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Cyber Security Challenges, Focuses 2019
Annual Outlook Survey ResultsAdd bookmark
Cyber attacks have grown in intensity and frequency in recent years. More enterprises have been tasked with strict defense over their networks. This comes as top-tier companies stave off unyielding cyber crooks who seek to make off which a huge cache.
As more enterprises dig deeper into cyber security – knowing their security framework and different vulnerabilities – the industry has further solidified itself as both indispensable and vital to day-to-day operations. So what’s coming to cyber security in 2019?
Cyber Security Hub’s fielded a survey in October 2018 to our audience. This report combines both quantitative and qualitative data for a look at our readers’ views on these pressing questions and more:
• What is the most dangerous threat vector?
• What is the one area of cyber security that needs to change the most in 2019?
• Will mobile devices pose a greater threat in 2019?
• Where will cyber dollars be allocated in the new year?
View the Cyber Security Mid-Year Snapshot 2019, an update on the challenges, focuses and spend in enterprise security half-way through the year. In addition, register for our webinar 6 Key Enterprise Cyber Security Trends And Predictions, where a panel of experts will discuss the finding of this mid-year check-in in detail on Tuesday, August 13, 2019.


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The value of agricultural products exported from Colorado topped $2 billion in 2013 and increased by almost $65 million during the first quarter for 2014.
“Increasing exports is critical to Colorado agriculture and our rural communities,” said John Salazar, state agriculture commissioner.
Agricultural exports from Colorado were shipped to 96 countries during the first quarter, six more than in the first quarter of 2013.
Moreover, exports to three key markets increased by $32 million to Mexico, $8.3 million to China and $6.7 million to Japan.
A range of products accounted for increased exports to Mexico, including meat, dairy products, hides and processed foods.
After imposing restrictions for decades, Mexico has expanded market access to fresh potatoes, resulting in what’s expected will be a four-fold increase in fresh potato exports over the next few years. Colorado is already the leading exporter of fresh potatoes to Mexico with more than 50 percent of the market.
“Colorado is pleased to have the Mexican government reduce import restrictions for Colorado and U.S. potatoes,” Salazar said.
The increase in ag exports to China consisted mostly of hides, with that country now importing more than half of all hides from Colorado.
Japan increased imports of beef, a result of expanded market access allowed in 2013.
“We still have access barriers for our major sectors — including beef, wheat and dairy — that prevent Colorado agriculture from reaching full sales potential,” Salazar said. “Increasing global access for Colorado agricultural products remains a focus of my office.”

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It’s the first time the retailer has made PS5 stock available online since January 21.
UPDATE: The consoles have now sold out.
To stand the best chance of getting a console users should be signed into a Target account, which will automatically direct them to the store closest to their registered address which has systems available. Delivery isn’t an option, so buyers will need to pick up the product from their chosen store.
PlayStation Plus Monthly Games - PS5 & PS4 - January 2022
Sony recently started taking new registrations for the chance to buy PS5 consoles directly from the company.
Having made a limited number of PS5 consoles available for US consumers to purchase from PlayStation Direct over the holiday season, it’s now taking fresh sign-ups and has extended the offer to some European countries.
Registration is currently open for players based in the US, UK, Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. They will need to use an email address associated with a PlayStation Network ID and opt in to receive marketing emails.
Sony rolled out new PS5 and PS4 system software beta updates this week, introducing changes to how parties work. PS5 beta participants in the US and UK can also test new ‘Hey, PlayStation!’ voice command features for finding and launching games and apps, as well as controlling media playback.
Online multiplayer modes for PS4 and PS5 games will be accessible without a PlayStation Plus subscription this weekend.


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July 2014 new car sales
July 2014 new car sales have fallen just 0.4% (368 cars) shy of July 2013’s record with Australians purchasing 89,867 new passenger cars.
RELEASING VFACTS figures for July 2014, FCAI Chief Executive Tony Weber said, “SUVs continue to rise in popularity, with sales in the segment up 12.7 per cent on July 2013 figures; and year-to-date figures up 4.1%”.
“In particular, small SUV sales increased 34.8%, compared to sales in July 2013. Medium SUV sales were up 6.5% and large SUV sales were up 8.8%,” Mr Weber said.
“The popularity of the SUV has seen the segment increase its market share by 1.9 per cent, compared to the same year-to-date period in 2013. SUV sales accounted for 31.4% of the January to July 2014 motor vehicle market, and 32.1% of the market in the month of July 2014.
“Passenger and light commercial sales decreased 6.2 and 5.1%, respectively, compared to July 2013 sales. Looking at year-to-date (YTD) figures, sales in these segments declined 4.6 and 5.3%, respectively, compared to January to July 2013 sales figures.
“Government purchases of new motor vehicles continue to increase in 2014, with sales up 8.5% compared to July 2013, and 6.4% compared to the same YTD period in 2013. Government buyers purchased 31.8% more SUVs than in July 2013 and 11.4% new passenger cars. However, Government purchases of light commercial vehicles decreased by 9%.
“Private sales rose 1.4%, with private buyers purchasing 16.9% more SUVs than in July 2013; but 6.4 per cent less passenger vehicles and 1.6% less light commercial vehicles. YTD private sales are up 2.1%.
“Business sales continue to fall behind 2013 sales figures, with business buyers purchasing 5.1 per cent fewer new motor vehicles than in July 2013; bringing YTD figures 8.4 per cent lower than in 2013.”
Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria all showed growth when compared to July 2013 (5.4%, 2.9%, 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively). Sales declined in the Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia (-13%, -4.6%, -11.2% and -3%, respectively).
Overall, the Toyota Corolla maintained the title of top selling vehicle for the month, with 3800 sales in July 2014. The Corolla was followed by the Mazda3 (3421), Toyota Hilux (3140), the Holden Commodore (2469) and the Hyundai i30 (2434).
Toyota maintained the overall lead in market share for June 2014 (18.3%), followed by Holden (10%), Hyundai (9.3%), Mazda (9%) and Ford (6.9%).


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Agrium and Jana Partners’ debate heats up
Discussions over whether Agrium should sell off its retail branch grew more intense this week after the company met with Jana Partners, the shareholder pressuring Agrium to sell off the branch. Monday’s meeting had been scheduled weeks prior to Jana Partners encouraging Agrium to sell its retail unit.
On Monday, Agrium issued a 12-page report to its shareholders documenting its communications with Jana and stressing its plan to keep its retail division. Jana issued a statement following the release of Agrium’s report criticizing some points in the filing.
JANA issued the following statement. "This is more of the same from Agrium's board and management: talking down their own stock price to avoid an honest debate about unlocking full shareholder value and twisting themselves into knots trying to reconcile their past comments with their current obstructionist position.”
JANA claims the retail business is “dramatically undervalued” in comparison to its peer fertilizer companies. The hedge fund also blames Agrium’s underperforming stock on poor performance of the retail business, in addition to climbing costs and a board that does not have sufficient retail-distribution knowledge.
At the meeting, Agrium made clear to JANA that the board carefully considered JANA’s position that Agrium should spin off its retail operations. The board unanimously determined that a spin-off would not be in the best interests of the company or its shareholders.
Agrium issued a statement saying it is confident that it has an effective long-term strategy to create sustainable value for shareholders. Agrium believes the performance and value of its retail operations will continue to be maximized within the existing structure.
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- Hog futures the exception to bearish ag market rule Monday AM
- Gangster herbicide program update
- Despite USDA approval, Enlist trait faces hurdles
- Activist investor Peltz pushes DuPont to split itself
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- Mapping technology help farmers understand soil
- Improve nutrient balance to boost corn yields
- Study shows differences in understanding sustainable agriculture
- U.S. GMO labeling foes triple spending in first half of this year
- Activists fighting Golden Rice even more in 2014
- Source shows half of GMO research is independent
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For the fourth consecutive year Purple Marketing designed, built and helped host one of their clients stands at the Annual Multimodal Exhibition, NEC, Birmingham. “Jigsaw Transport has been employing a wide range of our marketing services for more than four years now. We started with the rebranding of their organisation followed by communication projects, sponsorship activities, POS, award submissions, website design, show casing opportunities and much more!” said Debbi Hutt, Director at Purple Marketing.
The Multimodal Exhibition is the UK and Ireland’s premier freight transport, logistics and supply chain management event so the perfect platform to show case Jigsaw’s offering of large-scale management transport solutions. “We met a number of major businesses who were receptive to our value proposition and are looking to improve the performance of their transport operations,” says Andy Humpherson, Jigsaw’s Managing Director. “Multimodal has always been a key event for us and Purple has yet again come up with a great solution. A visually appealing stand which delivered the perfect balance of space utilisation, brand visibility and customer/prospect engagement. Based on the success of this and previous years, we will be taking more space next year”. “Over to you Purple!” He added.


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AT&T Subscribers Will Have Five More Android Smartphone to Choose From
AT&T brings a new challenge for iPhone 4S, aligning at the start for the holiday season sales a new batch of Android smartphones. With the recent announcement of the upcoming Motorola Atrix 2, Samsung DoubleTime, Samsung Captivate Glide, Pantech Pocket and the AT&T Avail the Android range of smartphones has increased significantly. Now AT&T subscribers will have available 19 models to choose from, even though initially 12 were expected to hit the market.
Company officials declared on Tuesday “Committed to serving the growing number of Android fans, AT&T now provides more options for customers seeking the Android OS experience at a variety of price points, form factors and through unique services”.
The showpiece of the new line of Android smartphones is Motorola’s Atrix 2 described as “life of the party” but also having extreme power offered by its 1 GHz dual-core processor. Moreover, all for affordable prices, as the AT&T press release promises. The price tag of $99 could very well undermine newly released iPhone 4S. Among the Atrix 2 specifications, users can find 4G HSPA+ connectivity, and a 4.3-inch display.
Samsung’s Captivate Glide is also expected to perform well due to its features. This smartphone tryes to applea to the users with its sliding Qwerty keyboard, 4-inch AMOLED display, 8MP camera and 1080 p video recording, all powerd by a 1 GHz processor. Double Time, also from Samsung, features a full flip keyboard and is nicer on the eyes with its white and pink color scheme. Pantech Pocket on the other hand is advertised as suitable for “customers focused on social entertainment and messaging”.
AT&T had a traditional allegiance with Apple since the release of first iPhone in 2007. At the beginning of this year, AT&T has lost the exclusivity as the rival Verizon came along for the iPhone deal.


