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INDUSTRY 4.0 IN THE SHIPPING INDUSTRY: CHALLENGES AND PREPAREDNESS – THE PREVAILING SCENARIO
24 July 2020
The rapid and inexorable rise in the 1990s of the internet, networking, and digital communication, which, in aggregate, represents ‘cyberspace’, has produced startling and indelible changes in almost all aspects of modern life. The accelerated growth of cyberspace has given birth to a new industrial revolution, often called the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’. In this revolution, which is an ongoing one, industry is experiencing a distinct movement towards digitalisation, automation and data-exchange, in both, the secondary and the tertiary sectors. In the continuing effort to create a holistic and better-connected ecosystem, this phase in the industrial landscape, which focuses intensely on interconnectivity, machine learning, and real-time data, has resulted in a sharp enhancement in productivity and has been branded ‘Industry 4.0’. In recent times, the concept of Industry 4.0 has been deployed in the global shipping industry, too, and has led to the development of an ecosystem that is increasingly being defined by the Internet of Things (IoT), for the shipping industry to manage navigation and operations, through computers.
Industry 4.0, is, of course, not without significant challenges of its own. Today, cybercriminals are embezzling users of virtual space (cyberspace). Their targets range from individuals to companies. In this scenario, the shipping industry has become an especially attractive target for cybercriminals, largely because it moves goods of large monetary value from and to ports, through shipping. Unfortunately, this industry is also amongst the least prepared to guard itself against cyber transgressions. In 2017, a major cyber-attack on AP Møller-Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping company, using the NotPetya virus, served to dramatically (and quite catastrophically) highlight the severe vulnerabilities of the shipping industry in this digital world. These vulnerabilities are now a major area of concern, thereby necessitating the need-for and the consequent growth-of the ‘maritime cybersecurity’ market.
According to predictions by Cybersecurity Ventures, a leading source of cybersecurity facts, figures and statistics, global spending on cybersecurity products and services is likely to exceed US$ 1 trillion, cumulatively, during the period from 2017 to 2021. This growth is a direct outcome of rising cyber-crimes and the increases in frequency and level of sophistication of cyber-attacks on the shipping industry. This has made the shipping industry a very significant consumer of cybersecurity products so as to be able to safeguard its IoT-dominated ecosystem. These products include guidance, sensors, controls, command and communication systems, and, their hydra-headed linkages to coastal infrastructure.
This article offers an empirical overview of: (a) the digital revolution in the shipping industry; (b) the cyberspace challenges in the shipping industry; (c) the level of preparedness of the shipping industry to handle prevailing and future cyber-threats, and (d) the role of the cybersecurity market in providing solutions to these cyber-threats.
The Digital Revolution in the Shipping Industry
As industries revolutionise themselves through Industry 4.0 by using technologies such as machine-to-machine communication, cognitive computing, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), IoT, robotics, cloud computing, mobile technologies, etc., computing, data-storage, connectivity and production-efficiency improved by leaps and bounds, resulting in a spurt in the growth of the world economy. Taking careful note of the fact that this growth was being achieved through the increasingly ubiquitous use of technology, the global shipping industry — which is the lifeblood of the global economy and is manifested in the 50,000 ships that are at sea or in ports at any given moment of time (see Figure 1), moving about 90 per cent of world-trade by volume, and, in the process, generating an estimated annual income of over half trillion USD in freight rates — felt the need to replicate this technology-driven growth. Hence, Industry 4.0 was embraced by the shipping industry to improve its value-chain and its management, in an effort to enhance profits and reduce overheads by improving efficiency.
Figure 1: Vessels at sea and in port
This effort drove the shipping industry to promote sophisticated developments in areas such as connectivity, maintenance and safety, etc., through digitalisation. Today, the shipping industry uses digitalisation for connectivity — to get real-time information about a ship’s performance at sea; for maintenance — to enable remote diagnostics of machinery of ships at sea; and, for safety — to ensure the shore-based monitoring of gas-emissions and cargo temperatures of its seagoing assets, so as to decrease the operational cost and risk of failure due to negligence.
Although digitalisation in the shipping industry is still in an embryonic phase, it has already become hugely popular. This popularity has led to an exponential creation of data that is supported efficiently by hardware (computing power) and ‘Cloud’-based data-storage solutions (on-site storage). Another area where digitalisation is being implemented in the shipping industry (even though it is still in a nascent stage) is in cargo shipment using blockchain technology. A ‘blockchain’ is basically a way to store, share, and verify information, using a ‘ledger’. The stored information in the blockchain exists as a shared, secured, decentralised, and encrypted ‘public ledger’, which inherently resists any modification and is easily verifiable. This therefore enhances cybersecurity, resulting in the blockchain process becoming a platform of trust and value in industries that have adopted this technology. The introduction of blockchain technology in the shipping industry has the potential to cut administrative and operational risks for shipowners, charters and brokers, as it ensures greater transparency, enhances security, improves traceability, increased efficiency and speed of transactions, and reduces costs. In January of 2018, AP Moller-Maersk (Maersk) and IBM jointly announced the launch of ‘TradeLens’ — an internet-based platform intended to apply blockchain technology to the global supply chain. In August of that same year, in a follow-up of their January announcement, the two partner companies also announced that 94 organisations were actively involved or had agreed to participate on the TradeLens platform, built on open standards. In the first year of its use alone, the time of shipments in the United States has been reduced by 60 per cent.
As it stands, overall digital transformations, as part of Industry 4.0, are in progress for the betterment of the shipping industry. However, at the same time, it is essential to acknowledge the challenges associated with this technological development. To understand challenges faced by the shipping industry due to the growth of cyberspace, it is instructive to look at prevailing cyber-threats.
Cyberspace Challenges in the Shipping Industry
In the shipping industry, cyber-dependence has spawned unprecedented threats from unknown sources that are difficult, if not impossible, to identify. Cyber-threats in the shipping domain may be divided into two categories – targeted and untargeted. Targeted attacks are where a company or a ship’s systems and data are, indeed, the intended targets. Targeted attacks include the use of brute force, denial-of-services, spear-phishing, subverting the supply chain, port-scanning, etc. On the other hand, Untargeted attacks are those where a company or a ship’s systems and data are merely one of many potential targets. These untargeted threats include, inter alia, malware attacks, phishing, water-holing, and, scanning. In addition, cyber-threats in the shipping industry may be ‘intentional’ or ‘unintentional’. Intentional cyber-threats are those where the cyber breach comes from intentional malicious actions, while unintentional cyber-threats are those where the breach is a result of negligence or ignorance. It is essential that the shipping industry identifies the predominant cyber threats before looking at means to address them.
With digitalisation, even piracy has gone high-tech. Today, cargo ships, oil tankers, and super yachts are facing an increasing threat from cyber-attackers who can cause service-disruption, system-downtime, financial loss, cargo-theft, loss of contracts, and, reputational-damage. These cyber-attackers are able to attack critical systems of a target-ship, such as the propulsion, machinery, and navigation systems. They can threaten or actually cause ecological disasters such as oil spills by actions such as the opening of remotely-controlled or automated discharge valves, or, causing groundings or collisions through the malicious manipulation of GPS signals and receivers. Malicious manipulation of positional, heading and speed data can cause a ship to change direction, making it susceptible to piratical attacks. Likewise, shipborne radars can be jammed, making the ship blind to its surroundings. Any attack of this nature can lead to disruption and collision of ships in busy shipping lanes and can severely harm the shipping industry, the energy industry, and also the marine environment.
A maritime cybersecurity survey, conducted in 2018 by the ‘The Baltic and International Maritime Council’ (BIMCO), Fairplay, and ABS Advanced Solutions, provides some idea of the nature of cyberthreats experienced by the maritime industry. These threats include phishing, malware, spear phishing, threat of credentials, ransomware, theft of data, man-in-middle application-level attacks, breach of procedure, known vulnerability-exploitation, brute force, network-protocol attack, manipulation of data, loss of operational control, and, honeytraps. The study revealed that: (a) of these threats, phishing and malware are the major cyber challenge, (b) the shipping sector is the major target, (c) ‘theft of credentials’ was the major reason of cyberattacks, which increased significantly from 2 per cent in 2017 to 28 per cent in 2018, and, (d) the major result of these attacks was loss of corporate data, lowering of performance of IT system and financial loss.
In recent years, the shipping industry has faced many cyber-attacks. The most significant and an extremely high-profile incident was that the attack on AP Møller-Maersk, on 27 June 2017, when a malware called ‘NotPetya’ destroyed almost the entire AP Møller-Maersk computer network. ‘NotPetya’ was a ‘ransomware’ that came through software used by companies to file their tax returns. After hijacking the network of the company, the attackers, based in Ukraine, demanded a payment of US$ 300 worth of bitcoins (~ US$ 16,88,926/-) to decrypt the important files from the Maersk database. The company refused to pay the ransom and tried to resolve the problem on its own. Since the ransomware attack was a severe one, it corrupted the Maersk’s network extensively, preventing the company’s IT experts from recovering the data. In the end, instead of recovering the data, the company chose to reinstall over 4,000 servers, 45,000 computers, and 2,500 applications. The resulting loss to Maersk is estimated to have been between 250 million and 300 million US Dollars.
In January of 2018, after the cyber-attack, AP Møller-Maersk’s Chairman, Jim Hagemann Snabe, accepted that “we were basically average when it comes to cybersecurity, like many companies, and this was a wake-up call.” At nearly the same time, on 24 July 2018, the Chinese shipping and logistics company, the China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO), too, became a victim of a ransomware attack. The attack was not severe, but it alarmed the shipping sector. Other large shipping companies that have faced cyber-attacks include the BW Group and the Clarksons. These cyber-attacks on big and powerful shipping houses brings into question the level of preparedness of the shipping industry to cyber-attacks.
Level of preparedness to tackle cyber-threats
Several reports and surveys indicate that the maritime industry is ill-equipped to deal with cyber threats. The Global Maritime Issues Monitor, in its report of 2018, brings out that cyber-attacks and data-theft are among the top issues impacting the maritime industry, while the preparedness to tackle these specific cyber-threats is the poorest. Similarly, in 2017, in order to diagnose the lack of preparedness of the shipping industry in tackling prevailing cyber threats, the Jones Walker LLP conducted a maritime cybersecurity survey of the US maritime industry. The report revealed that the US maritime industry had a false sense of preparedness. While 69 per cent of the respondents believed that the industry was ready to handle devastating cyber-attacks, only 36 per cent believed that their own company was prepared. Highlighting the insignificant level of preparedness to deal with cyber-threats in the maritime sector the survey brought out that, “Hackers are modern day pirates who have the ability to sink maritime industry sectors that are unprepared for what’s coming at them.”
When talking of preparedness of the crew to protect a ship from cyber-attacks, the lack of preparedness is starkly visible. In the Crew Connectivity Survey 2015 (conducted by Futurenautics) it was found that only 12 per cent of crew members had received any form of cyber training. In addition, only 43 per cent of crew members had any knowledge of cyber hygiene provided by their company for personal web-browsing. Unsurprisingly, 43 per cent of the survey participants revealed that they had sailed on vessels that had become infected with a virus or malware. Even now, these figures have not changed by much.
While there certainly is a distinct lack of preparedness of the shipping industry and the crew to tackle cyber-attacks, much of the blame must be attributed to the lack of a regulatory framework for cyber security in the shipping industry. Although the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), in 2017, amended its two general security-management codes — the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code and the International Safety Management (ISM) Code to explicitly include cybersecurity and how the maritime industry should undertake cyber risks management processes, these amendments will come into force only by 01 January 2021. These slow developments in maritime cybersecurity regulation have left the shipping industry to face the brunt of repeated cyber-attacks.
