text:
HEI Hotels & Resorts has promoted Ginger Martin to regional vice president of operations and Pam Kirby to vice president of hotel transitions and finance. Before joining HEI Hotels & Resorts in 2013 and 2015 respectively, Martin worked for Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Kirby worked for Interstate Hotels and Crestline Hotels & Resorts.
Charlestowne Hotels is welcoming new general managers at three of its hotels: Sam Atwood is general manager of The Atlantic Hotel & Spa in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Sean Copley is general manager of The Bristol Hotel in Bristol, Va.; and Todd Buchko is general manager for Origin Raleigh, N.C.
Marriott International has named Jim Scholefield chief information and digital officer, and his responsibilities include leading Marriott’s information technology and digital initiatives. Before Marriott, Scholefield was chief information and digital officer for Merck & Co., supporting the firm’s growth through leading information technology.
France Langan is vice president of operations and general manager for the first Compass hotel by Margaritaville. Langan was most recently general manager of Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Ill. Before the general manager position, Langan was director of sales and marketing for the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza.
Canyon Ranch has named Damien Craft general manager of its Canyon Ranch Wellness Retreat—Woodside. Craft’s responsibilities include leading operations for the property’s staff and guest experiences. Before Canyon Ranch, Craft was director of spa and wellness for The Ritz-Carlton Bacara in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Glen Sampert has been named general manager of the InterContinental Miami, where he will lead operations for the hotel and its events. Sampert was most recently regional vice president of hotel operations for HEI Hotels & Resorts, where he led operations for the company’s hotels, resorts, and restaurants in various regions.
Frederick Sawyers is managing director for Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek and Waldorf Astoria Orlando. As managing director, Sawyers is responsible for operations, development, sales and marketing initiatives, and financial planning. Before rejoining Hilton, Sawyers was general manager for Walt Disney World’s Swan and Dolphin.
Brett Briseno is director of sales and marketing for the Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Resorts Collection, in Austin, Texas. Briseno was director of sales and marketing for the W Austin Hotel & Residences before the Commodore Perry Estate. He also held sales and marketing positions in the Texas market.
Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Fla., has named Jackie Diaz travel industry sales manager, where she will executive sales strategies in the property’s segment. Diaz previously worked as director of wholesale for the Westgate Resort Collection and regional sales manager for Discover Puerto Rico.
Sean Rigotti has been named director of sales for the Palm Beach Marriott Singer Island Beach Resort & Spa. Rigotti was previously senior sales manager for the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Pompano Beach Resort & Spa. In his career, he was a group sales manager for the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort.
Bahia Mar Fort Lauderdale Beach, a DoubleTree by Hilton hotel, has added executive chef Toby Joseph to its culinary leadership team. Joseph is bringing a variety of flavors for the property, where he will lead the hotel’s restaurant, rooftop, and lounge outlets. He recently worked at The Riverside Hotel on Las Olas.
Sutti Sripolpa is executive chef for the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar, where he will lead culinary operations for the property’s 20 food and beverage outlets. Before joining the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar, he was executive chef of the Grand Hyatt San Diego, and during his career, he has worked for Marriott, Sheraton, and MGM.
Effective June 1, 2020, InterContinental Hotels Group will welcome independent non-executive director Sharon Rothstein. Currently operating partner of Stripes Group, a growth equity firm, she previously served as the executive vice president, global chief product officer for Starbucks Corporation.
Michael Cheng has been named dean of Florida International University’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. Cheng was interim dean since December 2017. As interim dean, he has increased Chaplin School’s student population and wages and has decreased the average cost of attendance.
Blue Sky Hospitality has named Amanda Lynch vice president of revenue management and promoted Michael Newman to corporate director of sales and marketing. Lynch was previously corporate director of marketing and revenue management with The Dow Company, and Newman has worked for companies including Hyatt Hotels during his career.
NELSON Worldwide is welcoming Brian Tolman senior vice president, northeast region lead, and he will lead the firm’s expansion in both reach and design. Tolman has more than 20 years of experience in the industry, and he will use his experience to grow the firm’s New York, Boston, and Philadelphia offices.


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Nissan’ Leaf electric vehicle has for the first time claimed the number one spot in Norway’s passenger car sales chart.
Nissan announced today that in October, the zero-emission family car outsold all of its internal combustion engine, hybrid and electric rivals, taking almost 6 percent of the total passenger vehicle market.
Nissan’s mid-cycle-refreshed Leaf, which was launched earlier in the year, consistently performs outstandingly sales-wise in the Norwegian market, the undisputed electric car capital of the world, taking fourth in the sales charts for 2013 to date with over 3 percent of the market.
“We have had incredibly strong sales this year in Norway and with the introduction of the new Nissan Leaf in the middle of 2013, we have seen that level not just maintained, but exceeded,” said Jean-Pierre Diernaz, Nissan Europe Director of Electric Vehicles. “To get the number one spot is an extraordinary sales performance, even for the world’s best selling electric car, but to be number four in the charts for 2013 so far is something we are incredibly proud of. We continue to be successful in the main Norwegian cities, but the majority of our growth is coming from rural areas, which shows the breadth of the Nissan Leaf’s appeal.”
Nissan explained Norway has been the centre of the electric vehicle market in Europe for some time, with a package of incentives including zero sales tax and zero road tax for electric vehicles as part of efforts to improve air quality for all citizens.
“It is no surprise that we are beating even our April record of second position with the new Nissan Leaf, we knew that the latest version was an even better fit to the Norwegian lifestyle,” said Jacek Gorski, Nissan Nordic Europe Managing Director. “The increased trunk capacity, five seats and standard quick charging make it a great family car. In addition, our engineers have designed a Nordic pack including battery heater, just for the Nordic region, to maintain customer satisfaction even in our very cold winters.”

domain: news


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Jan Frykhammar is appointed Senior Vice President and Head of Ericsson's (NASDAQ: ERIC) Business Unit Global Services, effective as of January 1, 2008. Jan Frykhammar is presently Vice President, Head of Sales and Business Control within Global Services. In his new position, he will be a member of the Group Management Team.
Jan Frykhammar joined Ericsson in 1991, and has held different managerial positions such as CFO in North America and Vice President, Finance within the global customer account Vodafone.
Jan Frykhammar was born in Stockholm in 1965 and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and Economics degree from the University of Uppsala in Sweden.
Notes to editors:
Link to Jan Frykhammar's bio and photos:
Ericsson is shaping the future of Mobile and Broadband Internet communications through its continuous technology leadership. Providing innovative solutions in more than 140 countries, Ericsson is helping to create the most powerful communication companies in the world.
Read more at http://www.ericsson.com
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Ericsson Media Relations
Phone: +46 8 719 6992
Ericsson Investor Relations
Phone: +46 8 719 0000


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Freudenberg & Vilene Nonwovens is investing in a new state-of-the-art production line for automotive headliners at its Suzhou facility in eastern China. The start of production is scheduled for summer 2016.
The company explains that the automotive market in Asia is growing, and is particularly dynamic in China. According to figures published by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), some 1.9m vehicles were sold in China in January alone, around 13% up on the same month last year.
Demand for high-quality products is reported to be rising steadily, with headliners enjoying a particularly strong trend. Freudenberg says Asian original equipment manufacturers prefer printed headliners that meet the high design standards of Japanese and South Korean car manufacturers.
For the full story, see the April 2015 edition of MobileTex. Not a subscriber? Sign up HERE


