vice President, Network Planning and Revenue Management at Air Canada, Mark Galardo. "We know people are excited to travel again, and we look forward to welcoming our customers onboard."
The timing of the new flight coincided well with the kick-off of Step 3 in BC's Restart Plan, which occurred July 1 and sees Canada-wide recreational travel once again resume, with fully-vaccinated Canadians, in particular, being encouraged to come and explore our province.
“Our local tourism economy, which prior to the pandemic was a $2.1 billion industry, relies on strong air service connections,” said Tourism Kelowna President & CEO, Lisanne Ballantyne. “This new Air Canada flight between YUL and YLW is a welcome addition, particularly as BC moves to the next step in its restart plan and we stand ready to welcome visitors back to our region."
The flights on the new, environmentally-friendly Airbus A220-300—which includes complimentary entertainment at every seat, onboard WiFi, and more—will operate three times weekly, increasing to four times in mid-July, five times in August, and then extending beyond the summer to year round service. Flight schedules and booking can be accessed on Air Canada's website.
"Air Canada's non-stop Montreal-Kelowna service marks a vast milestone for YLW to bring travel between Quebec and the Okanagan region," said YLW Airport Director, Sam Samaddar. "Montreal has been a significant region for tourism in the Okanagan and we have worked numerous years to achieve this community connection. I look forward to welcoming residents of Quebec and those who connect through Montreal to our four-season paradise."
Read more about the launch in the official press release.
In addition to Air Canada, service to YLW for domestic travel from various destinations is also provided by WestJet, Swoop, Flair, Pacific Coastal, and other smaller, regional airlines.
Travellers can rest assured that safety is a top priority at YLW, where a variety of measures have been introduced for arrivals and departures from the airport, including increased sanitization of high-touch areas, a requirement to wear a mask or face coverings when inside the terminal, and more.
Individuals arriving at YLW can access information about Kelowna and area at our YLW Information Kiosk—while volunteers are onsite a few days a week, we now also have a Google Nest doorbell that links people directly to our team at the Kelowna Visitor Centre, who are available seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. PDT. There is also a touchscreen that allows arriving travellers to explore our website and online retail store before they leave YLW, as well as a selection of brochures and copies of our Official Visitors' Guide that they can take with them as they set out to explore Kelowna.
For more information about the measures Canadian airlines are taking to keep travellers safe, visit the following links:
- Air Canada COVID-19 Information Hub
- WestJet Safety Above All and COVID-19
- Swoop COVID-19 Information Center
- Flair Airlines FlySafe
- Pacific Coastal COVID-19 Updates & Information


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Positive beauty of lab tests
BABELFISH, in Douglas Adams’s masterpiece The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, were small animals that you put in your ear to translate all languages. They thus “caused more and bloodier wars than anything else”, Adams said. Feedback suspects Google Translate has some way to go to be credited with even a small war.
Journalists have been struggling to piece together what is happening with MERS, the scary coronavirus that at the time of writing had infected 163 people and killed 71. Most of the cases have been in Saudi Arabia, but epidemiological reports issuing from the country are scarce.
So enterprising non-Arab-speaking journalists have been machine-translating reports in papers such as Al Arabiya – and discovering headlines such as “Medical tests prove the innocence of the beauty of the ‘Corona’ yet“. This article goes on, according to Google, to say that the quest for “scientific knowledge of whether beauty is causing virus, Corona” has “demonstrated a positive beauty of the initial laboratory tests”.
One thing Google has not properly twigged is that the Arabic word for “beauty” can have the same spelling as that for “camel”. A camel had antibodies to MERS. Not nearly as much fun, put like that.
Royal Mail in the UK informed Andrew Bristow that Special Delivery items to arrive by 25 December 2013 must be posted before Monday 30 December 2013. That’s truly special!
CTC, the UK national cycling charity, informed Ken Hawkins that it “questions the utility of gadgets such as Cycle Alert, a device that warns bus drivers of the proximity of cyclists


