text:
Lock Stock self storage blog
New Telephone Scam Targets Cheshire Businesses
CPR Call Blocker is trying to raise awareness of the scam, and wants businesses to be on their guard.
19 April 2017
Denbigh Baker Expands Contract With Tesco
Henllan Bakery which has been working with Tesco since 2009 has revealed that it will be supplying more products to it’s stores in the future.
18 April 2017
Wrexham Business’s Offices Named As One Of UK’s Best Workplaces
A business in Wrexham has been praised by the British Council for Offices (BCO) awards scheme, being named one of the best workplaces in the UK.
13 April 2017
Hope for North Wales Business Growth Project
The North Wales Business Growth Project aims to provide training to local private companies in finance, marketing and management.
13 April 2017
Llandudno Pier Named Best In Wales
The 2017 Pier of the Year competition, run by the National Piers Society, has named Llandudno’s historic pier “The best in Wales”.
10 April 2017
Consent Near For Chester Development Site
On the April 4th, property contractors will pitch their individual plans to Cheshire West & Chester Council for a 17 acre plot of land.
03 April 2017
Brexit ‘Won’t Damage Cheshire Economy’
Businesses in Chester have been reassured the economic outlook for the region is bright following the vote to leave the EU last summer.
25 March 2017
Photographers Painting Wrexham In A Positive Light
A group of photographers, businesses & community groups have come together to do something about the media’s negative portrayal of Wrexham.
22 March 2017
Punniest North Wales Business Names Revealed
Everybody loves a pun & now the Daily Post has compiled a list of some of the best puntastic business names from around North Wales.
21 March 2017
Work Starts To Revamp Derelict Llandudno Hotel
The Tudno Castle Hotel in Llandudno has been empty since 2008 but it is now the focus of a multi-million pound project to develop the site.
20 March 2017
Council Defends Shrewsbury 80s Festival
Shrewsbury Town Council has given the go ahead to the Let’s Rock Shrewsbury 80s music event in the Quarry on 27 May 2017.
15 March 2017
‘Fantastic things’ Happening To Chester
According to the leader of Cheshire West & Cheshire Council, there is a lot for local businesses & residents alike to look forward to in Chester.
09 March 2017
New Downhill Mountain Biking Shop Opens In Llandudno
A new downhill biking shop run by former Welsh downhill champion Sion Jones, has just opened up in Llandudno.
06 March 2017
Small Businesses Should Give Rhyl A Chance
One owner of a small business in Rhyl has said that others should give the town a chance by opening up their own ventures.
23 February 2017
Office Scheme For Chester Business Park Could Create 800 Jobs
Chester Business Park are planning a new office building which could create nearly 800 jobs.
20 February 2017
Bangor Chapel Up For Sale!
A historic chapel in the heart of Bangor has just gone up for sale.
14 February 2017
Chester’s Fiesta Havana Bar Unveils New Look
Chester’s very own Latino-themed bar Fiesta Havana has reopened following its refit - and it’s looking hot.after a £145,000 refurbishment.
13 February 2017
Nominations Now Open For Wrexham Tourism Awards
The Wrexham Tourism Awards are back for its 3rd year in 2017 and there are ten awards up for grabs.
02 February 2017
Providero Coffee Shop Opens Thanks To Community Funding
New coffee shop Providero in Llandudno has finally opened its doors on Upper Mostyn Street
02 February 2017
Arts Centre To Be Added To Wrexham’s People’s Market
Numerous traders of Wrexham’s People’s Market moved to the Butchers Market to accommodate workmen to help make room for a building refurbishment
24 January 2017
- security (1)
- storage (1)
- storage bangor (4)
- storage chester (3)
- storage Denbigh (1)
- storage flint (1)
- storage in Chester (6)
- storage in Denbigh (1)
- storage in Llandudno (3)
- storage in Mold (2)
- storage in Rhyl (1)
- storage in Shrewsbury (3)
- storage in Wrexham (3)
- storage llandudno (1)
- storage Mold (1)
- storage rhyl (3)
- storage Shewsbury (1)
- storage shrewsbury (6)
- storage wrexham (2)
- storage-in-Flint-zip-world-boosts-wales (1)
- van hire Bangor (1)
- van hire chester (3)
- van hire Denbigh (2)
- van hire Flint (1)
- van hire in bangor (2)
- van hire in Chester (1)
- van hire in Denbigh (2)
- van hire in Newtown (1)
- van hire in Rhyl (1)
- van hire in Shrewsbury (2)
- van hire in Wrexham (2)
- van hire llandudno (1)
- van hire Rhyl (1)
- van hire Shrewsbury (1)
- Want van hire Chester (1)


text:
Around 500 e-commerce websites have been infiltrated by MageCart attackers, who apparently installed digital credit card skimmers to harvest users’ personal data, including card numbers, email addresses, phone and more.
MageCart is an umbrella term for rival cyber gangs that crawl e-commerce sites with the sole purpose of slipping skimmers into unsuspecting sites, which then unleashes malicious code, according to Sansec, a malware detection and e-commerce vulnerabilities.
Once the skimmer is in place, visitors entering payment information for a purchase unknowingly send a code that relays the data to servers controlled by the attacker.
See also: Remote FinTech Risk Management: In Digital Payments, We Trust, But We Always Verify
Sansec discovered the latest round of infiltrations and said the compromised sites used malicious scripts hosted on the naturalfreshmall.com domain.
“The Natural Fresh skimmer displays a fake payment window, defeating the security of a hosted (PCI compliant) payment form”, Sansec tweetedadding that all payments were directed to a naturalfreshmall payment domain.
The Natural Fresh skimmer displays a fake payment window, defeating the security of a hosted (PCI compliant) payment form. Payments are sent to https://naturalfreshmall[.]com/payment/Payment.php #masshack
— Sansec (@sansecio) January 26, 2022
Read more: Credit card skimmer leads to data breach at Costco
Hackers made changes to existing files and/or inserted different files that offered “no less than 19 backdoors that hackers could use to keep control of the sites in case the malicious script was detected and removed and the vulnerable software would be updated,” according to Sansec.
“It is essential to eliminate each one of them because leaving one in place means that your system will be affected again next week,” according to an article from Sansec.
The infiltrated files were either entirely malicious, or part of Magento code “but had malicious code added”.
Sansec said regardless of the method, they recommend e-commerce sites run a malware scanner to ensure that any skimmers are discovered.
You May Also Enjoy: Ransomware Reaches Beyond Money With More Sinister Goals

domain: news


text:
New Zealand Herald, Auckland
China talks going well, Clark says
14 December 2005
KUALA LUMPUR - Prime Minister Helen Clark says talks on a free-trade agreement with China are going pretty smoothly.
She had a 30-minute meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday.
So far, there have been five rounds of talks on a free-trade agreement between New Zealand and China. These have focused on framework and rules before the detailed discussions on market access can start.
Helen Clark said the talks were going pretty smoothly although there were obviously big issues still to be discussed.
"But the goodwill is there at the top level in China to work on an agreement."
She said she hoped the negotiations would be concluded as soon as possible "but not at the expense of a poor-quality agreement".
New Zealand was the first developed country to start negotiations for a free-trade agreement with China, with Australia not far behind.
Whether New Zealand was the first to conclude depended on how negotiations went "and I’m not prepared to sacrifice quality for speed".
Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton said this month that an implementation date of early 2007 was still an attainable goal.
The most sensitive issue for China is expected to be the proposed removal of tariffs on dairy products.
China has trade deals with Chile, the 10-member Asean group, and Thailand.


text:
Ford Motor Company has issued a recall for 450,000 vehicles as a result of a potential fuel tank issue. The automobile company is recalling specific 2010-2011 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan vehicles in North America for safety and security reasons.
Fuel Tanks on Ford Fusions Could Leak
Ford stated that these cars might have a container purge shutoff that does not function correctly, creating internal pressure changes inside the fuel tank. Repetitive stress adjustments inside the tank could possibly lead to a crack on the top of the container, which could cause the fuel tank to leak and cause fires. The company is not aware of any sort of crashes, fires or injuries associated with this issue.
Affected vehicles consist of specific 2010-2011 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan vehicles created at Hermosillo Assembly Plant from July 21, 2008, via March 4, 2011. There is a total of about 451,865 automobiles that may be impacted in North America, including 411,205 automobiles in the United States as well as federalized areas, 33,605 in Canada and also 7,055 in Mexico.
Dealerships will update the powertrain control module software program, examine the cylinder cleanup shutoff and also fuel storage tank for leaks and replace if needed, at no expense to the client.
Ford Issues Another Recall for 2016 F-650
Ford Motor Company is also issuing a recall for 13 2016 F-650 cars for a problem with the steering column. These vehicles were developed with a steering column that uses the “park” position mechanism in the automatic transmission. In these cars, the park system could crack if the automobile is on a grade, loaded and the shift lever is in the park, potentially leading to unintentional car activity.
The 13 F-650 cars affected were developed at Ohio Assembly Plant from July 29, 2015, through Sept. 3, 2015. All lie in the United States. Dealerships will replace the steering pillar and also reconfigure the control panel at no charge to the consumer.
The Hyundai Sonata faced a recall for a similar reason, where the car could spiral into uncontrolled activity, and it seems like Ford is seeing a much worse recall with two models announcing faults in one day.