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No creative worth their salt will ever admit to being out of ideas. Even no idea is an idea these days. Collabs. have become the go-to to fill the gaps in fashion’s creativity and its continual appetite for product over the past decade. Two empty heads are always better than one?
Fashion is a cycle and like the Ouroboros, an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail, it goes around and around. But, today, that coil has become so tight it has almost devoured itself. In a ‘pop will eat itself’ moment, former rivals are now collaborating and even swapping creative roles, while retailers, desperate for new ideas are trying to incubate new designers, labels and ideas to fill the ideas vacuum.
Is fashion officially out of ideas?
The biggest ‘hacking’ of the season, (not a collab. anymore - FYI), was the tie up between Balenciaga and Gucci. Both Kering brands, and in Gucci’s centenary year, Gucci’s ‘Aria’ collection, meaning air in Italian, featured no-doubt sell out product the resellers will only dream about.
Left - Balenciaga & Gucci's 'Hack' in retail form
Tagged as Balenciagucci or (Gucciaga), the internet blew up in April when Alessandro Michele added Balenciaga’s silhouettes and branding across Gucci product.
Two of the biggest and most desirable names in luxury fashion merging like this is unprecedented. A classic Jackie bag was emblazoned with the diagonal Balenciaga font, while Balenciaga’s Triple S was reimagined with the recognisable Gucci Flora print.
If this wasn’t enough rehashing of ideas, the collection also mined the famous Tom Ford era of the mid to late 90’s, reproducing some of his vintage looks from the Gucci archive. Balenciaga’s creative director, Demna Gvasalia said on Instagram Stories after the Gucci show with regards to the homage to Tom Ford’s Gucci. “It really defined the decade in fashion, I think. But I love how today everything mixes in together — ’70s, ’90s, ’00s, etc. Anything is really possible and fashion is such a melting pot of the past, present, and future. That’s what makes it so special and intriguing I guess.”
This product will be in great demand - it isn’t currently available on the main Gucci website - and is therefore guaranteed that it will be swapping hands for a premium when it enters the market. While fun, it does a reek of an ideas cul-de-sac.
Mario Abad, Fashion Editor at Paper Magazine wrote on Twitter (Nov 8th) “Something about Balenciaga tagging their stores with “Gucci” to mark the collab’s launch is making me lose it.”
The biggest ‘swap’ of the SS22 season, (not a collab. anymore - FYI), was Fendi by Versace, Versace by Fendi. Donatella Versace and Fendi’s Kim Jones swapped roles and designed collections for each other’s brands. Versace and Fendi, Capri Holdings and LVMH brands, respectively, unveiled “two iconic collections that celebrate their friendship and the cultural impact of Versace and Fendi.”
Right - Versace's Medusa looks very natural with Fendi's Greek key
Labelled ‘Fendace’, the collection saw Fendi directors Kim Jones and Silvia Venturini Fendi create 25 Versace looks while Donatella Versace reciprocated with 25 Fendi ensembles. Items included Fendi Baguette bags with Medusa heads and Versace’s signature safety pins scattered across Fendi looks all set to hit stores next spring.
Considering Kim Jones only joined Fendi as artistic director of women's collections in September 2020, we’ve yet to clearly see what he can do with the brand. He is also men’s creative director at the giant, LVMH owned, Dior. Fashion conglomerates are finding it increasingly hard to attract big names designers to their houses. Note Daniel Lee just exciting Bottega Veneta.
Left - Kim Jones & Donatella Versace at the launch of 'Fendace'
On the retailer front, MRPORTER.COM announced a competition to find the next menswear design stars to celebrate its 10th anniversary in April 2021. Called MR PORTER FUTURES, the three lucky candidates could not already own a registered or trademarked business with an annual turnover of over €10,000 and was open to anybody regardless of experience of background.
Sam Kershaw, Mr Porter buying director, “We have always been committed to championing a diverse mix of new and emerging designers throughout Mr Porter's decade in business, but if this year has taught us anything, it is that we have the responsibility to use our global platform to give equal opportunities to all new aspiring menswear voices, no matter their experience or background”
Announcing the winners in September 2021, MRPORTER said. “Fashion, after all, can be a tough place to succeed, and, if we’re being honest, isn’t quite as diverse as it could be. For all that it speaks to a global audience, the industry that drives it is largely centralised in just a handful of cities – historically New York, London, Milan and Paris – while talent is disproportionately drawn from a small number of high-profile schools.”
The winners began a year-long design programme to turn their ideas into reality. At the end of the year, they will debut their very own menswear collections exclusively on MR PORTER.
Exclusivity is the way forward for multi-brand luxury sites all battling for the same customers. This also offers MR PORTER the potential of a fresh wave of ideas and a newness that isn’t just another collaboration. It also looks as though it is supporting the fashion industry and diversity.
Another brand desperate for cool is Tiffany & Co. A much-rumoured high profile collaboration between Supreme and Tiffany & Co. is set to drop this week.
Right - Would you return this to Tiffany? Tiffany & Co.s collab with Supreme
The VF and LVMH owned businesses’ collection called ‘Return To Tiffany’ is inspired by pieces originally launched in the 1960s and comprised of pendants, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, and keyrings. Tiffany’s new CEO, Alexandre Arnault, was also the head of Rimowa when they did a collaboration with Supreme.
Fashion consumers have reached collaboration fatigue and this is why the big brands are spinning these as ‘hacks’ or ‘swaps’. It is also why they are upping the ante by partnering with brands of equal stature. Collaborations needed to get bigger to have any impact. Collaborations before were always a David and Goliath type relationship of big brand supporting little. There was no threat there and everybody knew who was the bigger and more important of the two. Where will the brands go from here?
These do look like a desperate grappling for new ideas and attention. Brands not coming up with fresh ideas and therefore not impressing the retailers is making them look elsewhere to nurture a new crop of ideas and designers, especially outside of the main fashion capitals. Considering fashion had something of a pandemic break, for the last 18 months, the latest round of shows in September didn’t feel like a group of creatives burgeoning with fresh ideas. It felt like an industry fully burnt out and these partnerships do nothing to argue against that.
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When China sneezes, the world catches a cold. So, when China caught the new coronavirus, or COVID-19 virus, there was going to be major economic repercussions. With the world’s second largest economy on virtual lockdown, its effect on both domestic and international sales for fashion companies will be seismic.
While there is no way to predict how long it will take to runs its course, companies have already started to make tentative statements about how it is affecting their bottom line. Those companies heavily reliant on the Chinese market and high spending Chinese tourists will be particularly affected and be crossing their fingers that this is over quickly.
While it is hard to predict the length of the outbreak and its impact, we can look back at the last major virus outbreak, SARS, which originated in China in 2002. It's thought that this strain of the coronavirus usually only found in small mammals mutated, enabling it to infect humans in the same way as COVID-19 has. By the end of the nine-month long SARS outbreak, the virus had spread to several other Asian countries as well as the UK and Canada, killing 775 and infecting more than 8,000 people.
The current stats for COVID-19 are 71,499 confirmed cases and 1,776 deaths, that’s a 1 in 40 death rate compared to over 1 in 10 for SARS. In terms of stats it looks less serious, with many people being carriers and displaying no symptoms. The under reporting of Chinese authorities has been questioned and how they are trying to minimise the severity of the outbreak, but they seem to be taking swift action to prevent contagion.
The world in 2020 is very different from 2002. The Chinese are travelling much more and have become some of the world’s highest spending tourists. In 2005, there were 95,000 Chinese visitors to the UK, in 2018 that number had reached 391,000 and was continuing to grow. Chinese tourists make up the largest share of visitors to the UK (32%) and they have one of the highest average spends of any national group. In 2018, the latest set of statistics, the average spend of a Chinese tourist in the UK amounted to £1,373. They were only surpassed by visitors from Qatar and UAE.
In London’s West End, accounting for a quarter of all non-EU tax-free spend in 2018, on average, Chinese customers spent £1,630 per shopping trip, making them 59% more valuable than other international shoppers.
Hong Kong-based airline, Cathay Pacific, has already cut 90% of its capacity into mainland China and announced that overall capacity would be slashed by 30% as a result of falling demand related to the outbreak. British Airways announced that it would temporarily suspend its flights to mainland China, following the UK Foreign Office’s advice against all but essential travel to the country.
The most visited country in Europe was France with 2.2 million Chinese nationals visiting in 2018. Paris was already having to contend with transport strikes and gilet jaunes protests and now one of its most valuable visitors is staying away. The same could be said about Hong Kong; months of riots now followed by COVID-19 will have taken its toll on this important luxury retail location. The majority of the world’s major cities will be affected by the lack of Chinese tourists.
For British luxury giant, Burberry, Chinese consumers account for 40 per cent of revenues worldwide. Burberry Group plc released a statement at the beginning of February saying, “The outbreak of the coronavirus in Mainland China is having a material negative effect on luxury demand. While we cannot currently predict how long this situation will last, we remain confident in our strategy.” said Marco Gobbetti, Chief Executive Officer.
Currently 24 of Burberry’s 64 stores in Mainland China are closed with remaining stores operating with reduced hours and seeing significant footfall declines. This is impacting retail sales in both Mainland China and Hong Kong “The spending patterns of Chinese customers in Europe and other tourist destinations have been less impacted to date but given widening travel restrictions, we anticipate these to worsen over the coming weeks.” the statement said. Burberry was planning to hold a fashion show in Shanghai in March but that has been put on indefinite hold, while Chanel has cancelled its May Métiers d’Art show scheduled for Beijing.
Estée Lauder gave a recent update to the markets saying it it expects adjusted earnings of $5.60 to $5.70 per share in 2020, down from a previous estimate of $5.85 to $5.93 citing the coronavirus. Fabrizo Freda, Estee Lauder president and chief executive, said: “The global situation will also affect our financial results in the near term, so we are updating our fiscal year outlook. We will be ready to return to our growth momentum as the global coronavirus is resolved.”
Other brands who have focussed on growth in China will feel the effects. Luxury outerwear brand, Moncler, warned that footfall at its stores in China had plunged 80% since the coronavirus outbreak and it earns 43% of its total revenues from Asia. Michael Kors and Versace owner Capri Holdings saying it would take a $100m hit from coronavirus in China, where it was forced to close more than 150 stores.
Right - Off-White - Logo Print Face Mask - £65 from Farfetch
Kering makes 34% of its sales in Asia Pacific, excluding Japan. Kering’s chief executive officer, François-Henri Pinault, said - on the 12th February - the group - Gucci, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta - had experienced a strong drop in sales over the past 10 days. Many of the group’s stores in China are closed or running reduced hours. The company said it will halt advertising spend and postpone new openings in China in the near-term in a bid to limit the damage caused by the virus. Pinault said that planned product launches might also be reconsidered and is also shifting inventory to other regions to make sure stocks don't pile up in China. Without giving an estimate for any impact from the virus on earnings, he said online shopping was not really making up for the decline in store footfall. "The warehouses are shut. People can place orders but there are no deliveries," he said.
While being strong in China and in the Chinese market has been a boon for many years, this outbreak shows the danger of having all your eggs in the Chinese basket. Once a high growth area, this is a double whammy for brands; you have the domestic market closed and the free spending tourists are no longer shopping.
China’s growth was already slowing, but it was just about to come out of the trade wars with America. Even if this outbreak is over in a relatively short window of time, it’s the momentum it has lost that will take the longest time to get back. Getting those Chinese tourists to rebook their flights and travel plans, brands reworking expansion plans and product and consumers getting that feel good factor to spend will take months to correct. Many brands are downplaying the current impact to protect their share price. Hopefully, the epidemic will be over shortly, but the repercussions of COVID-19 will be felt by the fashion industry well into 2020.
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A large bulk of the fashion industry is feeling pretty smug with itself. The just-gone G7 summit in Biarritz, France, a meeting of the world’s largest economies, saw French President Emmanuel Macron, accompanied by Economy and Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Labour, Muriel Pénicaud, and Deputy Minister of Ecological and Solidary Transition, Brune Poirson, launch the ‘Fashion Pact’. An initiative to minimise the environmental impact of the fashion industry, the Fashion Pact, signed by various fashion companies and brands, made numerous commitments regarding sustainability, renewable energy and biodiversity.
Left - Tall glass of Pinault?! The 'Fashion Pact' launch at the recent G7 summit
Making plenty of noise, and, while anything in the right direction, particularly while the Amazon rainforest is burning, is welcome, it’s worth looking at some of the detail.
Thirty two companies representing around 150 brands and roughly 30% of the fashion industry committed to:
“100% renewable energy across own operations with the ambition to incentivise implementation of renewables in all high impact manufacturing processes along the entire supply chain by 2030.”
“Protect the oceans: by reducing the fashion industry’s negative impact on the world’s oceans through practical initiatives, such as gradually removing the usage of single-use plastics.”
“Restore biodiversity: by achieving objectives that use Science-Based Targets to restore natural ecosystems and protect species.”
“Stop global warming: by creating and deploying an action plan for achieving the objective of zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, in order to keep global warming below a 1.5°C pathway between now and 2100.”
These all feel like the least they can do. Words like ‘gradually’ and ‘ambition’ make most of this wishful thinking. But, waiting until 2050 to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions is laughable. Most of the signatories will be dead by then. It’s 31 years away!!! Who’s to say any of these companies will still be in business?
We live in a very stressful and confusing time. Environmental paralysis is understandable amongst consumers not sure exactly what they can do to combat climate change. But, waiting until 2050 to ‘possibly’ make that new handbag zero carbon emissions ain’t one of them. Green lip service is becoming increasingly frustrating and brands are going to have to give definite and distinct decisions while updating consumers on progress and fact based information much faster than this. People want to see something.
The brands involved include adidas, Bestseller, Burberry, Capri Holding Limited, Carrefour, Chanel, Ermenegildo Zegna, Everybody & Everyone, Fashion3, Fung Group, Galeries Lafayette, Gap Inc, Giorgio Armani, H&M Group, Hermès, Inditex, Karl Lagerfeld, Kering, La Redoute, matchesfashion.com, Moncler, Nike, Nordstrom, Prada Group, Puma, PVH Corp., Ralph Lauren, Ruyi, Salvatore Ferragamo, Selfridges Group, Stella McCartney and Tapestry.
In April 2019, ahead of the G7 meeting, Emmanuel Macron gave François-Henri Pinault, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kering, a mission to bring together the leading players in fashion and textile, with the aim of setting practical objectives for reducing the environmental impact of their industry. And the Fashion Pact was born.
This goes someway to explain the most noticable luxury absentee from the list, the LVMH group. LVMH, Kering's main luxury competition, announced in May that it was partnering with Unesco on a five-year deal, allowing the fashion houses in the group access to “a network of experts at the regional level and in different disciplines to drive the development and success of their initiatives to protect biodiversity” and secure transparent supply chains. They’ve also recently cemented a tie-up with British designer Stella McCartney to lead their charge in sustainable luxury.
The majority of these brands don’t know what the eco-future looks like, but they know they need to start making the right noises yet want to continue to generate billions of dollars in yearly turnovers. Signing up to things like the ‘Fashion Pact’ focuses minds, but the time frame makes it a case of we’ll start tomorrow, which goes against the current urgent 'Climate Emergency' feeling felt within the wider population.
Kering issued a statement saying, “Private companies, working alongside nation states, have an essential role to play in protecting the planet. With the Fashion Pact, some leading players in the fashion and textile sector are joining forces for the first time to launch an unprecedented movement. A collective endeavour by its nature, the Fashion Pact is open to any company that wants to help to fundamentally transform the practices of the fashion and textile industry, and to meet the environmental challenges of our century.”
If these luxury companies worked as quickly as they did when chucking money at Notre-Dame, after its fire, then we’d really be getting somewhere. Pinault found €100m (£90m) down the back of the sofa and the Arnault family stumped up €200m within hours of the flames being put out.
Governments will need to bring in legislation much sooner to force these companies to do more. We’re going to look back at this period of history and wonder how we got through it sanely, but what we know is, we have to start today.
Remainers cover your ears. One of the world’s strongest fashion brands is moving its headquarters to London despite Brexit. Yes, Brexit hasn’t put them off. Chanel has decided to close its global headquarters in New York and move it to London.
Until now, Chanel did not have a single holding company for its operations and functions were located in a number of cities. In a statement from the French company, they said, “We wanted to simplify the structure of the business and London is the appropriate place to do that for an international company. London is the most central location to our markets, uses the English language and has strong corporate governance standards with its regulatory and legal requirements.”
Left - Even London's lampposts are Chanel!
‘Chanel Limited’ became the holding company of most Chanel entities in the summer of 2017 and this is why the majority of the global functions are now located in London.
“Brexit's economic and geopolitical impacts remains a challenge for the London economy. London is still dealing with a hangover from Brexit.” says Brandon Rael, Operations Strategy & Innovations Leader & Retail Digital Strategist. “We should expect that London will experience an upswing when the economy stabilises. Moving the Chanel HQ to London is very much a long-term strategy.” he says.
Chanel could have chosen Paris, but instead chose London, and this goes against the anti-Brexit rhetoric of companies leaving in their droves. In July, Chanel revealed its financials for the first time in its 108 history. It generated nearly $10 billion in global sales in 2017, making it one of the world’s biggest luxury fashion brands. This new openness is Chanel positioning itself and facing up to the dominance of the likes of Kering and LVMH. This is for the next, digital chapter in Chanel’s history.
Brexit is so close, now, it is time to start looking beyond it and, Chanel’s decision would have been a long term decision from this globally revered company. While one company moving its headquarters to London doesn’t prove anything. In the same vein, one company moving out, doesn’t either. The major reasons companies move or stay in London won’t change post Brexit. They move to London because of geography, language, law and talent pool. This is about London competing with New York or Hong Kong and it is the only truly world city within Europe.
“London remains the world‘s most promising city for luxury retail growth, despite troubles faced by the Brexit vote,” says Rael. “A new report conducted by CBRE and Walpole has found that compared to other major luxury destinations across the globe, London still holds the greatest long-term potential,” he says.
The newly christened Capri Holdings - formerly Michael Kors - has its principal executive office in London and Condé Nast International recently choose London to cope with the new demands of its digital future. Everything catwalk related: photography, video, social media and features will be lead by Vogue International, an editorial hub established last year to lead content for the 25 editions of the magazine.
In an interview in the New York Times with Wolfgang Blau, Chief Digital Officer of Condé Nast International, he said two-hundred editorial and engineering staff members had been hired, and next year, he wants to have a Vogue presence at about 900 runway shows all feeding back to London. This is Condé Nast cutting costs and becoming more efficient while focussing its global fashion content in London. This will only get bigger. Its travel magazine, Condé Nast Traveler has moved onto a new single platform, and it too would be overseen not from its birthplace of New York, but from London.
Right - London, not New York, is the global centre for all digital content
We were told that "Brexit would make us poorer”, but since the vote, and with a background of caution and underinvestment, Britain has a joint record high employment rate of 75.6% with 32.39 million people now in work according to the latest official statistics. (June 2018). There were 488,000 unemployed people aged from 16 to 24 for May to July 2018, the lowest figure since records began for youth unemployment in 1992. Overall, unemployment fell by another 55,000 between May and July to 1.36 million. Wages saw faster than expected growth in the three months to July. Excluding bonuses, wages grew by 2.9%, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), well above the inflation rate.
Business is doing well. UK Trade benefitted from a goods export boom in July. Official figures showed the deficit in goods dropped to £10 billion in July from £10.7 billion the previous month. Including service, the overall trade gap fell to just £111 million, one of the best monthly results in the past 20 years. In the three months to July overall goods exports grew by £4.3 billion while imports rose by £3.7 billion. This came largely from trading with countries outside the EU.
“It looks like Brexit is going to be a good thing for luxury fashion as people in the US and China take advantage on preferential tariffs coming from the UK.” says Fleur Hicks, Managing Director of onefourzero, a data analytics and digital research agency.
Eurotunnel recorded its best ever August for freight traffic and the number of passengers passing through Heathrow’s terminals jumped to 7.5 million last month, boosted by new services to China. Europe’s biggest airport, said August customer numbers were up 2.6% from a year earlier and cargo volumes were up 1.2%. Asia saw the biggest increase in passenger numbers, up 6.3%, with new services from Hainan Airlines, Tianjin Airlines and Beijing Capital. Gatwick also saw a 0.4% rise in passenger numbers to 4.9 million and its cargo traffic soared a whopping 22.3%.
Irina Bragin, from Made of Carpet, who specialises is making luxury carpet bags, says “I think I have one advantage of Brexit in mind. Today selling to the EU as retailer (to the end buyer) we pay VAT, same as we sell in UK. After Brexit, it will be the same as selling to US, or Canada, or Australia - no VAT to pay.”
I know it’s fashionable not to be positive about Brexit, but, it’s 6 months away and it’s time to turn the negativity into optimism. Global businesses are looking past Brexit, for the longer term, and what makes London great to do business in hasn’t really changed. Brexit is something new and unknown, but, in Britain’s true entrepreneurial spirit, we can do this!
Versace is a trophy brand and I can imagine many a green eye coming from the offices of LVMH, Kering and other fashion conglomerates asking why they hadn’t claimed this prize themselves. While the price isn’t a snip - approximately US$2.12 billion - and nobody knows the details of Donatella’s contract - it would have be something special in order to entice her to sell the family’s 80% stake - it is one of the few brands which resonates on to the lips and minds of everyday consumers. This happens for very few brands and is very hard to achieve.
Left - In Donatella's image? Versace advertising
Versace has a strong identity and tropes which are continually referenced - you only have to look at the continual ‘baroque’ collections from ASOS, Boohoo and River Island to see that - yet it never seems to fully capitalise on them itself. It can’t turn that into money. The profits are small - 15 million euro in 2017 - and it was always a brand which seemed to play musical chairs with its store portfolio; continually opening and closing stores.
On the other hand, Michael Kors is a well run accessorises company. The minute they knew their mid-market brand had peaked, and their market was saturated, they started closing stores - between 100 and 125 over two years. They knew the landscape changed, the brand was fatigued, and you need to make hay while the sun shines, which they’ve done. It’s knowing when to start putting your money into new areas and elevating. Everything is about ‘elevating’ ATM!
The confidence of buying Jimmy Choo, and that seems to be doing well, has maintained the momentum of this spending spree. While not likely partners, many groups have disparate brands and, if Michael Kors knows one thing, it’s how to grow.
John D. Idol, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Michael Kors Holdings Limited, said, “With the full resources of our group, we believe that Versace will grow to over US$2.0 billion in revenues (from 668 million euro currently). We believe that the strength of the Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo brands, and the acquisition of Versace, position us to deliver multiple years of revenue and earnings growth.”
“Donatella’s iconic style is at the heart of the design aesthetic of Versace. She will continue to lead the company’s creative vision.” he says.
It’s interesting to remember LVMH used to own a third of Michael Kors before he went for the masstige market and the company blew up and he was also the Creative Director of the LVMH owned Celine in the late 1990s.
The new group will be called ‘Capri Holdings Limited’. (Didn’t Michael Kors once do a mink beach towel with ‘CAPRI’ on it?) The new group says there is an opportunity to grow the group’s revenues to US$8.0 billion in the long-term, which would make it one of the largest fashion companies.
Right - Vintage Versace advertising - Gianni Versace is forever associated with the Supermodels
Donatella Versace says, “Santo (brother), Allegra (daughter) and I will become shareholders in Capri Holdings Limited. This demonstrates our belief in the long-term success of Versace and commitment to this new global fashion luxury group.”
Michael Kors’ expertise is accessorises. They say they want to expand Versace men’s and women’s accessories and footwear from 35% to 60% of revenues. Versace has never really resonated in these areas, often looking more tacky than desirable. Jimmy Choo will also offer synergies in luxury footwear and bags.
There’s also going to be a filip back to dressing up at some point and Versace is well placed, particularly in a sexually charged, Italian way.
As for more affordable products, they could expand underwear, home, sunglasses and perfume. The perfumes, since the very beginning, have never matched the quality and branding of the rest of the brand. Versace needs to choose areas and do them well, rather than the light licensing it has often achieved since its inception in 1978. Versace was one of those brands that had such disparate product - from cheap looking tins of perfume to the most luxurious Italian printed silk.
Capri Holdings say they want to “build on Versace’s luxury runway momentum”, - *books Supermodels* - and want to be less reliant on its home market of the US, grow in Asia and become more global.
Versace must have had numerous takeover offers through the years and it would be interesting to know the reasons of, why now? Why Michael Kors? The brand is 40 this year, so maybe the family want to fully maximise its potential, maybe it was pressure from the private equity investors to get out, or maybe it’s the realisation that you have to turn into a billion dollar brand to survive. Grow or die.
Below - The Versace ladies by Steven Meisel