The slow development notwithstanding, in 2018, a group of the world’s largest shipping associations, which included BIMCO, the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI), the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO), the International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners (INTERCARGO), the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF), the World Shipping Council, and, the International Chamber of Shipping, collaborated to jointly prepare and release a manual titled, “Guidelines on Cyber Security Onboard Ships”. This manual is aimed at improving a ship’s safety management system, risk assessments for operational technology, and, in addition, offers guidance for identifying and tackling on-board cyber security threats arising from the external supply chain. The guidelines also set-out the cyber risk-management approach and exhorts the IMO to stay engaged throughout the process so as to ensure that the protection, and contingency- and response-planning, are balanced in relation to the threats, vulnerabilities, risk-exposure and consequences of a potential cyber accident.
Despite realising the accelerated dangers of the cyberspace, cyber risk-management in the maritime industry is moving at a painfully slow pace. This has forced the owners of the shipping companies to engage with cyber-security providers to minimise the losses arising from cyber incidents. This has, in turn, led to the emergence of the maritime cybersecurity market.
The Cybersecurity Market
In order to achieve requisite cyber protection, the shipping industry relies heavily on external parties such as technology consultancies, security experts, and software suppliers. These external parties sell cybersecurity products to shipping companies and enhance the security of their Information technology (IT), Operational technology (OT) and navigation systems. It is essential to mention that the cyber-industry is not currently investing in the shipping industry directly, due to the lack of consciousness about cyber threats in the industry. Further, the industry and its IT infrastructure is obsolete and does not adhere to the latest IT standards.
Over the years, several cybersecurity companies and consultants have emerged, specifically to address the cyber challenges of the shipping industry and to provide solutions to develop a secure digital environment. Some of these key firms are:
(a) The ‘MTI Network’, which trains shipping industry employees to recognise cyber-attacks and implement policies on computer hardware usage, particularly the use of USB memory sticks.
(b) Marlink, which has provided a facility called Cyber Guard that enables Marlink customers to protect, detect and resolve any cyber-threat through a holistic combination of network resilience and redundancy, dedicated maritime cyber-security technology and maritime security experts.
(c) The Seawall Scan, an open source firewall, helps the industry to test ship systems to detect security weaknesses.
(d) Other cybersecurity firms such as the Cydome, the CyberSail, the Hudson’s Cyber Risk Management, the Solace Global, and the Gard, are dedicated to provide cybersecurity services to the shipping industry.
Recommendations to Improve Cybersecurity in the Shipping Industry
Although it is believed that in the shipping industry cyber security has to be expensive and supported by external parties, this is not true. Simple measures that are inexpensive and safe can be put in place to provide a secure cyber-environment. These measures include actions such as regularly and frequently updating systems, configuring networks features, testing security features, and, training users to operate the systems optimally.
Further, it is an accepted fact most shipowners do not have a comprehensive knowledge of the cyber risks. There is, therefore, a clear need to improve this situation. Towards this end, four key steps have been recommended by Max J. Bobys, Vice President of the Hudson’s Cyber Risk Management. These are:
(a) To develop cyber-loss scenarios that could impact the business and determine their exposure values. Since smaller scale scenarios cover site-specific instances, such as how a vessel or an office might be impacted, the need is to have a broader thinking to characterise how a multi-vessel/site attack might impact the overall business.
(b) To review and test existing insurance policies against the loss scenarios.
(c) To perform a top-down, cybersecurity capability maturity-model based evaluation. This is considered essential since cyber risk needs to continuously and proactively managed as an organisational risk.
(d) To sustain cyber risk management resources. This can be achieved by ensuring that personnel are trained; insurance policies are updated to support incident reporting and recovery; and, to maintain budgets to support a range of technical and non-technical cybersecurity investments.
A majority of the world’s trade is moving by sea, along International Shipping Lanes (ISL). Statistics by the United Nation Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows that international seaborne trade gathered considerable momentum in 2017, with volumes expanding by 4.0 per cent. It is expected that this trend will continue over the coming years. Simultaneously, ships, ports, and mobile offshore units, are becoming increasingly connected and reliant on software-dependent systems. In this scheme of things, the shipping industry is clearly a vulnerable target for cyber-attackers. Hence, it is essential for the shipping industry to develop a protected IoT ecosystem and the ability to recognise the risks associated with the cyber domain, including technologies such as radars, sensors, and drones. It is essential to understand that if digitalisation were to continue without proper security measures, it could have serious repercussions on both, the shipping industry and the world economy. It is hence vital to maintain the integrity and resilience of cyber-physical system through a holistic approach.
This article has sought to provide an overview of the lack of consciousness, awareness and protection mechanisms against cyber-attacks within the shipping industry. At the moment, the preparedness of the shipping industry to deal with cyber threats is unacceptably low. Currently, the internal mechanisms of the industry are slow in framing cyber risk management policies, while those policies that have been adopted by the IMO are still to come in force. Consequently, there is no available and usable framework to deal with the vulnerabilities associated with Industry 4.0.
As digitalisation facilitates an efficient business environment, a gain in the value chain, and serious damage to the business if adequate precautions are not taken, it is necessary that adequate steps are taken by the shipping industry to increase opportunities and decrease risks associated with Industry 4.0, through qualitative management.
Although technology-consultants are supporting the shipping industry in tackling this demand of cyber-security, the need of the hour is to train personnel and ensure upgradation of the IT infrastructure aboard ships, so as to have better involvement of the cyber industry in developing and ensuring a robust cyber-system for the shipping industry. However, until that is done the shipping industry must persist with inhouse measures that would provide for the requisite degree of cyber-security.
The views expressed by the authors are their own and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Government of India, the Indian Navy, or, the National Maritime Foundation.
Notes and References
 The digitisation and digitalisation are different terms that are mistakenly used as synonyms. Digitisation means taking analogue information and encoding it into binary format (using zeroes and ones), so that computer could store, process and transmit such information, whereas digitalisation is an ambiguous term, which means a way in which many social domains are structured or restructured around digital communication and media infrastructure.
 The secondary sector encompasses manufacturing — the making, building, and assembling of finished products.
 The tertiary sector provides services to consumers and businesses and includes retailers, transportation and entertainment companies, banks, and healthcare providers.
 Steve Morgan, Cybersecurity Market Report, 2018; retrieved on 18 April 2019 from https://cybersecurityventures.com/cybersecurity-market-report/
 Shipping and World Trade, data by International Chamber of Shipping (ICS); retrieved on 18 April 2019 from http://www.ics-shipping.org/shipping-facts/shipping-and-world-trade
 Alexander Farnsworth, “BlockChain- The case for digitalising shipping”, Wartsila, 2 January, 2019; retrieved on 18 April 2019 from https://www.wartsila.com/twentyfour7/innovation/blockchain-the-case-for-digitalising-shipping
 IBM Newsroom: “Maersk and IBM Introduce TradeLens Blockchain Shipping Solution”, Copenhagen, Denmark, and ARMONK, NY, 09 Aug 2018, from https://newsroom.ibm.com/2018-08-09-Maersk-and-IBM-Introduce-TradeLens-Blockchain-Shipping-Solution
 Sotiria Lagouvardou, Maritime Cyber Security: concepts, problems and models, Thesis, DTU Management Engineering: 2018, pp. 44-48; retrieved on 18 April 2019 from http://orbit.dtu.dk/files/156025857/Lagouvardou_MScThesis_FINAL.pdf
 ibid, p. 44
 Luke Graham, “The new face of piracy: cybercrime is threatening the shipping industry”, City A.M, 26 November, 2018; retrieved on 18 April 2019 from http://www.cityam.com/269633/new-face-piracy-cyber-crime-threatening-shipping-industry
 Luke Graham, “The new face of piracy: cybercrime is threatening the shipping industry”, City A.M, 26 November, 2018; retrieved on 18 April 2019 from http://www.cityam.com/269633/new-face-piracy-cyber-crime-threatening-shipping-industry
 In 2016, 280 South Korean vessels returned to the port after experiencing problems with their navigation systems. The South Korean government blamed North Korea behind the disruption, but was unable to obtain evidence for the accusation. See, for example, Jonathan Saul, “Cyber threats prompt return of radio for ship navigation”, Reuters, 7 August, 2017; retrieved on 18 April 2019 from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-shipping-gps-cyber/cyber-threats-prompt-return-of-radio-for-ship-navigation-idUSKBN1AN0HT
 IHS Markit, 2018 Maritime Cyber Security Results, Results Overview; retrieved on 18 April 2019 from http://www.nepia.com/media/977540/Fairplay-and-BIMCO-Maritime-Cyber-Security-survey-2018.pdf
 A Danish maritime business conglomerate, operating in more than 120 countries; provide services in 300 ports around the world and nearly 800 vessels. The company represents one-fifth of the entire world’s shipping capacity.
 A malware that aims to encrypt the hard drive of infected computers and does not require human intervention to spread itself
 Andy Greenberg, “The untold story of NotPetya, the most devastating cyberattack in the history”, Wired, 22 August, 2018; retrieved on 18 April 2019 from https://www.wired.com/story/notpetya-cyberattack-ukraine-russia-code-crashed-the-world/
 Catalin Cimpanu, “Maersk Reinstalled 45,000 PCs and 4,000 Servers to Recover From NotPetya Attack”, Bleepingcomputer, 25 January, 2018; retrieved on 18 April 2019 from https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/maersk-reinstalled-45-000-pcs-and-4-000-servers-to-recover-from-notpetya-attack/
 “COSCO Shipping Lines Falls Victim to Cyber Attack”, World Maritime News, 25 July, 2018; retrieved on 18 April 2019 from https://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/257665/cosco-shipping-lines-falls-victim-to-cyber-attack/
 Jamey Bergman, “Tanker group says it faced cyber-attack in July”, Maritime Digitalisation and Communications, 17 October, 2017; retrieved on 18 April 2019 from https://www.marinemec.com/news/view,tanker-group-says-it-faced-cyber-attack-in-july_49564.htm
 Notice of cybersecurity incident, CLARKSON PLC, 29 November 2017; retrieved on 18 April 2019 from https://www.clarksons.com/media/1129201/notice_of_cyber_security_incident.pdf
 Global Maritime Issues Monitor, 2018, MARSH and IUMI; retrieved on 18 April 2019 from https://www.globalmaritimeforum.org/content/2018/10/Global-Maritime-Issues-Monitor-2018.pdf
 Jones Walker LLP 2018 Maritime Cybersecurity Survey; retrieved on 18 April 2019 from https://sites-communications.joneswalker.com/38/1033/uploads/2018-jones-walker-llp-maritime-cybersecurity-white-paper.pdf?intIaContactId=8590524490&intExternalSystemId=1&strExternalSystemType=Interaction%205.6
 Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide article “Maritime Cybersecurity Survey Indicates Industry is Unprepared for Risks”; retrieved on 18 April 2019 from https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/maritime-cybersecurity-survey-indicates-industry-is-unprepared-for-risks/
 Lean Kinthaert, “8 Experts Weigh In on Cybersecurity in Shipping & Maritime”, KNet365, 9 April 2017; retrieved on 24 April 2019, https://knect365.com/shipping/article/56554e0a-1356-42ac-88cd-564a389bcd1e/cybersecurity-shipping-maritime
 Forbes Vivian Louis, 2018, “The Global Maritime Industry Remains Unprepared for Future Cybersecurity Challenges”, Future Direction International, 21 August 2018; retrieved on 18 April 2019, http://www.futuredirections.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Global-Maritime-Industry-Remains-Unprepared-for-Future-Cybersecurity-Challenges.pdf
 The Guidelines on Cyber Security Onboard Ships, Version 3; retrieved on 18 April 2019 https://iumi.com/uploads/2018-Cyber_Security_Guidelines.pdf
 MTI Network article “Taking Cyber Security seriously” Retrieved on 18 April 2019 https://www.mtinetwork.com/taking-maritime-cyber-security-seriously/
 “Cyber Security in the Maritime Industry”, 20 November 2018, Maritime Digitalisation & Communication; retrieved on 18 April 2019 https://www.marinemec.com/news/view,cyber-security-in-the-maritime-industry_55948.htm
 Seawall cybersecurity protection package presentation; retrieved on 18 April 2019 https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/90f4b3_ef08ea2b9f7f4d288eca48289f70c744.pdf