text:
PROTECTING LIVES - PROTECTING LIVELIHOODS - FINDING A BALANCE TO PROTECT OUR COMMUNITY AND ECONOMY
20 October 2020
COVID-19 has created an interlinked health and economic emergency.
This pandemic has cost lives and already has driven numerous businesses to closure causing a huge number of job losses which are reflected in the latest labour market statistics which show the second highest number of redundancies ever during a period when the furlough scheme was meant to protect jobs.
We understand that action is needed to supress the spread of the coronavirus and businesses and social enterprises have innovated and showed real leadership in the response to protect workers, consumers and the wider public. Collegiate work by employers, Unions and public bodies in the Spring has ensured that the workplace is safe for staff and safe for customers.
Businesses have invested millions of pounds in making their stores, their restaurants, their pubs, their hotels and their factories safe for staff and safe for customers. Those who have been open throughout the pandemic have been a lifeline to ensure that our people get the essentials that they need. Without the willing cooperation of our businesses and workers, our society simply could not have coped over the past 7 months.
Business has endured a once in a lifetime impact on trading since March. It has been an unprecedented period of uncertainty and challenge. After finding the fortitude to keep going after months of lockdown, restrictions and closure earlier this year, many believed that they were starting to see light at the end of the tunnel only for that to now be extinguished. But still they stand ready to work with the Executive to protect lives and livelihoods, but we need support.
Workers have suffered either being locked down on furlough or seeing their jobs at risk. Sadly, many redundancies have already been confirmed. Many of the self-employed have seen their businesses destroyed and without any financial support. Those employed and self-employed now face a period of increased uncertainty, less support from Government or being forcibly closed without any safety net.
The Executive’s decision to place large parts of the local economy into another lockdown will, quite simply, result in another round of job losses. Those who have had to shut their doors are deeply concerned by the decision after following the Executive’s own guidance and investing money they didn’t have in making their businesses safe. They are understandably anxious about the viability of their businesses and the jobs they have created and so too are the many companies who are in their supply chain or rely on them for footfall – the food and drink producers, the laundry service, the taxi drivers and many others. Our economy is an ecosystem and closing down one part isn’t a limited intervention – it harms us all.
When we talk about the economy, we aren’t talking about something abstract or theoretical. We are talking about real people’s lives. Entrepreneurs who have followed their dream and started their own business. Folk working in retail, hospitality, leisure, tourism, manufacturing, construction, social enterprises. Every single sector and in every corner of our region. People across all of our society are hurting with an extra burden faced by women due to the sectors hit hardest and issues like childcare. Closing down businesses is a blunt instrument that will struggle to retain the support of people who see it diluting their household incomes each and every time it is deployed. Lockdown after lockdown is simply not sustainable.
What is most concerning is that the Executive appears to be on a course to repeat their lockdown strategy again and again and again. We cannot stress strongly enough how deeply, deeply damaging this would be to the Northern Ireland economy. Fewer and fewer firms will survive each lockdown and more and more jobs will be lost, easily sending 100,000 people as estimated by the Department for the Economy to the dole queues with poor prospects of being reemployed in the short to medium term. The effect of long-term unemployment on people’s physical and mental health is well known and will also plunge families into poverty. Surely that is a scenario that none of us want to see and should be avoided at all costs. That is why we need to strike a balance to protect lives and livelihoods.
Pursuing a path of lockdown, release and repeat will undo all of the good work we have done to build a strong and diverse economy and protect workers and their families. If a vaccine for COVID-19 is still months away from being available, then we must genuinely learn to live with the virus if we want to preserve our economy and have jobs for people to return to. A DIFFERENT WAY MUST BE FOUND.
The Executive will find a willing partner in business in seeking to design an alternative strategy. One that doesn’t choose between health and the economy but instead seriously strengthens the Executive’s response to the pandemic whilst allowing all parts of the region’s economy to remain open and trading in the safest way possible. And most of all we need clarity from the Executive and a timely communication of the responsibilities of business and the public under any new regulations. The Executive’s advice must, at all times, be consistent, coherent and easy to comprehend.
On behalf of the thousands of businesses and social enterprises we represent and the tens of thousands of people they employ whose livelihoods depend on the decision that the Executive make in the weeks ahead, we propose this OUR 3 POINT PLAN TO PROTECT LIVES AND PROTECT LIVELIHOODS


text:
Ouch. That looked like it hurt.
Model Ming Xi took a tumble on the catwalk during the 2017 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Shanghai, China. It seems as though the Chinese fashion model got tangled in her flowing, sheer ensemble.
However, the 28-year-old model handled the whole situation like a pro. Even if the fall was an embarrassing moment for Xi, she didn't let any humiliation show on her face. She maintained a smile throughout the experience and wasn't afraid to laugh at herself. After adjusting her hair and wings, she got up and proceeded to walk. She even received applause from the audience and her fellow models.
Still, the situation may have been more difficult for Xi than she let on.
The model later addressed her fall on Instagram.
"As many of you may already know, I fell during my 5th year walking at the Victoria's Secret show yesterday. It was no doubt one of the hardest moments I have ever had to go through in my career, especially since the show was taking place in my hometown, in front of my mother's and my people's eyes," part of her post read. "However, the support I received from everyone yesterday was incredible and I am truly grateful to everyone who was there for me."
This also isn't the first time Xi has walked in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. In fact, she's been walking in the show since 2013.


text:
With both the major releases of both iOS 16 and watchOS 9 now out, this leaves only iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura to be released to the public, and it looks like we’re getting more details on when Apple will launch iPadOS 16.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is gearing up to release iPadOS 16 on October 24 with the initial public version as iPadOS 16.1. This will be the first year that the most advanced tablet operating system will have its own release schedule apart from that of iOS. The reason for the delay is that iPadOS 16 will have even more major features that will be exclusive to the higher-end iPad models, and Apple wants to get those features right, especially the highly-anticipated Stage Manager feature. That feature, which was exclusive to just the M1 iPad Pros, will also make its way to 2018/2020 iPad Pro models with the A12X/A12Z chips. The only limitation of those models is that they don’t support external displays. Such support is still exclusive to the M1 iPad Pros; however, Apple has postponed that feature until later this year.
We don’t expect another Apple event this month according to recent news, but we can still expect hardware updates for both the iPad and Mac on the week of October 17, potentially the 10th generation iPad, the M2 iPad Pro, and the M2 Pro/Max MacBook Pros. Along with the public release of iPadOS 16 on October 24, we could see Apple release macOS Ventura on that day as well. iPadOS 16 will be compatible with iPad mini 5 or later, iPad 5 or later, iPad Air 3 or later, and all iPad Pro models.
Would you be interested in upgrading to iPadOS 16 regardless of which compatible model you have? Let us know in the comments below.


text:
09 Sep Houston Chronicle – Courting millennials, Shell, Phillips 66 turn to social media influencers
Courting millennials, Shell, Phillips 66 turn to social media influencers
Fast forward 12 years and Hennessey’s social media presence has exploded to 340,000 YouTube subscribers and 1 million Instagram followers watching his mechanics modify high-end cars and trucks to go ridiculously fast. Hennessey, who describes himself as the “Chief Horsepower Evangelist” at his company, rubs elbows with famous Indy 500 and NASCAR drivers at automotive industry events. Continue reading the Houston Chronicle’s article on their website.


text:
Hong Kong is taking action to regain its status as a global cryptocurrency hub by launching several legal initiatives related to the crypto industry.
A city and special administrative region of China, Hong Kong is willing to distinguish its crypto regulation approach from the blanket crypto ban in mainland China.
The government of Hong Kong is considering introducing its own bill to regulate crypto in its own China-free way, according to Elizabeth Wong, head of the fintech unit at the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC).
One of the SFC’s initiatives is allowing retail investors to “directly invest into virtual assets,” Wong said during a panel held by InvestHK, the South China Morning Post reported on Oct. 17.
Such an initiative would mark a significant shift from the SFC’s stance over the past four years, which restricts crypto trading on centralized exchanges to professional investors, Wong noted. Eligible investors include individuals with a portfolio worth at least $1 million, or about 7% of the city’s population, as of September 2021.
Wong emphasized that the crypto industry has become more compliant over the past four years, suggesting that it’s time to change the city’s stance on crypto, stating:
“We think that this may be actually a good time to really think carefully about whether we will continue with this professional investor-only requirement.”
The SFC official also mentioned a few other legal initiatives targeting the development of the crypto ecosystem in Hong Kong, including a policy introduced in January to allow service providers to sell certain crypto-related derivatives. The regulator has also been reviewing whether to allow retail investors to invest in crypto-related exchange-traded funds, Wong noted.
The latest news comes amid Hong Kong, on Oct. 19, launching a $3.8 billion fund to attract foreign businesses back to the city after a massive talent exodus prompted by strict lockdowns and tense political climate.
According to an official statement by the government of the Hong Kong special administrative region, the local government has introduced a bill to propose establishing a regulatory regime for virtual asset service providers. The city authorities also plan to embrace emerging technologies like nonfungible tokens and metaverse and develop Hong Kong into an “international virtual assets center.”
According to some reports, Hong Kong has already been succeeding in terms of crypto adoption so far. Considering a number of factors like crypto ATM installations, pro-crypto regulations and startup culture, Hong Kong was ranked the best-prepared country for widespread crypto adoption in a study by Forex Suggest published in July 2022.


text:
YU Televentures have now announced their plans to bring their smartphones to retail stores across India. The company has in fact tied up with Reliance Retail to showcase their smartphones in their offline stores.
A month back another 'online-only' brand Xiaomi had made an announcement regarding their tie up with Redington for their entry into offline retail. The partnership between YU and Reliance will be include exclusive retail sales along with distribution of the smartphone in offline retail. Furthermore users can now buy the YU range of device namely the Yunique, Yuphoria, Yureka Plus from around 30,000 retail stores from now on.
With YU entering offline retail starting today it might mark an end to miseries for a number of YU fans who have failed to get their hands on the device thanks to those momentary flash sales. Additionally the YU smartphone namely Yunique, Yuphoria and Yureka Plus will be VoI (Voice over LTE) enabled and will retail for Rs 6,499, Rs 7,499 and Rs 10,999 respectively via Reliance Retail Stores.
The partnership with YU will also help customers get a hands on experience of the products before buying them. Despite the massive popularity of online retail a majority of Indian are still afraid to make a purchase of electronics goods online. Hence the new move will help YU tap onto newer market. Nevertheless the biggest question still remains - With YU going offline, won't this affect the sales of their mother brand Micromax?