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The price of Bitcoin has dropped by around 5.6% in the last 24 hours thanks to some Asian traders taking a short-term bearish view and worried that the new Biden administration in the US will try to dampen cryptocurrency usage.
Spot profit taking occurred during Asian market hours after bitcoin failed to consolidate at an all-time high of $ 40,000 in the past week. In the derivatives markets, short positions grew, led by large bitcoin organizations and holders called whales.
Data from Skew shows that bitcoin’s flat-exchange exchange funding on large derivatives exchanges, a proxy for the cost of maintaining a long position in the derivatives market, dropped today, a suggestion that demand for skewed trades has declined.
Related: Is it Janet Yellen’s Biggest Enemy or Biggest Asset # Bitcoin? Yes
At press time, bitcoin was trading at $ 35,008.58, according to CoinDesk 20 data.
The sale also led to major corrections for other cryptocurrencies on the CoinDesk 20, including ether, stellar, xrp and chainlink.
Despite some long-term positive opinion that the price of bitcoin could reach as high as $ 100,000, analysts and traders told CoinDesk that major bitcoin holders have become more bearish in the short term, especially after ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency reached according to the new market cap. always high on Tuesday.
“The sentiment in Asia has at least been very bearish in the short term, having seen the retail side become too bullish,” Alex Zuo, China’s vice president of crypto wallet, Cobo, told CoinDesk. He said the recent price surge in alternative cryptocurrencies reflects a growing interest from retail investors, who usually tend to respond to price volatility more significantly.
Related: The Relationship Between US Government Debt and Bitcoin, Explained
As a result, bitcoin institutions and whales are less inclined to give the market fresh capital. Zuo says. Instead, they either take profit by selling in the spot market or perform arbitration trades by shortening the spot market.
Data from chain analytics firm CryptoQuant also shows that the spot market is under pressure to sell. The ratio of whales on exchanges, which measures the relative size of the top 10 inflows to total inflows for all exchanges, has increased since last week to above 0.85, meaning more major bitcoin holders are depositing bitcoin on exchanges. That is considered a sell signal because it could mean that major bitcoin holders are looking to offload their inventory to the market.
What keeps prices from falling sharply, according to the chief executive of the CryptoQuant company, is the unloaded bitcoins being hooked up by buyers on one particular exchange.
“If we didn’t see any significant buying pressure from Coinbase Pro, I think bitcoin would be bearish,” said Ki Young Ju, CEO of CryptoQuant at tweeted.
Ki told CoinDesk that one indicator to watch is bitcoin outflow from Coinbase, usually a metric that implies a bitcoin institution’s purchase through over-the-counter desks. Once significant bitcoin outflows from Coinbase occur, the price of bitcoin could recover and even go up as high as $ 100,000, he said.
In the derivative market, the implied volatility on the currency has dropped sharply since it peaked earlier this month, according to data site Skew. The indicator shows investors’ expectation of how troubled prices will be over the next month; discounts usually result in a low cost on option contracts.
“Bitcoin purchases over the last few days are finally taking its toll on the market, while implied volatility on the currency has dropped significantly since peaking earlier this month,” Denis Vinokourov, head of primary brokerage research in London. He bequeathed, he said. “However, call sales have been the dominant drama today and there is still a great deal of open interest in end of month contracts at the $ 52,000 mark, which should allay any concerns the bulls may have.”
Bitcoin Grayscale Trust’s declining premium against its net asset value is another negative sign indicating greater selling pressure than buying, Cobo’s Zuo added. The premium dropped to 8.66% on Tuesday from the December peak at 40.18%. Grayscale is owned by Digital Grarency Group (DCG), which also owns CoinDesk.
Another possible cause for the downturn is the nominee of US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who commented negatively about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies during her confirmation hearing on Tuesday.
During the hearing, Yellen suggested that President Joe Biden’s administration might look at how to curtail the use of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in financing criminal activity, including terrorism.
Read More: Janet Yellen says Cryptocurrencies are a ‘concern’ in Terrorist Financing
“There is no doubt that those who come in [Biden’s] the regime will focus on consumer protection more than its predecessor, which means more enforcement action, tightening rules and aiming for more control over the markets, ”said Guy Hirsch, US managing director at eToro . “If the regulators take an aggressive stance against bitcoin, we could go into a protracted bearish run.”


