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Canfor Pulp Products (TSE:CFX) had its price target reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from C$20.00 to C$17.00 in a report issued on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 15.65% from the company’s previous close.
CFX has been the topic of a number of other reports. CIBC lowered their price target on Canfor Pulp Products from C$24.00 to C$20.00 in a research note on Monday, January 14th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a C$25.00 price target on shares of Canfor Pulp Products in a research report on Friday, February 22nd.
CFX stock opened at C$14.70 on Friday. Canfor Pulp Products has a 12-month low of C$14.15 and a 12-month high of C$28.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $974.20 million and a P/E ratio of 5.20.
Canfor Pulp Products (TSE:CFX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 21st. The company reported C$0.21 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$289.70 million for the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that Canfor Pulp Products will post 1.90999994503878 earnings per share for the current year.
Canfor Pulp Products Company Profile
Canfor Pulp Products Inc, together with its subsidiaries, produces and supplies pulp and paper products in North America, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Pulp and Paper. It offers solid wood; bleached and unbleached softwood pulp; and bleached and unbleached kraft, and coloured kraft papers.
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Last updated on May 4th, 2015 at 03:16 pm
A panel discussion on the future food retail outlet will highlight the New Jersey Food Council (NJFC) Trade Relations Conference, to be held June 2 at the Tropicana Casino & Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Neill Crowley, adjunct professor at St. Joseph’s University, will lead the discussion. Panel members include Jim McCaffrey, president, McCaffrey’s Markets; Mendy Meriwether, food service beverage brand manager, Wawa Inc.; Joe Sofia, SVP, Wegmans Food Markets; and Andrew Keenan, director of retail operations, Advantage Sales & Marketing.
This year’s theme is “The Food Retail Outlet of the Future,” covering the evolution of digital, merchandising and marketing opportunities. The reception and program will be held 3-6 p.m.
Additionally, Marty Heaney, customer VP of Mondelez International, will be honored with the New Jersey Food Council Max Stone Trade Relations Award.
“Marty’s longstanding business relationships and partnerships with NJFC members and his continuous dedication to the advancement of the food industry made this year’s decision to honor him an easy one,” said NJFC President Linda Doherty.
“Marty has forged long-lasting food industry partnerships and is a role model as a respected trade relations leader,” she added.
The Max Stone Award is named in honor of the longtime trade relations leader for Best Foods CPC in recognition of his career in trade relations in New Jersey. The event will conclude with a golf event at Galloway National Golf Club at 9 a.m. June 3 in Galloway, New Jersey.

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Today, Tangerine comprises of the following entities: Tangerine Life, Tangerine General, Tangerine Pensions and Tangerine Money. Tangerine is positioned to be Africa’s preferred one-stop financial solutions provider, leveraging a tech-driven, flexible, high-access platform to drive business across all the financial services segments in Africa to deepen financial inclusion, facilitate wealth creation and protection.
One-stop financial services solutions provider, Tangerine officially launches in Nigeria
Leading financial services and technology platform, Tangerine officially launched with its financial service product offerings at a launch event held on Wednesday 7th July, 2021.
Speaking at the launch event on the progress Tangerine has made since 2019, Dapo Akisanya, Head Pensions, Tangerine Nigeria said, “In under 2 years, we have been able to successfully acquire and rebrand several businesses, firmly establishing Tangerine. We have also made significant strides in repositioning our businesses in readiness for growth by assembling a strong, agile and experienced team that aligns with our strategic thinking.
"In the area of recaptization, the Nigerian insurance industry is currently going through a suspended recapitalization process, which has sought to increase the minimum statutory capital levels for life insurance and general insurance businesses from N2 billion to N8 billion and N3 billion to N10 billion, respectively. For our 2 insurance businesses - Tangerine Life and Tangerine General - this recapitalization process has already been concluded”.
Head Life Insurance, Tangerine Nigeria Livingstone Magorimbo shared plans to establish Tangerine as the No. 1 financial solutions provider of choice in Africa by driving efficiency, value addition and growth.
“Our intention over the next 3 to 4 years is to build strong businesses that are profitable and have a fair share of the larger market, in all of the segments we participate in. We aim to do this by ensuring that the assets acquired in Nigeria are efficient and all the merger synergies are fully realized.
"In addition, we plan to generate value through customer acquisition, expansion of our agent network, cross-selling to our pool of customers and improving efficiencies. The issue of real time claims processing is one of our target deliverables, as we continue to look for operational efficiencies to add value to our customers and distribution partners”.
Mr. Magorimbo also touched on Tangerine’s growth and expansion plans, “We see our future growth coming from the retail segment where we have made significant investments in understanding the market need, and in the technology and people required to support us going forward. We are also set to expand Tangerine’s presence beyond Nigeria. We plan to have a presence in at least 8 African countries by 2024”.
Technology is the backbone of the Tangerine financial services ecosystem. Speaking on Tangerine’s approach to product development, Head Commercial, Tangerine Nigeria Ibitunde Balogun said, “We have merged deep consumer insights and cutting-edge technology to build a range of carefully tailored and relevant products that create value by broadening the financial potential of every individual, offering a unique blend of life insurance coverage, pensions and wealth management to help individuals live without the worries of the future”.
Tangerine is equipped with a robust, integrated and scalable digital platform that has been designed to meet the needs of a growing financial solutions ecosystem. Furthermore, it is driven by a high performance and experienced management team. As a result, Tangerine is uniquely positioned for significant growth and impact.
Guests at the Tangerine Launch event:


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Femtech company Willow turned heads this year at CES when it turned its booth into a transparent breast-pumping room, aiming to normalize pumping in work culture.
The brand – which showcased its new Gen 3, quiet, wearable in-bra breast pump at the conference – dubbed its booth as the "pumping room of the future."
"Willow is showing up at CES this year to help call attention to the need for workplace resources for pumping moms that have historically been scarce, while also celebrating how far women in tech have come over the last 50 years," said Vickie Mrva, president and CMO of Willow, in a statement. "We are proud to lead this charge in not only creating the most advanced breast pump on the market, but to also set an example on how culture can shift around work and motherhood overall."
Willow encouraged all moms to come to its pumping room anytime throughout the conference.
In addition to its see-through booth, Willow gave away 50 of its new Gen 3 pumps. Women, as well as a few husbands who Facetimed their wives, lined up for the pumps on day one of the conference.
The new pump has helped moms produce 20 percent more milk on average than its previous products, according to Willow’s testing.
"Our third generation pump has been updated from the inside-out to focus on giving mom the ability to tailor her experience to her needs and get the most out of every pumping session," said Mrva.


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Guillen Jerome M, Officer (VP Service and Sales Ops) of Tesla Motors Inc, unloaded 1,500 shares at an average price of $265.04 on July 15, 2015. The total amount of the transaction was worth $397,560, according to the disclosed information with the Securities and Exchange Commission in a Form 4 filing. Currently the company Insiders own 0.2% of Tesla Motors, Inc. Company shares. In the past six months, there is a change of -24.3% in the total insider ownership. Institutional Investors own 63.2% of Company shares. During last 3 month period, 0.01% of total institutional ownership has changed in the company shares.
and remember - Musk said, "Its critical for Tesla to do well in China for the company to compete/survive" in the automotive/EV world. Well with no one buying EV in China and now the stock market crashing, Tesla overseas sales will plummet. Hard to sell expensive toys when the world largest pot of consumers doesn't want expensive toys. And now China losing 100 of Billions a days on crashing stock market.
and that's the good news. The bad news once the stock drop 70% is will stay flat for years or Musk will be forced to file for bankruptcy. Longs have been warned.
Know one ever wants to hold a bloated stock that built on smoke and mirrors in front of a market correction. Tesla headed lower so the only question is do we break $200 end of July or mid-August?
Gold jumps this week as China, Europe, Ukraine and Mid East all go up in Flames. Or shall we say "POP".
but you have to buy now to enjoy the nice ride up. Short term Gold going way higher as Greece train wreck back in the news as delayed Fed rate hike going forward. Add China Bubble popping pushes gold higher.
Boy Tesla is getting is "behind" kicked every where.
As reported by the Green Car Reports, Tesla Motors has met its acceleration killer from Germany. According to the publication, a team of university students from Stuttgart has come up with a powerful motor all-wheel drive (AWD) electric vehicle (EV), which reaches 60 miles from its initial position in no less than 1.779 seconds, faster than today’s Formula 1 cars.
and it get worse.
“There are a few people who are quite aggressively using it for local supercharging,” Musk said. “We’ll sort of send them just a reminder note that it’s cool to do this occasionally, but it’s meant to be a long-distance thing.”
But that didn't sit well with owners, because use of the chargers is included in the price of a Tesla, and advertised as being “free for life.” While many of its rivals spend big money on advertising, Tesla has invested millions of dollars in charging stations meant to be an extra incentive for buyers to consider its pricey electric car. Many tesla owners are now thinking the company could be a scam since there are not enough battery charging stations and when you do find one many times there are long lines to wait your turn. Remember built it and they Will Not Come.
and now its getting ridiculous.
“Tesla sales will drop if they don’t build more supercharger stations,” said Roger Chou in San Diego, who has ordered a Model X, but has been driving his brother’s Model S. “If they want to start charging people, that is fine, but be clear about it, so people can make their decision before spending $100,000-plus on a car.” Right now it takes 35 minutes plus to charge a Tesla battery and that's if you can find a supercharge station in your area. No one wants to wait 35 minutes to get back on the road - so this is a very serious problem going forward for the compamy.
Its common knowledge that the Model S has flawed technology and that the car might have a major shipment delay due to problems with system software and outside hacking threat. Who wants to buy a car that goes dead after 300 miles of driving but also might drive off the road when hacked by the car next to you.
52 week high for JDST is $41 so buying now is a no brainer. Gold panic selling is about to kick in and when it does JDST will fly to new 52 week high before you can says "fools gold".
Rats are starting to flee the sinking Greece ships as Deputy finance minister resigns before bailout vote. Syriza is not backing their own party Prime Minister, which tells you things are really, really bad in the land of the GODS.
as you know it coming Wednesday or earlier.
Among the Syriza MPs not supporting the government were energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis and deputy labour minister Dimitris Stratoulis, plus speaker of parliament Zoe Constantopoulou, all of whom abstained. This points to the strong possibility that Tsipras may very need to soon reshuffle the cabinet and wider ministerial ranks. More broadly, following today’s agreement, there is potential for defections from the Syriza MP ranks and even the possibility of a party split. This would be immensely dangerous for a party which already relies on a coalition partner (the conservative Independent Greeks) for a parliamentary majority.
Greece politicians are staring at a nightmare coming. Sell half your countries worth and put it in a German holding tank and then increase IOU"s to stay alive for another 3, 4 months. I don't see Greece bending over for the Creditors since they have nothing to lose now if they Default and start over.
Tsipras was 59 Billion (free euros) with almost no strings attached. What a joke and Merkel will not fall for it. Rest of Europe is "BROKE" and Germany tax payers won't let Merkel lend one more dime to broken Greece.
because BABA stock will be flying over $250 a share and your dream of early retirement will be "still a dream".
Stock way, way oversold. Zero competition in China. Company founder doing major partnerships and growing revenue across the board. Baba share price will soon jump Amazon's and then set it sights on bigger fish.