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GamePro, the US video game magazine and its accompanying website, is to close after more than 20 years on the market.
The title was first launched in 1989, moved online in 1996 and most recently moved the print version to a quarterly format. But due to the weak advertising market, parent company IDG has decided to close the publication and lay off staff.
"Despite doubling our uniques and page views year on year, GamePro has been shut down," said editor Jaz Rignall via Twitter.
The website will redirect to PCWorld.com as of December 5 and the GamePro Media division will focus on contract publishing.
"The US editorial and business staff worked hard to earn a passionate, loyal following for GamePro and I am grateful for their dedication and hard work over the years," commented Mike Kisseberth, IDG's head of consumer and small business group.
"GamePro, like all businesses, must keep up with industry changes and economic realities. Look for GamePro Custom Solutions to be blazing new trails in online branding for the game industry, providing gamers with deeper, richer interactions with the companies."

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Companies that have embraced open innovation are looking outside their walls for new ideas. These companies are seeking out partners to fulfill their innovative goals more readily and transform their businesses with new technologies and services. Inventors should be on the lookout for opportunities to work with these companies.
But in order for creative people to supply practitioners of open innovation with good ideas and inventions, they must first understand the company’s goals and mission in terms of products they’re creating for their customers.
Typically, this information is not difficult to find, because these companies are proud of what they’re doing. One such open innovation company is LifeScan, the 40-year-old glucose monitoring and diabetes management provider. According to the International Diabetes Federation, there are over 537 million people living with diabetes today, and that number is, unfortunately, growing. The pandemic accelerated the need for blood glucose monitoring systems, with higher-than-anticipated demand occurring worldwide.
To find out about the open innovation practices at a market leader like LifeScan, I interviewed Lisa Rose about where new ideas come from and how they are developed.
Rose is responsible for patient-centered innovation and company expansion at LifeScan, where she leads the commercialization of digital health platforms and new continuous glucose monitoring technologies.
Previously, she was head of global marketing for Abbott Diagnostics and the chief marketing and innovation officer for Vyaire Medical, where she was responsible for innovative new products and growing their respiratory business. She also spent 15 years in senior marketing leadership roles at companies including Novartis and Procter & Gamble.
“In healthcare, innovation is the lifeblood of any company,” she told me in a phone interview.
Testing blood glucose levels today isn’t completely pain free, but it’s come a long, long way from what was a very cumbersome process, Rose said.
“People who have had diabetes for a long time know that and will tell you that. But it can’t stop there, because we’re still poking ourselves. There are new innovations — continuous glucose monitors being one of them, of course — that are wearable and seamlessly take a reading. Even Apple’s trying to find ways through RFID chips in their watch to get readings. They haven’t perfected it yet, but it’s coming,” Rose told me.
One of LifeScan’s innovation priorities is to make blood glucose testing less and less invasive. The other is to slow down and reverse the epidemic of diabetes itself, which is fast-growing around the globe. While approaches to getting a number in terms of blood glucose readings have advanced, the disease itself persists.
“There’s been innovation in insulin dosing, pumps, smart pens, and medications. And yet, here we are still decades later and diabetes is on the rise. It’s not improving,” Rose explained, emphasizing that progression is an area that remains a place of innovation that’s desperately needed.
During the pandemic, people with diabetes were forced to adjust to telehealth and remote monitoring, when many were used to going in to an office and seeing their physician. As a result, the digital space has blossomed.
Where And How New Ideas Emerge At LifeScan
At LifeScan, a large number of employees have diabetes or have family members with diabetes, Rose told me. Being intimately familiar with the experience of diabetes not only produces a culture of compassion; it also means that innovation starts internally with their employees and internal innovation events.
A global panel composed of consumers and physicians contributes to its market research efforts. When Rose wants to get feedback about ideas, needs, and new innovations that have been developed — as well as test new concepts and products — she consults with this dedicated group for a quick response.
“Literally, I can come up with an idea one week and two weeks later know the answer. The panel is great for rapid fire, very agile development work,” she explained.
Rose highlighted the importance of direct observation in identifying unmet needs and generating new ideas. LifeScan salespeople routinely sit down in the offices of endocrinologists and specialists around the world to obtain firsthand knowledge about what’s happening on the ground. Marketers sometimes join in on these trips, in addition to conducting interviews and visiting patients in their homes.
A qualitative study conducted during the pandemic in which consumers were asked to tell marketers about a day in their lives produced a fascinating outcome. Consumers weren’t told that the study was diabetes focused; instead, they were simply asked to describe a day in their life.
Using their phones, they invited LifeScan employees into their homes by giving them a virtual tour, sharing their kitchens, how they go about preparing a meal, and what they like to do during the day. Eventually, after LifeScan felt like it had really gotten to know the individual, they were asked questions about diabetes and how it fit within their lives.
Out of the three hours that individuals spent with marketers, Rose revealed, it took about 90 minutes before they even mentioned they had diabetes.
“They didn’t want to talk about it. They really did not want to spend time on diabetes, because it’s so pervasive in their lives,” she said. “The insight we got was, if you’re going to help people with diabetes, you need to help them with more than just the number. The number is affected by so many things in your life: How many hours you’re sleeping, how much water you’re drinking, what foods you’re eating, how active you are. All of these lifestyle choices impact your glucose number. Just showing them a number really is not all that helpful.”
LifeScan was inspired to bring about a digital revolution. Could data be harnessed to bring visibility to the whole self of the patient, in real time, so they could see how their choices were impacting their glucose level? That would allow them to make positive lifestyle changes, which have been shown to slow the progression of the disease.
The question became, Rose said, “How do we automate it so that all of your readings are coming into a central repository? We want to help people understand, from a metabolic perspective, everything that’s going on that’s impacting their blood glucose — and we’re doing that through open innovation.”
How Open Innovation Helps Solve Persistent Problems
To help develop its idea for OneTouch Solutions into an actual product that would “bridge the digital divide,” Rose tapped into the expertise of tech companies. Using an app, consumers could record their actions throughout the week more precisely, generating more accurate data.
Recognizing the benefit of working with an expert in absorbing and communicating large amounts of data, LifeScan began working with Amazon, with whom they now have joint prototyping effort underway. They’re also working with Google; FitBit is a partner. Other partners and collaborators for OneTouch Solutions include Noom, the weight management company; Welldoc, a chronic disease management company that absorbs lab and behavioral data; and Cecelia Health, for life coaching.
These partnerships are a two-way street, she stressed.
“We’re sharing data with them, they’re sharing data with us — and all of it gets absorbed in the cloud. From there, we’re able to then data mine, and we have data scientists on staff who are looking at how to correlate the data, thinking through different algorithms using machine learning.”
I loved hearing that they are also actively scouting for new ideas by constantly talking small startups, including fledgling ones that don’t even have an idea yet on paper.
The overall goal? To help people with diabetes manage their health using information and insights specific to them.
Rose told me, “The real step forward is when I can tell you that, ‘Hey, we’re observing in your life when you sleep more like eight hours, when you at least get 20 minutes a day of exercise, and when you have an apple at lunch — whatever — your time and range increases by 20%. This last week you noticed you were sleeping only six hours a day and not getting enough exercise and you’ve been out of range by 50%.”
Most of these patients are managed by either primary care physicians or endocrinologists, Rose said. Understanding how to help their patients adjust their diet, fitness routines, insulin, and/or medications based on how they’re living their lives is super important. The idea being, if physicians were able to see their patients’ whole personhood in an easily consumable report, they would be much more advanced in their ability to manage their care.
The Biggest Takeaway For Inventors With Big Ideas
“The way to accelerate innovation is to go to those who are best at what they do,” Rose explained. “LifeScan has really embraced that notion. We’re not trying to create our own weight loss app or our own fitness app. We know what we’re really good at, which is understanding your glucose levels and your numbers, getting you a really accurate reading, helping you look at your numbers and all the other stuff that you’re doing, and then bringing insight about that to your life.”
Open innovation is the future, she added — because none of us can do it all ourselves.
Most inventors think finding companies to share their invention ideas with is the difficult part. But in my opinion, the difficult part is inventing products that their customers actually need. Companies that are truly innovative are in contact with their customers constantly. They make the effort to get to know them intimately.
Inventors would greatly benefit from better knowing the needs of their customers. Speaking with the users of a given product and understanding how they interact with it is the only way to come up with solutions that are valuable to them. This can be achieved through focus groups, reading product reviews, attending trade shows, and simply sitting down with those who are affected to discuss the issue.


