text:
Export performances dominate the findings with values at the highest level in three years.
The fourth quarter survey published yesterday by ISME found economic uncertainty, reduced orders and access to credit were the main concerns.
The results were based on over 700 responses, and confirm some improvement in key trends on the previous quarter.
The figures show business confidence in the last quarter improved, but is still low. More companies than before said they plan to increase investment over the coming months.
The latest findings show jobs are continuing to be lost, but at a slower pace.
Operating costs continue to be an issue with increases in transport, energy, waste and insurance still causing difficulties.
“Economic uncertainty, reduced orders and access to credit remain the biggest concerns for the majority of small companies,” the latest business update said.
Though picking up, confidence remains negative overall, with a net 13% of companies less optimistic about business prospects compared with 23% for the previous quarter.
A net 60% of construction companies are the least optimistic about business prospects against 29% of distributors, 27% of retailers and 14% of manufacturers.
The business group said service companies are the least pessimistic, with a net 5% reporting reduced confidence levels.
In all ISME said 38% of companies anticipate a deterioration in business conditions over the next 12 months. A total of 30% expect business conditions to improve, up five percentage points on the previous survey.
Just over half of respondents (57%), are concerned that current business conditions threaten the viability of their business. The figure is an improvement on the 67% in the previous survey.
Employment losses continue in the SME sector, but at a slower pace. A net 21% of companies reduced employment, compared with a net 35% in the previous quarter, with the largest number of net job losses reported in construction.
“The export figures ‘provide a ray of light’, confirming that companies trading internationally are seeing a significant ‘bounce back’ in levels of trade, with companies reporting an increase in export values, the highest rate in over three years. This is an encouraging turnaround and indicates that future growth is going to emanate from this sector,” said Jim Curran, head of research at ISME.
The results confirm a general improvement in business trends.
“It is quite noticeable that there is a continuing divergence in performance between companies who operate in the domestic economy and those that trade internationally.”


text:
A data breach is a costly occurrence for any business — and the cost is rising. According to a Ponemon Institute news release about its 2015 Cost of Data Breach Study, the cost to businesses suffering a data breach has been increasing over the past 5 years. IBM, sponsor of the study, reports that the average total cost of a data breach is $3.8 million and the average cost of each sensitive or confidential record stolen ranges between $145 and $154. These figures represent a 23% increase in cost from 2013.
Factors Included in the Cost of Data Breach
The U.S. Cost of Data Breach Study is conducted annually by Ponemon Institute. Researchers track a wide range of factors contributing to the cost of data breach to businesses, including:
- Notification and response
- Reputation management
- Customer support
- Customer defection
- Lost opportunities
Findings Regarding the Cost of Data Breach
In the Cost of Data Breach Study, Ponemon researchers analyzed 45 data breach cases from 15 different industries involving 5,000 to 101,000 affected records. They found a definite correlation between the number of records lost and the cost of the data breach. The most expensive data breach occurrence cost almost $31 million, and the least expensive cost $750,000.
Ponemon researchers also found that:
- Malicious attacks and botnets were the most severe and costly type of data breach.
- The pharmaceutical, communications, and healthcare industries had the highest churn rates, followed by financial services and services.
- Negligent insider breaches have decreased in cost and number, probably attributable to employee training and awareness programs.
- 42% of all data breach cases are accounted for by third-party organizations.
Reasons for Rising Data Breach Costs
As stated in article on Reuters, the cost of data breaches is rising as sophisticated thieves go after valuable financial and medical records. The healthcare industry has the highest risk, with an average cost as great as $363 per lost or stolen record. A representative of IBM quoted in the article claimed that most data breaches occur through organized crime and are perpetrated by well-staffed and well-funded groups.
IBM reports that lost business is potentially the most severe financial consequence of a data breach. Consumers are becoming more aware of identity theft and are more concerned about the security of their personal data after a breach.
Legal Assistance with a Data Breach in California
If your business has suffered a data breach, you will need an experienced legal professional to help you weather the storm. At McCune Wright Arevalo, LLP, we have the knowledge and resources to handle general complex litigation and any legal matters that may arise due to an incursion.
Our attorneys have extensive complex litigation experience and a history of success on behalf of our clients. We have the staff and resources to litigate any size complex litigation matter. Contact us to discuss how we can help your business when a data breach has occurred.

domain: news


text:
A Brooklyn man who registered domain names related to real estate mogul Donald Trump must pay $32,000 damages, a judge ruled Friday. J. Taikwok Yung, a self-described “domainer” developed four websites — trumpmumbai.com, trumpindia.com, trumpbeijing.com, and trumpbudhabi.com — parodying the well-known businessman and providing commentary, often disparaging, on Trump and his television shows “The Apprentice” and “The Celebrity Apprentice.”
Attorneys representing Trump filed a countersuit against Yung, 34, at the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn in March 2013, seeking damages for “federal cybersquatting.” That’s defined by the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act as “the registration as domain names of well-known trademarks by non-trademark holders who then try to sell the names back to the trademark owners.”
Trump was seeking the maximum damages allowable — $100,000 for each of the four Trump-related domain names.
Trump is a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Organization and the name is associated with high-profile business ventures. The four websites were developed in 2007, the same year the Trump organization announced plans to build Trump-branded hotels and condominiums in Mumbai and Bangalore, India.
The Trump Organization demanded that Yung hand over the websites. In 2011, Yung filed a complaint seeking to keep the domain names, citing fair use and First Amendment rights. In 2010, Yung rejected $100 per domain that Trump’s lawyers offered him.
The ACPA is still alive and kicking, so if you have an obvious trademark infringing name, you may want to think twice about keeping it, as trademark holders now have 3 ways of getting it back; UDRP, URS and ACPA.
Thanks to Haley Draznin and CNN, and
Thanks for “listening”
The Neu Facebook


text:
T-Mobile has gone ahead and announced two new Android smartphones, the Samsung Exhibit 4G and the Samsung Gravity SMART with the former bringing T-Mobile an affordable Gingerbread offering and the latter offering customers an extremely cheap Android 2.2 Froyo device.
The specifications are pretty much what we expected from both devices. The Samsung Exhibit 4G is going to be powered by Android 2.3 Gingerbread and a single-core 1GHz processor and it will also have a 3MP rear camera with flash and a front-facing camera for video chatting purposes when it arrives sometime during the month of June. T-Mobile didn’t offer a specific release date.
As for the Samsung Gravity SMART, it’s going to be coming with Android 2.2 Froyo, 3.2-inch touch-screen display featuring Swype, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and a a 3-megapixel camera with LED flash.
The carrier did not offer a specific release date for the Gravity SMART either only saying that it will be out in June. The Lunar Gray model will cost will cost $29.99 with a two-year service agreement and qualifying voice and data plan and the Berry Red and Sapphire Blue colored devices will cost $69.99 after a $50 mail-in-rebate.
We’ve heard June 8th as the release date for both of these handsets, so it’s possible that that might be the launch date T-Mobile failed to announce.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.


text:
Mickey Mouse and Academy Awards officials have hugged and made up.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences apologized Thursday to Walt Disney Co. for what it admitted was unauthorized use of Disney's Snow White character in its televised Academy Awards ceremony on March 29.
Disney said the academy has agreed not to rebroadcast the offending segment, and it also agreed not to use Disney characters in the future without the company's permission.
Disney's lawsuit puzzled some people, because the company's film, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, won four Oscars during the awards ceremony.
Also, Disney bought several commercials that aired during the show touting Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park, to open May 1 at Walt Disney World.
But analyst Ed Cabrera of the brokerage Raymond James & Associates in St. Petersburg said it was necessary for Disney to file the lawsuit. Disney, Cabrera said, closely protects its copyrighted characters for their enduring value. The company sometimes refers to the characters as its crown jewels.
The lawsuit, Cabrera said, "was done to set a standard - to let others know that, if the Disney image is degraded, the company will take action."
That apology, along with an assurance from the academy that it won't use Disney characters without permission in the future, was enough to persuade Disney to drop the lawsuit it filed against the academy.
Disney slapped the academy with the lawsuit less than 24 hours after the awards show, charging that the academy didn't have permission to use Snow White in the show's opening production number.
Disney officials also said they were greatly offended that Snow White danced in a risque fashion and sang in a high-pitched "Betty Boop" voice.
On Thursday, Richard Kahn, the academy's president, acknowledged that the academy's use of Snow White was "unauthorized," and he offered an apology for "creating the impression that Disney had participated in or sanctioned the opening production number on the Academy Awards telecast."
In a statement, Disney president Frank Wells said he was "very gratified" that the academy was "willing to move so promptly to successfully resolve this matter."


text:
Sytner has opened its first Aston Martin dealership at a purpose-built facility in Nottingham.
The site features a 23-car showroom for new and pre-owned Aston Martin sports cars. The dealership also offers aftersales at its eight bay workshop staffed by Gaydon-trained technicians.
Aston Martin President and CEO Dr Andy Palmer, who attended the launch, said, “I am delighted to open this outstanding new facility here in Nottingham. We are confident the passionate and dedicated Aston Martin Nottingham team will provide our valued customers an exceptional service in the Nottingham area. We are excited to be working with new partner Sytner who share our passion for Aston Martin.”
Richard Wynn-Jones, Divisional Managing Director of Sytner Group added, “It was great to see over 200 Aston Martin owners and enthusiasts this evening. We look forward to welcoming both new and existing Aston Martin owners to our new home. We are delighted to be working alongside Aston Martin, a marque with such a prestigious history.”
On display at the opening event was the brand’s DB11, the first product launched under the company’s ‘Second Century’ plan. Also included in the display was the new Vanquish Zagato, alongside a V12 Vantage Zagato, the One-77, and a host of other Aston Martin special project vehicles.


text:
European Logistics Platform on Multimodality
30th January 2018, the European Logistics Platform held its first event of the year 2018. The speakers presented their experiences in implementation and use of multimodal strategies in their supply chains. The event gathered more than 80 EU policymakers and industry stakeholders. For more information, please see the ELP Press Release the Future of Multimodal Transport.