text:
China Jumps on 3-D Train With Free Public 3-D TV Channel
January 4, 2012 8:38 AM
Free channel will broadcast the 2012 Olympics and a variety of other 3-D content
While the U.S. electronics and film industries -- particularly James Cameron's
almost $3B USD
box office haul
, driven heavily by more expensive 3-D showings -- have had much to do with 3-D film's growing traction, much of the push for 3-D has come from outside the U.S. German film-makers are pushing the art
into the documentary space
. And Chinese film-makers were the first to
create 3-D adult entertainment
, something many were expecting to come all along.
Now the Chinese are joining the U.S. and a handful of other nations,
3-D television train
The new channel will be perhaps the world's only first 3-D channel. Most channels, such as
or Direc TV's (DTV) multiple 3-D channels, are exclusive to cable subscribers.
By contrast the new Chinese service will be delivered by the China Central Television (CCTV) state public television service, free of charge. Anyone with a compatible 3D TV set and a high definition digital TV set-top box will be able to grab the new channel.
Chinese CCTV officials celebrate the launch of their new 3D TV Network
[Image Source: Xiamen CN]
During the initial trial deployment, the broadcaster will broadcast 4.5 hours of 3D content a day, repeated twice; in case viewers miss something they wanted to see.
Planned content will include animation, sports, documentaries, TV dramas, entertainment and live broadcasts of big events such as the 2012 CCTV New Year's Gala and the London 2012 Olympic Games.
With 500 million TV sets in mainland China, CCTV currently rakes in RMB 1.12B ($178M USD) in advertising revenue. Some are estimating that the new 3-D programming could bring in big revenue for both the electronics industry and for CCTV, if even a fraction of Chinese viewers make the switch to 3-D.
China's Twitter-like micro-blogging service Sina Weibo saw much activity following the announcement. Some people were enthusiastic about the chance to become some of the world's first residents to receive free 3-D programming. Others weren't too thrilled about the idea, given the current burdens of stereoscopic glasses.
The critics, though, did mostly offer enthusiasm about
upcoming autostereoscopic displays
, which will ditch the glasses. Autostereoscopic televisions are still in their nascent stages, but devices like Nintendo Comp., Ltd.'s (
3DS mobile gaming console
have showed the format's promise.
Toshiba Corp. (
in December a stunning 55-inch autostereoscopic 3-D LCD TV, exclusively in Japan. Those Skynet fearing folks might want to pass on this set -- it delivers perfect 3-D pictures to multiple users by using a "face tracking" system to spot the users eyes and properly orient "lenslets" to properly focus the 3D image. Those budget minded types might want to pass on the set too -- it retails for around $11,600 USD.
Toshiba's glasses-free 55-inch 3-D LCD TV is WATCHING you -- it uses face and eye tracking to deliver the perfect 3-D picture without glasses. [Image Source: Toshiba]
The 3-D industry is evolving rapidly. Aside from the coming wave of autostereoscopic solutions, some of the current generation solutions have ditched the batteries in their glasses, using a passive stereoscopic design. Traditionally while wearing the glasses themselves generates some complaints, much of the 3-D gripes boil down to having to perpetually recharge the earlier active 3-D glasses.
What's On Xiamen
"Nowadays, security guys break the Mac every single day. Every single day, they come out with a total exploit, your machine can be taken over totally. I dare anybody to do that once a month on the Windows machine." -- Bill Gates
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September 26, 2011, 11:06 AM
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August 16, 2010, 11:01 AM
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text:
SPC has launched their new Bean Pot range with a hands-on out of home campaign that saw personal deliveries of the protein packed little pots delivered to hungry but time-poor CBD office workers and tradies.
The campaign, which ran to mid-August, used oOh! media’s digital panels in offices, gyms, retail and study environments to encourage people to nominate a hard working colleague in need of a quick meal to receive a “slab” of Bean Pots delivered through oOh!’s experiential offering, EDGE.
In addition to the delivery element, the campaign incorporated pop-up stands in CBD and Study environments that offered the opportunity to sample the new product in a location close to their workplace, which was also promoted through oOh!’s assets.
Adam Cadwallader, group director – locate by oOh!, said that the mix of oOh!’s diversified asset environments coupled with experiential from EDGE were perfectly suited for reaching SPC’s audience.
“We know that the audience SPC wanted to reach are people that are looking for a quick snack on the go or during a short lunch break, including office workers, uni-student and tradies,” he said.
“To reach these people, we used our digital panels around lunchtime to run creative directing them to the pop-ups via geo-mapped creative, and at other times presented creative encouraging them to organise a personalised delivery for a co-worker. eDMs were also sent to our office block network letting people know about the delivery opportunity.”
Amy McNeill, spokesperson for SPC, said that the campaign was successful in reaching the desired audience.
“The media mix for our campaign was built around achieving the highest reach possible to a very specific audience. Through the life of the campaign we reached over 5 million people within our target audience,” McNeill said.
“We wanted to demonstrate that the new Bean Pots were a tasty lunch option for time-poor people like office workers, students, and tradies. “We also knew that reaching them in the appropriate environments at the right time was paramount. Through this integrated Out Of Home campaign we managed to deliver.”
The campaign is the latest in a number of deeply integrated campaigns developed by oOh! that utilise its wide range of audience-led assets to reach specific audiences.
Media Agency: Slingshot
Creative Agency: Leo Burnett
Media Provider: oOh!media
Global independent creative agency AnalogFolk has added more creative content firepower to its Sydney team with the appointment of award-winning Naomi Martin as senior copywriter and social lead. Martin’s focus will be further building the agency’s creative and strategic capabilities across editorial, branded content, influencers, creation and production. Formerly head of content at IPG Mediabrand’s […]
SkyBus’ latest ‘The Easy Way to Getaway’ campaign via newly awarded creative agency Hardhat aims to give a warm welcome to returning New Zealand travellers, letting them know the airport transfer service is ready and waiting. The win has seen Hardhat lead the charge on SkyBus’ strategy and creative across New Zealand, ensuring confidence in […]
Longtail UX, an Australian founded tech company with 70+ clients across the Americas, EMEA and JAPAC, has today announced a $2.25m supplementary equity raise in partnership with Woolworths Group’s venture capital arm, W23 and Steven Lew-owned group, Global Retail Brands (GRB). The investment builds on the $3m funding round led by Investec through its Investec […]


text:
What is the uptake of mobile payments and digital wallets in the UAE?
Currently, we have seen reports that show 70-75 per cent of transactions made in the UAE are cash-based. The goal for UAE to become a cashless society by 2021 is aggressive; however, the country is well-known for executing the unimaginable.
Additionally, the Global Media Insight in 2015 reported that a staggering 7.27 million people were active mobile internet users in the UAE, out of a total of 9.58 million. However, the percentage of the population who use mobile banking services stood at only 31 per cent. These statistics show us that there is room for mobile payments and digital wallet applications like ours to help UAE fulfill its vision.
Despite the focus on cash, what is driving the trend towards mobile wallets in the UAE?
Global insights company, Nielsen, has reported that for every 100 UAE residents about 78 of them own a smart phone. The adoption of digital technology is even wider in the UAE, with its tech-savvy young and affluent population. Furthermore, one must acknowledge that the embracing of new technologies is known to be higher in some countries.
With UAE prioritising cashless payments within the UAE Vision 2021, we have witnessed a further boom in the already growing fintech industry. At Trriple, we are contributing to the country’s goal of reaching a ‘Cashless Society’.
Furthermore, Dubai, the world’s 18th largest financial center and home to the largest fintech sector within the MENA region, has seen a rise in interest from fintech startups and banking assets because of its location, private investment regulations, and innovation.
Over the past decade, fintech startups in the region have raised over $100 million in funding, and investment is predicted to double by 2020, according to the State of Fintech report.
The report also shows that the disclosed investment in fintech had jumped 100% to over $35 million by October 2017 — Paytabs ($20million), Souqalmal ($10 million) and Beehive ($5 million) — compared to $18 million last year.
The number of fintech startups also increased from 46 in 2013 to 105 in 2015, and it is estimated that it will more than double again to 250 by 2020, according to the report.
Additionally, in November of last year, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) launched a $100 million fintech-focused fund and signed an agreement with the Monetary Authority of Singapore to undertake joint fintech projects.
2017 also witnessed the cooperation agreement between ‘Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission’ and ‘Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA)’ in order to establish a framework for the two regulators where they could help each other develop the fintech industry.
This being said, one could conclude that Dubai is positioning itself as a fintech hub, which is why it continues to be a dominant market in the MENA region.
What makes Trriple different from other wallets in the market in terms of financial inclusion?
Our company was built on the foundation of financial inclusion. At Trriple, we see a future wherein anyone can access money anywhere. Money is powerful when it is in the hands of those who need it, when they need it. Trriple makes this a possibility by introducing the best possible technologies, and focusing on People, Planet and Prosperity.
Our mWallet is unique in the sense that we reach out the to the vast segment of the population that still rely on cash as a primary means of transaction, and providing them a secure and convenient, mobile-based solution. This includes the likes of blue-collar workers, and digital-savvy youth and the homebound without an outside income.
The UAE is the third largest remitter in world. How does Trriple help in remittances?
One of the key statistics that drove the idea for launching this app was the fact that the UAE is the third-largest remitter in the world.
There are hundreds of thousands of workers in the UAE who send various amounts of money back home every month. What we realized is that these workers, who are unbanked or under-banked, spend a significant amount of their free time just to transfer funds to their loved ones back home, and we wanted to find a solution.
Along with international remittance as an option, we decided to work on a holistic application to answer every single need of the unbanked or under-banked consumer.
At this point, our application has a number of features and the one that we are eagerly waiting to finalize is international remittance. We have the partnership, the framework, and the application look and feel in place. However, we are just awaiting the final approvals from the authorities before we kick off with this much-awaited feature.
Once it’s launched, sending money home will just be a click away at any time, from anywhere at very attractive rates.
What new features can we expect to see from Trriple in the future?
In the very near future, the company is looking to add additional partners for various different services to be included in its innovative mWallet, including bill payments for utilities and government services such as RTA, Dubai Police, Telecom Operators, Utilities, and many more. Additionally Trriple is finalizing an option to link credit or debit cards to the application, the need for this has been sourced from continuous user feedback, and meeting their growing needs; and finally, the company is also set to launch a unique loyalty and rewards program which will give maximum redeemable points to users.
In the long-term, Trriple has ambitious plans to be a holistic mobile wallet answering every single need of consumers and is committed to providing services that differentiate them from similar providers. One such service to keep an eye out for is merchant payment. We are growing our merchants network every day, and we expect this one to be the most attractive service for our customers.
Can you explain how Trriple works and how people can use it?
Currently, Trriple users can enjoy the mWallet and its value-added services by topping it up with cash at approximately 3,000 top-up points, with no cost to the user. These cash-in machines are located strategically all across the UAE and locations can be found on the company’s website or within the mobile wallet application.
After uploading their wallet with cash, users can make seamless payments at a wide range of merchants in the UAE, through the help of various merchant-service providers, who acquire and register new merchants for Trriple every day. The current merchant network covers a wide range of outlets and service providers, ranging from supermarkets, departmental stores, salons, restaurants, cafes and more.
Lastly, the cash that is uploaded can also be used for local peer-to-peer transfers and airtime top-up almost anywhere in the world including UAE’s leading operators Du and Etisalat.


