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The Hindu reported that Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd is planning to step up exports this fiscal encouraged by a double-digit rise in export earnings, including from a shipment to the US, in 2017-18. However, this year, RINL is not looking at the US market despite the success it achieved in shipping wire rods in 2017-18.
While the company realised goods’ prices, it is not planning to export wire rods to the US, said P Madhusudan, chairman-cum-managing director, RINL. However, he clarified the decision was not connected with the recent decision of the Trump administration to curb steel imports. Rather, it was connected with domestic demand.
He said “There is considerable demand here [that] we have decided not to export wire rods. In 2017-18, RINL exported 5.24 lakh tonnes of steel by volume worth INR 1,780 crore in 2017-18. This was 65% higher than 2016-17 earnings. We are looking to export around 12% of our output this fiscal.”
RINL director (commercial) P. Raychaudhury said that the company’s presence in international markets would not only help in realising export opportunity for products but also in benchmarking quality standards to international levels. It had the natural advantage being a shore-based plant, he said.
Source : The Hindu


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Tony Merevick is the Senior News Editor at Thrillist. He loves wine, making homemade pizzas, and trying too hard at Instagram. Follow him on Twitter @tonymerevick and send news tips right to his inbox at firstname.lastname@example.org.
Look at This Lion, King of the Jungle, Stuck in a Tree
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A recent clip form BBC's Earth's Dynasties show captures the tense minutes when a lion got himself stuck in a tree.
Stores Open for Last-Minute Gifts on Christmas This Year
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Need a last minute holiday gift? Here are the best stores with Christmas hours.
Taco Bell Is Making Big Boxes of Buffalo Chicken Nachos
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Taco Bell is testing a brand new $5 Buffalo Chicken Nachos Box in select locations in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Southwest's Huge, Nationwide Sale Has $49 Flights Through January 3
Published: December 18, 2018 at 3:10pm EST
Southwest Airlines is running a new sale with dozens of discounted one-way flights all across the country in early 2019.
Everywhere You Can Get Free Cookies Today for National Cookie Day
Published: December 4, 2018 at 12:28pm EST
National Cookie Day is Tuesday, December 4, and popular cookie purveyors all across the country are handing out free cookies and…
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GameStop's 2018 Black Friday deals include discounts on the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and all sorts of games and accessories.
Taco Bell Just Tripled the Size of the Chalupa
Published: November 19, 2018 at 5:42pm EST
Taco Bell is testing a huge new Triplelupa taco that -- just as its name suggests -- is triple the size of a normal Chalupa.
JetBlue's New 'Southern Charm' Sale Has $54 Flights to the South
Published: November 16, 2018 at 1:04pm EST
JetBlue's new sale has cheap flights to destinations across the South on Friday.
Shake Shack Will Give You Free Fries if You Vote
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Shake Shack is offering a deal for free fries on Election Day 2018.
Everyone Gets Free Taco Bell Today
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Discover the very best food, drink and fun in your city. Eat up!

domain: news


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As part of RadioShack long-expected collapse and bankruptcy filing, the company recently completed an auction of the data from some 117 million customers. The court-supervised sale was held in order to raise money to pay off $1.3 billion in debt, and the hedge fund Standard General came away as the highest bidder, paying $26.2 million for the RadioShack name and customer data. An interesting filing was made by Apple, however, which argued that customer data from the sales of its own products should not be resold.
Apple’s objection was based on the idea that customer data collected from the sale of iPhones and its other products in fact belongs to Apple, not RadioShack. “In order to protect its customers’ personal information, Apple oversees the collection and use of customer information collected by its retail partners, including RadioShack,” the company’s court filing said.
Part of the agreement RadioShack signed in order to get official Apple reseller status stated that it gave up its rights to own or sell the customer data from Apple product sales. As Apple’s paperwork said, “The reseller agreement between Apple and RadioShack protects information collected by RadioShack regarding purchasers of Apple products and prohibits the proposed sale of such information.”
While the bidding for RadioShack’s data has ended, the court must still approve the transaction. AT&T also filed an objection to the same tune as Apple’s, and the court has scheduled a hearing for May 20th to determine what data will be excluded from the sale. The data is said to include around 67 million physical addresses and some 8.5 million email addresses belonging to former customers.


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By Fiona Davids and Kim Emmanuel
Airports Company South Africa (Asca) has confirmed that it will remove a South African Tourism campaign image from the halls of the international arrivals area at OR Tambo International Airport.
The image depicts a family sitting and playing with lion cubs. Acsa told Tourism Update that OR Tambo International Airport had offered SA Tourism and Blood Lions the opportunity to identify and submit a suitable replacement image. “The replacement image has not yet been chosen but once an image has been agreed, it will be installed as soon as possible.”
Acsa had agreed to remove the image after Blood Lions drew attention to its concerns about the petting of young wild animals.
Nicola Gerrard, Digital Marketing Manager at Blood Lions, said the organisation was “hugely happy” with the decision to remove the images and added that they had had great support from SA Tourism CEO, Sisa Ntshona. “Our hope is that SA Tourism will start to work toward portraying ethical wildlife tourism that avoids all animal interaction,” said Gerrard.
According to Paul Tully, Sales and Marketing Manager for Captured in Africa, the removal of the image will lead to proper education and awareness of issues such as cub petting, not only for tourists but for tour operators too. “We cannot continue misleading tourists with the belief that cub petting is either responsible tourism or conservation – because such facilities are neither,” he added.
Tully said it was the tourism industry’s role as ambassadors to properly educate and promote South Africa as a responsible tourism destination.
SA Tourism said on Friday that it would release a statement, after which Tourism Update will update this story.


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McDonald’s U.S. sales fell just 5.1% in May compared to last year as dining rooms reopenPublished by Terence Mahier | Source
McDonald's U.S. same-store sales fell just 5.1% in May, showing signs of recovery in the U.S. compared to the 29.8% global fall from February to May 💪
This half-good news comes as a surprise since CEO Chris Kempczinski said at the end of April that same-store sales declines in the second quarter will be steeper than the previous quarter’s 🎢
In the U.S., only about 100 out of 14,000 restaurants are closed entirely 🍔
Shares of McDonald’s have fallen 4% this year, quickly recovering in the past months after losing 40% of its value in March... Will investors believe in a full recovery ahead?
Still, McDonald’s U.S. traffic and same-store sales remain negative, with breakfast being particularly hard hit. Consumers working from home are also making their own early morning meal, a trend that is reviving categories like orange juice and cereal 🥣
Outside of the United States, the global fast-food giant has had to reckon with more widespread temporary closures that shut down drive-thru and delivery service... If a second wave threatens to hit, McDonald's will be one of the first on the line 🧐
No Feedback on this trade.
- Newspill Team 💊
16-Jun 09:08 (Eastern Time)
Every weekday, we send to our community a summary of the most impactful Business/Financial news of the day - the "Daily Dose".


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Blockchain security company CipherTrace has announced a major partnership deal with Rakuten Wallet, a subsidiary of major Japanese e-commerce group Rakuten.
The new agreement will enable CipherTrace to validate anti-money laundering (AML) compliance for the firm’s upcoming cryptocurrency exchange.
Rakuten Wallet’s exchange begun accepting customer applications in April and the company said it has already seen “significant” traffic.
“We are happy to partner with CipherTrace in advance of our exchange launch,” commented Yoshinao Kiyama, head of risk control department, Rakuten Wallet.
“Regulatory compliance and anti-money laundering protections are of the utmost importance, and we believe CipherTrace will provide us the necessary tools needed to best support Rakuten Wallet.”
CipherTrace is a provider of anti-money laundering solutions and specialises in blockchain forensics all to help advance cryptocurrency with proper regulatory guidance.
It plans to support Rakuten Wallet to both improve the safety of investors and protect the integrity and compliance of the exchange.
“It is a major step for an e-commerce giant like Rakuten to both acknowledge cryptocurrency’s potential and adopt it,” said Dave Jevans, CEO of CipherTrace.
“We have made significant strides as an industry to make the cryptocurrency market grow and become more trustable. Rakuten Wallet cares about its customers and will work with CipherTrace to make sure that exchanges have optimal protections for mainstream adoption.
“It is our hope that proper compliance, transparency and increased trust will lead to more and more participation in the global crypto market. We are excited to blaze this trail with Rakuten Wallet.”


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Stewart Harding has been crowned the UK's 'King of the Jeepers' at the 2017 Camp Jeep festival. Apparently, a 'Jeeper' is an affectionate term labelled onto only the most passionate of Jeep owners.
Harding, a director of the Jeep UK Owners Club (yep, we'd say that's pretty passionate), attended this year's action-packed event in Germany and entered his beloved 2015 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon into an online poll. Speaking to Motor1 before his victory, he described Jeep ownership as being "truly unique". "I don't believe there is any vehicle that can tick all the boxes the Jeep does," he explained.
If the luminescent orange paint hasn't already given the game away, Harding's Wrangler isn't exactly stock. It features a fettled 3.6-litre V6 petrol engine, offering enough torque to put the optional winch and winch bumper to good use. Indeed, it was this combination of attitude and go-anywhere ability that resonated with our UK readers, who voted in their hundreds to give this 4x4 top honours.
Harding will now be shortlisted into a grand final to find the world's best Jeeper. The online poll on Motor1 now extends to include competitors from Italy, Germany and France. For the biggest advocates of this brand, the chance to be recognised as world's best Jeeper will be priceless. Get voting!