text:
Just recently, a surge of fake accounts surfaced on Facebook – apparently copying the names of users and creating a different, yet blank account. Thus, social media giant Facebook is said to investigate the matter. It is also said that the surge of fake accounts is linked to the controversial anti-terrorism bill.
“We’re investigating reports of suspicious activity on our platform and taking action on any accounts that we find to be in violation of our policies,” states a spokesperson of the company, in an article by CNN Philippines. Moreover, Facebook is urging users to keep on reporting fake accounts.
Moreover, the Department of Justice is also said to launch its own investigation. The DOJ’s cybercrime office appealed to netizens affected by fake accounts to report it to them. According to the agency, identity theft is a violation of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2020 and is punishable by law. Read more: Facebook investigating reported surge of fake accounts.
“This is actually a very serious violation of our criminal laws on cybercrime. We will be able to determine, hindi lamang kung sino ‘yung subscriber na nag-create ng account, gusto rin natin malaman kung saang terminal at anong ISP (internet service provider) ang ginamit, anong content ng bawat account, at kung ano ang mga data na trinansfer using these accounts,” states Department of Justice Spokesperson Markk Perete, also in an article by CNN Philippines.


text:
EDMONTON, Alberta – Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NASDAQ: ACB) (TSX: ACB) (“Aurora”), the Canadian company defining the future of cannabinoids worldwide, together with 22nd Century Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: XXII) (“22nd Century”) announced today a three-way non-exclusive agreement to license biosynthesis intellectual property to Cronos Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CRON) (TSX: CRON) (“Cronos Group”), intended to assist in the advancement of research and development on the biosynthesis of cannabinoids.
Biosynthesis, a process common in the pharmaceutical industry, involves using living micro-organisms to convert simple substances into complex compounds. Through biosynthesis, cannabinoids, particularly those that are rare such as cannabigerol (CBG), cannabichromene (CBC) and cannabinol (CBN), are expected to be produced efficiently and reliably at high levels of purity.
“We are deeply interested in the evolution of cannabinoids, and this is a promising step toward the commercialization of cannabinoid products using biosynthesis,” says Miguel Martin, Chief Executive Officer of Aurora. “The long-term potential for rare cannabinoid molecules produced through biosynthesis is incredibly promising given their efficient production methods, and potential therapeutic benefits and utility in health, wellness, and consumer products.”
Aurora’s connection to the biosynthetic production of cannabinoids originated with early work carried out by the Company’s former Chief Science Officer on the discovery of key genes within the cannabinoid biosynthesis pathway.
“This license combines the resources and intellectual property of all three companies in this agreement intended to facilitate the commercial success of a biosynthetic approach, which complements the disruptive plant-based advancements 22nd Century and Aurora continue to develop to bring more consistent and higher yields to the hemp and cannabis industry,” said James A. Mish, Chief Executive Officer of 22nd Century Group. “We believe that the availability of both plant-based and biosynthetic cannabinoids will be important to the commercial success of our industry, and this agreement positions 22nd Century, Aurora and Cronos Group with an important role in each approach.”
“Cronos Group has successfully commercialized the first cultured cannabinoid product in Canada. Licensing this intellectual property provides us with a component of the process that could allow for increased speed and efficiency in the development and commercialization of cultured cannabinoids,” said Kurt Schmidt, President and Chief Executive Officer, Cronos Group.
Through licensing agreements, Aurora and 22nd Century Group together share the global IP rights to commercialize key aspects of cannabinoid biosynthesis in plants and micro-organisms. The two companies are working closely to enforce their IP against infringing parties, as well as to actively explore commercial development opportunities.
Aurora is a global leader in the cannabis industry, serving both the medical and consumer markets. Headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, Aurora is a pioneer in global cannabis dedicated to helping people improve their lives. The Company’s brand portfolio includes Aurora, Aurora Drift, San Rafael ’71, Daily Special, MedReleaf, CanniMed, Pedanios, Whistler Cannabis Co., Reliva and KG7 CBD. Driven by science and innovation, and with a focus on high-quality cannabis products, Aurora’s brands continue to break through as industry leaders in the medical, performance, wellness and adult recreational markets wherever they are launched. Learn more at www.auroramj.com and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Aurora’s common shares trade on the TSX and NASDAQ under the symbol “ACB” and is a constituent of the S&P/TSX Composite Index.
About 22nd Century Group, Inc.
22nd Century Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: XXII) is a leading agricultural biotechnology company focused on tobacco harm reduction, reduced nicotine tobacco and improving health and wellness through plant science. With dozens of patents allowing it to control nicotine biosynthesis in the tobacco plant, the Company has developed proprietary reduced nicotine content (RNC) tobacco plants and cigarettes, which have become the cornerstone of the FDA’s Comprehensive Plan to address the widespread death and disease caused by smoking. In tobacco, hemp/cannabis, and hop plants, 22nd Century uses modern plant breeding technologies, including genetic engineering, gene-editing, and molecular breeding to deliver solutions for the life science and consumer products industries by creating new, proprietary plants with optimized alkaloid and flavonoid profiles as well as improved yields and valuable agronomic traits.
About Cronos Group Inc.
Cronos Group is an innovative global cannabinoid company with international production and distribution across five continents. Cronos Group is committed to building disruptive intellectual property by advancing cannabis research, technology and product development. With a passion to responsibly elevate the consumer experience, Cronos Group is building an iconic brand portfolio. Cronos Group’s portfolio includes PEACE NATURALS™, a global wellness platform, two adult-use brands, COVE™ and Spinach™, and three U.S. hemp-derived CBD brands, Lord Jones™, Happy Dance™ and PEACE+™. For more information about Cronos Group and its brands, please visit: thecronosgroup.com.


text:
Korean LG G2 Receiving KitKat before New Year, France in Late January, Canada by Late Q1 2014
Up until very recently, we haven’t heard very much about LG’s planned upgrade path for its current device lineup—well, aside from an erroneous Facebook message, that is. But given that the Optimus G and LG G2 feature remarkably similar hardware to the LG-built Nexus 4 and Nexus 5, respectively, it’s not unreasonable to assume that the updates are likely in the works.
Now, LG has revealed on its official blog that the G2 will receive KitKat by the year’s end in its home market of Korea. Aside from the impending Korean release, we already know that G2 devices in certain regions are going to enjoy the KitKat goods in due time. So far, French carrier SFR has stated on its blog that they are aiming to have the update on consumer devices by late January. Additionally, LG’s Court Elliot has confirmed that the KitKat firmware will be submitted for carrier approval by the end of Q1 2014.
If you’re a G2 owner, good things are coming. And while this release schedule isn’t as lightning fast as Motorola’s or HTC’s, at least the company is supporting (one of) its devices. We’re surprised at how much of a time delta there is between the Korean release and the one in Canada. That said, we can be sure that system dumps will appear and be ported to other variants as soon as the Korean model receives its official update.
What are your thoughts on this update schedule? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!


text:
» View Pendaftaran Fidusia Online 2013 Page 2
View Pendaftaran Fidusia Online 2013 Page 2
We are sorry, article about "View Pendaftaran Fidusia Online 2013 Page 2" is not found or may be has been deleted. You may read other articles below or searching by type keyword in search form above!
Requires heavenly guidance in work or romance.
A temple in southern Taiwan will launch a smartphone app that can help religious Taoist to seek enlightenment from the Almighty when being activity.
In a report released CNA news agency on Saturday (10/22), [...]
About 60 percent of those planning to buy a tablet chose Nexus 7.
Christmas Day will soon be arriving. In many parts of the world, it is time to hunt items to be used as Christmas gifts. According to a survey in the U.S. revealed that many public want [...]
Beat the record photo teen star Justin Bieber.
Obama seems destined to be the person who created history. Being the first black president in the United States and the second democrat politician who was elected president for two terms in a row since World [...]
AMD re-introduce the newest graphics cards in the Radeon HD 7000 series.
The product this time called the Radeon HD 7790 is for gamers middle class because the price is cheap, which is about $130,99 US dollars.
Although cheap, the graphics card is claimed [...]
This service there will be in January next year.
Applications in the console Nintendo Wii U will be more complete. After YouTube, now the Wii U scheduled to get other superior service.
When Nintendo Direct presentation Wednesday (12/05), Satoru Iwata [...]
Temperature profile shows the dark and unstable material – which is a suitable climate for organic life
Institute antraiksa United States (NASA) managed to find evidence of water on Mercury, planet in our solar system that is closest to the Sun.
Angry Birds Seasons seems to immediately have a theme and a new level in the near future.
The new version is expected to take the theme of spring.
Quoted from Ubergizmo, Monday (15/4), Angry Birds Seasons this will be the 16th series.
Rovio is often [...]
Will spend 140 days in the mission.
A Russian rocket carrying two cosmonauts and a U.S. astronaut blasted off into space on Tuesday (10/23). The three astronauts will be on duty on the International Space Station (ISS).
Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin [...]
Kim Jong Il reportedly often inject himself with the blood of virgin teens to slow down the aging process.
The younger human blood has long been believed to be a drug life. One of the people who know to believe it was the late North Korean leader Kim [...]
Sony finally officially announced their latest generation console, the PlayStation 4, at an event in New York, USA, some time ago.
Here are some things You gamers need to know about the PS4.
PS4 using the x86 AMD 8-core CPU and GPU with [...]
Review TechBoom will discuss about one of the innovative products from Samsung, Galaxy Camera.
As is known, the digital camera is equipped with the Android operating system. Want to know more? Check out his review below.
Design of Samsung Galaxy Camera