text:
The Matter standard can only simplify the use of smart home devices from various brands if products actually support it. Today, Google has announced that it has enabled Matter support for its Nest and Android devices — you don’t even have to download or install any update. That means the Google Home speaker, Google Home Mini, Nest Mini, Nest Audio, Nest Hub (1st and 2nd gen), Nest Hub Max and the new Nest WiFi Pro, can now serve as a hub for Matter that you can use to control your smart home.
Google has also rolled out Matter support for Fast Pair on Android, and the tech giant says it will give you the capability to pair Matter-enabled devices to your home network “as quickly as you can pair a set of headphones.” Once your devices are connected, this feature will also make it easy to link Matter devices with apps and smart home ecosystems. In addition, the tech giant has updated the Nest Wi Pro, the Nest Hub Max and the Nest Hub (2nd gen) to function as Thread border routers. That way, you can use them to connect products that support Thread, the networking protocol for low-power devices such as smart locks, to your home network.
The Connectivity Standards Alliance, which Google is a part of, has been working on the Matter standard since 2019 to solve the smart home space’s fragmentation issue and make it easier to use products from different companies. It originally intended to launch the standard in 2021, but it had to delay Matter’s release a couple of times before it finally rolled out the standard’s version 1.0 specification and product certification program this October. Shortly after Matter officially came out, Samsung announced that it’s working with Google so that you can easily add devices already set up with SmartThings to Google Home, and vice versa. Amazon, one of the Alliance’s other founders, also listed the 17 Echo devices that will support the standard starting this month.
While very few products are Matter-enabled at the moment, Google says you’ll see more come out these holidays and in early 2023. All devices that support the standard will be marked with the Matter badge and will work with the aforementioned Google products and all other Matter devices out of the box.
All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices are correct at the time of publishing.
#Googles #smart #home #devices #support #Matter #standard #Engadget


text:
Update on Ponte Ferries service
Ponte Ferries is continuing to assist customers after it was forced to delay the launch of its ferry service to Italy due to last minute contestations to its use of the port in Augusta from a competing local operator.
Customers wishing to proceed with their holiday plans are being booked onto flights to Catania, while those who preferred to delay their trip are being fully refunded and in addition are being offered a voucher to use the service for free over the next 12 months.
Ponte staff have been on hand at both Malta International Airport and Catania airport to assist customers during the check in process.
A spokesman for Ponte said: “We cannot apologise enough to our customers for this unexpected turn of events. We understand their disappointment and are working round the clock to assist them. We have already ensured that a significant number did not miss out on their planned holidays and will continue to do so in the coming days.
“Meanwhile, we remain more determined than ever to ensure customers are offered a choice of operators on the Malta-Sicily ferry route and hope to resolve this situation in the shortest possible time.”
Ponte has set up a helpline for customers, who may call 2799 8989 for assistance with their bookings, refunds and vouchers or e-mail email@example.com


text: GROSS national product figures released last week brought a touch of cheer: They showed the US economy starting to grow during this year's third quarter, after three quarters of decline. But the rate of recovery, 2.4 percent, fell far short of historic post-recession advances. On top of this, unemployment last month edged back up to 6.8 percent.Consumer spending - the economy's primary engine - had revved during the summer. But it was showing signs of sputtering in October. Most analysts attribute this to concerns about future employment, concerns bolstered by the latest figures. There's also the long-term slippage in Americans' disposable income in real terms. Take-home pay fell by about 7 percent over the last decade. Still, people had no trouble spending their money during much of the '80s. Why the crisis of confidence now? Economists have varied answers - and some admit they have no answer. This recession has hit white-collar as well as blue-collar workers. People who might normally have the income to afford new cars or appliances are as concerned about job security as lower-income Americans. That may be one reason consumer demand is so low. Another could be a general lack of faith in the way the economy is being managed in Washington. Political leaders in the capital have been launching tax-cutting proposals of late. To his credit, President Bush has tempered his own enthusiasm for tax measures, recognizing perhaps that once that door is open both Republicans and Democrats on the Hill are likely to rush in and topple the fragile fiscal equilibrium created by last year's bipartisan budget agreement. That agreement will doubtless be reworked, but it shouldn't be razed by a pre-election scramble for tax-reduction laurels. The most sensible step for government is a further loosening of the money supply by the Federal Reserve. Fed chairman Alan Greenspan's assessments of the economy have been increasingly gloomy. He appears ready to bring the prime rate down another quarter or half a percentage point. Earlier interest-rate reductions haven't yet invigorated the economy. But that's an argument for being a bit more daring, not for resorting to other means. Along with the loosening up of money has to come a loosening of the fear that's keeping consumers from spending, businesses from hiring, and bankers from lending. It's worth noting that still other economists think the present, very slow emergence from recession is on firm ground and should lead to greater economic strength, with lessons learned from the excesses of the '80s.


text:
The partnership equips machine operators and distributors with the latest turnkey cashless technology
Castles Technology International Corp., a globally recognized and industry-leading manufacturer of payment hardware solutions, and SUZOHAPP, the global market leader of software and hardware cash management solutions, announced today that both companies have entered into a multi-year partnership agreement, which includes the co-development and delivery of next-generation cashless terminals within unique sales channels throughout the global unattended marketplace.
This strategic partnership enables SUZOHAPP to white label and resell Castles’ family of cashless payment hardware solutions, bundled with their services. The result is that each company’s unique business partners obtain cashless payment hardware solutions that are backed with highest levels of PCI and EMV compliance, lower their overhead costs, capture new revenue streams, and empower their end users with independence and flexibility.
“Castles is quickly emerging as a formidable force in cashless technologies,” said Dr. Rory Herriman, CTO Software and Digital Systems for SUZOHAPP. “We saw this partnership as an opportunity to co-develop next generation cashless solutions with an innovative company and are thrilled to help further expand their market presence in the unattended and component space as forward-thinking collaborators.”
The unceasing advancements in payment technology such as continued EMV migration, closed-loop/loyalty and mobile and smart device integrations, have rapidly transformed how customers interact and complete purchases from global brands. But fraudsters and cybercriminals are constantly seeking ways to disrupt these kinds of advances by exploiting vulnerabilities and security at the point-of-sale.
“With over 85 years of combined experience, SUZOHAPP and Castles have made countless investments in the areas of research, product development and market surveillance of the potential dangers and liabilities that are weakening the payments industry,” said Winston Fong, CEO of North America (Castles Technology International Corp).
With both companies integrating their existing payment technology and hardware platforms, Castles and SUZOHAPP stand ready to acquire substantial market share in kiosk, vending, micro market, gaming, amusement, transportation, banking and retail channels.