text:
The price of gold is up, and so is the number of people selling it. During the past year, an ounce of gold has skyrocketed 33 percent to a record high of $1,527.50 on Wednesday.
The price of gold is up, and so is the number of people selling it.
During the past year, an ounce of gold has skyrocketed 33 percent to a record high of $1,527.50 on Wednesday.
Now, more people are looking to trade in their old items such as necklaces, rings and coins for cash while the price is high.
And there’s plenty of businesses waiting to make the trade — from pawn shops to jewelry stores to traveling associations to even house parties and online vendors.
The gold selling phenomenon is similar to the sale of stock, said Zhaodan Huang, associate professor of finance at Utica College.
“If you see the stock price higher than before, you want to sell your stock,” he said. “People want to convert unused jewelry to cash,” otherwise it will simply sit in the drawer not being used.
With market uncertainty, people tend to invest more in “safe” commodities such as gold, Huang said.
The International Coin Collectors Association travels around the country hosting events where individuals can have items such as jewelry and coins assessed and then sell them.
“It’s everywhere you go. Gold prices are breaking a new record,” said Tyler Kelly, director of public relations for the association, which has been buying from local residents recently at the Holiday Inn in New Hartford. “That has driven a ton of people out to the events.”
There are several factors causing the increase in the price of gold, including the value of the dollar and market uncertainty, Huang said.
As gold is traded worldwide in U.S. dollars, the price of the dollar correlates to the price of gold, similar to how it influences the price of oil, Huang said.
Therefore when the value of the dollar goes down, the price of gold rises.
“Gold and silver prices are keeping at a higher level because the U.S. dollar is still under huge pressure,” he said.
Thanks to higher gold prices, the Pawn King on Commercial Drive in New Hartford has seen a large increase in customers, employee Frank Ruggireo said.
“People, when sensing instability … resort to something they believe will maintain and appreciate in value,” said Arthur Friedberg, an economics professor at Mohawk Valley Community College.
On Wednesday, Rich Sabo, 64, of Cassville, brought a watch and some coins to be assessed at the International Coin Collectors Association event.
The 24k gold watch belonged to his wife’s mother, he said. Sabo was not going to sell it, but he and his wife, Kathy were curious as to its worth.
After the estimate, Sabo said his wife would have to make the decision on whether or not to sell, but he was disappointed in the estimated value of his coins.
“I could sell them on eBay for more,” he said.
When it comes to selling gold items, people such as Sabo should be leery of getting taken advantage of, and Utica police Sgt. Steve Hauck suggested going to a trustworthy business.
“I would say most of the businesses, whether secondhand dealers or traveling, run reputable businesses. They want to do the right thing,” he said.
The Police Department hasn’t had any complaints to date regarding businesses buying gold, Hauck said. But he suggested dealing with businesses recommended by friends, or businesses the consumer has dealt with before.
Hauck suggested avoiding companies that require property to be mailed in promising payment in the future.
Although historically a safe haven for investors, gold is not necessarily a better investment than stocks, Huang said, as prices fluctuate.
“Just as the prices go up, the prices go down… when the economy starts to really improve it could drop easily,” Friedberg said.


text:
Athlete Safari: Athlete Dresser Awards 2018
(Report by Kai)
Where do I start....
Each year, "Safari", a Japanese Men's fashion magazine, presents an award to Japanese athletes who are excelling in t
heir field while maintaining a fashionable presence out of competition.
And I was nominated!
I have to say that I was shocked to say the least. I have always taken care to "be presentable" and to look professional, but to be recognised for fashion was something that I never expected.
The awards ceremony was held in Tokyo on December 8th.
I had a whirlwind trip to Japan - flying in on Friday morning, attending the Red Bull Crashed Ice event on Friday night, and then the Athlete Safari: Athlete Dresser Awards event on Saturday afternoon before flying home that night!
The event was an unreal experience, and I was lined up alongside some of Japan's highest profile athletes on stage at the Hankyu-Men's store in Tokyo!
A huge thank you to Safari for the opportunity, and to Berluti for the beautiful burgundy suit!


text:
Only today we wrote that Honor is going to release 5G-smartphones , which will cost 280, 210 and even 140 US dollars. Now, with this same statement was made by the founder and executive director of the Xiaomi Lei Jun (Lei Jun).
When and what to expect
While the market for devices with support for fifth-generation networks is only in its infancy, such smartphones are still expensive. For example, one of the cheapest representatives of the category – Honor V30 – costs from $ 470 .
However, Xiaomi previously stated that next year all their smartphones more than 2,000 yuan ($ 285) will receive 5G support. Now , Lei Jun promises that by 2021 the price tag of 5G gadgets will drop to around 1,000 yuan or about $ 140 .
A full transition to 5G technology in China Jun predicts the next 3 – 4 years. It is then that the fifth generation networks will become truly “ mature ” , and the devices will be massive.


text:
Outlook for airfreight darkens, but 'the sky's not likely to fall in'
After a drop in airfreight traffic in July, the outlook for the sector has darkened, ...
Volume shippers offered new long-term fixed-rate contracts by container lines are, nevertheless, still keen to keep a foot in the door of the spot market.
The extreme volatility of the spot market saw many shippers get their fingers badly burned over the past 18 months as rates were turbocharged by supply constraints and strong consumer demand.
But if port congestion eases and demand softens, short-term market rates could head south again quite quickly.
The advent of multi-year deals by carriers is a new facet of the contract season that has shippers re-examining their strategies more closely.
Miles O’Donnell, national sales & procurement manager for seafreight at Europa Air & Sea, said shippers needed to decide whether to “stick or twist” on playing the spot market or agreeing a contract fix at substantially increased terms.
“The challenge for all customers is to weigh up potential changes in the sector and then decide whether fixing offers the best long-term benefit,” said Mr O’Donnell.
However, the container spot indices for the first week of the year are not giving away too many clues on the direction of rates. For example, for the Asia-North European tradelane, the Freightos Baltic Index (FBX) and Drewry’s World Container Index (WCI) were both flat, at $14,24 and $13,64, respectively, per 40ft, while Xeneta’s XSI was up 2.6% on the week at $14,84 per 40ft.
And the Ningbo Containerized Freight Index (NCFI) recorded small declines on 14 of its selected 21 trades, with five routes showing slight increases and two unchanged.
One UK-based NVOCC contact told The Loadstar this week he expected rates from China to North Europe to go up slightly ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday, which falls in the first week of February, but was more worried about new lockdown disruptions causing container and haulage shortages.
“If we start having to pay extra charges to get boxes, and more to get them on the ship, then the total charges will skyrocket again,” he warned.
Meanwhile, the uncertainty in the sea freight marketplace appears to have increased the appetite of shippers and carriers to trade FFAs (freight forward agreements).
From 28 February, FBX indices, administered by the Baltic Exchange, will be used for the settlement of six contracts on the financial derivatives exchange CME Group’s new shipping container futures platform.
Peter Keavey, global head of energy products at CME, claimed the product would be “a valuable risk management tool for customers looking to hedge their freight costs”. And Zvi Schreiber, Freightos CEO believed FFAs would “help global supply chains to cope with unprecedented demand and new levels of volatility driven by the pandemic”.
Peter Stallion, container FFA broker at Freight Investor Services, said the launch of the contracts was “a decisive step for the container market”. He told The Loadstar interest in the new container FFAs was “massive” and claimed significant traction had been made with the top-ranked carriers as well as shippers.
In previous failed attempts to introduce FFAs into the container sector, ocean carriers have been reluctant to progress their initial interest due to a constant very low rate base.


text:
Asia has ended the week in negative territory while Europe and the US may be on course to end their winning streaks amid choppy trade.
August can often be an odd time for the markets, with summer holiday’s often leading to reduced activity and interest. Of course, these days a quiet week in the markets is hard to come by and this week has certainly not been without drama. But it has been quite choppy and there is a feeling that investors are waiting for the next big catalyst, something that will change the dynamic in the markets.
We’ve seen a strong recovery in risk assets recently and perhaps we’re seeing signs of exhaustion which some may argue is long overdue. The recovery until now has been built on some disinflationary signs combined with a healthy serving of hope. There remains plenty of scepticism and now the data needs to deliver.
UK retail sales surprise amid record low consumer confidence
One place I didn’t expect to see the data deliver was the UK, especially in light of the dismal consumer confidence survey overnight. According to GfK, confidence hit the lowest level since records began in 1974, falling to -44 in August. That will come as a surprise to no one that either lives in the UK or tracks it, with inflation expected to surpass 13% this year and even that may prove overly optimistic.
Which made the jump in retail sales last month all the more surprising. That said, once you dive into the data you see that the headline number is a little deceiving. Not only did discounted online sales drive the surprising growth, they more than offset declines elsewhere from clothing to household goods. Basically, despite the headline number being positive for the first time in three months, the numbers ex-online are a more accurate reflection of the situation right now.
BoJ won’t be swayed by inflation increase
Japanese inflation rose again in June, with the national CPI climbing to 2.6% from 2.4% and the core hitting 2.4% up from 2.2%. Both were in line with expectations and neither point to a change in the stance of monetary policy from the BoJ any time soon. Inflation continues to be impacted by volatile energy and food prices which the BoJ will likely look beyond. Base effects are also having an impact which should allow the rate to decline again later this year, meaning the central bank will not be inclined to tweak its approach any time soon.
Bitcoin plunges and technical support broken
Bitcoin has been sent into a tailspin at the end of the week, dropping very sharply and suddenly early in European trade. It fell more than 5% in a very short period of time and while the trigger isn’t clear, the fact that it has barely recovered any of those losses suggests there is substance to the move. The break of $22,500 could be significant if it holds, with the next key test once more being $20,000. The crypto winter may not be over yet.
For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar: www.marketpulse.com/economic-events/
This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.


text:
Joe Biden promised to “build back better.” Even that was phrase was stolen from the UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Biden’s policies have only heated up economic problems brought on by 2020. He spent large sums of money and has done nothing to address major issues like the supply chain.
Now, the economy is reacting to his failures worse than before.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Thursday that Gross Domestic Product decreased at an annual rate of 1.4 percent in the first quarter of 2022. Economists had expected the economy to grow 1.1 percent, so this was far worse than expected.
Private inventory investment, exports, and government spending fell in the first quarter. Imports, which are a subtraction from GDP, surged….
That raises the danger that the economy is heading toward stagflation, where growth lags below trend and inflation remains above trend.
Thanks to Joe Biden’s reckless policies, America’s GDP shrunk at the beginning of the year by 1.4%. Experts had predicted a growth of 1.1%–so this was a major fail.
Imports surged because American companies were not providing enough goods. That only further hurts GDP.
It seems increasing inflation is hurting us more than experts expected. Thanks to the dropping value of the dollar, companies are having a hard time producing goods.
Add to that supply chain issues that further slow production. And Biden’s deliberate efforts to increase the cost of fuel.
Why are we surprised to read this news? Biden is an America Last president. He is not concerned with helping us—only bowing to the radical left.
And signs point to inflation only increasing in the coming months. Biden and his Democrats have only worked to make things worse.
Do they think this is going to go over well for them, come November? Voters are going to have a reckoning over this kind of news.