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Mike Ashley does not take a salary from his day job as deputy chairman of Sports Direct – but he could pick up a multi-million shares windfall if certain performance targets are hit.
The leisurewear retailer yesterday unveiled a "Super-Stretch Executive Bonus Share Scheme" that would give the media-shy Mr Ashley another6 million shares in 2018. At yesterday's price of 190p, that is getting on for £12m.
To Mr Ashley, it is little more than a drop in the ocean, given that his net worth is about £1bn. Still, shareholders may arch an eyebrow. The company joined the stock market at 300p in 2007, a share price never seen since. The stock is up smartly this year but still languishes well below the issue price.
For Mr Ashley's deal to kick in, the group must make a profit of £225m this year and meet further stretching targets over the following two years.
Sports Direct's chairman Keith Hellawell said Mr Ashley's non-participation in recent bonus schemes was a situation which "the board wishes to remedy".
The company has an innovative staff bonus scheme that it regards as a roaring success. Staff in stores on a salary of £20,000 a year can more than double that with share awards if sales targets are reached. Its chief executive Dave Forsey said: "We believe our Employee Bonus Share Schemes continues to underpin our performance."
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Micro-LED market to reach nearly $20B by 2025
The micro-LED market is expected to be worth $19.9 billion by 2025 with a compound annual growth rate of 54.7 percent between 2019 and 2025, according to a report by Marketsandmarkets.
Demand for brighter and more efficient displays, increased adoption of near-to-eye devices and interest from big players such as Apple and Sony are the key drivers of this market. Consumer electronics will hold the largest share of the market during the forecasted period, with smartphones seeing the most growth specifically, according to the report
North America is expected to hold the largest market share, but there are considerable opportunities for growth in the Asia Pacific region, according to the report.