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GM takes first-quarter hit
General Motors Co. reported a 58.7 percent year-over-year decline in income for the first quarter of 2018.
The Detroit automaker brought in $1.1 billion in income from $36.1 billion of revenue during the first quarter of 2018. Earnings were impacted by the cost of restructuring GM’s South Korea business; the company recorded a $924 million charge for the restructuring.
During the quarter, GM sold 715,794 vehicles in the U.S., up 4 percent ahead of an estimated industry increase of about 2 percent.
Meanwhile, the Chevrolet Cruze, which is built at the GM Lordstown Assembly Complex, saw a 26 percent year-over-year decline from January through March. In total, 39,855 Cruzes were sold, down from 53,923 sold during the first quarter of 2017.
Sales declines for the Cruze, a compact car, led the automaker to announce the elimination of the second shift at the plant in mid-June.
Private-sector pay increasing
U.S. private-sector workers received the biggest pay raise in 11 years in the first three months of the year, a sign that the tight job market is slowly lifting wages.
The Labor Department said Friday that its employment cost index shows wages and salaries in the private sector rose 1 percent between January and March compared with the previous quarter. That’s the biggest gain since the first quarter of 2007, before the Great Recession began.
The gain was boosted partly by healthy year-end commissions that are typically paid to sales workers at the beginning of the year. The increase may also reflect other one-time factors, such as bonuses paid out after the Trump administration’s corporate tax cut took effect.
In the past year, wages for private sector workers rose 2.9 percent, the healthiest increase since the third quarter of 2008.
The unemployment rate is at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent.
GDP growth slows down
The U.S. economy slowed to a moderate 2.3 percent annual growth rate in the first quarter as consumer spending turned in the weakest performance in nearly five years. Still, the January-March increase came in better than expected, supporting hopes for a solid rebound for the rest of the year.
The Commerce Department reported Friday that the gain in the gross domestic product, the economy’s total output of goods and services, followed a 2.9 percent rise in the fourth quarter and gains above 3 percent in the previous two quarters.
Many economists had forecast that growth would slip below 2 percent in the first quarter, reflecting a big pullback by consumers after a torrid pace of spending in the fourth quarter. Consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of economic activity, decelerated sharply from a 4 percent growth rate in the fourth quarter to a 1.1 percent pace in the first quarter.
Loan data involved in breach
A student loan services company recently notified 16,500 borrowers that files containing personal data were released to a business that wasn’t authorized to receive them.
Access Group Education Lending said in a letter to those affected that the data breach happened on March 23 when one of its vendors sent out files — including borrowers’ names, driver’s license numbers and Social Security numbers — to another business. The business was not identified, but has been described as a student loan lender.
Access Group said in the letter that it learned of the release on March 28 and it was assured that the vendor who received the files deleted them and didn’t retain copies. The company did not begin notifying borrowers until three weeks later.
In response to questions from The Associated Press, Access Group said in a statement that exposure to personal information was limited and has been terminated. Those who were affected are being offered free credit monitoring services for a year.
Access Group said the information was inadvertently released by Nelnet, which processes student loans for Access Group. To prevent something similar in the future, Access Group will continue to monitor its vendors and require written data transfer protocols.
Compiled from staff and wire reports.
Business news briefs, April 28: GM takes hit in first quarter


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KCP Sugar & Industries Corporation is currently trading at Rs. 40.00, up by 0.85 points or 2.17% from its previous closing of Rs. 39.15 on the BSE.
The scrip opened at Rs. 39.35 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 40.80 and Rs. 38.50 respectively. So far 321362 shares were traded on the counter.
The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 45.90 on 07-Jul-2016 and a 52 week low of Rs. 17.80 on 17-Feb-2016.
Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 42.90 and Rs. 33.95 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 455.81 crore.
The promoters holding in the company stood at 40.23%, while institutions and non-institutions held 0.19% and 59.58% respectively.
KCP Sugar & Industries Corporation has sold 34,347 quintals of sugar in January 2017, while the company has sold 3529.24 tonnes of Molasses in the same month. The company has sold 941.07 tonnes and 23.30 tonnes of Bio-compost and Calcium Lactate, respectively. It also sold 467.17 quintals of Bio-Fertilzer and 0.365 tonnes of Mycorrhiza in the same month. Besides, the company has sold 1,590,000 Bulk Litres of Ethanol in January 2017.
KCP Sugar & Industries Corporation is engaged in business of manufacturing and marketing of Sugar and Bio-products. The company’s manufacturing facilities are located at Vuyyuru and Lakshmipuram.