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Euroleague Basketball, which organises continental club competitions in Europe, has partnered with social media and data analytics company HEED to launch a new digital platform that will seek to enhance fan engagement during the top-tier EuroLeague tournament.
The platform will use artificial intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT) technology and has been launched this week to coincide with the start of the EuroLeague Playoffs.
HEED uses sensors, cameras and data analytics to identify exciting moments within a game, generate new insights and deliver content in near real-time directly to fans’ mobile devices. Fans can download HEED on iOS and Android devices.
HEED will utilise media and data collection elements that exist in EuroLeague arenas alongside other special sensors deployed by the company. These data sources will be combined with AI technology that analyses game dynamics in a way that is not otherwise visible to fans.
During this year’s EuroLeague Playoffs, players and coaches will be fitted with sensor-equipped ‘smart shirts’ under their kit, with every arena to feature IoT cameras and sensors, including facial recognition technology. The cameras and sensors will gather never-before-captured data, which HEED will then fuse into bite-sized creative moments.
Euroleague Basketball president and chief executive Jordi Bertomeu said: “EuroLeague is one of the world’s most progressive, digital leaders in sports, and we are thrilled to be making a breakthrough in sports technology by partnering with HEED. EuroLeague is proud to be the very first sports league incorporating wearable sensors, in such scale, during live games to enhance the fan experience.”
HEED co-founder Mati Kochavi added: “The world is becoming more and more connected thanks to incredible advancements in IoT and AI. HEED is utilising these technologies to change sports forever, beginning with EuroLeague Basketball.
“By measuring previously imperceptible information about human emotion, energy, and engagement of coaches, players, and spectators, as well as physical insights of the best plays, HEED is revolutionising the fan experience one sports entity at a time, starting with EuroLeague.”
HEED also holds partnerships with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) mixed martial arts series and Professional Bull Riders (PBR), with new agreements within the world of sport set to be announced soon. HEED is a joint venture between AGT International and Endeavor, parent company of the UFC and PBR.


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Undertaken by retail training provider, Retail Relate, the UYAP consisted of comprehensive training in retail management as well as 12-month internships at leading retailers The Essential Hardware Group, AutoZone, Hoxies Foods and TWK stores.
The 16 new UJ students are part of a group of 160 young adults, all of whom come from the informal and rural areas of Gauteng, who graduated from the UYAP last year with NQF 5 qualifications in retail management. The qualifications and experience they earned during that programme ensured that most of the graduates secured jobs shortly after completing their internships.
This is in sharp contrast to their prospects two years ago when after completing their matric, these young people faced a daily battle with uncertainty and fear for the future. While their excellent matric results qualified them for tertiary studies, difficult financial conditions at home ruled out this possibility. Their lack of qualifications and experience also prevented them from finding jobs.
“Higher education minister Blade Nzimande has highlighted the problem that graduates battle to find jobs due to a lack of workplace experience and we agree that this needs to be addressed,” said Leigh Blochlinger, chief executive officer of Retail Relate. “Therefore we will continue to ensure that our training programmes include sufficient components of on-the-job experience.”
Retail experience coupled with university learning
Head of UJ’s Retail Management Faculty, Mariette Frazer is delighted with the arrival of the new recruits.
“Having the year’s internship under their belts, and the thorough training from Retail Relate, including the life skills components, these youngsters are more than ready to tackle first year university,” she said.
One of the 16 UJ students, Rayvin Daniels from Reiger Park, a township located east of Johannesburg, achieved matric results that earned him a place among the top six learners in his school, Reiger Park Secondary. But coming from an unemployed single parent household, with no one to fund tertiary studies and months of unsuccessful job hunting, he was ready to give up.
When recruited into the UYAP by Retail Relate, he grabbed the opportunity with both hands, graduating as one of the top 10 learners and even serving as a mentor for Retail Relate’s Rural Youth Project (RYP) after he graduated.
“I am absolutely over the moon about this chance to study at university, it was always my dream to do so and now Retail Relate and the W&R SETA have made it a reality,” he said. Upon graduating from UJ with his national diploma, one of Daniels’ dreams is to become the marketing director of a large corporation.
Like Daniels, Thandiswa Madlolo from Rondebult, another low-income area east of Johannesburg, also excelled at school. She obtained university exemption but financial constraints ruled out the possibility of tertiary training and she was at a loss when it came to choosing a career.
The monthly stipend of R2 000 – provided by the W&R SETA – earned during her UYAP internship helped her to make ends meet, while the work experience and the theoretical training helped her to decide to pursue a career in logistics. This is one of at least 67 career paths existing in the retail sector.
The 16 students will continue to gain workplace experience during their studies through Foschini Group, another of Retail Relate’s retail partners, which has agreed to provide them with vacation jobs.
For more information, visit www.retailrelate.co.za
Article source: Supermarket.co.za


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There’s a feeling of optimism in Western Europe’s ICT channel according to results of the annual CONTEXT ChannelWatch research study. The research provides detailed insight into reseller behaviour, opinions and attitudes across EMEA. With over 6700 responding to the latest survey, which ran towards the end of last year, the study is the largest online research of its kind.
When canvassing the opinions of resellers and retailers across the EMEA region, over a third of those polled (41%) predicted an upturn in their businesses for this year. More specifically, almost half (48%) predicted that notebooks with removable screens would be adopted more than any other touch-screen mobile devices.
Survey results also reveal that there’s a huge opportunity for the channel in mobile security going forward. Half of all respondents interviewed claimed they currently don’t address such customer needs. Of those that do, the majority (69%) focus on small and medium sized businesses.
As part of the annual CONTEXT ChannelWatch survey, participating resellers in the region are award the title of European ICT Distributor of the Year. The award is based on the views of 3,500 ITC Resellers across EMEA and the methodology for selecting the winner of the award is rigorous. First resellers are asked to rate their distributors on a variety of topics, such as “Speed of Delivery”, “Ease of Doing Business” and “Web Interface”. These ratings are then weighted by a second series of questions about which of their distributors’ services they consider most important to them. For example, “An Effective Partner Portal” was the most highly valued of all. The results of these two questions are then added to a comprehensive question asking for resellers’ overall rating of their distributors and a final score is then derived.
Stay tuned for an announcement of all the winners, which will be revealed next week!