text:
“It’s quite incredible that we might save the world through fashion .” -Vivienne Westwood
In my recent post on New York Fashion week, I focused on the disconnect between the glamor and fantasy of the fashion industry with the exploitation that often hides beneath the glossy surface. I wanted to emphasize in this post, a few key players that are trying to work for more sustainable, ethical practices in the industry.
OK so first of all, what is ethical fashion girlfriends?? While I will no doubt touch on this subject many more times in my future blog posts, I really loved this definition from the ultimate in sustainable fashion information, the Ethical Fashion Forum.
” The meaning of ethical goes beyond doing no harm, representing an approach which strives to take an active role in poverty reduction, sustainable livelihood creation, minimizing and counteracting environmental concerns.”
Obvi, that’s kind of amazing, but can it be done? While the coverage of labor issues during fashion week was pretty paltry, The New York Times did run an incredible story on Simone Cipriani, head of the Ethical Fashion Initiative. Cipriani is connecting designers like Vivienne Westwood and Stella McCartney with Ghanian artisans, who are working to the fair labor standards of $5 to $11 a day, making luxury items for the couture designers. Besides achieving a living wage, the work also gives many of these women employable skills that can empower them and help raise their families out of poverty.
Sustainability is still not widely understood though, and many associate the word with hippie-trippy, unattractive clothing, and well … Birkenstocks. Perhaps that’s why the awareness created by luxury brands could prove to be influential for changing the consumption patterns of the mainstream. When Vivienne Westwood of her Ethical Fashion Collective line and Ilaria Venturini Fendi of her Carmina Campus line ask questions at New York Fashion week like ‘Was this made ethically?’ ‘Are the fabrics green?’ and ‘Were the workers treated fairly?’, this can have an incredible impact by encouraging ethical consumption but also proving that being stylish doesn’t come at a cost to others.
Martin Luther King Jr. said 45 years ago that “True revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies.” What exactly is it going to take to shift our values, to create a shared paradigm of ethical labor practices and more sustainable consumption? If it seems to be impossible, consider the resistance towards smoking reform in the mid-century, to the current situation where almost 50% of the U.S. population lives with smoking regulations in all workplaces, restaurants and bars. Yup, change can happen girlfriends, we just need to believe in it!
And a revolution seems to be happening, and it’s not just within haute couture. Just this month activists staged flash ‘faint-ins’ at fast-fashion retailers H&M and the Gap to protest sweatshop conditions in countries like Cambodia, and workers in Cambodia are in turn striking for better pay. Check out this website, Fashioning Change, a self-described ‘do-gooder’ website that offers cute, eco-friendly alternatives to popular designer name brands. Their ‘Wear This, Not That’ feature is an easy way to compare some of your favorite clothes with more eco-conscious lines that have transparency in their supply chain. What’s more, these lines usually come at a cheaper price-tag then their brand-name comparison! Aaaand, it’s time to go shopping. 🙂
We need to fix the bloated nature of a fashion industry that creates a lot of waste with too many products that end up in landfills on one end, and too little pay for those who labor on the other. Vivienne Westwood, who is using her fashion line to promote environmentalism, has argued that fashion and anti-consumerism don’t necessarily contradict each other if people buy less, and in a more sustainable way. Check out her show from the London Paralympics in late August, where she ends her somewhat haphazard collection with a pointed cry for environmental advocacy, rolling out of a banner that reads “Climate Revolution.” A nod to her punk roots, it had me thinking, “Where is Pussy Riot??”
Have any thoughts on how we can shift our fast consumption to sustainability? Do you have any links to share, or know any peeps who are working on this cause? Please share with me, either in the comments below or via email! 🙂


text:
Six months after the Sears Essentials store closed, the building in the Northgate Shopping Center sits empty, with no sign of future development.
DELAND — Six months after the Sears Essentials store closed, the building in the Northgate Shopping Center sits empty, with no sign of future development.
Daniel Germano, a leasing agent with Brixmore Properties, the site's owner, said this week that he's received some interest from "regional and national retailers," but there haven't been any takers. He refused to name those retailers.
Sears closed the store in April, laying off 62 workers. The location had previously been a Kmart, a store also owned by Sears Holdings.
There have been rumblings around town that Target might move into the building. But Assistant City Manager Dale Arrington said that's not true, as far as the city government knows.
"We get a rumor of a Target coming to town about once every six months," she said.
And if the big-box retailer does have any plans for a new store in DeLand, the company isn't speaking openly about it.
"Unfortunately, we don't have any information to share at this time," said Target spokeswoman Andrea McCauley in an e-mail.
So, for now, the 112,464-square-foot "unit 01" at 101 E. International Speedway Blvd. sits vacant.
The Northgate Shopping Center made news in April, when a small plane crashed into the Publix at the opposite end of the shopping center, shortly after taking off from DeLand Municipal Airport. The pilot later died from burns sustained in the crash, the passenger on the plane was seriously injured and three customers inside the store were injured. The store reopened in late June.


text:
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has raided shops and sealed a warehouse where millions of substandard pasta, sugar were stocked in Lagos.
Some of the shops were located in markets where the substandard goods are being sold.
SON Director-General, Osita Aboloma, said the shops and warehouse had “unwholesome” products, which he said were dangerous for consumption.
Abolama said the products were smuggled into the country without registration numbers.
“The seized products do not meet our standard specifications, a critical part of which is the regulation on fortification with Vitamin A. There were no documentations to show how they got into the country and evidence of being registered under our electronic product registration scheme. They are not supposed to be on our shelves,” the SON DG said.
Aboloma was particularly worried about the presence of unfortified pasta, flour and sugar in the country, adding that they were not good for human consumption.
He said, “Flour, pasta, vegetable oil and sugar are foods that Nigerians consume regularly and if they are not fortified with the necessary vitamins as provided in the relevant standards, the Nigerian consumers would be prone to such illnesses as blindness and other sight problems.”
Represented by the Deputy Director, Market Surveillance, Suleiman Issa, he said SON was carrying out a campaign to do away with substandard imported sugar, flour and flour products in the country..
“These products have not been registered with SON for traceability and quality verification. I will advise Nigerians to look out for the registration numbers of SON and NAFDAC on imported food products before purchase. Any uncertified, unregistered and smuggled product is very risky and most likely unwholesome for consumption. Any pack of these imported non-conforming flour-based products found in our markets would be removed and the owners held accountable until they take us to the source,” he added.


text:
The Valkyrie Profile series is among the best Square Enix RPG series ever released, but a new main entry in the series hasn’t been released in a very long time. A mobile game has been made available in Japan, however, and next week, Western players will finally be able to play it as well.
Square Enix has now confirmed that VALKYRIE ANATOMIA – THE ORIGIN will be released globally on iOS and Android on April 4th. A new trailer has also been released to mark the occasion, and you can find it below.
VALKYRIE ANATOMIA – THE ORIGIN is a prequel to the first entry in the series, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, and features many familiar faces as well as brand new characters.
The game also features the series’ combat system, a combo-based system where characters have different attacks with different properties that can be used to juggle enemies and more, as well as a beautiful soundtrack created by series’ composer Motoi Sakuraba.
VALKYRIE ANATOMIA – THE ORIGIN launches globally on iOS and Android next week, on April 4th. Pre-registrations are open on both the App Store and Google Play Store.


text:
WILLISTON, VT, September 10, 2015
AllEarth Renewables, the award-winning dual-axis solar tracker manufacturer, has announced the introduction of a new L20 solar tracker to its solar tracker product line-up.
The new product features 20 landscape-oriented modules on its proven pole-mounted tracking system designed for residential and commercial use. The L20 will boost production by enabling higher power 72 cell modules, increasing the tracker advantage, while reducing material use and lowering hardware costs. The new product also improves wind loading and increases the height of the bottom row of panels from the ground.
AllEarth Renewables will begin offering the L20 as a complete system package to installers and developers in January 2016.
The new product addition by AllEarth positions the company to continue its national expansion with a growing group of solar developer and installer-partners nationwide. AllEarth Renewables has more than 80 dealer installers across the country.
The company is exhibiting its product offerings, including the new L20, at Solar Power International (Booth 3534) in Anaheim, CA September 14-17 where it will show visitors how to "Grow Solar" with their dual-axis trackers.
Additionally at the Solar Power International show, the company's CEO and President David Blittersdorf will be moderating a panel on solar operations and maintenance. The company is also sponsoring the Solar Energy Industry Association's (SEIA) Distributed Generation Division meeting Tuesday morning vice-chaired by AllEarth's Chief Strategy Officer and SEIA Board Member Andrew Savage.
“As a company, we're constantly looking to improve our product offerings to meet the needs of our customers. The new L20 helps us boost tracker energy production, while lowering the costs of our existing, well-proven tracking system,” said AllEath's President and CEO David Blittersdorf.
"By offering the L20 as a full system package, we can provide our national partners the convenience of having one partner, making one order, receiving one delivery, all on one invoice. This saves time and money in an increasingly competitive solar market," added Blittersdorf.
AllEarth Renewables manufactures the AllEarth Solar Tracker, a dual-axis solar tracker that uses innovative GPS and wireless technology to follow the sun throughout the day, producing up to 45 percent more energy than rooftop solar. The fully pre-engineered dual-axis tracker can be shipped free the day it is ordered on AllEarth's unique pallet to the installer or directly to the job site. The company has manufactured and installed over 3,300 solar tracker systems used for residential and commercial installations.
The New AllEarth L20 Solar Tracker - Product Description
The new AllEarth L20 Solar Tracker utilizes the proven pole-mounted tracking system by AllEarth by enabling higher power 72 cell modules, increasing the tracker advantage, while reducing material use and hardware costs. The L20 will be available as a complete package to installers and developers in January 2016, allowing the product to be quoted now for project development. The new landscape orientation option also improves wind loading, increases the height of the bottom row of panels from the ground, and is visually appealing in the landscape orientation, particularly for residential uses. The AllEarth Solar Tracker uses innovative GPS and wireless technology to follow the sun throughout the day, producing up to 45 percent more energy than rooftop solar. The company has manufactured and installed over 3,300 solar tracker systems used for residential and commercial installations.