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Censorship has always been a hot topic. What is okay to say? What isn’t? And what about that all too familiar black box, blurred lips or middle finger? By the standards of some networks, you’d think primetime were more like Reading Rainbow while others have embraced the social acceptance of cursing and sexuality. Regardless of this change in thought, one entity remains shrouded in secrecy. But no longer!
It's a Cat on a Mission.
Meet Carlton, the new feline spokesperson for the vagina and all that is awesome (vaginal) about it. Launched only two weeks ago, Carlton’s PSA has racked up over 300,000 views on Youtube and has created some buzz on its content submission page where viewers are encouraged to submit videos of what they think is “vaginal.”
The brand behind the campaign, Summer's Eve, is not one without folly, having released an ad last summer in Women's Day that stunned consumers and the ad community with the idea that the first step to getting a raise is to be clean "down there." Enlisting the help of The Richards Group out of Dallas for damage control was a smart move, and even more proof that companies who make a misstep would do better to admit their mistake and rebound with a little humor to make light of the situation than try to sweep it under the rug.


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New WHO REPLACE initiative launched to eliminate industrially-produced trans fat
WHO on 14 May 2018 launched the REPLACE initiative to eliminate industrially produced trans fat by 2023 to reduce cardiovascular disease deaths, the world’s leading cause of death.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says implementing the six strategic actions in the REPLACE package will help achieve the elimination of trans-fat, and represent a major victory in the global fight against cardiovascular disease. Dr. Tom Frieden, President and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, says “trans-fat is an unnecessary toxic chemical that kills, and there’s no reason people around the world should continue to be exposed.”
Cargill to remove industrially produced trans fatty acids
Cargill announced on Dec. 6 that it has become the first global supplier to commit to eliminating industrially produced trans-fatty acids (iTFAs) from its entire global edible oils portfolio, a move that would put Cargill and its customers in compliance with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended standard of a maximum two grams of iTFAs per 100 grams fats/oils by the end of 2023. Cargill joins many of the world’s largest food companies and members of the International Food and Beverage Alliance who have committed to the WHO goal.
WHO unveils plan to remove trans-fatty acids from food supply
The World Health Organization on May 14 released REPLACE, a step-by-step guide that the agency is urging governments and companies to consult in an effort to eliminate industrially-produced trans-fatty acids from the global food supply.


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Maruti raises output target on hopes of a nascent recovery
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd has raised its vehicle production target for this fiscal in the first sign that India’s largest carmaker is seeing green shoots of a recovery in the troubled auto sector.
The Suzuki Motor Corp. unit has increased the target for the year ending 31 March by 6%, or 60,000 units, to 1.65 million vehicles, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The target has been increased because of expectations of stronger demand in the fiscal fourth quarter with the rollout of more cars compliant with Bharat Stage-6 (BS-6) emission norms, cheaper financing options and brisk demand for its new products, XL6 and S-Presso, said the two people cited above.
Also check these Cars
Currently, of the 15 models of Maruti Suzuki, eight are compliant with BS-6 emission norms, which come into effect from 1 April.
Maruti’s decision is significant that the automaker cut production substantially in the first seven months of this fiscal as a slowing economy crimped consumption demand in the world’s fourth-largest automobile market. Maruti raised production by 4.3% in November, after nine consecutive months of decline.
Passenger vehicle sales have been sliding since August last year in the wake of the bankruptcy of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd, which triggered a liquidity crunch that worsened as problems surfaced among non-banking financial companies. Sales measured as factory dispatches fell for 11 consecutive months before posting a marginal increase in October this year.
Weaker sales have forced automobile factories to temporarily shut production, while several dealerships went bust.
“Maruti has moved most of its petrol products to BS-VI and can now afford to increase production. It has managed the transition quite well, despite the hit in the first seven months of the fiscal," said one of the people cited earlier.
Uncertainty over transition to BS-6 from the current BS-4 norms was one of the factors that kept buyers away as some wanted to opt for products that are compliant with the new emission norms.
A Maruti Suzuki spokesperson confirmed the development without giving details.
“One of the main reasons that manufacturers were circumspect about the production this year was that they did not want to make too many cars that were BS-6 compliant," said Shashank Srivastava, executive director of sales and marketing at Maruti Suzuki. Production has to match retail sales and increasing production leads to higher inventories, weighing on costs, he said.
“Maruti has been working on gradually making its products BS-VI compliant, starting with the highest-selling Alto and Baleno. Now, it is easier for us to plan for an increase in production of BS-6 compliant vehicles. Even if there is some stock left, we can carry it forward to the next fiscal," said Srivastava.
New models such as the XL6 multipurpose vehicle have a waiting period, while the S-Presso small car is receiving 400-500 bookings every day, according to Srivastava.
Passenger vehicle sales in India between April and November fell 18% year-on-year to 1.88 million units. Maruti recorded the biggest decline among carmakers because of its position as the market leader. Its sales fell 20.4% during the period, while its market share dropped to 50% from 51.80% year-on-year.
Despite the renewed optimism on production, the recent recall of Ertiga and Ciaz could be a potential dampener, said the second person.


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Yggdrasil, the iGaming industry’s leading game development studio, has continued to form strategic partnerships to strengthen its commercial operations. Its most recent content supply deal with LVC Diamond, a fast-growing operator of live casino and slot games, aligns with the developer’s strategy and allows the operator to broaden its offerings to players.
The partnership gives LVC Diamond access to Yggdrasil’s extensive library of proprietary content, including player-favorite YG Masters titles. This move aims to expand the supplier’s presence in Hungary and central Europe by making its portfolio available on the operator’s Vegas.hu brand.
The B2C partnership sets the stage for Hungarian players to enjoy a wide range of classic and cutting-edge video slots. Furthermore, the deal will make all 10 of Yggdrasil’s Game Engagement Mechanics available in the jurisdiction, ensuring a powerful gameplay experience. This expansion follows Yggdrasil’s recent entrance into regulated markets in the Czech Republic, Latin America, and the Netherlands.
Jose Kadala, Commercial Director at Yggdrasil, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, anticipating that their popular titles will drive the casino to new heights with a mix of immersive content and classic themes. Brigitta Szenczy, Head of Casino and Studio at LVC Diamond, stated that Yggdrasil’s games have been a hit since launching and that they are thrilled to bring them to their customers as they strive to be the standout brand in Hungary.
In addition to the B2C partnership, Yggdrasil has also signed a B2B deal with Reflex Gaming to ensure the supply of versatile content to operator partners. This collaboration will bring a classic fruit-themed slot powered by Yggdrasil’s mechanics to LVC Diamond’s players via the Vegas.hu platform.
One of the highlights of this partnership is the release of the new Sidewinder DoubleMax™ slot, offering a 5×3 reel layout, 20 pay lines, and a max win of 5,000 times the player’s bet. The slot features multipliers, Wilds, Super Wilds, and a Golden Bet feature to increase winning opportunities. The Bonus Buy feature allows players to pay 50x their stake to instantly access the Sidewinder feature. The new slot release may be available to Hungarian players following the agreement with LVC Diamond.
Overall, the partnership with LVC Diamond and Reflex Gaming signifies a strong start to the year for Yggdrasil as it continues to expand its presence in new and existing markets.