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Headgear to thwart mind-reading surveillance cameras by Fabrica researchers
Wearable Futures: researchers at Italian design centre Fabrica have created accessories that would deceive neuroimaging devices by diverting thoughts using electric shocks and flashing lights (+ slideshow).
Lisa Kori Chung and Caitlin Morris from Fabrica designed the anti-NIS (neuroimaging surveillance) pieces to detect when surveillance technology linked to CCTV cameras is trying to read the wearer's brainwaves. It would then focus their thoughts to something inconsequential to help maintain privacy.
They say neuroimaging technology is currently being researched and developed to read and record the thoughts of the public, with the aim to detect ill intentions before they are carried out.
However this raises issues of privacy, so Kori Chung and Morris are proposing to mask thoughts using a range of wearable devices.
Each faceted piece covered with decorative patterns is designed to detect when the wearer is being scanned and provides a distraction to change their thought pattern.
"Rather than simply blocking access to the brain, which would require unsubtle and complex equipment, each piece proposes a method of momentary cognitive diversion," said the designers.
"When a scan is detected, the accessories provoke a sensory reaction that will demand the wearer's attention, changing their current brain activity patterns and affording a moment of privacy through camouflage."
The hat transmits sound pulses through the skull to the ear, the collar gives a gentle electric shock and the mask emits light flashes into the wearer's eyes.
This means that at the moment of the scan, the wearer's thoughts are more likely to be read as "this light is too bright" or "that's a strange sound" rather than what their mind might have been preoccupied with otherwise.
Even though the implementation of neuroimaging technology is still science fiction, the project aims to raise awareness of other surveillance techniques currently used in conjunction with CCTV such as facial recognition, motion detection and voice analysis.
The project was designed for the Futures 10 exhibition of wearable technology, displayed last night as part of the Wearable Futures conference at Ravensbourne in London.
On the same theme of masking surveillance, Adam Harvery created a range of anti-drone clothing to hide the wearer from heat detection technologies.
Photographs are by Marco Zanin.
Here's some information the designers sent to us:
Wearables to thwart neuroimaging surveillance by Lisa Kori Chung and Caitlin Morris
The paradigm of clothing as protector and concealer is slowly shifting: increasingly, our bodies are becoming more and more public (though security practices as well as fashion choices), while new forms of neuro-imaging technology are developing that may one day allow for surveillance and interception of the contents of our minds. Anti-NIS Accessories is a series of proposed objects designed as a form of clothing that maintains privacy of thought and action.
Rather than simply blocking access to the brain, which would require unsubtle and complex equipment, each piece proposes a method of momentary cognitive diversion. When a scan is detected, the accessories provoke a sensory reaction that will demand the wearer's attention, changing their current brain activity patterns and affording a moment of privacy through camouflage. The objects include a hat that transmits sound pulses through bone conduction, a collar that gives a gentle electric shock and a mask that distracts the user with flashing lights.
Can the purpose of clothing be expanded to serve a hybrid purpose: acting as an expressive covering of the body, and also maintaining privacy of things like emotions, intelligence, and even more specific "brain data"?
These are the wider questions we asked:
Today, closed-circuit video surveillance has become commonplace. Concurrent with its rise in ubiquity, new techniques are being developed for analysing the massive amounts of information generated. Biometric identification techniques such as FRT (facial recognition technology), gait analysis, and voice analysis are often used after an incident has taken place to try to determine the identities of the parties involved. However, now various companies are working on algorithms to detect persons acting "suspiciously" (perhaps based on activities such as running, loitering and carrying packages). We are entering a new period of algorithmic guessing of intention based on external behaviours, before an incident takes place.
What if brain-scanning could be periodically deployed in a widespread and stealthy manner in urban environments, similar to CCTV now? Already our notions of civil liberties and bodily privacy are being challenged on an everyday basis, how should they be defined in the future in terms of the mind?


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Blis Study Analyses Shopper Behaviour in Singapore — Mobile and Location-based Technologies Key for Retailers Looking to Stay Relevant and Competitive
- Research findings suggest that reports on physical retail’s demise have been overstated
- Loyalty is overrated and retailers must appeal to consumers’ deal-hunting tendencies
- Retailers must strategically redesign in-store experiences to boost shopper interest, footfall and sales during the Great Singapore Sale and beyond
Singapore – 19 June 2019 Ahead of major shopping events like the Great Singapore Sale and Singles’ Day, Blis, the global leader in real-world intelligence, today announces new findings from a global study of 6,000 consumers—including over 450 in Singapore—conducted in April and May 2019. The goal is to deliver fresh insight into consumers’ shopping behaviours, to help retailers strategise and boost engagement throughout the rest of this year.
“The Real Retail Story” highlights just how much Singaporeans love to shop. 45% of respondents said they shop because it makes them happy, and nearly half – 49% – consider shopping a hobby. The desire to shop in-store is also very much alive, and is the preferred way to buy food and groceries, furniture, household appliances, clothes, footwear, jewellery and health and beauty products. Consumers are also willing to spend higher amounts when shopping in-store, with 81% indicating that they will be looking out for in-store deals during the upcoming Great Singapore Sale. And when it comes to the checkout, whether shopping online or offline, Singapore consumers prefer to use credit cards for nearly every purchase of any size, with the only exception being in-store purchases of less than $35 where cash is preferred.
“For some time now, headlines have proclaimed that we’re suffering through a retail apocalypse. Problems have hit an all-time high this year, with the highest number of store closures in a decade seen across much of the globe. However, our findings show that Singapore consumers still massively value shopping in-store, and that any talk about physical retailers being rendered obsolete by e-commerce is premature,” said Richard Andrew, Managing Director, Asia, Blis. “Shoppers’ attention and discretionary spending are now being pulled in multiple directions, meaning retail strategy has to evolve. In a mobile-first world, retailers have to master new approaches like location-based data to connect with shoppers at the right place and time to win their hearts, minds and wallets.”
Key takeaways from The Real Retail Story
Mobile Shopping and In-store Visits Now Intertwined:With consumers actively using smartphones while shopping in-store, retailers who can successfully combine mobile and in-store shopping experiences will likely achieve more engagement and sales.
- 80% of local consumers use their mobile phones when shopping in a physical store. The most popular reason for doing so is to ‘compare prices for the same item to ensure I am getting the best deal’ (72%), followed by reading other customers’ product reviews.
- 67% of local consumers say that they have spent time searching for items on shopping websites but made the final purchase in-store. The main reason for doing so is that they ‘like to see the quality of the product before buying’ (56%).
- 63% of local consumers say they have spent time looking for items in-store before purchasing them online. The biggest reason for doing so is that they can ‘sometimes get better deals’ (54%).
Proactively Engage Consumers Outdoor with Relevant Messaging: Given that consumers are often influenced by the content served to them on mobile devices, retailers that offer relevant and proximity-based deals and promotions will attract higher footfall and sales.
- 68% of local consumers are open to providing personal information at the entrance of a store in exchange for vouchers.
- 64% of local consumers say that they made the decision to walk into the nearest store to look for relevant products after seeing an online advertisement when outdoors. 86% of these consumers also ended up purchasing the respective product.
Redefine the In-store Shopping Experience: By investing in innovations like automated store assistance and smart mirrors to aid the discovery of relevant items and introducing home delivery or in-store collection for purchased items, retailers stand a higher chance of having consumers complete their purchases.
- Local consumers would feel more inclined to purchase in-store if the items are categorised like in online stores (41%).
- The main causes of abandoning a physical store are ‘if the shopper can’t find the right item’ (55%) and ‘if the store is too crowded’ (61%).
- The main causes of abandoning a purchase online are ‘expensive delivery charges’ (58%) and ‘items being out of stock’ (50%).
“Our research highlights that almost half of Singapore consumers derive a sense of happiness from shopping. In other words, emotions influence behaviour and retail therapy is real. Retailers must therefore design physical-digital experiences that surprise and delight, engineer serendipity, as well as negate common frustrations and points of friction. Imagine walking down Orchard Road and receiving a message from your favourite brand saying that the pair of jeans you’ve been waiting on is now back in stock at a shop a street away, in your size and favourite colour, and at a discount if you purchase it today. Creating this is easier said than done, and this is why Blis offers retailers the location data technology they need to understand real-world behaviour, and deliver the visceral shopping experiences that people crave,” said Andrew.
To access the full Blis-commissioned The Real Retail Story research findings and analysis, download the full report here.


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Mapleton formal wear sale Feb. 13
MAPLETON - Mapleton High School is hosting a Formal Wear Consignment Sale and Craft Show on from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 13.
Anyone can sell old prom or homecoming dresses, tuxes, suits, shoes, and jewelry and find a new one for this year. For more information, please contact Rachael Thomas at 419-651-0100 or firstname.lastname@example.org or visit Mapleton Class of 2017 on Facebook.


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Australian digital services company Odecee is the latest company to be snapped up in Cognizant's acquisition spree, which has claimed two other companies in as many months.
Showing results 1 to 20 of 967
The company and London Underground celebrate the latest landmark in a key service for Londonders.
Windows 10 will build in standards-based two-factor authentication to every device, effectively neutering most phishing attacks and password database breaches. The company also announced new features aimed at securing corporate machines from malware attacks and data leaks.
The company, which has a popular work management and collaboration tool, has added new visualization features that show enterprises the moving process and people parts.
Australian publicly listed bitcoin mining company Digital CC Limited has said it will keep on mining despite the fluctuating value of the cryptocurrency, and wait until the bitcoin price increases.
Oracle will likely pitch its database, content management tools and analytics packages to Front Porch customers such as A&E Television, BBC, Discovery and Nascar.
Australia's second-largest mobile provider has appointed parent company SingTel's head of group digital life Allen Lew as its new CEO after six months of searching.
Australian tech startup Neon Stingray looks set to become the local face of French digital and technology marketing company Valtech, after being bought out by the Parisian organisation.
Invigor Group has acquired Search Results Group, worth AU$5.8 million, as its next step of transforming the company into a digital solutions group.
Amazon has some inventive features in its Fire smartphone, but the company needs developers to gravitate the Dynamic Perspective and Firefly SDKs.
Commonwealth Bank has promoted David Whiteing to the chief information officer role, replacing Michael Harte who is leaving the company to join Barclays Bank in London.
Cloud adoption is an 'all or nothing game' says IT leader at Global IT staffing and services company Digital Intelligence Systems (DISYS).
If Salesforce.com is way more than your company needs, here are 14 other options -- most of which tightly integrate marketing automation features.
The company claims its new notebooks, due in May, offer features their ruggedized competition currently lack.
Kathy Gruzas, CIO of digital effects production house Weta Digital, explains why the company is sticking with its own datacenter.
With 11 percent of transactions coming from its app, Starbucks is looking to boost engagement and add features like digital tipping in 50 cent, $1 and $2 increments.
Telstra's new digital strategy is aimed at creating a more transparent and global company, and one that isn't bound by its fixed line origins.
New flagship handset features hard keyboard and biggest screen on a QWERTY BlackBerry, says company.
Google has acquired London-based Spider.io, a company focused on cleaning up the Web.
The all-cash acquisition, conducted by Western Digital subsidiary HGST, gives the company server-side Flash memory systems.
The best of ZDNet, delivered
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- 2 How much does an iPhone 6 really cost? (Hint: It's way more than $199)
- 3 31 ways to improve your iPhone's battery life
- 4 Seven privacy settings you should change immediately in iOS 8
- 5 Review: Tile Bluetooth tag (verdict: Great)