text:
The cryptographic money insurrection is waging a full-fledged war. Even though it is still relatively young compared to other breakthroughs in recent memory, major corporations and their driving groups are becoming more involved with the idea of digital currencies. Bitcoin and its cousins have progressed beyond a speculative ruse in the eyes of few.
Bitcoin has progressed from something that only the most knowledgeable financial experts are interested in to being recognized by many people as a legitimate trading medium. Another question is if it is ready to go into the standard. In any event, whose projects are the closest to making this a reality?
Cheapair, a well-known American travel operator, began accepting Bitcoins as means of payment in 2013. This prompted other businesses to start taking it as well, and now, anyone can use Bitcoins to book flights with numerous significant airlines and hotel bookings all around the globe. One may also use the cryptographic money to quickly book a flight with Norwegian Air.
- Gaming on the internet
The online gaming and cryptocurrency industries have a lot in common. Purchasing using token-cash has been rigorously standardized within computer games for quite some time, apart from the apparent mixture of technically educated and internet-aware players. Various AAA games gathered their following and profited from in-game purchases such as loot boxes.
Internet betting is one kind of web-based gambling that has embraced digital currencies with zeal. While it is not yet widespread in the business, we have witnessed the rise of online casinos such as poker-nytt.se accepting bitcoin payments.
- Online commerce
ECommerce is making up for the lost time by discovering the benefits of using bitcoin cryptocurrency. By far, the majority of mainstream eCommerce CMS now either support the use of Bitcoin via their shops or can be configured to do so through a module. This is good news for established online shops since it considers various payment options for customers as well as safer, more intelligent exchanges without chargebacks.
In terms of massive purchases, the real estate industry is one of the most advanced in terms of understanding the use of digital forms of money. Surprisingly, some homeowners are posting properties solely in Bitcoin and other digital currencies to those outside the industry. As a result, a few individuals have started to offer their properties on the internet and only accept crypto payments.
Bitcoin’s advantages in this market are many, and it provides a chance to make the cycle more accessible and uncomplicated. Blockchains can potentially update the market by providing clear accountability via intelligent agreements.
The great majority of current global and computerized transactions use virtual credit or currency. Bitcoin is intended to provide the same convenience and security assurance as credit while avoiding additional preparation costs and time constraints. Worldwide payments, or cash transfers sent home by persons working abroad, are the market with the most significant potential for digital money growth. For the time being, funds transferred home must go via banks and money exchanges.
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EAC has enormous potential for trade, investment — US Chamber
East Africa ranks as one of the world’s most economically dynamic regions and offers “enormous potential” for investment by US companies, the US Chamber of Commerce said in a report issued on Tuesday.
Growth rates in some of the East African Community (EAC) member states now rivals those of a few of the Asian countries that Wall Street has touted as “new emerging economies,” the report observes.
Kenya’s per capita GDP has already climbed past that of Bangladesh and Pakistan, notes the 35-page study titled “Building the Future: A Look at the Economic Potential of East Africa.”
Trade with and within East Africa will be greatly facilitated by large-scale infrastructure projects now underway, the US Chamber says.
It cites, for example, the standard gauge railway linking most of the region’s landlocked states with Mombasa, and the Bagamoyo Port project in Tanzania, which “stands to be East Africa’s largest port when completed.”
While US trade with the region doubled between 2010 and 2015, it remains “marginal,” the report says. It notes that China and the European Union (EU) have much more robust trading relationships with East Africa.
“Kenya, the United States’ leading trading partner in the region, imported 14 times as many goods from China than it did from the United States in 2014,” the Chamber points out.
Similarly, it adds, the EU imported three times as many goods from Kenya than did the US in 2014. And the report warns that the European Union will likely become even more competitive as a result of its Economic Partnership Agreement with the EAC that is expected to be ratified next year.
The US lacks a comparable reciprocal trade deal with the EAC, the Chamber says, noting that several East African leaders have called for Washington to negotiate its own economic partnership pact with the regional bloc.
On its part, the EAC has not done all it could to facilitate trade among its members and with the rest of the world, the report adds.
It points to various non-tariff barriers (NTB) that remain in place within the EAC. These impediments include costly import licensing requirements and “uneven observation” of some World Trade Organisation (WTO) guidelines, the report says.
“One of the main problems facing East African countries is that regulations that the national governments enact aren’t always being implemented on the ground,” the US Chamber finds.
“While East African heads of state may agree to anti-NTB legislation, these new principles don’t trickle down to local officials or customs enforcement authorities,” it adds.
Inadequate road and port infrastructure also continues to be a significant barrier to trade in East Africa, the report notes.
The US Chamber of Commerce describes itself as “the world’s largest business federation, representing the interests of more than three million businesses.”


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PwC loses top spot to Deloitte as world’s largest firm
The firm reported growth across all of its core practices and regions. It has, however, fallen slightly behind its Big Four rival Deloitte, which last month announced its own record revenues of $36.8bn.
Oracle Loses Rounds In Legal Fights With HP And Google
On June 30 a California jury ordered the company to pay Hewlett Packard Enterprise a whopping $3 billion in damages in a long-running dispute between the two vendors over Oracle’s software support for HPE’s Itanium servers.
Lexmark To Be Acquired By Chinese Printer Manufacturer For $3.6 Billion
Lexmark International, the printer manufacturer and supplier of print and document management applications, agreed in April to be acquired by a group of investors led by Apex Technology, a China-based inkjet and laser printer hardware maker.
Accenture accelerates acquisitions
In January Accenture acquired CRMWaypoint, a supplier of cloud advisory and technology services in the Netherlands, and a month later bought London-based Formicary, a provider of systems integration and technology consulting services for trading platforms.
The acquisitions continued in April when Accenture purchased a majority stake in Japan-based digital agency IMJ Corp., and then in May bought OPS Rules, a Waltham, Mass.-based analytics and data science consulting company. And in June Accenture boosted the capabilities of its new cybersecurity unit by acquiring Israel-based Maglan, and entered into an agreement to acquire dgroup, a German-based digital transformation consulting services company.
Microsoft Narrows Smartphone Focus, Slashes 1,850 Jobs In Mobile Business
In May the company announced an additional $950 million write-down and cut 1,850 jobs, more than two-thirds at Microsoft Oy (formerly Nokia) in Finland, and said it would “streamline” its smartphone hardware business to focus on businesses and niche areas.
Xerox To Split Into Two Companies
In January Xerox announced a plan to split into two companies. One, retaining the Xerox name, will focus on printers and document management hardware and generated $11 billion in revenue in 2015. The other, which will become a $7 billion company named Conduent, will provide business process outsourcing and managed services.
Chinese Logistics Giant Buying Ingram Micro For $6 Billion
In a move that could reshape the IT distribution landscape, Chinese logistics firm Tianjin Tianhai Investment Company announced February 17 a deal to acquire Ingram Micro, the IT industry’s top distributor, for $6 billion.
Dell Moves Closer To EMC Acquisition
Through the first half of 2016 Dell continued taking the steps necessary to complete its blockbuster acquisition of storage system manufacturer EMC, a deal valued at some $60 billion that’s expected to close by October.
While reports of potential problems occasionally surfaced, such as with lining up the necessary financing for the deal, none ever proved to be a threat to completing what will be the biggest merger in the history of the IT industry.
Microsoft Strikes Deal To Acquire LinkedIn For $26.2 Billion
On June 13 Microsoft stunned the IT industry when it announced a deal to acquire business social network site LinkedIn for $196 million per share or $26.2 billion.
World’s largest mining firm records worst loss in its history
BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining firm by market value, reported a record $6.4 billion annual loss on Tuesday, hammered by a bad bet on shale, a dam disaster in Brazil and a commodities slump.
Canadian competitor to Netflix shutting down after less than 2 years
It began as the video-streaming stepchild of Shaw Communications and Rogers when it launched just under two years ago, but Shomi, a Canadian-made streaming video service, announced that it will be shutting down on Nov. 30.
Uber losses expected to hit $3 billion in 2016
Uber’s losses are growing from $2.2 billion last year to an expected $3 billion this year, according to multiple reports this week from The Information and others.
Rogers Communications Inc.: $525 Million Write-off Gives Canadian Tech a Bad Name
Rogers’s decision to stop investing in its in-house IPTV development will cost shareholders $525 million in the form of a fourth-quarter pre-tax non-cash impairment. While the write-off might not affect the company’s cash flow, it most certainly reflects badly on Rogers’s technological capabilities and, by extension, the entire Canadian tech industry.
Volkswagen Canada reaches deal to compensate customers affected by emissions scandal
Volkswagen Canada has reached a proposed deal to compensate about 105,000 Canadian vehicle owners affected by a diesel engine emissions scandal that rocked the company. Affected owners will get between $5,100 and $8,000, depending on make and model of their vehicle
Volkswagen reaches U.S. deal on final cars in emissions scandal
Volkswagen reached a $1 billion US deal Tuesday that will give at least some owners of the remaining 80,000 diesel vehicles caught in the company’s emissions cheating scandal the option of a buyback and provide all of them with compensation on top of any repurchase or repairs.


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Hotel industry/marriott analysis 2308 words | 10 pages hotel industry/marriott analysis analysis of the hotel industry industry profile the need for lodging for individuals after traveling a great distance from home has been around since mankind began living inside of dwellings. Global hotel industry demand is driven by economic growth and an increasing trend for domestic and global travel over the long term, the lodging industry has grown broadly in line with gross domestic product (gdp. 6 hotel trends to watch in 2018 us news consulted industry experts for their take on this year's biggest innovations. View information about marriott hotels to see how we have become one of the leading hospitality providers in the industry marriott international, inc is a.
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The hotel and lodging industry is a dynamic subset of the hospitality industry properties regarding this industry can go from the smallest overnight stay motel to. Since its founding in 2008, airbnb has been cited as a huge disrupter in the hotel industry, heralded as the next big thing in travel as consumers embraced the sharing economy as more young. The order could significantly impact the hotel industry pew research center in 2012 estimated that 18 percent of undocumented immigrants work in the hospitality sector, while 16 work in the construction industry.