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A recent survey of small business owners was conducted to discover how businesses are using Facebook pages. The results show that, while only half of respondents use the social network, a significant number of users report increased revenue as a result. Small businesses are using Facebook to share basic information, share content, have conversations with customers, provide support and hold contests and giveaways.
Perhaps the most disconcerting data was that many businesses weren’t even aware that Facebook offered a business page solution. In fact 17.2 percent aren’t sure how to get one and 14.5 percent had never heard of one! That’s too bad. To tell you the truth, I’m not sure there’s much help for those folks 🙂
Sometimes it’s the basics that produce the best results! My friends down at the Cafe 120 do a fantastic job on Facebook, announcing the special of the day and constantly taking photos of all of their friends who stop by for a Pumpkin Steamer (mmmmm!). People are constantly walking in throughout the day after checking their Facebook page!


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PEORIA Ill. (WMBD) — Pleasant Valley Elementary School held its 4th annual Free For All store in its gymnasium Monday from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Every year the school district spends months collecting clothes, books, toys, games, furniture, and school supplies to give out at the beginning of each year.
98% of student families in the pleasant valley district fall on or below the poverty line.
Superintendent Tracy Frock said with inflation being as high as it is, it’s nice to give back.
“Our students, 98% of them live at or below the poverty level so we know prices are high for everything right now so being able to offer them very gently used items makes everybody feel good, kids get new clothes new shoes to wear to school and it doesn’t put a strain on parents,” said Frock.
Even though the Free For All store is closed the extra items will be handed out throughout the year to anyone who needs them.


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Indonesia will import 502,000 cattle and 85,500 tonnes of beef to help plug a supply gap of meat in the domestic market, Fadjar Sumping Tjatur Rasa, an Agriculture Ministry director said Jan. 28.
In addition, Indonesia is also planning to issue import permits for 100,000 tonnes of Brazilian beef and water buffalo meat from India, he said in a statement.
The ministry estimated Indonesia’s beef and buffalo meat consumption in 2021 at nearly 696,956 tonnes, up around 64 per cent from last year, resulting in a 223,142-tonne supply gap.
In February, the government expected shipments of cattle from Mexico to increase the country’s domestic stock, Nasruallah, a director general at the ministry, said.
Indonesia mainly imports cattle from Australia, but the government had said it wants to source more from other places.
Meat sellers in greater Jakarta area are holding a strike for three days from Wednesday this week due to the high cost of procuring the meat, media reported.
“The Agriculture Ministry has made supply checks in the field and it is relatively safe until demand for Eid Al-Fitr,” Nasruallah said, referring to the Islamic holiday that falls in mid-May this year.


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Some customers of the network security company LogicMonitor have been hacked due to the use of default passwords, TechCrunch has learned. A LogicMonitor spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that there’s “a security incident” affecting some of the company’s customers.
Weak passwords expose customer accounts
The breach occurred because, until recently, LogicMonitor employed default passwords for user accounts. These passwords typically followed a pattern such as “Welcome@” accompanied by a short numerical sequence. This practice made it easier for hackers to gain unauthorized access to customer accounts and potentially launch ransomware attacks on systems being monitored by LogicMonitor.
According to sources familiar with the incident, LogicMonitor did not require users to change these default passwords or set them to expire until this week. This oversight left customers vulnerable to potential breaches and compromised system security.
In an email notification sent to one of LogicMonitor’s customers, the company alerted them to a possible breach resulting from the exposed usernames and passwords. The email emphasized the risk of a ransomware attack, should unauthorized access occur. The proactive outreach by LogicMonitor suggests an effort to address the issue promptly and protect their customers.
Ransomware attack affects one company
The consequences of the breach have already been felt by some customers. Reports indicate that a breached company lost over 400 systems due to a ransomware attack that exploited the weak default password provided by LogicMonitor. The ransomware encrypted the files on the affected systems and demanded a payment for their decryption.
The name of the breached company and the amount of the ransom have not been disclosed. It is not clear whether the company paid the ransom or recovered its data from backups. The company has not issued any public statement about the incident.
LogicMonitor responds to the incident
LogicMonitor, known for its software-as-a-service platform that offers network infrastructure visibility, monitors billions of metrics daily across millions of active devices. The company boasts over 100,000 users in 30 countries.
A spokesperson for LogicMonitor, Jesica Church, acknowledged the security incident in a statement, stating that the company is actively working with affected customers to mitigate any potential damage. However, the spokesperson did not disclose further details about the incident at this time.
LogicMonitor has reportedly changed its password policy and now requires users to change their default passwords on first login and every 30 days thereafter. The company has also advised its customers to review their account settings and enable two-factor authentication for added security.
LogicMonitor customers are urged to immediately change their default passwords to ensure their accounts remain secure. The security incident underscores the importance of implementing strong and unique passwords for all online accounts to mitigate the risk of unauthorized access and potential data breaches.
If you are a LogicMonitor customer affected by this incident, we encourage you to reach out to us and share your experience. For secure communication, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai via Signal at +1 917 257 1382 or through Telegram and Wire at @lorenzofb. Alternatively, you can email firstname.lastname@example.org or use TechCrunch’s SecureDrop service for anonymous communication.


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A burrito, bag of chips, and soda are arranged for a photograph at a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant at Madison Square Park in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. is expected to release earnings figures on Jan. 30. Photographer: Craig Warga/Bloomberg ORG XMIT: 466315657
Construction of a Chipotle Mexican Grill on Bardstown Road near Grinstead Drive started in January but has been put on hold while planners review its design at a meeting Tuesday.
A key question is whether the restaurant is being built close enough to the street.
Chipotle's proposed design wasn't initially reviewed for architectural compatibility with the neighborhood because it was essentially using the footprint of a former Arby's at 1075 Bardstown Road, Metro Louisville Urban Design Administrator Bob Keesaer said. ...


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Bangla Book Fair 2020
The convener of the New York Bangla Book Fair 2020, eminent freedom fighter and emeritus professor Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed.
This will be the 29th anniversary of the book fair organized by Muktadhara Foundation with the slogan “As many books as there are lives”. It may be mentioned that the Muktadhara Foundation established the Shaheed Minar in front of the United Nations in 1992 to pay homage to the language martyrs and started the Bangla Book Fair in America. It was informed that this is the first virtual book fair to be held with the participation of eminent writers, literary artists and 20 publishing houses of Bangladesh and West Bengal.
The second day of the 10-day program will be the 4th Children and Adolescent Fair. September 25 will be a special event called Mujibvarsha and Bangladeshi Immigrant Day. Daily shows can be viewed on the New York Book Fair website, Facebook, YouTube channel and live television. Besides, there will be a system to buy books from all over the world.
The convener of New York Bangla Book Fair 2020 further said, our dream about the book fair of 2020 was different. Centenary of the birth of the father of the nation. Before the beginning of the year, the Muktadhara Foundation started various processes in dedicating itself to the Father of the Nation. The New York State Senate passed a resolution celebrating the centenary of the Father of the Nation and the initiative to declare September 25, the day the Father of the Nation addressed the United Nations in Bengali, as Bangladeshi Immigrant Day.
The United States Postal Service issues a month-long Father of the Nation commemorative postage stamp in March, when the world was infected with Covid-19. Today we have taken initiative to deliver the important books of Bengali literature including the books written by the Father of the Nation and various publications written about him to the people living in different parts of the world. It will be beneficial with the participation of all.
Fiction writer Ferdous Sajedin, chairman of the Muktadhara Foundation, said in a separate video message that all of you should receive heartfelt love and greetings from the New York Book Fair.
All over the world, we are living in an unimaginable, miserable and helpless time. We respectfully remember all those we lost. In the meanwhile, depending on the new technology, the creativity of the people of the world, in various branches of art literature, is becoming alive. And in this way, I am organizing the 29th book fair with the slogan ‘As many books as there are lives’.
This virtual book fair will be our tribute on the 100th birth anniversary of Bangabandhu. We will strive for a reunion of all Bengalis of the world so that this virtual fair will also become a fair for all. All of you are cordially invited. ‘


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#SustyTalk: Weleda’s Bernhard Irrgang on innovation for a sustainable beauty sector
#SustyTalk is all about keeping edie’s loyal readers connected to sustainability leaders across the world, whilst reminding us all that sustainability and climate action must go on through the current...
#SustyTalk is all about keeping edie’s loyal readers connected to sustainability leaders across the world, whilst reminding us all that sustainability and climate action must go on through the current Covid-19 pandemic and beyond. It launched in the early stages of the pandemic in 2020 and has continued since then, keeping us connected to the leaders who are continuing to drive sustainability and climate action.
For this latest #SustyTalk episode, edie’s senior reporter Sarah George is in conversation with Weleda’s head of research & development (R&D), Dr Bernhard Irrgang.
Weleda is one of the world’s largest buyers of organic raw materials and, for more than 100 years, has been a traliblazer in the field of clean beauty.
But what it means to be a truly sustainable health and beauty business is changing rapidly, with new expectations on topics such as climate action, plastic packaging and sustainable supply chains. Expectations are coming from the bottom-up, with consumers expecting more transparency and action from self-styled sustainability leaders, and from the top down, though regulatory changes such as the EU’s Green Claims Directive and moves towards lifecycle carbon labelling on products.
Dr Irrgang is on hand to speak about how Weleda is navigating this changing landscape, providing learnings for other companies in the health and beauty sector and beyond. A significant part of this is embedding environmental sustainability across key departments including R&D. Last year, for example, the business launched a new ‘Futurum’ group, convening experts in formulation, packaging, final product and marketing to enable more agile decisions on matters with an environmental and/or social impact.
He said: “I think it’s very important that sustainability is not the task of a little group, but the whole company. Therefore, it’s very important that the strategy of the whole company declares sustainability as one of the most important columns… then, the detailed strategy for R&D, for purchasing, for marketing, includes sustainability.
“I think it’s also important for all kinds of investments to be checked [against] whether they are adding in terms of sustainability, or not.”
Dr Irrgange also discusses how the business certified as a B Corp in 2021, and the specific considerations around B Corp certification for health and beauty brands. There are now more than 6,500 B Corps worldwide, and the health and beauty sector is well-represented in the B Corp community. Other certified brands include Upcircle, The Body Shop, Rituals and The Inkey List.
Want to be featured on a future episode of #SustyTalk? Email firstname.lastname@example.org. Please bear in mind that our interview calendar is typically booked several weeks in advance.