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Traces of Barents Sea plankton, bacteria from Madagascar found on ISS surfaceScience & Space May 30, 7:39
North Korean media boast successful ballistic missile launchWorld May 30, 7:03
At least 10 killed as militants shell Syria’s Deir ez-Zor — SANAWorld May 30, 5:49
Over 30,000 people in three Russian regions remain without electricity after stormWorld May 30, 5:28
Putin visits Russian cultural center in ParisSociety & Culture May 30, 3:37
Search engine Yandex denies transfer of Ukrainians' personal data to Russian intelligenceWorld May 30, 0:11
At least 137 people injured in Moscow storm — sourceWorld May 30, 0:05
Ukraine's security service accuses search engine Yandex of leaking personal info to MoscowWorld May 30, 0:03
Kamaz to supply at least 1,000 trucks to Philippines by 2020Business & Economy May 29, 21:49
“There are no grounds for prohibiting operation. There have been routine violations, and they can be easily corrected,” said Olga Fomicheva, an official of the regulator's branch in the Tatarstan republic, as the agency published results of hygiene infringements found in a first phase of inspections at McDonald's restaurants in the region.
“Some materials will be considered at our department while others will be referred to courts,” Fomicheva said. “Companies and officials will be liable to fines.”
Nine sets of proceedings have been opened after checks of 53 food samples, said supervisory body Rospotrebnadzor on Friday as inspectors began visits to cover all the chain's 11 outlets in Tatarstan's capital, Kazan.
Results of three laboratory tests had recorded chicken nuggets failing to meet sanitation standards and raising concerns over “microbiological parameters”, the agency said. “Two wipe samples from restaurants revealed coliform bacteria,” it added.
“There are 16 restaurants in Tatarstan, and all of them will be checked by the end of the year,” she said.
On Wednesday, Russian consumer watchdog Rospotrebnadzor filed administrative lawsuits against four McDonald’s restaurants in Moscow. Snap inspections from August 18-20 revealed many violations of sanitary regulations, the agency said, adding that legal proceedings had begun ahead of court hearings.
Among a Russia-wide network of some 430 outlets, inspections would branch out to other locations, a Rospotrebnadzor statement added.


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In partnership with Queensland Government, MediaCom’s specialist division, MediaCom Beyond Advertising (MBA), has created a campaign that encourages people and families living in high-risk areas of Queensland to plan and prepare for bushfire season.
The campaign identified 100,000 properties at very high or high risk of bushfires – MBA then created and placed targeted and instructive information about how to prepare and what people need to do if they receive a warning.
Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services Jack Dempsey said the Rural Fire Service Queensland had used sophisticated mapping technology to identify the properties: “We want all Queensland families to remain safe this bushfire season and our mapping technology has allowed us to directly target properties at risk,” said Minister Dempsey.
Having created a campaign based on the premise ‘understanding is surviving’, MBA in conjunction with Queensland Government, will educate families online by defining the three levels of bushfire warning; Advice, Watch & Act, and Emergency Warning.
This life saving campaign will ensure that Queenslanders are familiar with the official Bushfire Warnings System and have a completed Bushfire Survival Plan to action via radio announcements, online and social media advertising, an infographic film which details what the warnings mean as well as a dedicated website. For more information, visit www.ruralfire.qld.gov.au/bushfires.
Recognised and respected by the industry’s best, this campaign sees MBA continue on the path of behaviour change with Queensland Government having successfully launched a campaign, ‘End HIV’ which helped change attitudes towards HIV earlier this year.
By Suzanne Mitchell, Senior Director of Marketing at GoDaddy Australia As 2021 dawns in Australia, it does so with greater stability and hope for businesses and individuals than since the pandemic intensified locally last March. The Covid-induced digital transformation boom has created, in its wake, a hyper-individualised world whereby audiences have more control over what, […]
To celebrate brands going “above and beyond to act with purpose”, Mumpower has announced its first-ever consumer choice awards. The ‘Vote on Purpose’ Australian Business Award 2021 aims to crown Australia’s favourite purpose-driven company, with Mumpower now calling on both corporations and Mum shoppers to nominate a value-led company or a specific brand campaign that […]
Sports fans will have to pay $10 a month to sign up for Stan Sport when it launches later this year, according to reports. The Nine-owned Sydney Morning Herald, is today reporting that Stan (also owned by Nine) will offer Stan Sport as a supplementary service, meaning fans must also have a subscription to Stan’s […]
Global creative platform Shutterstock has launched the 10th anniversary edition of its annual Creative Trends Report, highlighting the trends that will inspire creative expression and ingenuity in 2021. Announcing the report, Shutterstock creative director Flo Lau said that, after the year that was, the company was encouraged by the “positivity, originality, and resilience displayed by […]
Outgoing and twice impeached President Donald Trump released a pre-recorded farewell as he departed Washington. But many of the US’ major networks didn’t show it. Trump was banned from Facebook and Twitter in the wake of his supporters’ attack on the US Capitol on 6 January. His personal account on YouTube has also been suspended […]
New data from Facebook shows that an initiative aimed at supporting local news publishers is showing early signs of success. Australian and New Zealand publishers participating in the Facebook Journalism Project’s Reader Revenue Accelerator in 2019 and through 2020 secured more than 24,000 new paying subscribers and more than 160,000 new loyal readers (whether through […]