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Apple’s event today was jam-packed with new products, including the iPhone 14 series, AirPods Pro 2022, and more. The company’s first announcement was the Apple Watch Series 8, which will arrive later in September.
The new Apple Watch Series 8 follows the same basic design as earlier watches, with a curved screen and large circular dial on the side. The bezels around the screen have been reduced, and the internal sensors have been upgraded. Apple says the battery should last up to 18 hours, and there’s a new low-power battery mode that turns off some features (but maintains activity tracking) to reach up to 36 hours.
Besides everything new in watchOS 9, Apple highlighted two main improvements on the Series 8. First, the long-rumored temperature sensor has finally arrived, which is mostly used for ovulation tracking right now. The Series 8 will be able to monitor temperature changes every five seconds overnight, and provide historical and estimated data specifically for ovulation. The company said, “all Cycle Tracking users can now receive a notification if their logged cycle history shows a possible deviation, such as irregular, infrequent, or prolonged…
Read Full Article Source


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(Natural News) Another Big Pharma drug is being pulled from pharmacy shelves after it was discovered that millions of people could have developed cancer from taking it.
Zantac and other ranitidine products are reportedly no longer available at CVS, which joined a handful other other retailers in suspending Zantac sales pending an investigation into “impurities” that could be linked to life-threatening side effects. →
By Cortland Pfeffer,
“I just think it is time we try something new,” said the doctor to his patient, “It’s called Abilify.”
“But I’ve been doing well,” the patient pleaded, “I have had no problems for over six months and I am feeling fine.”
“Well, you are on an involuntary (civil) commitment and I would hate to have to extend that 18 months,” said the doctor, “You understand that the court will always do what the doctor recommends, and I think that you are in need of a switch to Abilify.”
Published on Sep 26, 2018
Dr. Bruce Lipton shocked the world with his discovery. YOU NEED TO SEE THIS!


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Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Vera hits the dance floor! -Nico
OMG. News just got out that Wedding dress designer and fashion/style ICON (plus big time marketing genius), Vera Wang is set to be cast in the new season of Dancing With The Stars!!!!!!!! Honest to Blog? Vera should do well, considering she used to be an Ice Skater. Well, even if she isn't good, we KNOW she'll look FABULOUS. Cant wait!


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15 April, 2017
The report indicated that Apple wants to invest billions of dollars to obtain more than 20% stake to ensure a stable supply of memory chips for its iPhones. The Tokyo-based company is wary of Hon Hai's bid to take full control of the chips unit on its own because it anticipates Japanese and USA governments would object.
These concerns were raised in regard to Foxconn's participation in the auction, because of the company's links to China.
The memory chip segment is a prized possession of Toshiba, but they are trying to sell it off now because the company is still trying to recover from the multibillion-dollar loss caused by the Westinghouse debacle. The company also stated that it should be given exclusive negotiating rights, notes CNBC.
On Tuesday Toshiba warned it may not continue as a 'going concern.More news: Maple Leafs beat Penguins to clinch final playoff spot
Toshiba has found itself in a tough spot financially recently, with the company recently admitting that its future is very much in doubt following its most recent financial report.
"It is not true Toshiba has put the chip sale process on hold", a Toshiba spokesman said.
Some small lenders have baulked at the offer as they have been offered other Toshiba assets as collateral, such as its group companies' shares and real estate. According to Japan's Mainichi Shimbun, potential buyers of world's second largest flash memory maker have been narrowed down to four bidders - SK Hynix, Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the United States' Western Digital Corp., and private equity firm Silver Laker Partners.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won has expressed his confidence in acquiring Toshiba's chip unit, implying that the group's chipmaking unit would take a different approach when the real race begins. Get twice-daily updates on what the St. Louis business community is talking about.


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The Liftr News team had the opportunity to sit down with Co-founder and CEO of Phunware, Alan Knitowski. In this interview, we dive into Phunware’ recently-announced partnership with World Wide Technology (WWT) to create location-based mobile experiences. Watch to find out how Phunware was built and how cloud technology has enabled more solutions for the way businesses use data to affect the way consumers make buying decisions. To find out more about Phunware, click here.
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Oracle claims database 10 times cheaper than AWS, analyst says … – Channelnomics #aws https://t.co/vpQ33GQeB1
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Holiday season brings heavier work load for post office
They may not have eight tiny reindeer, or live at the North Pole, but Pontiac’s mail carriers are still making the magic happen this season.
“Everybody wants letters, everybody wants Christmas Cards, everybody still wants to get their gifts to the destination on time,” Laurie Polan, postmaster at the Pontiac Post Office said. “We may not come down the chimney, but we’re the ones that are delivering the holiday cheer this season.”
Polan has served as the Pontiac postmaster for five years, but she has never seen a holiday season like this one. The National Retail Federation reports that nationally, online sales are forecast to increase between 7 and 10 percent over last year to as much as $117 billion. Not every package will be delivered by the U.S. Postal Service, but the USPS is planning to deliver 16 billion cards letters and packages this season.
“I feel like all 16 million of those packages are coming right through our door,” Polan joked. “Our packages are triple what they have ever been before, but that’s true at every post office right now. Online retailers are really getting those packages out and we are pushing them through. Every day, there is just more and more and more.”
So many in fact, that carriers have been taking special morning routes, with nothing but package deliveries, to make sure that all packages reach their destination on time. Meanwhile, in the post office, five or six sorters are going through packages and sorting them by route for the carriers. In addition to added routes in the morning, Polan said carriers are also staying extra hours in the evening to deliver packages.
“We’re not worn down by all the business, we’re happy to be part of it,” Polan said. “We have the opportunity to touch every single person in our community and we take that very seriously. We’re helping to bring on the holidays, whether we are delivering groceries, presents or Christmas cards.”
Carriers must work harder than ever because it’s easier than ever to track mail progress. Online tracking now allows customers to see when a package has arrived at the post office, when the carrier is taking it to the street and an expected time for it’s delivery.
“Our goal is to deliver every single Christmas present that comes through our doors,” Polan said. “They may have bought it through Amazon, or another online retailer, but it’s up to us to make sure that package reaches its destination in time for the holidays.”
This week is one of the busiest on record for this post office. Monday was predicted by the USPS to be the busiest day of the year for sending packages and Polan said people were arranging for things to be sent all day on Monday.
Likewise, Thursday is predicted to be the busiest delivery day of the year. Although Polan said these dates are pretty typical annually, her entire staff will be working hard throughout the remainder of the week to get this year’s gifts to the recipients.
“On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, we are going to have everybody working,” Polan said. “On Saturday, we are going to make sure that every single person gets every single package before we leave.”


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Dmexco 2017: P&G’s Mark Pritchard Takes On Ad Transparency
Digital media is now the leading form of advertising, and such leadership entails big responsibilities in terms of transparency and brand safety, was the consensus at this year’s event in Cologne.
by Michael Nutley
Posted on 09-20-2017
As any Spiderman fan will tell you, with great power comes great responsibility. That was also Marc Pritchard’s opening point when the chief brand officer for the world’s biggest advertiser Procter & Gamble gave the closing keynote speech on day one of Dmexco 2017.
Pritchard started by talking about how digital media had overtaken TV as the leading form of advertising, accounting for $200 billion worldwide. Such leadership brings with it big responsibilities, he said, in terms of brand safety and transparency–the third big issue at this year’s conference next to AI and transformation. And he described how, when P&G had started looking into the viewability of advertising at the start of the year, the digital supply chain had been revealed as “murky, non-transparent, and even fraudulent.”
“As little as 25% of the money we spend in media actually makes it to the consumer,” he said.
Pritchard wasn’t the only speaker at the conference talking about these issues. Nigel Morris, chief strategy and innovation officer at Dentsu Aegis Network, described the current situation as a “crisis of confidence in marketing, advertising, and digital.” And Joe Zawadzki, CEO of programmatic marketing technology company MediaMath, talked about the industry’s responsibility “to hit fake ads, fake news, and fake metrics head-on.”
Pritchard also had good news. If the industry takes on its responsibilities, he said, the result will be big rewards in terms of better customer experience, improved return on investment, and accelerated business growth.
He listed the five key actions P&G was taking “to raise the bar on transparency,” along with other advertisers and industry bodies. And he called on every other market to take part to create a cleaner, productive media supply chain, which he said, in turn, would release time and money for better advertising and innovation.
What’s more, greater transparency around advertising is already revealing aspects that aren’t working or annoying consumers, he said. Fixing these is not only saving P&G huge amounts of money, but it is also improving the customer experience.
Pritchard’s five key actions for the industry were: adopt a single viewability standard; get third-party accredited measurement verification; demand transparent agency contracts; eliminate ad fraud; and ensure brand safety. He also gave examples of how some of these actions were paying off for P&G. He talked about how greater transparency around video viewing had revealed that the average viewing time for online video ads was 1.7 seconds, and only 20% of ads were viewed for more than two seconds.
“For too long we were flooding digital media with 30-second ads, treating it like another form of television,” he said. Instead, P&G is now making two-second ads to use online and, as Pritchard noted, negotiating to only pay for the ads people see. But it has also accepted that ads in social media are annoying, so it’s now working with partners such as Snapchat, Instagram, and WeChat to create what Pritchard called “the next generation of digital ads.”
He also talked about how third-party verification had shown that the company was hitting too few people with too many ads too many times.
“Excess frequency is one of the biggest sources of waste in our industry,” he said. “And it really annoys consumers.”
The solution, he said, is to combine looking at the world from a customer perspective with next-generation programmatic techniques, to deliver ads to consumers when they’re ready to buy. P&G is also working with ecommerce platforms, using the fact that their customers are uniquely identified to achieve similar results.
But, perhaps, the most startling example Pritchard gave was when he talked about brand safety. He said that since the company had taken a hard line on only working with trusted publishers in order to protect its brands, it had cut more than $100 million in advertising but had still hit its revenue targets. This, he said, had led to the conversation moving away from brand safety and, instead, focusing on finding quality content to advertise against. The result will be better content for consumers, and also for advertisers to advertise against.
Elsewhere among the sessions, other people welcomed P&G’s stance. Jerry Daykin, head of global digital media partnerships at Diageo, noted that brand safety had always been a big issue for the drinks giant due to the regulations surrounding its business, but he agreed the issues Pritchard raised concerned the entire industry.
“His call to arms has been seen as a challenge for agencies, but it’s also a challenge for advertisers,” he said. “We accept we have to be part of the change as well.”
Platforms such as Facebook were also keen to reassure marketers that they were working hard to address these issues. Carolyn Everson, vice-president of global marketing solutions at Facebook, said that nothing was more important to the company than having marketers’ trust.
“We’re listening to marketers, consumers, and publishers, trying to establish confidence,” she said. She also highlighted the announcement at Dmexco of the new controls Facebook is introducing around brand safety and third-party measurement and verification, including doubling the size of its content review team, working with further third parties around brand safety controls, and joining the Trustworthy Accountability Group’s “Certified Against Fraud” programme.
In his session, Pritchard acknowledged the efforts being made by the industry to solve the problems of transparency and brand safety. He said that he felt the work was “60% finished,” and that he expected it to be completed by the end of the year. But he also warned against complacency.
“We must all stay diligent to get this done, and to keep standards high,” he stressed.
Topics: Experience Cloud, Insights Inspiration, Digital Transformation, Digital Foundation, Analytics, CMO by Adobe