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European Union (EU) regulators have backed the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard acquisition, the European Fee revealed on Monday. If profitable, the deal has set a precedent for Microsoft to change into the biggest gaming buyout in historical past.
The deal, valued at $69 billion USD, will enable the Redmond, Washington-based agency to purchase the latter firm. Nonetheless, the deal initially raised purple flags over reported anti-competitive practices.
Citing injury to the rising cloud gaming business, the UK’s Competitors and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the acquisition in April. Because of the acquisition’s nature, European, British, and US regulators should approve the deal to maneuver ahead.
The importance of this deal marks how cloud gaming applied sciences can function within the gaming business. Microsoft initially aimed to cement the acquisition to construct its critical gaming applied sciences for future metaverse applied sciences. Following the EU’s approval of the deal, Microsoft is a step nearer to reaching its long-awaited objective.
European Fee’s Vestager Weighs In
In response to Brussels, the EU Merger Regulation permits the Microsoft-Activision deal to proceed. Regulators said that the approval is “conditional on full compliance with the commitments” Microsoft has supplied.
Regulators said that the commitments totally addressed anti-competition issues from the Fee. Additionally, it represented “a major enchancment for cloud gaming as in comparison with the present state of affairs.”
The Fee based mostly its resolution “on laborious proof” and “intensive info and suggestions” from business rivals, sport builders, distributors, and cloud sport streaming platforms throughout the EU.
With our 🇪🇺 clearance #Activition Blizzard’s video games will even be accessible on cloud. That is good for competitors and innovation and brings video games to many extra gadgets and customers. #Microsoft‘s commitments will allow the streaming of video games in any cloud sport streaming service. https://t.co/DpcaRpiV7X
— Margrethe Vestager (@vestager) Could 15, 2023
Regardless of preliminary issues, the Fee’s investigation concluded Microsoft “wouldn’t be capable of hurt rival consoles and rival multi-game subscription providers.” Nonetheless, unique distributions on its Recreation Move platform might probably hurt competitors throughout markets, the organisation added.
The Fee proposed a number of complete licensing commitments over a 10-year interval, together with free licences throughout the European Financial Space (EEA). Moreover, it cited Article 1 of the Merger Regulation to dam anti-competitive mergers that might injury competitors throughout the EEA.
Margrethe Vestaer, Government Vice-President in Cost of Competitors Coverage, mentioned that video video games attracted “billions of customers all over the world” and it was “essential to guard competitors and innovation.”
“Our resolution represents an necessary step on this path, by bringing Activision’s in style video games to many extra gadgets and customers than earlier than because of cloud sport streaming. The commitments supplied by Microsoft will allow for the primary time the streaming of such video games in any cloud sport streaming providers, enhancing competitors and alternatives for progress”
CMA Place on Activision Buyout
Regardless of the Fee’s approval, the CMA vetoed the acquisition, casting doubts on the success of the process. Microsoft and Activision have appealed the choice and employed a large group of attorneys to struggle the case.
Our response to the European Fee’s announcement as we speak on Microsoft/Activision ⬇
— Competitors & Markets Authority (@CMAgovUK) Could 15, 2023
Microsoft initially launched its plans in January final 12 months, with Satya Nadella, Firm Chief Government and Chairman, stating that the platform would play a major “function within the growth of Metaverse platforms.”
Not too long ago, the CMA said the merger might block competitors by solely distributing titles on its cloud-based Recreation Move platform. It added Microsoft might probably undermine innovation within the cloud gaming market.
The announcement comes as quite a few streaming providers compete for the highest titles throughout the market. Microsoft’s push to purchase out Activision Blizzard goals to extend its aggressive edge with Sony’s milestones lately. That is necessary as Sony lately opened gross sales for its PlayStation VR 2 (PSVR2) and its PS5 gaming console.
Charles Russell Speechlys Assertion on EU Resolution
In a press assertion seen by XR At the moment, Gareth Mills, Associate at legislation agency Charles Russel Speechlys, mentioned the EU regulator’s divergence from Britain’s resolution on the Microsoft-Activision deal “might on the face of it appear shocking.”
Nonetheless, he famous Brussel’s approval required that Microsoft conform to enter licensing offers with rivals. He famous the deal was contingent on “different behavioural treatments for future conduct offering regulatory safeguards.”
He added: “The image is due to this fact extra complicated than a binary ‘approval/ rejection’ of the respective regulators that supporters of the deal might search to indicate.”
Concluding, Mills mentioned,
“The saga is unlikely to return to an finish anytime quickly with a authorized criticism refiled final week within the Californian courts by avid gamers in search of an injunction, in addition to Microsoft’s heralded enchantment of the CMA’s resolution and the US Federal Commerce Fee’s [FTC] case in opposition to the acquisition additionally nonetheless pending”
His assertion signifies that Microsoft’s metaverse ambitions might probably face extra authorized woes amid ongoing disputes with the FTC. The latter disagreement is about to kick off hearings later within the 12 months.
FTC Lawsuit Towards Microsoft-Activision Deal
The information comes after the FTC launched a lawsuit in opposition to Microsoft to dam the acquisition. Regardless of this, courts might take intensive time to resolve the case.
The FTC mentioned it had “licensed an administrative criticism” in opposition to the merger. Activision Blizzard develops and publishes hit titles like Name of Responsibility, Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and Diablo, amongst others.
The FTC mentioned in a current abstract: “The company alleges that the deal would allow Microsoft to suppress rivals to its Xbox gaming consoles and its quickly rising subscription and cloud-gaming enterprise.”
Courts will hear the case on 2 August of this 12 months “earlier than an Administrative Legislation Decide on the FTC’s headquarters,” it concluded. It’s unclear if the measures have influenced the UK’s resolution to dam the acquisition.
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Parking tickets up 4,821 per cent in Grantham streets
Following changes to parking restrictions in Westgate, Wide Westgate and the Market Place there have been 675 more parking tickets issued than during the same period last year - including one to the Mayor of Grantham.
Figures obtained from Lincolnshire County Council via a Freedom of Information request have revealed that whereas only 14 parking tickets were issued in these streets between January 1 and August 31 last year, 689 were issued during the same period this year. This is an increase of 4821 per cent.
Furthermore this has generated £22,186.59 in paid fines up until August 31 this year, as opposed to £480 paid last year. There were also 116 appeals made against parking tickets issued on these roads, 27 of which were accepted.
It comes after businesses in the area said the new parking regulations were affecting trade, with customers being scared away after receiving tickets, and shop owners themselves being penalised while loading and unloading.
Mayor of Grantham Jacky Smith has revealed that she herself has received a parking ticket since the new rules came into place. Both she and fellow district councillor for the ward, St Wulfram’s, expressed their concerns at the ongoing problems, and called for clearer signage.
“I think it is very misleading,” said Mayor Smith. “When it first came in I got a parking ticket, as I didn’t realise I was in a loading bay.
She added: “I had a lady contact me who got a ticket while she was unloading electrical equipment to take it to the electrical repair shop. I think there needs to be a lot clearer signs.
“I have contacted the county council and they were supposed to have changed a lot of the signs, but I can’t see that they have made any improvements.
As well as commenting on the impact to residents and business owners, Mayor Smith highlighted the potential adverse effect on tourism. “Anybody who is a visitor of the town will not feel very welcome,” she said.
Fellow district councillor for the area, Coun Ray Wootten, said that he had been contacted by a relative of a Westgate business owner, after they too received a ticket from a traffic warden.
“I am all for clear and transparent parking regulations,” Coun Wootten said. “I was worried about the changes to the loading bays and I still think it’s confusing having loading bays which are also parking bays.”
Asked to respond on the increase in parking tickets, Coun Richard Davies, LCC’s executive member for highways and transportation, said: “During 2014 our enforcement officers showed a higher level of discretion during a review of parking restrictions in Market Place and Westgate resulting in a smaller number of tickets being issued in these areas.
“Following the review and a new parking scheme being introduced earlier this year, the number of tickets issued has returned to the expected level and equates to fewer than 27 per cent of the 2,590 tickets issued in Grantham town.
“This figure is in line with the number of tickets issued in other similar Lincolnshire towns during the same period including Stamford (2,539) and Boston (3,962).
“Any revenue from parking enforcement is invested in road and transport schemes.”


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Drivers who use 'smart key' technology have been issued with a stern warning that the devices are feeding a fresh wave of car thefts, according to recent reports.
It's claimed that the car industry was warned about keyless vehicles being at risk ten years ago. Experts say that the automatic systems which unlock cars with 'smart keys' have led to an alarming increase in car thefts - now at their highest in a decade. Stephen Mason, a barrister specialising in electronic evidence and communication interception, in Computer Law and Security Review in April 2012, said: "There has been insouciance and ignorance by the motoring industry, not wanting to pay the price for proper security. We now have modern cars with the latest technology and the owners have to put on old-fashioned steering locks to protect them from being stolen."
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) says it's not true that the industry has dropped the ball on security, reports Birmingham Live. But, they do admit there's been a non-stop battle with burglars. Mike Hawes, who heads up the SMMT, said: "Car makers continuously introduce new technology to stay one step ahead of criminals. This investment has helped drive down vehicle theft dramatically over the past 30 years.
"While manufacturers continue to enhance security systems, technological innovation alone cannot prevent all theft. That's why the sector is working closely with the police, insurance industry and other security stakeholders." The Home Office said: "We expect police to take vehicle crime seriously which is why we welcomed the commitment made by police in August last year to follow up on all reasonable lines of enquiry.
"We have made great progress in tackling vehicle crime, which is down 39 per cent since 2010. New measures in the Criminal Justice Bill will ban electronic devices used in vehicle theft." The motoring lawyer Nick Freeman said: "The motoring industry has been negligent because they were warned when this new technology was beginning to emerge. It's a catastrophic situation where people cannot insure their cars or face ridiculously high premiums."