text:
Feel a tingle in the air. It's the annual iPhone unveiling at Apple later today. For the first time, you can catch the Apple keynote live also on Google's YouTube as well as through the usual Apple streaming service.
Catch a falling knife. All that talk of just how little the company formerly known as WeWork might be worth has now spooked its main investor. Execs at the We Company and SoftBank, which owns almost one-third of the startup's stock, are weighing whether to possibly just shelve this whole going public idea. Elsewhere in the halls of investment banking, Shopify is buying warehouse robot startup 6 River Systems for $450 million. And Root Insurance , the startup monitoring customers' smartphones to set their car insurance rates, raised $350 million of venture capital at a valuation of $3.7 billion.
Take a number. With a goal to hire 30,000 new workers, Amazon is holding job fairs in six cities next week. Residents of Arlington, Va. (home of its upcoming second headquarters), Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Nashville, Tennessee, and Seattle should have their resumes tuned for the Sept. 17 events. A few days later, hundreds of people who already work for Amazon are planning to stage a walkout. The Sept. 20 event is intended to prompt the company to do more to slow global climate change.
I'll see you in court. As tipped last week, attorneys general from many states (48 plus D.C. and Puerto Rico, to be exact) opened a formal antitrust investigation of Google to go along with all of the other, similar probes already ongoing. In other legal news, a federal appeals court ruled that so-called data scraping, aka copying information from a public website, is not computer fraud or abuse. LinkedIn was the loser in the ruling , part of a case where it is seeking to block a company called hiQ from scooping up public profiles of its users.
I'll probably see you in court, too. In other Google troubles news, Recode finds more current and former female employees of the search giant who are afraid of retaliation over reporting sexual harassment.
Hold this. The Winklevoss twins, Cameron and Tyler, are best known for suing Mark Zuckerberg, but they've pivoted pretty successfully to the digital currency arena over the past few years. On Tuesday, they announced a new service dubbed Gemini Custody which will store up to 18 different cryptocurrencies for customers.
Oversharing. Two popular apps for tracking female periods, Maya and MIA Fem, are sending data about their users to Facebook, non-profit Privacy International says. Facebook says it is talking to the group to get more information.
Neural networking. If you want more in-depth coverage of artificial intelligence, don't forget to subscribe to our weekly Eye on A.I. newsletter. The newest issue comes out later today.
ON THE MOVE
It's the end of an era at Chinese Internet giant Alibaba. Founder and chair Jack Ma is stepping down today, 20 years after starting the company. CEO Daniel Zhang will take over the top spot on the board of directors...Melissa Eamer, vp of sales and marketing for Amazon devices, is jumping to online makeup site Glossier as chief operating officer. The startup is also adding Diane Vavrasek as chief people officer. She had been vp of HR at Walmart's Jet.com unit...Architectural robotics startup Ori hired Edwin Hendriksen as its new president. Hendriksen had been senior vice president and global head of WeWork's WeLive unit...BT Group's former CEO, Gavin Patterson, joins Salesforce as chair for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Patterson was ousted from the telecom giant in February amid investor concerns about his strategy...Autonomous car startup Faraday Future brought in Carsten Breitfeld, who led BMW's i8 electric car project, as CEO. Founder YT Jia leaves the top office for the role of chief product and user officer.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
With the music streaming wars running full tilt, the major players are looking beyond music. Spotify last year hired broadcast and media veteran Dawn Ostroff as chief content officer with a mandate to beef up the services's podcasting offerings. Wendy Lee has an interview and profile of Ostroff in the Los Angeles Times. Spotify has already spent big to acquire podcast maker Gimlet Media. What's next?
Ostroff said she’s looking for content that is "really going to be loud" so it brings in the largest amount of users to sign up and spend more time listening to it. "The amount of content that we can make is endless," Ostroff said. "Seeing how many of the existing talent in the Hollywood community and the news community are interested in migrating toward this new medium, it really makes it a lot easier."
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
How 2 American Rare Earth Companies Are Looking Past the Trade War—to Prepare for the Tech War By Naomi Xu Elegant
Microsoft Releases New To-Do App to Replace Wunderlist—Days After Its Founder Offered to Buy It Back By Alyssa Newcomb
With States and the Feds Investigating Google and Facebook, the Legal Pressure Is Ramping Up By Danielle Abril
With Facebook Libra Coin Tied Up, Rival Uses Free Cryptocurrency ‘Airdrop’ as Lure By Robert Hackett
In Breakthrough, Company Uses Quantum Physics To Protect Data Over Standard Telecom Networks By Jeremy Kahn
President Trump, Chrissy Teigen, and John Legend Brawl on Twitter By Terry Collins
Why Google’s Crackdown on Fake Medicine Is So Important By Lloyd Minor
BEFORE YOU GO
Somewhat to my wife's chagrin, I hauled my old stereo speakers, amplifier, and turntable down from the attic recently and set them up in my office, all for the purpose of taking some old records off the shelf ("I'll sit and listen to them by myself."). Turns out I'm not completely by myself. This year, for the first time since...I was in college...vinyl may outsell compact discs . CDs sold slightly more in the first half of 2019, but record sales are growing at 12% versus flat sales of the smaller, plastic rival. Stay tuned.
This edition of Data Sheet was curated by Aaron Pressman. Find past issues, and sign up for other Fortune newsletters.


text:
The CSRlive audio section includes material from socially responsible radio stations, podcasts, CSR-related interviews, and other relevant recordings. Contributors include individuals and groups committed to spreading the word about corporate social responsibility and sustainability.
The Respectful Business Podcast by Mallen Baker. A weekly 12-minute podcast with analysis on socially responsible business.
Audio | Corporate Social Responsibility , posted by Mallen
What are the prevailing media attitudes and policies around covering corporate sustainability, and why? Aman Singh on SB.
Ethical Corp's discussion on how companies can embed corporate responsibility for continued long-term business success.
New video reveals workers violently abusing pigs and piglets at West Coast Farms, a contracted pork supplier of Tyson Foods. Soundbite.
BBC Radio tackles discrimination based on skin shade and discusses the impacts these discriminations have on women.
Whole Foods Market plans to require labeling of all GMO foods sold in its stores by 2018, becoming the first major retailer in...
Some socially minded businesses may shy away from getting involved in controversial issues, but CREDO Mobile's CEO advises otherwise.
Fr. Joe Carroll is featured in an interview about his National Citizen Service Award and his upcoming speaker's panel at the SVN Spring...
America's workplace has been evolving for decades, and so have employers' policies around families - but some say not enough. A SVN podcast.
Under his tenure, Ford has created a product strategy based on stabilizing emissions and increasing the use of recycled materials. On GB.


text:
Claire Murdoch, head of mental health at the NHS, warned in a statement that booty boxes in video games could “addiction children,”media reported. In his statement, Murdoch also called on video game companies to ban the sale of booty boxes to children, echoing the growing skepticism of loot boxes in video games in other countries around the world.
In a press release on the NHS website, the group announced the creation of a gambling treatment centre and 14 gambling clinics across the UK, set up through the NHS’s long-term programme to improve mental health and provide at least 2.3 billion pounds in additional funding over the next five years. The British Gaming Commission found that 55,000 children across the UK were “classified as gambling problems” and that 400,000 children in England were living with serious gambling problems.
Murdoch’s statement did not quantify how many of the children had gambling problems because of the booty boxes in video games, but she took a hard line against them. In his statement, Murdoch made four demands for video game companies. Most importantly, she called on publishers to ban the sale of games with booty boxes to children. She also believes game publishers should “introduce fair and realistic spending limits” to discourage people from spending a lot of money on in-game purchases.
Murdoch also said video game companies should actually publish the odds on items in the booty box and figure out the odds before buying them. Finally, she thinks companies should help raise awareness of the risks of micro-transactions between parents. Check out her full statement below:
Frankly, no company should be addicted to children by teaching them to gamble on the contents of these booty boxes. No company should sell elements with such opportunities to children’s booty box games, so these sales should be terminated.
The health of young people is under threat and while the NHS is gradually delivering these new, innovative services to families through long-term programmes, we cannot do so alone, so the rest of society must do everything in its power to limit risk and protect the well-being of children.
Britain is not the first government to take a hard line on the booty boxes. In the United States, elected officials have introduced legislation to ban booty boxes for children’s games. Countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands have declared that they consider booty boxes to be a form of gambling, expand them into illegal and, in some cases, force issuers to abandon micro-trades altogether.
In the UK, we haven’t seen much in regulation because of the lack of power from regulators. More specifically, booty boxes circumvent gambling rules in the country because for some of them there is no way to monetize what players receive.
The line is becoming increasingly blurred as users sell their booty accounts through third-party websites and game publishers continue to test their limits. The NHS release features a game that “even features a virtual casino that allows players to invest real money in games such as 21-point cards and poker.” Although the NHS statement did not mention the name of the game. (Media speculated that the game is “Grand Theft Auto 5”).
Naturally, major publishers have been shying away from the notion that booty boxes need to be regulated or removed directly from the game. Last year, when EA attended a meeting of the UK Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Kerry Hopkins, the company’s vice-president of legal and government affairs, argued that the booty box was a “surprise mechanism” similar to kinder Eggs. Hopkins continued that EA believed the way the company implemented booty boxes and micro-trades in games was “actually very ethical and interesting.”