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This is not Dolce and Gabbana’s first trip to the city; they were here two years ago and their current trip reaffirms how Dubai has become a market of importance.
Dubai’s fashion scene has been attracting huge international attention. Two weeks ago, there was Fashion Forward Dubai (FFWD), the region’s definitive fashion showcase. Stella Jean, the Haitian-Italian designer who is regarded to be Giorgio Armani’s protégée and a winner of Vogue Italia’s Who Is On Next, was one of the attendees at FFWD. And then, last week, British designer Roland Mouret was in town.
Guess who’s in Dubai today? None other than Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana! This is not Dolce and Gabbana’s first trip to the city; they were here two years ago and their current trip reaffirms how Dubai has become a market of importance.
“It is a city with a thousand faces, you can find anything you want, and it is a modern and cosmopolitan metropolis,” says Gabbana.
In 2014, Bain & Company reported the Middle East has the highest per capita spending on luxury. Dubai, the hub of the Middle East, is a big global shopping destination. It is, after all, home to the world’s biggest mall, Dubai Mall. But it’s not Dubai Mall that brings Italian designers Dolce and Gabbana to the city; the official launch of the new Dolce & Gabbana boutique is at the Mall of the Emirates.
The new store is Dolce and Gabbana’s largest space in the region; the two-level store is well over 1,000 square feet. It is also home to the UAE’s only ‘Made to Measure’ service for men. Naturally, the duo is very proud of it . as Dolce says: “The boutique in Dubai is part of a new way of conceiving and thinking the retail concept. When we thought of this new boutique, we thought about (combining the best of) the outside world and this country. The black marble with white veining is the main characteristic that stands out. The great golden staircase with fluid surfaces imparts (a sense of) movement to the entire boutique.”
As a brand, Dolce & Gabbana are relooking their retail concepts and have started a process called ‘The Retail Revolution’; the first store under this vision opened a few weeks ago in Milan’s Via Montenapoleone. The idea is that there no longer be concept stores – Dolce and Gabbana’s space will now reflect their local surroundings, not just follow a formula. Though the Mall of the Emirates store is not a part of ‘The Retail Revolution’, the store that will open at the Dubai Mall extension next year will be a part of this … and, no doubt, the designer duo will be back to launch this space.
Dolce and Gabbana are in town for the first time since they launched the Modest Wear collection targeted at the Arab consumer at the start of this year. The collection is now in its third season. Initially, some fashion commentators were sceptical – since Dolce & Gabbana is the design house famous for making the corset dress a fashion staple; others felt it was just a way to “cash in”. The duo, however, artfully translated their trademark colourful prints into abayas and hijabs, and the local market responded well.
Says Dolce: “For this particular collection, we have also added some evening-wear styles and designs for special occasions – like a long black dress which is soft until the ankles, with golden floral embroideries; we like it very much.”
It is a complete collection that includes accessories. Gabbana says: “We are also very fond of the accessories line we designed keeping in mind the abayas: the Lucia bag, shoes, sunglasses, and the typical head covering – the hijab – that always complete the look. There is also a new black abaya model with red roses and purple flowers applied on it.”