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Elon Musk tweeted Wednesday that Tesla has suspended sales of its vehicles using bitcoin due to concerns about fossil fuels.
The use of fossil fuels to mine bitcoin, particularly coal, are at issue, he wrote on Twitter.
Concerns about the energy use of bitcoin mining have been a major criticism of the cryptocurrency. Tesla faced blowback for its involvement with bitcoin, which seemed to fly in the face of the electric car company's environmental mission, after the company announced it had taken a $1.5 billion position in the digital currency in February and began accepting it for purchases in March.
Tesla isn't selling its bitcoin, Musk said. He didn't explain the rationale for maintaining its stake, but exiting the position would presumably require energy-intensive transactions. Tesla is also looking at other cryptocurrencies that have better energy use, he said.
Subscribe to Protocol | Fintech for the latest news, analysis and research on the people, power and politics of fintech.


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KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) — Work continues to attract retailers to a proposed expansion of Kingsport Pavilion along Stone Drive in Kingsport.
Bethany Babcock with Foresite Commercial Real Estate, which manages the property, says a conceptional site plan shows what the future expansion project could look like.
The plan obtained by News Channel 11 shows six separate parcels, including a 47,000-square-foot movie theater and a 25,800-square-foot grocer.
“The site plan is just a conceptual site plan as we start the process of reaching out to retailers to gauge interest,” Babcock said. “We don’t have any updates or tenant announcements at this time.”
Signs announcing the planned expansion of the shopping center, which is home to several national retailers, were placed outside the property in July.
Babcock says they’re encouraging the public to show their support for their favorite retailer. A Facebook page gives the public a chance to express what retailers they want to see come to the Model City.
“A successful shopping center benefits the residents with the sales tax revenue that supports local programs,” Babcock added.


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All the news from the annual Google I/O event, including the latest on Android.
Ahead of CES 2014, Ford announced it would extend its Sync AppLink system to 3.4 million cars already on the road through a software update.
The discontinued handset returns to manufacturing for sales in India, Indonesia, and Brazil, according to the Economic Times.
Sony already has streaming deals with Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, and Hulu Plus, and now the company is bringing shows like "Game of Thrones" and "Boardwalk Empire" to its console.
The battle of the phablet phones begins with a test of their built-in cameras that come equipped with optical image stabilization. Which phone takes the best shot?
Samsung is planning a tidal wave of tablets in Q1 2014, according to reports, including a Galaxy Tab 3 Lite for less than £100.
Only the 32GB white model still shows an estimated ship date of 2 to 3 weeks.
Three's revealed which towns and cities in the UK will be able to access its 4G service next year. Are you covered?
Samsung's latest and greatest takes on recent rivals from LG and Sony. Let's see how the specs line up.
The latest updates implement new features brought to OS X with the latest 10.8.2 update.
BMW is filling out the numbers in its range. For the birth of the 4 Series though a legend has to die.


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Xbox One and Playstation 4 have sold out in the UK - and major suppliers won't be able to deliver the goods until AFTER Christmas
- The games consoles have sold out both online and in the shops
- Amazon and other major suppliers are now warning that any orders will not be fulfilled until after December 25
- Huge demand is surprising, given the cost of living and fact that they are not cheap – Microsoft’s Xbox One is £429.99 and Sony’s PS4 is £349
There will be a gap under the tree in many homes this Christmas amid a shortage of the ‘must-have’ games consoles, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
The consoles, which are also home entertainment hubs – playing DVDs, streaming films and browsing the web – have sold out both online and in the shops.
The likes of Amazon are now warning that any orders will not be fulfilled until after Santa and his reindeer have long finished their rounds.
The likes of Amazon (webpage, pictured) are now warning that any orders will not be fulfilled until after Santa and his reindeer have long finished their rounds
While most high street stores have also put up ‘sold out’ signs, with little or no expectation of getting extra stock before Christmas.
The huge demand is surprising, given the cost of living squeeze and fact that the devices are not cheap – Microsoft’s Xbox one comes in at £429.99 and Sony’s PS4 is £349.
Some who managed to get hold of a console in the early rush following their release in the last two weeks are trying to cash in on the angst of parents, desperate not to disappoint their children.
The Xbox One console, which comes with the Fifa 14 or Forza Motorsport game, was being advertised on eBay today with a ‘buy now’ price of up to £699 – a mark-up of £270 or 63per cent.
Similarly, one eBay seller was trying to get as much as £850 for the latest PS4 console, which would be a mark-up of £501 or 143 per cent.
The Xbox One, which comes with the Fifa 14 or Forza Motorsport game, console was being advertised on eBay yesterday with a 'buy now' price of up to £699 - a mark-up of £270 or 63per cent
Such is the demand that criminals have set up a number of rogue retail sites that promise to sell the consoles, but then disappear once money has been transferred in to their accounts.
The firm NetNames, which specialises in protecting brand names, has found almost 100,000 online scams linked to the Xbox One and PS4 consoles.
The firm’s product director, Haydn Simpson, said: ‘Consumers must remain wary of "too good to be true offers" for the must-have festive gifts.’
Amazon’s message to customers about the two consoles reads: ‘Temporarily out of stock’. On the PS4, it adds: ‘Customers who pre-order this console from November 14 will receive their consoles after Christmas.’
One eBay seller was trying to get as much as £850 for the latest PS4 console, which would be a mark-up of £501 or 143per cent. Criminals have even set up a number of rogue retail sites that promise to sell the consoles, but then disappear once money has been transferred in to their accounts
Similarly, the Xbox One product page has been updated to say the console will not be in stock until January 7.
The UK marketing director for Xbox, Harvey Eagle, said: ‘Everyone knows demand for Xbox One is through the roof, we are doing everything we can to make sure our fans have an Xbox One.’
However, Yusuf Mehdi, the corporate vice president of strategy and marketing for Xbox, admitted the console has sold out in retailers around the world.
‘Demand is far exceeding supply in the 13 countries we’ve launched and we are sold out at retailers around the world,’ he said.
The UK marketing director for Xbox, Harvey Eagle, said: 'Everyone knows demand for Xbox One is through the roof, we are doing everything we can to make sure our fans have an Xbox One.' Here, one lucky customer cuddles his console on the day it went on sale in the U.S.
‘We are humbled and gratified by the overwhelming response from our fans to the launch of Xbox One. Eleven days in we are seeing record breaking sales and are selling every Xbox One we can make.
The GAME chain said it is giving priority to customers who pre-ordered the consoles, but said it hoped to get more stock before Christmas to supply others.
Category director, Charlotte Knight, said: ‘Demand is incredible and our pre-order customers are our number one priority. With that in mind, we are still confident that we will be able to make more Xbox One and PlayStation 4 stock available pre-Christmas for non pre-order customers too. If we can, we will.’
Last night, it was revealed that O2 stores have been given a consignment of Xbox consoles, which should go on sale tomorrow.
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- Thieves caught on CCTV stealing brand new £47,000 Mercedes
- Shocking moment men in crash steal the car of Good Samaritans
- Man falls to death climbing down high-rise building in China


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As part of our interview with the CEO of streaming web site Crunchyroll, Kun Gao, the company lifted the lid on their latest efforts to expand into English speaking territories outside of North America.
The good news for us is that the first territory to get this renewed focus is in fact the UK, and to complement this Crunchyroll have now launched www.crunchyroll.co.uk as their official UK portal.
Alongside this, Crunchyroll have now confirmed that their subscription payment options now fully support British currency, meaning that you can pay for your subscription to the site in Pounds rather than Dollars to make for an easier and more consistent experience.
So, whether you're new to the service or an existing user, why not check out Crunchyroll's UK site? Then, to find out more about the company's plans and strategy, don't miss the new UK Anime Network podcast!