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It’s clear that SuperZoo places an emphasis on grooming. One of the show’s six neighborhoods, “Groomer’s Court,” will be set aside for companies that specialize in grooming products, and the show will also host several grooming contests.
According to Judy Breton, the director of Grooming and Special Services for SuperZoo, the choice to do so many years ago was an obvious one: SuperZoo looks to celebrate all segments of the industry, and since grooming is an essential piece to not only the industry, but also to the well-being of pets, the board decided to focus on and support the grooming segment of the pet industry.
Decades later and the grooming section of the industry, as well as its representation at SuperZoo, remains strong.
According to Pet Age’s 2016-2017 Retailer Report, of the 38 percent of respondents who offer ancillary services in their store, 54 percent offer grooming. And it appears as though grooming services will continue to increase; last year’s report had self-service grooming in the eighth spot in the list of ancillary services retailers were planning to add. However, this year, self-grooming jumped to the first spot, with 25 percent of respondents citing self-service grooming as the service they are looking to add.
With retailers on the hunt for grooming products to stock in their store and for equipment to add to the grooming services they either already offer or are hoping to offer, one can expect Groomer’s Court to be especially busy at this year’s SuperZoo.
Grooming in Stores
Allen and Jennifer Larsen, co-owners of Firehouse Pet Shop in Wenatchee, Washington, are examples of two attendees who will be on the lookout for grooming products to add to the full-service grooming and self-wash spa their store offers. The store, which offers your basic pet supplies, is on the first floor while the grooming is in the basement.
When the couple first decided to open the store, not having a grooming service was not an option, according to Jennifer Larsen.
“It was always kind of part of our plan [to include grooming services],” Larsen said. “When we initially decided to open up a pet store, we wanted to be more of a destination, so we wanted to make it grooming, self-wash and boutique or basic pet supplies. We’ve been in a lot of stores that had one or the other but not a lot that had all of them, so we just kind of wanted to make it a go-to destination.”
When making the decision to include grooming services, the Larsens also took a look at what the competition offered.
The only other pet store in town did not have a self-wash station. Plus, it was almost impossible for pet owners to book a grooming appointment since all the local groomers were so busy, so the demand was there, as well.
John Edmondson, pet sales consultant for the pet dryer and accessory maker XPOWER Manufacture, Inc., says the partnership between grooming and retail, like the one Firehouse Pet Shop has, should be even more present in the pet industry than it already is.
“If you want more loyal customers, then you need to work on the service end of your business,” Edmondson said.
According to Larsen, Firehouse Pet Shop’s grooming services account for about a quarter of total sales, and she hopes this fourth trip to SuperZoo will help expand the entire Firehouse Pet Shop business, including its grooming services. One thing the couple will be zeroing in on when it comes to grooming at SuperZoo is smocks for their groomers.
Keeping it Professional
This attention to professionalism is a trend that the grooming industry has been seeing as of late, Breton said.
“I think the whole industry has expanded and has become more professional than it was years ago,” Breton said. “I think the new smocks and grooming attire have become more attractive. It’s not just boxy; now they have stuff that really accentuates the groomer and makes them look more professional, and I think that’s very important for the industry as a whole— that the pet shops are becoming more professional and the groomers and the equipment that we’re getting is always stepping up another notch.”
Edmondson says that through the full line of products it provides to groomers and retailers with grooming services, XPOWER hopes to help businesses keep up that level of professionalism. For example, its quiet machines ensure a more consumer-friendly area, its air scrubbers clean the grooming area’s air and the dehumidifiers speed up the drying process.
“We want to make the environment better for the public, the customer, the retailer and for the groomer. That’s what XPOWER is all about, that’s what we do,” Edmondson said. “…We’re not just drying, we’re making sure everybody is healthy and goes away with a good feeling.”
This high level of respect that groomers hold and show for their practice is one of the things that SuperZoo wants to highlight through
its grooming competitions.
“One of the things we want to do is show the expertise of the groomers and the profession and… the professionalism of the industry.
We want to make sure that the groomers can show off their work,” Breton said of the contests.
Shannon Moore, director of Grooming and Education for Espree, maker of natural and certified organic pet grooming products, is one of the judges for the Grooming Contest. She said she will be looking for “attention to detail and great profile.” She will also be on the lookout for crisp lines that are “as close to breed standard as possible.”
This care and attention to detail groomers show through their work is recognized by the customer, Breton said, and it is because of this that “the groomer is very respected by the customer.”
“The groomer’s really evaluating the whole dog because when they’re drying, they’re drying all the way to the skin; they can see if there’s any skin issues, they can see if anything’s going on and let the customer know to go to their vet or that somet
hing is happening to keep an eye on it,” Breton said. “When they do this, they want to teach the customer how to maintain the coat at home.”
And that’s where the opportunity for pet retailers—especially those who don’t offer grooming services but who would like to stock grooming products— comes in. As groomers teach customers how to keep up their pets’ grooming at home, owners will need to buy the products to do so. According to Breton, most groomers don’t carry products in their shop to sell. Instead, groomers will refer customers to a local pet store. So she suggests pet store owners
should introduce themselves to the local groomers and find out what products the groomers recommend to their customers for at-home grooming.
“The groomer is going to have 250-500 customers that they influence over the year, and that can really add to retail sales in a retail store by working with the groomer and making sure the products [a pet store is] carrying on the floor are the same ones that the groomers are using and recommending,” Breton said.
There will be every type of customer walking the trade show floor—groomers, retailers who offer grooming services, retailers looking to form a partnership with the local groomer—and the companies who will be at SuperZoo are eager to talk with them.
A Hands-On Experience
XPOWER will be at Booth 560, and attendees can stop by to see the company’s dryers and other products in action.
“You have to show the equipment,” Edmondson said. “You’ll never go to a show that we’re at that we don’t have these things plugged in, ready to show you because that’s the proof in the pudding, and that’s exactly what we do.”
XPOWER uses the three days of face-to-face communication SuperZoo provides to gauge what problems groomers are facing and what the company can do to help alleviate them.
“We understand that grooming is not an easy job. It is not. It is a hard, arduous job,” Edmondson said. “And we [get] a deeper communication with our customers [at SuperZoo] so we can provide better, groomer-friendly tools. The interplay we get at shows is very important.”
Andis Company is also offering attendees interactive product experiences at its booth, 471.
“The Andis booth will host a ‘show and tell’ for a hands-on introduction to several brand products,” Andis Vice President of Marketing Karen Formico said. “We’ll also have a few of our Andis educators onsite to host demos throughout the weekend. Our Education team and staff will be available for anyone with questions or those who might be interested in learning how to get the most out of their Andis products.”
Its popular Excel 5-Speed Detachable Blade Clipper, which is now available in the two new colors of fuchsia and burgundy, will be one of the products on hand. And as Formico points out, groomers are creative, and she thinks that the products Andis will have on display at this year’s show, such as the new Artistic Grooming Trimmer, plays to that.
The company is also sponsoring the Large Poodle Purebred Class within the Grooming Competition this year.
“We hope to continue positioning ourselves as a leader in grooming education and a trusted brand in the industry,” Formico said. “We’re invested in the grooming community and committed to our sponsorship of educational opportunities or competitions and further developing top-performing tools for professional groomers around the globe.”
Showcasing the Product
Animal care equipment manufacturer Shor-Line is another company that will be in attendance at this year’s SuperZoo and can be found at Booth 567. Its grooming products include tables, tubs and dryer cages.
“Shor-Line has been a long-standing exhibitor at SuperZoo,” Shor-Line Marketing and Innovation Manager Holly Gibson said in an email. “We love the energy of the show, especially the excitement of the grooming competition. It is a great opportunity to talk with groomers around the country—and the world—who use our products or want to become customers.”
She expects ergonomics to continue to be a key driver in grooming.
“Groomers are artists. One of the great things about SuperZoo is seeing the new trends in grooming artistry. Less talked about is the toll it takes on a groomer’s body,” Gibson said. “At Shor-Line, we have worked to make our equipment more flexible and able to take on some of the work. When you can choose multiple grooming heights and positions with the flick of a finger, the groomers can choose the best grooming positions for their body and the job at hand.”
Shor-Line also ensures that its products are comfortable for pets. Two years ago, the company introduced the Big Top Grooming table, which provides extra length as well as traction and stability to allow for larger breeds to feel more comfortable when being groomed, according to Gibson. But Gibson says the two biggest reasons customers choose Shor-Line is because of the tables’ and tubs’ “durability” and “sleek, modern look.”
“Our thick, stainless steel construction on places such as the grooming arm make all the difference in how long a product stands up to commercial grooming,” Gibson said. “We’ve added to our range of colors on the grooming tables to include Shor-Line blue. Th is keeps with the trend of deeper colors making their way into grooming salons.”
Gibson also thinks that “the revitalization of the economy has opened up new opportunities to groomers to expand both their offerings and their facilities.” Because of this, she says the grooming industry has seen more “spa-like” facilities that provide expanded pampering. And Gibson expects this increase in the amount of groomers who are buying higher-end products to help the company at this year’s SuperZoo.
Espree, which can be found at Booth 545, will be launching its Allergy Relief Avocado and Aloe Shampoo, according to Moore. The shampoo is loaded with avocado and organic aloe to provide temporary relief form chewing, scratching and itching while gently cleansing the skin and coat. It can be especially soothing for pets with seasonal and non-seasonal allergies.
“We’re looking forward to another successful SuperZoo. It’s always a fun show,” Moore said. “We want to keep up with the trends, we want to be groundbreaking with bringing new things to market and using that technology that we have to provide solutions.”
Gaining an Appreciation
Aside from forming relationships with the companies in attendance, Breton hopes attendees leave SuperZoo more knowledgeable about the grooming industry than when they entered the show. SuperZoo has more than two dozen grooming educational seminars planned, including over a dozen demos of different breeds and grooming styles.
Breton also says to be on the lookout for some of the latest grooming trends, including the color, stenciling and patterns they are doing on dogs of all types “to make them different and stand out and do something fun for the customer.”
There is also a new type of grooming, Asian fusion, which is gaining in popularity. According to Breton, Asian fusion produces more of a rounded cut around the face and mustache that resembles a teddy bear. The style “leaves more character to the face and you can make it more of a caricature instead of just a dog face,” Breton said.
Breton also wants people to realize the strong sense of community that those in the grooming profession share and hopes the groomers attending the show use it as a forum to connect with even more peers.
“I think groomers need to have friends all over the country and find out what’s going on and support their industry,” Breton said. “It’s an industry of everybody—it’s not just an industry of one person or one group, and I think it’s really important that the camaraderie and the networking continue once they leave the show.”