text:
Ducati Motor Holding SpA, scheduled to release its second quarter and half-year results on August 5, received an exemption from issuing the report in accordance with European finance law.
Ducati, traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Italian Stock Exchange under symbol “DMH”, was granted the exemption on August 4 in accordance with CONSOB resolution No. 14990. Company officials say the half-year report will be approved on September 29.
For Ducati's first quarter ended March 31, 2005, revenues were Euro 85.1 million, down 15.1% including forex effects (or down 12.4% excluding forex effects) over the same period in 2004. Company officals said the revenue fall was mainly due to a 5.3% decrease in unit sales, a negative bike mix, a decrease in accessories and apparel sales, and continuing adverse forex effects.
Revenues from Ducati motorcycles for the period decreased 14.0% to Euro 68.8 million and represented 80.8% of total revenues. Motorcycle related products, including spare parts, accessories and apparel, decreased 16.8% to Euro 15.7 million over the comparable period in the previous year.
Pre-tax profit for the Ducati Group was a loss of Euro 1.0 million in the first quarter of 2005, compared with a profit of Euro 0.8 million in the first quarter of 2004.
Unofficial Ducati worldwide registrations, an indication of retail sales, were down 16% versus last year's first quarter. Registrations were up 8% in the US and 1% in the non-subsidiary countries, while decreases were recorded in France down 5%, Italy down 23%, Germany down 23%, Japan down 31%, Benelux down 36% and the UK down 36%.
The company's net debt as of March 31, 2005 was Euro 122.3 million, in line with the Euro 121.2 million on the same date a year earlier, and up versus Euro 116.2 million as of December 31, 2004.
Copyright 2005 Powersports Business


text:
New research from Forrester suggests that adults in the UK spend more time online, spend more money online and own more devices than adults in the other EU5 nations
April 11th, 2013 by Music Ally
March 27th, 2013 by Music Ally
128m tablets shipped in 2012 according to figures published by IDC yesterday, but it sees that growing to 190m units in 2013, overtaking desktop PC shipments for the first time.
March 20th, 2013 by Music Ally
NPD Group has published some figures claiming that in the US alone there are now more than 500m devices that are connected to the internet and run apps.
March 14th, 2013 by Music Ally
Pew Research Center has published a report about teens and tech. The survey of 802 12-17 year-olds and their parents found that 37% of all US teenagers now have smartphones.
March 13th, 2013 by Music Ally
IDC claims that shipments of Android tablets will overtake iPad for the first time this year: 49% and 46% market shares respectively in an overall market of 190.9m tablet shipments in 2013.
February 22nd, 2013 by Music Ally
IDC has published a report taking a wider view, tracking shipments of "smart connected devices" – PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones.
February 22nd, 2013 by Stuart Dredge
In the three years since Apple unveiled its first iPad in January 2012, the music industry has got progressively more interested in tablets as digital music devices, whether for discovering music, playing...
February 21st, 2013 by Stuart Dredge
When Apple unveiled its first iPad in January 2010, nobody talked much about its music implications. The device was more obviously disruptive for video, gaming and newspapers/magazines. As time has...
February 21st, 2013 by Music Ally
Last year, 14% of online adults in Western Europe owned a tablet, according to industry analyst Forrester. However, the company expects this to grow to 55% by 2017.


text:
|Rank||Country||Telephones - mobile cellular|
|52||Congo, Democratic Republic of the||15,673,000|
|65||United Arab Emirates||10,926,000|
|112||Congo, Republic of the||3,885,000|
|120||Bosnia and Herzegovina||3,171,000|
|139||Papua New Guinea||1,909,000|
|140||Trinidad and Tobago||1,894,000|
|151||Central African Republic||1,124,000|
|181||Antigua and Barbuda||162,800|
|183||Saint Vincent and the Grenadines||131,800|
|187||Sao Tome and Principe||102,500|
|191||Saint Kitts and Nevis||84,600|
|198||British Virgin Islands||46,800|
|203||Micronesia, Federated States of||27,500|
|206||Turks and Caicos Islands||25,100|
|208||Northern Mariana Islands||20,500|
|215||Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)||3,300|
Definition: This entry gives the total number of mobile cellular telephone subscribers.
Source: CIA World Factbook - Unless otherwise noted, information in this page is accurate as of January 1, 2012See also: Telephones - mobile cellular map
China Mobile-Apple iPhone pact 'very big deal'
Computerworld - 12/5/2013 2:40:53 PM
Computerworld - China Mobile, the world's largest mobile carrier, has finally inked a deal with Apple to sell the iPhone, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. On Wednesday, the newspaper (subscription required) cited anonymous sources who said ...
NSA Wrongly Says Warrantless Mobile-Phone Location Tracking Is Legal
Wired News - 12/6/2013 6:25:47 AM
And it’s a big deal. As of last year, there were 326.4 million wireless ... All the while, warrantless cell-phone location tracking has become a de facto method to snoop on criminals in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision that probable-cause ...
World to have more cell phone accounts than people by 2014
Silicon India - 1/1/2013 11:59:13 PM
China was the first country in the world to exceed one billion people and ... Of the six billion cell phone accounts that currently exist, 1.1 billion are mobile-broadband, almost twice the number of fixed-broadband accounts. The study points to China ...
Number of mobile phones to exceed world population by 2014
Digital Trends - 2/28/2013 7:51:29 PM
It seems as though we can’t go anywhere without seeing a sea of people using cell phones. We’re plugged in at all times. It’s so normal that it can be hard for us to really comprehend that there are still plenty of places in the world devoid of cell ...
Snowden documents show NSA gathering 5bn cell phone records daily
theguardian.com - 12/4/2013 9:44:25 PM
The data can also be used to study patterns of behaviour to reveal personal information. Photograph: Alex Milan Tracy/NurPhoto/Corbis The National Security Agency is reportedly collecting almost 5 billion cell phone records a day under a program ...
North Americans pay more for cell phone service
CNET News - 8/11/2009 10:13:48 PM
The OECD surveyed mobile carriers in its 30 member countries. The report showed on average ... the continued gap between what cell phone users in North America pay versus what they pay in other parts of the world, such as in Scandinavia.
Quiz: What percentage of the world's cell-phone accounts are in developing countries?
Foreign Policy - 2/16/2010 11:58:56 PM
For those of you who don't subscribe to the bimonthly print edition of Foreign Policy, you're missing a great ... that mobile phones and the Internet are making agriculture more efficient in developing countries. And even though the economy headed south ...
Seven ways mobile phones have changed lives in Africa
CNN - 9/14/2012 2:19:49 PM
Many ... has teamed up with mobile phone companies to create a database for refugees to register their personal details. The information available on the database allows them to search for people they've lost contact with. South Africa's 2008 ...
This company brought cell service to the remotest countries on earth—and then it ran out of places to go
Quartz - 12/6/2013 11:55:04 AM
He previously considered setting up a mobile network in sunny Trinidad, just off the coast of Venezuela. That didn’t work out. So when he saw an ad for mobile licenses on sale in Jamaica, he jumped at the chance. Digicel signed up 100,000 ...
Mobile payments gain traction among India's poor
CNBC - 12/5/2013 8:17:19 PM
That country's mobile payment service ... cellphones and some of the lowest airtime rates in the world, even a modest conversion to mobile money in India could make South Asia the world's largest wireless-transfer economy. (Read more: Asia stocks sell ...
Farming Tips Reach Developing World Via Cell Phone
Voice of America - 5/14/2011 11:59:45 PM
Cell - or mobile - phones are everywhere in the developing world and they are becoming increasingly sophisticated “We discovered that many farmers had cell phones that would play video clips," says Purdue University crop scientist Jess Lowenberg-DeBoer.
Special report: The punishment was death by stoning. The crime? Having a mobile phone
The Independent - 9/28/2013 10:35:14 PM
Two months ago, a young mother of two was stoned to death by her relatives on the order of a tribal ... to the al-Shabaab militia in control of the city. Iran has the world's highest rate of execution by stoning. No one knows how many people have been ...
Cell phone subscriptions to hit 5 billion globally
CNET - 2/16/2010 4:27:58 PM
People in developing countries are increasingly using their cell phones for mobile banking ... "Even the simplest, low-end mobile phone can do so much to improve health care in the developing world," said Toure. "Good examples include sending reminder ...


text:
Apple announced yesterday that it will continue to assemble its high-end Mac Pro in Austin, Texas, after it received tariff exemptions from the Trump administration for “certain necessary components” that are made in China.
“This latest generation Mac Pro, which was unveiled at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference in June, will begin production soon at the same Austin facility where Mac Pro has been made since 2013,” according to a release announcing the news.
“The tech giant’s announcement comes three months after The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple planned to move Mac Pro manufacturing to China. The newspaper’s June report cited a number of challenges, including declining demand and manufacturing capacity. The company had also been at odds with President Donald Trump’s administration over proposed tariffs on Chinese goods that would affect the company’s imports,” Kara Carlson writes for the Austin Statesman.
“A month later, Trump slammed Apple on Twitter for building products outside the U.S. and said the company would not receive relief from tariffs. He later walked back those comments,” Steven Overly writes for Politico.
“‘A man I have a lot of liking for and respect is Tim Cook, and we’ll work it out, I think they’re going to announce that they’re going to build a plant in Texas, and if they do that I’m starting to get very happy, okay,’ Trump later said,” Josh Lipton and Kif Leswig recount for CNBC.com.
“In terms of the exclusion, we’ve been making the Mac Pro in the U.S. We want to continue doing that,” Cook subsequently said on a call with analysts, Lipton and Leswig report. “We’re working and investing currently in capacity to do so because we want to continue to be here.”
Starting at $5,999 -- sans monitor, which is another $4,999 or more -- “this isn’t a computer created for the average consumer, as you'll find the spec and price to be far in excess of what you need -- and what you can afford,” write Matt Swider and Matt Hanson for TechRadar Pro.
“Apple’s decision to reverse course and instead keep the computer’s assembly in Texas is among the most pronounced examples of how tariffs have roiled corporate
decision-making. Former operations employees and current suppliers say they have spent much of the past year evaluating contingency plans for products that are assembled in China, as the company looks
to avoid tariffs. Apple had asked suppliers to move as much as a third of production for some devices outside China,” Tripp Mickle and Sarah E.
for The Wall Street Journal
“The company said it would begin production of the new Mac Pro soon at the Texas facility, without specifying a date. The new desktop computer will include components designed and made by more than a dozen U.S. companies,” Mickle adds.
“Apple says that last year it spent $60 billion on manufacturing in the United States, with over 9,000 suppliers. The company said it plans to invest $350 billion in the U.S. economy by 2023,” the Statesman’s Carlson reports.
“Trump for years has pressured Apple and other companies to shift manufacturing to the United States. Apple has been able to make a specialized product like the Mac Pro in the United States, but high-volume products like the iPhone would be difficult to manufacture outside China because no country can match China’s number of trained workers and its supply-chain infrastructure, according to analysts and former Apple employees,” Jack Nicas writes for The New York Times.
“Still, to reduce its dependence on China, where it assembles most of its products, Apple is investigating ways to increase manufacturing in Vietnam and India, even urging some suppliers to open new plants there,” a source tells Nicas.
Meanwhile, legacy Mac Pro computers running AVID’s Media Composer video editing software on older versions of the Mac OS were reportedly crashing last night.
“Film and TV editors across Los Angeles were sweating Monday evening as their workstations were refusing to reboot, resulting in speculations about a possible computer virus attack,” Janko Roettgers writes for Variety.
I’m betting they were swearing, too. But the root cause of their ire is uncertain.
“Some analysis by affected users seemed to suggest that the outage may not have been caused by a virus, but by a recent software update that may have corrupted some data, with some suggesting a OS X reinstall that keeps the existing data to restart the machine. Either way, it’s a good idea for anyone running AVID software on a Mac to back up all data right away,” Roettgers concludes.
Particularly if you’re keeping track of where Trump stands day to day.