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- Life Cereal, which is owned by The Quaker Oats Company, a subsidiary of PepsiCo, Inc., is running a nationwide contest to help the brand find the next kid to include in its next advertising campaign, the company announced in a press release. The campaign will pitch the cereal as a healthy breakfast option that is liked by parents and kids alike.
- The effort plays on the brand's former "Mikey Likes It" commercial, which debuted in 1972 and had several sequels. In the original ad, Mikey likes the cereal after reluctantly giving it a try.
- The brand is seeking kids with acting skills, the ability to articulate clearly and convincingly and natural on-camera presence. Parents can bring their kids, between the ages of 4 and 8, to an in-person casting call at one of five Walmart locations nationwide or upload a video of the child reading a script at LifeCastingContest.com through April 27. Finalists will be announced in May, and up to three kids will receive a trip to Los Angeles to audition for the part in person.
By reaching out to consumers to help find the new face for its campaign, Life can build buzz and interest even before the campaign's launch. The contest adds depth to Life's upcoming effort by encouraging fan engagement before the spots air on TV, as parents and kids eat the cereal, visit the brand's website or social channels and share videos of themselves acting the part at home. Plus, to enter the sweepstakes, parents must share some personal details, including birthday, their kids' birthdays, name, phone number, address and email address, providing the brand more customer data that could be useful for other marketing and targeting initiatives down the road.
These kinds of efforts, which include real customers in brands' marketing campaigns, are growing more popular as marketers seek to generate brand buzz and encourage social sharing.
Procter & Gamble deodorant brand Secret in February asked female Instagram users to share their empowering stories to be selected by judges and used in a multichannel campaign throughout the year. Similarly, American Eagle last summer extended its #AExME brand platform which features actual customers, and Burger King recently crowdsourced April Fools' Day pranks from students to drum up fan participation and rake in user-generated content.
Life's latest contest and campaign also tap into nostalgia for the "Mikey Likes It" ads that ran in the 1970s and spurred several sequels throughout the 1990s. The desire for parents to have their child be the next "Mikey" plays into the nostalgia trend, which appears to resonate with millennials. In a similar rehash of a past campaign, Juicy Fruit recently asked consumers to vote on a remixed version of its classic jingle.


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GUILDERLAND - To borrow a phrase from a certain movie, everything at Crossgates Mall is now, presumably, awesome, as the new LEGO Store is now open.
The store opened Friday and offers "kid-chic" design, along with display and play areas, the company said in a release.
"Our store at Crossgates will enhance our consumers' overall LEGO brand experience through product variety, store design and regular hands-on family events," LEGO Group senior director Leslie Jenkins said in a statement.
The store will have more than 4 million LEGO bricks in stock at any given time.
Previous: LEGO store coming to Crossgates Mall, Sept. 18, 2018
There are currently 93 LEGO stores nationwide, but the closest is more than 80 miles away, in Connecticut.
Along with a full line of products, the new Crossgates store will include three key design components: The Pick and Build Wall, offering junior engineers their choice of individual blocks in any color and quantity; an interactive play area for trying before buying; and the Brand Ribbon, with model displays and trivia facts about LEGO and its history.
-- By Steven Cook, The Daily Gazette, Schenectady, N.Y.


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During the same press conference where it revealed a lighter and thinner PS Vita and the new PS Vita TV micro console, Sony delivered some bad news to Japanese consumers: the PlayStation 4 will launch much later in Japan than anywhere else in the world.
The company revealed that the PlayStation 4 will be released in Japan on February 22, 2014. The system will launch in North America and Europe in late November of this year. Sony says this delay is to ensure that the "software" is ready for a Japanese audience. We are not sure if this is due to the Japanese government's stricter policy on security and safety in the wake of the massive PS3 security breach that happened in 2011.
The console will cost 41,979 yen ($421.22) on its own, and 46,179 yen ($463.36) bundled with the PlayStation Camera. Pre-orders in Japan launch on October 5, and 19 titles will be available from launch. As an apology for the delay, Sony said that it will be offering a free download code for Knack to all consumers who buy the console at launch. This offer will only be available in Japan, of course.


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The real Photoshop for iPad exists. Adobe showed it yesterday and it looks like a solid digital darkroom. But, more importantly, it marks another step in the ongoing evolution that is changing the way humans interact with machines. One that, in fact, is putting back our human nature into computing.
The new Adobe app just confirms the paradigm shift that is already happening, another piece towards something that I predicted even before the iPad was announced: We are witnessing the beginning of a new computing era, after the punch cards, the mainframe, the command line PC and the mouse with its graphical user interface.


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Sainsbury's CEO Mike Coupe caught jubilantly singing between TV interviews in light of Asda merger
Mike Coupe was filmed singing the tune while in between TV interviews to discuss the £12billion deal, which it is feared could result in job losses.
The ITV exclusive video shows the CEO wearing a suit as he waits for the next interview to start.
He begins singing: "We're in the money, the sky is sunny.
"Let's send it, lend it, spend it rolling along.
"We're in the money, the sky is sunny.
"Let's send it, lend it, spend it rolling along."
Coupe has now been forced to apologise for the gaffe – claiming it was because he had seen musical 42nd Street last year, which is where the song comes from.
He said: "This was an unguarded moment trying to compose myself before a TV interview.
"It was an unfortunate choice of song, from the musical 42nd Street which I saw last year and I apologise if I have offended anyone."
The merger between Asda and Sainsbury's will create the UK's biggest supermarket chain with around 31 per cent of the grocery market.
The new supermarket group will have combined revenues of £51billion and will aim to generate £500million in cost savings.
After the deal was announced, Sainsbury's shares rocketed by 20 per cent.
There are fears the deal could cost jobs and branch closures – although both companies have denied this.
A Sainsbury's spokesman said: "Mike was composing himself between interviews. As many of us do, he was singing songs to himself to clear his mind.
"He recently saw 42nd Street, where this song is from and we all know these songs stay in your head. To attach any wider meaning to this innocent, personal moment is preposterous."
Source: Read Full Article


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“Transparent,” Amazon’s new dark comedy starring Jeffrey Tambor, has been picked up for a second season less than a month after the company released all 10 episodes of its first outing. Since its launch, the show has remained at the top of Amazon’s Prime Instant Video charts, and has a 98 percent critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the highest of any Amazon show to date.
Having seen it, the show’s success makes sense – it’s smart, funny and touching – but it may have also been helped by Amazon taking a page from Netflix’s playbook. “Transparent” is the first show Amazon released all at once, which has made it available for people to binge watch. According to Amazon, nearly 80 percent of viewers watch two or more episodes of the series in one sitting.
It’s good news for Amazon Studios, which has been searching for a hit show ever since the company started its foray into original video programming. “Alpha House,” the company’s only returning series, will have its entire second season released all at once later this month.


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British Telecom (BT) has been ordered by the telecoms regulator, Ofcom, to reduce its bills by £5 for customers that only subscribe to its landline service. The change is expected to impact two million customers, mainly elderly and vulnerable people who have remained with the company for decades but who are no longer getting value for money, according to Ofcom.
Ofcom chief, Sharon White, said:
“Line rental has been going up, even as providers’ costs come down. This hurts people who rely on their landline the most, and are less likely to shop around for a better deal. We think that’s unacceptable. So we plan to cut BT’s charge for customers who take only a landline, to ensure that vulnerable customers get the value they deserve.”
Figures from Ofcom show that ISPs, in general, have benefited from around a 26% drop in the wholesale cost of providing a landline service; Ofcom decided to go after BT purely because it is the biggest player, with its 80% (2.3 million customers) of the landline-only market. Ofcom blames price increases by BT for the rest of the market following suit with their increases.
BT challenged the regulator by issuing the following comment:
“We take our responsibilities in this area very seriously and, unlike other companies, have many customers of special tariffs for socially excluded or vulnerable customers, including BT Basic, which still costs just £5.10 a month for line rental and calls, and Home Phone Saver…Recently, we have frozen the cost of line rental for all of our customers who take a BT phone line.”
Ofcom is currently running a public consultation process regarding the price cap for landline-only offers. The consultation will run until May 9th after which the regulator will decide if it wants to put a cap of between £5 and £7 on BT’s landline-only service.


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Electric vehicles are on the horizon – that much is clear, but the infrastructure to make them practical is still elusive at best. One of the things that is required is a charging station, and you can’t (yet) just walk into Walmart and pick one of those up. This week, Lowe’s announced that it’s going to be a grass roots participator in the roll-out of GE’s new WattStation Wall Mount
Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Station. The announcement was made at the Plug-In
2011 Conference and Exposition – and make no mistake, this is a big deal. The roll-out will be slow, but methodical and well-calculated, beginning with just 5 stores in California (where else!) around
August. After that it will scale up to 60 stores during September. To have these EV chargers in 60 stores in just two months is pretty impressive and should help consumers think harder about picking up a new Nissan LEAF, Honda Fit EV, Toyota Prius PHV or RAV 4 EV, or Chevy Volt electric vehicles in 2012. In addition to retail store locations, Lowe’s will also be selling the new WattStation vehicle chargers online (presumably only the wall-mount version at first) at Lowes.com in September.
These are the self-standing versions.
GE WattStation is actually a pretty slick device. It looks like a truly futuristic gas pump, but it feeds a tethered electrical charge to your vehicle from 208-240VAC
circuit . It’s also what’s known as a Level 2 charger, which means that it can completely charge an electric car in
4-8 hours as opposed to the 12-15 hour (Level 1) overnight charge required by a standard 120V outlet. These numbers are based on a full-cycle charge for a 24 kWh battery. The unit is available in pedestal form or as a wall unit that can be installed in garages or even outdoors. The device is really built well and is NEMA 3R rated so it can stand up to rain,
sleet and even ice. That means you can expect to start seeing them outdoors in public places soon.
Realize that Lowe’s is really the first to jump on-board with the WattStation – it’s not available anywhere else yet – at least not with respect to a brick-and-mortar retailer. Lowe’s is also committing to install a range of commercial GE
WattStations at select stores for public use. Perhaps this is a move to encourage users of EVs to shop at their stores over rival Home Depot – at least until the chargers become more commonplace. The whole thing makes a lot of sense when you figure that GE manufactures the WattStation units in Mebane, NC, which is not too far from Lowe’s Mooresville, NC headquarters.
GE WattStation Wall Mount
Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Station
GE’s wall-mount version of the WattStation measures just 24″H x 16″W x 6″D. Because it’s so compact, it can be retrofitted into an existing home easily or built as part of a new construction home. You can even plug it into a NEMA 6-50 receptacle. The commercial version of the GE WattStation Wall Mount
Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Station is expected to cost between $3,000-7,000. The range is wide due to the number of options available to commercial users (n theory, these could be set up to accept credit card payments like a gas pump, etc). The much more simplified residential unit, like the kind that will be available for sale at Lowe’s, will cost between
With the advancement of charging technology, and its availability to consumers, the sale of electric vehicles (EVs) may actually expand into the marketplace sooner than expected. 2012 should be a big year for the electric car – and it’s likely that it will boom or bust based on the availability of charging stations and commercial acceptance.
For more information, visit www.geelectrical.com/ev.