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So much for a slow weekend for tech news! On Saturday, The New York Times published a lengthy exposé on why Apple manufactures its products in China -- and it’s not just about cheap labor. Then, on Sunday, BlackBerry maker Research in Motion dropped the bombshell most of us have been expecting: After two decades, its co-CEOs are stepping down in favor of a virtual unknown who thus far appears to be towing the company line.
If you’ve already seen photos of the super-realistic 12-inch Steve Jobs action figure online, you may have already placed bets with your friends as to when Apple would come calling to squash it. If you guessed today, we have a winner! Cupertino is claiming ownership of the late co-founder’s likeness, but the defiant Chinese manufacturer plans to proceed anyway. Get out the popcorn, this one should be interesting! Meanwhile, here’s the rest of what’s making news for this Thursday, January 5, 2012.
If you got all excited by the news yesterday about a new Apple media event later this month, you might want to temper your expectations -- unless you’re an educator or student, that is, in which case you’re likely to be excited by today’s followup report on the subject. Meanwhile, RIM is making headlines again (and not in a good way) and there’s plenty more in store for this Tuesday, January 3, 2012.
It’s likely to be a busy news week for Apple fans in the lead-up to Christmas this coming weekend. Apple is shutting down their iTunes Connect developer portal come Thursday which means no new apps or updates until next Friday, December 30 so these companies are scrambling like elves at the North Pole to get their latest work approved and out the door before then. In the meantime, kick your feet up and take a look at what’s making news for this fine Monday, December 19, 2011.
Once king of the smartphone world, Research in Motion's BlackBerry has steadily fallen behind Apple's iPhone and Google's Android operating system. RIM investors are also growing steadily unhappy about this, and may start calling for changes soon within the company, starting at the top.
Research in Motion may be getting plenty of ridicule over its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, but now iPad users have at least one reason to envy the device -- it’s getting the very first official Facebook app for tablets.
In case you missed it on Wednesday night, the embargo was lifted on early reviews for Research in Motion’s first tablet device, the BlackBerry PlayBook. A veritable flood of reviews hit the web for the device, which debuts on Tuesday, April 19 -- but it’s off to a bit of a rocky start so far.
While BlackBerry maker Research in Motion isn’t pointing the finger at Apple directly, a new report out of Taiwan suggests that the Canadian company’s new seven-inch PlayBook tablet was delayed a month due to shortages caused by Cupertino’s touch panel consumption.
Research in Motion is finally launching their own answer to the iPad on April 16 in the form of the BlackBerry PlayBook, and if the rumors are true they’ll even be hitting iOS with a new BlackBerry Messenger app shortly thereafter.
It’s been relatively quiet on Apple’s patent battlefront, but this week the CEO of Eastman Kodak spoke out on his company’s dispute against Cupertino and BlackBerry maker Research in Motion over digital camera technology, claiming the suit could produce upwards of $1 billion in royalties if they win.


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Hinted at in the boxshot of a 3DS game last week, the Nintendo Network was formally announced by the Japanese games maker today in a meeting with investors. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata says the service will offer features different from the Wi-Fi Connection supporting its current Wii and DS hardware, and is seen as a distribution channel for full versions of retail video games.
"Unlike Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, which has been focused upon specific functionalities and concepts, we are aiming to establish a platform where various services available through the network for our consumers shall be connected via Nintendo Network service so that the company can make comprehensive proposals to consumers," Iwata said.
Notably, Nintendo is exploring the possibility of selling full retail titles for the 3DS and the upcoming Wii U console through Nintendo Network. Iwata wouldn't say when such plans would begin, but the company does have the means to put them in place now. Significantly, Iwata said Nintendo would have to consider its relationships with retail vendors. SD card capacity also would be an issue.
Nintendo Network's other features will include the means to deliver (and purchase) premium downloadable content, hinted at in an earlier firmware update. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, whose box cover tipped off the Nintendo Network, will be the first title supporting this. It goes on sale in Japan Feb. 16.
The Wii U controller could also change the way gamers shop, thanks to onboard NFC tech.
Nintendo Network also will offer personal accounts for Wii U users. The accounts will allow multiple users per system and will move online profiles from the console itself into the cloud.
Nintendo Briefing to Investors of Jan. 27, 2012 [INintendo, via IGN]


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Sears as a retailer, not a holding company, has always held value far beyond its stores in the names of its marquee brands: Craftsman, Die Hard and Kenmore. And with the announcement that Craftsman will soon be sold at Costco stores it seems likely that management finally realizes where Sears' real value lies.
I wrote a piece earlier today with the headline "Are Sears and Kmart Goners?" that got an interesting reaction ranging from irate claims of irresponsibility to accusations of pumping the stock on behalf of short sellers. I don't believe the story was either. I was simply picking up on Esquire writer Ken Kurson's piece contemplating the end of the storied retailer predicting that the end is nigh.
It’s not to say that people don’t go to Sears for hardlines, they do. But they are doing so in fewer numbers each year. Sears doesn’t give out marketshare numbers in categories, I ask all the time, but the independent agencies that track these things show a steady loss of marketshare in appliances to Lowe’s and tools to Home Depot. Kenmore and Craftsman hold a lot of value, but that value may not be best realized at Sears.
For years industry insiders have wondered why Sears wasn't doing more to market its brands, and within the company there were reportedly similar discussions. But the fear of cannibalizing the retail business was too strong. Now that retail isn't serving the brands well, it's finally time to sell them outside the Sears boxes.
Sears began selling Craftsman tools at a few hundred Ace Hardware stores last spring; the program is expanding to 1,000 locations by this fall. And now Costco will carry hand tools, power tools and tool storage units at all its 430 stores. The selection will vary by store and likely include bundles exclusively available at Costco -- a real departure for a retail chain intent on keeping its best products to itself.
Can Sears' brands save Sears? Perhaps, if management hasn't waited too long to try. It doesn't change the fact that its retail operations is floundering. Sears has value, but the parts may be worth more than the sum.


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Even Wal-Mart is easing up on Black Friday this year, announcing Thursday that, while it will be open all day on Thanksgiving, Black Friday deals will begin at 6.pm that day. And, the retailer said, once Black Friday deals do begin, they won't end until they sell out. Last year, the retailer offered these "door-buster" deals for just a few days.
Wal-Mart will also offer nearly all of its Black Friday deals found in its stores online, which will start at 12:01 a.m. PST on Thanksgiving.
The retailer said it will still offer discounts, which will not be as drastic as the Black Friday deals, on many items for the whole season. The retailer has "bought deeper" this year than in the past to keep these longer term deals in stock, Steve Bratspies, the company’s new chief merchandising officer, said at a press event Wednesday.
The concept of Black Friday “door busting” is a bit of a bust itself this year, with many retailers instead stretching out promotional prices, starting well before Black Friday and keeping prices low well after. Wal-Mart and other retailers are sacrificing the must-have, must-go effect of the short-term sale in order to compete with Cyber Monday and the general holiday sales model of many online retailers, which have long taken a much looser approach to their sale day by offering access to Cyber Monday deals over the Thanksgiving weekend.
The move to ease off of Black Friday is a decidedly mixed one for brick-and-mortar retailers, though. Door-buster deals have long been quite effective in getting shoppers into stores, and many, of course, pick up other things besides those with the crazy price tags.
But "crazy" has become a negative thing, too, that has often turned the day into a frenzy that in some years created melees, with customers fighting each other for the limited number of items.
Bratspies also said that customers in previous years became confused by multiple days of deep, "door-buster" discounts, not knowing which day was the best time to shop.
With a choice to shop online and avoid such situations, many shoppers have ditched Black Friday. And the day may be hurting many retailers’ reputations, retail expert and futurist Doug Stephens told Retail Dive.
“Let’s not forget that traffic to stores on Black Friday was down last year, with an 11% decline in traffic” said Stephens, author of The Retail Revival: Re-Imagining Business for the New Age of Consumerism and the Retail Prophet blog.
“So one has to wonder: Is this really becoming a question of marginal returns on the tremendous effort that retailers have to put in to promote Black Friday? Is Black Friday as an idea, as a retail concept, is it actually having a net negative impact on the retailers who participate so thoroughly in it? And the news stories of people trampling one another, does it actually have a net negative impact on the brand? It makes you wonder if they should be investing those resources online.”