text:
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., May 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Brand Development today announced that it will expand its strategic focus on games and build an organization to self-publish its own titles, taking a more direct role in the creative, development, marketing and distribution of games based on its IP. To drive this new business initiative, the company announced the appointment of three new executives: James Molinets, Senior Vice President of Production; Timothy FitzRandolph, Vice President of Creative; and Fabian Schonholz, Senior Vice President of Technology and Operations. Molinets and Schonholz report to Chris Heatherly, Executive Vice President of Games and Digital Platforms, Universal Brand Development.
While the initial focus for self-publishing will be on mobile, Universal plans over time to expand to other platforms. The first titles from the new publishing effort will launch later this year. Universal will continue to license its IP, strategically complimenting its publishing strategy.
"Games have become mainstream entertainment, reaching broad, global audiences and are quickly growing as a place consumers spend their time. As one of the largest entertainment companies in the world, we believe we must have a strong direct presence in gaming," said Heatherly. "Jim, Tim, and Fabian are some of the most talented leaders in the industry and evidence of the all-star team we are building here at Universal."
Molinets most recently served as Vice President, Games at Disney, where he was responsible for production and general management of all Disney and Pixar mobile games. Molinets is a 24-year veteran of the games industry who produced the critically acclaimed Alice in collaboration with American McGee, and later oversaw second party development for Sony and third party development for Disney. FitzRandolph was an early pioneer on mobile with the indie success, Jelly Car, and later teamed with Molinets at Disney on the worldwide phenomenon, Where's My Water, which became a successful franchise with three sequels, short-form animation, toys, and other consumer products. Together, they built Disney Mobile into a leading publisher of mobile games with hits like Inside Out: Thought Bubbles and Disney Emoji Blitz. They also oversaw kids' virtual world phenomenon, Club Penguin, and recently launched a successful mobile successor, Club Penguin Island.
Schonholz is a seasoned entrepreneur with a focus on "big data" and cloud services working for companies such as Internet Brands, where he was VP of Technology; professional photography service Pictage, where he was Chief Technology Officer; and most recently analytics innovator NinjaMetrics, where he served at Chief Operating Officer. As Senior Vice President of Technology and Operations, he will oversee Universal's cloud-based game publishing infrastructure with an emphasis on leveraging data to drive value across the gaming network.
In addition to the new appointments, two Universal gaming executives are receiving new roles. Bill Kispert, a Universal veteran of 15 years, moves into a new strategic position as General Manager of Business Development, reporting to Heatherly. Additionally, Pete Wanat has been named Vice President, Production, reporting to Molinets. Wanat has produced dozens of games both at and prior to Universal, where he has worked for 16 years. He is known for producing some of the best regarded games based on movie IP including Chronicles of Riddick and its sequel, as well as Scarface: The World Is Yours.
Universal Brand Development's Games and Digital Platforms business unit creates games and interactive experiences that extend engagement with the company's franchises on mobile, console, PC and emerging platforms such as Virtual and Augmented Reality. The team is also responsible for utilizing NBCUniversal IP through apps, personalization and digital content.
About Universal Brand Development
Universal Brand Development globally drives expansion of the company's intellectual properties, franchises, characters and stories through innovative physical and digital products, content, and consumer experiences. Along with franchise brand management, Universal Brand Development's core businesses include Consumer Products, Games and Digital Platforms, and Live Entertainment based on the company's extensive portfolio of intellectual properties created by Universal Pictures, Illumination Entertainment, DreamWorks Animation, and NBCUniversal cable and television. Universal Brand Development is a business segment of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, and part of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA).
SOURCE Universal Brand Development


text:
Estimated reading time: 0 minutes, 17 seconds
Summary of MHI Supply Chain Discussions
Dan Gilmore recently chaired an interesting panel at the MHI 2016 conference and provides a great summary of the topics. Workforce, technology, consumers, and infrastructure were discussed by a solid lineup of business and educational leaders.
Ecommerce growth seems to be behind a lot of the issues. Check out the summary on the Supply Chain Digest site HERE. Last modified on Tuesday, 01 November 2016


text:
If that's not enough to strike fear in domestic and import truck makers alike, Mahindra has also revealed plans to sell a diesel hybrid version of its pickup by 2010. If it happens, the diesel hybrid Appalachian will be, as far as we know, the only diesel hybrid on sale in the U.S. market and achieve fuel economy figures even higher than its diesel-only counterpart. Imagine a midsize pickup in the low-$30,000 price range capable of 40+ mpg.
The Appalachian has yet to go through U.S. certification for emissions and safety, but the company is spending $80 million to ensure its truck passes with no issues. After that, production will begin in India on March 15, 2009, but the trucks will finish assembly at a plant in Ohio to avoid high import taxes. After that, customers can visit a 300-strong dealer network with 24 standalone dealerships, one of which is already under construction.


text:
I almost feel sad for them. They built supposedly a good product. It's just that nobody asked for this. "build it and they will come" sounds like a mantra of a hopeless hotel owner who failed to pick non idiotic location for his business and then nobody came.
"BUIDL it and they will come"
While the markets have been tanking, while no significant new traction has formed for cryptocurrencies or smart contracts or dapps, they have continued to BUIDL because if they all keep meeting for conferences every few months, they can continue to hype each other up.
The phone numbers for 45 of the businesses were no longer functioning. Of the 18 that responded, 11 said they had owned a device but abandoned it. Five denied ever having received one, and two said that, at best, roughly two or three customers used the device each month.
As of today, over 1,000 XPOS [have] been activated,” Judie Liu, a Pundi X spokeswoman, told Decrypt.
"When I asked how many of those activated terminals have actually processed a payment within the last 30 days, Liu said, 'Uh..OH MY GOD! LOOK! BATMAN IS STANDING RIGHT BEHIND YOU!' I glanced over my shoulder, and when I turned back around, Liu was running away down the hallway."
I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if all currencies did eventually move to some form of "Blockchain\*".
\*Of course, by "Blockchain", I'm specifically referring to something that would look a lot like that centrally-controlled, permissioned, public-API-driven shipping database that [IBM and Maersk have been building](https://www.ibm.com/blogs/think/2018/11/tradelens-how-ibm-and-maersk-are-sharing-blockchain-to-build-a-global-trade-platform/) that they happen to *call* a "Blockchain\*" but which has absolutely zero resemblance to the supposed "decentralized", "permissionless", "trustless" Rube-Goldberg-inspired ledger that most crypto-fanatics refer to.


text:
Japanese helmet manufacturer Arai has launched a high-end helmet, the Evo RX-7V 2022. Handcrafted in Japan and still adhering to the R75 philosophy (maintaining the shell shape of a 75mm continuous curve radius), the 2022 RX-7V now offers even greater standards of ventilation and safety. than the previous generation.
The 2022 RX-7V now meets ECE 22.06 standards, where the helmet undergoes a rigorous testing process that includes more impact points and a tilt test to measure helmet spin. According to Arai, the 2022 RX-7V now offers better ventilation and improved cheek pads for better ergonomics and comfort.
The company from the Land of the Rising Sun claims that the helmet has been optimized to divert and dissipate energy during an impact and help reduce the impact the rider will have during a crash. Like its predecessor, the 2022 RX-7V is equipped with a Variable Axis System (VAS), a Formula 1 derived locking system, a removable interior made of antibacterial and hypoallergenic materials, and double ring closure. The latest helmet from Arai itself is priced at $ 1071.


text:
By Elizabeth Elkin
Schools are purchasing so much milk in preparation for in-person learning that supplies are drying up, and there’s not enough to go around.
Bottlers are saying that orders resemble pre-pandemic levels, and some cheesemakers are being forced to switch from using milk to powdered varieties because they aren’t able to buy enough of the liquid, according to an Agriculture Department report.
Prices for milk on spot markets are closer to 2019 prices than when schools were closed for the last year, the agency said.
Schools are a major source of demand for milk, which they need to provide calcium in children’s lunches. Many are finally reopening after being shut down since early 2020.