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Zameen.com, Pakistan’s top realty portal, is set to host the Zameen.com Property Expo 2016 (Lahore) at the Expo Centre in Johar Town on May 28 and 29. This two-day affair is slated to be the portal’s biggest expo to date. Over 105 exhibitors have signed up to showcase their projects and services, leading Zameen.com to... Continue Reading →
The Career Portal Training Services organised a persuasive interactive motivational seminar entitled “What do you want from the Ocean of Life?” on Sunday, 22nd May at Hotel One, Lahore. The show was conducted by a professional motivational speaker Mr. Ali Shan. An unusual theme with a combination of motivational speaking and influencing theater has been... Continue Reading →
To help the public combat extreme temperatures throughout Karachi, Mobilink’s umbrella brand – Jazz partnered with Voice of Karachi (VoK), an association working for the betterment of the city, to set up heat-wave relief camps at various spots in Karachi throughout the month of May. Moreover, Jazz, in collaboration with the Islamic Relief, has also... Continue Reading →
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (“PTA”) has today approved the merger of Pakistan Mobile Communication Limited (“Mobilink”) and Warid Telecom (Private) Limited (“Warid”)*. This is yet another milestone in the regulatory process and follows the approval granted in March, 2016 by the Competition Commission of Pakistan. The deal remains subject to further regulatory approvals and other... Continue Reading →
Subsequent to the launch of Jazz as Mobilink’s umbrella brand, continuing the streak to re strategize its brands, Mobilink has now introduced ‘JazzCash’ as its brand name for Mobile Financial Services (MFS), Jazz Cash will replace Mobicash brand. This step is taken to further strengthen Jazz as a one-stop solution to cater the wider needs of subscribers in... Continue Reading →
Mobilink has recently re-worked their business strategy and integration into gadgets and smartphones market, which is still untapped and offers promising potential. Keeping up with this strategy of introducing economical 3G devices to expedite the market uptake of high-speed mobile internet, Mobilink has announced that it will exclusively launch world’s first reversible smartphone Alcatel IDOL 3 across Pakistan.... Continue Reading →
Mobilink vowing to its strategy of boosting Pakistan’s vibrant and emerging Tech ecosystem, is all set to establish Jazz’s ‘National Incubation Center’. NIC will complement Government’s promise for a Digital Pakistan. Center will be setup under the umbrella of National ICT R&D fund.
TPL Trakker Limited, claims to be Pakistan’s largest tracking service provider has recently signed an MoU with Telenor Pakistan to launch TPL Maps. This will become Pakistan’s first indigenous digital mapping solution. TPL Maps will provide real-time intelligent routing, also give users access to live traffic updates, turn-by-turn navigation and smart search options. TPL Maps has been... Continue Reading →


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TN revokes dine-in relaxation, will allow only takeaway till June 30 in bid to arrest COVID-19 spread
Relaxing the lockdown norms, the state government had allowed resumption of dine-in services on June 8 with restaurants functioning with 50 per cent capacity but revoked that to combat virus spread.
CHENNAI: With the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the state, the Tamil Nadu Hotels Association announced on Saturday that only takeaways will be allowed in restaurants across Tamil Nadu till June 30.
Both app based delivery services and direct parcel services at restaurants will be available.
"We do not want to risk the lives of our customers or the staff. Since restaurants are places where large number of people come in from different places, the threat is high. Keeping the overall health of
public in mind, we had to take this decision," said A Venkada Subbu, president, Tamil Nadu Hotels Association.
Relaxing the lockdown norms, the state government had allowed resumption of dine-in services on June 8 with restaurants functioning with 50 per cent capacity, while maintaining hygiene and safety.
However, due to lack of customers and increase in costs hit the hotel industry post relaxation, said M Ravi, president, Chennai Hotels Association.
"Despite resuming dine in services, we did not see many customers. Most of them were still opting for delivery services. With profits plummeting heavily, running costs increased because we have to pay the
staff and for the maintenance of the restaurant," he said.
Ravi further added that this move to allow only take away will avoid risk and they are hopeful that the business might soon flourish after the number of COVID-19 cases start coming down.


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Instagram has launched a feature called ‘Create’ Mode, which you can access by swiping left from your ‘Story’ menu..
Best Of Hudson Valley Winner "This award is a true testament to the company’s hard work, dedication and expertise.
MarTech enables brands to interact with customers the way they want: Kalpit Jain, Netcore, Marketing & Advertising News, ET BrandEquity
In an interview, Kalpit Jain, Group CEO of Netcore, talks about the importance of customer data platform in marketing,.
NEW WINDSOR, N.Y., Sept. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Interact Marketing, a leading New York Digital Marketing Agency was awarded.
Google revealed a number of Pixel 4 features Monday, including facial recognition and hands-free controls thanks to Google’s Soli.
After purchasing and relaunching the highly successful SlingshotSEO brand name, Interact parent Ecommerge, Inc. has announced that it will.
Interact Marketing saw double digit growth in revenue January-March 2019 “We've really come into maturity with our offerings for.
Interact Marketing adds Geofencing to their digital service offerings “It is part of our company culture to always be.
Interact Marketing will have a Bryant Park location starting April 2019 “Though we’re headquartered in the suburbs, we still.
Interact Marketing commits to nonprofit organizations through discounted service offerings, hours invested in giving back, and cash donations by.