text:
Microsoft has announced progress with the prototype design for Git Virtual File System (GVFS) for Mac. GVFS is the company’s project to bring Git to enterprise scale. Microsoft plans to publish all of the code for GVFS for Mac in their public repo.
With GVFS for Windows, it contains patches to Git, a file system filter driver and a user mode process. For the Mac version, the company will have to rewrite the file system and driver model.
“Currently we’ve just built a prototype version of the kext. We still have a lot of work left to make it full-featured, robust, performant, diagnosable, and production ready. We also plan to do quite a bit of cleanup and refactoring in the GVFS user mode codebase, to allow that same code to run on Mac using .NET Core. As these pieces start to come together over the next few months, we’ll get some brave early adopters to start using it and send us feedback,” said Seed Noursalehi in a blog post.
Why developers should care about the EU’s move to filter uploaded content
According to GitHub, the European Union is considering a proposal that would require code-sharing platforms to be monitored by all user content that is uploaded for potential copyright infringement. This is more aimed at music and video on streaming platforms, but the company says the way it is written may affect coding as well.
GitHub is concerned because it believes this move could make software “less reliable and more expensive,” and would like developers to help defend their ability to share code.
“Write to EU policymakers (MEPs, Council Members, or Commissioners) and ask them to exclude ‘software repositories’ from Article 13,” the GitHub team in a blog post. “Please explain how important the ability to freely share code is for software developers and how important open source software is to the software industry and the EU economy.”
Google reviews progress made to Android security
Google is highlighting its major moments in Android security with the release of its fourth annual Android security year in review. In May, Google Play Protect was released to protects users from harmful apps and automatically review more than 50 billion apps. New security features in Android Oreo were announced to give users more control over identifiers, hardening and the kernel. In addition, the company made efforts to prevent PHA downloads, promote collaboration with its rewards programs, and participate in external security competitions.
“We’re pleased to see the positive momentum behind Android security, and we’ll continue our work to improve our protections this year, and beyond. We will never stop our work to ensure the security of Android users,” Dave Kleidermacher, vice president of security for Android, wrote in a blog post.
Google rebrands Android Wear
Google has rebranded Android Wear to Wear OS by Google, a wearables operating system for everyone. According to the company, over the years the technology and partnerships have evolved, and it thought a new name would better reflect the company’s technology, vision and users.
“Android Wear was founded on the belief that wearable technology should be for everyone, no matter what style you wear on your wrist or what phone you have in your pocket. Since then, we’ve partnered with top watch and electronics brands to create more than 50 watches to help you manage your fitness, connect with the people who matter most, and show you the information you care about. The best part: We’re just scratching the surface of what’s possible with wearables and there’s even more exciting work ahead,” Dennis Troper, director of product management for Wear OS by Google, wrote in a post.


text:
OTT technology outfit Vewd has teamed up with chipset manufacturer HiSilicon Technologies to forge a global strategic partnership to develop turnkey OTT software solutions direct on HiSilicon chipsets.
Device manufacturers that choose HiSilicon’s Vewd-enabled chipsets will benefit from a user experience that is available automatically and encompasses content search and discovery along with a choice of 1,500 apps from multiple markets.
Vewd handles contracting, certifying, delivering and maintaining these TV apps so they work on devices using HiSilicon chipsets.
The company said that driver-level integration means OEMs have an OTT platform optimised to take advantage of the capabilities of HiSilicon chipsets.
“Our silicon partner program is the hallmark of Vewd’s continued success in this space. We’re constantly thinking about how we can better serve our OEM customers and we find ourselves increasing our commitment to pre-integrated solutions on chipsets. By working closely with HiSilicon and making these significant investments, Vewd plays its part in mitigating launch risk for OEMs and better serving the overall OTT value chain with high-performance solutions,” said Aneesh Rajaram, CEO, Vewd.
“Partnering with Vewd to deliver these solutions on our TV chipsets is a great win for us and our addressable OEM market. Our new TV chipsets push the limits on performance, and as we aggressively expand in the global market it was important to work with Vewd, the world-leader in streaming television. Investing in this partnership means we can offer manufacturers the most secure path to market, without challenging and expensive integration work” said Kun Luo, general manager of TV product line, HiSilicon.
TIM reorganises management with technology and strategy chiefs to go digitaltveurope.com/2021/12/08/tim…
08 December 2021 @ 13:54:00 UTC
Viaplay to launch in Netherlands in March digitaltveurope.com/2021/12/08/via… https://t.co/KftlxXayVk
08 December 2021 @ 13:30:00 UTC


text:
NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - They're a small treat taking over the New York City snack scene and social media in a big way. Dani Beckerman's creations are called Jars by Dani. They're mason jars layered with delectable cake, fudge brownie, whipped cream and sprinkles in all different colors and flavors.
Dani built her business by accident. She was supposed to be a doctor and graduated premed from college. But when she moved to New York City, she decided to go to culinary school instead.
One day she made the treats for her friends and everyone raved about them. When Dani posted her jars on social media, the likes came pouring in. Before she knew it, she had a business. She began accepting orders online and took the subway to deliver them in person.
Then a big name in the fashion world took notice. The Diane von Furstenberg team reached out to her, and she began catering all of her parties and events. That led to more jobs in the fashion world and the editorial world.
She started in her own kitchen on the Upper West Side. Now Jars by Dani has 30 employees and a pop-up shop on Lafayette Street in SoHo.
She is even making a special order for her wedding this spring. Instead of doing a big wedding cake, she will do a big jar cake.
One of Dani's mottos is "Give jars, make friends." With jars like these, she has made a lot of great friends.


text:
4 Apr 2018 Posted in Press releases
Maxwell Chambers, the world’s first integrated dispute resolution complex, will soon also become the world’s first smart hearing facility, offering more convenient, secure and comfortable hearings for businesses, legal counsel, arbitrators and mediators, through the use of smart technology.
Turning Maxwell Chambers into a smart hearing facility is part of the Ministry of Law’s (MinLaw) larger plan to boost Singapore’s position as an international dispute resolution hub. This is a further investment to ensure that Singapore continues to have all the hallmarks of a great dispute resolution venue, with products and services regularly refreshed and upgraded to stay ahead of the competition.
This latest investment in service complements the ongoing investment in infrastructure. MinLaw is currently developing Maxwell Chambers Suites, which will add 120,000 square feet of office space and triple Maxwell Chambers’ current capacity. When completed in 2019, Maxwell Chambers Suites will provide 50 new offices over four floors for international dispute resolution institutions, arbitration chambers, law firms and ancillary services, and help meet growing regional demand for dispute resolution services.
Improving Service, Raising Productivity
- MinLaw and Maxwell Chambers today launched the “Smart Maxwell” initiative, which includes smart booking, security, food and beverage, secretariat and concierge services, and a robot named “Max” to deliver files and food within the four-storey building. The initiative, supported by local enterprise development agency Enterprise Singapore, is also expected to generate more business opportunities for the legal industry in Singapore – which serves clients seeking dispute resolution at Maxwell Chambers. The use of smart technology will improve the ease of administration and logistics and allow disputing parties to better focus on their cases that are heard at Maxwell Chambers. The smart solutions will be co-developed with users and rolled out in Maxwell Chambers by the end of this year. It will be extended, in Phase 2, to the adjacent Maxwell Chambers Suites and serve the 50 new offices there when the new extension completes in 2019. The smart technology is developed jointly with two Singapore tech start-ups, Habitap and Techmetics.
- Besides better service, the adoption of technology will help Maxwell Chambers boost productivity, meet growing demand, and result in significant time and cost savings. For example, currently, a user can spend up to half an hour collecting the physical access cards and distributing them to each business representative, legal counsel, arbitrator and/or mediator involved in the case, as and when they arrive, before each of them can make their way to the assigned room. In future, this will be instantaneous and automatic; each individual will be given secured access electronically and they can simply use their phones to gain access. The total cost savings from the smart solutions are estimated to be over half a million dollars a year.
- Senior Minister of State for Law and Finance Ms Indranee Rajah S.C. launched the “Smart Maxwell” initiative in a ceremony attended by 50 lawyers, arbitrators and mediators who are tenants and users of Maxwell Chambers. Ms Rajah said, “Maxwell Chambers is today one of the world’s best dispute resolution facilities. However, we are not content to leave it at that. In order to not just stay ahead of the competition, but also be the global standard bearer, we must be prepared to take bold steps, push boundaries, leverage technology, and create a unique experience synonymous with the Maxwell brand that cannot be duplicated elsewhere, and which will make us the global venue of choice for dispute resolution.”
- Ms Katherine Yap, Chief Executive of Maxwell Chambers, said, “Maxwell Chambers is today the world’s premier dispute resolution facility. But competition is keen. Many have come here, from around the world, to see what we have; it is not difficult to replicate these. What is harder to replicate is what we do and how we do it: a commitment to service, a spirit of innovation and continuously improving, and a symbiotic partnership with the Government, the profession, and the dispute resolution institutions and practitioners who grow their work using our facility.”
- Maxwell Chambers was set up in 2010 as the world’s first integrated dispute resolution complex, offering both hearing facilities and offices for international dispute resolution institutions, chambers, law firms and ancillary services. In 2017, a record number of 204 cases were heard at Maxwell Chambers, 10% more than 2016 and nearly double the number heard in 2010. The Singapore International Arbitration Centre, a frequent user of Maxwell Chambers, has announced last month, a new record of 452 new cases in 2017, a 32% increase from the 343 cases filed in 2016.The Permanent Court of Arbitration and the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce have recently announced that they will set up their case management offices at Maxwell Chambers, to serve growing demand in Asia.
New user experience at the world’s first smart hearing facility
- With “Smart Maxwell”, Maxwell Chambers’ users can enjoy a seamless experience from the point they enter the building. Through a single, customised application, users will be able to securely check into the hearing rooms and offices. Visitors attending hearings and meetings at Maxwell Chambers will be issued a unique and encrypted electronic access card through the application, and can tap into the rooms with their mobile devices. Organisers will be notified of their guests’ arrival as they tap in through the turnstiles, providing users of Maxwell Chambers with fast and private access to their hearings and meetings. In addition, the application will enable users to control room settings such as lighting and air-conditioning, as well as request for secretariat services such as photocopying.
- The multi-functional application will also act as a smart concierge to connect Maxwell Chambers’ users with food and beverage, as well as amenities in the vicinity. Users can order food from the participating restaurants and eateries in the area directly. A delivery system featuring a robot will be piloted to deliver documents and refreshments to hearings and meetings efficiently.
- Users will be able to track their expenditure through the application as well. The application will provide them with a real-time itemised billing of the services they have engaged. This also allows Maxwell Chambers’ staff to speed up administrative and finance related functions.
- The new solutions will be integrated with a revamped Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, bringing various aspects of the services offered by Maxwell Chambers onto a singular, intelligent platform.
- “We are proud to partner with Maxwell Chambers in their journey to become a smart hearing centre. The benefits of adopting smart solutions and leveraging technology to improve value offerings are key to organisations remaining on the forefront of the current digital push. It shows that every industry can tap into this potential and this announcement is an exciting milestone for Singapore’s legal industry.” said Mr Franklin Tang, Chief Executive Officer of property technology firm Habitap.
Last updated on 04 Apr 2018


text:
India has a huge population of youth. Each one is interested in owning a smartphone to access the internet.
iOS8 has a big UI/UX failure. Airplay mirroring was not visible due to bad UI design.
Women spent more time on average using smartphone and tablet applications than men did during Oct-Dec 2014, according to a Nielsen study
Mobile internet usage in India is hitting the roof. Social media is the most popular app on mobile phones in India.
30% of smartphones in India are phablets.