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Skip to content
While some netizens praised the story, others felt cheated for the home decoration advertisement afte
r the video. Jiang Luxian, a lawyer from Chengdu, Sichuan province, said the advertisement probably violates relevant provisions of the A
dvertising Law, and the creativity of “sharing father” is also improper for public order and traditions.
Oppein, the creator behind the promotion, however, said on social media that
it hoped everyone would pay attention to the lack of father figures, and return to the family for love.
“Everything can be shared in this era, apart from family love,” the company said.
China’s foreign direct investment climbed 6.4 percent year-on-year to 305.24 billio
n yuan ($44.38 billion) in the first four months, the Ministry of Commerce said Thursday.
Meanwhile, investment from South Korea, the United States and Germany in Chin
a grew 114.1 percent, 24.3 percent and 101.1 percent year-on-year, respectively.
In April alone, FDI amounted to 62.95 billion yuan, up 6.3 percent year-on-year.
The city of Shanghai has become the first local government to answer the call of the central gove
rnment to promote automobile consumption by providing subsidies, since 10 mi
nistries and commissions of the country released six major methods of promoting car sales in January.
The official WeChat account of the Shanghai Municipal Government announced yesterday it will launch a car trade-i
n program, encouraging car owners to trade in their vehicles for new gas-powered cars complying with State-VI emi
ssions standards or new energy vehicles, according to a report by the 21st Century Business Herald.
The government will provide a subsidy of 10,000 yuan ($1,489) for a trade-in gas-powered
vehicle and 15,000 yuan for a trade-in new energy vehicle, the announcement said.
China’s automobile market saw a sales decline in 2018 for the first time
in 28 years, with passenger vehicle sales slumping for 10 consecutive months from last y
ear to March, according to the China Passenger Car Association. As the central government halved subsidies for new energy
vehicles this year, the promotion of car consumption depends more on local governments and enterprises.
ntry in the forest sector by the middle of this century in a guideline on promoting the greening of the homeland issued in November. The count
ry also aims to increase its percentage of forest cover from 21.7 percent in 2018 to about 23 percent in 2020, and 26 percent in 2035.
China’s digital trade is expected to lead global trade development, with the economic value of di
gital trade-enabled productivity benefits to the Chinese economy estimated to reach 37 trillion yu
an ($5.5 trillion) by 2030,according to a report on how China can capture digital trade opportunities at home and abroad.
Digital trade has become increasingly important; there are a lot of definitions of digital trade going on, with
the most common one being e-commerce, including monetary transactions and exchanges of goods and services, said re
search project head Konstantin Matthies, noting the report studies digital trade with a much broader approach.
“Digital trade” refers to the production, distribution, marketing, sale or delivery of goods and servi
ces – domestically and abroad – supported by cross-border digital flows. This consists of trade in digi
tally enabled products and services and cross-border data flows that create economic value in the domestic economy, acc
ording to the report jointly released by the Center for China and Globalization as well as the Hinrich Foundation.
domestically rated “AAA”, the safest level. The sale to individual investors is mainly of project-link
ed special-purpose bonds, a type of local government bond vigorously promoted by the government in re
cent years. The cash flows generated from the underlying projects will be used as the primary repayment sources.
In China, there are two types of local government bonds: general bonds and special purpose bonds. According to the country’s 2019 budget repor
t, which was approved by the top legislature earlier this month, the budgeted deficit for local governments is 930 billion yuan, up 100 billi
on yuan compared with 2018, and this fund gap will be supplemented by general bonds.
In the meantime, 2.15 trillion yuan of special purpose bonds will be issued to support la
rge infrastructure projects, such as shantytown renovation projects and railways, said the ministry.
Letting individual buyers invest in local government bonds is a way to narrow the government’s financin
g gap, said Hu Yijian, a tax professor at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. The gap is expected to expand, as policym
akers decided to cut about 2 trillion yuan in taxes and fees this year while at the same time increase spending on investment.


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PayPal ended the quarter with 103.0 million active registered accounts, a 14% increase year over year. PayPal revenue increased 32% year over year driven primarily by increased penetration on eBay as well as continued merchant and consumer adoption. PayPal's net total payment volume (TPV) grew 31% to $29.3 billion in the third quarter of 2011 compared to the same period of last year. PayPal continues to invest in innovation, focusing on the core platform, as well as mobile and point of sale initiatives. PayPal expects to generate more than $3.5 billion in mobile TPV in 2011, up from $750 million in 2010.
eBay reported that the PayPal 'take rate' increased to 3.78%. TechCrunch has a nice summary of John Donahoe's comments on their point of sale initiative.


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Cosmetic manufacturers and retailers are busy building their online channels for the tech-savvy generation who prefer to shop everything online.
The whole world is striving to create a digital presence and the beauty industry is certainly no exception. Cosmetic manufacturers and retailers are busy building their online channels for the tech-savvy generation who prefer to shop everything online.
For the generation X today, technology is not an extra element in life. They use technology in all aspects from working, socialising, paying bills to shopping. According to a study by Deloitte, after sharp increases year over year in 2014 and 2015, the digital influence factor is cooling off, growing only 14 per cent last year after sustaining multiple years of greater than 30 per cent growth. As a matter of fact, close to 22 per cent millennials and 78 per cent non-millennials are using digital devices throughout their shopping spree. The consumers are turning to the use of mobile devices more often during the shopping voyage. Besides shopping, the usage of mobile also allows consumers to share their experiences, whether good or bad, with other consumers on the internet. People share views on social media channels namely Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and others which influences potential consumer’s purchase decisions.
In the world of cosmetics and make-up, consumers will choose a premium cosmetic product by the virtue of the brand name even though they might get the same quality and finesse in a product by an easy on the pocket brand. Simply put, brand name plays a major role than touch-and-feel of the product. In light of this, cosmetic retailers across the globe have realised that digital has reshaped consumer behaviour and shopping trends forever now and, therefore, their strategies revolve around the appearance of the product.
Online shoppers have to primarily like the ‘look’ of the product which has given rise to innovative packaging in the skincare and cosmetic industry. According to a recent report released by Research and Markets, the global cosmetic packaging industry market was worth $24.3 billion in 2014 and is projected to reach $31.4 billion by 2020, with an annual growth rate of 4.3 per cent. Retailers package products using choicer green alternatives, incorporating natural or colourless closures while keeping the charm constant. Interactive identification methods such as quick response codes, advanced barcode technology, and near-field communication (NFC) labels are being used in packaging to actively engage consumers with the brand.
To make the most of this digital wave, cosmetic retailers should embrace the innate capabilities of their digital touchpoints and integrate with such platforms where their customers are already interacting rather than trying to build new platforms all by themselves. The brick-and-mortar retailers face challenging competition from e-commerce players; yet traditional retailers need not give up on the battle for growth.
About the author:
Irfan Menon is the Director at Olivia Cosmetics. In his current position, he looks into production, marketing, conceptualisation, consumer satisfaction and other core company operations. Olivia being a family business, Mr. Menon was associated with the company from the beginning. He has an experience of over 30 years and has earned the trustworthiness of trade partners, consumers and employees which is evident in the growth of the business to such commendable heights. Irfan Menon has completed his post graduation in Accountancy and likes to read and travel to new places.