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Story of the day:
Wet weather dampens April trading: Operators report wet weather has poured cold water over trading. The rainfall figures up to 29 April showed an average of 121.8 mm had fallen (4.8 inches), almost double the long term average for April of 69.6mm (2.7 inches) and beating the previous record of 120.3mm (4.7 inches) set in 2000. Orchid Pub Company chief executive Rufus Hall, writing in his Orchid blog, said: “Overall it’s bad news full stop. By and large, we’re a fair weather business. Nine out of ten of our pubs and bars have great outside areas which make the tills ring when the sun shines. St. George’s Day was washed out by the rain. Nevertheless sales were only marginally down on last year, despite the weather and the fact that there was no football on Monday night. Do we have any winners when it rains? Probably just one – our 52 Fuzzy Ed’s Fun Houses – because when it rains it’s too wet to take the kids out and too cold to go swimming. Admissions to Fuzzy Ed’s were 12 per cent up last week.” Other operators reported mixed trading. Lincolnshire-based Kurnia Group suffered more than most. Owner Michael Kheng said like-for-like sales were down 44 per cent compared to last April. “The last week was a killer because of the weather.” He said the weather particularly affected income from tourists. Northumberland-based Head of Steam’s Tony Brookes said trade “hadn’t been too bad and not as bad as I thought it would be”. Alex Salussolia, managing director of Glendola Leisure, said: “You could say April was a mixed bag, but we are there or thereabouts - ahead of last year even with all the bad weather.” Other operators reporting sales down on last year were Anglian Country Inns and Thorley Taverns. However, both reported that revenue from the letting accommodation side of their businesses stood up well. Anglian’s James Nye said: “Accommodation held up remarkably well, more so than ambient trade.” Philip Thorley, operations director of Thorley Taverns, said: “The hotel side bucked the trend, although not quite up to last April’s figures.” This morning, Numis Securities analyst Douglas Jack argued that The Restaurant Group should have benefited from inclement weather conditions in April due to circa 90 per cent of its sites being located in airports and leisure/retail parks.
Peach - Voucher culture here to stay: More than two in five consumers rate vouchers as very or extremely important when deciding where to go out to eat - and the number is still rising. Those are among the key findings from new research into voucher use in restaurants and pubs from Peach BrandTrack. The 42 per cent of consumers who place such high importance on vouchers equates to some 15 million adults among the UK’s eating-out population - and the survey uncovered a hard-core of voucher addicts: six per cent of the population who use them every time they eat out. Peach BrandTrack’s survey, which was carried out among 2,000 British adults in February this year, reveals a variety of insights into voucher use, including:
• Women use vouchers most. Nearly half (46 per cent) say vouchers are very or extremely important—compared to just over a third (38 per cent) of men.
• Young people are most hooked. More than half (55 per cent) of 25 to 34 year-olds give vouchers high importance—compared to just 26 per cent of those aged 65 or over.
• London is a voucher hotbed. Half (51 per cent) of Londoners rate vouchers as very or extremely important. Scotland (33 per cent) ranks lowest by region.
• Voucher websites are here to stay. Over half (56 per cent) use them, with Voucher Codes, Discount Vouchers and GroupOn the most popular.
• Voucher users love pizza brands. The three brands whose customers are most likely to say vouchers are very or extremely important to their eating-out decisions are Zizzi, ASK and Prezzo. The survey also reveals that one in seven people has increased their use of vouchers over the last six months, compared to just one in 14 who has cut it. But those increasing their use have tended to eat out more, indicating that vouchers are helping to shore up pubs and restaurants’ footfall in the face of competition from supermarkets—if not necessarily their profit margins.
Starbucks increases opening target for this year: Starbucks has increased the number of global locations it expects to open this year to 1,000 from the previous target of 800. Howard Schultz, Starbucks’ chief executive, said U.S. locations that opened within the past year are performing “extraordinarily well”. “So any thought of saturation or inability to find quality real estate and continue to expand in the US, or, for that matter, North America, should be taken off the table,” he said. Efforts in the UK and Europe are focused on a turnaround. He added: “We’ve seen this movie before and I’m proud to say it had a positive ending in the US. But this is not going to happen overnight.”
McDonald’s to focus on children’s “well-being”: McDonald’s will look to leverage the London Olympics to launch a global exercise initiative for children that will continue after the games have concluded. Global chief brand officer Kevin Newell told The Chicago Tribune: “Most people, when they talk about children’s well-being, go immediately to the food – but it’s also about education and activity.” A new television advert will show children engaging in physical activity being rewarded with a McDonald’s product. The company is looking hard at products that work well in one territory being introduced elsewhere. Examples are premium burgers and wraps in Europe, chicken products, spices and innovative sauces.
One in three households squeezed on travel expenses: The rising cost of petrol and rail fares has forced 8.2 million households into “transport poverty”. More than a third of households are having to cut back on other spending to afford to travel. The figures relates to the 2009/2010 period so are thought to have got “much worse” since.
Nightclub cancels zebra appearance: A nightclub scrapped plans to hire a live zebra after complaints from animal welfare groups. Carbon bar had printed posters promising a zebra at its Zoo club night as a “first” for the Oxford club scene. Manager Jan Zarecky said it had been planned as “a bit of fun”. A RSPCA spokeswoman said it had worries the zebra’s safety would be “unnecessarily compromised for the purpose of entertainment”.
CAMRA – beer duty is closing pubs: CAMRA has reported that the rate of pub closures is now around 12 a week, with crippling beer taxes the main reason. The West Midlands and Lancashire are among the areas hardest hit by community pub closures. CAMRA said 300 independent pubs had called last orders between September last year and March this year.
Collyer - Enterprise debt issues are fading: Deutsche Bank analyst Geof Collyer has argued that Enterprise Inns interim results on 15 May could provide the “next leg up in the company’s share price”. He said: “We believe that management could provide enough comfort at the forthcoming interim results to show that its plans for debt reduction should not just put the prospect of cash trap for its securitisation in 2014 out of shareholders minds, but could potentially remove the issue from the agenda for the next decade or so. Furthermore, the current plan for the continued reduction in bank debt (from selling high-end assets) should allow the group to refinance its bank facility early – maybe even Q3/Q4 this year – and extend its maturity out towards the later part of the decade, when it should become an irrelevance or will have been completely repaid.”
Original Pub Company launches innovative spring/summer menu: Original Pub Company, the newest Spirit Pub Company brand with 24 sites and another 56 identified within the estate, has launched an innovative spring/summer menu. The brand, which Spirit believes could grow to more than 150 sites eventually, has introduced tortilla baskets, a build-you-own burger option, mega “topped” burgers featuring chicken Tikka, mixed grill or Mexican, foot-long subs (chicken breast and bacon, Italian meatballs or steak and cheese served with mixed leaves and mayo) and a Yorkshire pudding roll (guests can choose from roast beef, roast chicken or gammon rolled into a giant Yorkshire pudding, with roast potatoes and a jug of gravy on a Sunday). The food mix at Original Pub Company is currently 16 per cent with an average of 300 covers a week with spend-per-head of £6.40 including VAT.
Former Innbrighton operations manager opens second site: Former Innbrighton operations manager Simon Woplin has opened his second pub. The former Jamaica Inn in Hove has re-opened as The Noble House, named after Second World War Hurricane pilot Sergeant Dennis Noble whose plane was downed 100 yards from the pub. Noble House is serving Noble Best, a four per cent abv ale brewed in honour of Sergeant Noble by Horsham-based Weltons Brewery. Woplin also operates Brighton Rocks in Brighton’s Kemptown area.
Freehold of Food and Fuel pub goes to auction: The freehold of a pub occupied by Food & Fuel, the ten-strong London operator headed by Karen Jones, is set to go to an Allsops auction on 21 May. The Prince of Wales, on Upper Richmond Road, Putney, is to be auctioned with a guide price of £1.4 to £1.5m. The current rent is £105,000, with the pub’s top lease held by Punch Taverns until 2029. The lease is also, unusually, guaranteed until 2019 by Scottish & Newcastle. Food & Fuel acquired the lease from previous tenant Etive in January this year - Etive, founded by Freddie Fleming and Ollie Pudney, runs The Bull and Last in Highgate.
Former Michelin-starred pub changes name in break with the past: The new licensees of the former Michelin-starred Goose at Britwell Salome have changed its name to make a break with the past. Andrew Hill and Eilidh Ferguson say they are focused on creating a traditional pub - and have re-named the venue The Red Lion. Former Goose chef Ryan Simpson now runs Orwells in Shiplake. The Red Lion is owned by John and Julia Mearns, who run the farm opposite and decided to buy the pub. Hill and Ferguson won the Oxfordshire Dining Award in the Good Pub Guide 2010, while at The Half Moon, Cuxham, their previous pub.
Prezzo appoints head of training: Restaurant group Prezzo has appointed Janene Pretorius as its head of training. Ms Pretorius was previously head of staff training and development at Gaucho, overseeing training for staff at its 14 UK restaurants as well as those in the Middle East. She also had responsibility for overseeing all training at Gaucho’s other concepts; CAU, Galante and Freggo. Ms Pretorius will be responsible for Prezzo’s 2,500 staff at its 184 Prezzo, Chimichanga and Caffe Uno restaurants across the UK.
Mitchells & Butlers’ Nicholson’s chain to launch it own pale ale: Nicholson’s, the 80-strong city pub group operated by Mitchells & Butlers, is to launch its own-branded pale ale, which has been produced by St Austell Brewery. The brew will be launched on Thursday 10 May by food and drink critic Nigel Barden at the company’s White Swan pub in Covent Garden.
Freehold of The 02 Academy in Birmingham up-for-sale: The freehold of The 02 Academy in Birmingham is up-for-sale with a guide price of £2m at an Allsops auction on 21 May. The 02 Academy is let to Hospital Holdings, a subsidiary of Compass, with a sub-let to Academy Music Group on a rent of £165,500 per annum.
JD Wetherspoon targets Lowestoft: JD Wetherspoon has submitted plans to convert a large part of the former Tuttles department store on Station Square in Lowestoft to a pub in a £1m investment. A spokesman for Wetherspoon said: “We are still in negotiations on a site in Station Square and, although things are progressing, planning and licensing are still required.” Meanwhile, Wetherspoon has won a licence to convert the former Woolworths in Blairgowrie to a new pub in a £1.2m investment.
Antic Pub Company freehold to go to auction: The freehold of Antic Pun Company’s most recent opening, Pratt & Payne on Streatham High Road, is to go an Allsops auction on 21 May with a guide price of between £1.2m and £1.3m. The pub has a dance studio on the second floor and total current rents are £103,100 per annum. The pub is let to Mitchells & Butlers on a lease expiring in 2032. The auction is the first time the pub has been on the market since 1980.
Marston’s applies to convert maltings building to flats: Wolverhampton-based brewer and retailer Marston’s has applied for planning consent to convert an unused maltings building at the Jennings brewery in Cockermouth to 16 flats. The building was formerly used for brewery production, storage and offices but has stood empty since before the 2009 floods. The company said that the site has to be used for something before it deteriorates. Marston’s has applied for permission to create 10 two-bedroom apartments and six three-bedroom apartments.
Heston Blumenthal’s company reports sales growth: The company that oversees chef Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant and other interests has reported strong turnover growth. SL6, which operates his Fat Duck restaurant and two pubs in Bray as well as collecting revenue from his endorsements, reported a 22 per cent increase in revenue to £10.1m for the year ended June 2011. Pre-tax profit was £768,566 – Blumenthal collected a dividend of £750,000.