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TMO had last week stopped with the purchase of sultana raisins. Type nr.9 is currently traded at 14.50 TL/kg at the Borse in Izmir and the Market since the end of last week. The raw material prices increased from 13 TL/kg to these levels due to the depreciation of the Turkish Lira. The USD/TL Exchange rate has maintained its high course since weeks. Market players stated that uncertainties in foreign exchange force the exporters and that cost prices are constantly increasing.
Exporters continue to offer sultana raisins at 1450-1500 Usd/mt levels. Organic sultana raisins are offered at 2150-2200 Usd/mt on FOB basis. As stated before, the demands remain poor from abroad, as seen from the total export figures since the beginning of the new Season.
Today, the Turkish Lira noted the Usd/TL rate at 13.79 TL (12.81 last week) and Euro/TL rate at 15.58 TL levels (14.44 last week), and lost value by almost 8% since last week. Turkey’s total exports range at 77.056 mt until 04 Dec. 2021, which was 77.994 mt the previous year during the same period. Turkey exported last week 4034 mt of sultana raisins, being 4693 mt during the same week of the previous Season
|Sultana Raisins, Turkey, crop 2021|
|Type 8, Std. Grade A||1,40|
|Type 9, Std. Grade A||1,40-1,50|
|Type 10, Std.Grade A||1,70|
|Type nr .9 Organic, Std. Grade A||2,20|
|Seedless dried raisins exports on mt basis|
|From the beginning of the season|
The following reports may be of interest to you:


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Snack food company B&G Foods Inc. Parsippany, N.J., which, in addition to snacks makes Cream of Wheat cereal, is said to be in late-stage discussions to purchase the Green Giant frozen and canned vegetable business from General Mills, unnamed sources familiar with the matter reported last week. If B&G wins in its bid for Green Giant, the deal would expand B&G's lineup beyond the shelf-stable snack food into the frozen food aisle. There is no certainty a deal will be reached, the sources said.
Private equity firms Cerberus Capital Management LP and Platinum Equity LLC, as well as French food group Bonduelle SCA reportedly also have made offers for Green Giant, and General Mills could decide to negotiate with them if its discussions with B&G are unsuccessful, the sources add.
Green Giant is expected to be valued at between $600 and $800 million, reports Reuters. General Mills has never come out and stated it wanted to sell its $700-million Green Giant business, but sevearl news reports earlier this year indicated it hired an investment banking firm to shop the unit and moved financial support away from the unit. CEO Ken Powell has said that canned and frozen vegetables are moving toward the lower end of the consumer market, and the company didn't want to follow. Neither General Mills, B&G, Cerberus, Platinum Equity or Bonduelle would comment or have responded immediately for comment.
B&G's brands include Vermont Maid Syrup, Pirate Brands, the maker of Pirate's Booty Popcorn and Cream of Wheat. In July, the company announced bought Spartan Foods of America Inc., which sells pizza crusts under the brand name Mama Mary's, for $50 million.
General Mills has recently cut funding for the iconic Jolly Green Giant brand, as consumers increasingly gravitate to fresh produce, and is concentrating on other areas of its business such as gluten-free Cheerios and Lucky Charms. Green Giant makes more than 160 products. It has struggled as consumer preferences are shifting away from sauced vegetable varieties to plainer varieties.


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MySpace, the social networking phenomenon that has become one of the world's most popular Web sites, may "auction off" its search business to a major search engine operator, an executive from its parent company, News Corp, said Tuesday.
PC World Business
McAfee is planning enhancements to its recently acquired SiteAdvisor software that will allow the Web-rating application to block inappropriate Web sites, offer safety ratings for online transactions and rate Web links that appear in e-mail and insta...
Japan's Seiko Epson has developed a prototype electronic-paper display that offers the world's highest resolution, the company said Monday.
Micro-Star International Co. (MSI) last week showed off 13 motherboards and four graphics cards made to be used with Nvidia's SLI (scalable link interface) technology, for better gaming performance.
E-Ten Information Systems Co. launched a pair of new smart phones that use Microsoft software and revealed it's in talks with the world's largest notebook computer maker to co-develop and market handsets.
Hewlett-Packard (HP) has recalled more than half a million digital cameras, citing the risk of a fire hazard from an overheated battery.
Acer will launch a laptop computer with HD DVD drive later this month, it said Tuesday at the Computex trade show in Taiwan.
While it is impractical for mobile asset owners to keep constant vigilance on their valuables, many have discovered a new GPS Tracking service that is keeping an attentive eye on their behalf.
Toshiba released on Monday a 2.5-inch, double-platter hard disk drive (HDD) that it said features the highest density yet of any such component.
BenQ plans to launch a Blu-ray Disc drive later this year that will be able to write as well as read data, its chairman said Monday.
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First impression on unpacking the Q702 test unit was the solid feel and clean, minimalist styling.
For work use, Microsoft Word and Excel programs pre-installed on the device are adequate for preparing short documents.
The Fujitsu LifeBook UH574 allowed for great mobility without being obnoxiously heavy or clunky. Its twelve hours of battery life did not disappoint.
The screen was particularly good. It is bright and visible from most angles, however heat is an issue, particularly around the Windows button on the front, and on the back where the battery housing is located.
My first impression after unboxing the Q702 is that it is a nice looking unit. Styling is somewhat minimalist but very effective. The tablet part, once detached, has a nice weight, and no buttons or switches are located in awkward or intrusive positions.
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THE shoes that many New York women want in the 1990's turn out to be the same ones that French mail carriers wore in the 50's.
"Garennes were what the postman wore," said Larry Everston, a co-owner of Freelance, the newest addition to shoe-store row on Prince Street in SoHo. He was referring to the decidedly unsexy rubber-sole Oxfords ($174) that are among the three-week-old store's best sellers.
Freelance sells the output of a single factory, owned by the brothers Guy and Yvon Rautureau in the Vendee region of western France. "I never believed in one-company stores, but we did double what I dreamed of in the first two weeks," said Mr. Everston, who with his wife, Annette, also owns the two Tootsi Plohound shoe stores in Manhattan (their third became the Freelance store).
The new store's fanciful interior -- a cartoonish mix of metal scrollwork, plaster reliefs, tasseled velvet and broken ceramic tile -- is the work of the English designer John Eager. Mr. Everston was an obliging client.
"He's an artist," he said. "He does what he wants. At first we said: 'French shoes. Let's do Louis XIV.' It wound up that the red velvet on the couch is the only Louis XIV."Continue reading the main story
Last Sunday, the store was mobbed. Liz and Aby Rosen, who live on the Upper East Side, had just come from the Guggenheim Museum's SoHo branch on Broadway. "We did our fair share of culture," Mr. Rosen said. "Now we are doing our share of shopping."
Mr. Rosen does not like the thick-sole look. "The idea of a shoe is to make the leg look nice," he said. "Some of these look like orthopedic shoes, like waiters wore in the 50's."
For practical shoes, look to the wall on the right, to the Bedford, a cap-toe Oxford with a two-inch heel ($160); the Gerfaut, a classic farmer's zip-up lined with synthetic fur ($144), and the Geode, a buckled chukka boot ($150). Along the left-hand wall, vampy platform pumps soar up to four inches.
The majority of shoes at Freelance are black. Most of the rest are dark brown. In this respect, New York is like Paris.
"In Paris, they want black and brown, that's it," said Christophe Delaporte, who came from the Paris branch, owned by the Rautureaus, to manage the SoHo shop. "We tried to make many colors, but everybody wanted black, so we quit the colors."
Geraldine Hessler, a graphic designer for Rolling Stone magazine, and her friend Julie Porwick, who works in Giorgio Armani men's-wear sales, were planning an 11-day trip to Italy. "Our mission today was to come here and buy shoes," Ms. Hessler said.
"We need shoes that have great style," Ms. Porwick said. "We don't want to look like dumb Americans."
"I'm having a little bit of an anxiety attack," she admitted. "I'm overwhelmed. I want everything everyone is trying on."
Ms. Porwick tried the Go-Go platform ($186), a box-toe Oxford with a high thick heel. "You don't feel the heel at all," she said. But remembering European cobblestones, she chose the Griffon ($164), a lace-up country boot on a flat rubber sole.
Nina Dillof, who teaches textile design at Parsons School of Design, said she was looking for something "not as trendy as Dr. Martens." She tried the Balmoral, a lace-up ankle boot with a two-inch block heel. "These are more elegant," she said. "But now I've fallen in love with them, and they're $186! What'll I do?"
Fran Harris tucked her black leggings into the Germaine, a midshin-length boot with a statuesque heel and patent-leather platform. "These are good for winter," she said. "They keep you up out of the snow."
Ms. Harris, a representative of accessories designers, knows her boots. "This is a very smart boot," she said of the Gasgogne, an elastic panel boot with a tall heel. "It's a knockoff of a $600 Stephane Kelian boot. Of course, it's not the same," she said, "but they do it for $206."
It was near closing time. "I shop the 4-to-7 shift," Ms. Harris said. "SoHo is less touristy then, and I do less damage."
Freelance, at 124 Prince Street, is open Monday through Friday, 11:30 A.M. to 7:30 P.M.; Saturday, 11 A.M. to 8 P.M., and Sunday, noon to 7 P.M. Telephone: (212) 925-6641.Continue reading the main story