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Cummins touts record quarterly profits
Columbus-based Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) is reporting record first quarter net income of $790 million, compared to $418 million during the same period a year ago. The powertrain manufacturer says it also saw record Q1 revenues of $8.5 billion, up 32%.
Cummins President and CEO Jennifer Rumsey says demand for its products remain strong across most of its key markets and regions.
“We are delivering cycle-over-cycle improvement in financial performance despite persistent supply chain constraints, and we continue to invest in sustainable solutions that will protect our planet for future generations and support the success of our customers,” said Rumsey.
Confidence remains high at the company as it is raising its full year 2023 revenue guidance to be up 15 to 20%, an increase from previous projections of up 12 to 17%. Rumsey says the decision is based on forecasted stronger demand.
“We will continue monitoring global economic indicators closely to ensure we are prepared should economic momentum slow,” said Rumsey. “Cummins is in a strong position to keep investing in future growth, bringing new technologies to customers and returning cash to shareholders.”
To read the full report, click here.


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Flyme 9 prevents apps from collecting user data without permission
Meizu recently launched the Meizu 18 and Meizu 18 Pro flagship smartphones, offering shoppers very attractive discounts if they hand over their smartphones to Apple iPhones. Now it became known that the manufacturer has implemented increased protection against application tracking in Meizu 18 and Meizu 18 Pro.
iPhone owners upgrading to Meizu 18 will appreciate increased app tracking protection
Meizu Technology announced further improvements to the privacy protection of the Flyme 9 shell. This improvement ensures that the Flyme 9 system does not allow apps to collect user data without permission. The Meizu 18 series gets “Limited App Tracking” by default. This feature will be active by default immediately after the next update is released.
According to Meizu, the company is the first Android smartphone OEM to include Limited App Tracking by default. The company says this is not an easy decision, but a necessary one. Meizu hopes to bring privacy back to users. The company believes that every user deserves to know which application is collecting their data.
Apps must obtain user permissions before they can track advertising device IDs.
Earlier, Meizu said that 45% of new owners of Meizu 18 and Meizu 18 Pro are former users of Apple smartphones.


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Glamour Promotes Anne Sachs
Anne Sachs has been named executive digital director at Glamour, having most recently served as senior online editorial director. Sachs has been on staff at Glamour.com since 2007; a replacement for her previous position has yet to be named. Follow Glamour on Instagram for the latest fashion and beauty trends, as well as a look behind the scenes of the popular style mag.
— Anne Sachs (@Annemsachs) January 16, 2015
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Under Armour CEO Plank sees cleats opening door to footwear growth
The success of its recent baseball and football cleats has Under Armour Inc. poised to capture more of the U.S. footwear market, CEO Kevin Plank told shareholders Tuesday at the company’s annual meeting.
“When we talk about footwear, we see this as a huge opportunity for our brand,” Plank told about 100 shareholders gathered in a room lined with Under Armour shoes, shirts and jackets at the company’s Locust Point headquarters.
During the meeting, Plank also talked about the company's commitment to growing internationally and touted the hire of Charlie Maurath, Under Armour’s chief of international business, who Plank said will help the sportswear maker command a more global presence. Maurath, who spent 20 years managing international business for Adidas, joined Under Armour in April.
Back to footwear, a $26 billion industry in the U.S., Plank said the country's sales are mainly driven by casual athletic sneakers, running shoes and basketball shoes. Under Armour’s baseball cleats, which helped drive the company’s $64 million in footwear sales in the first quarter, and the company’s new Highlight football cleat has the company poised to become a more dominant player in the cleat market, Plank said. That in turn could help Under Armour’s overall footwear strategy, Plank said.
“Cleats as a whole, between football, baseball and soccer, is a $900 million category,” Plank said. “We are, of course, targeting that authenticity and credibility we are hoping to establish.”
Under Armour has struggled with footwear in the past, as sales declined by 7 percent in 2010 and forced the company to reinvent its sneaker line. With the introduction of newly tooled sneakers, Under Armour shoe sales rose in 2011 to $182 million.
Jack Lambert is responsible for driving breaking news coverage on the BBJ's website, baltimorebusinessjournal.com. His specialty coverage areas are sports business and transportation. However, Jack goes where the news is on a daily basis.
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Remember when Emojis were niche? Now, everyone and their mom (literally) uses them. Messaging stickers seem to be in the middle of a similar transition, slowing but surely becoming more regularly used in our messaging conversations having initially made it big in Asia.
And GIPHY, the ‘Google of GIFs’ which raised over $120 million last year alone, of course thinks these stickers should be animated. So today the company is announcing that it wants to make it easier for artists to create animated sticker apps for the iMessage App Store.
It is starting by launching 12 stickers apps, each featuring animated sticker designs from a different artist. Each app will cost 99 cents, with all proceeds going to the artist. Unlike regular GIFs, these stickers can be dragged anywhere on your message thread.
If you’re wondering just how lucrative that could be, cast an eye at messaging app Line, which raised over $1 billion last year via a dual U.S.-Japan IPO. The firm brought in $270 million in revenue from sticker sales in 2015. Apple hasn’t given out revenue figures for its iMessage App Store since its September launch — you can be sure Line is out-selling it on stickers — but the comparison gives an indication of where things could be moving to in North America.
But there’s a longer term vision for GIPHY here beyond sticker revenue.
As part of this project it has started developing software that will eventually make it easier for non-technical artists to get their content on marketplaces like the iMessage App Store. And while it is only launching 12 today, Ari Spool, Community Curator at GIPHY, explained that the company is interested in continuing to build on the idea of making it easier for artists to get their work to the masses.
This is important for artists — if platforms like the iMessage App Store are going to be where users are getting their content from, non-technical artists are going to need help getting their work there. And by acting as a middleman, GIPHY can genuinely help these artists while at the same time making sure their own GIF database contains the same great work that the iMessage App Store is getting.
GIPHY also benefits from more people sending animated stickers in general, because it validates their thesis that visual content like GIFs and animated stickers are the future of messaging.
The program is being run through GIPHY Arts, which is the art and community department responsible for maintaining the GIPHY artist directory. This is essentially a part of the site that showcases original GIFs created by artists around the world, and gives artists commissions for the work they upload. Artists are invited to join based on the quality of their content and creativity.
You can check out all 12 sticker packs here on the iMessage App Store.


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Microsoft Releases Dynamics CRM Mobile for iOS, Android
The mobile world is dominating every nook and cranny of the rest of the IT world. Another shining example: Microsoft has announced that Microsoft Dynamics CRM will be coming to a tablet near you, sometime in Q2 2012. If analyzing your business analytics on the go is a priority, then get excited for this …
Microsoft’s deployment of Microsoft Dynamics CRM will be a virtualized cloud-based platform with a native application for every major mobile platform: iOS, Android, Windows Phone 7 and even BlackBerry. Microsoft believes this kind of platform proliferation will help make Microsoft Dynamics CRM an “obvious choice” as mobile computing evolves in 2012.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Q2 2012 service update (whenever it arrives this quarter) also will feature built-in “social functionality” and more features aligned for enterprise use. As an added bonus, Dynamics CRM web browser compatibility now has guaranteed functionality in Chrome, Firefox and Safari — PC or Mac. Microsoft promises that all information — either from the web browser or native mobile application — will be synced, maintained and updated continuously to ensure a consistent experience across any platform.
Anytime a company focuses on a ubiquitous, high-quality cross-platform mobile experience, it’s simply a good thing. It means all users have a chance to get at the data they need in a way that’s familiar, comfortable and productive for each individual user. Microsoft is smart to continue to develop for the iPad and Android, even though those products compete with Windows 8 and Windows Phone 7. It shows Microsoft’s commitment to giving its customers what they want rather than being hard-headed about brand loyalty.
The only catch? The price tag — Microsoft Dynamics CRM Mobile will be subscription-based at $30 per user per month, although up to three devices can be linked to a single user.
If you’re ready for the mobile goodness, be sure to check out all Microsoft has to offer on its Dynamics CRM page. Be sure also to check out Microsoft’s full press release for a deeper dive on the social networking integration coming to the Dynamics CRM platform.


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Microsoft is apparently planning to add more features to its Photo app in Windows 10 Mobile in the very near future, The company has quietly posted word of those upcoming functions, which are expected to be included as part of an overall OS update.
At the bottom of Microsoft's official Windows Phone page, it states:
"On Windows 10 Mobile, the photo album experience is viewable at launch if created on Windows 10 PC. Full functionality on Windows 10 Mobile, with instant photo album and auto-enhance, scheduled for Fall 2015 update."
The statement is only partially accurate as Windows 10 Mobile users can create photo albums now, but the instant album feature, along with the automatically enhancement function, appears to be new. The "Fall 2015 update" mention is also a bit vague, especially since Microsoft has already released its latest version of the OS to Windows Insiders as well as owners of its new Lumia smartphones. With ten days to go before fall officially ends, Microsoft doesn't have much time to push out this new feature.