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A. Harrington Limousine Service of Edison, in business since 1923, is expanding its fleet and client services.
Leros Point To Point acquires Royal Coachman Worldwide.
Learn about a 100-year-old woman's trip in a limo and how it made her excursion that much easier and enjoyable.
The Limousine Association of New Jersey will bring leadership and workplace consulant Richard Magid to its meeting Nov. 5 at LCT East.
Michael Fogarty recently took the helm of the Americas division for the extensive global luxury transportation network.
SEPT. LCT: Operator Jason Sharenow has gone from limousines to buses and does what it takes to do it right.
The 2018 Concierge Choice Awards recognize companies that create exceptional service experiences.
The annual Limousine Association of New Jersey fundraiser has long served as a role model for industry togetherness.
Jason Messinger and Sam Emam have teamed up to take BBZ Limousine to the next level.
E-News Exclusive: Jonathan Wilner knows this industry is where he’s meant to be, and has helped people discover it’s their calling, too.
The trade group leader, show speaker, and seasoned operator is helping Black Tie Transportation grow in North Carolina.
The CEO of Addison Lee North America will offer his perspective at the LANJ breakfast meeting Nov. 6.
The largest chauffeured transportation network expects revenues to rise 40% this year.
The world's No. 1 online marketplace and trader for professional chauffeured and chartered vehicles, including all types of motorcoaches, buses, vans, stretch limousines, sedans, SUVs, exotics, and classics. New and used vehicles are available from sellers across the nation.
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US confectionery giant Mondelez International will no longer produce Oreo Thins for the UK and Irish markets, it has confirmed.
Mondelez has not given a reason for the decision but media reports suggest sales of the product have been declining.
In a statement sent to Just Food, the Cadbury owner said: “We regularly review and refresh our range to ensure we’re bringing the most relevant line-up of Oreo products to our customers’ shelves. As part of this process, Oreo Thins are no longer available.
“We recommend retailers focus on the core SKUs from our popular range, as well as our two new delicious Oreo Twists flavours which are set to be a hit with shoppers.”
The product was introduced to UK and Irish consumers back in 2016.
Oreo Thins, described by Mondelez at launch as “ideal for the mid-afternoon nibbling occasion” and “lighter than a traditional biscuit but still full of taste”, were developed and first launched in China before being rolled out into Australia and then the US.
They were launched in two “classically popular Oreo flavours” in the UK – Original Vanilla and Chocolate Crème.
Just Food has asked Mondelez whether the product is also being discontinued in markets other than the UK and Ireland.
Two weeks ago, Mondelez struck a deal to add to its snacks portfolio with the acquisition of US energy bar business Clif Bar & Company for US$2.9bn.
Just Food analysis: Mondelez’s move for Clif Bar wins praise despite new asset’s recent slowing sales


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- 23 May 2013:DigiTimes Research said Wednesday that LED tube lighting shipments in 2013 would account for 5.5% of the entire lighting market globally.
- 26 Mar 2013:Digitimes Research: South Korea sets 2013 new solar installation target at 230MW (Mar 20) - Solar PlazaIn the beginning of 2012, the South Korea government adopted the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) policy. Due to falling prices of related equipment, firms have been participating eagerly. South Korea-based industry sources estimate that the PV system installation goal of 220MW was 70% achieved...
- "Following a report that China Mobile would sell as many as 120 million TD-SCDMA handsets in 2013, Digitimes Research has revealed that smartphone sales in China could reach 329 million units by the end of 2013."
- "China's smartphone market is now the largest in the world. DigiTimes Research pegged the country as accounting for 189 million of the more than 700 million smartphones shipped last year."
- "Furthermore, Digitimes Research published in January suggests that by the end of 2014, global sales of UHDTVs could pass the 10 million mark, despite their high price tags, humongous screens and lack of native content."
- 5 Oct 2011:
- Advantest introduces newest parametric measurement module to extend SoC testing capabilities of T2000 platform
- Knowles Corporation Taiwan celebrates its 40th anniversary
- Indium Corporation expands Malaysia technical support, adds team members
- EverFocus announces the release of EMV401/801/1601 hybrid mobile DVR
- Tatung announces commercial availability of standards-based module for EV charging
- AccuTouch Five Wire Resistive Touchscreens
- Getting the Most Out Of Your Next Generation Digital Security Surveillance System
- Embracing the New Generation Intel Atom Family with DDR3 Memory Support
- Got The Message? Ensuring efficient and reliable delivery of content across a mission critical digital signage network
- Emb' Store On-Demand Software Service for Embedded Computing
- Will Xiaomi be a target for Foxconn's new collaboration with Innolux?
- Digitimes Research: China makers Bitland, BYD to join Chromebook supply chain in 2015
- Digitimes Research: Samsung, white-box players looking to take over 10-15 million feature phone demand from Microsoft Mobile
- Digitimes Research: Lenovo, Asustek to launch US$149 Chromebook
- Digitimes Research: Skylake processor delay to weaken Windows 10 notebook demand
Despite years of enthusiasm for wireless charging technology, the market for wireless charging applications...
Laser printers have been dominating the business-use segment. But Seiko Epson has launched a bid to...
US-based Cree will invest US$83 million to take a 13.32% stake in Taiwan-based Lextar Electronics,...
Karbonn, the second-largest India-based handset vendor, is looking into in-house production. Digitimes...
- Smartphone and tablet industry: The view from Taiwan - May 2012
Taiwan-based companies have a long and successful history of involvement in the supply chain for mobile devices, which for the purposes of this article consist...
- Taiwan motherboard industry overview - May 2012
The year 2011 saw the motherboard industry reverse its trend of declining shipments year-on-year, to post a slight 0.2% growth. This upturn in fortunes was expected...
- Notebook market overview - Jun 2011
The notebook industry in 2010 experienced several major events that significantly changed the industry's ecosystem for the year and the industry is also believed...
- LCD TV overview - Jun 2011
Growth of the global LCD TV market was not as strong as expected in 2010 as the market continued to feel the aftershocks of the economic recession that had hit...


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Shipping business and industry is as primeval as human civilization. Also in Bangladesh shipping business is very ancient. The economic influence of shipping is undoubtedly great on our economy.
BOGSOA - BANGLADESH OCEAN GOING SHIPOWNERS Monitor developments in the shipping industry at home and abroad, which have an impact on the interests of its members. Study how the shipping industry can be further developed in Bangladesh. Undertakes competence building activities for the shipping industry in Bangladesh and the region.
Monitor developments in the shipping industry at home and abroad, which have an impact on the interests of its members. Study how the shipping industry can be further developed in Bangladesh. Undertakes competence building activities for the shipping industry in Bangladesh and the region.
Bangladesh Exports 1972-2020 Data 2021-2022 Forecast Exports in Bangladesh increased to 260.23 BDT Billion in September from 217.66 BDT Billion in August of 2020. Exports in Bangladesh averaged 52.80 BDT Billion from 1972 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 279.82 BDT Billion in July of 2019 and a record low of 0.05 BDT Billion in February of 1972. This page provides the latest reported value for - Bangladesh Exports - plus previous
Bangladesh Shipping & Logistics News Monitoring Service Bangladesh:Effectiveness of Flood Early Warning System to Reduce Economic Loss at Four Communities. Bangladesh is ranked as one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world and flood is a recurrent disaster that affects the country almost every year.
May 23, 2018 · Bangladeshi shipbuilders are now building a number of diversified types of vessels such as multipurpose vessel, fast patrol boat, container vessel, cargo vessel, tanker, dredging barge, etc Syed Zakir Hossain. This is the final part of a two-part series exploring the potential and challenges of the shipbuilding industry in Bangladesh. With an increasing number of orders from both local and global
COVID-19 no setback for Bangladesh ship industryNov 20, 2020 · Work is booming at Bangladeshs largest shipyard quite literally. Its difficult to hear anything over the cacophony of banging hammers and crackling sparks, proof the industry has withstood the economic shockwaves wrought by the coronavirus outbreak. In this nation of 168 million people, much of the low-lying land is accessed via boat.
Environmental Pollution Ship Breaking in BangladeshThough ship breaking has earned a good reputation for being a profitable industry in developing countries there are a number of environmental and human health hazards. Depending on their size and function, scrapped ships have an unladened weight of between 5,000 and 40,000 tons (the average being 13000+), 95% of which is steel, coated with
Shipbuilding Industry. Bangladesh, a coastal country abundant with rivers, has more than 100 shipbuilding yards. Bangladesh has a strong shipbuilding tradition.
Shipping Industry - an overview ScienceDirect TopicsThe shipping industry appears to believe that shiploading rates are too high in many cases, and a number of examples seemed to illustrate this. From 1980 to 1996, 43 bulk carriers were lost at sea and, during one 18-month period alone, over 300 mariners were lost aboard ships that were lost at sea.
Shipping Services FedEx BangladeshFedEx ships internationally to and from Bangladesh. Online shipping made easy - trust the speed and reliability of FedEx. We provide all the tools and resources for your shipping needs.
Jan 01, 2018 · Drewry Shipping Consultants have been quoted as saying that the container shipping industry is set to close 2017 with an operating profit of around $1.5 billion on the back of higher freight rates and rapidly growing cargo demand.. As per their analysis, 2018 will be a testing year for carriers due to freight rates coming off a low base in 2017
Shipping industry's worst nightmare:A corona Christmas Transportation Shipping industry's worst nightmare:A corona Christmas. Container carriers shudder at thought of consumers cooped up till year-end
The Shipbuilding industry in Bangladeshwaters. Since 2006 Bangladesh has shown significant growth in the shipbuilding industry, especially as regards exports or intended exports. Preliminary indications are that the industry can grow on a sustainable basis for several years. Major shipbuilding countries such as China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam have all
On the shores of Bangladesh, which hosts the worlds largest ship recycling industry, shipbreaking is often seen as the work of hired hands from the poorest sections of the Bangla society. Shipbreaking started in Bangladesh in the 1960s.
The shipbreaking industry where workers die on the On the shores of Bangladesh, which hosts the worlds largest ship recycling industry, shipbreaking is often seen as the work of hired hands from the poorest sections of the Bangla society. Shipbreaking started in Bangladesh in the 1960s.
This is the worlds cheapest place to scrap ships but Dec 02, 2017 · But in Bangladesh only one yard [PHP Shipbreaking] meets international standards. Mikelis says the major shipping companies such as Maersk