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Port Fairy is a hive of activity as tourists are venturing to the region to enjoy their summer holidays.
After coronavirus restrictions were lifted, tourism operators reported an influx of booking requests for the summer season.
From Boxing Day to the end of January, Southcombe Caravan Park has 3463 bookings while the Gardens Caravan Park has 3399.
Across Moyne Shire, there are plenty of holidaymakers trekking to the south-west with Killarney reporting 589 bookings and Yambuk 200.
Koroit and Mortlake caravan parks had room for more visitors with 36 and 37 bookings respectively.
Moyne Shire Council tourism and customer experience manager Adam Boyle said the tourism sector had received a much-needed boost.
"We have been inundated with interest in our parks, with everyone eager for a getaway post-lockdown, and we are thrilled to be able to accommodate these visitors - providing a boost to businesses and local tourism," he said.
"Each park has a COVIDsafe Plan and accompanying this, all parks are following State Government guidelines for Accommodation, Caravanning and Camping.
"We have capacity limits in amenities and camp kitchens, contactless check in where possible, COVID safe protocols in place for all park staff, extra cleaning and disinfecting regimes, and provision of sanitisation wipes for guests at amenities and in office areas.
"Sites have been strategically configured to ensure social with an enormous amount of work gone into establishing COVID safe measures in our parks, including staff training in COVID safe measures and disinfection control."
Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.


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Haier Bangladesh has inaugurated their state-of-the-art Customer Service Centre at Shewrapra, Mirpur, Dhaka on 20th June 2021. This is the first Service Centre of Haier Bangladesh Ltd. From Haier Bangladesh Ltd management, Deputy Managing Director Mr. Wang Xiangjing, President Mr. Shaniur Nabi and other officials were present at the event.
The management emphasized that user-centered is the service tenet of Haier. They will be committed to improving the quality of service while enhancing the user experience. In order to provide best service to customers, Haier launched door-to-door service in Dhaka exclusively. And more new exclusive showrooms and Service Centers will be opened nationwide gradually to provide users with better services.
To avail the services, customer has to call 09666-88-00-99 and register their service request.
Let us witness the growth of Haier.


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Kids' Drawings End Up on the Wrong Page
Posted June 2, 1997 12:00 a.m. EDT
FAYETTEVILLE — Kids put a lot of thought into their artwork. Sprint Carolina Telephone decided to show off the children's art in the Yellow Pages. There was only one problem.
Nine of the drawings were placed in the "escort services" ad section of the Yellow Pages. Children's pictures of sunshine and rainbows are placed right next to advertisements with drawings of scantily-clad women.
The local Sprint office does edit the White Pages. However, the printing company is in charge of editing the Yellow Pages. Robert Grover, a spokesman for Sprint Carolina Telephone, says that his company gave the printer specific guidelines for the Yellow Pages -- guidelines which included keeping the kids' drawings away from adult businesses' ads.
By now, 80 percent of the more than 200,000 phone books are already out in area homes and businesses. Most school principals, including Larry Parsons of C. Wayne Collier's Elementary School, say that it's not necessary to try and the correct the mistake at this point.
Almost 200 other drawings are in other areas of the Yellow Pages. For Grover, it's a good program that gives kids a creative outlet -- despite this year's printing mistake.
Sprint has mailed letters to parents, apologizing for the mistake.