text:
Aldi grand opening set for March 1
Published 11:26 am Tuesday, December 27, 2011
By NEAL WAGNE / City Editor
Pelham’s new Aldi Food Market near the intersection of U.S. 31 and Valleydale Road is nearing completion, and is scheduled to open its doors March 1, a company spokesperson said Dec. 28.
“It will be big for the city. It will be another positive for the city of Pelham,” Pelham Mayor Don Murphy said of the project.
Over the past several months, crews have been constructing the new grocery store, which is about 17,500 square feet. Most of the store’s exterior is complete, and crews are now working to finish the interior, Pelham Revenue Director Mike Morgan said.
Morgan previously said the new Aldi store will serve as the anchor for future development on the lot, which is across from Ihop and Milo’s hamburgers on U.S. 31.
Although the company originally announced plans to build the Pelham store in 2009, Aldi held off on the project until submitting plans to the city in late January 2011.
Aldi Food Markets have several differences from many other area grocery stores. Aldi offers limited name-brand products, and relies heavily on its own store brands.
Shopping carts are rented for 25 cents each, and the quarter is refunded when the cart is returned to its rack. Shoppers must also either bring shopping bags from home or purchase them at the checkout line.
Because Aldi charges for bags and rents shopping carts to customers, the store is able to keep its prices down by not assigning employees to collect shopping carts from the parking lot and bag groceries.
Once built, the Pelham Aldi will be the sixth Birmingham-area store. The company currently operates stores in Trussville, Homewood, Bessemer and two in Birmingham, and also recently opened a new store in Huntsville.


text:
Cleaning the dishwasher, doing the laundry, cleaning the baby's room: robots can make everyday life much easier. Companies that make household robots have big plans - and not just them. Service robots that take care of unpleasant and tedious household chores are a tempting idea for most people. Unlike their counterparts used in industry or for commercial purposes, household robots for the consumer market have the following requirements:
- Deficient acquisition and maintenance costs
- Easiest to use, requires no training
- Reliable way to work in unfamiliar environments
Dyson to build a robotics center at the airfield
At the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in Philadelphia, the British company Dyson, which until now has been known mainly for its vacuum cleaners, has now announced that it will expand its business to include robots for the home. The company plans to hire 250 robot engineers in computer vision, machine learning, sensors, and mechatronics this year alone. It plans to hire another 700 robotics specialists in the next five years.
The company's master plan is to build the largest and most advanced robotics center in the U.K. at Hallavington Airfield and bring the technology into private homes by the end of the decade.
The market for household robots is growing rapidly
While household robots may now be a slightly more apparent move for Dyson than electric cars, competition is just as fierce in this still-new market. Until now, the household robot market has consisted chiefly of vacuum cleaners or window-washing robots. But now, other tasks have been added, such as loading the dishwasher, cleaning the kids' room, and doing the laundry.
The market for digital home helpers is proliferating. The International Federation of Robotics estimates sales potential this year at $8.2 billion. The $10 billion mark is expected to be crossed as early as next year. By comparison, two years ago, revenues from household robots were still five billion dollars.
iRobot is also working on making household robots with arms
So it's no surprise that Dyson isn't the only company that wants its piece of the pie. iRobot, specializing in robot vacuum cleaners, is also working on mechanical home helpers with hands. But the industry is still puzzling over the task of the first household robot with hands. Do laundry? Wash the dishes? Or clean up a room before vacuuming?
Meanwhile, South Korean electronics giant Samsung has long patented the trademark "Samsung Bot." There are already the first announcements and videos about a robot called "Samsung Bot Handy" that cleans the dishwasher, picks up lying laundry, and sets the table. The video shows that the robot can recognize images. Samsung should undoubtedly capitalize on the AI expertise it has accumulated in developing smartphones.
"Everyday robots" work at Google
But, of course, big tech companies have long recognized the trend of everyday robotics: Google's sister company X is active in this area. The "everyday robots" are already used at the Google campus: they open doors, clean windows, clean cafeteria tables, and empty the trash garbage can.
The race for market leadership for the first household robot that can do more than just vacuum is still fully open. How quickly and efficiently the market for household robots will evolve will likely depend not least on how much consumers are willing to pay for such an innovation.
Increasing worldwide investment in household robot development for various applications is one of the crucial factors driving the market.


text:
A dystopia-beating deal - and freelance work on offer, too.
Adobe may be offering savings on its creative suite, but so is its UK rival of Serif, announcing three measures aimed at helping students, designers and artists affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic.
As of today, digital creatives can use Affinity apps on Mac or Windows completely free for three months, with a new 90-day downloadable trial and no obligation to buy.
There's also a 50% discount for users who would rather buy and keep the apps, including iPad versions of its Holy Trinity of Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer app and the recently launched Affinity Publisher.
But it's not just software offers on show, with Serif also pledging to engage more than 100 freelance creatives for work, spending the equivalent of its annual commissioning budget in the next three months. More details of this will be announced soon.
Serif Managing Director Ashley Hewson says: “Unfortunately we are hearing many stories from the creative community about how they are being severely impacted by the effects of the pandemic.
“We know we can’t solve many of these problems, but hopefully these things will make life a little easier for people who rely on creative software to make a living but may be stuck at home without access to their usual tools, or for students who might suddenly be without access to their Affinity apps on their personal devices
“By increasing our spend on commissioning work from creative freelancers we can also put some extra money into a part of the industry which will be particularly affected.”
The free trial will be available to download until 20 April. The 50% discount will end on the same date and applies to the full suite of Affinity apps.
For more details and full update information go to https://affinity.serif.com


text:
EU milk collections decreased by 3% in September 2016 compared to September 2015, the latest figures from the EU Milk Market Observatory (MMO) show.
This is the fourth month in a row that EU milk production has fallen after falls in June, July and August.
Last month, milk collection figures were down 1.9% on August 2015, while July and June production was down 1.4% and 2.3% respectively.
For the period January to September, milk production in the EU was up 1.5% on the corresponding period last year with Luxembourg, Cyprus, the Netherlands and Ireland recording the highest increases.
Dutch milk production increased 9.8% in January to September this year, compared to the same period last year.
Irish production is up 6.2% in the year-to-date and German production is up 1.9%.
Irish Milk Production
The volume of Irish milk collected by creameries and pasteurisers in September 2016 fell 3.5% on the same month last year the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.
Milk production was estimated at 583.2m litres for September 2016, down from the 604.2m litres that was sent to creameries in September last year.
It is the first time in five months that milk production has fallen year-on-year in Ireland.
Over 20,000t of SMP to be released from intervention stocks
Meanwhile, a tender procedure to release the first amounts (22,500t) of skimmed milk powder (SMP) out of public intervention stocks is to open today, Friday November 25.
Yesterday, Member States voted on the European Commission’s proposal to release some of the stocks that are in intervention.
The move reflects the encouraging signs of recovery being seen on the European milk market, with an increase of about 10% of the average price paid to producers in the last three months, according to the Commission.
This 22,500t of powder corresponds to just 6% of the total amount of 355,000t of SMP stored and taken off the markets since the opening of the measure in September 2014.


text:
NetSpeak has decided to give away its technology that allows users to make phone calls over the Internet so that cellular phone, cable modem, and set-top box manufacturers can test the technology and ensure their own products are compatible.
Analyst Brian Stachman, of market researcher Cahners In-stat, says NetSpeak's giveaway is a calculated move, one that could help it increase brand recognition to sell more of its high-end products. NetSpeak also sells gateway servers, which help route voice over the Internet.
"It's a smart way of getting penetration into this market," Stachman said.
NetSpeak's aim is to speed up development and compatibility of Internet telephony equipment that uses the Simple Gateway Control Protocol/Media Gateway Control Protocol (SGCP/MGCP). This proposed standard enables phone calls over the Internet with cellular and wireless devices, said Jim Kwock, NetSpeak's vice president of marketing.
NetSpeak's technology, called "call agents," sets up the process of making Internet phone calls with wireless devices, making the placement of a phone call over the Net more user-friendly.
"We feel it's important to put our technology out on the Internet, so other device providers have something to test their devices with, rather than developing their own call agent," Kwock said.
The SGCP/MGCP protocol is being considered by the Internet Engineering Task Force, an industry standards body.
Another proposed standard for IP telephony is making strides to becoming a formal standard. ITXC, Lucent Technologies and VocalTec Communications said today the International Telecommunications Union gave preliminary approval to H.323 technology that will allow IP telephony providers to create interoperable platforms.
H.323 is a common standard for transmitting voice over the Internet, allowing an AT&T customer to make an IP call to a Sprint customer, for example. Current systems do not allow different carriers to communicate. SGCP/MGCP, on the other hand, helps administer or control gateway servers, Stachman said.
NetSpeak also supports the H.323 standard, also named, "iNow!" A final decision on iNow! is expected in May.