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Bobbie Ttooulis, group marketing director, GFS looks at how 2022 has lived up to its promise of being a challenging year for delivery operations. Instead of waiting for the winding tunnel of complexities to end, what can ecommerce businesses do to sharpen and get ‘creative’ with delivery management in today’s climate?
Swallowing the pill of perils
The current economic and political landscape is riddled with challenges that take a straight hit at delivery and logistics. The year started with a rollover from the post-pandemic impact, and while the boom in eCommerce sales that came through during Covid-19 brought good news, the supply chain gaps and, operational complexities only continued to grow. Then came the war in Ukraine that continues to have a severely destabilising effect on the UK’s supply chain and logistics.
Other factors that continue to take a hit are the significant rise in operational costs across domestic and international road freight rates. And while costs of shipping containerised freight from China have come down recently, they remain significantly high. The index which amounted to about 1,100 points in January 2019, reached a value of almost 4,000 points in September 2022.1 And despite elevated costs, shipments are unreliable with increased lead times.
Other glaring factors that have catalysed the challenges are the long-standing issue of labour shortage since Brexit, increased fuel surcharges, and overall “deflated” consumer confidence from the cost-of-living crisis that have all collectively inflated the operational cost base.
Breaking the barricade
As the challenges continue stacking up for ecommerce businesses, how can they protect costs, create resilience, and build the agility to pivot shipping operations, at the same time enhancing customer experience?
Planning for contingency
The ongoing crisis does make it seem impossible to forecast, and bombshells like postal strikes can have a paralysing impact on businesses reliant on one single delivery service. The key is a rock-solid contingency plan charted out jointly with a carrier partner that knocks down issues as soon as they surface.
Operations expert and industry thought leader Steve Davies says, “I’ve worked with many couriers in my career, they all do a fantastic job but when you work with someone like GFS who’s a multi-carrier solution, they have a different mindset. They’re looking at what’s out there on the market from a more tactical and strategic point. What I found with GFS is that it’s a very different relationship that isn’t based on trying to keep you within a courier but actually trying to deliver the right service.”
Communication and clarity
Most ecommerce giants are in a race to beat competitors to the customer’s doorstep, but many miss the point — these customers expect clarity. The minute a purchase is made, a buyer expects visibility on the parcel status, so proactively offering them that trackability is always critical — not just during delays and disruptions. According to the Ipsos-Octopia study in 2022, 85% of online shoppers say that a poor delivery experience would prevent them from ordering from that online retailer again.
The power of ‘smart’ choice
If creatively executed, offering choice to customers at checkout can be a win-win. When Hampers.com found their operational costs rising, they worked with GFS to switch from a premium carrier to an economic carrier for their free delivery service. At the same time, they introduced a pricing model that still offers premium delivery service at a cost.
Offering a wide choice of delivery options means you can satisfy the diverse preferences and profiles of your customers. The rise of the ‘eco-conscious buyer’ cannot be ignored, but retailers can start simple — click and collect, parcel lockers, carrier partners with electric vans for final-mile delivery. These are easily accessible solutions that ‘won’t cost the earth’.
On the one hand, making ‘smart’ choices in your delivery mix allows you to pass choice of delivery option and cost to customers and, offset spiralling costs on the other – it’s a win, win.
Resetting from bad patterns
Ecommerce merchants need to reset expectations and get smarter around returns. Big players in apparel and fashion have pulled the plug on free returns, and surprisingly (or not) digital buyers aren’t pinching their pockets on this. In fact, 50% of UK adults are of the opinion that it’s the customer’s responsibility to pay for shipping charges while making online returns2. We need to give shoppers more credit when it comes to their willingness to pay and share the burden of cost with the consumer.
While many might laugh off growth in a recession-bound market, the fact is a lower GBP makes UK exports more attractive. This is probably the best time to put to the floor any plans for international expansion and establishing online marketplace presence. But this could fall flat unless backed with the partnership of a robust delivery partner with strong local knowledge, multi-carrier connection in international lanes, and well-established marketplace integrations.
Driving delivery through disruption
If the past 2+ years have taught us anything it’s that 1. eCommerce delivery can no longer rely on a single-carrier approach. Working with a single multi-carrier partner brings to the table agility and contingency to that is the need of the hour (and for a long time to come) to offer flexibility, visibility and choice that protects the customer’s delivery experience without putting a big dent on bottom lines. 2. There’s no escaping automation technology. It is imperative that manual processes be automated by leveraging eCommerce technology to reduce reliance on labour and contain operational costs. Ultimately, keeping the dialogue open to approach delivery differently is what will protect the customer experience and drive delivery despite disruption.
“GFS has helped transform our delivery strategy and drive 50% growth in online revenues by enabling us to increase operational efficiencies and give customers the choice and service they expect from us, every time.” – Wilko
“Sales volume forecasting is almost impossible for us, but with the flexibility of GFS’ solution, we can satisfy demand even during our busiest periods.” – Hampers.com
“GFS gives us the tools, delivery services and prices we need to offer customers the widest choice of delivery options at the checkout and quickly add, remove or change them as we need. As a result, we’ve seen cart abandonment rates dramatically reduce and customer satisfaction scores go up.” – Mamas & Papas
1 and 2 Statista
Bobbie Ttooulis, Group Marketing Director, GFS


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2022 Ford Performance Updates
Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 - 2022 marks 55 years since the debut of the first-ever Shelby GT500, and Ford is marking that occasion with a limited-edition Heritage model. This is essentially an appearance package with no performance upgrades. However, a limited number of GT500KR (KR for 'King of the Road') models will be made for the 2022 model year, each offering over 900 hp!
Ford GT - It's the last model year for the highly acclaimed Ford GT that made its debut back in 2017. A special 2022 Ford GT '64 Prototype Heritage Edition will pay homage to the original GT prototypes that ultimately produced the famous Ford GT LeMans Winners. Pricing is expected to be around $500,000, but not everyone who can afford it will get an allocation considering the limited quantities.
Ford Ranger Raptor - The 2023 model has been spotted out testing and is slated for a February 2022 release. The biggest news here is that finally, it will be available in the US!
Ford F-150 Raptor - The king of performance trucks has enjoyed tremendous success over the years, and Ford is set to build on that by unveiling an even more capable F-150 Raptor R with more than 700 hp. No date has been set yet, but like the 2023 Ranger Raptor, you can also expect this one before the end of the year.
Ford Bronco Raptor - According to Ford, deliveries of the Bronco Raptor will start this summer. It is one of the most anticipated American releases of the year and should keep the momentum strong for the ultimate rock crawler.


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Home improvement retailer Rona Inc. reported net income of $50.1-million in the third quarter, a period the home improvement retailer said was marked by economic uncertainty and cautious spending by consumers.
"In circumstances in which significant economic uncertainty and volatility in financial markets continue to impact consumer confidence and purchase intentions, the results reported by Rona today demonstrate our considerable agility," chief executive Robert Dutton said in a news release.
Net income was up from $48-million in the same quarter last year, the company said.
Revenues were $1.3-billion, up $27.9-million, the company said Wednesday.
Quebec-based Rona said earnings per share diluted were 36 cents, the same amount as in the third quarter of 2010.
Rona was expected to earn, on average, 34 cents per share in the third quarter on $1.35-billion in revenues, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
Rona said it had a 5.1-per-cent drop in same-store sales due to more cautious spending by consumers and a decline in residential housing starts.
"Given the fragile nature of Canadian consumer confidence and their cautious approach to major renovation projects, we expect to see continued downward pressure on same-store sales as a whole over the next few quarters," Mr. Dutton said.
He said downward pressure on same-store sales would be particularly felt in major urban centres where growth in supply has exceeded demand, leading to sharper competition.
For its fourth quarter, Mr. Dutton said sales figures since the start of the quarter indicate that market conditions will remain difficult with the low level of consumer confidence still delaying major renovation projects.
The Canadian home renovations retailer continues to face a difficult operating environment caused by waning consumer confidence, decreased housing starts and reduced consumer spending.
Mr. Dutton has said the British Columbia market would remain challenging until the HST is repealed in 2013.
He has previously said Western Canadian sales are the biggest problem for the retailer even though sales in its key Quebec segment are slower than last year, while Ontario is doing "well" despite increased competition from U.S. rivals Lowe's and Home Depot.
Rona has scaled back some of its expansion plans while attempting to withstand the dark clouds facing the home renovation industry by expanding its commercial segment through a string of acquisitions.
It is the largest Canadian retailer and distributor of hardware, home renovation and gardening products. Its 700 stores employ nearly 30,000 employees across the country.
Shares in Rona were down 11 cents at $9.45 in morning trading Wednesday.