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So here’s my mental picture of the players – Sergio is smiling, laughing, and rubbing his hands together.
Matthias is scowling, looking apologetically at his fellow Board members, mouthing the words: “What have I said?”
On March 14 VWAG’s CEO Matthias Mueller chaired a presentation of the company’s 2016 earnings and financial results, and in his speech he recanted (apparently) comments he made in Geneva one week earlier, that any talks to form a partnership with FCA was out of the question. Emphatically! No!
At the presentation last Tuesday he told analysts and journalists that VW may be open to an approach from Sergio Marchionne, to discuss a form of partnership. Certainly NOT a merger.
As I have been reporting in Driving & Life for the last two years, Sergio desperately wants a partnership with someone, anyone, but his preferred partner is GM.
By the way, Mary Barra said, also emphatically, “No way Jose!” Sorry, that should be: “No way, Sergio. Go bug somebody else.”
Here’s why a partnership with VWAG will, emphatically, NOT work! For a partnership like this to work, both parties need to contribute equally to the financial outlays, before counting the profits (if there are any).
In Herr Mueller’s presentation he surprised the finance wonks with the news that despite ‘Dieselgate’ things didn’t work out too badly for VWAG in 2016.
He reported net profit of 5.14 billion Euros; after a record loss in 2015 of 1.6 billion Euros. In 2016 VW generated revenue of 217.3 billion Euros on sales of 10.3 million vehicles, which saw it overtake Toyota as the world’s largest carmaker by sales.
Mr. Mueller then forecast a 4% increase in sales revenue for 2017, moderately higher vehicle sales, and a pretax return of between 6% and 7%. That forecast may not be as robust as investors and analysts would like, but, hey, it’s money coming in – not going out.
So now, let’s turn our attention to FCA. This is a whole different scenario. This is all about money going out, not coming in.
Firstly, looking at FCA’s position at the end of January 2017 the sales results are definitely not rosy. According to Automotive News here’s the scene:
FCA sales continued a five month slide, down 11% to 152,218. FCA said fleet sales accounted for 28% of its monthly total, but that was down 31% year over year. The ONLY product to show an increase in sales was the Dodge RAM truck.
Jeep brand sales dropped 6.9% continuing a decline for the fifth consecutive month. That was despite a slight increase for Grand Cherokee, Renegade and Wrangler. However, the big earner, Cherokee, dropped 25%!
Chrysler brand sales dropped almost 40%, and FIAT brand sales fell by 9%. These are not global sales, they are for the US market only; but it highlights the fact that with falling sales, along comes falling margins, because as FCA reported at the end of last year, in an effort to boost sales, its marketing spend (or, cost-of-sales) is rising to unprecedented levels.
Of greater concern however, in the USA FCA ended the month with 581,727 unsold vehicles in inventory, a 92-day supply. Most automakers want to see no more than 60 days, to be on the safe side.
Remember, as well as ongoing net debt of USD$6 billion to service, FCA has Chrysler’s unfunded pension obligations of USD$5 billion hiding in the books, and with marketing spend up and sales down, that means very low, or non-existent margins.
As I said earlier, to make a partnership work, both partners have to contribute to the costs of making vehicles, as well as ongoing R&D, resource reinvestment (by that I mean tooling renewal and production maintenance).
FCA may desperately want a partnership with somebody, but it cannot contribute, unless it has a net cash position, which it doesn’t have.
There’s nothing of benefit to VWAG in a partnership with FCA. Volkswagen Group has a wide range of brands spanning virtually every sector of the auto industry, and by and large they are all contributing to VWAG's confidence in 2017.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles? Not so much!
As I noted a few days ago, in five years time the industry may well be picking over the remains of FCA, like a crow picking at roadkill.
I am not trying to sound like Doctor Doom here. The fact is Sergio Marchionne is gambling, big time, with the financial balancing act of a corporation that is not only not making enough money, but is continually renegotiating debt, that has to be serviced, because FCA is not in a healthy financial state.
You may see press releases announcing some FCA brand reports increased sales; but the question you have to ask then is: "What was the profit margin? How much did it cost to sell them? Did cost-of-sales erode potential profits?"
As I have reported previously FCA borrows funds on both sides of the Atlantic, against assets on both sides of the Atlantic. If sales, and more importantly profit margins, don’t pick up soon, it will be ‘Hello Crows’.
So, that’s why a partnership between VWAG and FCA will not work.


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BEER FESTIVALS, SAVVY MOVES, AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR BEER.
The WM is over but don’t despair: Berlin Beer Week is about to kick off! In Scandinavia, beer brewing just got a little more clever. Keg thieves, Trump & Putin beers and more UK sell-outs. This edition’s got it all! Grab a beer and get updated!
ARTIFICIAL (BEER) INTELLIGENCE FOR CARLSBERG
Since 1876, Danish beer company Carlsberg have placed an impressive emphasis on using scientific advancement to improve the standard of their product. One of the earliest described strains of yeast to be isolated (formerly known as Saccharomyces carlsbergensis, now Saccharomyces pastorianus) was the result of a dedicated team of scientists employed by the company. The strain, discovered in 1883, continues to be one of the most commonly utilized lager yeast strains across the globe.
It’s not surprising to learn that, since the 1800s, Carlsberg’s commitment to scientific advancement has remained. Now, the fourth-largest brewing company in the world, is using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve their beer!
Together with Denmark’s leading research institution, the Technical University of Denmark and Microsoft, the Carlsberg labs latest project, the Beer Fingerprinting Project, concerns an effort to develop sensors to aid in determining the outcomes of different fermentation scenarios. A complex analysis of the sensor signals using AI solutions (including algorithms and all matters of futuristic technologies) should assist in measuring flavor / aroma profiles created in order to draw more consistent and thorough findings than those possible by us mere mortal beer drinkers.
BERLIN BEER WEEK 2018
It’s that time of the year again! The 4th annual Berlin Beer Week commences tomorrow with the inaugural boat cruise the official ‘kick-off’ event for ten days of glorious beer celebrations. This year it is not only the contemporary craft-beer scene who will showcase their abilities, but some of Germany’s oldest and most traditional breweries are also planned to attend, such as Düsseldorfs legendary Alt-bier brewery, Uerige and the Hefeweizen heroes, Schneider Weisse.
With over 70 events planned for the next 10 days, there is an event catered for everybody’s taste. Check out the program online here.
HELSINKI SUMMIT: WOULD A LAGER HELP? OR WOULDN’T IT?
After a meeting of disgusting minds during the Helsinki summit between Trump and Putin, a small Finnish brewery, RPS Brewing, is trying to help alleviate some of our nausea through the creation of a humorous limited-edition lager titled, Let’s Settle This Like Adults. The label depicts caricatures of the two presidents playing Rock, Paper, Scissors with the subheading Making Lager Great Again. “A couple of good beers can help any negotiations, and then maybe Finnish sauna” said the brewery CEO, Samuli Huuhtanen. Well, it was a good sentiment.
VELTINS SMART SALES MOVES
The Meschede-Grevenstein family brewery Veltins has had a record breaking half year of sales having sold a total of 1.61 million hectoliters of beer. This is a 7.8% rise compared to January to June sales in 2017. Not bad, given that the trend for industrial beer has been a constant decline for years. The rise in sales for Veltins, their largest volume growth since the turn of the millennium, is assumed to be attributable to the string of glorious weather we’ve had in Germany as well the World Cup.
Unlike many other big breweries who have to focus on a strategy for continued sales now that the WM is over and the sunshine slowly set to vanish, Veltins also has a game plan for their continued success for the year. They have managed to snaffle the contract off AB InBev for beer sales in Berlin’s Mercedes-Benz Arena (formerly O2-World).
This means that, for big concerts or the home games of the basketball team Alba and the ice hockey team Eisbären, Veltins will be served instead of Beck’s. Veltins, expects an additional sales volume of up to 6.000 hectoliters per year through the new contract.
MORE NEWS IN A HOP CONE
Oktoberfest preps already underway
The city of Munich has commenced their epic two month long build to erect the beer city that is Oktoberfest! The 185th Oktoberfest kicks off on September 22nd and ends two weeks later on 7th October. Anybody with the mind to head down South ought to start thinking about accommodation options now!
Bavarian Keg Thieves Busted!
Speaking of Bavaria, it seems that a culture of beer swilling, dirndls and lederhosen doesn’t come without some of society’s problems! In the quaint Upper Franconian city of Hof, a group of professional keg thieves have been caught after having stolen more than 600 empty kegs, the value of which equates to more than ten thousand euros! Not to worry, folks! The thieves were caught and beer will flow again!
AB InBev brands Hasseröder and Diebels sale default
In our News from the Mash Tun #10 we mentioned AB InBev’s plans to sell off two of their German brands, Diebels and Hasseröder. With a planned sale to Daniel Deistler of CK Corporate Finance, the deal was almost done…until AB InBev Deutschland reported that: “CK Corporate Finance Group has so far not been able to meet all the contractual conditions to complete the transaction by mid-2018”.
Although Anheuser-Busch is not ruling out the sale in question altogether, they have hinted that it is looking increasingly unlikely and as a result have reopened the bidding.
Fourpure sale maintains sell-out momentum
For the UK indie-beer scene, last week’s announcement that South London’s Fourpure Brewing Company have sold a 100% stake to the Australasian brewing firm Lion (a subsidiary of Japan’s Kirin Brewery), couldn’t have been better timed.
In the wake of the Heineken / Beavertown acquisition, nothing seems overly surprising, and Fourpure founder and CEO Dan Lowe’s comment that “We’re not going to say nothing will change, what would be the point of doing it if nothing was changing?” is almost cheeky in just how apt it is! The sale marks the sixth London-based brewery to sell-out (partially or fully) within the last three years.
In news just in, due to the unusual pattern of weather we are experiencing, it looks like the hop harvest may come as early as August this year! For brewers planning their wet hop beers for the season, it looks like it may be much earlier than planned, but for those looking forward to the wet hop beers hitting the market, the wait is almost over!
That’s all for now, folks! Have a wonderful summer but don’t forget to slip, slop, slap (that’s Australian for stay sun safe!) Drink responsibly and for all of you in Berlin, have an enjoyable Berlin Beer Week celebration of the scenes awesome growth and diversity! Cheers!


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Camouflaj Shares Info on Beautiful Dystopian iOS Game RÃ©publique
The game will ship in Spring
After a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised the team $555,662, just over their funding goal of half a million, Camouflaj has some more info and screenshots to share for its upcoming game for iOS, PC, and Mac: République.
According to the developer video, the team at Camouflaj has grown to around twenty people to accommodate new animators and artists and level designers. The environmental art of the world of Metamorphosis – with inspiration drawn from the Baroque style – is coming along well, and it looks beautiful. Changes have been made, including the decision to no longer use pre-rendered 2D backgrounds.
As for gameplay, it looks like protagonist Hope will have to sneak around a lot, directed by the tap of a finger rather than “virtual controls or virtual buttons”. She apparently responds differently to things dependent on what you tell her, which sounds interesting since the player assumes the role of “Big Brother”, helping her to escape from the “omnipresent Overseer”.
République is due to ship this year, coming out in the Spring for iOS and later than that for PC and Mac. With the team aiming for a 4-6 hour campaign, a story inspired by dystopian fiction like 1984, and things like voiceovers (including from Jennifer Hale!) and cinematics, this should be yet more proof that iOS can be a decent gaming platform.