text:
For marketers there are few things more frustrating than paying for advertising that no one is seeing—and with the prevalence of fake traffic, this is a legitimate concern.
The latest example is Newsweek Media Group, which is alleged to have bought fake traffic to boost results. This underscores a legitimate fear for advertisers: That the stats they’re seeing for audiences and engagement are heavily padded by bots. Some 52 percent of web traffic—the majority_is bots, according to a report by data and application security firm Imperva.
Some of the biggest players are guilty of using bots to pad their metrics. Google has admitted to profiting from fake traffic and Facebook has been caught promising advertisers access to more than 100 million Americans, aged 18-34, which is a third more than actually exist in the U.S. population, according to the US Census Bureau.
How can marketers ensure spending on advertising is reaching actual people? Here are five ways:
1- Work with trusted publishers with sales departments staffed with real salespeople. As recent events demonstrate, this method isn’t foolproof. However, a trusted relationship with a salesperson ensures that if there is fraud, there’s a mechanism for the issue to be addressed. Known publishers also can police their content — something that is impossible for, say, YouTube, which has to analyze some 400 hours of new content every minute. Some major marketers agree that using top-tier publishers is the smartest approach. Unilever CMO Keith Weed said his company found that its ads are more effective when they run alongside premium content. MasterCard CMO Raja Rajamannar said, “I would much rather pay a little premium as a brand and go for verified sites.”
More on Digital Advertising:
2- Quiz your verification service on how they get their numbers. Several firms claim to perform traffic verification, including DoubleVerify and Moat. No matter how stellar the firm or its reputation, however, no service is foolproof. Fraudsters spend a lot of time and energy trying to reverse-engineer those firms’ filters. Advertisers should ask a lot of questions about the methodologies these traffic verification companies use and what portion of fake traffic remains undetected. Such questions include: “What is your method for verifying traffic?” “Do you detect all the fake traffic or just some?” “How are you keeping pace with fraudsters who are trying to trick your system?”
3- Target ads to “known” consumers. In digital marketing, the focus on impressions often overshadows the fact that the object is to reach actual consumers. A smart approach is to target consumers whom you already know. If you have 100,000 people on your email list, you can find those users online (albeit in an anonymized fashion) and serve them ads when they check in to a publisher’s site.
4- Give your spending a reality check. Everyone likes low CPMs, but paying 50 cents for 1,000 views doesn’t make sense if many of those views are fraudulent or ill-targeted. By contrast, paying higher CPMs for known users that can be verified gives you a more accurate view of your ROI.
5- Learn about the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG). This cross-industry accountability program supported by the IAB and the ANA aims to bring more transparency into the digital ad industry. Sites that are TAG certified offer a safer environment for brands. With a board of directors including top media executives, TAG aims to fight malware, eliminate fraudulent digital ad traffic, fight ad-supported Internet piracy and promote brand safety through greater transparency.
Fake traffic is a serious problem in digital media, but a large part of the risk can be removed if you consider these five precautions. The extra effort is worth it and will ultimately ensure you reach many more real people with your marketing efforts.


text:
We had some very special valentines in February. Of course, we love our clients year-round. But this was a banner month for some big wins across the BizCom roster. Here are the top 6 announcements that won our hearts:
1. It was a Hall of Fame moment for Edible Arrangements
Our client Tariq Farid, Founder and CEO of Edible Arrangements, was inducted into
International Franchise Association’s Hall of Fame at the 2018 IFA Annual Convention in Phoenix. It was the perfect way to honor the entrepreneurial man who has made fruit bouquets a worldwide sensation across 1,300+ franchises and counting. And the tribute came just days before the busiest day of the year for the Edible network. Yes, Valentine’s Day is a love windfall for the organization. And that suits our hall-of-famer so well as he shared how companies handle busy seasons in this QSR guest column.
2. bluefrog Plumbing + Drain shared what plumbing penalties to avoid on Super Bowl Sunday
There were two groups assembling for the big game, those ready to enjoy the action and those ready to clean up after. Leading the charge on cleaning up was Gary Findley, CEO of bluefrog Plumbing and Restoration 1. As the bluefrog team across the country assembled to respond to plumbing emergencies, Gary shared key tips to avoiding a plumbing penalty. His game plan was picked up by TODAY and the South Florida Business & Wealth Magazine shared his word on Super Bowl disasters.
3. The icing on top was the 10th anniversary of Gigi’s Cupcakes
It was a landmark month for Gigi’s Cupcakes too, as one of America’s largest cupcake franchises celebrated it’s 10th anniversary. Founder Gigi Butler shared the news in style on NBC’s “Today in Nashville” in the town where it all started. And the February cover of Franchising USA paid homage to the organization as the national network of franchise locations continues expanding and serving up the goods.
4. Gold’s Gym proved to be a powerhouse in the Global Franchise Awards
Speaking of expansion, Gold’s Gym celebrated 49 new openings in 2017, and the iconic fitness chain with more than 700+ locations open in 28 countries got some fabulous recognition as the best fitness franchise in the world. The honor came from the 2018 Global Franchise Awards. To get a look at how the chain has dominated for more than 50 years, check out the February cover story in Global Franchise Magazine.
5. BRIX announced Craig Erlich as their new CEO
BRIX Holdings named long time operations executive Craig Erlich as CEO. The announcement helped generate a wave of local interviews including a radio interview on KRLD’s CEO Spotlight with David Johnson and a featured CEO Conversation with the Dallas Business Journal.
6. Dwyer Group expanded the neighborhood with its 20th brand
And finally, it wouldn’t be a normal day at the office if we weren’t sharing Dwyer Group’s worldwide success, right? True to form, Dwyer Group delivered with its latest acquisition of Real Property Management. Today, with 20 brands (18 of them franchised) and more than 3,100 franchisees around the world in Dwyer Group’s growing neighborhood, the best just keeps getting better. And with more than $1.7B in annual system-wide sales, we certainly agree.
Dear clients, we love you! Let’s March into the next month with more great work.


text:
72 total views
On September 25, the “2020 Western Digital Economy Industry Summit Forum” hosted by FireChain Technology was held in Chongqing by the Chongqing Big Data Application Development Administration, Chongqing Economic and Information Technology Commission, and the People’s Government of Yubei District, Chongqing. Held.
The theme of this forum is “Yushu Economic Belt, Fire Chain Creates the Future”. Leaders such as the Vice Mayor of Chongqing Municipality and Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Chongqing High-tech Zone Xiong Xue unveiled the “Fire Chain Digital Economy Industry Innovation Base”. This marks the full implementation of the full-cycle industrial ecology of the Huochain Technology blockchain in Chongqing.
The opening ceremony of the “Fire Chain Digital Economy Industry Innovation Base” was held at the forum
Western Digital Economy Industry Innovation Base Creates New Paradigm
With the development of technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, and blockchain, the era of digital economy has quickly arrived. In his speech, Tang Chuan, secretary of the Yubei District Committee of Chongqing City, stated that the digital economy is the future of the world economy. Yubei District is committed to the construction of an innovative ecosystem and promotes digital industrialization and industrial digitization. Yubei District and Firechain Technology will build a digital economy industry innovation base, which is highly compatible with the future development of Yubei District, and will strongly promote innovation breakthroughs and application scenarios in Chongqing’s blockchain industry.
Zheng Weimin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said in his video speech that the blockchain is a new infrastructure of trust in the era of digital economy. Without an engine of trust, it is difficult for the digital economy to achieve real development. At the same time, he expressed that he is very happy to see the rapid development and growth of emerging technology companies like Firelink Technology, and promote the development of the entire industry through the integration of production, education and research.
At the forum, Xiong Xue, Deputy Mayor of Chongqing Municipality and Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Chongqing High-tech Zone, Deng Xiaotie, a foreign academician of the European Academy of Sciences and Director of the CSIAM Blockchain Committee, Ling Fan, Deputy Director of the General Office of Chongqing Municipal Government, and Tang Chuan, Secretary of Yubei District Committee , Li Bin, deputy director of Chongqing Big Data Development Bureau, Kuang Jian, chief engineer of Chongqing Economic Information Commission, Xu Yongde, member of the Standing Committee of Yubei District Committee, and Yuan Yuming, CEO of FireChain Technology, jointly unveiled the “FireChain Digital Economy Industry Innovation Base”.
Yuan Yuming introduced that the base will be based on Chongqing Fire Chain, combining local development characteristics, with the overall development goal of building a “demonstrative national blockchain industry innovation base” and enriching the ecological circle on the Chongqing blockchain industry chain as its own responsibility. Assist the innovation breakthroughs and application scenarios of Chongqing’s blockchain industry.
Subsequently, the forum site also officially announced the establishment of the “Fire Chain Digital Economy Industrial Ecological Alliance”, which is a non-profit social organization jointly initiated by Chongqing Fire Chain and blockchain upstream and downstream enterprises, universities, scientific research institutions and other units. Xu Yi, deputy general manager of Chongqing Xiantao Data Valley Investment Management Co., Ltd., and Fan Jin, head of Firechain Technology Industry Empowerment Center, introduced the future plan of the alliance.
Fire Chain Digital Economy Industrial Ecological Alliance Strategic Signing Ceremony
It is worth mentioning that FireChain Technology, Silk Road Group, Micro Technology, Hengqin Knowledge Exchange, Xinyuan Group, Lianren International, China Industry Group, and Long Tesco, as the first batch of seven strategic cooperative enterprises, completed the FireChain digital economy. The strategic signing of the Industrial Ecological Alliance, the alliance will also cooperate with more outstanding blockchain companies in the future to build a benign blockchain ecosystem in Chongqing.
It is reported that Chongqing Firechain officially announced its establishment at this forum. In the future, it will deepen the Chongqing market and build a benchmark enterprise of Chongqing blockchain. At the same time, the Chongqing campus of Firelink University of Technology and the Chongqing branch of Firelink Technology Research Institute were officially launched.
Opening Ceremony of Chongqing Firechain Technology Co., Ltd.
“Chongqing HuoChain is a new attempt for government-enterprise cooperation in the blockchain field. In the future, it will rely on innovation bases and industrial alliances to deepen the Chongqing market and build a benchmark enterprise in the blockchain field.” Yuan Yuming said.
Integrated development of digital economy and industrial innovation base
At present, human society is undergoing a digital transformation. As the “base” supporting the development of the digital economy, blockchain technology will enrich the various data elements required by the digital economy in an all-round way through data assetization and asset digitization, and realize digital A key breakthrough in economic innovation and development.
Deng Xiaotie said in the sharing of “Blockchain Applications and Challenges in the Great Development of Digital Economy” that blockchain is the key to achieving large-scale digital economy and social management automation, but still faces many challenges, including how to effectively provide blockchain supervision And governance, find suitable application scenarios, such as combining artificial intelligence technology.
Si Xueming, director of the Blockchain Specialized Committee of the China Computer Society, has an outlook on the development of China’s blockchain industry. He said that blockchain technology will be widely implemented in the real economy and become an important support for the construction of digital China. At the same time, the blockchain supervision and standard specification system will be further improved, and the industry development prospect is very broad.
The core of blockchain development is application-driven. In order to better promote the implementation of blockchain, the forum also carefully arranged the “industry keynote speech” session. Wu Chunling, chairman of the Education Branch of China Communications Industry Association, conducted the “Case and Practice of University Blockchain Training Platform”; Yuan Yuming released the new book “100 Cases of Blockchain Industry Application”, which includes 100 typical cases of government affairs, justice, finance, supply chain, etc., presenting the rich and broad application scenarios of blockchain.
In addition, the forum also held round-table dialogues on hot topics such as “Digital Economy and Industrial Innovation Base Development”, “Blockchain Talent Cultivation-Next Trends and Challenges”.
Previously, FireChain Technology announced the launch of the “FireChain China Tour” activity, which will carry out in-depth practice around the innovative application of blockchain in core cities such as Hainan, Beijing, and Chongqing. This time, it is the practice exploration of “Fire Chain China Tour” to cultivate Chongqing deeply.
“Next, FireChain Technology will use Chongqing as the fulcrum to fully integrate the digital economy and the form of an industrial innovation base, focusing on building a digital economic highland in Chongqing, thereby promoting the comprehensive development of the western digital economy industry.” Yuan Yuming expects that the industrial innovation base will be developed in the future. Successful experience radiates to the whole country, thus establishing a national blockchain application ecosystem.