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Cyber Monday: The Hype and Sales Continue
In a 2009 RetailWire poll, 50 percent of respondents
said Cyber Monday was somewhat or very important to online
sales performance for the holiday season. Forty-four percent said not so much.
So what is the reality of Cyber Monday’s importance one year along?
to Shop.org, 90 percent of retailers planned to run special Cyber Monday promotions
this year. Nearly 107 million Americans planned to shop yesterday up from the
96.5 million who shopped on Cyber Monday in 2009.
"Hundreds of retailers have already announced special Cyber Monday promotions
ranging from free shipping offers to flash sales lasting only an hour or two.
When it comes to Cyber Monday deals, shoppers know they can’t lose this
year," said Joan Broughton, interim executive director of Shop.org, in
a press release.
John Squire, chief strategy officer at IBM’s Coremetrics tracking
service, told The
Associated Press that Cyber Monday sales were running 15 percent above
where they were last year as of 3 p.m. Eastern yesterday afternoon.
"The numbers are really strong," Mr. Squire told the AP.
Shawn Milne, an analyst with Janney Montgomery Scott, told Bloomberg
Cyber Monday sales could top $1 billion for the first time since the term was
coined by the National Retail Federation five years ago.
All signs point to
online sales growing this holiday season and grabbing a greater share of total
retail revenues. According to comScore, online sales in the U.S. for first
26 days of November were up 13 percent to $11.64 billion.
Brian Sozzi, an analyst
with Wall Street Strategies, questioned in a research note whether Cyber Monday
has been relegated to "relic" status. Mr.
Sozzi pointed to a number of factors that decreased the importance of the day,
including online promotions that started in the beginning of the month, increased
promotions of online deals before Thanksgiving, consumer access to smartphones
enabling greater flexibility when making purchases.
Discussion Questions: Is the effort behind Cyber Monday worth it for retailers?
Have the early promotions, smartphones and other factors made Cyber Monday
[Editor’s Note] Cyber Monday, while getting most of the hype, has not been
the top holiday sales producer for online merchants in past years. ComScore
had Dec. 15 as the top day for online sales in 2009.
- Online Holiday Retail Sales Growth Poised to Reach Pre-Recession Level – Bloomberg
- Over 106 Million Americans to Shop on Cyber Monday, According to Shop.org
Survey – National Retail Federation
- Cybershopping comes back strong – San Jose Mercury News
- Cyber Monday attracts an estimated 107 million shoppers – Los Angeles Times
- Sales could top $1 billion on a manic Cyber Monday – The Associated Press/Google


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A warning has been issued to iPhone users about a seemingly innocuous orange dot appearing at the top of their screens. A TikToker, @mrjamienyland, sparked concern among his followers by sharing a video advising them to “get help” if they spot this orange dot on their iPhones. While the dramatic warning has garnered attention, it’s essential to delve into the matter, especially with the prospect of the upcoming iPhone 15 release.
Apple typically unveils its iPhone changes with a flashy presentation, and rumors about the new device suggest thinner bezels and rounder edges reminiscent of the original iPhones. Additionally, a feature that is expected to continue in the next version of iOS is the orange dot.
In his video, @mrjamienyland wrote, “If you see this orange dot on your phone, you need to get help seriously fast.” He elaborated by saying, “If you see an orange dot like this on top of your iPhone, this means someone is listening to you. It’s been all over the news, and in fact, the orange dot is a warning sign from Apple that someone is using your microphone without your permission.”
He further cautioned, “If you have no apps open and this is still there, then someone is spying on your phone and listening to your conversations. So if you see this orange dot, turn your phone off immediately and go and get help.”
While some followers expressed fear and concern, many others pointed out that the orange dot doesn’t necessarily imply someone is eavesdropping. Rather, it indicates that one of the phone’s apps is actively using the microphone. A TikToker replied, “Just means your mic is live, not that someone is listening in.” Another clarified, “It just means the microphone is in use,” and a third explained, “It doesn’t mean someone’s listening to you, it means there’s an app using your microphone or was using it recently.”
These interpretations align with Apple’s explanation. The tech giant has dedicated a section on its website to clarify the meaning behind the orange dot. According to Apple, “An orange indicator means the microphone is being used by an app on your iPhone.” Similarly, users might also notice a green dot appearing on the top right corner of the screen, which indicates that either the camera or both the camera and microphone are being utilized by an app on the iPhone.
As technology continues to evolve, understanding the indicators and notifications on devices is crucial to navigating their functionalities and addressing potential privacy concerns effectively.


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Once the housing and labor markets pick up sustainable steam, consumer discretionary spending - and therefore the retail sector - will follow, right? Not exactly.
Citi's chief U.S. equity strategist analyst Tobias Levkovich argues that uptrends in the stock market may hold a lot more weight than housing or labor when it comes to retail sales. That's because the purchasing power of the type of shoppers that invest in stocks tend to be greater.
"The housing sector is often given too much import when considering retail sales trends," Levkovich says in a recent note. "Stock prices traditionally have been more important to the direction of core retail activity due to the outsized impact of higher end consumers."
Levkovich points out that the "almost single-minded focus on home prices" misses the point that real estate-related equity accounts for less than 20% of household sector net worth. He says the top 20% of income earners own 90% of equities and "account for as much as 50% of discretionary spending and thereby stock price direction invariably impacts core retail sales trends." In other words, "thinking about average American consumption is not at all the same as the aggregate American consumer activity."
Earlier this month a roster of retailers reported better-than-expected March sales data, and last week the Commerce Department said retail sales gained for the third consecutive month in March, rising 1.6%, after a revised February gain of 0.5%. The gains were widespread as consumers opened their wallets for vehicles, home furnishings, clothing retailers and general merchandise. High-end retailers
Individual equity plays can be lucrative, but that involves correctly surmising which markets stand to benefit most from continual recovery in spending - a feat much easier said than done.
With retail sales on the rise businesses have increased inventories, indicating they believe sales will continue to strengthen. Bears argue that many retail stock multiples are near 5-year highs, but if the economy is truly on the mend as a slew of recent economic data have shown, retail earnings will continue to trend upwards and in six months to a year investors could be ruing the missed opportunity in names that look pricey now. (Watch Forbes editors discuss the the state of retail stocks.)


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Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse says the firm is looking into multiple investments and acquisitions following its $30 million partnership with MoneyGram.
MoneyGram International, Inc. is an American financial company that provides services for operations on the international financial markets. The company also provides international money transfer services. MoneyGram was founded in 1940 and is currently headquartered in Dallas, Texas. MoneyGram has an online platform for MoneyGram transfer tracking. There are MoneyGram apps available for both iOS and Android. MoneyGram fees depend on several factors, such as the country of the sender and receiver, the amount of money and the payment method. MoneyGram locations can be found via the official website. Bitcoin users frequently use MoneyGram to send or receive cash in different parts of the world, after converting Bitcoin via one of the listed cryptocurrency exchanges.
- Central Banks to Meet With Libra Founders in Switzerland on Monday
- Report: Philippine Police Raid Alleged Cryptocurrency Scam, Arrest 277
- Germany’s Largest Bank Joins JPMorgan’s Blockchain Network
- Crypto News From the German-Speaking World: Sept. 9–15 in Review
- Top-5 Crypto Performers: ATOM, EOS, ETH, DASH, TRX


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Few things are more frustrating to employees than when the technology around the office fails them. A new study from virtual IT services provider MonsterCloud revealed that slow Wi-Fi speeds and sluggish computers are the two biggest technological pet peeves of employees.
Overall, 61 percent of the 2,034 U.S. workers surveyed have experienced slow internet connections while at work, with 54 percent saying they have had to deal with computer processing speeds that were too slow.
"Employees actually find slow connection speeds more annoying than coworkers eating loudly or messily when it comes to office pet peeves," the study's authors wrote. [Slow computers], like slow Wi-Fi or internet connection speeds, present several possibilities behind diminished performance." [See Related Story: Taking Stock of Your Technology: 4 Questions to Ask]
The research found that the 15 most common IT problems that give employees headaches are:
- Wi-Fi or Internet speed is too slow
- Computer processing speed is too slow
- Printer jams
- Computer operating system is out of date
- Internal company software is too slow
- Internal company software is out of date
- Computer hardware (mouse, keyboard, etc.) does not work properly
- Copier/fax machine jams
- Data storage space is limited
- Internal company software is too cumbersome
- Phones do not work properly
- Printer prints poor quality
- Computer hardware is broken
- Copier or fax machine prints poor quality
- Conference calling or video calls do not work
"Without being aware of the challenges employees face in your company, these issues could be occurring in your workplace today," the study's authors wrote.
The study found that when these types of issues arise, most employees feel comfortable trying to fix them on their own. Specifically, less than one percent of men and women said they were completely lost when it came to resolving a technical issue.
"Most workers, regardless of age or gender, feel they're either capable of solving most problems or know enough to get by when it comes to IT issues," the study's authors wrote.