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Whilst we were at the Diecast Expo 2023 which was held at Tabcorp Park, in Melton, just west of Melbourne, we also caught up with our good friends (and father and son team) John and Jesse Marios from Diecast Distributors Australia (DDA).
We chatted about some of the exciting things they have in the pipeline coming up over the next few months, including the new 1/24 scale XW and XY Ford Falcon model kits.
We also took the opportunity to announce the next 6 colours in our Auto Colours range that are releasing in conjunction with the Ford kits, those being Diamond White, Candy Apple Red, Reef Green, Vermillion Fire, Yellow Ochre and Electric Blue.
John and Jesse also revealed their new 1/64 scale diecast series of Australian Classic cars - Oz Wheels!
This series will be fantastic as it will be the first time that these cars will be readily available in the 1/64 scale for a very reasonable and fair price. Customisers will definitely love these and we can't wait to see what people create and then paint them with our paints!
We also took some photos of some of their awesome diecast models too - take a look at the pictures below to see how detailed they really are!
We've also got some exciting news coming soon about something new we are working on with DDA - can't say just yet, but it is going to be a huge announcement when we are able to share it!
And as always, keep on modelling!


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A US International Trade Commission judge has ruled that Microsoft violated four Motorola Mobility patents with Xbox 360. A commission will now review the ruling and determine what action should be taken. The body has the ability and authority to put a ban on selling products which infringe on patents. However, should a settlement be reached between the two companies, the decision would be tossed. Motorola told Bloomberg it filed the complaint because Microsoft alleged the firm’s Android devices were in violation of patents file by Microsoft. Thanks, Gamespot.
PlayStation Store Black Friday sale: early access for Plus members live, save up to 40% on Call of Duty: WW2, Assassin's Creed Origins, more
Sony has posted its Black Friday 2017 sale with early access available for PlayStation Plus members.
Black Friday is the perfect time to grab a bargain and upgrade your existing TV set to 4K or bag a slick little screen for the bedroom. Treat yourself. Spend to save.
Come get the best PS4 Black Friday deals on bundles and games.
Microsoft has been awarded $14 million in damages after a jury in Seattle this week found Motorola broke agreements with standard-setting bodies “to license certain patents at a fair and reasonable rate.”
A six-person committee formed by the International Trade Commission has ruled that Xbox 360 doesn’t violate a patent owned by Google subsidiary Motorola Mobility.
US International Trade Commission


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As GNN and others have reported, the effectiveness of plant medicines like cannabis and psilocybin to treat chronic anxiety, treatment-resistant depression, and PTSD is no longer deniable.
Now a Canadian former-hospital administrator has pounced on that evidence, founding a company that specializes in utilizing plant medicines to give veterans, police, paramedics, ambulance staff, and firefighters the treatment they need to get back on the path to mental health and wellness.
Allied Corporation is utilizing the legalized state of cannabis in Canada, and in 14 U.S. states, to get quality-tested cannabis and CBD products for mental health and wellness into the hands of these heroes who are, tragically, some of the most commonly afflicted cohorts in society.
According to reports from the American Psychiatric Association, depression causes a $200 billion loss in workplace productivity every year, while the CDC finds 200 million work days are lost to mental health-related sick days. The statistic that Callum Hughes, CEO of Allied, is interested in, however, is 17 suicides a day according to the Canadian Department of Veterans Affairs.
Hughes calls it 22—which may include Canadian veteran suicides in addition to those from south of the border. Call it 17 or call it 22, it’s between 17 and 22 too many in Hughes’ opinion.
Hughes had 10 years within the administrative and QA centers of hospital infrastructure when he came to learn about cannabis for treating things like PTSD in the run-up to the country’s eventual legalization of the drug.
“Myself and the Chief Operating Officer, he’s a Canadian veteran, we really started to realize along with some of the peer positions that I was in contact with that cannabis was very effective for chronic pain and getting off medication like morphine, oxycodone—drugs like this—but also for trauma survivors in the veteran cohort,” Hughes told GNN.
In founding Allied Corp, Hughes looked to create a total supply-chain, from wide-scale production and quality testing, to bringing different products to market through vendors selling direct to veterans or first responders, to cutting-edge research in Israel and Austria looking to expand the field of applied plant medicine even further.
“We’re right in the corner for commercial scale-up, so it’s a real exciting time for the company’s journey,” Hughes explained.
Colombia’s green hills
Allied’s primary production occurs in a country one would never associate with wide-scale legalized production of cannabis due to its traumatic history with other drugs: Colombia.
Why there? “The special nature of the temperate climate in Colombia, the strains that we have registered… and the cannabinoid profile tested as higher in the Colombian climate as opposed to in North America,” said Hughes.
Allied’s production in Colombia is vast and cost-effective—producing 10 psychoactive strains and 10 non-psychoactive at around ten cents per gram.
“We traveled to Colombia in 2019 and acquired a large-scale farm down there. We entered out genetics to the Ministry of Agriculture and proceeded in what they called ‘seed evaluation,’” he continued. “[It was] the first time ever, as it was communicated to us, that a company presented to the Ministry… passed all 20 out of 20 strains that were submitted.”
This has allowed the company to launch a line of several CBD-infused products in addition to their pharmaceuticals.
“Tactical Relief is a CBD-infused tincture targeted at the veteran cohort,” explains Hughes, adding that the CBD content in the Colombian-grown cannabis is much higher than equivalent strains in the U.S. “Equilibrium Bio is an athlete-focused brand, we have an electrolyte rehydration drink as well as a tincture and athletic rub… all infused with CBD.”
Allied also does a variety of charity events to help veterans, police, and first responders get on the path back to mental health and wellness, including regular healing retreats that offer traditional therapy, and also supplementary activities like meditation and yoga.
Oms, colorful cushions, and breathing exercises maybe aren’t what people associate with veterans, but Allied’s website is smattered with hyperlinks to studies proving the effectiveness of things like meditation for helping recovery from trauma.
“One of our brand ambassadors was a 17-year Green Beret and United States veteran who has really overcome his story with PTSD, so it’s an authentic message brought to market by authentic people,” explains Hughes.
Now a publicly traded company on various stock exchanges, Allied’s waves of success crests during a period where the mental health and wellness of many in the United States has perhaps never been poorer.
As government-mandated travel restrictions and business closures continues to spike mental health problems across the country, like gold in a recession, demand in plant medicine is trending the opposite direction.
“We’ve seen an increase in demand on the people level. And if you look around the whole COVID thing, people’s mental health was generally affected by that,” said Hughes. “The increase in cannabis and CBD sales has been reported to us from our distributor partners from the U.S.”
Recently, GNN reported the success of another cannabis and psilocybin-based corporation. It’s a growing field, and the advantage of having access to public funding is that companies like Allied Corp allow the average person’s interest and belief in plant medicines to be channeled into investments.
Featured image: Kat Geb, CC license
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(Bloomberg) -- A hotly anticipated new Star Wars game is in serious trouble, according to people familiar with the project.
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, a remake of a 2003 role-playing game, is delayed indefinitely as developers at Austin, Texas-based Aspyr Media try to figure out what comes next. Aspyr also abruptly fired the game’s art director and design director this month. In a series of meetings throughout July, Aspyr’s two studio heads told employees that the project is on pause and that the company will look for new contracts and development opportunities, said the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the situation. Knights of the Old Republic was to be one of the first modern Star Wars console games released outside of Electronic Arts Inc., which had previously held the exclusive licensing rights. That deal expires in 2023, opening the door for new Star Wars games from outside companies like Aspyr, Ubisoft Entertainment SA and Quantic Dream SA.
The game was announced last September and has been in development for nearly three years at Aspyr, which was purchased by Sweden’s Embracer Group AB last year. Aspyr, founded in 1996, was best known as a service shop that brought existing video games to other platforms, such as iOS, including the original Knights of the Old Republic games.
On June 30, Aspyr finalized a demo of the game, known as a vertical slice, to show to production partners Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC and Sony Group Corp. The developers were excited about it and felt like they were on track, according to a person familiar with the project, so they were shocked by what happened next.
The following week, the company fired design director Brad Prince and art director Jason Minor. Neither responded to requests for comment, but Minor suggested on a social media page that his dismissal was unexpected.
Representatives for Aspyr and Embracer didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Aspyr’s studio heads told staff that the vertical slice wasn’t where they wanted it to be and that the project would be paused, according to two people who were in the meeting. One person familiar with the discussions suggested that a disproportionate amount of time and money had gone into the demo and that the project’s current course wasn’t sustainable. Another point of contention may be the timeline. At the outset of development, Aspyr told staff and partners it would release the game by the end of 2022, according to two people familiar with production. Developers said a more realistic target now would be 2025.
The fate of Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic remains unclear. In May, Embracer announced that Saber Interactive would also join the project. Some at Aspyr believe that Saber, which has mainly been doing outsourcing work for the project, may take it over completely.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.