text:
AMD CEO Lisa Su confirmed that AMD Vega would be launched at Siggraph. Now that the event announcement has been made, it is odd to note that there is no mention of AMD Vega gaming GPUs even though we were expecting the event to be around Vega. AMD Vega based Radeon Frontier Edition has started coming out and you can check out die information here.
While Vega FE is based on the Vega architecture it is not a gaming GPU and more people are interested in finding out the gaming performance of the graphics architecture than the professional performance. There have been some rumors that while Vega is going to be great AMD Navi is going to be the real game-changer. There is very little that we know about Navi at this point.
The official announcement talks about newest additions to Radeon Pro based on Vega architecture, Radeon Pro, Ryzen Threadripper, EPYC and Radeon Instinct but does not mention anything about AMD Vega gaming GPUs. The official announcement is as follows:
On July 30, learn about our newest additions to the Radeon Pro family featuring the cutting-edge Radeon “Vega” architecture. Hear from our partners on how AMD’s product lineup – Radeon Pro, Ryzen Threadripper, EPYC and Radeon Instinct – is revolutionizing the creative pipeline, leading industries from entertainment to engineering into a new era of precision and performance.
Is it possible that AMD Vega gaming GPUs will not be announced at the event? As of right now, nothing is for sure and we will find out more at the event. If you are interested in the proceedings of the event, then they are as follows:
Register by July 25th, as seats are extremely limited for this exclusive presentation and make sure to show up early to secure a good seat.
6:30PM PST – Doors open
7:30PM – 8:45PM PST – Formal presentation
8:45PM – Midnight PST – Demos and reception
I think people have waited long enough for AMD Vega gaming GPUs and it is now or never for AMD. The hype will die down after this once and for all and it would be a good move for the company to show off what Vega has to offer when it comes to gaming. We have seen the Vega FE performance in games but that is not optimized for gaming. Neither is it expected to compete with Nvidia in gaming.
Let us know whether or not you think AMD Vega gaming GPUs will be announced at Capsaicin Siggraph.


text:
The same debate has probably been going on for nearly 40 years in Coke HQ Atlanta: why don’t we give ‘I’d like to teach the world to sing’ a modern update? It was, after all, arguably the company’s most successful campaign although fearsomely open to criticism and parody from the quite large part of the world’s population who didn’t see Coca-Cola as such a Carpenters-style agent for good (below).
Well braver spirits at Coke, with a degree of nudging from agency Ogilvy no doubt, appear to have prevailed with this ‘Reasons To Believe’ opus, part of Coke’s never-ending ‘Open Happiness’ campaign.
Well the singing’s OK but Coke pontificating about arms manufacture? Too presumptuous surely – especially given that the Coca-Cola company has probably contributed more than its fair share of dollars to the political sponsors of countless US armoured vehicles.
Then, still in pursuit of global optimism, to switch to football (can we have an ad these days without football or, in the US, basketball?) with the intelligence that there are 12 times as many ‘hugs’ on the pitch as red cards (does Opta tell us this?) is banal.
There are some things that brands and ads should stay out of, surely?
We thought this campaign was an accident waiting to happen and so it’s proving.
Coke has dropped one bit of the ad depicting a gay marriage (from Australia) for screenings in Ireland, saying that gay marriages aren’t currently legal in that firmly Catholic country. So what – isn’t the ad supposed to be about changing the world for the better? At this rate two and a half minutes will end up as a snappy thirty seconds.
What cowardy custards these big corporations are.


text:
It may be socially responsible for fashion companies to be eco-conscious, but many are finding that thinking in terms of sustainability also produces major cost savings. Finding ways to cut costs internally has also become increasingly important for fashion companies as the cost of commodities like cotton rises and labor costs increase—many are eager to find ways that will allow them to avoid passing these costs onto the consumer.
Macy’s announced last week that starting in fall 2011 the company will begin using environmentally friendly matte black hangers in their stores (replacing the clear hangers that have hung in Macy’s for years). Macy’s Chief Administrative Officer Thomas Cole says, “Our company has embraced the principles of sustainability, and we continue to take actions that are tangible, measurable and meaningful in reducing our use of scarce resources and improving the efficiency of our business.” According to Macy’s the store uses 300 million hangers a year, so the cost savings will be measurable. The company is also installing energy saving LED light bulbs in stores nationwide, which will cut consumption by 73 percent. While this move will initially require an outlay by the company, it is a measure that will produce cost savings in the long-term.
PPR, the parent company of luxury brands like Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci, is also investing in green strategies, hoping for a long-term payoff. The company created a sustainability lab this year to research ways to introduce sustainability into business practices. Francois- Henri Pinault, CEO of PPR said “My deep conviction that sustainability creates value.” In other words, going green for PPR has just as much to do with the bottom line as it does with the environment. Signifying the commitment that PPR has to thinking in sustainable ways, Jochen Zeitz was named Chief Sustainability Officer at PPR in March of this year, moving from his post at Puma (a unit of PPR) as Chairman and CEO.
As companies research ways that they can become more eco-conscious, some are finding unexpected cost savings along the way. H&M for instance discovered that certain washes of jeans don’t have to be washed as much as others, thereby saving on water consumption and cutting costs. In the same vein Levi’s has introduced Water<Less jeans, which require an average of 28% and as much as 96% less water to produce. The company says it will save 16 million liters of water out of this new finishing process this spring alone.
Even smaller fashion houses are finding that thinking in eco-friendly ways means good business. Fashion duo Costello Tagliapietra for instance has been using AirDye technology for four seasons—the dying method doesn’t use water and additionally the process does not discard the waste water created by traditional water based dyes. The process also allows the duo to control the amount of fabric they order, since the dying process is very precise. That ability to predict both how much fabric is needed to produce samples, and also the amount of fabric needed to fill orders certainly equals meaningful cost savings for a New York-based upstart brand.


text:
A proposed class action against
Apple, accused of violating computer fraud, consumer privacy, and wiretap laws, is protected by Section 230, which provides immunity for website platforms with respect to third-party content, the company said in a motion to dismiss filed April 29 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Hadona Diep sued Apple in Maryland federal court …
This news is republished from another source. You can check the original article here