text:
Five Nights at Freddy’s Augmented Reality Game Set for Fall Release
The monstrously popular Five Nights at Freddy‘s series is making the jump to the real world. Today, Illumix and FNaF creator Scott Cawthon announced the fall release of Five Nights at Freddy’s AR: Special Delivery — an augmented reality game that injects the series’ creepy animatronic creatures into your very own surroundings.
“Augmented Reality offers new ways for players to interact and engage with their favorite franchises by blending real-world environments, fictional characters, and innovative gameplay,” said Kirin Sinha, CEO and Founder of Illumix. “With Five Nights at Freddy’s AR: Special Delivery, we wanted to evolve beyond the traditional AR-optional geolocation gameplay and deliver a more meaningful AR experience by having AR as the core component of the game.”
Five Nights at Freddy’s AR: Special Delivery will make monsters appear in player’s homes, though details are light on how the game plays exactly. It’s highly likely that there will be some story elements and objectives, rather than the game simply superimposing aimless monsters in the real world, but we’ll have to wait to confirm. The game is due for release on iOS and Android devices.
Excited fans of the series can keep an eye on fnafar.com to pre-register for access to the game sometime soon.
Five Nights at Freddy’s VR: Help Wanted is the latest FNaF game, releasing last May for PC VR headsets and PlayStation VR. Maybe soon we’ll hear about the progress of the film adaptation that’s in the works…


text:
We want to thank everyone who has brought plastic waste back to Tesco stores for your commitment and engagement.
Participation in the trials has been very strong and exceeded our expectations. The trials have proven how keen people are to recycle and their enthusiasm to look for solutions.
At the end of October, we reached the agreed amount of plastic waste with Tesco and received the last load. We will now start the next phase analysing and preparing for processing.
Initial results are very positive: less than 2% of the received waste is of non-plastic nature.
The next step for us is to start recycling in the Beta Plant in Swindon with the aim of recycling it back into new plastic enabling a true circularity of plastics.
Sign-up to our newsletter or follow us on social media to receive updates.
Tesco has stopped collecting soft plastics in front of store while Covid-19 restrictions are in place, is the scheme going to restart?
The trial between Recycling Technologies and Tesco has ended. For information on Tesco front of store collections of ‘soft’ plastics bags, packets, and wrappers, including Tesco’s plans for re-commencing the collections, please contact Tesco’s helpline www.tesco.com/help/contact for the latest status and help on this matter.
Is your plant in Swindon fully operational or is it a demonstration model?
The site at Swindon’s Cheney Manor recycling centre is a research and development ‘Beta’ plant, that operates for trial, training, and testing purposes. Having temporarily been closed due to Covid-19 restrictions, we are now re-starting our Beta plant gradually and with enhanced safety measures in place.
Our first full-scale commercial RT7000 plant is being manufactured in the Swindon assembly plant in the South Marston Business Park and is to be installed in a waste site in Perthshire, Scotland, with others in the pipeline thereafter.
When will the results of the Tesco trial be known?
We agreed on a volume of soft plastic waste that we would take in for the trial with Tesco, which we could accommodate alongside our other clients’ materials, and this volume has been reached. We have now prepared and analysed the waste, ready for processing. Like Tesco, our operations have been affected by the Covid-19 closures, but we look forward to being able to prioritise the processing of these soft plastics and share the results of our trials with Tesco as soon as possible, including via our quarterly newsletter [link to join]
Can I bring plastic waste directly to Recycling Technologies for recycling?
No. We are not able to receive waste directly to the Recycling Technologies’ Beta plant unless is it is from a licensed waste handler and pre-arranged with clients for sampling and testing. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept wastes from the public directly.
Please note that all enquiries regarding collection in store and future plans should be directed to Tesco’s customer service.
Trial store locations and types of plastic
In ten Tesco stores in the South West during the summer of 2019, shoppers were able to bring back their ‘soft’ plastic waste which will then be sent to Recycling Technologies for recycling. The ten stores collecting your soft plastics were:
- Bristol Lime Trees Road Superstore, BS6 7XW
- Bristol Yate Extra, BS37 4AS
- Bristol Brislington Extra, BS4 5AY
- Bristol Staple Hill Metro, BS16 5NP
- Keynsham Superstore, BS31 2BA
- Bristol East Extra, BS5 6XU
- Cirencester Metro – Farrell Close, GL7 1HW
- Cirencester Extra, GL7 1NP
- Swindon Extra, SN1 2EH
- Tetbury Superstore, GL8 8HZ
The trial collected in store:
- Crisp, chocolate, rice cake packets
- Sweets and biscuit wrappers
- Pet food, baby food pouches
- Drink pouches (e.g. Caprisun)
- Yogurt tubes and pots
- Cling film, multi-pack film, film lids
- Any plastic bag such as fruit & veg, bread, pasta, and tissue bags.
Swindon, UK. 2nd April 2019 – There is now a way for some of Britain’s shoppers to stop the hardest to recycle, soft plastics from going to waste. This week, Tesco will start collecting previously unrecyclable plastics to be recycled in ten of its stores as part of a trial with the recycling specialist, Recycling Technologies.
Customers will be able to return to trial stores everything from pet food pouches to shopping bags and crisp packets, all of which cannot commonly be recycled by local councils; safe in the knowledge that the packaging will be sent for recycling through Recycling Technologies’ new, state of the art recycling process.
This comes as part of Tesco’s efforts to make all its packaging recyclable, creating a closed loop – preventing packaging from going to waste.
The plastics trial begins with the installation of ten collection booths at Tesco stores in and around the Swindon and Bristol areas. Recycling Technologies has developed and patented a process to turn waste plastic back into oil, Plaxx® – a material which can then be used in the manufacture of new plastic.
Tesco’s Director of Quality, Sarah Bradbury said, “Reducing and recycling plastics is such an important issue for us, for customers and for the future of our planet. That’s why we are working hard to reduce the amount of packaging in our stores and have committed that all remaining packaging will be recyclable by 2025.
“Our trial with Recycling Technologies will make even more of our packaging recyclable and help us reach our target. This technology could be the final piece of the jigsaw for the UK plastic recycling industry.”
WWF UK’s Sustainable Materials Specialist, Paula Chin said, “It’s great to see Tesco running this innovative trial offering customers an easy way to recycle more and waste less. From our local beaches to the remote Arctic, plastic is choking our oceans and killing wildlife. Eight million tonnes are dumped into our seas every year – killing turtles, fish, whales and birds. While we can all do our bit by reducing the plastic we buy and embracing reusable items, we need producers, businesses and governments to face their responsibilities too.”
Recycling Technologies’ Chief Executive, Adrian Griffiths said. “We are delighted to be working with Tesco to help its customers recycle more of their household plastic waste. Using our specialist ‘feedstock’ recycling process we keep more plastic waste in the economy and out of landfill and our oceans. This initiative with Tesco is designed to show there are solutions to recover this important material. Our goal is to double the UK’s capacity to recycle plastic waste by 2027.”
83% of all Tesco’s packaging is currently recyclable. Should this soft-plastics collection be rolled out to all Tesco stores, it is estimated that it will be possible to recycle around 90% of Tesco’s own label packaging – the equivalent of 65,000 additional tonnes of plastic being put to good use every year. Tesco is working toward its commitment that all of its packaging is fully recyclable by 2025.
This follows Tesco’s announcement last week of a trial removing packaged fruit and veg wherever a loose alternative exists in two stores.
Last year, Tesco made strides towards its ambition for a closed loop packaging system, sharing its intention to stop packing products in the hardest to recycle materials by the end of 2019.


text:
GTA 6 release date leak: Good news for PlayStation fans, Xbox dealt blow
GTA 6 release date news begins today with an update that’s good news for PlayStation fans but will come as a blow to Xbox gamers.
GTA 6 is undoubtedly one of the most highly anticipated games on the horizon, despite not actually being officially confirmed by Rockstar Games.
Ever since Red Dead Redemption 2 came out last year attention has shifted to what Rockstar Games could be working on next.
The obvious choice was GTA 6, with Grand Theft Auto fans currently enduring the longest wait for a brand new GTA game ever.
And this year rumours about GTA 6 have gone into overdrive with some big claims made about the next Grand Theft Auto game.
It’s been claimed that GTA 6 could be set in Vice City and will only be for next-gen consoles – with PS4 and Xbox One fans missing out.
There was also another alleged leak, that initially was published last December but only gained traction among fans this year.
This rumour claimed that GTA 6 would be launching in 2020 and would be a timed exclusive for the PS5.
If true the news would obviously mark a big blow for Xbox gamers and give Sony an early advantage at the start of the next console wars.
And now it’s been claimed that there is more proof mounting that this leak is actually real.
In a post online SegmentNext put a case forward for why this leak which emerged on Pastebin last December is looking more and more legitimate.
They said: “Back in December 2018, an anonymous third-party developer from Europe claimed that GTA 6 will be releasing on PlayStation 5 during the holiday season of 2020.
“The same leak also suggested that Sony has struck a deal with Rockstar Games to keep GTA 6 exclusive to its new-generation console for an entire month.
“In addition, the setting will be either Miami or New York.
“There was obviously no way to confirm the claims back then.
“What happened was that the same leak also included information about PlayStation 5, most of which Sony officially confirmed earlier this year.
“Hence, giving credibility to the leak.”
They added: “So many green lights naturally suggest that everything the anonymous third-party developer said about GTA 6 must be true.”
The alleged GTA 6 leak correctly predicted a number of PS5 specs that Sony would go onto later confirm.
These specs include support for ray tracing, being backwards compatible and being capable of 8K visuals.
The alleged GTA 6 leak also claimed that the DualShock controller would be getting an update, with a camera inside the joypad.
And in the aftermath of this rumour emerging a patent from Sony was discovered which outlined this idea.
The patent outlines a camera in the DualShock that can scan a player’s face to create bespoke emojis based on a player’s facial expressions.
It was reported in a post by TheSixthAxis, with speculation that it could debut with the PS5.
More evidence could also have emerged backing up the Pastebin leak, with claims emerging on Reddit allegedly from a Rockstar Games insider.
The Redditor claimed their source revealed that GTA 6 would be set in Vice City, which is what the Pastebin leak also said.
As with all rumours, such as the recent Reddit claims, it’s best to take them with a big pinch of salt until official confirmation.
But it is interesting that a number of claims made in the Pastebin ‘leak’ that said GTA 6 would be a timed PS5 exclusive have turned out to be true.
Xbox fans will surely be keeping a close eye to see if Rockstar Games ends up confirming if this is the case or not.
• Stay tuned to Express.co.uk for more GTA 6 release date news
Source: Read Full Article