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Partnership between 2 vendors leads to all-in-one mobile ordering and loyalty platform
Restaurants and retailers now have access to one solution that offers mobile and online ordering with loyalty capabilities thanks to a partnership between Como, a provider of customer engagement solutions, and Preoday, an online and mobile ordering technology company.
The partnership, which combines Preoday's white-label platform for online and mobile ordering facilities and Como's end-to-end customer loyalty and engagement solutions, will help pubs, restaurants and coffee shops engage with their customers and avoid lengthy queues, Ofer Rahum, Como chief of business operations, said in a press release.
"For businesses looking to compete in this rapidly changing industry, having a solution that combines mobile ordering and customer engagement is becoming essential," he said. “This is another great example of how deep technology integrations can provide merchants with a solution that's seamless to operate, while driving significant business growth."
Customer loyalty and engagement are proven to help businesses grow their revenue, according to studies by Deloitte and Northwestern University, which found that businesses with loyalty programs are 88 percent more profitable than competitors without them, and up to 15 percent of a retailer's most loyal customers drive 55-70 percent of its sales.
Pre-ordering is a solid way for restaurants to increase their revenue, as customers tend to order more when they can order ahead. Ordering ahead will drive $38 billion at quick service restaurants in the U.S. by 2020, accounting for 10.7 percent of total QSR industry sales, BI Intelligence estimated recently.
"For companies wanting to see these benefits in their own business, a solution that offers both mobile and online ordering and loyalty capabilities is extremely powerful," Andrew White, CEO of Preoday, said in the release.
Topics: Online / Mobile / Social


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Although our normal routines have come to a halt, that doesn't mean the days stopped going by. In Australia, over four million citizens celebrated their birthdays within the four walls of their homes during isolation. Well, Krispy Kreme decided to do something extra special for our birthday boys and girls.
Depending on when their birthday was, Krispy Kreme is giving away free boxes of a dozen donuts if your cake day fell between March 13 and July 13. All you have to do, is present your ID card and you'll be gifted with a box of deliciousness.
Krispy Kreme Australia CEO Andrew McGuigan said, "From toilet paper presents to zoom parties to less-than-impressive cakes, there's no doubt birthday celebrations have been lacking these last few months. The company is also putting on another offer this week between Wednesday to Friday, where you can buy one dozen and get another dozen doughnuts free."
Well, it may not be the birthday party you wanted, but when does a free donut ever sound bad?


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When Marissa Mayer took over Yahoo five years ago, one of the key parts of her strategy was buying smaller companies more for their talented engineers than for their products.
Silicon Valley veterans talk about companies having their own DNA, a corporate genetic code stitched together from the experiences and skills of the people who work there. For Mayer, the goal was to refresh Yahoo’s gene pool.
Mayer’s startup shopping spree didn’t pan out. Her reign of destruction continues.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle


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Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries Limited, spoke to the company’s annual shareholders meeting. He said that India’s 4G services will start on December.
Reliance Telecommunications Company and Alphabet Inc’s Google are working together to introduce a new budget 5G smartphone, which will be released in two months.
Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani said that Jio’s 5G network will launch in main cities such as New Delhi and Mumbai. By December of next year, their 5G network will be fully rolled out across India.
Ambani only said that the phone created with Google would be “ultra-affordable.” This is in contrast to the $150 for 5G phones currently. Currently, about 700 million people, or roughly 100 million households, don’t have a smartphone and need access to this phone.
AI devices that are more affordable are going to be necessary in order to bring 5G technology to the masses.
5G data speeds in India should be much faster than 4G, and would be perfect for emerging technologies like self-driving cars.
Reliance’s 5G plans will shake up their competitors, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Idea in the world’s second-biggest mobile market. Shares in Airtel and Vodafone closed down 1.3% and 3.3%, respectively in the weak Mumbai market on Tuesday, while Reliance also slipped 0.78%.
India’s biggest mobile carrier, Jio, bought airwaves worth $11 billion in a recent $19 billion 5G spectrum auction. Jio has 420 million customers and bought airwaves worth $11 billion in a recent $19 billion 5G spectrum auction.
Jio’s 5G strategy will help India compete with other countries by providing cheap, powerful data.
Reliance partnered with Meta Platform Inc. to allow people to shop on Reliance Jio Mart via WhatsApp.
Reliance will be launching a new consumer goods company this year to compete with other companies in the same line of work.
An article by Reuters exclusively reported in May that Reliance Industries has plans to acquire dozens of grocery and non-food brands.


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China's premier promised foreign companies equal treatment with Chinese rivals, in Beijing's most high-profile effort yet to quell complaints it is trying to squeeze foreign competitors out of its markets.
"We will endeavor to create a level playing field for all market players, foreign and Chinese enterprises alike," Premier Wen Jiabao said at a news conference with European Union President Jose Manuel Barroso.
China has faced repeated complaints in recent months that technology and other policy are being used to promote its companies at the expense of foreign rivals in violation of the spirit of its free-trading commitments.
It is unusual for such a senior Chinese leader to respond to complaints by foreign companies, and Wen's remarks indicated the importance Beijing attaches to placating investors that are supplying technology and skills to develop its economy.
The premier repeated Beijing's promise that foreign companies with operations in China would be treated equally under a new policy to promote Chinese innovation by favoring locally developed products in government procurement. The announcement of the "indigenous innovation" policy in November prompted an outcry by foreign companies and governments, which called it protectionist. Beijing backed down this month and said it would make it easier for foreign companies to qualify as suppliers.
"The policy that is designed to encourage indigenous innovation will treat all enterprises that operate on Chinese soil as equals," Wen said. "It will not exclude foreign enterprises."
Beijing has been promoting development of its technology industries and pressing foreign companies to transfer know-how to China. But the foreign outcry appears to have fueled official concern that companies might cut back technology development in China.
After the news conference, Wen and Barroso met with two dozen managers of major European companies including Volkswagen AG, Nokia Corp. and French oil giant Total SA. He was joined by China's finance, technology and industry ministers and the chairman of its planning agency, which Wen said showed how seriously the government took the matter.
The premier smiled politely as executives repeated companies' concerns, including about rules due to take effect on May 1 that require suppliers to disclose how computer security technology works if they want to sell it to the government. Companies worry that trade secrets might be leaked to Chinese competitors, and the United States and Europe have called on Beijing to scrap the measure.
Wen said Beijing wants to work closely with foreign companies, though he did not comment on the technology disclosure demand or say it might be changed or postponed.
"We are going to create more favorable conditions for foreign investors to make investments in China," the premier said. "We will not change our commitment to pursuing an 'opening up' policy."
Responding to a comment by a Nokia manager about China's Web controls, Wen said the communist government "pursues an open approach with regard to development of the Internet" and gave no indication that online censorship might change.
The American Chamber of Commerce in China, in a report this week, expressed concern the government was slowing market-oriented reforms and is using regulations to close access to previously open segments of its economy. The group said conditions have worsened over the past two years. It said foreign companies face unequal enforcement of environmental rules, patent and other rules.
"We see many actions in the area of innovation, in other areas of industrial policy, which suggest to us that in the future in a number of areas, the market opportunity will begin to get narrower," the chamber president, Christian Murck, said.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.


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Evergreen initiated a slightly modified version of its annual forecast EVA just over a year ago. We shifted from specific predictions to attempting to identify developments that could catch the investment community off-guard. As we noted at the time, this was an unabashed imitation of what Blackstone’s Byron Wien has done for years (including when he was Chief US Investment Strategist for Morgan Stanley). However, we also did this because it is the most unanticipated events that have the greatest market impact.
A Tale of Two Halves: If we simply evaluate global market returns last year, one might conclude 2016 was a fairly uneventful. Global stocks and bonds finished up 8%, and 4% respectively, which is generally what you’d expect in a typical year. However, if we dive a bit deeper “uneventful” wouldn’t be an appropriate description.
Legend has it that Richard Nixon once said: “We’re all Keynesians now.” In reality—and most ironically—those words were actually uttered years earlier by the ultimate anti-Keynesian economist, Milton Friedman. However, former President Nixon did riff off of this when he declared, after removing the US from the gold standard in 1971, “I’m now a Keynesian in economics.” Unsurprisingly, this turned out to be bad news for the American public as Mr. Nixon’s conversion unleashed a decade of stagnation and inflation. As a result, this wrenching experience produced a new term that the disciples of Keynes had previously believed was impossible: stagflation.
“The world currently has an excess of every manufactured good.”
-JOHANN RUPERT, CEO of luxury consumer products company, Richemont.
“Clearly, our consumers’ budgets are pinched.”
-Dollar General CEO, TODD VASOS
First of all, Evergreen would like to wish all of its clients,
“The more certain something is, the less likely it is to be profitable.”
-JIM ROGERS, acclaimed investor and former partner of George Soros
“You can’t buy what is popular and do well.”