text:
During that time, physicians treated 456 patients total for synthetic cannabinoid intoxications.
That's almost triple the number reported last week when IL health officials first warned of the new side effect of the drug known as "fake weed", "K2" and "spice".
"We continue to see the number of cases rise", said IDPH Director Dr. Nirav D. Shah. They can be found nationwide at convenience stores, gas stations, head shops, novelty stores and online.
Since 2015 hundreds of people across the USA have overdosed and been hospitalized after smoking too much or bad batches of synthetic cannabis.
Arnold said that the Centers for Disease Control are sending epidemiologists to help in the investigation. A lot of them were homeless people stricken in the neighborhood around the New Life Evangelist Center shelter downtown. The man was laying semi conscious on the ground moaning when the medics arrived.
In the wake of the cannabinoid crisis, it's important to note that legalizing marijuana could keep people away from unsafe synthetic drugs.
Synthetic cannabinoids are man-made, mind altering chemicals that are sprayed onto plant matter, according to IDPH, which can then be smoked or inhaled with a vaporizer. These chemicals are also called cannabinoids due to their similarities to the marijuana plant.
However, makers of synthetic cannabinoids try to get around those laws by creating products with different ingredients and labeling them "not safe for human consumption" when they may appear like a type of incense or potpourri, according to the CDC. "Why they're happening? We're still uncertain", he said. "They can contain a variety of chemicals, and users often don't know what those are, such as rat poison", Shah said.
The store workers - Fouad Masoud, 48, Jad Allah, 44, and Adil Khan Mohammed, 44 - were charged on Monday after undercover federal agents said the men sold them synthetic marijuana, known as K2, according to a criminal complaint.
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2016 found that one of these chemically altered synthetic cannabinoids was 85 times as potent as tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the mind-altering chemical in marijuana.
Xiaomi sells products such as air purifiers, fitness bands, VR headsets and power banks, besides smartphones in India. Xiaomi is also running the "Crazy Combos" offer that will be held at 1 pm on April 5 and April 6.
Zuckerberg responded in a podcast on Monday saying that the idea that Facebook doesnt care about its customers is extremely glib. Alice said Facebook had undertaken similar partnerships in the United States, France, Germany and the Netherland.
Intel Corporation ( INTC ) has been given an average price target of $53.25 from analysts , according to data collected by Finviz. This number is based on a 1 to 5 scale where 1 indicates a Strong Buy recommendation while 5 represents a Strong Sell.
It was originally scheduled to open in many overseas markets on April 27 while the US would have to wait until May 4. We will not screen the film in its entirety until the Los Angeles premiere shortly before the film's global release.
One looked at trends in opioid prescribing under Medicaid, which covers low-income adults, between 2011 and 2016. Researchers say this indicates patients might be using marijuana to manage their pain instead of opioids.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD ) or Autism affects communication, impacting speaking, gesturing and listening. Spreading awareness on autism is essential, as it will help caregivers detect early signs and symptoms.
Children should be protected at all costs, and suspicious behavior should always be reported to authorities. In Black Hawk County alone, the Family & Children's Council helps 15,000 children and parents each year.
While you may not be a sports fan, Disney Media Networks' plans for ESPN + may have bigger implications for you down the line. Today, we're learning that the service will launch April 12 to be exact, along with a "redesigned and reimagined" ESPN app .
Amazon .com, Inc. has a 52 week low of $859.02 and a 52 week high of $1,617.54. 737 were accumulated by Guyasuta Inv Advsrs. Amazon .com makes up 2.4% of Strategic Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. (NASDAQ: AMZN ).
The CGF would not elaborate on the nature of sanctions should any of the teams or athletes be found to have breached the rules. Dr Patil, attending his first Commonwealth Games , administered vitamin B by injection to an athlete that was feeling unwell.
On Sunday he said Mexico "must stop the big drug and people flows, or I will stop their cash cow , Nafta", he tweeted. Trump's tweets have focused on the caravan story, one that was pounced upon by conservative media.


text:
Toyota will sponsor `Today' live concerts
[torrance, calif.] Toyota Motor Sales USA's Toyota brand is taking over as title sponsor of the live concerts that air Fridays from May to October on "Today Show" on General Electric Co.'s NBC. Previous sponsor was the Egg Board. Toyota will use the sponsorship to spotlight its redone Toyota Sienna minivan, which launches in the spring. Terms of the sponsorship weren't disclosed. Toyota Marketing Communications Manager Deborah Meyer said the buy marks Toyota's return to early-morning TV and that it plans signage and other on-site activities at Rockefeller Plaza, where the concerts are staged.
Krispy Kreme buys baker, plans a sandwich chain
[winston-salem, n.c.] Krispy Kreme Doughnuts agreed to acquire Rochester, N.Y.-based Montana Mills Bread Co. in a stock transaction worth an estimated $40 million and said it intends to develop the baker of artisan breads into a larger sandwich subsidiary over the next two to three years. Montana Mills sells bread and other baked goods from on-site bakeries and at sit-down satellite cafes. Analysts expressed concerns over growth potential and management distractions. Krispy Kreme shares closed at $30.75 Jan. 24, down 8.75% for the day. Omnicom's GSD&M, Austin, Texas handles Krispy Kreme, as well as Brinker International, which operates Corner Bakery restaurants, among other brands. A GSD&M spokesman said he didn't anticipate a conflict issue since GSD&M had not been asked to handle Montana Mills.
[new york] Pfizer shifted advertising for its Lubriderm line of skin care products to Omnicom's BBDO Worldwide, New York, from WPP Group's J. Walter Thompson, New York, executives familiar with the move said. Spending was not disclosed, but Pfizer spent an estimated $32.3 million on measured media for the brands in the first 10 months of last year, according to Taylor Nelson Sofres' CMR.
Peace Corps invites 15 to agency review
[washington] The Peace Corps is seeking an ad agency for a recruitment effort and has asked 15 shops, drawn from a General Services Administration list of pre-qualified bidders, to submit proposals. Spending was not disclosed, but the campaign will include paid and public service TV and radio advertising.
Kmart, Martha shoot new TV spot in California
[new york] Kmart and Martha Stewart shot their next commercial for Martha Stewart-branded products in California last week. The setting of the spot, to break in March, is a large garden party featuring outdoor furniture. Peter Arnell of Omnicom's Arnell Group, agency for Ms. Stewart's Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, directed.
New `Got Milk?' ads take a serious turn
[berkeley, calif.] The California Milk Processor Board, in a new creative tack, breaks the first of a series of more serious "Got Milk?" ads Feb 5. Creative focuses on the nutritional benefits of milk, with the sub-theme "Strength comes from within." New executions of the more familiar humorous "Got Milk?" ads also break Feb. 5. Spending by the Milk Board was put at $20 million per year. Omnicom's Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, handles.
IMG to publish daily during Fashion Week
[new york] IMG's 7th on Sixth, owner of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, will produce six issues of a publication covering the event, which runs in New York from Feb. 7 through Feb. 14. The daily will be edited by Brandusa Niro, who edited Us Weekly's daily broadsheet for last fall's Fashion Week. About 15,000 copies will be distributed. Among the advertisers that bought the 92 ad pages Ms. Niro said The Daily had sold thus far are Avon, Donna Karan, and W Hotels.
TV for Grey Goose vodka split among two shops
[new rochelle, n.y.] Sidney Frank Importing Co. split assignments for Grey Goose Vodka's first TV campaign between DeVito/Verdi, New York, and Wolfe/Doyle, San Francisco, after a review involving outside shops and its in-house creative unit. Print creative remains in-house. The TV ads, to break in February, possibly on the Golf Channel, will continue to position Grey Goose as the "best tasting vodka." Sidney Frank Importing said its 2003 ad budget is $15 million to $20 million.
FYI . . .
Cordiant Communications Group's Bates Group is expected to complete its search for a North American CEO this week, said executives familiar with the situation. Search firms Korn/Ferry International and Gundersen Partners, New York, are handling. ... Reflecting Germany's opposition to a U.S. war against Iraq, Viacom-owned MTV Germany started airing anti-war commentaries last week by music video stars including Moby, Bon Jovi and Red Hot Chili Peppers under the the slogan "War Is Not The Answer." An MTV Germany spokeswoman said the campaign is airing only on MTV Germany. ... Rick Crosson was named VP-marketing at Subaru of America, succeeding Mark Darling, who resigned. Mr. Crosson has been a regional VP with Subaru. ... Jamie Barrett, 40, who led Goodby, Silverstein & Partners' winning pitch for the $350 million General Motors Corp. Saturn account, was named the eighth partner at the San Francisco agency. ... Sprint is reviewing agencies for its Sprint Business account, now at Interpublic's McCann Relationship Marketing, New York. McCann is participating in the review. Sprint Business spent $25 million in measured media in the U.S. in 2001, according to Taylor Nelson Sofres' CMR. ...The Pennzoil-Quaker State Co. unit of Shell Oil Products U.S. put creative for Pennzoil motor oil into review. GSD&M, Austin, Texas, the incumbent, will defend. It retains the $20 million media assignment. See AdAge.com QwikFIND aao37y . ... The Federal Trade Commission staff will provide media companies a list of fraudulent diet and health claims to use in screening ads for acceptance, said FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Howard Beales, who prodded media companies to stop taking ads that "exploit overweight Americans." No date was given on when the list would be available. ... WPP Group named Eliot Kang, president-CEO of WPP's Asian-American ad agency, Kang & Lee, New York, to a new role as chief operating officer of WPP-controlled LG Ad, Korea's second largest ad agency.


text:
Cenla Economic Dashboard in existence for full year, helping business leaders make important decisions
ALEXANDRIA, La. (KALB) - If you’re wondering how the local Cenla economy has faired during the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s a tool for that, and it’s been around for the past year.
KALB sat down with the face behind the Cenla Economic Dashboard to find out how it’s helping local business leaders make important decisions.
It’s been over a year since COVID-19 was declared as a national emergency and America’s economy began to shut down.
“We felt very disconnected. No one knew where the economy was at, how bad things were or were not, and basically, we were in the dark,” said LSUA College of Business Dean, Dr. Randall Dupont.
Information became available on a national level, but there wasn’t a way to measure what was happening here at home.
“It’s really been kind of a missing link to have that data drilled down to our regional, local economy,” said Red River Bank President and CEO, Blake Chatelain.
Local business leaders began to have discussions with LSUA.
“Basically, the question was, is this something that we can do here in Central Louisiana,” said Dupont.
In came LSUA College of Business Dean, Dr. Randall Dupont, the face and research behind what’s known today as the Cenla Economic Dashboard.
“The best way to describe the dashboard, we try to monitor the economic pulse of Central Louisiana. That’s what we’re trying to do,” Dupont said.
So that local business leaders have accurate information to help them make important decisions.
“Every day we’re trying to make decisions based on what we think is happening in the local economy. Having access to real data is just incredibly important for us,” Chatelain said.
The first-ever dashboard was released in April of 2020.
“It took us about six days to publish the first issue. It was about 10 to 12 pages, so not very long, but it covered things like our mobility and our social distancing in the different parishes,” Dupont said.
It’s taken off ever since, covering everything from consumer spending to small business development and travel.
“Basically, during a pandemic, you don’t have a whole lot of interaction, so we didn’t know how it was being received, but we were getting very good feedback,” Dupont said.
Today, the dashboard is being distributed to 3,000 business and community leaders across Cenla, including additional parishes and new information.
“We’re assessing the needs of the community and as the needs change, we change the dashboard. We don’t just keep publishing the same data because the environment changes,” Dupont said.
“I would say it’s really one of the best ones I’ve seen in the state. It’s very comprehensive, there’s something in there for everybody,” said Chatelain.
Over the past year, Dupont said Cenla’s economy has done incredibly well.
“We didn’t know if consumer spending would fall off the cliff, or at least the best we were hoping for was that it would kind of remain stable, and that’s kind of what happened,” Dupont said. “Jobs have returned. Not all of them, but we are very close to where we were last year at this time. We may not be back in all industries or in all segments, but overall, as a general economy, we have done well.”
This wouldn’t have been possible without the dedication and hard work of the people who call Cenla home.
“I saw a resilience here with the citizens, with the businesses of Central Louisiana, quite resilient, quite determined to make a future for themselves,” Dupont said.
Dupont said he will continue to publish the dashboard. Each report includes data for all Cenla parishes, Vernon, Concordia, Catahoula, LaSalle, Evangeline and a few others.
The April dashboard will be released either next week, or the week after.
Click here to report a typo.
Copyright 2021 KALB. All rights reserved.