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India - India is about to serve as host to a newly developed GMO eggplant, the first ever GMO foodcrop for India. The plant has been genetically modified to contain a pesticide that promoters hope will make it resistant to the fruit and shoot borer. Researchers admit, many questions about the new GMO food remain unanswered. No human trials have been conducted in the US or India.
India - India is about to serve as host to a newly developed genetically modified eggplant, the first ever GMO foodcrop for India. The plant has been genetically modified to contain a pesticide that will make it, proponents say, resistant to the fruit and shoot borer. Researchers admit they don't know if the GMO eggplant will continue to resist the target insect in the field and for how long; whether the Bt eggplant cross pollinates with other eggplants in the field and how far the Bt plants should be from other eggplant fields and whether nontarget insect populations are affected in the long term.
The GMO plant underwent preliminary tests in the environment. No human trials have been conducted in the US or India. Eggplant is a popular crop in the subtropics and tropics, especially in India and Bangladesh, where it is grown on about 1.5 million acres.
The GMO eggplant was developed in a joint effort between Cornell university, Sathguru Management Consultants of India and funding from the US Agency for international development. The developers of the genetically modified food anticipate that the eggplant will be under cultivation in India by 2009. While it is the first food crop, it isn't the first GMO crop. Farmers have grown a highly controversial, and commercially problamatic genetically altered cotton in India since 2002.
The GMO cotton has been the center of controversy and unexpected crop failures. A leading Indian newsmagazine, Frontline, reported in 2006 that farmers were promised that GMO cotton would make a huge difference in yields and profits. Instead they found a 'difference' they neither wanted nor expected: "The `difference', an unexpected one: the fields stand desolate; much of the cotton crop died prematurely. Many farmers have not even bothered to remove the skeleton of the crop that promised "white gold". The cotton farmers of Madhya Pradesh's Nimar region are known to be a prosperous lot. This year, however, they are feeling betrayed by the seed companies that sold them Bt cotton."
(See full article: http://www.flonnet.com/fl2301/stories/20060127007013100.htm/ )
The engineered eggplant expresses a natural insecticide derived from the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), making it resistant to the fruit and shoot borer (FSB), a highly destructive pest. The tiny larvae account for up to 40 percent of eggplant crop losses each year in India, Bangladesh and the Philippines, and other areas of South and Southeast Asia.
Cornell researchers collaborated on the development of the Bt eggplant in 2002. A partner, Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds, is hopping to commercialize the genetically modified fruit by 2009.
Some tests for the Bt eggplant have been conducted in India, in greenhouses and presently field trials. Preliminary tests suggest the eggplant appears nontoxic to fish, chickens, rabbits, goats, rats and cattle. Company representitives say it is nonallergenic. Promoters say future tests will see if the plant will continue to resist the target insect in the field and for how long; whether the Bt eggplant cross pollinates with other eggplants in the field and how far the Bt plants should be from other eggplant fields; whether nontarget insect populations are affected in the long term; and how yields compare with those of other eggplant varieties.
Similar to the promises of the promoters of the Bt cotton, promoters of the GMO food speculate that the Bt eggplant will reduce insecticide use by 30 percent while doubling the yield of marketable fruit.
India and Bangladesh together claim they'll plant 110,000 acres of the FSB-resistant eggplant commercially by the end of 2010 and 650,000 acres by 2015.
Some economists involved with the project speculate that Bt eggplant could result in lower prices for consumers, higher yields for farmers and, by 2015, boost the Indian economy by $411 million and the Bangladeshi economy by $37 million. Similar optimistic projections were made for Bt cotton.


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The Bitcoin Cash focused website Bitcoin.com which is run by the “Bitcoin Jesus” Roger Ver, is apparently planning to launch its own cryptocurrency exchange next month. The Bitcoin.com exchange will simply be called Exchange.Bitcoin.com and will make use of the premium domain name.
Some details about it were spread in the latest cryptocurrency news, showing that the exchange will support 50 trading pairs. It will also offer Bitcoin Cash trading pairs as part of its mission to champion BCH over BTC. On top of that, the Bitcoin.com exchange will also offer trading against Tether, Ethereum and reluctantly, Bitcoin.
“While our company thinks the bitcoin cash network will be adopted by the masses worldwide, we also think it’s important to promote free markets and choice,” the company said in a statement.
The planned launch, as many best cryptocurrency news sites show, is set for September 2 where the Bitcoin.com exchange is described as offering a “robust matching engine, professional charts, and plenty of liquidity for a multitude of digital assets.”
What’s also new, as the latest news note, is the Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP) tokens which will also be included on the exchange. These are basically tokens built on top of the Bitcoin Cash blockchain (similar to the Omni Layer on Bitcoin) which are designed to provide more Ethereum-like functionalities. The popular tokens for the Bitcoin.com exchange will include Honk Honk and the Taylor Swift token.
According to Roger Ver’s recent announcement in the coming altcoin news:
“We’re on the cusp of something very exciting with SLP tokens — it’s the beginning of a world where we can tokenize anything and, as people realize the potential this holds, they’re going to start demanding a place to trade their tokens.”
All of this comes shortly after Roger Ver was apparently moved out from the CEO position (as the website illustrates) and after Bitcoin.com introduced the Local.Bitcoin.com to the market – a platform which was critiqued as being misleadingly similar to Local Bitcoins both in terms of its purpose and name.
Let’s just hope that the Bitcoin.com exchange will be less controversial and will set the company on a solid path to success.


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Nokia has plans to open a Nokia-exclusive store in Chicago soon in an attempt to improve its brand awareness. They chose Chicago to open the store because it is the home of Nokia's main competitor, Motorola. This will be the first of four stores that Nokia is planning on opening up in North America, including a store in New York later this fall. They plan to display the entire range of phones available in North America and interactive displays. So it's like an Apple Store, but for Nokia? Yeah, more or less. Just one word of advice, please hide the N-Gage in a dark closet or corner somewhere. There is a possibility of scaring away the customers if it is in the open.
Nokia to open first US cell phone store in Chicago [Reuters via Yahoo!]