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Software billionaire Azim Premji's private equity arm has also put its hat in the ring for a piece of Capt. GR Gopinath's new venture Deccan Cargo. The end-to-end logistics venture is raising $50-60 million at a valuation of around $150 million. PremjiInvest is looking to invest around $30-35 million, and is open to co-investment to meet the required amount, reports Economic Times. VCCircle does not have independent confirmation of this development.
Earlier it was reported that ADAG's Reliance Equity Advisors is also in talks to invest upto $50 million for a 33% stake in Deccan Cargo. Others who are in the race include US-based New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Intel Capital.
Edelweiss Capital has been given the mandate to raise $50 million by Gopinath. Earlier media reports have suggested that he may sell his 10% stake Deccan Aviation to part finance the venture.
Why is Deccan Hot?
Well the investors would sure be vying to invest in Gopinath's new venture, as early investors in Deccan Aviation made a killing. Investors in Deccan Aviation included Brindavan Beverages - which made 100 times the money invested- and others like Capital One, ICICI Venture and some NRIs.
Also in the current economic downturn, investors would be looking for experienced entrepreneurs, who are much safer bets. PremjiInvest has recently invested Rs 80 crore in auto retail chain Carnation, started by former Maruti MD Jagdish Khattar.
India's logistics sector is also a large, highly unorganised market and Gopinath's Deccan Cargo plans to provide complete logistics solutions. It will also provide ground logistic services such as using roads and railways, besides air transportation.
Bringing in ADAG as investors will not only give Gopinath the funds to expand, but may also bring in business as Anil Ambani has big presence across telecom, entertainment, infrastructure and financial services.
Anil Ambani has been interested in aviation for a long time. Last year, he was in the race for Deccan Aviation, but was edged out by Vijay Mallya, who has now merged it with his Kingfisher Airlines. Anil Ambani was also reportedly in race to buy out SpiceJet, which later raised money from Wilbur Ross and Goldman Sachs. Anil Ambani has investments in cargo space as Reliance Capital picked up a 44% stake in Bangalore-based DTDC Courier & Cargo in early 2006.
NEA recently hired ICICI Venture's Bala Deshpande, who used to sit on the board of Gopinath's low cost carrier airline Deccan Aviation on behalf of ICICI Venture. Her earlier relationship will sure come in handy to NEA.
Intel Capital, which is the venture arm chipmaker Intel, is interested in investing in Deccan Cargo as the latter is building a state-of the art integrated IT system. Deccan plans to invest $25 million into this system, which will include online "track and trace" facilities and help company cut operational costs. Infosys is believed to have bagged this contract.
Also last year, Sudheer Kuppam, Managing Director of Intel Capital, VC Circle that they are now looking at a stage and sector-agnostic approach.


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It's taking longer than ever to fill positions, HR managers say talent acquisition has gotten more difficult in recent years. Employer branding can clearly provide advantages - companies with positive brands get twice as many applications as companies with negative brands, and they spend less money on employees.
The event will feature discussions from employer branding experts and shinning millennials on topics about why employer branding matters and how to build a positive brand in the digital era.
1) We are pleased to have invited HR executives and communication specialists from MNCs to unicorn startups to share their employer brand building stories in:
- What employer branding means these days
- How company image matters throughout a candidate journey
- How HR professionals collaborate with marketing and communication team to build a successful employer brand
2) A group of shining millennials across industries to share how an employer brand plays a positive role in their job hunting journey.


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Alabama has been honored every year since Area Development's inception of this award, receiving a Gold Shovel in 2006 and Silver Shovels in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. According to the 2012 Alabama Manufacturers Register, Alabama's manufacturing industry held steady in 2011, losing only 129 jobs.
"The recovery is gaining momentum in Alabama," indicates Tom Dubin, president of Manufacturer's News. "The state's friendly business environment has been a draw for a variety of enterprises, particularly in the auto sector," he further notes.
Automotive assembly and parts production continues to be robust, showing a gain of more than 38,000 workers over the last year. Big expansions were initiated in 2011 by Mercedes Benz in Vance ($289 million, 1,000 new jobs); Topre America in Cullman ($109 million, 250 workers); North American Lighting in Muscle Shoals ($35 million, 250 employees); and Honda in Lincoln ($191 million, 110 workers). Hyundai is also spending $173 million to expand its operations in Montgomery, adding more than 200 workers and increasing production to 300,000 engines a year. Another major Alabama manufacturing project is being undertaken by Carpenter Technology Corp. (CTC), which is constructing a $500 million, 400,000-square-foot facility in Athens. The facility will hire 203 workers and produce premium alloy products for the aerospace and energy industries.
"The site selection process began with about 250 worldwide locations and we narrowed it down to a dozen," reports William Wulfsohn, president and CEO for CTC. "After further analysis of incentives, utility costs, and labor resources, we felt this area provided the best opportunity for expanding our core business."
Kentucky received Silver Shovel awards in 2007 and 2011. According to the University of Louisville, Kentucky's economy continues to improve, adding 17,000 jobs in the first two months of 2012. Much of the expected job growth will be in healthcare, logistics, advanced manufacturing, business services, and energy. The big driver in advanced manufacturing is automotive, a deep tradition in Kentucky. In 2010, more than 738,000 cars and light trucks were assembled in the state - in fact, almost 10 percent of all vehicles produced in the United States are made in Kentucky.
In 2011, 71 motor vehicle-related companies announced new locations or expansions in Kentucky. Those projects represent more than 5,000 new jobs and nearly $1.1 billion in new investment across the state. Some of these are game-changing developments for the local economies, such as Ford Motor Company's $600 million expansion in Louisville (1,300 workers) and General Motors' $131 million expansion in Bowling Green that will result in 250 new jobs. Bowling Green Technical College and Western Kentucky University help prepare area residents for work in the automotive and other advanced manufacturing industries.
Interestingly, every Corvette made today is produced at GM's Bowling Green plant. The community is also home to Bowling Green Metalforming (a Magna International company and a supplier of automotive frames), which is located in the Kentucky Transpark. The industrial park offers immediate access to I-65 and is one of only five CSX "Select Sites" in the nation.
It's not just cars in the Bluegrass State, however - Elizabethtown was recently selected by Flex Films USA for a new $180 million plastics packaging facility that will hire 250 workers. This is the first U.S. manufacturing plant for the India-based company - a result of Governor Steve Beshear's economic development trip to India in the fall of 2010.
"We're very excited to take our relationship with Kentucky to the next level," says Pradeep Tyle, CEO of Flex Films. "It has long been our desire to set up a premium manufacturing facility in the heartland of the U.S., which is the world's largest and most advanced packaging market."
Louisiana received Silver Shovel awards in 2010 and 2011. Chief Executive magazine's "2012 Best/Worst States for Business" survey ranked Louisiana as the most improved state for business in the nation, jumping from 27th place in 2011 to 13th in 2012, the largest gain by any state. The magazine cited improved tax policies and a favorable regulatory climate as the main reasons for this jump in the rankings.
Louisiana is home to strong traditional industries such as shipbuilding, paper, lumber, heavy machinery, automotive, and petrochemicals. As a result of the improved economy and energy markets, several companies are investing billions of dollars in sophisticated gas-to-liquid (GTL) technologies. Sasol Limited is constructing $10.4 billion GTL refinery in Calcasieu Parish, which will employ 850 workers, and Cheniere Energy's plans are under way for a $6.3 billion refinery in Cameron Parish (148 new jobs).
High-tech companies are also calling Louisiana home - these industries range from sustainable energy to ICT to digital media. For example, Sundrop Fuels is building a $450 million biofuel plant in Alexandria (Rapides Parish) to produce "green gasoline" - a vehicle-ready fuel derived from woody biomass and natural gas. Several digital media/gaming companies are also building new facilities in the state, including Electronic Arts and Gameloft, which is constructing a $32 million video game development studio in New Orleans.
"As we expand our U.S. presence, we continue to look for the most talented gaming professionals to help us maintain our position as an industry leader," says Samir El Agili, general studio manager for Gameloft in the United States and Latin America. "New Orleans presents the perfect opportunity to draw from a rich talent pool and incorporate the region's unique and world-class culture into our own."
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Silver Shovel Awards
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Projects Of the Year
GM Spring Hill Manufacturing
Continental Tire the Americas
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Area Development's annual Gold and Silver Shovel Awards recognize states for their achievements in attracting high-value investment projects that will create a significant number of new jobs in their communities. We collected information from all 50 states about their top-10 job-creation and investment projects initiated in 2011 (only those projects that actually had monies invested, "broke ground," began an expansion, started new hiring, etc. were considered). Based on a combination of weighted factors - including the number of new jobs to be created in relation to the state's population, the combined dollar amount of the investments, the number of new facilities, the diversity of industry represented - four states achieving the highest weighted overall scores are awarded Area Development's 2012 Gold Shovels in four population categories: 9+ million, 5+ to 9 million, 3+ to 5 million, and fewer than 3 million. Runners up in each of these population categories are awarded 2012 Silver Shovels.


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UK consumers have identified broadband as their favourite entertainment services - highlighting the importance of the web to home and family life.
In a study conducted by Virgin Media, 45 per cent of the 2,005 respondents said they would not be able to live without broadband services.
This was far and away the top answer, with mobile phones - which took second place in the top ten list - voted for by just 28 per cent of consumers.
Digital TV was seen as being an essential service by 20 per cent of respondents, with eating out (nine per cent) in fourth place on the list.
Some five per cent of consumers said they were unprepared to sacrifice family trips, while four per cent could not give up DVD or Blu-ray services.
Just three per cent considered trips to the cinema, music concerts (three per cent) and theatre (two per cent) as being indispensable forms of entertainment.
With household budgets tight, broadband can help families enjoy cheap nights in, enjoying IPTV services, movie streaming and downloaded albums among other services.


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