text:
Total number increased by 1000% since 2007
The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) has seen tremendous growth in the number of DLNA Certified televisions, making the television the centrepiece of the new digital living room.
Over 400 TV models have become DLNA Certified in the last three months, bringing the total number of DLNA Certified TVs to 669. With more than a thousand percent growth in this category since 2007, televisions bearing the “DLNA Certified” logo are interoperable with the complete digital home, allowing consumers to experience a more convenient way to enjoy their digital content. With a DLNA Certified television in the living room, consumers may enjoy audio, video or pictures, from other DLNA Certified products, such as mobile phones, digital cameras or PCs.
“Televisions are the focal point of entertainment for many households, making it essential that they interoperate with other devices that make up the digital home,” said Scott Smyers, chairman of the DLNA board of directors and senior vice president of Sony Electronics Inc. “The rapid growth in DLNA Certified televisions represents a shift to a more connected and interactive home experience. With 669 television models DLNA Certified to date, consumers have the ability to truly enjoy their television in new ways.”
DLNA Certified products allow consumers to enjoy, manage and share photos, video and music across devices, regardless of manufacturer. With more than 5,000 DLNA Certified devices worldwide, and a tremendous growth in the number of DLNA Certified television models, consumers can continue to evolve their digital home with the utmost confidence, knowing that their DLNA Certified televisions can access digital content from other DLNA Certified devices throughout their home.


text:
Research Tree provides access to ongoing research coverage, media content and regulatory news on SCHIFFFAHRTSGES DES VIERWALD.
We currently have 0 research reports from 0
G4M’s H1 trading update confirms the continued strength of the top line sales growth already disclosed in its Q1 sales update. H1 sales have risen by an impressive 42% to £70.2m, complemented by gross margin expansion of 330bps to 28.5%, reflecting G4M’s focus on profitable sales growth. This translates to gross profit growth of £7.5m (+60%) compared with last year and will deliver interim financial results materially higher than last year. While sales momentum has continued into October, management remains mindful of the ongoing uncertainties around Covid-19 and Brexit heading into the peak trading period. With market estimates already raised on the Q1 update, this prudent caution tempers our full year PBT upgrade to 13%.
Companies: Gear4music (Holdings) PLC
The group has announced a proposed Company Voluntary Arrangement (“CVA”) in order to reduce the size of its Revolution Bar estate and rental cost base and improve profitability over the longer term. There is no impact on the Revolucion de Cuba brand. The initiative is one of several that management have introduced to counter the impact on trading of COVID-19 and will have the dual benefit of trimming the estate of underperforming sites and delivering a cash flow benefit of c.£2m p.a. The group’s balance sheet remains strong.
Companies: Revolution Bars Group Plc
REACT Group plc (REACT), the specialists in deep cleaning services for customers in the public and private sectors, has announced an encouragingly positive trading update for the financial year to September 2020 stating that the Group’s maiden profit before tax will be ahead of market expectations. Consequently we are raising our PBT forecast from £152k to £182k. Cash balances at the year-end were also higher than forecast at £1.8m and we continue to remain very positive on the prospects for the Group.
Companies: REACT Group Plc
Gear4music reports that trading has remained strong in the 1st 2 months of Q2. Back in July it said it had achieved 68% sales growth in Q1 (to 30 June) along with improved gross margins and cost efficiency, notably in marketing. Today’s update says G4M is continuing to generate improved margins alongside proportionally lower marketing costs YoY, no doubt with additional operating leverage in other cost lines too. As a result, FY21 results “will be at least in line with recently upgraded expectations”. We make no changes today, pending an H1 trading update on 22 Oct, but highlight that forecast and valuation risk is very much to the upside. Time to take a look for those that haven’t yet.
Escape Hunt announced the acquisition of its Middle East master franchise partner, Escape Hunt Entertainment LLC (“EHE”). The operation offers high potential returns at modest cost and risk to Escape Hunt. The transaction also pushes the company’s rollout ahead of our forecasts. Such acquisition opportunities, combined with attractive new lease terms and rebounding early demand, position the company for strong return potential.
Companies: Escape Hunt Plc
Pendragon was making good progress in its turnaround when COVID-19 struck but appears to be coming through the crisis in good shape to date. Despite a £44m hit to profits during lockdown, we can envisage a modest underlying profit for the full year without further shocks. Today’s IMS is supportive of this view. The group’s new strategy should help deliver a transformation in the value of the business, long-term. The potential is not reflected in the current price which is weighed down by macro worries and misplaced concerns about debt. We see the risk/reward balance as attractive.
Companies: Pendragon PLC
Q3/20 EBITDA of NOK 413m vs. Factset consensus of NOK 367m
Solid Q3/20 gross margin of 40.5%, up from 37.3% in Q3/19
LFL sales growth of 16.1% Y/Y driven by 21.1% LFL growth in Norway
We expect share price and estimates to move higher today
Companies: XXL XXLO 2XX XXL
Various Eateries listed on AIM last month, raising £25m in new growth capital. The business arguably has the strongest ever team assembled in the hospitality sector, one that is now looking to take advantage of the extraordinary conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Board includes Andy Bassadone (Ivy Collection, Côte, Bill's, My Kinda Town), Hugh Osmond (PizzaExpress, My Kinda Town, Punch Taverns), Yishay Malkov (Ivy Collection, Roka Zuma) and Oli Williams (Itsu, McDonald's), giving it the experience to acquire and successfully convert sites at pace. The group has two brands ideally positioned for the post COVID-19 environment of the 2020s, including the trend for working from home. While some of the group's ten existing locations are likely to continue to see a near-term impact from the Covid response, these measures, are by their nature, structurally increasing the size of the opportunity ahead for Various Eateries - competition for customers being further reduced, more sites becoming available at even lower rents and a larger and more distressed pool of potential acquisition opportunities being presented. As such, we believe the current backdrop has created the greatest opportunity in casual dining since the sector began to emerge in the UK in the 1990s. We see fair value for the shares at 92p.
Companies: Various Eateries Plc
Gear4music is the leading UK online retailer of musical instruments and music equipment and has established operating bases in Sweden and Germany to spearhead its expansion into mainland Europe. It operates a low-cost model, with further efficiency gains targeted, and is profitable from the first customer transaction, achieving a 250% gross margin return on its marketing investment in new customer acquisition.
Gear4music has issued a trading update for the 6 months to Sep’20, highlighting strong top line growth of 42% (N1e: 35%), which can be attributed to the CV19 lockdown and channel shift. Alongside this, the group reported a gross margin improvement of 330bps (N1e: 200bps), reflecting management’s successfully executed operational strategy outlined just over a year ago. On the back of the announcement we have upgraded our FY21 gross margin by 110bps, which leads to a pre-IFRS 16 EBITDA upgrade of 16%. While management is cautious on the revenue outlook, given the near term uncertainty, our forecasts reflect the operational outperformance. Valuation is undemanding, and intrinsic value using its peer group average rating is 1150p.
N Brown is taking crucial steps in its transition to being a pure-play online retailer (currently 77% of sales) and to strengthen its leading position in the under-serviced market for fashionable plus-size apparel. While strategic updates may be on hold until a new CEO is appointed, the company closed the loss-making portfolio of high-street stores in H119 and further brand consolidation seems inevitable. The shares trade on a low FY19e P/E of 5.5x and yield 7.2%.
Companies: BWNG BGUA NBRNF
Gear4music continued its recent run of positive news announcements yesterday with an upbeat AGM trading statement. Growth, following an exceptional first quarter in FY2021 (April to June), remained brisk in July and August. Moreover, the company’s strong sales momentum is more than matched by improvements on costs and margins.
The final results revealed adjusted PBT up 99% year-on-year, which was 10% better than forecast despite four upgrades during the financial year. This strong performance reflects the financial benefits that have accrued following the shift in the business model to online only, as well as management’s strategic decision to significantly increase marketing spend. A second special dividend for the 2020 financial year has also been announced, reflecting the strong cash flow characteristics of the business model. Our 2021 profit forecast implies continuing momentum and a year-on-year increase in PBT of 86%. We raise our target price to 1050p.
Companies: Best of the Best plc
Guild Esports is positioned to become the leading global esports brand based in the UK. With strong support from David Beckham, the company plans to pioneer the UK Premier League academy model in esports, attract leading sponsors, build a loyal fan base and establish a premium line of merchandise. Within 12 months of the IPO, Guild plans to contract 19 esports staff, register 1m fans and generate £5m sponsorship revenue, £1m merchandise revenue and £0.6m media revenue. Today, Guild announced a £3.6m three-year sponsorship deal with a new European fintech company and appears well positioned to meet its sponsorship revenue target.
Companies: Guild Esports PLC
Bowling, alongside low-cost gyms, is the strongest sub-sector of Leisure at present. Its fortunes have been revived over the last 5 years through product diversification, investment and a more family focused offering which is resonating with consumers seeking value and experiential treats. The sector is well established accounting for 3% of the family leisure market. We are attracted by its positive growth dynamics and minimal exposure to rising costs. We explore 6 themes in this note and initiate coverage on Hollywood Bowl (Buy; 250p 12m TP) and Ten Entertainment (Buy; 315p 12m TP), albeit with current year EPS forecasts 4% below consensus, reflecting recent prolonged hot weather concerns. On a 1-3 year view both have plenty of scope to further enhance shareholder value through self-help and site expansion.
Companies: Hollywood Bowl Group Plc (BOWL:LON)Ten Entertainment Group Plc (TEG:LON)