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Shackled, overpriced by OEM ball and chain
AMD’s hopes that its Carrizo might boost performance are being stuffed up by its OEM partners crippling the chip and over-pricing products made with it.
More than a nice pair of Bristols
A new leaked roadmap shows that AMD is adding more to its upcoming Bristol Ridge family of APUs
Consumer desktop and mobile products
Last week AMD announced its next generation PRO series APUs for business desktop and notebook PCs and now some more details have come to light.
Based on Godaveri and Carrizo
Troubled chipmaker AMD's has launched its Pro APUs quietly with just one major customer so far, the maker of expensive printer ink HP.
Not for the west yet
AMD has begun shipping its first "Carrizo" chips, the Carrizo-L – at least if you live in China.
Higher density, lower power
AMD has revealed more details about its upcoming Carrizo APU at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC).
AMD CEO confirms
AMD released its earnings today and one cool question came up about the upcoming Carrizo mobile APU.
DeKaveri we heard
We have learned yet another thing about AMD in 2015. The publicly discussed the Carrizo APU that is coming to All-in-Ones and notebooks in the second half of 2015, but many punters have been wondering what is happening on the desktop front.
Coming in mid-2015
AMD is planning to showcase its upcoming Carrizo APU at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. The APU will not be alone, as the chipmaker will also show off a number of new graphics technologies.
HSA meets low power


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Today Verizon Wireless customers enjoying the latest Motorola DROID smartphone lineup will be happy to learn their device is about to get the absolute latest version of Android. Google released Android 4.4 KitKat on October 31st and the first week of November, and now less than 2 months later Verizon’s pushing updates out.
In a surprise turn where Verizon is usually dead last to software updates, with Android 4.4 KitKat we’ve seen first the Moto X updated on Verizon, ahead of even some Nexus devices directly from Google, and now the DROID lineup. It appears that Motorola is now taking updates extremely serious, and its biggest partner being Verizon and the DROID family will benefit. Android 4.4 KitKat is rolling out today for the DROID Ultra, DROID MAXX, and the DROID Mini.
Earlier this week Motorola sent out beta test invites for the DROID smartphones, which many assumed was for Android 4.4 KitKat, and this afternoon the company themselves confirmed indeed it was. Verizon confirmed the details on Twitter, stating that the update has started today “in phases” and will arrive for all three smartphones soon.
In phases means that this is a slow and gradual rollout. Even though the testing earlier this week returned no ill effects, and allowed the update to commence today, Verizon will still push the software out in phases to keep everything running smooth. As a result, some may receive Android 4.4 KitKat on their DROID Ultra, MAXX, or Mini today, and others may be waiting a few days, or until early next week.
In Verizon’s words the update will deliver, “A new full-screen mode, color emoji support, improved closed captioning support, stronger security, smarter power use, and more tools and capabilities for better app development.” The official update support documents essentially go over what’s new from our link above. Mentioning Hangouts for SMS, improved dialer, fullscreen support and the new keyboard. Be sure and check out the dialer, as it’s one of our favorite KitKat features.
The camera has been improved once again, Verizon added 8-9 bloatware apps (or updates previous ones) and we now have Fitbit support for health tracking. As a reminder the update is rolling out in phases, but you can head to settings > about phone > check for updates and try to get it today.
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According to a report released by the Manufacturers Alliance, current data reveal that the strong global economic growth of the last three years should continue, and become the strongest sustained period of growth in a generation. Consumer spending outside the United States may begin to play a greater role in global activity, boding well for the sustainability of solid world growth.
In the MAPI Quarterly Forecast of U.S. Exports, Global Growth, and the Dollar: Third Quarter 2006 Through Second Quarter 2008, global demand and a falling dollar are expected to stimulate U.S. export growth of 7.7% in 2006, an increase from 6.9% in 2005, and then accelerate to 9.4% during 2007.
Growth in the industrialized countries is anticipated to gradually strengthen from an estimated 3.2% in the second quarter of 2006 to 3.5% during the second half of 2006 as the U.K. and Eurozone economies improve.
Growth in the developing countries is expected to accelerate from 5.3% during the second quarter of 2006 to 5.5% in the second half of 2006. Growth is subsequently expected to slow to an average of 5.0% during the first half of 2007 and 4.8% in the second half of 2007 as Chinese and Indian growth slows.


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Macy’s has invested in Swedish fintech giant Klarna as part of a five-year partnership, the companies announced in a statement on Tuesday.
Klarna is valued at $10.6 billion, making it the highest-valued private fintech company in Europe, it announced after receiving a new $650 million funding round on September 15. Klarna is considering a US stock market listing by 2022, according to The Financial Times.
Macy’s joins other Klarna investors including Snoop Dogg, H&M, BlackRock, Silver Lake, and Jack Ma’s Ant Group. Macy’s did not disclose the size of its investment.Business Insider


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Spotify has dropped the fourth edition of Culture Next, its annual report on global culture and trends. This year’s report focuses Gen Z as ‘tastemakers, fans, and, most of all, individuals navigating and defining their place in the world through audio’.
In the first quarter alone, according to Spotify, 18- to 24-year-olds have already played more than 578 billion minutes of music on the streaming platform — more than any other cohort, and roughly 16 billion more minutes than 25- to 34-year-olds.
The report has been compiled in partnership with youth culture agency Archrival, speaking with respondents from United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, United Kingdom, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Japan, Australia / New Zealand, and the United Arab Emirates.
“As creators, their approach to music and podcasts are forging entirely new aesthetics, genres, and fandoms,” writes Dawn Ostroff, Chief Content & Advertising Business Officer, Spotify, in the fourth volume of the Culture Next report. “As listeners, their tastes and habits are fluid and say a lot about who they are. Above all else, as a generation, they’re more engaged with digital audio than ever.”
Here’s what India’s Gen Zs have to contribute to evolving audio consumption.
- Over the last year alone, average podcast listenership among Indian Gen Zs increased by 141% on Spotify between Q1 2022 and the year prior. Now, almost two-thirds of 18- to 24-year-olds in India are listening to podcasts at least weekly (64% vs 46% of 15- to 17-year-olds). Furthermore, Mental Health, the top podcast genre among Zs globally, grew by 56% in the number of streams among Zs in India in Q1 2022, compared to the year before.
- Gen Zs will support a particular creator by joining a digital community like Reddit or Discord.
- About 90% of the Indian respondents have listened to music from a film or show they like in order to feel like they’re a character in the story, taking audio immersion to fantasy.
- Almost all respondents said audio takes them to the outer edges of themselves or allows them to explore different sides of their personalities, something which they wouldn’t have experienced otherwise.
- In fact, 75% of Zs in India said they listen to at least one music artist or podcast that others would find niche, obscure, or experimental.
- Most Gen Z listeners like when audio creators take on different personas or characters.
- About 70% of Indian Gen Zs said they own products that allow them to explore different sides of their personality, and 82% like when brands are able to connect with their different sides.
- Podcasts are a resource for Indian Gen Z. About 76% of 18- to 24-year-olds in India said they turn to podcasts for hard or personal questions before talking to families, and 74% of the same group said they listen to podcasts to inform the conversations they have with their friends.
- Nostalgia is a strong lure for Indian Gen Zs. About 74% of them said they like listening to and watching media from earlier decades, because it reminds them of when things were simpler
- When it comes to advertising, 76% of Indian Gen Zs like when brands bring back old aesthetic styles, and 76% love when brands produce retro products or content. Brands today need to understand how nuanced nostalgia has become to connect with this gen.
- They also said they’re interested in interacting with brands through customisable ads, too: half of Zs in India said they like being able to select the ad they listen to on a digital audio streaming service, and more than a third said they like it when they can interact with ads.
Read the full report here


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MyHeritage suffers data breach, account details of 92+ million users compromised
Israel-based genealogy and DNA testing company MyHeritage has apparently suffered a data breach that resulted in the compromise of email addresses and hashed passwords of all 92+ million of its users.
MyHeritage data breach
The company’s Chief Information Security Officer Omer Deutsch revealed on Monday that an unnamed security researcher found a file named myheritage containing email addresses and hashed passwords on a private server outside of MyHeritage.
The researcher downloaded the file and sent it to the company for review. It didn’t take long for them to confirm that the user data contained in it came from their servers.
“We determined that the file was legitimate and included the email addresses and hashed passwords of 92,283,889 users who had signed up to MyHeritage up to and including Oct 26, 2017 which is the date of the breach,” Deutsch explained.
“MyHeritage does not store user passwords, but rather a one-way hash of each password, in which the hash key differs for each customer. This means that anyone gaining access to the hashed passwords does not have the actual passwords.”
He did not mention the exact hashing method, but it seems that the company is relatively confident that whoever stole the info won’t be able to use it, as they did not force a password reset on users.
Deutsch also shared that no other related to MyHeritage was found on that private server.
“Since Oct 26, 2017 (the date of the breach) and the present we have not seen any activity indicating that any MyHeritage accounts had been compromised,” he noted. “We believe the intrusion is limited to the user email addresses. We have no reason to believe that any other MyHeritage systems were compromised.”
The company does not store credit card information, and other types of sensitive data such as family trees and DNA data are stored by MyHeritage on segregated systems and they include added layers of security.
It is still unknown whether an attacker has managed to breach the company’s defenses or a malicious insider has managed to exfiltrate the data.
MyHeritage has called in an outside cybersecurity firm to help investigate and determine the scope of the intrusion and to help them beef up security.
They’ve also informed the relevant authorities, including European regulators, as the newly implemented EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) mandates that companies must disclose security incidents that may involve data of EU citizins within three days of finding out – or face huge fines.
Deutsch advised all users to change their passwords (and make it strong and unique) and to take advantage of the two-factor authentication feature they will soon make available.