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Why Size Up Brands Are Now Shipping Products with the Latest Fitbit and Fitbit Flex sensors
Tasha Robinson, a former fashion designer and founder of fashion retailer Size Up, has found a new niche as she tries to find new ways to deliver personalized services.
“It’s not just about what you want, it’s how you want it,” Robinson told Fortune.
“We’ve found a niche in delivering a personalized service.”
The company is expanding into new categories of clothing and accessories to meet consumer needs.
Robinson said she is using Fitbit sensors to track your activities while you wear clothing, and Fitbits Fit-like wearables to track the movements of other Fitbit devices.
The new products are called “wearables,” and Robinson said the technology can be used in a number of different ways.
“We have sensors that can track heart rate, and we have sensors to measure blood pressure,” Robinson said.
“And we have a sensor that can monitor blood flow.
We’ve also created a sensor for measuring sleep.
We have sensors for measuring stress and mood.
We use a bunch of sensors.”
Robinson said that she has found Fitbit Fit-style wearables like the Fitbit Charge HR to be most effective when combined with Fitbit’s Fit-plus program, which lets customers pay up to $250 for a three-month subscription of Fitbits.
A Fitbit representative confirmed to Fortune that Robinson is one of many companies that is now using Fitbits sensors to deliver customized wearables.
Size Up is not the only company experimenting with wearable technology.
Last year, Fitbit announced the launch of a new fitness band, the Fit Flex, that will track heart rates, pulse rate, body temperature, and other metrics.
But Robinson said that Fitbit has yet to announce a price for the Fit Fit Flex and that it will likely go on sale later this year.
Fitbit is working on a smartwatch, but Robinson said Fitbit is not ready to launch the device yet.
“[Fitbit] is not yet ready to do this.
We’re working on that,” Robinson explained.
“But we’re not going to do it until we have all the devices.
I’m confident that we will.”


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To get a sense of the new frontiers in cybercrime, and how cryptocurrency helps fraudsters cover their tracks or finance their schemes … look, perhaps, to Latin America.
In a report titled “The Dark Side of Latin America,” IntSights, which monitors cyberthreats, said Latin America is among the top regions for money laundering, done at least in part through cryptocurrency, and that such tactics are favored by organized crime.
That’s due in part to a confluence of “sophisticated hackers” and “extensive schemes targeting banks,” along with unregulated and even illegal exchanges. Regulations, said the report, are “extremely lax” especially when it comes to Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) efforts.
“Researchers estimate that after cryptocurrencies have been cleaned on exchanges, 97 percent end up in countries that have extremely lax KYC/AML regulations, with Latin American economies topping the charts,” the report said, noting, “Economic struggles, political corruption, internet censorship, and the rise of organized crime in Latin America all contribute to the growth of cybercrime.”
The tailwinds for cybercrime? IntSights reported that there were 453.7 million internet users in Latin America, at 69 percent of the total population, and where digitization of the population expands the potential for threats, especially as retail eCommerce has topped $50 billion.
“As with any new financial endeavor, criminals are taking advantage of unregulated exchanges that do not require registration information and proof of identification for tracking purposes. These illegal exchanges are appealing to criminal groups that are looking to move large amounts of money through untracked channels,” according to the report.
In giving some insight into methodology, Intsights said the method used “is similar to mixers, where the actor will deposit Bitcoin into the exchange account and trade it for various Altcoins. Each time a trade is made, it further distances that original payment from its source account.”
In one example cited in the paper, an official of the Panamanian payment processing firm Crypto Capital, Ivan Manual Molina, was arrested as part of a probe conducted by Polish authorities. That official had allegedly laundered drug sale proceeds on behalf of an international crime group. Poland’s ministry of justice seized $350 million from a Polish bank that was allegedly tied to money laundering.
Separately, in terms of fraud against companies, banking trojans, malware and ransomware have been coming from the Latin American region, the paper said. Last year, the criminal gang known as “Bandidos Revolution Team” and their leader, Héctor Ortiz Solares — known as “El H-1” or “Bandido Boss” — was arrested by authorities. In that gang, hackers were deployed to write malware code to infect banks and ATM, through compromising the Interbanking Electronic Payment system – and depositing funds to third-party accounts. The gang was estimated by authorities to be stealing as much as the equivalent of $5 million a month — and had orchestrated a cyberattack that cost five financial institutions $15 million in fraudulent transfers.
“Carding” is also a fraudster favorite, according to the report. This practice involves the use of stolen credit cards to make fraudulent purchases.
“This practice is widespread in the Latin American cybercrime community, and threat actors have made millions of dollars. They call this practice ‘compras.’ Spanish for ‘purchase’ or Portuguese for ‘shopping,’” noted the paper.
The criminals advertise that they will pay a bill for customers at a discounted rate; the customer deposits money into the criminal’s bank account at a convenience or grocery store. The criminal uses stolen cards to pay the bill and pockets money from the customer.


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An epidemic of streaming piracy has hit the film and TV industry. The latest threat is especially dangerous as it comes under the cloak of legitimacy. An open source media player called Kodi is being loaded, along with illegitimate third-party add-ons onto set-top boxes, which gives user’s free access to pay-TV.
The director general at the UK’s Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) has called the illegal use of Kodi an “epidemic” and rights-holders worldwide are now backing the fight against this emerging threat.
Since its launch in 2003, Kodi has been shaped by more than 500 software developers. Although Kodi is designed to play legally-owned media, pirates have started a black market of illegal “fully-loaded” Kodi boxes which offer users free access to a treasure chest of paid content. When combined with Kodi’s user-friendly user interface, these illegitimate third-party add-ons have introduced a whole new audience to piracy.
Streaming boxes now represent a significant risk to the pay-TV experience. Their use has steadily increased in recent years and consumer interest in Kodi, specifically, has risen sharply since early 2015.
In the most recent annual crime report from the UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO), FACT said that about half of its current investigations concerned these devices. And in 2016, set-top boxes and streaming devices entered the list of ‘top products investigated by Trading Standards’ for the first time.
An important part of the battle is to create some legal standards that support rights holders in their copyright claims. The fight has started with the recent arrest of five people in the UK who were caught selling modified Kodi devices. And in December 2016, Terry O’Reilly was convicted for conspiracy to defraud and given a four-year prison sentence for selling over 1,000 fully-loaded Kodi STBs. The case sends a clear message that selling such devices is illegal – but the law isn’t watertight.
Fraud cases generally take a long time to prove and require lots of evidence. Clamping down on Kodi would be easier if prosecutors could make Copyright Act charges stick. These latest raids are thought to be focused on securing a conviction under the Copyright Act. But although the Act is clear about the illegality of file sharing, there is currently ambiguity around streaming where there is no fixed copy. One thing for certain is that copyright protection authorities around the world will be monitoring the results of these trials with interest.
Although content providers and rights-holders will primarily pursue sellers of illegal Kodi devices, it’s not all plain sailing for the buyers either. Aside from the threat of jail time, some users have even found that they have been sold devices containing malicious code that turned their devices into a “DDOS botnet” which made repeated requests to two target websites. By downloading illegal content or subscribing to pirate streaming services, users make themselves vulnerable to malware, viruses, scams and fraud.
It’s important that the TV industry comes together to fight this increasingly popular form of piracy. Costing the industry more than £70 billion per year globally in revenue, content owners and operators have to work together to identify the pirates and take action to protect their investments and brand reputation.
By working with experts such as NAGRA, broadcasters and operators can take advantage of tools like forensic watermarking to identify the source of leaked content and experienced analysts who can react to pirated services with all the procedural, technical and legal means necessary.
There are positive signs that the tide is starting to turn against pirates. Search engines Google and Bing have signed up to a code of practice pledging to demote pirate websites in their search results. And the upcoming legal cases promise to give rights-holders certainty in the battle against Kodi – but the fight against pirated content will continue.
Whatever the outcome, operators have to keep up the pressure to make it harder for internet users to find pirated films and illegally streamed content. Although the actions of anti-copyright agencies are a valuable resource, rights holders need to maintain an active defence in the fight against online piracy.
By Christopher Schouten, senior product marketing director, NAGRA


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New study shows that consumers are not searching financial product prices online before purchasing
The fee cap is expected to save the provincial plan millions every year
Limiting advisor commissions – it’s a global trend, but a leading financial services jurisdiction is aiming to cut out advisors altogether.
After slipping in under the radar for years, insurance companies have emerged as a significant target for class-action lawsuits.
A pair of insurance advisors – and just perhaps their company – have allegedly hit a new low.
The increased willingness of Canadians to go abroad for health care has them spending more but not necessarily with their advisors.
It’s a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face, the Ontario insurance industry is warning.
Advisors advocating DB plans may need to rethink their strategy.


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The NECO Alliance returned for its semi-annual show Sept. 18 and 19 to Connecticut’s Foxwood Resort and Casino, attracting a record attendance of 1,500 -- an uptick of about 10 percent over the previous record, making the EXPO X, as the fall event is called, the group’s largest ever, according to Mel Hunger, executive director.
“At this particular show,” relates Hunger, “we presented what we call NECO Select, which is a line of products which are step-up merchandise. It was a program we designed so that members could get an idea of what NECO Select products they should carry. We were trying to show them a way to step customers away from opening price-points into NECO Select products from various manufacturers, where it’s a better benefit to the consumer as well as to our dealers and the manufacturers. It’s a triple win. Virtually all our major vendors are involved.”
Hunger reports, “The show floor was totally sold out,” with about 80 major appliance and consumer electronics brands represented, “and they were writing business very, very strong. This is the show where we line things up for our fall selling season; it’s our major show, and it was a very good show.”