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One of Safaricom’s popular products is Home Fibre. It was launched more than two years ago and has since covered an extensive part of Nairobi. The initial launch, which targeted Nairobi East and Kikuyu areas, focused on parts that were not served by competing products. This was a good move because Safaricom managed to secure a substantial number of customers who could not access fibre services due to unavailability.
As of last month, the telco has taken the services to Nyeri, adding to the number of urban centres that can now enjoy the service. In addition, residents in the Central Province’s headquarters add to more than 213,000 households served by the popular product.
The town is also served by the likes of Mawingu Network (based in Nanyuki) via unused TV white spaces. However, the Microsoft co-owned product saw a drop in the number of active users based on the Communications Authority’s latest sector statistics report.
Home Fibre is also available in Kisumu and Mombasa (although, according to the Home Fibre coverage map, the areas served are relatively small).
On the whole, this is good news for Nyeri folks who have been in dire need of reliable home internet service. Also, the development sheds light on the future rollouts that may target additional towns in the country that should also motivate rivals to expand their products to other parts of the country.
While such rollouts are influenced by business and strategic decisions, it is good to see that the product is gaining more ground in areas outside of Kenya’s three cities.
4K Content Limitations
Amidst the Nyeri launch is another key development: according to a service care rep, Home Fibre users need at least 23 Mbps to get access to 4K content. Effectively, this means Gold subscribers (20 Mbps), who pay KES 5,699 for the service thanks to the aftermath of the Finance Act, need to upgrade their package to Platinum if at all they want to stream high-res content.
Simply put, this move is absurd and maddeningly unnecessary because Home Fibre is already too expensive compared to what other companies offer. In fact, a lot of subscribers are going to fault the move, let alone entertain the idea of upgrading their package to 40 Mbps at KES 11,499 since Safaricom does not offer a 30 Mbps option – and even if it did, the product would be too pricey.
We are not aware of the reasons behind these underhand tactics that have since made an otherwise excellent product too hard to recommend anymore. The issues arose in late 2018 when users reported that downloads were crippling their browsing experience that turned out to be true. The mobile carrier did not reveal that Home Fibre usage was going to dedicate bandwidth to specific activities (such as downloads in this case) to ‘optimize performance.’
It is now apparent that the product’s expansion approach was misleading to many: offer excellent services at launch for mass onboarding before introducing unpopular tactics because users should have already invested time and money to make a move elsewhere.
How the Home Fibre team will address these issues will determine the product’s report card for its otherwise tarnished reputation.


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Earlier today we looked at a press releases from PIPCU, the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit and the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), which jointly announced that they'd been responsible for shutting down thousands of pirated sites, blocking others and even bringing criminal charges to bear against some of those responsible for uploading the content in the first place. It's being hailed by the authorities as a win, yet you told us that it hadn't affected your downloading habits at all. The question is, has it had an effect on the legal sales of media?
For a long time now there's been an understanding among those that look at the facts: piracy seems to have a bigger effect on driving sales of media, especially smaller productions, than hinder them. This is the complete opposite of what we're told by the media lobby groups and the studios they represent, but if it turns out it's true that piracy does help sell media, then surely it must go the other way? If piracy is reduced, then so too must sales.
Ignoring for a second that you guys don't seem to have been affected by PIPCU and FACT's “crackdown,” any more than usual, if we consider that less tech savvy users might have been, do you think these crackdowns might have been the cause of less media being sold over the past few months?
Spotify and many others believe it's had the biggest impact on piracy. Far more than legal attacks by lobby groups.
A look back at this study by Billboard released back in April, shows that in the first quarter of this year, digital sales of albums and singles (and TEA, track equivalent albums where 10 singles equals one album) were down on this time last year. Digital sales actually fell across the whole year of 2013, though this is likely to do with a change in the way that people consume music. As more and more people use streaming services, download platforms like iTunes and Amazon are suffering.
In-fact, that's likely to be the main cause of music sales dropping over this last quarter, except the stats don't quite add up, as CD sales dropped considerably as well. This overall drop is the problem, as it's more than streaming is making up for, despite its popularity.
What becomes obvious from the Billboard study, is that music is still producing hits, with more big name hits than ever before, but it's the lower end of the spectrum, the not-quite-hits category tracks that seem to be suffering in terms of downloads, streams and CD sales.
KitGuru Says: So what do you guys think? Is this just a general contraction of the music industry, or are anti-piracy efforts having the opposite of the desired effect and actually helping to restrict music promotion that occurs naturally through piracy?


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Move over coconut and maple, there’s a new exotic water on the shelf.
Zpirit Infused Water is infused with herbs and features whole, real pieces of fruit. The low-calorie, low-sugar drink has no preservatives and contains organic cane juice (two grams), natural flavours and stevia leaf extract.
“We wanted to keep it as natural as possible,” says Philippe Roireau, who founded Zpirit Foods Inc. in 2013. “And having pieces of fruit gives an added dimension to the drinking experience.”
The idea for the company was born when Roireau, a native Montrealer, was working for Google in Poland where he stumbled across a traditional European recipe called Kompot.
“It’s basically water with whole fruits and sugar, and I thought the idea of having whole pieces of fruit in a drink was great,” he says. “I thought, if the grandmas can do it, I can do something with it as well.” He returned to Canada and Zpirit Foods was born.
The line includes four flavours: Mandarin and Mint, Peach and Basil, Spiced Pear and Vanilla, and Pineapple and Sage.
In December, Member of Parliament Bernard Trottier, on behalf of agriculture minister Gerry Ritz announced an investment of $67,000 in Zpirit.
"Our top priority is the economy and by supporting innovative, start-up, companies like Zpirit Foods, we're helping pave the way to long-term prosperity and a more sustainable environment for all Canadians,” said Trottier. “When companies like Zpirit Foods succeed, our farmers succeed, which is great news for our economy."
Zpirit is already on store shelves in Longo’s and Whole Foods, and the company is close to signing a deal with a California grocery chain.
Roireau says the product is also doing well in health-focused foodservice establishments. Zpirit comes in 300mL glass bottles with a suggested retail price of $2.29 to $2.49. Roireau says the company is working on a 355mL plastic bottle version.
The target audience for Zpirit is “yoga moms” who are active and health-conscious, says Roireau. The company’s marketing efforts are focused on attending consumer and trade shows, blogger outreach and in-store sampling events. They executed a demo takeover at 17 Longo’s store locations across January. Zpirit is also organizing a media tour in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa at the end of February.
Zpirit is also being featured on an upcoming episode of CBC’s Dragon’s Den: Next Gen Den, a new webisode series. “All I can say is it went really, really well,” says Roireau.


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Kate Upton Refuses To Participate In The Guess Investigation Of Paul Marciano
In January, Kate Upton publicly accused fashion mogul Paul Marciano of sexually assaulting her when she was a model for Guess several years ago. Marciano stepped down from his role at the company two weeks later as Guess prepared to launch an internal investigation.
Wednesday evening, Upton tweeted that she would not be participating in the investigation of Marciano after learning that Guess was allowing Marciano’s personal lawyer to conduct it.
“Hearing how this ‘investigation’ is being conducted, and also knowing a strong fear of retaliation still exists within Guess’ corporate office is extremely disappointing and upsetting,” wrote Upton. “The #MeT00 movement is not one of smoke and mirrors, or for corporate office PR stunts to impress shareholders — it’s a call to action for true change.”
— Kate Upton (@KateUpton) February 28, 2018
Upton has said she was moved to tell her story while working with young, aspiring models at New York Fashion Week.
Becky Scott is the editor of The Schmooze. Follow her on Twitter, @arr_scott


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IT’S BEEN DUBBED THE GREAT RECESSION. It’s been characterized as a perfect storm. It’s been described as the worst operating environment that many restaurateurs can remember.
Today’s economic setting—with its reduced consumer spending, diminished gross domestic product, imploding housing sector and capital markets’ meltdown—is well-documented. For more than a year restaurant industry experts have discussed and debated how to battle increased costs and declining sales that in some


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Americasmart upgrades, enhances wireless coverage
January 3, 2013-- Home Accents Today,
Americasmart Atlanta has partnered with Verizon Wireless to create a fully functional wireless communications environment spanning its entire facility of more than seven million square feet.
Installation is now complete on a distributed antenna system that will deliver improved wireless coverage, capacity and data speeds for Verizon Wireless customers on every floor, in every showroom and exhibit hall across the three-building Americas Mart campus.
Additionally, Verizon Wireless products and services will be available for purchase onsite starting with the January 2013 markets - The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market and The Atlanta International Area Rug Market featuring the National Oriental Rug Show.
The Verizon Wireless partnership achieves a major milestone in Americas Mart's mission to create optimal business advantages for all customers, said Jeffrey L. Portman, Sr., president and chief operating officer of parent company AMC, Inc.
"This takes us into a new universe of opportunities powered by technology innovations that will reshape how business is done," Portman said. "We are working on several opportunities to enhance the Americas Mart market experience, plus other new advancements to come, all resulting from this strategic technology investment."
Separate antenna locations mounted throughout the Americas Mart campus will boost network strength and capacity. In addition to ensuring calls are successfully connected, the system allows smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices to access the Internet, send text messages and quickly share photos and videos on social networking sites.
Wireless coverage encompasses all Americas Mart and Atlanta Convention Center at Americas Mart spaces, including interior corridors, loading docks and areas shielded by marble and stone wall and floor construction.
Verizon Wireless customers at the Markets will gain the additional advantage of accessing the nation's largest 4G network via a large variety of Verizon-powered devices that will enable them to surf the web, stream live music and video, and communicate with business associates at speeds up to 10 times faster than before.
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Green Report -- Real or Artificial Trees
Are you buying a real Christmas tree—or an artificial one? And why should it matter? The answer is becoming clearer. Just when you thought the Holidays were complicated enough, here is another run in your Christmas stocking. Experts are trying to decide which is better for the environment --- the artificial tree or real one.
Advocates for real Christmas trees say they are better for us because they protect open space and because they are naturally biodegradable. Grind them up and recycle them. But proponents of artificial trees say they are better because you don’t have to cut down any trees. And you can use the artificial tree again and again with no environmental damage.
But now Canadian experts are saying that you would have to use the same artificial tree for twenty years for it to make a difference. Who saves anything for 20 years? And the very manufacture of plastic artificial trees emits cancer causing chemicals.
Confusing? You bet it is. But we are happy to report that the tree business is alive and well on the North Coast, and as healthy as ever.And maybe we should celebrating that people care about the impact of Christmas trees on our planet. That may be the greenest gift of all.


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The Honda Civic Hybrid, which reached dealerships in April, is the first established mainstream vehicle to be equipped with a combination gasoline-electric power system. Americans have never been enamored with cars that have any hint of electric power; buyers have been turned off by high prices and performance limitations. Some people, however, think the new Honda could be the first hybrid that will appeal to a larger number of Americans, according to the Associated Press.
That doesn't mean Americans don't like the idea of hybrid cars. A recent survey by J.D. Power and Associates, a market research firm based in Agoura Hills, Calif., found that 60 percent of
5,200 new car buyers said they would consider buying a hybrid. If, that is, the technology were available in the car they already drive, said Thad Malesh, director of J.D. Power's alternative power technologies.
The Civic Hybrid might be the car that provides a breakthrough in hybrid car manufacturing, according to Malesh. It's larger than the initial offerings from Honda and Toyota, and the Civic is already the nation's best-selling
compact car, with more than 330,000 sold last year.


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Hoot’s Righteous Wings, a new fast-casual eatery from Atlanta-based Hooters of America, LLC, is in permitting to open in Fuqua’s Peachtree Corners Town Center development.
The Reynoldstown development, at 905 Memorial Drive SE, is also owned by Fuqua.
Hooters executives have been very quiet about the launch of Hoot’s Righteous Wings which has one existing location in Chicago.
Unlike the planned Atlanta-area restaurants, the Chicago location is simply named “Hoots.”
When reached via email by What Now Atlanta (WNA) in April, representatives for the national chain would not provide additional details surrounding Hoot’s Righteous Wings.
Upon further digging, WNA this week uncovered renderings for the forthcoming restaurants (shown above and below) and updated information on the concept’s website.
Gregg Brickman, trained by Wolfgang Puck, is serving as executive chef at Hoot’s Righteous Wings Madison Yards.
“I’m excited to put an elevated twist on homestyle comfort food, like the bacon-wrapped wings, spicy braised greens, and baked jalapeno bacon mac and cheese,” Brickman said in a statement on the restaurant’s website.
“It’s a blending of the classic and new that I think fits right in at Madison Yards. It’ll be a little messy, but damn good.”
Hoot’s Righteous Wings will be counter service for take-out and dine-in customers, and will employee “more modestly” dressed women and men.


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Midea's Research and Development facility opened in April 2017 and once completed will have a cost of over $10 million. The facility features offices, labs and test kitchens still under construction with an estimated completion time of 2 weeks. With approval, the facility is hoped to be used to train commercial customers as well as food testing for chain accounts in the near future.
More on Midea's R & D Center Below
Kentucky Governor 'Excited' by R & D Center
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced March 26 that Midea America Corporation plans to locate its first U.S. research and development operation in Jefferson County, Kentucky...Read More
Yesterday, Midea, the world’s leading manufacturer of air conditioners and home appliances, strengthened its US footprint by breaking ground on a $10 million R&D Center in Louisville, KY. The newly built Midea America Research Center (MARC) will provide technical expertise in developing home appliance products for the US market.... Read More


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Xbox One users have been able to stream HDR content on Netflix for a while, but Windows 10 is now joining the party as well. Netflix today announced that HDR streaming is now supported in its Windows 10 app, as well as in Microsoft Edge.
There are some caveats to the news, however. First, you'll need a premium Netflix plan and a supported PC to get started, Netflix says. From Netflix:
Intel's 7th generation and higher CPUs provide that capability needed to play the Netflix HDR10 encodes. In addition, both Intel and Nvidia developed GPUs that use 10 bits-per-channel for each of the RGB colors, increasing the color space that can be represented. With this new hardware available in consumer PCs, Netflix and Microsoft partnered together to put the software pieces in place.
You'll also need to be updated to the Fall Creators Update, which added the necessary bits needed to support HDR. Of course, your display will also have to support HDR, which is still a fairly new thing for desktop PC monitors. It's not yet clear if AMD processors are or will be supported.
HDR is largely heralded as an even bigger advance in picture quality than the bump to 4K. With it, whether through the HDR10 standard (used here) or Dolby Vision, images can be displayed with greater levels of contrast, improving detail across a given scene. Netflix was an early adopter of HDR content, and a number of its own original shows are available to watch in HDR.
If you have a compatible PC and display, you should be able to get started with Netflix HDR streaming from the app or in Microsoft Edge now.
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.
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Rosewood Hotels & Resorts received three honours at the PATA Gold Awards.
The Siam, the award-winning Bangkok riverside urban luxury resort is proud to announce its affiliation with Preferred Hotel Group.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts has announced the opening of the Four Points by Sheraton Bengaluru Whitefield.
Jetwing has once again walked away with the prestigious PATA Grand Award in the Environment category.
Dusit Fudu Hotels and Resorts shows no signs of slowing down as it announces plans for rapid expansion through China.
The extraordinary &Beyond Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp re-opened its doors on July 1 and we are delighted to give you a sneak peek of the first images.
Boutique retreat Semara Luxury Villa Resort Uluwatu has made the Balinese escape more blissful than ever, now with an upgraded butler service for villa guests and great new rates for winter.
Crown Perth staff have spent the last four weeks making donations of clothing, tinned food, blankets and bedding to the Anglicare Winter Appeal to help WA children and families in need this Winter.
Frasers Hospitality Pte Ltd is pleased to announce the arrival of their fourth property in Australia, Capri by Fraser Brisbane, which is set to open in the heart of the Brisbane CBD 2015.
The TAA NSW Awards for Excellence 2014 saw Accor hotels pick up six awards on a highly competitive awards night.
Mayor of Woollahra, Councillor Toni Zeltzer and her Councillors were welcomed by Royal Hotels Australia Pty. Ltd. for a progress update and site inspection of the InterContinental Sydney Double Bay.
The $65million ibis Adelaide opened its doors today (Friday 18 July) making it the first purpose built economy hotel in Adelaide’s CBD for two decades and the largest ibis hotel in Australia.
Popular Queenstown resort Oaks Shores, part of Oaks Hotels & Resorts’ property network, is turning heads with the launch of its brand new dining experience, Shores Restaurant, and unveiling of its ne...
Singapore-based SilverNeedle® Hospitality is rapidly expanding its portfolio by adding the second Sage Hotel™ in Perth, Western Australia. This comes just a month after SilverNeedle® Hospitality anno...
Orlando's luxury resort leader, Grande Lakes Orlando is pleased to announce the September opening of Highball & Harvest ("H&H") at The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes.
Renaissance Hotels worldwide challenge their guests with one mission -- Live Life to Discover.
Tourism New Zealand predicts the royal visit created NZ $68 million in free advertising for the country.
HotelClub88 would like to make sure that we are bringing to you the summer promotion with best rates, along with availability for Boathouse by Montara and, we are glad to share with you! The special ...
Webjet has purchased Europe's Sun Hotels to boost its European reach.
More Australians are taking solo holidays overseas, according to Roy Morgan research.


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ASX: The local market is expected to fall this morning after Wall Street extended losses overnight.
This comes after yesterday from the previous session as a lift in commodities prices helped the market close firmly higher.
Wall Street: on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq losing about 3 per cent as selling ramped for technology shares especially.
Ukraine crisis: The Group of Seven (G7) economic powers have agreed to explore that has been sold above a certain price, aiming to hit Russian President Vladimir Putin's war chest.
The war in Ukraine and its dramatic economic fallout - in particular soaring food and energy inflation - dominated this year's summit of the group of rich democracies at a castle resort in the Bavarian Alps.
Glowing report: Rating agency Moody's has , citing Labor's productivity-enhancing reforms that focus on lifting women's participation in the workforce.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers welcomed the rating affirmation on Tuesday night, saying Australia remained one of only nine countries to hold a AAA credit rating from the three major rating agencies.
Ka-ching: While consumer confidence may somewhat be under a cloud, economists don't expect an impact on spending habits just yet.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release today, capturing the impact of the Reserve Bank's 25-basis-point increase in the cash rate that month.
Taking action: NSW commuters are set for further delays from industrial action by rail workers today as .
The strained negotiations come as the NSW government also confronts a strike by teachers on Thursday, and with public sector nurses and midwives voting to pressure it further on pay and staffing ratios.
Must watch: Netflix might be the number one streaming service on the market — but that's not always a good thing, at least according to a new note from Bank of America. .
Biotech giant CSL expects profit to rebound in the current fiscal year, after reporting a decline for the 2021/22 year, but has also flagged higher costs as blood plasma collection volumes return to pre-pandemic levels.The vaccine and blood products supplier expects net profit for fiscal 2022/23 to range between $US2.
Transurban says its fourth-quarter toll road traffic exceeded pre-pandemic levels, but is forecasting a 2022/23 return to shareholders well below market expectations.The toll road operator on Thursday said it expects to distribute 53 cents per share in FY2023, 30 per cent higher than in 2021/22 but under consensus estimates of 60 cents.
Super Retail Group says sales rebounded in the second half of fiscal 2022 and the new year is off to a strong start, but it's expecting that momentum to slow as interest rates hikes and inflation bite.The Supercheap Auto, Rebel Sports, BCF (Boating, Camping and Fishing) and Macpac brand owner on Wednesday reported $3.
Wall Street's main indexes have fallen after latest data suggested labour market conditions remain tight, while investors assessed minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting that indicated a less aggressive monetary policy tightening path.Eight of the 11 major S&P; 500 sectors declined in early trading, with consumer discretionary and communication services stocks leading losses.
Santos is reaping the gains of energy instability at home and abroad with a record result in the first half of 2022.The oil and gas company on Wednesday reported record production, earnings, cashflow and a tripling in underlying profit in the six months to June 30 on increased demand and rising prices.
Cloud accounting technology company Xero has warned of another year of volatility for small business customers.Xero chair David Thodey said on Thursday supply chains remain constrained, contributing to levels of inflation not seen since the 1980s, interest rates are rising, and global economic growth is predicted to slow.